[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a C-rank item: Sand Grass Seeds.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a B-rank item: Mechanical Sand Boat Blueprint.]
…
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an A-rank item: Mirage Blueprint.]
Rasa's heart stirred.
"Two blueprints in a single draw?"
"A B-rank reward, the Mechanical Sand Boat Blueprint. If my guess is correct, it should come from Domineering Mechanical Arts. Following the blueprint, one can create a type of boat capable of moving quickly through the desert."
Around Sunagakure, there was little of anything.
But if there was one thing it had in abundance, it was desert.
Whether traveling to cities in the Land of Wind or to countries beyond the Land of Wind, one had to pass through that long stretch of desert.
After obtaining the giant bull as a summoned beast, Rasa had directly assigned it the job of pulling a boat. It dragged an enormous sand ship through the desert and could transport large quantities of goods in one trip.
This had brought convenience to Sunagakure.
But it was not enough.
No matter how large a single ship was, the amount of cargo it could carry was limited.
Moreover, the travel time was long. Its timeliness was insufficient. Its flexibility was poor.
"If the Mechanical Sand Boat turns out well once built, it could bring tremendous help to Sunagakure. It doesn't need to reach the speed of a horse carriage. Even half the speed would be enough."
"The Mechanical Sand Boat doesn't require me to personally research it."
"I can hand it over to the people below."
Immediately afterward, Rasa looked at the second blueprint.
"A-rank reward, Mirage."
"It also comes from Domineering Mechanical Arts. It can even be considered the culmination of Domineering Mechanical Arts. An enormous seagoing vessel composed of towers, pavilions, terraces, and halls of all sizes."
"Vast, magnificent, sturdy…"
"One ship is equivalent to a city."
"It can be said that on the sea, possessing such a ship would grant an enormous advantage."
"It possesses both powerful offensive and defensive capabilities."
Rasa thought for a moment.
"If we had the Mirage, then Sunagakure would be able to seize the lead in the Great Age of Navigation. That is something no other shinobi village could compare with. It can carry more people, sail farther, and sail longer."
"However… it is not suitable to begin construction right now."
For the current Sunagakure, the value of the Mirage was certainly inferior to that of the Sun Disk. If they had resources, they naturally had to prioritize investing them into the Sun Disk.
Building the Mirage would have to wait.
They would have to wait until there were enough Sun Disks and there was no longer any need to continue building them.
Or until something of considerable value appeared on the sea.
"But the Mechanical Sand Boat can be used right now, and the investment should not be too large."
"It won't just be able to transport goods for Sunagakure. We can also sell it to the Land of Wind."
"And sell it at a high price."
Sunagakure was barren, and the Land of Wind was also barren. However, as the daimyo of the Land of Wind, there was absolutely no way he lacked money.
Poor regions were not without wealthy people.
It was merely that the gap between rich and poor was large.
"Have Hyena come here."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
Very soon, Akayama Hyena arrived at the Kazekage's office.
"Kazekage-sama."
"Hyena, how have you been recently? Have you fully mastered those two puppets?"
Akayama Hyena nodded.
"Kazekage-sama, compared to the last competition, my mastery of those two puppets has improved considerably. Relying on those two puppets, I won't fall far behind when sparring with the village's jonin now."
Chiyo's evaluation of Akayama Hyena had been that he was a genius puppeteer.
Now, it seemed that was indeed the case.
Even though he had wasted a great deal of time because of being targeted within the Akayama clan, once he returned to the path of puppetry, Akayama Hyena's talent quickly revealed itself.
Reaching Kage-level in the future would be very difficult.
But becoming an elite jonin should not be a problem.
"I have a task for you."
"Kazekage-sama, please give your order."
Rasa copied the Mechanical Sand Boat blueprint and handed the duplicate to Akayama Hyena.
"This is the blueprint for the Mechanical Sand Boat. Following the blueprint, you can create a sand boat suitable for sailing through the desert. To Sunagakure, this is extremely important."
"I need you to build the first Mechanical Sand Boat as quickly as possible."
"If you need any resources, apply directly. I will approve them."
Akayama Hyena accepted the blueprint and began examining it carefully.
The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became.
All puppeteers had this trait.
Chiyo had not originally intended to emerge from retirement, but after seeing the Sun Disk blueprint, she could not help immersing herself in research.
She had even gone personally to the Sun Disk construction site to supervise it.
Sasori of the Red Sand had also come nearby because he was interested in the Sun Disk, only to be discovered and captured by Rasa.
Now Akayama Hyena had seen the Mechanical Sand Boat blueprint, and he was similarly extremely interested.
"Kazekage-sama, I will complete the task with all my strength."
"Go. I'll await your good news."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
Watching Akayama Hyena leave, Rasa picked up a newspaper.
Ninja World Weekly.
It was not the version officially distributed, but a sample issue. Saki had sent the sample to the Kazekage Building for Rasa to review and see whether anything needed to be changed.
After all, for this issue of Ninja World Weekly, Rasa had personally made a request.
In the sample issue, the bounty topic about the Will of Fire was placed very far forward. It could be seen at a glance. But Rasa felt the bounty amount printed there was not eye-catching enough.
So he picked up a pen, circled it, and added a note.
The current Ninja World Weekly still had two main sections.
One news section and one story section.
Advertisements from various countries were mixed in between.
After all, Ninja World Weekly was published by Sunagakure, but its popularity spread throughout the entire shinobi world. To be precise, it was the most popular publication.
Konoha Weekly still had some competitiveness within Konoha Village.
But once outside Konoha—even still within the Land of Fire—it could no longer compare with Ninja World Weekly.
As for Iwagakure's, Kumogakure's, and Kirigakure's publications, they were even more inferior.
The serial release of One Piece had already entered a stage with more battles. Many background settings had been drawn out, making the story even more attractive.
The three types of Devil Fruits.
The three colors of Haki.
Famous blades.
Conflicts between the Marines and pirate crews.
The status gap between the Celestial Dragons and ordinary people.
…
Two days later, the newest issue of Ninja World Weekly was officially released.
Large numbers of merchants who had waited hungrily for a long time lined up with bloodshot eyes.
"Me!"
"Me!"
"It's my turn!"
…
Through their efforts, Ninja World Weekly spread across the entire shinobi world at an extremely rapid speed.
After people obtained the newspaper, they suddenly discovered that this issue was somewhat different from before.
"Bounty submission?"
"Tell us our understanding of the Will of Fire?"
"We can submit to Ninja World Weekly? Once selected, we can receive one hundred thousand ryo in manuscript fees?"
"Not only can we receive payment, the submission will also be published in the next issue of the newspaper."
In an instant, everyone was drawn in.
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