Wind and Rain Mountain Range.
This is the border between Ame no Kuni (Land of Rain) and Kaze no Kuni (Land of Wind).
At the same time, Sunagakure owns a quarter of Ame no Kuni's trade city here, as well as a new city.
Although the new city has been completed, there hasn't been a large-scale migration yet, so there aren't many people in this very large new city.
Most of them are people who work in the trade city.
And.
Members of Sunagakure's First Legion.
They are responsible for guarding the Wind and Rain defense line and protecting the trade city and the new city.
At the same time, they are also responsible for... landscaping!
That's right.
Although the new city has been completed, the surrounding landscaping has not yet been finished.
Firstly, the new city was only recently completed, and the landscaping has just begun.
Secondly, the oasis at the foot of the new city is still expanding outwards.
And it's doing so at an increasing speed.
Currently, the oasis at the foot of the new city has expanded to 120 square kilometers.
That's a full half more than three years ago.
This made everyone in Sunagakure overjoyed; the expansion of the oasis means the expansion of their living environment!
It's a good thing!
It's also a joyous occasion!
But it's also a chore.
The oasis has expanded, and small blades of grass have grown, but grass's water retention capacity is ultimately limited.
So, they still need to plant trees!
Because the newly grown grass is still very fragile, the use of heavy equipment like excavators is prohibited.
Therefore.
Tree planting can only be done manually!
"Doton: Ana Hori no Jutsu! (Earth Release: Hole Digging Technique)"
"Whoosh!"
As a Shinobi performed the jutsu, a one-square-meter patch of land in front of them began to shift to one side.
Then a small hill piled up.
And the original spot became a pit.
"Alright, Yahiko, quickly go carry a tree over!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Kyūsuke, you scoundrel, why do I have to carry the tree? You're not doing anything!"
"Isn't it because you only have to perform one jutsu? Unlike me, I have to perform it twice, which consumes a lot of Chakra!"
Hearing Kyūsuke's words, Yahiko was immediately provoked, pointing at the one-square-meter pit on the ground and saying,
"Just that tiny little pit, and you have the nerve to say it consumes Chakra! Do you believe me if I say I can just casually squirt some Suiton (Water Release) and it'll be bigger than yours!"
"You're full of it! Squirt then, if you have the guts, squirt it for me to see!"
"Ah! You think I wouldn't dare to squirt!"
"If you have the guts, squirt it for me to see!"
"Squirt then, squirt! You think I'm scared of you!"
After saying that, Yahiko threw the tree aside, then walked to the pit, took off his pants, and started to squirt.
"Ah! That's refreshing!"
Then, looking at Kyūsuke, he pointed at the newly formed small hole at the bottom of the pit and said,
"See! Is it bigger than your pit!"
"Heh heh!"
Kyūsuke looked at Yahiko, who was showing off to him, and then raised his hand.
"Officer, I report! Yahiko is slacking off!"
"Hey! Kyūsuke, you're no fun! You little piece of trash!"
Seeing the officer already walking towards him.
Yahiko quickly grabbed Kyūsuke's hand, trying to make him put it down, but it was clearly too late.
"Recruit Yahiko! What are you doing?"
"Uh... this... uh... I thought this tree looked a bit dead, so I was going to fertilize it. Officer, do you think this excuse is reasonable?"
The officer looked at Yahiko's incredibly sincere expression, then at the tree lying on the ground with two broken branches, and said,
"Recruit Yahiko, damaging public property, recorded as one offense."
"No! Officer!" He then leaned close to the officer's ear and whispered, "My dad is the Kazekage!"
Seeing the officer's shocked expression, Yahiko thought, 'Yes, this is the expression, I'm not hiding it anymore, I'm revealing everything!'
"Threatening an officer, recorded as one major offense!"
"Hey! Officer, aren't you mistaken!"
"My dad! Sunaen! The Kazekage!!!"
"So what! You're not the Kazekage-sama's wife or daughter!"
"As everyone knows, Kazekage-sama only calls his wife and daughter 'darling,' but he only refers to his son as 'my worthless son'!"
"So! Threatening an officer, recorded as one major offense!"
"Do you have any other objections?"
"No~~~ne!"
"Very good! Get back to work! There are still three hundred trees today, hurry up!"
After saying that, the officer left and went to patrol other areas.
Leaving behind a zombie-like Yahiko and a laughing Kyūsuke.
At night, Yahiko, tired from a day of work, walked back to his room.
Because the new city is currently sparsely populated.
The First Legion provided each person with a private room, including a bedroom, a bathroom, and a special room for medicinal baths.
He pushed open the door and immediately collapsed onto the floor.
Since he was covered in mud, how could he sleep if he lay on the bed for a while?
After resting for a moment, Yahiko got up again and walked to the medicinal bath room, took out a bundle of herbal packets, then opened them and threw the packet marked with the number '1' into the tub. When the water turned from clear to red, Yahiko took off his clothes and soaked his entire body in it.
The herbal packets were researched by the Bio-Building of the First Research Institute and purchased by the First Legion. When each new recruit joins, they undergo various tests, such as physical strength, Chakra volume, Chakra recovery ability, and so on, with a detailed examination.
Then, based on each new recruit's physical condition, different training regimens are assigned. Unlike training at the Academy, training in the legion also has to account for completing missions.
For example, Yahiko needs to water 327 trees every day. Based on Yahiko's own Chakra volume and recovery, performing 327 jutsu is just enough to completely drain him without harming his body.
Finally, returning to take a medicinal bath allows for the maximum potential to be unleashed, while also ensuring he's energetic the next day.
The red herbal packet is actually a type of toxin, diluted and prepared by Chiyo.
Its main purpose is to stimulate the body's cells, causing them to instinctively repel it, thereby achieving the goal of rapidly consuming cellular energy, and also having the effect of softening tendons.
During this period, if you can endure the pain and hunger transmitted by the cells throughout your body, you can also try stretching your body in the tub, completing some difficult movements that you normally couldn't, thereby achieving the goal of lengthening your tendons.
Just like Yahiko now.
At this moment, Yahiko was gritting his teeth, enduring the pain and hunger from his cells, while doing various stretches.
Because he always remembered what Sunaen once told him to comfort him.
That night, he cried alone on the balcony. He felt useless, possessing only Suiton and Fūton Chakra natures, and extracting Chakra slower than others. Unlike Nagato, who had five innate Seishitsu (Nature Transformations), or Konan, who could develop her own Kami Ninjutsu (Paper Ninjutsu), if he hadn't happened to run into Sunaen at that time, he probably would have been caught by fishmongers and starved to death somewhere.