Living in the World of Naruto, Marrying Tsunade

The moment Chiyo mentioned the Land of Craraftsmen every high-ranking official present grew solemn.

All of them were senior figures of the Land of Wind; they naturally understood how decisive ninja tools were in determining the outcome of war. For this campaign, the Land of Wind had tightened its belt for over a decade just to scrape together enough weapon resources to sustain the conflict.

Even so, they were still stretched thin.

The Land of Wind lay deep within the desert. Mineral resources were scarce. Though they had skilled artisans, at best they could craft wooden puppets—iron weapons were extremely limited.

Even in the original era of Sunagakure's puppet corps, they often used reinforced wood instead of steel—not by preference, but because their nation simply lacked mineral wealth.

Of course, the wood they used was no ordinary timber. It was rare, century-old ironwood from select oases—hard and workable. But no matter how durable, it wasn't true iron, and thus unsuitable for forging quality ninja tools.

Even that ironwood was scarce. Only a few large oases in the Land of Wind could grow it, and it had long since become a strategic resource.

For that reason, every elder present understood one thing clearly:

If the Land of Craftsmen did not join the alliance, the coalition's supply of ninja tools would soon fall short.

War was, at its core, a contest of resources.

Without sufficient material supply, they would be forced into direct ninjutsu clashes. But chūnin and jōnin weren't elite jōnin or Kage—they didn't possess endless chakra reserves to sustain constant large-scale techniques.

At that moment, Saro—who had remained silent throughout the meeting—slowly opened his eyes.

Though he had not spoken, that did not mean he had not been listening.

As Shamon's son and the privately designated heir to the Kazekage position, Saro understood that raw strength alone was not enough. To lead a nation, one had to grasp strategy and national affairs, and form independent judgment. Otherwise, even if he were powerful enough, the others might not accept him.

Sunagakure's shinobi were fiercely combative. Being strong wasn't sufficient—without comprehensive authority, a Kazekage could find himself unable to move an inch.

Saro's mind was sharp. He understood well the importance of mineral resources to Sunagakure.

Yet his rise had been recent. While his battlefield prowess was evident, few realized that his signature Magnet Style—Iron Sand jutsu had uses beyond combat.

He spoke coldly:

"As for iron resources… I can help increase production."

The unexpected remark stunned everyone present.

Only Shamon, seated at the head, showed a faint smile of satisfaction.

His youngest son was indeed exceptional. Not only had he mastered sand manipulation, he had developed Sand Iron control—giving him the potential to become one of the strongest Kazekage in history.

Not just because Iron Sand was devastating in battle—but because of one added advantage:

He could draw iron sand directly from beneath the desert's layers and bring it to the surface.

This alone could ease the Land of Wind's iron shortage. Though iron sand was not as sturdy as refined ore and difficult to process, it was still iron—and could significantly alleviate scarcity.

Only Shamon knew this in detail. No wonder the others were shocked.

Shamon then explained:

"His Iron Sand Manipulation can extract iron sand directly from underground. The Land of Wind will finally have a measurable iron output."

Previously, Saro's strength had been insufficient. Extracting iron sand required too much time and hindered his training efficiency, so Shamon had kept this capability quiet.

But times had changed.

Saro had recently reached a bottleneck. Without intense battle, breaking into the Kage level might take time. Pure chakra training was no longer efficient—mineral extraction could instead refine his precision and perhaps provide the experiential breakthrough he needed.

That was why Saro chose this moment to reveal the auxiliary function of his secret art.

As Shamon finished speaking, realization dawned on everyone's faces.

They remembered: Saro had always drawn iron sand from beneath the desert when fighting. If that ability were applied to mining, the efficiency would be enormous.

Even if extraction was limited, simply identifying iron-rich areas would drastically improve resource scouting. Laborers could then be sent to excavate those sites. In terms of detection alone, this was a generational leap.

Immediately, the gloom lifted. The elders' expressions brightened.

Even Chiyo—who had never particularly liked Saro—found herself reassessing him. National strength outweighed personal bias.

Her earlier prejudice stemmed from rivalry between Saro and her son, Monzaemon Shirō. In most of their clashes, Shirō had been at a disadvantage, which only deepened her irritation.

But in matters of the nation's prosperity, such grudges were insignificant.

Shamon, seeing the shift in mood, smiled—but he cautioned:

"Even so, we must still secure the Land of Craftsmen as an ally. If they side with Konoha, the situation will become extremely unfavorable."

If the Land of Craftsmen remained neutral, that was tolerable—they were geographically distant and unlikely to be directly affected by the mainland war.

But if they supplied Konoha with superior weapons, the coalition's numerical advantage would vanish overnight.

What Shamon did not know, however, was that regardless of whether the Land of Craftsmen joined the alliance—

its leader, Yoshida Eiichi, had already been privately secured by Arata.