Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto. The only thing I own is the plot.

Betas: Michelle T., AstaraelDarkrahBlack

Jiraiya Interlude: An International Puzzle. Hello, Sunagakure!


The tavern of Takumi, a town separated from the border between the land of Wind and the land of Rivers by a mere two hours of ninja travel, was filled to the brim with patrons and chatter when Jiraiya walked through its double-panel and iron-trimmed rough hickory wood doors. At the jingling sound of the doorbell, the bartender looked up to find Jiraiya standing with packs on his back and road mud on his pants. He motioned for him to come sit at the bar.

"What ye be needing for the night, good sir?" said the bartender in a coarse rural accent as Jiraiya sat down on the rusty, old stool by the far left, in a spot that left his back facing the wall and gave him a good view of most of the room and the door. It was dinner time, and the tavern was filled with eating, drinking and talking people. In the rightmost corner of the room, there was a band on a raised platform playing, 'All I have in my soul is just rusted kunai' with a single guitarist, a drummer, and a vocalist. They were missing the bassist. Still, the music was good, the mood was up, and the conversations loud. Tonight, the patrons were either business travellers or new settlers, and all they would talk about was either a bright future or some lucrative deals waiting for them on the other side of the border. In the great desert of the Wind, business was booming... or so the rumors said.

A group of twelve sitting around the big round table in the center was discussing the new public announcement made by the key players and spokesperson of Wind a week ago. The government of Wind—said the statement—aided by the honorable ninja of the Village Hidden in the Sand, were to start a nation-wide construction project with the goal of establishing a system of highways spanning the entirety of the Wind nation. This system was to bridge the major trade lines between the nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth and served as the launching platform for a series of deep desert colonies. The news was covered by several reputable media stations as well as TV channels.

To a normal person—for example a school teacher or farmer—this news, while interesting, would not be considered of special importance. Other countries had announced construction projects of similar size and scope before, such as Lightning's expansion campaign into the various archipelagos surrounding its coast line, or Earth's Great Underground Tunnel construction project. However, to any merchants, traders, and entrepreneurs with half a brain between their ears, this seemingly innocuous announcement was nothing short of a starting signal for an epic gold rush.

The land of Wind was famous for its vast, desolate lands. Yet underneath this barren backdrop hid untold riches and opportunities. Rare minerals and metals, precious gems, fossil fuel and natural gases, and more. Wind was the largest nation on the continent—as large as Fire and Earth combined. Yet because of its harsh conditions and food scarcity, it possessed the lowest percentage of colonized area. Over ninety-five percent of Wind was unoccupied, and thus, industrially unproductive. Whereas many other countries had centuries to exploit and drain their natural resources, the massive reservoirs beneath the sand and stones of Wind remained virtually untouched—with the exception of the rims surrounding Sunagakure and its satellite towns of Ogi, Ainokura, Roran and Kaze. It was enough to make any mining magnate drool at the prospects.

And yet… that was not all. Wind was a large country surrounded on all sides by many smaller nations. This kind of change would hardly leave these smaller countries unaffected. The new logistical infrastructure project, beside shattering the barriers that hindered developmental progress inside of Wind, would also open up countless other opportunities.

For example, beyond the vast and desolate expanse of Wind was Yu no Kuni, the land of Steam—a destination previously reached only through months of long sojourn through Wind's treacherous coastal waters. The only other alternative was a collection of land routes through Kaze no Kuni deserts. Compared to the sea routes, these routes were not only much longer, but they were also under the monopoly of Sunagakure and thus carried a weighty toll fee.

Normally such a small and hard to reach country would not figure largely in the minds and maps of merchants and entrepreneurs, but because of its unique geography, buffered between the vast open sea and the desert expanse of Wind, the Land of Steam possessed a unique species of trees—Rahane Vaale Sangamaramar, a.k.a the Living Marble—whose tough and enduring timber made it the ideal material for building top grade sea faring vessels. Because of the difficult and long trade routes between Yu no Kuni and the rest of the continent, fresh Living Marble timber fetched an exorbitant price on the market. No river route traders would ever dream of building ships out of Living Marble, and even most marine traders would think twice before placing an order for a single ship built out of its famously resilient wood.

And yet, only ships built out of Living Marble could withstand journeys from the main continent, through the perilous seas, to the islands of Nagi, O'uzu, and Benisu—where rare materials found nowhere else in the world were in abundance.

"I'm telling you, we need to make a move on. It was so difficult, but luckily our group has obtained the rights to be first settlers in Kaze. We need to establish ourselves by the border and then set up shop and land trade routes with Yu no Kuni," the sharp voice of one among the group rose above the babble of the tavern. The man who made this statement gestured with the beer mug held in one hand. "We were lucky that my cousin could get us the permit ahead of time, but surely I don't need to tell you that we are not the only group looking beyond the border of Wind towards the forest of Yu no Kuni? Once the highways are open for traffic—which won't be long considering the efficiency of Suna nins, I tell you—there will be a stampede of traders and merchants through the land routes towards Yu no Kuni and its Living Marble woods. If we are not established by then, a small group like us will be done in by those bigger fishes with deeper pockets. We cannot let this chance go by dawdling."

"Yes, yes, we have heard plenty about your cousin, Takeo, and how we should make haste for Kaze," another member of the same group rebutted, her soft voice nearly swallowed by the noises in the tavern. "But we've been going as fast as we can. Any faster and we risk exhaustion. As a former citizen of Wind, you of all people should understand the harshness of the desert, shouldn't you? Certainly haste is of the essence, but if our group focuses too much on speed and lose our strength halfway in the desert, what then?" She put down her mug on the table with a clop, as if to make a point. "Sunagakure's desert rescue service is efficient… but expensive. Sunagakure Ninja services are expensive, period. Our group has twelve members, not including the camels. A rescue operation and then medical rehabilitation would drain almost every coin in our pockets. And where would we be then? Stranded in Wind without a penny to our name and no way of establishing the trading company we dreamt of?"

A few other members nodded their heads in agreement with the woman. "Anyhow, they have only just made the announcement last week. The actual desert highway system will take a while to come to fruition even if Sunagakure fields all of its Dotonjutsu specialists. As long as the highway system is not yet in place, we should still have time to establish ourselves. Haste certainly is good, but in this case, it is not of vital importance. You should think carefully, Takeo, before you plunge into action next time." At the end of her statement, the woman shot a look at the man who spoke previously. Her challenge was answered within seconds and just like that the group broke into argument.

They were not the only group in heated discussion. For the night, the tavern was filled to the brim with similar personalities. Yu no Kuni and its suddenly much more accessible timber trees wasn't the only big opportunity chased after by entrepreneurs with big dreams.

Turning his attention away from the tavern patrons, Jiraiya sent a jovial smile towards the bartender.

"One Ikeda, if you have it."

"Coming right up. Our last bottle of the day. Will have to restock tomorrow," replied the bartender as he withdrew a cylindric bottle from beneath the counter and deftly poured Jiraiya a glass.

"Good business?"

"Business ain't never been better!" said the bartender as he put the glass in front of Jiraiya, grinning broadly as he boasted. "Ever since that announcement from Suna came, these folks have been coming to my place nonstop. They looking to get rich 'cross the border. Ain't nobody heading for the border that don't have to come here to ma place for a rest."

Then he asked. "You looking to do the same, my good man? Have some business in the desert perhaps? Or maybe looking for something new and exciting?"

"Nothing exciting I'm afraid," replied Jiraiya in good humor. "I'm just… hmm… meeting up with an old friend is all."

Right on cue, the door to the tavern opened once more to admit another traveller. A woman this time, dressed in an immaculate turquoise kimono in the style currently popular in Kaze no Kuni, a wide-brimmed hat, and a scarf that covered her hair, head, and much of her face. Like Jiraiya, she made a brief scan of the room before her eyes fell on the under cover Konoha nin. They exchanged a smile before the woman turned to addressed the bartender.

"I requested a room in advance under the name Kotomi. Your best room in fact, for this… monsieur and I."

Her voice was soft and melodic, the diction crisp like that of a highborn woman. And as she drew near to wrap one hand around Jiraiya's arm, the scent of expensive perfume wafted gently from her body. With her other hand, she dropped a velvet pouch on the counter top. It made soft clinking sounds as it hit the old, hard wood.

"We're old acquaintances who haven't seen each other in… hmm… a long time… We have a lot to catch up with so, we are not to be disturbed," said the woman softly but clearly. This close, the bartender could see the vermillion mark on her forehead through the thin gossamer veil of her scarf. The mark denoted her status as a married woman, and what could a married woman of some rich noble Kaze no Kuni family be doing out here, in the back end of nowhere, with a strange man? Cogs turned in the bartender's head as his eyes perused the scene before him, the woman clinging to the man and the man with his hand wrapped tightly around her waist. The picture they made couldn't be anymore jarring; she was fine silk and polished pearls and he was ragged cottons and well-worn travelling shoes speckled with road mud. What could they be doing with each other indeed?

The woman must have already guessed what was in the bartender's head for in the next second she smiled sweetly at him, leaned over the counter and said under her breath.

"We would really appreciate your discretion in the matter," she reached out one hand—again, there was that sweet clinking sounds of metal coins rubbing rubbing against each other—then withdrew it. "And we would be pleased to show you our appreciation if you accommodate our needs... if you catch my drift, monsieur."

Indeed. Grinning widely now, the bartender stooped to get the key to the booked room from below the counter, dropped it in front of the intertwined couple and said jovially.

"Yes I do ma'am. Our establishment is dedicated to providing the best quality of service to our clients. You have nothing to worry about, I assure ye." And then to Jiraiya he gave a salacious wink. "Have a great night, ma good man!"

"I sure will, my good man," replied Jiraiya as he led the woman up the stairs to the guestroom.


As soon as the door clicked shut behind them and the silencing ward went up around the room, the woman immediately untangled herself from Jiraiya.

"Aww, what's the matter darling? I was hoping we could keep up the honeybunch act a little longer," said Jiraiya with a smile and wink, one hand over his heart as if wounded by her suddenly cool act. "I've been alone on the road for weeks. I crave the warmth of a woman. Surely you would not deprive the gallant Jiraiya of that, would you?"

"Even if I were tempted—which I'm not mind you," replied the woman, turning around to face him as she peeled off her scarf and haori. "You are rather… fragrant, Jiraiya-danna. Have you washed at all this week? 'Gallant' is not how I would describe you right now."

Sitting down on the chair and table set in the middle of the room, she withdrew six scrolls from the voluminous folds of her Irotomesode kimono, laid them out on the table, then beckoned Jiraiya with one pale, slender hand. "Now, because neither you nor I have much time to waste, let's get to business shall we? Much as I prefer a little entertainment here and there, I would rather leave this place as quickly as I can."

"Always so business-minded, you break my heart my dear… what is your name this time again? Oh yes, Kotomi. Classic old school name. I love it," said Jiraiya as he sat down on the other side of the table, his eyes going over the scrolls. "Now, what do you have for me?"

"That depends… on how deep the wallet of Konohagakure is…"

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Saito Yositatsu, firstborn son of a normal civilian family of Shiraru-Daichi—a satellite city to the capital of Kaze no Kuni. He was born a healthy baby boy weighing a nice 3.22 kg. Saito's parents were successful merchants with shops located in the Kaze capital itself. This financial stability meant that Saito received one of the best educations available to civilian-born children of any Elemental country. He performed well in school, was popular with his yearmates and often praised by his teachers as an impeccably well-mannered boy. His parents, understably, was quite proud of their perfect little boy and sole heir to the family business. For all intents and purposes, Saito Yositatsu seemed ordained for an easy life, that was… until he hit sixteen years old. An incident involving a classmate behind the school shed on Saito's sixteenth birthday led the boy to a startling revelation.

Saito didn't feel like a boy at all.

He managed to keep this revelation a secret for about three and a half month before his parents discovered him fooling around with the schoolmate in his mother's frock dress in an old stockroom. The event shocked the small middle-class family to the core. After the shock, Saito's parents—being staunch traditionalists and possessing grand dreams of marrying into a noble family through their progeny—issued their only son an ultimatum. Behave as he was born, or he was no son of theirs.

Two days later, Saito Yositatsu left his childhood home in the middle of the night, never to return again. From that day forth, he reinvented himself as Saigo no Tsubone, the daughter of a minor merchant family struggling with the possibility of bankruptcy. Under this new identity and for the first time in her life, Saigo was free to live as her heart desired. Because she left her parent's house with almost nothing, the newborn Saigo subsequently had to sell herself to a Kagema Geisha house catering to a particular type of 'niche clientele' in the neighboring Gokayama city. It was in this house that she was christened a Kagema Maiko. Because of her parent's exhaustive education and training in preparation for marrying their son off to a noble house, the young Saigo proved to be especially gifted in the art of conversations and entertaining men and women of lofty positions.

Because of the unique fluidity of her gender and sexuality, Saigo was able to traverse in the company of men and women alike and easily passed herself under the various personae she created. Before long, she climbed through the ranks from mere Maiko to Koshi, to Tenjin, and then finally to the highest rank of the Geisha world—the Tayu of the house. It was then that she started employing other skills imparted to her through her parent's education—networking, seducing, and extracting nuggets of information from mere rumors. A decade later, Saigo started to establish herself as one among the major truly neutral information brokers in Kaze no Kuni territory. Today, under various aliases, Saigo of Tsubone was considered one among the three most influential information brokers in the tri-territory of Fire, Wind and Earth. This famed personality in the world of ninja was now currently sitting in front of Jiraiya under the name Kotomi.

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Laying a hand on one of the scrolls, Jiraiya said jovially. "Don't be so distant, my dear. The Hidden Leaf has always been a good client to you, hasn't it? Do you have reasons to believe we will hold back the coin on good intel? Besides which…"

He spread open the first scroll, skimmed it. The information inside was on the planned projects under the Crown of Kaze no Kuni and the village of Hidden Sand. It confirmed what he already knew.

"... word is, that there has been a lot of interesting activities in the territory of our good neighbor, Sunagakure no Sato."

"Indeed, there has," concurred Saigo, waiting patiently as Jiraiya perused the content of the scrolls.

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Similar to the world of ninja, information traders had ranks and societies of their own. At the lowest rank were mere runners and droppers. The intermediate rank consisted of local informers who stayed fixed in cleanly organized territories and put their ears and eyes to good uses. And then, at the highest rank were information brokers such as Saigo, who had built themselves into the epicenters of intricately woven networks of contacts, informants and patrons. The information these brokers dealt with was truly massive in scope and volume, and ranged from mere court whispers to elaborate documents taken from militaristic institutions such as Hidden Villages.

Naturally, the existence of private informant groups and brokers like these was seen as a potential threat to Hidden Villages. But as much as they were potential threats, these brokers could also be great assets and allies to Villages and Nations close to their base. Intelligence work was notoriously expensive in both time and resources. In this day and age—where many Hidden Villages acted more as the substitute army and special service force of a nation—many minor villages did not have the resources to keep up a full size in-house intelligence division, which in turn made the assistance of information brokers and their personal networks invaluable. The five great Hidden Villages obviously had their own full-fledged intelligence division, but even to these giants of the ninja world, the assistance of third party brokers could still be very useful—even vital in cases that required them to stretch beyond their established territory. Outsourcing non-strategic intelligence work in outlier territories to private specialist groups had proved time and again to be the more economical choice. Besides which, major information brokers had political backers of their own. A Hidden Village might have the power to remove a broker from his or her seat of power but dealing with the fallout caused by these backers after the deed was done was the real troublesome part… especially when these backers could also be village patrons.

As a result of this unique combination of threats and assets, the relationship between major brokers and Hidden Villages such as Konoha or Suna was oftentimes quite complicated. To maintain a stable long-term business, the majority of informant groups had established codes of conduct or pacts of conditional cooperation with the villages whose territory they were based in. A much smaller minority of brokers, on the other hand, avoided conflicts of interest by maintaining a neutral stance towards all parties seeking their services. Obviously, this neutrality was only possible through the presence of very strong backers behind them as well as their base of operation being in areas where the territories of different villages overlapped.

Saigo no Tsubone belonged to this second group of brokers. With the support of several dannas at her back, the mistress of Gokayama Kagema Redlight neighborhood promised total neutrality as well as discretion on the identity of her clients. This was the key to her rise to prominence within only two decades and no 'family' behind her. Information coming from neutral informants always fetched a much higher price than those coming from groups rumored to be affiliated with one or several villages for the simple reason that it had a far lesser chance of being 'contaminated' by 'conflicts of interests'.

Saigo's specialty was any and all information that passed through the noble courts of Kaze no Kuni, Tani-Ichimai, and Gokayama; the bulk of this being microeconomic intel, market movements and impending governmental decrees of varying scopes and impacts. For the last seven years, Konohagakure had used her services as a way to maintain surveillance on the general state of affair of Sunagakure economy and financial strength as a village. They had their own intelligence of course but it was simply prudent to have an outside source as supplementing and verifying measures. If the Konohagakure intelligence team in charge of Suna was doing their job right, then the information in these scrolls should match up with their report.

As he predicted, about eighty percent of it was a match, with Saigo's report being a bit more detailed and localized than the Konoha-based team. The twenty percent that wasn't a match on the other hand…

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"Interesting," remarked Jiraiya as he read the content of the fifth scroll. "So they want to build not only a transnational highway system…"

"... but also a railway grid covering all of Kaze no Kuni itself and even branching into a few of the vassal countries," Saigo finished Jiraiya's sentence for him. There was a gleam on her face, gone in a second. Of course, such news was big for brokers like Saigo, and big news tended to translate to big sales.

"This is quite the ambitious plan. If it succeeds…" He let it hang there as he read, quietly going through numbers and scenarios in his mind.

"When it succeeds," Saigo continued in his place, substituting his conditional 'if' with her assured 'when'. "It will completely transform Kaze no Kuni."

"You sound confident that they will succeed. This is a grand plan, my dear. A pipe dream, some would say, for a village down on hard times like our friends in the desert."

It was very grand indeed. Railway technology had existed for a little more than a decade but few countries had been able to put it to practice on a national scale, and not for a lack of trying. The advantages of establishing a railroad grid covering one's entire country were immediately apparent. If a transnational highway system would eventually translate to a tremendous boost to a country's economy, then a railroad grid would completely remake that nation altogether. It had too many uses. It would be the backbone of a whole slew of new and old heavy industries. It would streamline the country and village's supply lines. It would bolster security by aiding in quick transporting of troops and assets. It would attract new, young labor by way of easy immigration channels. Everything that a country needed for growth and expansion, a national railroad grid provided.

And yet, despite the obvious benefits, there were but a handful of countries that had succeeded in realizing this vision, and only then, only small countries with grids of modest scales. The largest nation to have a fully realized railway system, Yuki no Kuni, was not even a tenth of any of the major nation's sizes and their population only a bit more than the population of Konohagakure, itself only a village of moderate size compared to other major cities in Hi no Kuni.

A full-fledged railway system simply cost too much, in both raw resources and manpower. And even when a complete system was successfully built, its owner would then have to regularly defend it from hazards, both natural and manmade. Fixed rail lines bearing cargo and riches made very tempting targets for robbers, bandits, highwaymen and every other shade of criminals out there. It didn't take a lot to stop a train. An earth jutsu. Not even an A rank. A B rank with a hefty dose of extra chakra behind it was all that was needed. Failing that, an explosive charge would also do. For a country like Sunagakure, which was magnitudes greater in size than Yuki no Kuni and so much closer to Iwagakure—where doton jutsu users grew on trees and there existed an entire clan of Explosion Release users—to attempt the same… it was sheer madness…

...Or was it?

"Oh I am very confident, Jiraiya-danna," said Saigo with a smile. "It is no pipe dream. They will do it. Even more, they will do it within just three years."

"You said this plan was proposed by Sunagakure to the Wind Daimyo, did you not? And this is to be a joint project between the crown of Kaze no Kuni and the Hidden Village?"

"I certainly did, danna."

"I see. The current Kazekage is an astute one, isn't he?"

"That he is."

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Jiraiya remembered the fellow. Rasa of the Magnet Release. They had met during the Third Ninja World War when Chiyo of Sunagakure started tinkering with the water upstream of Fire and Rain. He was but a jounin then, young and eager to prove himself; especially vicious too, since that time was right after the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, his elder brother. He had possessed a somewhat lean and mean look about him. Suna nins were typically built like that—wiry, built more for endurance than sheer power, built for outlasting opponents in the deep of the desert where every battle was as much against nature as it was against other humans. Tsunade would call it a swimmer's physique but there was no place for a swim in that dusty country. Climbing maybe, but no swimming there unless one fancied a dip in their infamous quicksand lakes.

"Watch out for poison," Tsunade had said in prep time before they made an assault on a strategic location within Suna territory. "You're so obviously built for power. A smart suna nin won't take you head-on but look to sap your strength over time before coming in for an easy kill. Poison is just perfect for that, and those Sandy boys can be terribly creative with theirs. Call it an art even. I really wouldn't want to see their art first hand," she speared him with a look. "Or secondhand."

They had clashed over several oases and chokepoints on strategic supply lines—and just as Tsunade warned him, there had been poison, a whole lot of it, and nasty uses of wind jutsu too. But there was no major fighting, at least not with the Rasa of Sunagakure, not until Kiri crashed the party and made what had been a fairly contained string of skirmishes into an epic free-for-all battle royale.

The magnet release of that clan had been a real pain to deal with for the weapon specialists, but a boon once war had passed and peace brought with it merchants and craftsmen in need of a little ninja magic. That bloodline was the sole reason why Kumo and Suna shared an oligopoly over the international metal and mining market.

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Yes, he could see it now. The numbers might be unthinkable for any other ninja nations, but Suna was one of the two ninja villages with an unusually large concentration of Magnet Release users. The majority of the bloodline bearers had nowhere near the power nor finesse of the current Kazekage or the one previous to him, but for industrial uses, they wouldn't need that level of power and finesse anyway. Yes, he could see it. They would need several teams of Magnet Release users dedicated to supplying the project. Three teams of ten, each one for one of the three major mining pits within Suna territory. If they used open-pit mining, they could even supplement Magnet Release users with run-of-the-mill Doton jutsu specialists. Their progress and production would be magnitudes more than what a purely civilian operation would be capable of.

Since the railway was made of metal, once the building was complete and operation started, dedicated Magnet Release teams could easily modify rail lines on the go with their control over metal, thus solving the security issues with fixed rail lines being easy targets. It was a lot of work, but Suna, until half a year ago, had been facing an alarmingly shrinking number of jobs for their working ninja population. Jiraiya had heard rumors of perfectly capable chuunin and even one or two jounin slipping into months of unemployment, sometimes even years. He had heard of some going homeless and forced to rely on state welfare to make ends meet and wasn't that a sad fate for warriors who had trained since birth to do their job for their nation?

The kind of enormous workload that came with a fully operating state-sponsored transnational railway system, while an unbearable burden for other villages, would be a boon to them right now. Two birds with one stone. Publicly, the Kazekage could claim to spearhead this project for the good of the nation and win some more good press for the village. In private, he would have won several thousand new and very well paid jobs over the span of years for his people.

So, now that questions regarding supplies, security and feasibility had been adequately answered, the one major issue left was…

"And the funding?" asked Jiraiya. "A project this big would easily cost billions. This is going to come straight out of Kaze no Kuni national coffer?"

"Indeed, it will. The daimyo himself signed on it."

"Just how the hell did the Kazekage make him do that?"

The Wind Daimyo, despite being the richest man of Kaze and owning pretty much all the oil rigs in Kaze no Kuni, was a notorious cheapskate. His penny pinching habit was so bad that he foolishly compromised the security of his nation by outsourcing vital tasks to the cheaper ninja of Konohagakure. No other Hidden Villages would suffer such an insult to their dedication and loyalty, but because of the low productivity of the land and the crown's chokehold of oil drilling, Sunagakure was especially dependent on its Daimyo for financial stability and so had to grit their teeth and suffer the slight in silence. For such a man, agreeing to fund a project like this would be painful on the same level as selling his firstborn. If the Kazekage had somehow persuaded such a man to give up that kind of money, then he was far more wily and determined than Jiraiya gave him credit for.

On the other side of the table, Saigo smiled, poured herself a cup from a chilled Sake bottle before leisurely sipping from it.

"Word is, the Daimyo himself hurried to attend this year Maharra in Sunagakure. They didn't send an invitation. He had to ask for it."

"Truly?"

"Oh yes, he was very meek about it too," replied Saigo. She was taking obvious pleasure from this sudden 180 in Kaze no Kuni politics that unfolded. It seemed the wind daimyo hadn't offended just his ninja with his scroogy ways. "Said he was looking to rekindle the fire of their friendship, deepen the ties between the people of Kaze and the shinobi of Suna, bring prosperity to both of their peoples. The usual lip work, as you well know."

"How things have changed," commented Jiraiya with not a little bit of derisive humor in his tone. As far as Jiraiya knew, the Wind Daimyo and the current Kazekage hadn't even talked face to face for the last five years. He didn't know a lot of people in the ninja world who genuinely liked the Wind daimyo. Sure Konoha was benefiting from his imprudent decisions, but one could not help but imagine oneself in the place of Suna nins. Bad rulers were generally not very well liked by ninja who tended to die in droves for nonsensical reasons while under their reign.

"Indeed they have," Saigo took another sip from her cup before continuing on. "After the ceremony of the first day, there was tough talk between the two. Apparently Sunagakure had been seeing great changes. They have become… shall we say… far less dependent on coins from the crown and far more committed to bolstering their village's power, and that made the crown very nervous as to where they stood with each other."

Jiraiya supposed they would. It was common sense to not bite the hand that fed one but when the aforementioned hand was no longer feeding, what then? Kaze no Kuni had its own standing army of course but that army had not seen a single conflict in the last 100 years. It was shinobi's blood that flowed in the last century and it was from that blood that bloomed the peace that Kaze no Kuni civilians enjoyed. Having an autonomous militaristic state inside one's own country was only wise so long as one could control that autonomous state with a sturdy financial leash. If that leash was no longer working…

"Their conversations must have been delightful," commented Jiraiya. Not that the crown of Kaze no Kuni didn't have it coming. They had been slighting their own warriors for years, making one stupid mistake after another, and leaving their ninja to deal with the messy aftermath.

"Delightful to hear, yes. But not so delightful to those doing the talking," said Saigo. "Word is, it was going nowhere for the first five days. The Daimyo was too nervous… and too used to the status quo to start on tackling their new dynamic. The Kazekage was too… set on creating radical changes to tolerate the usual capitalistic nonsense."

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After the Third Ninja World War, there were bets abound that the village Hidden in the Sand would soon either collapse into itself or crumble down and become a minor village, one of the many on this continent. Their streak of bad luck had held ever since the Second War. Their strength, assets and resources had been bleeding freely since the Second War and the unsuccessful project to resurrect their local ecosystem. But in the end, it was the Third War that put the nail to the coffin. They had lost their Third Kazekage, supposedly the strongest warrior they had ever produced. He didn't even make it to their main fighting. Rumor was that the man was kidnapped en route while heading to a tertiary outpost near the border. They never even found the corpse… if there was enough of it left to be found. Their military was devastated, their famed puppeteer corp reduced to a handful of shell-shocked survivors. One had even deserted, turned rogue in the middle of fighting, massacring his own team before taking off to who knew where. Something of the Red Sand. Sasu, Sosu-something. On top of that, they had emerged the loser from a World War and that meant enormous war reparations, crippling economic sanctions, and the cold shoulder from their own royal court. They had lost the majority of their political holdings and had to give up their share of international commissions from wealthy merchants and clients. There was no way they were going to be able to support their dead, their wounded, their veterans and the leftover families after the war with only the paltry income of domestic commission works. For all intents and purposes, Sunagakure looked to be counting its final days right after the end of the Third Ninja World War.

Konoha was poised to absorb the remains into themselves, poised to annex their unfortunate neighbor. It was either that or let Iwagakure take over the power vacuum uncontested. The Council was ready. Danzo was sharpening his fangs and readying his cohorts. And then…

… And then news of the Golden Fourth Kazekage arrived. Magnet Release used to extract gold from deep mines. It sounded ridiculous mainly because gold wasn't a ferromagnetic metal. By the law of physics, it should not have been possible to magnet pull gold from mines miles deep underground. It wasn't even a matter of chakra quantity or quality, simply a characteristic inherent to the metal and magnetism science. But apparently some ninjutsu genius had made a technical breakthrough and luckily for Sunagakure, that genius just so happened to be their brand new Kazekage.

"It's the younger brother," Jiraiya remembered Orochimaru informing him of the newly instated Kazekage. "Apparently that brat that once followed in his elder brother's shadow is actually quite the resourceful fellow himself. It looks like we won't have our own desert division after all. Danzo-san will be heartbroken." Well, Danzo might be heartbroken, but Jiraiya was pretty sure Sarutobi-sensei only felt relief. The extra territory and clients would be very nice, but he couldn't imagine Iwagakure would let Konoha come in uncontested. The region right after the Third War was already unstable enough, the land ravaged, the ground dyed red with the blood of their young, some of them not even out of academy. They really didn't need another war to follow in the wake of the Third.

The new income from the gold mines had successfully pulled the village from the brink of bankruptcy but the efforts of a single person, even when that person was a genius in his own right, only went so far. Sunagakure might have avoided dissolution, but the village still languished in the results of a bad economy and back-to-back recessions for years while their neighbor villages gradually regained their pre-war strength and status. A slow decay was preferable to a quick implosion, but not by much. Death was still death whether it came quick or slow. Jiraiya could well imagine that if anyone wanted radical changes in their village, it would be the current Kazekage.

The Kazekage and the Daimyo in the same room after years of passive aggressive mail correspondences. The latter nervous with this sudden change in the balance of power, but still sure enough in his status as daimyo to be offended. The former brimming with restrained resentment and the need to incite change for the good of his people. It must have been a fun show. Jiraiya wished he could be a fly on that wall.

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"Really now?" said Jiraiya, pouring himself a cup of chilled sake as Saigo told the story with relish. "And just how did 'going nowhere' arrive at 'ballsy national project that will change the rules of the game itself'?"

"Some say that Kazekage-dono lost patience," replied Saigo. "Or it was the Daimyo who lost the assurance that he still had perfect control over an army of assassins, merely two days travel from his own bedroom? Oh, who knows?" she sighed theatrically, raising her cup to her mouth. She had on the perfect courtesan's coquettish face. She relished in this kind of work and something as juicy as this gave her even more pleasure. "It is but a trifling detail. Anyways, the proposals for both the highway and railway systems came up on the sixth day…"

"Let me guess, the daimyo balked."

"He did," said Saigo with a self-satisfied smile. At that moment she looked very much like the cat that had gotten the canary. "For about ten seconds. Then Kazekage-dono brandished his brand new political chip. Daimyo-dono capitulated. He capitulated, hard."

"Ah," commented Jiraiya. "The Miko."

"The Miko," repeated Saigo.

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Now there was a word that had been following Jiraiya of late. It was not either a name nor an official title. From what he knew, the word came from… some sort of obscure old language among the hundred tribal languages that had died out centuries ago in the desert of Kaze no Kuni. It meant priestess, priest… or something along those lines. For the past half year, it had been making repeated appearances in Jiraiya's ledgers… as the eye of a proverbial storm of activities. The supply of food was a one-of-a-kind beast in Kaze no Kuni and had its own politics.

It had to be with the kind of dead land those people had to live with. Every ten years or so, somebody would come up with some new "miracle", like self-multiplying food, edible clay, or similar idiocy. Sometimes, people would be desperate enough to believe in it, or not. Once in a long while, the government would feel enough pressure from public to do something about it. The results of their attempts to "do something about it" varied. There were a few moderate successes like the underground channels that eased the water stress of the central region, but most tended to fizzle out and fade pretty quickly. So, when rumors of yet another "miracle" surfaced in Sunagakure, nobody sat up and took notes. Everyone had expected it to blow over soon, in a month or maybe two at the outside, three months top. Then, out of nowhere, Sunagakure had pulled out of all of their supply contracts with food merchants from Ta, Na, and An no Kuni.

Jiraiya hadn't even heard about it until months later. Apparently neither side had wanted the end of their business relationship advertised. Sunagakure for obvious reasons and the merchants because they didn't want anybody finding out that Suna had discovered the key to quick and extremely cheap food production even in the middle of a desert. It wasn't until the farmers in the big three food production nations—An, Ta, and Na no Kuni—started complaining about the unreasonable decrease in profits from their sales to go-between merchants, did the international market find out. After that, there were a lot of fluctuations. The market went completely haywire for about a month as town after town in Kaze no Kuni followed the example of Sunagakure and cut their contracts with food sellers, turning to their fellow countrymen for heavily subsidized fresh produce.

'Fresh from farms and as good as free' stated the advertisement leaflets from one of the many go-between courier businesses that had sprung up like mushrooms following a summer rain once news hit the rest of the world about the free food stuffs from Suna. Suna-based courier businesses became a big hit, for while admission to the civilian level farms were free for all, not everybody had the time or energy to go foraging every day for fresh lettuce and tomatoes. Jiraiya remembered his incredulity over that piece of news. Fresh from the farms? What farms?! Sunagakure was built on dead land. That was fact as the sun going up from the east every morning was fact. But apparently while Jiraiya wasn't looking, somebody had gone and changed that because the trade numbers coming out of the Kaze no Kuni ledger books couldn't be faked… at least not on such a massive scale.

That event was the starting point of an international stampede for information. Immediately, everyone with either political or economic interests on the continent started digging for the truth behind what, exactly, had happened. Whatever it was, it had originated from Sunagakure—a ninja village—and so it had to have something to do with the ninja arts, be it experimental ninjutsu or seal work. It was already a huge economic disruption so it got the notice of nearly all the big merchants and daimyo with sharp business acumen. And since it undoubtedly had something to do with ninja, it also got on the radar of the Hidden Villages. That was when the world had first heard of 'The Miko'.

Now here was the part in which things became confusing because nobody was quite sure what 'The Miko' was. Apparently the title used—which was so archaic that no-one but the uppermost echelons of Sunagakure even knew what it meant anymore—was a deliberate move meant to confuse and complicate matters.

Counter intelligence is thick, said the head of Konoha's Sunagakure surveillance team. It didn't take a genius to figure out that whatever this 'Miko' was, it was a boon to Suna… as well as a major tactical weak point. Hitting the supply lines before anything else had always been a tried and tested tactic in warfare, and this 'Miko' had become the single source of food production in Suna. In other words, a big bullseye with extra red flags for bonus points on it. If a war were to break out and if Suna were involved, Jiraiya bet his outstanding tabs at all the brothels in Hi no Kuni that everybody and their mothers would be gunning for 'the Miko' before the cry of war had even left the throat of the instigator. It was a good thing that now was a time of peace, or the absolute chaos in that first month of discovery would have been so much more troublesome.

Of course the leaders of Sunagakure knew that, and while everybody else was busy thinking this was just another run-of-the-mill, made-in-desperado sham of a miracle, they had taken great pains to prepare a veritable forest of false leads and misdirections. The usual approach when one possessed a critical technological edge over one's competitors was to hide every relevant detail. This time around, the leaders of Suna had gone the exact opposite and flooded every intelligence channel with information, most of it junk.

Around the two and a half month mark from the ground zero of that whole 'Miko' business, Jiraiya had dropped in on the Sunagakure surveillance team in Konoha's Intelligence headquarters, just to see how they were doing, and if anybody had made progress on data analysis. (Also, Mira-chan of the analysis team had a hot bod for a mother of two. She was cold as they came, but Jiraiya could be very persistent.) They hadn't. When he came in, the entire room, all eight-hundred square feet of it, was filled… no… flooded almost top to bottom with documents and paper reports on the Suna situation. And standing amidst this white, papery flood and screaming at the top of their voices at each other were no other than Suna surveillance team lead Ashikasa Yoshira and his sub Nene Ojite.

"The MAJORITY of Suna citizens believe the Miko to be a young woman with either a first generation Kekkei Genkei or Hiden. We have records from eye witnesses…" screamed Ashikasa.

"With all due respect, taichou, the majority of Suna citizens know SHIT about state secrets," shrieked Nene in reply. "A third of them still believe her to be the physical manifestation of a desert spirit for Great Sage's sake! And witness records can be falsified! Genjutsu! Mind manipulation! Hypnosis! Binding Seals! The guys from Interrogation and Sabotage did it all the FUCKING time!"

"It's a possibility!" argued Ashikasa while holding reams of paper, likely his own dissection of the 'Physical Spirit Theory'. "She was said to be a mute! And there were those reports from sensor agents of abnormal chakra activities around area she was said to have appeared in, in the trees she planted. She may be an entity similar to the summoned clans! Like… like a human shaped summon! The possibility is not zero."

"Bullshit! Ain't nothing like a human-shaped summon out there." Nene was going red in the face. She looked about a second away from taking Ashikasa's thesis from his hands and rendered it to shreds. "That goes against every known law of summon-human relations since the founding day of ninjutsu and you know it! That's just your nerdy tendency speaking! You just love the idea that there's an entire clan of summonable pretty girls out there! I know the kind of dirty magazines you keep in your locker Ashibaka! You think you can hide from me? Your best tracker?"

"Then how do you explain the no chakra pathway thing?!" Ashikasa threw back while pushing yet another document, this one with the Hyuuga crest on it, denoting it as the report of a Hyuuga scout. "She didn't register on Byakugan vision at all! Granted he was standing twenty miles out from the gate of Suna but everybody around her registered just fine. All humans have chakra pathways. Even the ones born with defective pathways still have something. But she has nothing. She does not register in the Byakugan vision-at-all! That's proof that she's something not human. She's supernatural!"

"The hell it does!" Nene parried back. "If anything, that proves my theory that the Miko is not actually a person at all but a puppet! A tool created by the leaders of Sunagakure to manipulate their own people!"

"Oh great sage, not this drivel again…"

"It's not drivel!" Nene protested. "I've got proof!"

"Baseless conjectures you mean?"

"They are not baseless! This is Sunagakure we are talking about. They invented puppetry! If anybody can make a puppet realistic enough to pass for a person, it would be a Sunagakure ninja. Just listen to me!

"I'm hearing nothing but nonsensical yak…"

"Shut up and listen to me! Those Suna folks, they've got more problems than just overpriced rice and potatoes. Their people are fucking nihilists. They lost two fucking World Wars one after another. Their Daimyo is a shit ruler. Their Kage is a cranky miser who fucked up his own son and wife for a loose cannon of a demon. They ain't got no jobs! Their veterans are out on the streets and on state support! Their unemployment rate is going up the roof and their morale down the gutters. A whole bunch of free potatoes ain't gonna solve their problems! They need hope! They need a figure to believe in! A hero! A saint! And their Kage ain't gonna be that person. He's too fucking bloodied already. And what's better at that than semi-divine figure who also appears like an innocent young pretty girl who is secretly a puppet?"

"You see conspiracies everywhere Nene! Not every governing body is that crafty. Majority of them are actually rather stupid and corrupted."

"That doesn't mean I'm not right!"

"Uhh… guys…" spoke up the coding specialist of the team, one Yoriie Tomoto. "I still think my theory that the Miko is actually an alien priestess from another world with alien priestess power getting lost in the time-space continuum and accidentally dropping at the gate of Sunagakure is the right track…"

"Shut up, Yoriie! This ain't one of your fanfictions!"

Sometimes, too much information was a problem. And that was before the Miko-worshipping cults sprang into existence, adding more misinformation and false evidence in the pile. After a while, there was talk of partnering up with other villages to attempt to cut through the intel blockade, which did make a sort of sense in Jiraiya's book. The surveillance team in Konoha was not the only party having problems with the shin-deep false rumor crap coming out of Suna. There were teams from other villages around the area as well—Iwa of course, and Kumo, even a team from Grass, and hired help from all the countries whose merchants Suna pissed off by severing business relations—and occasionally they ran into each other while sniffing the same false trails planted by Sunagakure's counter-intelligence division.

Make a temporary truce, pool your resources and share the fruits of success. Made perfect sense in Jiraiya's book. Except… apparently Sunagakure had thought about that as well, because around the time when the various teams from different countries were making contact with each other, they started rolling out… the baits.

Body doubles. An entire squad. For weeks, they played hide and seek, luring out overzealous agents made impatient with the lack of progress, then bagging them with traps laid out beforehand. In between such baits and traps, entire teams of Sand ANBU ran interference, causing scouting and infiltration teams from different nations to trip up on each other.

The upside of having a chunk of your workforce without jobs was that you didn't lack for bodies to throw at a problem. Sunagakure took perfect advantage of that. They threw every ninja out of duty they had at counter-intelligence and interference and ruthlessly exploited their home field advantage. Eventually, even the most stubborn teams started having second thoughts. This operation was taking up too many resources and manpower. Captured agents, if not killed outright, could become liabilities. Sunagakure was making this painfully costly for every party with their nose in its business this time around, and all for a purely economic trade secret. 'The Miko' had certainly become a critical keystone in Sunagakure's security, that much was true. But what was also true was the Hidden Village's largely militaristic natures. Their interest in scouting intelligence on the Sunagakure Miko was to acquire insurance in the case of future wars. They had no interest in kickstarting a war right now by poking too hard nor to spend more than the information was worth.

At one point, various nations started deeming the gain of this Miko business to be of lesser value than what they were paying. Their resources were better used elsewhere, especially when worrying activities were kicking up in other parts of the world; the revolution and brand new Mizukage in Kiri for example, or the political coup happening right then in Ta no Kuni—a strategically placed country with borders pressed against not only Hi no Kuni but also Tsuchi and Kaminari no Kuni. Gradually, the case of Sunagakure's miracle started losing heat and priority in the intelligence divisions of various countries…

… until a new development surfaced about a month ago.

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"Anything new on that one?" Jiraiya asked. He wasn't expecting anything out of Saigo. That case had gone cold for months and that was a lifetime in ninja espionage business. The Miko was now used as a political chip by the Kazekage. Of course, but only in that country could she—or it, if Nene was right—could be used in that way. When one's village became the new supplier of an entire nation, including much of the noble class, then one had weight to throw around, especially when combined with one's growing financial independence from the crown. It must be a tough place for the Daimyo right now, to see his control on his ninja army slipping. These transnational projects were probably the only way he could keep his control from evaporating completely. These were clearly in Sunagakure's favor but in the end, these projects—both the transnational highways and railroad system—would tie the village that much tighter to the crown.

But… that was just ties to the crown, not the Daimyo. Who knew? The way Kaze no Kuni politics was going, it wouldn't be unimaginable for there to be a new Daimyo in a year or two.

The din beneath them, in the tavern's diner where new settlers dined and drank and made merry, was dying down. Night had arrived and with it the exhaustion of the day. Jiraiya could hear heavy feet going up the stairs, down the corridors, then into rooms. He heard the sounds of doors closing. From beyond the window of their room, the moon was high and bright and drew a sickle on the skies. From its position, Jiraiya calculated the time to be well over midnight by now. Their talk was turning out longer than he thought it would be.

"We know her name now. Kagome, Higurashi. Pretty girl. Long black hair, pale skin, a little petite. Supposedly the single survivor of a deep desert dwelling clan. Official records say the clan was involved in developing experimental Hiden jutsu and it backfired… hard. The girl didn't survive unscathed. Whatever it was that killed her family had scrambled her brain so purportedly she's a little..." Saigo made a little motion at her temple. "... coo coo in the head. At least, that is what the official records Sunagakure relinquished to its royal court say."

Which meant it accounted for squat. Sunagakure trusted its court about as far as it trusted its own child Jinchuuriki. Not a lot… almost not at all.

"The name doesn't ring a bell," said Jiraiya."There's no Higurashi clan in Sunagakure. There's no Higurashi clan in Kaze no Kuni, as far as I know." Kaze had archaic rules when it came to family names. They followed the outdated system where only certain castes in society were allowed surnames: the royal family, the nobility, the warrior class—mainly Samurai and Onna-Bugeisha. Sunagakure ninja, despite their contribution to lasting peace in Kaze no Kuni in the last 100 years, was still regarded by the court as 'commoners' and so most of them lacked a surname. The Kazekage clan had once been granted the use of a surname in honor of their high office but declined to stand in solidarity with the majority of their people. But… the girl could have been an immigrant, perhaps first or second generation… or it could be a codename granted by the village if the records about the family developing experimental Hiden jutsu were true. There were plenty ninja clans out there who had gained their family name by way of their jutsu creations. Konoha's own Inuzuka and Aburame clans were fine examples.

"How is it written?"

Instead of answering, Saigo merely took up a pen and a piece of paper and proceeded to demonstrate. She wrote the girl's given name first. The script used was strange to say the least, archaic… but not quite. A warped version of incredibly old Kanji and Sogana. Who named this girl?

"Kagome, the basket weave, or… the bird cage. Hmm…"

"It can also be read as 'Lost'"

Then she wrote the family name. Again, it was the same warped script. Half archaic, half… alien.

"Higurashi. Sunset?" Combined together, the name read…

"The evening star?"

"Or the lost sunset."

That was a pretty name but somehow that felt like even more diversions. Suppressing a sigh, Jiraiya proceeded to commit this new piece of information to his head. It didn't feel like it would be useful, but it was still a possible lead.

"I guess that's that," he said, then stopped all of a sudden. Across the table, Saigo had gone quiet suddenly. A coquettish smile spread across her face. The smile sent tingles up Jiraiya's fingers.

No way…

"You found something," he stated with not a shred of doubt in his voice. "You found something big."

"I don't know about that, Jiraiya-danna." She was playing coy now as she withdrew yet another scroll from the voluminous folds of her elaborate kimono, this one slim and held shut with a seal, a rather fancy one too. "It may be nothing. You know how this trade is sometimes. Some information doesn't stand the test of time, so… if you don't use it quick… it may… expire. Who knows for sure?"

"How much does it cost?" Jiraiya beat to the bush. It might be nothing, but Saigo was a very good broker. Rare indeed was the time that her information was rendered worthless.

She mouthed a figure that sent Jiraiya's eyebrows flying into his hairline.

"You are asking for a lot." She wasn't asking for a just a year's worth of jounin pay. She was asking for a year's worth of pay for all the jounin in Konoha. "How do I know if the information is worth the price?"

"How about a sample?" said Saigo as she brandished a piece of paper.

"You came prepared," commented Jiraiya as he received the paper from her then read it. He grew quiet, his head heavy with thoughts. This was… Shock was not strong enough a descriptor to fully communicate across what Jiraiya was feeling now.

"So, what say you, Jiraiya-danna? Is it worth the asking price?"

It was. But there was no way the Council would clear him for that enormous an amount. And even if they would, all that bureaucratic red tapes meant it would take time. On the other hand, this information was pivotal, especially in light of the new situation that had risen but a month ago.

"You are a good broker," he hedged instead, laying the paper down on the worn wood table. He tried very hard to keep his hand from shaking. It would not do to reveal to an information broker the wonderful revelation Jiraiya had just had.

"Damn good," she corrected him. "But you don't have the funds for the full deal, do you? Or you would not be sweet talking me right now."

"Astute too," he responded with a congenial smile, unruffled by her rib. Saigo was good among the information brokers. She was straightforward and rarely tried to cheat her clients out of their hard-earned money, unlike some others he would rather not name. But that only made it that much harder to trick valuable intel out of her. Because she did not favor underhanded tactics, she presented no opening for Jiraiya to take, which meant there was only one other course of action open to him.

"How about an exchange of information?"

If you wanted information, you needed to give information. It was the most basic rule, not that many in the business actually remembered that.

"The possibility is… interesting," came Saigo's reply. "How do I know the information is worth the price?"

"How about a sample?" Jiraiya returned in kind. He flipped the paper he took from Saigo, took out his own pen, then wrote three words on it.

Sunagakure Super Weapon

Then he pushed the paper back to its owner. Saigo spared a glance at it, froze, doubled back again as if she didn't quite believe in her eyes the first time, froze again but a little softer this time, and then, very slowly, she turned back to Jiraiya who smiled at her impishly.

"What say you, Saigo no Tsubone? Is it worth the asking price?"

Silence, then…

"Maybe it is…"

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This was not their first information exchange. In the past, such transactions had taken place before. Saigo prefered cash, but particular intel demanded alternative payments, which meant they knew the way to go about this by rote. She handed over the sealed scroll to him without a word. The key would be eagle-mailed to Jiraiya once the both of them left the premise. And on his part...

"The old man didn't let me take written documents out of the village," he explained. "So it will have to be words only for now. But I will send you the details via drop box, as usual. How about it?"

"That will do," said Saigo. With her approval, Jiraiya went directly to his part of the payment.

"It happened around a month ago. You should know what went down in Sunagakure around that time."

"Yet another tantrum thrown by their child Jinchuuriki? One that was pacified by the father… as usual."

"Well, thing is. It wasn't the Kazekage that did the pacifying this time around."

Saigo speared him with a look but said nothing. This was a weakness shared by many brokers. By nature, few brokers were warriors and even fewer were versed in ninja surveillance arts. Their methods of information gathering relied more or less on paperwork, written records, money trails, that sort of things. There were pros and cons to such methods and it was in this kind of situation that the cons showed. If Saigo had but looked into that situation with the eyes of a sensor, she would see that the entire thing being taken care of by the Kazekage as usual was nothing but a cover up.

"Yeah I know. Paper shows it to be the Kazekage as usual right? The people also backed that up. He's done that so many times already so nobody raised questions. But the entire thing happened during a sandstorm created by the Biju. Most of the people were keeping their heads down in their bunkers so it wasn't like they were keeping an eye on what was going on. So if the state wanted to, it could say the Daimyo went in and pacified the thing and nobody would have proofs otherwise… that is… if they weren't sensors."

"...I assume that your sensors… saw something then?"

"They sure did," replied Jiraiya. "That entire team is tasked with keeping surveillance on the entire area West of Hi no Kuni including Kaze no Kuni and all those tiny countries that buffered between Wind, Earth and Fire. Being what it is, Sunagakure naturally is a big dot on their keep an eye on list. Of course, usually it doesn't do much good. Too much noise. Too many chakra signatures running around. And there are those sensor blocks in their temples and their official buildings. And occasionally you have those weapon and ninjutsu testing sessions out in their wastelands and the noises coming from those scramble up our sensors like you wouldn't believe. But during that tantrum, as you put it, there were a couple signatures that stood out. We saw the Kazekage's signature alright… but there was something else beside him. Something… much bigger…"

"Bigger?" repeated Saigo, a contemplative look on her face. The current Kazekage was not known for an especially large chakra reserves, especially when compared to powerhouses such as Jinchuuriki or Kirigakure's own No-Tail Bijuu, but the man was no slouch either. He was a Kage, and the potency of his chakra more than backed up his office. There were few things that could outshine the light of a Kage level chakra reservoir.

"To quote one of our long-range sensing specialists," said Jiraiya to his Suna informant. "For five full minutes, it was like somebody opened a door into the heart of the sun in the middle of Sunagakure itself. That Kazekage? He was but a speck of dust beside whatever the hell this was. And it came completely out of nowhere. Seconds before there was nothing there. Nothing. And then suddenly, a sun rose." The man had actually said more on the subject. He had said that it was monstrous, that the momentary spike of Shukaku's rampaging session was simply dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of the supernova to follow—that he had never before in his life felt anything like it, and if he had a choice, he would rather not ever again. This was coming from a veteran who had survived the Kyuubi incident more than a decade ago.

"Oh?" commented Saigo, somehow infusing that one word with both surprise, confusion, and mild expectation. Even to a civilian like her, that sounded impressive but since Saigo herself had never felt that unmistakable electrifying thrum of chakra running through her body nor in the bodies of other people, her feelings regarding the importance of this statement was fuzzy at best. For a man who'd lived most of his life in flatland, the sheer majesty, the sheer pressure and menace of a volcano would be lost on such a person. This was the same. So, for her sake, Jiraiya went on.

"That's not the most important thing our long-range sensor said however…"

"What else did he say?" Saigo made a motion with her hand, as if she was itching to reach into her kimono, take out the tape recorder Jiraiya knew she brought everywhere with her, and hit 'record'. But she refrained from it. Doing that in the presence of a loyal client was seen as bad etiquette.

"He said… well… that entire team said that whatever this alien source of energy was, it had no problem devouring the Shukaku's chakra signature within minutes of coming into existence."

And it was that statement, from the chief of Konoha's long-range sensing squad, that got the attention of not just the Hokage but all of Konoha's council. Wasn't that just fun? Rare was the occasion that Jiraiya got an urgent contact not only from his old sensei but nearly all the upper echelons of Konoha itself. Apparently they had been tickled pink by the significance of that statement. They had even established a small task force dedicated to discreetly surveying the chakra pulses of Sunagakure itself; not an easy thing to do considering every Hidden Village was naturally a hub of chakra activities. They had then termed the incident 'Ground Zero Contact' and the alien power 'Suna Sungate' based on the testimonies of the long-range sensing squad.

Overly dramatic names aside (Jiraiya had laughed until he snorted up all the sake he had been guzzling up until the moment he received that debriefing document via summon mail), this development had all the warning signals of becoming an international incident in the near future. Based simply on what they knew so far, there was a very real possibility that Suna had been experimenting with creating a super weapon several magnitudes more powerful than even a tailed beast. As if that wasn't already mind-blowing enough, there was the very real possibility that Suna had succeeded.

Across the table, Saigo had fallen into solemn silence. Jiraiya could see thoughts running through her head and her coming to the same conclusion the Konoha council made a month ago; could see that moment when cold logic slipped into shock at the ramifications.

A man-made super weapon capable of laying waste to a tailed beast, supposedly the most dangerous and most portent weapon in Ninja warfare. It sounded… overblown, but in this case, the possibility was very real. After all, the second biggest export category from Suna, right after freshly mined pure gold, were experimental ninjutsu techniques created by research teams under the current Kazekage, who was himself a pioneer in the field of Ninjutsu research and development. It would not be a stretch to go from experimental jutsu to experimental weaponries operating on the foundation of Ninja sciences.

If it were true (Jiraiya wished from the bottom of his heart that it was not. Because if it were true, that would mean the old man would drag Jiraiya kicking and screaming through the village gates and nail his ass back to Konoha as one of its great generals to prepare for the upheavals to come. Jiraiya was very attached to his international philandering spymaster lifestyle, thank you very much, Suna A-Holes!), that would spell an end to the era of tenuous peace following the Third Ninja World War. The existence of a super weapon of that magnitude, coupled with Kumogakure's hoarding of war capitals and technologies, would undoubtedly catalyse an arms race among the great Five and various smaller shinobi nations. And that would only be the beginning.

"How… troublesome," Saigo broke her silence at last.

"I see you see what I see," commented Jiraiya with dry humor. Nobody liked war except for power hungry psychopaths. War was bad for business. There certainly was profit to be made in wars, especially for people like Saigo, but long term, if one was looking at ten or twenty year plans, then it was just plain bad. It was too disruptive, too… chaotic. And this time around, it things were allowed to progress on their own, if news that Sunagakure might have succeeded in developing a superweapon of that magnitude, then the war to follow would be no mere petty skirmishes that could be contained in the territory of two or three unfortunate countries. No, it would be a World War. It would be the Fourth Ninja World War. And if Suna chose to field their brand new super weapon in this war, then it would be a World War like nothing they had ever seen before.

The possibilities were terrifying. And because of those possibilities, this could not be allowed to happen.

"I see," said Saigo, a cold, sharp glint in her eyes. "I see now why you called me all the way out here instead of waiting for our usual meeting. Is Konoha so spooked that it had to send its best spy to directly survey the situation?"

"Ah you know how those old guys are. They are all a bunch of scaredy cats but you know what they say. Always safe, never sorry."

"I see something more as well," she responded. "I see that you got more out of our exchange just now, even more than I thought you would." She pointed at the sealed scroll in Jiraiya's hand, accusation thick in her voice. "I have all but pinpointed your target for you. The Miko is the super weapon."

In response to Saigo's accusation, Jiraiya merely smiled and shrugged. "You don't know that for sure, darling. Chakra can be terribly complicated. Just because two phenomenal things have similar chakra don't necessarily mean they are one and the same, or even related really."

He was lying through his teeth, of course.

Right after the discovery made by the long-range sensing squad, a list of priorities were immediately set up by the council, and at the very top of that list was the identification and possible extermination of the super weapon. Not an easy thing to do, considering the heavy security in Sunagakure right now, but if the opportunity were to present itself…

The miracle of the Miko, and right afterwards the Suna Sungate super weapon. It was impossible not to link the two together. Jiraiya had had his suspicions of course, and so did all the council members; but without solid proof that the two were connected, it would be foolish to jump to conclusion. Aside from the testimonies of their sensors ("monstrous", "inhuman", "worse than a rampaging Kyuubi"), there really weren't any other leads. For the last month, Jiraiya had been doing sweeps with all the brokers and third party informants within his contacts in the hopes of detecting something out of the ordinary. He hadn't really expected that he would be lucky enough to have definitive proof of the direct connection between the mistery of Sunagakure Miko and their super weapon landing right in his lap. Saigo's intel was worth a lot more than she thought, but it would not do for her to think she could raise the price of a done deal.

From her seat, the mistress of Gokayama Kagema houses frowned at Jiraiya. She could tell he wasn't being truthful, but she had no leverage with which to turn the situation around. After a full minute, she finally sighed, having given up the case as an adequate sale that could have gone a lot better.

"I suppose we are done for the day, Jiraiya-danna?" She said, her voice edged with displeasure. "You have what you came here for. I daresay that you have more than you came here for. I would rather not have to spend another minute in this... " she swept the room with a look, going from its worn wooden furniture to its tiny, bolted-up window. "... hovel."

They had spent hours in this room, their talk having gone much longer than both sides had anticipated. Jiraiya could see the signs of exhaustion in Saigo's face, in the tightness of her expression. But he was not yet done.

"Not yet, Saigo-san. Not quite," he made a show of stretching, his muscles popping from having sat in one place for far too long. "Believe me, I want to leave as much as you do. Out there somewhere there's a warm woman waiting for me to spend a proper night with her. But… there's still one more thing I need to buy from you, and this time around, I'm willing to pay whatever it takes."

"Oh?" she sent him an arched look. After what he had just pulled, there was now some wariness to her. "What else can you possibly want to know? Unless the great Konohagakure wants to buy court courtesan's idle chit chat, I really don't have any other big piece of information to sell you."

"It's not information we want to buy this time," he replied, grinning wildly. "It's your silence Saigo. We want your silence."

Saigo froze almost immediately, her expression going cold. She eyed Jiraiya and once it was clear that he wasn't joking, spoke icily.

"I am an information broker, danna. We are only ever silent when we are dead. So, pray tell, just what exactly are you trying to pull?"

"Oh relax, dear," he held up two hands in a surrendering gesture but he knew it wouldn't exactly put her at ease. Saigo was a civilian, born and bred, and though she had started learning a little self defense on the side ever since she entered this world, she was still sitting not even a meter away from one of the most dangerous killers of the ninja world. It would be a madman who could relax in her situation. "Hear me out. This whole thing right, I bet you're thinking this is really the hot juicy scoop and you are looking to make bucks out of it and you would be right. This thing here is the epic scoop. I can see Kumogakure or Kirigakure paying you with their firstborns for it. But here's the deal, my dear, I can't let you walk out that door without an assurance that you won't go spilling everything to every chap with the coin. The thing in this scroll," he held up the sealed scroll with a part of the Sunagakure R&D team's report on their own Miko's alien energy—alien energy that bore an uncanny similarity to pure senchakra, "and the thing about that 'freaking big chakra gun' that Suna is building, you can't sell that information to anyone, especially if that anyone happens to be a ninja… ever again."

Nobody ever said ninja were nice people, least of all Jiraiya. He knew well the things they would do given half the excuse. He liked Saigo, so it was nothing personal. Given the chance, he liked to keep his people happy—up to and including third party informants whose loyalty to him was only assured by the amount of coin he was willing to spend on them—but this was for more than the sake of Konohagakure. For the peace of the Elemental Nations, this information could not be allowed to become public knowledge.

Iwagakure probably already knew of the incident. The energy pulse caused by the Sungate's appearance was too big to escape the notice of any surrounding shinobi nations with a dedicated long-range sensing squad, and Jiraiya knew for a fact that Kumogakure had one with their eyes peeled in the direction of Sunagakure 24/7. Kumogakure and Kirigakure likely had not noticed due to the much further distance between their territories and Sunagakure. Fortunately, the buffering countries with hidden villages of their own usually didn't have dedicated long-range sensing squad, their manpower already stretched too thin to cover their own territory and playing keep-up with their bigger brethrens. Unfortunately, this kind of juicy information usually didn't take long to travel to willing ears. Already, Jiraiya could see third party information brokers making a sales pitch to any and all shinobi nations and institutions with a stake in the current international power balance. Third party information brokers such as Saigo no Tsubone.

There was a beat of silence, then Saigo stood up so abruptly the chair beneath her was overturned by the force. Her face was pale, her expression thunderous. She had come to the same conclusion. Smart woman. Well, to be fair, one couldn't survive in this industry while being slow-witted.

"You tricked me," she said, voice thin and a little shrill. In her anger, her aristocratic accent slipped to reveal her mother tongue half-country half-city brogue. "You son of a bitch!" Jiraiya let that slide. People said things they didn't mean to when they were emotional. And he sort of had it coming anyhow. He knew he could appear really shady when he wanted to.

"Given a chance, I would rather not. But think, Saigo. If you go out and sell this, you know what's going to happen right?"

"What do I care if your kind find another excuse to spill each other's blood? It's not like you ever have problems looking for some. If it's not the will of some fat cat merchant then it's your overblown security concern. In the end, your business means somebody is going to die. It's not like my making money out of this is going to change anything. Killing is your deal after all. I only sing the song."

"It's going to be war, Saigo. It's going to be another World War, and this time around, I have a feeling it's not going to be hidden any more. Those civilians, the nobilities, even people like you, nobody will be spared."

"It's going to be war, regardless," she spat out in response, her hand whipping in sharp gestures. "Sunagakure is building a superweapon and sooner or later they are going to train its business end on somebody—likely you for all the deals you have been snatching from right under their noses. Don't try to fool me into thinking you need an excuse to go to war."

"Oh there's going to be a war alright." Once, Jiraiya would have preached the virtue of peace and the need to keep it safe and in place. Now, he was no longer so… idealistic. Not that he still didn't want peace. Peace was the other thing Jiraiya had a hard-on for right after beautiful women, but time and a lot of painful experience had taught him that one didn't avoid war by being idealistic and unprepared. "But not now, and it's not Sunagakure we are worried about."

He made a placating gesture as he kept on going, hoping his smooth talking would get her to see reasons, his reasons that was. "Their economy is still fragile. They have only just gotten out of trouble. Their feet are still wet and their war potential still depleted after two consecutive World War losses. Those are the kind of losses that can't be made up with just a year or two of economic upwind. It's still going to take them years to truly recover back to their golden age. They may or may not have succeeded in building a big chakra bazooka to shoot us in the face with, but they are not stupid enough to think themselves invincible with just that. War is expensive, and Sunagakure has too much to lose by committing to one. If there is to be a war, it won't be them who fire the opening salvo."

No, it wasn't going to be Sunagakure at all. It wasn't them Konoha was worried about. Rather, it was Kumogakure and Kirigakure that the Village Hidden in the Leaves was antsy over. Suna was still too weak and too cautious to commit to total war or escalate the situation until a war was unavoidable, but Kumogakure was another story entirely. Geographically isolated in its own peninsula, though Kumogakure was an active participant in previous World Wars, their strategic location meant that while the fires of war raged on, its devastating consequences never quite reached the homeland of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. As a result of this fortunate placement, not only did the current Kumogakure possess a strong military, it was also backed up by a robust economy that could easily make the transition into wartime production at the drop of a hat. Even more than that, the current mindset of Kumo ninja was national strength over everything else, and it was this mentality that had led to a decade of active hoarding of war assets and technologies. The Hyuuga incident was the perfect example of what Kumogakure was willing to do in order to secure yet more strength for itself. It was willing to risk escalated hostility with Konohagakure, at the time still the strongest of all the Hidden Villages, over the Byakugan and the tactical advantages that came with it. If the Raikage got wind of this Suna superweapon, heavens knew the lengths he would go to to acquire it for his nation.

Suna might not have reasons to go to war, but Kumo had all the reasons in the world, if only to keep the current power balance in place. And it was for this reason, that Konoha must keep an eye on their Easternmost neighbor.

Iwagakure had almost the same economy of Kumo, but military wise, they were still weakened after years of hostility with both Konoha and Suna. They would not risk a war now while they were unprepared. Besides which, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was a cautious old man who was famed for never entering conflict if he didn't know for sure that he could come out of the brawl with an edge. Just as Sunagakure wouldn't make the first provocation, so too would Iwagakure refrain from escalating the situation further without clear gains on their side.

As for the last of the Big Five, the Village Hidden in the Mist might have neither a strong economy nor a stable military, but those Kiri guys were world famous for the crazy psychopathic shit they pulled on their own people. Who knew what was in those crazy motherfucker's heads these days, and what they would do if news of the Sunagakure super weapon was allowed to spread that far out. As the old saying went, best keep an eye on both the overly ambitious and the stark raving mad because those were the two mostly likely to pull the really outrageous stunts.

"Even if I silence myself," replied Saigo without needing any further explanation from Jiraiya. She knew her business and the business of her biggest clients. "There are other brokers. Information is like water. You can't hold it in your hands and hope to keep it forever. Eventually, all water goes to the sea, Jiraiya."

He noted the lack of the honorary 'danna' after his name, but didn't comment on it. Instead, he concurred to her statement. "There are other brokers," and then subverted it altogether. "But none who have all the pieces to the puzzles. And even if they somehow get the pieces, they won't have your reputation nor your credibility. Make no mistake, you are not the only broker Konoha is interested in buying silence from. Konoha itself is not the only one interested in buying broker's silences, period. Iwagakure also has stakes in this, and if my information is correct, they are pulling their own end too."

Now, he saw a waver in her face. It was there for a split second but he knew it had rooted itself in her thoughts. Now, he just needed to push a little more.

"How about I make this sweet for you, Saigo dear? I'm buying your silence after all, and this time around, I'm willing to pay a lot."

"Pay a lot?" she sneered, her barbs not yet retracted. "You didn't even have the funds to buy a scroll."

"Hey, I gotta save up for the big one right? If I spent all I have before going to town, what am I to do when I reach the marketplace?" He joked, then wrote a figure on a piece of paper.

"For your silence, Konoha is willing to pay this amount," Saigo scoffed, but Jiraiya was not yet done. "As well as give you implicit permission to extend your operations into the territory of Konohagakure and its vassal countries."

The latter half of his statement made the broker stop short in the midst of a grandiose rejection. She appeared to be thinking the offer over. It was an incredibly tempting offer, Jiraiya knew. Major Hidden Villages were notoriously protective over their own territory and rarely tolerated the activities of brokers not under their own influence. Even in the world of brokers, territories were jealously guarded and viciously fought over. To have the implicit permission from Konoha to operate on its turf was an offer whose value couldn't be measured by mere numbers.

She was wavering. Just one more push, thought Jiraiya before pulling on the ace he had specifically prepared for this meeting.

"Think it over, Saigo. Even if you can sell this information and make money, you can't possibly expect there to be no consequences. Sunagakure knows it's under intense surveillance. It's only basic protocol for it to also keep an eye on all the big players in the trade of information. It will want to know when its intel leaks and from whom the leak come from. Your name is there somewhere on its list. If you spill its biggest secret, do you think it will let you escape unscathed?"

Neutrality in the world of information brokers was both a badge of honor and a burden. Those few players who professed loyalty to none but themselves were usually watched by all villages near their territory, and Saigo was no exception. To maintain neutrality meant balancing oneself on a knife's edge and at any time, a slip could happen and the consequences of such slips tended to be fatal.

Jiraiya saw another waver. She was about to break, he knew. So he pushed again, one final time.

"Even if you run and hide, your parents still live in Kaze no Kuni, do they not? An old couple near retiring, their family business heirless, with nothing to look forward to except a gentle departure from life. I hear they still wait for that beloved son to come home, to say they're sorry before time's up. Regret is like poison you know? It kills over time, and in this case, it has had decades to work with."

There was a flash of pain and longing, an old wound revealed, still red and raw and only somewhat scabbed over. There was anger now in Saigo's face, but that was just to mask the very real concern underneath. This was a low blow, Jiraiya knew. But this was for the sake of Konohagakure.

"Or maybe a daughter would do too. Times have changed. When one's about to kick the bucket, it doesn't need to be a son, does it? I bet daughters are cool with old people now too."

And with that, he had her.


End Jiraiya Interlude 1


1. Kagema: a type of special Geisha house that caters to men who prefer 'boys in drag'. It also means male Geisha.

The so-called 'male counterpart of Geisha' the Taikomochi/Hokan is something else completely. Taikomochi/Hokan are 'art people' who are male, appear male, act male. They are more similar to court jesters than courtesans.

A Kagema on the other hand are male performers who dress up and act as women and entertain men in the way a Geisha in the pleasure section would.

2. The character Saigo is written as an homage of mine to the LGBTQA community, to the many great friends I have that belong in this community. She plays only a minor part in this story and is unlikely to appear again but if you look closely, there are hints in this chapter of Saigo's struggle with her family and her identity. The same kind of struggle I have seen many LGBTQA people go through. The conflict with the family, the conflict with themselves, the need to prove their worth.

My beta Michelle said she was surprised that Saigo was so affected by Jiraiya's low blow (mentioning her aged parents as potential targets of retribution for Suna). Of course Saigo is affected. Everything she has done in a way is to prove herself to her parents. Her lifestyle and her decision to climb to the top of the broker world is basically her, "Hey ma, pa. Even when I'm flawed in your eyes, look at all the things I achieved on my own. I didn't marry into nobility like you wanted, but I play them now. Look at me now, ma, pa!"

In her backstory, Saigo showed no sign that her decision to run away was a heavy decision for her. This is to reflect real life where a lot of LGBTQA decide to run away from home instead of confront their families head on. When you are 16 years old and hurting, it's easy to decide to just leave everything behind. But when you grow up, when you are older, when you see the world and see how cruel people can be, memories of home become fond again and there grows the desire to rekindle that bond, to mend the broken relationship, to make peace with each other. As the saying goes, you can take the girl from home, but you can't take home from the girl. On the side of Saigo's parents (through Jiraiya's statement about their regret), this is also to reflect real life where a lot of parents once they realize they have driven away their children, their loved ones, over something as silly and inconsequential as social norms, they realize over time what a big mistake they have made. The regret that comes from this kind of realization is often time crippling to those parents.

I hope I did Saigo and the people she represents justice.

3. This interlude has two parts, this one and the part where Jiraiya goes to Suna, meets Kagome, hits on her in front of council members and the Kazekage, and generally wreaks havoc. He eventually ends up being booted from the Village Hidden in the Sand for his disrespectful shenanigans, but not before getting the information he needs. And thus the world of ninja is forever changed. The next part will be quite a bit more humorous than this part (which is rather exposition heavy).

4. Hiden = Japanese secret traditions or secret techniques. This word is listed both in the data books and Narutopedia. Since it's very close to 'Hidden' in English and the meaning more or less correlates, it looks like a typo on first glance. Just thought I'd put it here since I got chewed on by one of my beta for not making that clear earlier. Ah, to have subpar grammar is to be human. I am only a mere human, beta-sama. Have mercy on me!

5. Also, I posted several teasers for future chapters of From the Garden of Gods on my tumblr page. Read them at your own discretions. Jump to conclusions at your own perils. I am known for being a sadistic author. Just saying…

+trollish laughter+