The following month went flying. Occupied with the management of my company and missions, I didn't have much time for training or research.
Business was going well. In one month we completely seized the agricultural market of the sand. We were now the main providers of farm products, and greatly improved the village's strength as a whole.
The reason for this was because we provided our goods at a lower rate than the market value since we could easily mass-produce them. Before we came into the picture, the sand had to import goods at higher prices than the actual market value, so they took the deal without thinking twice.
Because of this cut in the funds required to purchase food, the sand's economy grew more stable, with money being poured into other projects. As a whole, the situation had gotten much better, so much that it alerted the other villages.
Many sent spies our way, but I easily detected them with my sand sensing. Thanks to this, none of them got to see what we were doing… Although it caused unrest in the hearts of the other villages, they didn't pay it too much attention, and the news died down.
We were making so much money that I decided to start a few charity projects. I opened up a total of ten orphanages in the village, and took in almost all of the orphans available, giving them food to eat and a place to sleep.
Not only that but if a family was struggling, they could apply for a small salary that would be given to them provided they were really in need. It was basically so that they could start somewhere and get a jo of their own.
Of course, we also opened up more jobs in construction and employment for the orphanages, so everything was improving overall. Not to mention the HQ that we had started construction on.
With so much influence, Yashamaru suggested that we name our brand. After a few days of thinking, I decided that Oasis would be a good name. After all, creating an oasis right here was our end goal.
Since everything was going well, and my bank account was just increasing every second, I decided to start a few construction projects, with my father's permission, of course.
Taking advantage of the system's computing abilities, we managed to produce this world's first solar panel. In a few months, the implementation of this technology would become widespread in our village, which didn't lack sunlight.
We also started construction of a bunch of windmills, and would soon lock the sand's energy market by the throat. Although the council felt unrest, they still allowed me to do so because of my identity and candidacy for the position of Kazekage.
At this point, it was almost decided that I would succeed my father. The question was when it would happen.
As for me, I had no time to relax. Soon, the events of Shippuden would begin, and everything would start turning for the worse… Especially since the first incident should occur in my village.
The main goal was to become strong enough to defend myself and the village from Deidara and Sasori's assault.
Anyways, today was a rare day in which I didn't have much to do. With Yashamaru taking care of most things on his side, it allowed me to focus on my job as a ninja.
Since I was free, I decided to have a training session with Shira and Kiyo, to better our teamwork. Well, it was more me giving them pointers than anything.
Just as we were getting into it, I felt a disturbance in the air and looked behind me. Seeing Baki, I nodded with a smile.
"What brings you here, Sensei?"
"Gaara, the Kazekage is calling for you. Head over to the tower immediately."
"Tell him that it can wait. I'm training with my teammates."
"No… It's urgent. I can't explain here, but its an irrefutable order. Go now."
Furrowing my brows, I wondered what could be so urgent. After thinking about it, I remembered something very important.
'The Sasuke retrieval mission!'
How could I forget about that?!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inside the Kazekage's office, there were only five people present, including me and Baki, Temari and Kankuro were also present.
"What happened, father?"
With a worried face, Temari was the first to speak. Next to her, Kankuro also spoke his mind.
"Yeah, what could be so urgent that you sent Baki over to get us personally?"
Remaining quiet, I stayed in my corner, thinking about the situation. If I wasn't mistaken, we would soon head out to help the leaf against Orochimaru's men.
'What should I do… I really don't want to mess up the canon just yet…'
Now, I was really stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I went all out, there was no doubt in my mind that I could take out every single member of the sound four with a finger. As for Kimimaro, that was also an easy task.
Then again, if I captured Sasuke, the whole story would end up changing. That was like throwing away my advantage.
'What to do… What to do…"
As I was racking my brains for an answer, Rasa decided to speak up.
"This matter must be handled delicately… As you may already know, we recently formed an alliance with Konoha."
"Does the name, 'Sasuke Uchiha', ring a bell?"
Hearing his words, both Temari and Kankuro froze. I just sighed, finding out that I was right on the money.
"I see, so you've already heard of him… Well, he's escaped the hidden leaf and is currently on the run."
"What?!"
"This is definitely the truth. We received a plea for help from Konoha, and you three must now go and help their Genin squad in retrieving Sasuke. This is a B-rank mission."
A B-rank mission? In my head, I couldn't help but sigh… At the time, they didn't know of the sound four's involvement and ended up sending a bunch of Genin under one Chunin.
Not knowing whether or not to speak up about this issue, I decided to remain silent and go with the flow. My knowledge of the future had to be preserved...