The Sand Village, after its defeat, was busy trying to resolve the aftermath of the war. The hefty war reparations combined with the pensions for fallen ninjas created an astronomical financial burden that nearly turned the Third Kazekage's hair white.
The Sand Village was extremely poor.
While the war reparations were substantial, they could be delayed with enough audacity. If enough time passed, the Leaf Village might even forget about the debt.
At least, that was the Third Kazekage's thinking.
However, the issue of pensions for the village's fallen ninjas could not be as carelessly handled as it was with the Leaf Village. As the Kage of a village, the Third Kazekage would not commit such a foolish act of self-destruction.
But the village was truly, desperately poor.
Having initiated the war and subsequently suffered defeat at the hands of the Leaf Village, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind felt he had lost face among the noble circles of the Five Great Nations. In his anger, he reduced the Sand Village's annual military funding by twenty percent.
This dealt a devastating blow to the Sand Village's already strained finances, nearly preventing them from paying out the pension funds.
Helpless, the Third Kazekage gritted his teeth and, despite the Sand Village being in a phase of recovery, relaxed the conditions for opening up trade and accepting bounty missions.
After all, as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Sand Village's reputation and strength still held considerable influence in the ninja world. As soon as the Third Kazekage's decision was announced, it immediately attracted a large number of merchants and nobles from the Land of Wind.
Orochimaru, taking advantage of this opportunity, was hired by a merchant caravan heading from the Land of Rivers to sell seafood, posing as a wandering samurai. He easily entered the Sand Village with the Nine-Tails, which was no larger than a pet.
"Creak!"
The wide wheels rolled down the long slope from the Sand Village's main gate, grinding against the stone-paved ground before coming to a halt.
"Thank you, brave samurai, for escorting us all this way. This is your reward, please accept it!"
The caravan leader was a merchant from the Land of Rivers with an aged appearance. After the vehicle stopped, he approached Orochimaru, bowed calmly, and produced a stack of common currency used throughout the Five Great Nations from his robes.
Orochimaru accepted it without ceremony.
"We each got what we needed. Since we've arrived at the Sand Village, I should be leaving."
The caravan leader did not try to detain him. As Orochimaru said, they each got what they needed. Besides, he was just a samurai; he wasn't worth much effort to curry favor with. It would be more worthwhile to fawn over the powerful ninjas of the Sand Village.
With that thought, the caravan leader, a wide smile plastered on his face, approached the ninja responsible for registering incoming caravans.
"Esteemed ninja, I am a merchant from the Land of Rivers."
The Sand Village ninja glanced up at him and Orochimaru, who stood by the caravan, and frowned slightly.
"Land of Rivers?"
"What are you delivering, and where did you hire your escort from?"
The caravan leader bowed and, with a fawning smile, presented a manifest with two banknotes tucked inside.
"Some common river and sea fish."
"As for the escort..."
"My finances are limited, and I couldn't afford a powerful ninja like yourself, so I had to hire an ordinary samurai."
"You see..."
The Sand Village ninja expertly slipped the banknotes from the manifest into his clothing, casting a disdainful glance at the unremarkable-looking Orochimaru.
"Hmm..."
"Your judgment is a bit poor, though! Next time you want to hire ninjas, come find me. I'll introduce you to some capable genin."
"You may enter!"
The caravan leader was immediately full of gratitude, repeatedly assuring the ninja that he would discuss hiring ninjas with him after this batch of goods was sold.
Orochimaru withdrew his gaze from the Sand Village ninja, who reeked of the marketplace, and followed the caravan deeper into the village, silently blending into the crowd.
...
"Hmm?"
Shukaku, who had been covering its ears with a dazed expression, suddenly sat up straight within the sealing space. Its dark little eyes flickered with light, and it let out a soft exclamation.
"Old monk, stop chanting!"
Bunpuku, who had been reciting scriptures, paused and looked at Shukaku in the sealing space with confusion.
"My daily scripture study is not yet complete. If you wish to hear more, you will have to wait patiently!"
Shukaku immediately let out a frantic roar, its violet markings flaring up excitedly with its emotions.
"I can sense that stinky fox's chakra!"
"I don't know why it's here, but..."
"If nothing unexpected happens, your Sand Village is in for big trouble!"
Bunpuku froze, and a smile suddenly appeared on his serene face.
"Shukaku, you have truly grasped the essence of inherent human goodness from the scriptures. I am truly happy for you!"
Shukaku was so infuriated by the old monk, whose mind was solely filled with notions of goodness, that it jumped up and down, shouting in a shrill voice.
"Old monk, who cares about the lives of those ninjas outside!"
"That stinky fox and I have a grudge. It must be here to cause me trouble!"
"Quickly tell those two ninjas guarding outside to inform the Sand Village and drive that guy away. Otherwise, if we start fighting, I can't say for sure about others, but you definitely won't survive!"
Bunpuku heard the seriousness in Shukaku's voice and, seeing that it was not joking, nodded obediently.
"Then how should I tell them? They might not believe an old monk like me."
Shukaku irritably flicked its tail and yelled in a sharp voice.
"Useless!"
"Just tell them that the Nine-Tails has appeared in the Sand Village. If they don't believe you...!"
"Old monk, you can just wait to die!"
Bunpuku was silent for a moment and then slowly stood up from the ground.
"Shukaku, stay put!"
The two Sand Village ninjas guarding the prison door turned around vigilantly upon hearing the movement behind them and sternly ordered Bunpuku, who had walked to the cell door.
"Damn guys, if you weren't holding me back, Shukaku the great would have crushed them with a single palm!"
Shukaku, sealed within, was greatly angered by the attitude of these two Sand Village ninjas, gritting its teeth and constantly yelping in Bunpuku's mind.
Bunpuku acted as if he heard nothing, calmly bowed to the two ninjas.
"I trouble you two to inform the Kazekage, and say that..."
"The Leaf Village's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has appeared in the village, please ask him to..."
Before Bunpuku could finish speaking, the two Sand Village ninjas who heard the name Nine-Tails Jinchuriki burst into laughter, looking at Bunpuku as if he were a madman.
"Shukaku, Lord Kazekage asked you to serve the village before, but you said you'd rather die here than go out.
"How long has it been, and your brain has already gone bad?"
"What Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"We just signed a peace treaty with the Leaf Village. Lord Kazekage is so busy he can't even eat every day. Who has the time to care about your crazy talk!"
"Sit back down honestly, or I'll starve you for a few days to teach you a lesson!"
The two Sand Village ninjas lectured Bunpuku with mocking words.
In a corner of the dungeon, unseen by anyone, a deep shadow seemed to come alive. With a wriggle, two thick, black tentacles instantly pierced through the bodies of the two Sand Village ninjas.
These ordinary ninjas, whose strength was no more than Chunin, had their lives completely extinguished by the dark chakra without even a sound.
"You knew about Kurama's appearance the moment it happened. You truly are the first human Shukaku genuinely recognized!"
"Senior Bunpuku, it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time!"
The black tentacles that had pierced the bodies of the two Sand Village ninjas shifted and, to Bunpuku's astonishment, formed the figures of Orochimaru and the Nine-Tails.
"Old monk, the fox beside him is the Nine-Tails, retreat quickly!"
Before Bunpuku could react, the Nine-Tails, having perceived Shukaku's situation, let out a cackling laugh.
"Stinky Raccoon Dog, I can't believe your sealing space is shaped like a kettle. This is hilarious!"
"Hahaha!"
Infuriated by the Nine-Tails, whom it detested the most, directly mocking it, Shukaku's rage erupted. It ignored whether it would harm Bunpuku and directly surged its chakra into Bunpuku's mind, forcefully knocking the chattering old monk unconscious.
"Stinky fox, don't get cocky!"
"We're both sealed inside a Jinchuriki, how are you any stronger than me..."
"Huh?"
Shukaku, half out of Bunpuku's body, stuttered mid-sentence upon seeing that the Nine-Tails, who had just spoken, existed in its natural state in the outside world.
"How am I stronger than you, a stinky Raccoon Dog with only one tail?"
"Heh heh! Can't you tell?"
The Nine-Tails grinned maliciously and approached the cell door, wagging its tail and showing off. It even patted the sturdy iron door with its claws. Its free fox appearance drove Shukaku to the brink of madness with jealousy.
"You... you..."
"Stinky fox, you're not sealed by anyone?"
The Nine-Tails arrogantly raised its head and snorted proudly.
"Hmph hmph!"
"Of course!"
"I am the strongest Tailed Beast with nine tails, how could I be trapped by mere human sealing jutsu!"
"Unlike you..."
"Tsk tsk! A pathetic creature with only one tail, naturally you can only be sealed!"
Enraged by the Nine-Tails' persistent taunts about its tail, Shukaku's body swelled, and its two thick arms slammed against the cell door with a resounding clang.
"Stinky fox, don't think I'm afraid of you just because you have more tails!"
"If you're not afraid of sealing jutsu, then fight me one-on-one!"
The Nine-Tails looked at the furiously enraged Shukaku with disdain, a cold smile spreading across its lips, similar to Orochimaru's.
"Heh!"
"Look carefully, I'm outside the door!"
"The outside world is truly vast!"
"I ran for a long time to get from the Leaf Village all the way here. Some weaklings who refuse to admit their weakness probably will never experience the troubles I do."
"What a shame!"
Not to mention Shukaku, who was almost enraged enough to unleash its full power, Orochimaru helplessly patted the Nine-Tails' head.
"Kurama, I recall asking you to help."
"If you continue to mock it like this, and you two end up fighting, don't blame me if your existence is exposed!"