#2

"Didn't you take the sealing course at the Academy? Tell me, what is a seal? Why do we need them?"

Gaara recited the standard Academy answer without hesitation.

"Sealing is an essential process in chakra manipulation, developed to regulate the flow of energy in jutsu. Each technique requires specific hand seals, and the user must perform them precisely and quickly to activate the technique."

"Hand seals allow us to channel chakra accurately and execute the desired jutsu."

Mufasa nodded in understanding. "Scientifically speaking, it's like a well-designed system for the human body."

Gaara frowned. "System?"

Mufasa smirked. "Have you ever seen a computer?"

Gaara shook his head. The Sand Village was too poor to afford such luxuries.

"Alright, but you've seen a television, right?"

Gaara nodded.

Mufasa pointed to his head. "Think of it like this—when you press the power button on a TV, it turns on. Press it again, it turns off. You switch channels to watch different programs. The TV follows a preset system to respond to your inputs."

"Ninjutsu and hand seals work the same way. Seals act as our body's switches, triggering different techniques. Each jutsu has a unique sequence of seals, just like different channels on a TV."

"Our body's switchboard is our brain's electromagnetic signals. Each seal is essentially a different combination of neural signals."

Mufasa crossed his arms. "My electromagnetic release allows me to manipulate my brain's magnetic field. When I need to activate a jutsu, I directly stimulate the required electromagnetic signals, bypassing the need for seals."

Gaara looked puzzled.

Mufasa chuckled. "Study math, physics, and chemistry well, and expand your scientific knowledge. Maybe one day, you'll be able to perform jutsu without seals like me."

Gaara gave a serious nod. "I'll try."

Mufasa then used his magnetic abilities to lift the iron plate, placing the sandworm onto it. "Alright, let's go."

Raising his hands, he made the iron plate float, carrying him toward the village. Gaara followed, sitting cross-legged on the sand, gliding through the air with the wind.

The Faraday Industries was located thirty miles outside the Sand Village, deep in the desert.

The reason for choosing this location? A massive sandworm nest behind the factory.

Mufasa had been capturing and raising sandworms here for his experiments.

A large, sand-colored factory stood tall against the desert landscape. Behind it, eighteen massive electrical pylons formed a perimeter. Between the pylons, a thin blue electric grid shimmered, enclosing a specialized nest below.

The nest itself was a huge containment pit, one hundred meters wide, lined entirely with reinforced gold-infused metal. The material was specially enhanced to prevent the sandworms from burrowing out.

Inside, three colossal sandworms lay motionless in the pit, their thick, segmented bodies sprawled across the golden floor.

Mufasa powered up the electric grid and tossed in another sandworm.

With a loud thud, the ground trembled. The other sandworms stirred briefly but remained sluggish.

"Lazy creatures," Mufasa muttered. "They barely move unless they're eating."

Gaara observed carefully. "Teacher, are you raising sandworms to make them your summoning beasts?"

Mufasa shook his head. "No, they don't have the intelligence for that. What I need is their blood. Sandworms thrive in the harshest desert conditions. Their blood is rich in minerals and has a high conductivity. They're an essential resource for my future research."

Gaara had a feeling his teacher was some kind of mad scientist.

The two returned to the factory, where they ran into Temari, the store's sales manager.

Mufasa greeted her with a casual wave.

"Hey, Temari."

She responded with a respectful nod.

"Good afternoon, Boss Mufasa. Gaara."

Gaara instantly reverted to his usual aloof demeanor around others.

"I'm heading back," he said before turning to leave.

Mufasa shrugged. "Temari, here to pick up supplies?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "The shop's running low on kunai, so I came to restock."

Just then, Kankuro walked up from behind, holding a bag. "Here you go, sis. Got the kunai you asked for."

The economic situation in the Sand Village was rough. To make extra money, both Temari and Kankuro worked part-time at the Faraday Ninja Tool Company in addition to their shinobi missions.

In total, twenty-eight ninjas worked at the company, making up its entire workforce.

Temari counted the supplies. "Three hundred and eighty-four... yeah, the numbers check out."

Mufasa leaned against a workbench. "How are sales this month?"

Temari shook her head and sighed. "Not great. Sales of our reinforced kunai and shuriken dropped by 30%."

Mufasa frowned. His company was known for producing high-quality metal ninja tools at low prices, practically monopolizing the Sand Village market. They even had steady sales in other parts of the Land of Wind.

Kankuro scowled. "It's that damn Daimyo's fault. He cut our funding and started outsourcing missions to Konoha instead. Now, the village's ninjas are barely scraping by."

For the sake of political peace, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had been favoring Konoha, crippling the Sand Village's economy in the process. With less funding, missions became scarce, ninja salaries dwindled, and overall military strength suffered.

Mufasa nodded grimly.

In his mind, he activated his unique ability.

"System Start"

A transparent interface, invisible to everyone but him, materialized before his eyes.

His system had four main functions:

1. Non-Scientific Creation of Ninja Tools: If Mufasa had blueprints and materials, he could instantly craft ninja tools. If he lacked materials, he could convert chakra to compensate. This was essentially a "hand-rubbing ninja tools" ability—rub his hands together, and the tools would appear. With enough resources and chakra, even building a Gundam wouldn't be out of reach.

2. Non-Scientific Modification of Ninja Tools: He could bypass the usual rules of physics and chakra flow when modifying weapons. Weight, size, material limitations, or chakra incompatibility—none of it mattered. If he believed it would work, it would work.

3. Non-Scientific Profit System: For every ninja tool sold, Mufasa would receive a spiritual energy reward.

4. Ninja Tool Blueprint Shop: Using money, he could unlock new blueprints. The store contained everything from traditional ninja weapons like the Kusanagi Sword and sealing gourds to unconventional tools like steel armor, air cannons, supreme swords, and even mechas.

Mufasa sat in silence, deep in thought.

"View sales data."

A translucent interface appeared before him, displaying the latest sales data from the Faraday Industries.

The chart told a grim story—ninja tool sales had been steadily declining for three consecutive months.

A sense of urgency gripped Mufasa. If this trend continued, it would seriously impact both his business and his personal growth.

His current strength statistics flashed on the screen:

Strength: 199

Spiritual Power: 210

Chakra: 200 (Attributes: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yang, Yin)

By rough estimation, he was about ten times stronger than Kakashi.

This power hadn't come from talent or bloodline—it was built through hard work and an unconventional method. Over the past three years, he had sold more than 100,000 ninja tools, accumulating vast amounts of spiritual energy. This energy continuously generated chakra, which in turn enhanced his electromagnetic abilities, strengthening his biological currents, muscles, and reflexes.

It was a self-sustaining cycle:

Sell ninja tools → Gain spiritual energy → Produce chakra → Strengthen bioelectricity → Enhance physical capabilities → Generate more chakra → Craft even more advanced ninja tools.

Through this exponential growth, he had risen from a mediocre ninja to someone formidable. But now, with declining sales, that progress was at risk.

For himself and the village, he had to turn things around. The financial crisis of the Sand Village needed a solution.

"I need to talk to the Kazekage about an oil industry plan," Mufasa said, standing up. "You two handle things here for now."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances before nodding.

"Got it, boss."

Meanwhile, in the Kazekage's office, the Sand Village's leadership was holding a crisis meeting.

Fourth Kazekage Rasa sat at the head of the table, his expression grim. Around him, senior advisors—Sajō, Ryūsa, Jōseki, Goza, and Tōjūrō—listened as reports were presented.

"The Daimyo has cut our military budget again this month," Sajō reported. "Our public funds have dropped below one million ryo. On top of that, 40% of our assigned missions have been redirected to Konoha. At this rate, the village won't be able to sustain itself by the end of the year."

The room was tense.

Unlike other villages, the Sand Village couldn't rely on agriculture due to the desert landscape. Food had to be imported, and without money, their survival was at stake.

Rasa clenched his fists. The root of the problem, in his eyes, was Konoha. Their strength had forced the Daimyo's loyalty, draining resources from the Sand Village.

"We need solutions," Rasa said. "Now."

Jōseki hesitated before speaking. "Perhaps… we should consider reducing the number of active shinobi, especially among the lower ranks."

Rasa scoffed. "You want to downsize again? We already operate with fewer ninjas than the other villages. Any more cuts, and we won't even be able to defend ourselves."

The harsh desert environment made Sand Village the poorest of the Five Great Nations. Unlike the others, they relied on a small but elite force to maintain their military power.

"What about negotiating with the Daimyo?" Sajō suggested. "Maybe we can convince him to allocate more missions to us."

Tōjūrō shook his head. "Negotiations take time, and we still have to pay our shinobi in the meantime."

Jōseki hesitated before making another proposal. "We could ask Mufasa for a loan to cover the deficit."

Rasa's face darkened immediately.

"Absolutely not. He has no loyalty to the village."

The mere mention of Mufasa irritated him.

Despite being the wealthiest man in the village, Mufasa refused to donate to the village or even contribute his resources. He had built a massive sandworm research facility using placer gold, yet never offered any to the village treasury.

What angered Rasa the most was that, when he had tried to forcefully take Mufasa's gold dust, he had been defeated.

Thankfully, only the two of them knew about that incident. If word got out that the Kazekage had lost to a Genin, it would be humiliating beyond repair.

Rasa sighed. "For now, I'll refine some placer gold myself to keep us afloat."

Goza frowned. "Kazekage-sama, relying on your Magnet Release to mine gold isn't a sustainable solution."

It was true. Nearly 70% of the village's funds came from Rasa's ability to extract gold from the earth. Essentially, the leader of the Sand Village had been reduced to a miner to keep his people fed.

Rasa's eyes gleamed with determination. "I already have a long-term plan to solve this once and for all."

The room fell silent.

The Kazekage had made a deal with Orochimaru and the Hidden Sound Village. Soon, they would launch an invasion—the Konoha Crush Plan.

Once Konoha was weakened, the Daimyo would have no choice but to shift resources back to the Sand Village. Their economy would recover, and their military strength would rise again.

The meeting concluded, but Rasa was soon informed of an unexpected visitor.

Mufasa had come to see him.

Rasa narrowed his eyes. Was this businessman here to mock him?

"Let him in."

Inside the Kazekage's office, the air was heavy with unspoken tension as the two men faced each other.

Rasa sat behind his desk, fingers tapping idly. His sharp eyes scrutinized Mufasa with cold indifference.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice clipped.

The history between them was complicated. Despite his incredible strength, Mufasa never took on missions, never contributed to the village's funds, and seemed to care only about his own business ventures.

Rasa had long believed that, with Mufasa's abilities, he could easily complete S-rank missions and bring in wealth to the village. But instead, he had built an empire of ninja tools and refused to share his riches.

To him, Mufasa was nothing more than a selfish miser with no sense of duty.

Mufasa, however, wasn't fazed by Rasa's disdain. He knew exactly what the Kazekage thought of him—but he also understood something Rasa didn't.

The Sand Village wouldn't be saved through brute force or politics.

It needed industry. It needed technological progress.

And for that, it needed resources.

Mufasa leaned forward slightly, a knowing smirk on his face. "I heard the Daimyo cut the budget again."

Rasa scoffed. "What does that have to do with you? Even if you're rich, even if you leave this village, it wouldn't concern me."

Mufasa chuckled. "Oh, but I think it does. I have a proposal that might just change everything."