Chapter 219: The State Of The Ninja World
Capital City of the Land of Earth, Daimyo’s Palace.
Even in winter, the palace of Muto Kai, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, remained warm as spring, with expensive incense slowly wafting through the air.
However, Muto Kai, seated squarely on the main seat, had a face as gloomy as the sky outside.
He was dressed in a gorgeous court robe embroidered with the emblem of the Land of Earth, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the precious rosewood armrest, revealing his inner anxiety and restlessness.
Below him, the short but powerfully imposing Third Tsuchikage Onoki sat with arms crossed, his white eyebrows tightly furrowed, listening to the Daimyo’s account with an equally grave expression.
“…In a single night!” Muto Kai’s voice carried suppressed anger and a hint of barely perceptible fear as he waved an urgent intelligence scroll in his hand.
“Land of Stars! Those damned rogue ninja! They actually… actually really annexed the Land of Swamps, Land of Shadows, and Land of Snow! Adding the previous Land of Demons and their own territory, their territorial area has now jumped to third in the west! Second only to my Land of Earth and the Land of Wind!”
He grew more agitated as he spoke, suddenly standing up: “And that’s not all! What means did they use? Bloodbath! They slaughtered almost all the daimyo and nobles of the five countries! They distributed the land and grain to those mud-legged commoners! This is digging at the roots of our rule! Onoki! Do you understand?! This trend must not be allowed to grow!”
Muto Kai abruptly stopped pacing, his gaze sharply fixed on Onoki, his tone carrying unprecedented severity: “Onoki, I command you to immediately assemble the Stone Village army and march west! You must utterly erase this so-called Land of Stars with thunderous momentum! We absolutely cannot allow such a threat—established by rogue ninja, acting so ruthlessly, and directly bordering our Land of Earth’s west and south—to continue existing!”
The hall fell silent for a moment, with only the incense smoke curling upward.
The several ministers standing by dared not even breathe heavily.
Onoki was silent for a moment, then lifted his head to look at the furious Daimyo, revealing a trace of helplessness: “Your Excellency the Daimyo, I completely understand your concerns. The rise of the Land of Stars is indeed abrupt and dangerous, and their style of action is even more shocking.”
He shifted his tone, making it heavier: “However, Your Excellency, war is no child’s play. Stone Village has just endured the brutal slaughter of the Third Great Ninja War, with heavy losses, severe depletion of elite ninja, massive consumption of supplies reserves, and countless families still not recovered from the pain of losing loved ones. Right now, the village urgently needs time to recuperate and restore its vitality. In the short term…”
“It is truly incapable of supporting another large-scale full-scale war against a powerhouse of unknown strength. Hasty warfare would make victory or defeat uncertain; even if we win, it would inevitably be a pyrrhic victory, only allowing the watchful Cloud Village, Konoha, and other great powers to pick up the benefits.”
Muto Kai’s brows tightly furrowed, his face showing clear displeasure: “Are we just to watch this threat grow? Watch those rogue ninja and commoners strut around there?!”
“Of course not.” A glint of shrewd calculation flashed in Onoki’s eyes as he leaned slightly forward, lowering his voice: “Large-scale open warfare is something Stone Village temporarily cannot bear. But… some ‘unofficial’ military actions and strikes can still be carried out.”
Muto Kai’s gaze sharpened: “Oh? Tell me more.”
Onoki stroked his beard and slowly said: “If Your Excellency the Daimyo is truly determined to curb or even weaken the Land of Stars, and is willing to provide a sum of… extra, unrecorded in regular military funds ‘special action funds’… then I can arrange it.”
“We can secretly support and employ some wandering ninja organizations or mercenary organizations.”
“Have them step forward to conduct continuous harassment, destruction, and attacks on the Land of Stars’ borderline, transport supply lines, even important facilities in its heartland. Stone Village can secretly dispatch a small number of elite ninja, disguised and mixed in, to provide guidance and key intelligence, and even personally act in certain key operations to ensure strike effects.”
He paused, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes: “The purpose of this is to continuously bleed the Land of Stars, disrupt its process of digesting new territory, create chaos and panic, and slow its development speed. At the same time, it can probe the true combat power details and defensive weaknesses of the Land of Stars.”
“And our Stone Village and Land of Earth can stay out of it to the maximum extent, avoiding direct involvement in large-scale conflict. The cost… is far less than directly launching war.”
Muto Kai listened and pondered, his fingers once again unconsciously tapping the armrest.
He understood Onoki’s meaning; this was a common ninja tactic and indeed more feasible and stable under the current situation.
After a moment, he slowly nodded, making his decision: “Good! Just as you say! For the special military funds, I will have the inner treasury prepare it quickly and disburse it to you through secret channels. Onoki, this matter is entirely in your hands! I want to see results; they must know that the ninja world is not a place where those rogue ninja can act recklessly!”
“As you command, Your Excellency the Daimyo. I will do my utmost.” Onoki slightly bowed.
How to use this money to both complete the Daimyo’s task and maximize the supplementation of Stone Village’s strength would require careful planning.
Almost at the same time, Capital City of the Land of Wind, Daimyo’s Mansion.
The atmosphere here was equally grave, even more oppressive.
Sato Masaki, the gaunt-faced middle-aged Daimyo of the Land of Wind, dressed in ornate robes symbolizing the Land of Wind, was glaring darkly at the report in his hand.
Opposite him stood the Fourth Kazekage Rasa.
Rasa wore the Kazekage robe, his face equally unsightly, carrying the exhaustion from long-term toil over the village’s resource shortages and a trace of suppressed anger.
“Rasa!” Sato Masaki suddenly slammed the report on the table.
“Look at this! That Land of Stars in the west! It’s already taken shape! Five countries! The daimyo and noble systems of five whole countries uprooted by them! Now their borderline is right up against our Land of Wind’s face!”
“This group of lawless rogue ninja—we absolutely cannot sit by and watch them continue to grow! You must immediately come up with a way for me! Mobilize all the power of Sand Village to halt the Land of Stars’ expansion! If necessary, deliver a thunderous strike!”
Rasa took a deep breath, trying to suppress his inner irritation.
Sand Village had just barely recovered a bit from the ruins of the Third Great Ninja War; the village was dirt poor, ninja treatment low, task shares squeezed by Konoha, and he, as Kazekage, worried all day about money and resources, even having to use Magnetic Release sand gold ability to pan for gold in the desert to subsidize the village.
He lifted his head, meeting the Daimyo’s aggressive gaze, his voice hoarse: “Your Excellency the Daimyo, you should be well aware of Sand Village’s current state. We lack funds, lack supplies, have insufficient ninja numbers, and elites are especially scarce. Maintaining the existing border defenses is already stretched thin; we fundamentally have no ability to proactively initiate a war against an emerging powerhouse. Halt? Halt with what? Pile it up with sand?”
Upon hearing this, Sato Masaki’s face grew even darker, his tone laced with sarcasm: “Oh? The grand Sand Village, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, can’t even deal with a force assembled by a bunch of rogue ninja? Rasa, how are you Kazekage? Do you want me to cut the Daimyo’s expenditures to increase your military funds?!”
These words were like a spark, instantly igniting the long-accumulated resentment in Rasa’s heart!
Cut the Daimyo’s expenditures?
The extravagant spending of the Daimyo’s Mansion—if even a little leaked out, it would be enough to give Sand Village a big breather!
Rasa suddenly stepped forward, his voice abruptly rising, carrying long-suppressed rage and sarcasm:
“Your Excellency the Daimyo! You speak lightly! Why does Sand Village lack funds? Why can’t we get high-reward tasks? You and your ministers would rather commission those profitable domestic guard and construction tasks to Konoha ninja far away in the Land of Fire than give them to our own country’s Sand Village! Just because Konoha’s efficiency is higher? Better reputation?”
“Have you ever thought that this is step by step strangling Sand Village’s economic lifeline! Now the village struggles just to keep running, yet you demand we proactively attack an enemy powerhouse of unknown strength? Forgive my bluntness, this is simply making unreasonable demands, sending Sand Village ninja to their deaths!”
He grew more agitated, almost roaring: “Since Your Excellency the Daimyo is so wary of the Land of Stars, so values efficiency and safety, why rely on our ‘incompetent’ Sand Village anymore?”
“You can simply take the gold and silver from the national treasury, go to Konohagakure in the Land of Fire to post an S-rank mission, hire the Sannin, hire the Copy Ninja Kakashi, or even hire Konoha’s entire elite force! Let them solve the Land of Stars threat for you! Why bother tormenting Sand Village!”
These words were like a knife, directly piercing through the thin paper maintaining surface harmony, brutally exposing the Wind Country high-level officials’ long-term neglect of Sand Village’s interests, even indirectly aiding the enemy Konoha!
Sato Masaki was shaken by Rasa’s sudden defiance and merciless sarcasm, trembling with rage, his face alternating between green and white, pointing at Rasa: “You… you… Rasa! You are insolent! How dare you speak to me like this!”
The atmosphere in the palace instantly dropped to freezing point.
The surrounding guards and ministers broke out in cold sweat, silent as cicadas in winter.
After unleashing this tirade, Rasa felt some relief from the pent-up frustration in his chest, but what followed was even deeper helplessness and exhaustion.
He knew he had gone too far, nearly tearing off the facade, but he was truly fed up!
Rasa coldly eyed the speechless, furious Daimyo, said no more, merely slightly bowed, and stiffly dropped: “I am incompetent, failing Your Excellency’s trust. How to deal with the Land of Stars, please decide yourself. Sand Village’s military is dilapidated, in urgent need of rest, I take my leave!”
With that, he ignored the Daimyo’s ashen face, turned resolutely, Kazekage robe swirling, and strode out of the suffocating Daimyo’s Mansion.
Leaving Sato Masaki behind, nearly exploding with anger, cursing Rasa’s rudeness.
The Land of Wind’s policies had indeed shortchanged Sand Village many times, but such a blatant confrontation still left the Daimyo utterly humiliated.
After this incident, the rift between the Land of Wind and Sand Village seemed to deepen further.
Winter passed, spring arrived, time quietly entered Konoha
The rise of the Land of Stars changed the ninja world’s landscape, influencing the decisions and mindsets of various forces.
The Land of Earth’s covert scheming, the Land of Wind’s internal discord, all foreshadowed that new turbulence might be imminent.
Meanwhile, the Land of Stars itself, after madly devouring vast territory, entered a tense and critical phase of digestion and integration.
The future ninja world was destined not to be peaceful.
