Sunagakure.
If there was anything the people of the village desired with desperation, it was prosperity.
As long as they had enough resources to live, everything else was secondary.
That made one wonder why the founders of the village chose this rock in the middle of the desert, far from any real resources instead of near an oasis or the coast, but that was a matter for another day.
Thanks to the dust imported from Kumo, the rain had allowed them to solve the most urgent problem—and the one with the highest economic cost: water.
And it was astonishing what people could do when they no longer had to worry about dying of thirst because the daimyo decided to cut their budget again.
"One rain a week is the limit!" Ebizo declared while complaining to his sister about how demanding some acquaintances had become. "It gives us more than enough water and makes Dance Powder last longer. If we made it rain more often, our architecture would have serious problems handling the humidity!"
"This is the third time you've said that this week. Do you want me to hit you?" Chiyo looked at him with narrowed eyes, tired of hearing the same complaint over and over again.
She could feel calluses forming in her ears!
Ebizo fell silent—not because he gave in to his sister's threat, but because all that talking had dried his throat, so he poured himself a glass of water. A generous one!
"Chiyo-sama, Ebizo-sama, please, this is serious!" Baki felt like crying. The elders held unquestionable authority, but after so long attending these 'high-level meetings,' he was beginning to have serious doubts. "We have confirmed that the Land of Water has fallen and the Water Daimyo (along with his family and heirs) is dead. Even the disappearance of Kirigakure is a done deal!"
"Absorbed," Chiyo corrected with a wave of her hand. "Kumo absorbed Kiri's survivors in a… sigh, surprisingly sensible move from their Mizukage—well, ex-Mizukage at this point."
Although Kumo supplied Sunagakure with Dance Powder, Chiyo would not deny that the war had consumed many more resources and lives. But unfortunately, that had not been the case.
Mei Terumi had been ruthless, eliminating extremists who would have caused internal conflict or a final desperate resistance that would ruin any chance of surrender.
Paradoxically, it was thanks to this decisive action that enough people from Kiri survived and Kumo was able to grow stronger. It would take years, but once new generations began to be born, there would be no turning back.
Kumo coveted the bloodlines of others and were shameless in their attempts to obtain them, but that did not mean they were not fiercely loyal to their own.
There was more than one reason why Kumo had the lowest number of missing-nin among all the elemental nations.
"In any case, this is good for us," Ebizo said after drinking his glass of water and pouring himself another. "Iwa and Konoha will be as tense as if kunai were hanging over their heads. The daimyos won't stay still either—such expansion from the Land of Lightning is a challenge to the tacit order among the nobility," he explained, looking up at the sky. "The world mocks our location, but precisely because of where we are, we are the only ones who haven't been negatively affected."
Even the Land of Rain would suffer repercussions from this global reorganization.
Now, with the maritime routes the Land of Lightning had taken control of, they could even import many products from coastal ports at a lower price.
Especially some urgent necessities, such as fruit, grains, and alcohol.
"Let's send Kumo a letter of congratulations," Chiyo decided after thinking for a moment. "Expressing goodwill at the cost of a scroll is not difficult for us, and it may give us opportunities to deepen collaboration with them," she said. "Also, I want the messenger to evaluate how the integration of former Kiri ninja into Kumo is proceeding. If there are problems…"
Make sure to secure an extra batch of Dance Powder!
…
Iwagakure.
"How is the old man doing?!" Kurotsuchi asked as she rushed into the hospital after hearing that Ōnoki had collapsed in his office.
"He just had a spike in blood pressure, there's no danger," Kitsuchi reassured his daughter, stopping her from entering the room where her father was resting.
Kurotsuchi sighed in relief.
"What happened that made that old man end up like this?"
For such a tough and stubborn man, it was not easy to end up this way.
"Hm, it's not really a secret," Kitsuchi said, motioning for his daughter to follow him to the garden outside so they could talk more calmly, away from the smell of disinfectant. "You know what happened in the Land of Water, right?"
"Even civilians know about it. What does that have to do with this?" she said, sitting on a bench and crossing her legs.
"Your grandfather wanted to take preventive measures. Kumo has already been a threat to Iwa, but if they assimilate Kiri's people and jutsu, their strength will skyrocket in the coming years," he explained, looking up at the sky. "So he wrote a letter to the Land Daimyo last week, and today the reply arrived."
"I suppose it wasn't good news."
"Our Daimyo has refused to go to war with the Land of Lightning," Kitsuchi said with a heavy expression. "The letter says… well, the essence is that the Daimyo considers it more profitable to leave things as they are. He has no desire to provoke the Lightning Daimyo, not with the warlike attitude he has been showing lately."
"But Grandpa is right! If we wait—"
"You're right," Kitsuchi sighed even more heavily. "But we cannot go to war without the Daimyo's permission."
The Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth were where the villages had the closest and most cooperative relationships with their respective daimyos, meaning both sides shared more benefits but also faced more restrictions on their actions.
"Dad, what do you think the real reason is?" Kurotsuchi didn't believe the Daimyo's excuse for a second. "With what happened to the Water Daimyo's family, the logical thing would be to form an alliance with the Land of Fire, or even let them handle the border issues."
It sounded convincing and logical—which made it obviously a polite falsehood for the uninformed public.
"Our spy in the Daimyo's palace sent information shortly after your grandfather collapsed," Kitsuchi said, pulling a scroll from his pocket and handing it over. "This is the real reason the Daimyo doesn't want to take action."
Kurotsuchi quickly read the contents.
Trade alliance…
Snow Daimyo…
Tariff reductions…
Maritime trade routes…
Half-price spices from the Land of Water…
"Everything comes down to a bit of money?!" Kurotsuchi's face turned red with indignation.
"Daughter, that is not 'a bit of money'," Kitsuchi replied, shaking his head as he retrieved the scroll. "A conservative estimate is that in three months, this alliance would provide enough ryō to the Daimyo to cover two years of our village's operations," he corrected. "Now imagine the profits after one year, five years, or a decade."
Kurotsuchi froze.
"Would it really be that much?" she asked uncertainly.
She was aware of how much money the Daimyo sent to the village and where it was allocated; her grandfather had explained it to her in detail.
The idea that two years of budget could be generated in just three months (conservatively) was shocking.
From the Daimyo of Earth's perspective, it was like choosing between making a fortune or suffering losses while provoking the other side—even though that side had already offered generous conditions as goodwill (political bribery).
No wonder her grandfather had suffered a spike in blood pressure. He likely understood the political situation, but emotionally it was unacceptable.
"I hope the Kiri ninja recover some courage and cause trouble…" she muttered.
Since the Earth Daimyo had refused war, it only meant that after making money through the trade alliance, he intended to increase Iwa's budget so it would not fall behind Kumo.
But the Daimyo clearly did not understand that the two villages faced completely different situations.
Iwa would have more money—so what?
Kumo would gain money, resources, jutsu, and people.
…
Konoha.
Hiruzen looked visibly worn down as he handled documents in the Hokage's office.
Since the Chūnin Exams, everything had gone downhill, but he still had ways to regain control. Not in the way he would have liked, but control was still in his hands.
Then his old comrade Danzo had started acting strangely.
Almost as if he were a different person!
If he hadn't discreetly ordered the ANBU to check Danzo's recent medical records at the village hospital, he would have suspected his friend had been replaced.
He even used some Hyūga to verify he wasn't under a genjutsu.
Ever since learning about Shisui's abilities, he had taken extra precautions in that regard.
But no—Danzo was still Danzo.
Yet Hiruzen had the feeling his comrade was simply plotting his most elaborate master plan yet, which made him uneasy.
Then there was the death of his student Jiraiya…
The pain he felt when a toad brought him the news was something no one could understand.
Although he had never told anyone that Jiraiya was the illegitimate son he had with a civilian woman before marrying Biwako, he had always cared for him in his own way since learning of his mother's death.
That day, he had drunk alone.
But if there was something that completely threw him off balance, it was Naruto.
How on earth was he able to understand the inheritance laws of the Fourth Hokage so well?
Even Kakashi was baffled by his student's new habits.
As far as he knew, he didn't even drink expired milk anymore.
Somehow, Minato and Kushina's son had figured out on his own that by using Transformation Jutsu and going to buy daily supplies, he could trick civilians with astonishing ease.
But all of this paled when he received the Daimyo's letter, demanding that he do something to stop Kumo's actions.
With the village's current instability?
Why didn't he just ask him to hang himself from a beam?
An emergency meeting later, Hiruzen had reached an acceptable conclusion.
"Send a group of Uchiha with some Hyūga to the capital of the Land of Water," Danzo had suggested coldly. "A small elite unit to assess the situation before we act."
When Hiruzen heard the suggestion, his heart calmed.
Yes, this was his old friend!
Sending the two most important clans of the village (aside from Sarutobi and Shimura) showed how seriously they took the Daimyo's orders.
If the mission succeeded, they could push the Hyūga to the front to receive honors.
But if it failed, then it would be the Uchiha's turn!
"Indeed, Danzo, you have not lost your touch at all!" Hiruzen thought admiringly as he exchanged looks with his colleague.
The White Zetsu impersonating Danzo frowned slightly.
"Did he really accept such a nonsensical proposal?" he thought, puzzled.
Although on paper it sounded impressive, in reality they were just sending a handful of ninjas in response to a Daimyo request to get involved in a war between the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning.
Where was the supposed "sincerity" in such a move?
But to his surprise, they genuinely believed it was a deeply strategic decision with major political implications capable of influencing clan merit under the Will of Fire.
How has Konoha not collapsed on itself with such idiots in charge?
Oh, right—Danzo.
Well, Danzo and the massive amount of money the village receives.
But the situation took a complete turn.
"Have we lost contact with them?" Hiruzen asked darkly to the Yamanaka clan leader, responsible for intelligence liaison on the "Light" side, outside Danzo's darker channels.
"Hokage-sama, that's only one of the reasons I came to report," Inoichi said, pale-faced, shocked by what he had to deliver—or possibly still affected by the Mind Transfer technique. "The war between the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning… ended a week ago."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" everyone stood up in shock.
"It hasn't even been half a year—how could it end so quickly?"
These conflicts usually lasted months; it wouldn't be an exaggeration for a war like this to take five years if both sides fought fully without regard for cost.
"Kirigakure surrendered once the Water Daimyo and his family were confirmed dead," Inoichi said, struggling to believe it himself despite multiple verifications. "In exchange for surrender…"
"And?"
"…They were assimilated by Kumo."
Hiruzen felt his breath vanish, and everything went dark.