Chapter 484: The Current State of the Shinobi World
"Kazekage Rasa is dead. Now we need to elect a new Kazekage, but in this situation, who can bear such a heavy responsibility?"
In Sunagakure, a group of elders sat together, all of them frowning as they discussed the village's major affairs.
Sunagakure could already be described as being in dire straits.
It was probably only a few days away from the destruction of both country and village.
"This..."
The elders exchanged glances, their feelings complicated.
If Chiyo were still alive, then with her ability and experience, becoming Kazekage would naturally have been a sure thing.
But the problem was that Chiyo was also dead.
Sunagakure truly seemed unable to find anyone capable of serving as Kazekage.
The village was now in an extremely awkward position.
Originally, Sunagakure had wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to ambush Iwagakure and force a swap of villages.
But they had not expected to be exposed before they could succeed.
In the end, they had scurried back to this desolate, sandy place.
Then they received news of Kazekage Rasa's death in battle.
For a time, it could be said that Sunagakure had lost almost everything.
"The Land of Lightning has surrendered."
Baki interjected.
Originally, he did not have the right to speak here, because this was a discussion among Sunagakure's elders.
But with the severe decline of Sunagakure's ninja, and with Baki being a seasoned jonin of considerable strength, the elders only showed slight displeasure at his interruption and said nothing.
"Baki, are you suggesting..."
One elder looked at Baki, his brows deeply furrowed.
But he roughly guessed what Baki meant.
After all, anyone able to sit in this room would not be brainless.
"I just think that even the powerful Kumogakure could only abandon their country and flee to the Land of Fire. It's not shameful for us to surrender to that newly established Land of Flame."
Baki spoke calmly.
Inside his brain, a parasite was subtly vibrating.
However, this time, Baki truly felt this way himself.
Even without the parasite's influence, Baki would have said such words.
Because Sunagakure was simply too weak now.
So weak that there were no other options.
Even who would serve as Kazekage had become a problem.
If not for the One-Tail still serving as the village's weapon, Sunagakure might have already been annexed by ninja villages from other countries.
But against that suffocatingly powerful Land of Flame, this so-called trump card was as good as nothing.
The only thing Sunagakure could be proud of was that the Land of Wind was a desolate, sandy place that no one wanted to occupy.
The only things in this country that could entice ninja were some habitable areas and the gold dust beneath the sand.
But that gold dust was difficult to excavate, except for the Kazekage who had mastered Magnet Release.
"We are Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages!"
A bald man suddenly slammed the table and stood up, speaking with great dissatisfaction.
Some elders silently nodded.
They had all lived through that era.
Sunagakure had once fought against other Ninja Villages as well, and even Konoha had many ninja who had died at their hands.
Now they were supposed to surrender to a newly established country?
Was that not shameful?
"Then Elder, who should we choose as Kazekage?"
Baki retorted, instantly silencing the other party.
The elder said nothing.
He sat down, lowered his head, and smoked without uttering another word.
This made Baki let out a sneer.
The elder angrily looked up at Baki, his eyes filled with rage, but Baki completely disregarded this so-called veteran.
"My opinion is the same as Baki's."
An old man spoke, and his words made the elders turn their heads.
Because this person was Ebizo, Chiyo's younger brother.
Although he was no longer active on the front lines, he controlled a vast intelligence network.
Moreover, the other party also possessed considerable strength.
Though his combat power had declined somewhat due to his advanced age, he still could not be ignored, and his words carried great weight throughout Sunagakure.
For a time, the indignant elders fell silent.
"Everyone, our Sunagakure is no longer the Sunagakure it once was. What ability and confidence do we have now to contend with that behemoth? You should know that Iwagakure's Five-Tails was directly surrounded and killed by the ninja of that country."
Ebizo coughed, then spoke softly.
This sentence made the elders even more silent.
Yes.
Sunagakure currently had no strong leader capable of becoming Kage and suppressing everyone.
Its only pillar was the One-Tail Jinchuriki.
But the problem was that even the Five-Tails could not withstand the opponent's attacks, let alone a mere One-Tail.
If the Land of Flame truly intended to attack them, then resisting and leaving behind a village full of corpses would be their only path.
The elders lowered their heads.
They had one more path.
They could go to the Land of Fire and cooperate with Konoha and Kumogakure.
But the problem was that cooperation was built on the foundation of strength.
If their strength was insufficient, then cooperation would only turn them into cannon fodder.
It would be better to surrender directly.
"Lord Amamiya Kenichi, the ruler of the Land of Flame, is a powerful ninja and a very decisive ruler. If we pledge allegiance to him, our Sunagakure can definitely relocate out of this desolate Land of Wind. Our descendants won't have to live in this godforsaken place for their entire lives!"
Baki spoke forcefully.
Ebizo also nodded, indicating his support for Baki's statement.
"So, let's vote now. In any case, we originally intended to find another place to live. Now, without death and without battle, we can provide a better environment for our descendants. What's the difference?"
Ebizo coughed, then raised his hand.
After a moment, most people in the conference room had raised their hands.
As they did, more and more people raised their hands after them, leaving only a few stubborn individuals who refused.
But that did not matter.
Ebizo glanced at Baki, and Baki nodded.
These stubborn holdouts would soon discover that they were about to be ostracized by the entire village.
The ship of the new world could no longer accommodate these remnants of the old era.
And while Kenichi was completely unaware, another nation in the Shinobi World completely perished and was renamed the Land of Flame.
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind quickly met the jonin from Sunagakure.
They confiscated the Daimyo's family assets, leaving him no chance to escape.
Shackles were firmly placed on the once proud necks of the nobility.
At that moment, a servant of the Daimyo who witnessed everything nearby suddenly realized that the so-called Daimyo was no different from an ordinary person like himself.
Almost at the very moment the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was detained, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth was also placed under guard by Iwagakure ninja.
"What are you Iwagakure people doing?!"
The Daimyo of the Land of Earth looked at the ninja before him in terror, roaring furiously.
His bravado betrayed his fear, making the sight rather amusing.
"What do you think, Your Excellency?"
Onoki looked at the Daimyo of the Land of Earth with cold eyes.
Before he made his move, he had not noticed anything.
But now that he had, he realized that this bastard, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, possessed so much wealth, yet had been so stingy with the funds allocated to Iwagakure each year.
This made Onoki somewhat angry.
If the Daimyo of the Land of Earth had fully supported them, Iwagakure would not have developed into its current state.
Onoki watched as the furious and roaring Daimyo of the Land of Earth, who kept cursing them as traitors and villains, was dragged away.
Then he wearily closed his eyes.
He coughed and took out a handkerchief, wiping away the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
His body was slowly deteriorating.
It seemed to be an incurable illness.
From the moment he was attacked by that terrifying weapon, Onoki had realized that his body had been severely damaged.
But at least he was still alive.
"I'm old. I wonder if this body can still secure some favorable terms for Iwagakure?"
Onoki sighed.
Iwagakure had decided to surrender to Kenichi.
There was no other way.
The main force of Iwagakure's ninja had been annihilated in the Land of Fire.
Kurotsuchi had escaped, along with some remnants, but all the other ninja were gone.
Completely gone.
Just thinking about it made Onoki's heart tremble and ache.
If he had known that Kenichi, this madman, was as strong as the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, he would have surrendered long ago.
That way, every household in the village would not be wearing funeral clothes.
And now, Iwagakure's foundation had been cut in half.
The Five-Tails was gone.
Iwagakure had no other path.
Onoki also knew about the alliance between Konoha and Kumogakure.
But what good was it?
Onoki was not optimistic about the alliance between Konoha and Kumogakure.
Kenichi had annexed the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water, but these were not the main points.
The main point was how they would face those two monsters.
Those two monsters who were invincible just by standing there.
During this time, whenever Onoki slept at night, his dreams were filled with True Several Thousand Hands and Susanoo fighting each other.
Small as he was, he would use Dust Release, but in the end, he could do nothing but watch in despair as the village was destroyed before his eyes.
So Onoki understood.
He decided to surrender while he was still alive and still a capable ninja, securing more favorable conditions for the village so that it could have a brighter future.
That would be enough.
"I wonder if the envoy has arrived?"
Onoki looked at the magnificent Daimyo's residence of the Land of Earth, as if seeing the once equally magnificent Iwagakure.
The light of the setting sun fell upon the Daimyo's residence.
It also fell upon Onoki.
Onoki stretched out his hand, his palm seeming to grasp the sun, as if he wanted to hold it in his hand so that it would not set.
But in the end, the sun still disappeared before him.
Onoki dejectedly lowered his hand and let out a long sigh.
—
"So... you returned from Iwagakure and incidentally brought Onoki's letter?"
Kenichi looked at Kabuto before him, who was smiling at him.
Meanwhile, Kenichi held a letter from Onoki in his hand.
However, what surprised Kenichi the most was Kabuto himself.
He had actually returned from Iwagakure.
Kenichi wondered whether Onoki had seen through Kabuto's identity and specifically sent him to deliver the letter.
But for a letter, it was quite large, and...
Kenichi weighed the letter in his hand.
It was quite heavy.
Upon feeling this, Kenichi generally understood what Onoki meant.
However, this was good.
To occupy a country without shedding blood, and with the cooperation of Onoki and his people, occupying the Land of Earth would allow him to quickly take control of its internal affairs and make the Land of Earth part of the Land of Flame as soon as possible.
He could also search the Land of Earth for some of the minerals he needed.
"Yes, Lord Amamiya. But Lord Tsuchikage seems to want to merge with our Land of Flame."
Kabuto was in a good mood.
Kenichi had previously promised him freedom once this matter was resolved.
"Hmm, you've worked hard. From now on, you can do whatever you want."
Kenichi nodded.
He waved his hand.
Kabuto was no longer of much use to him.
Or rather, Kenichi still needed to consider what the intelligence organization would look like in the future.
But at this moment, Kabuto was stunned.
Although he had received assurance from Kenichi long ago, combined with Danzo's nonsense, Kabuto had still harbored some doubts about whether Kenichi would truly keep his word.
When he had asked just now, his heart had been filled with anxiety.
Now that he had received a genuine answer, Kabuto's heart suddenly seemed to stop.
Then it began to beat rapidly.
He quickly double-checked to make sure he had not misheard.
"It's true. From now on, you don't have to do spy work anymore. Do whatever you want, no matter what it is."
Kenichi looked at Kabuto strangely.
Wasn't this what he had always dreamed of?
Why was he acting like this now that it had come true?
Kabuto received his answer.
He hurried out, almost tripping from distraction as he left.
Kenichi shook his head, thinking that this unlucky kid had really had it rough.
But Kabuto paid no attention to any of that.
He scurried out, and he did not even know how he walked.
In any case, when he came to his senses, he saw the lights of the orphanage in the night.
Nonou was telling bedtime stories to the orphans.
Kabuto stood outside and watched.
He quietly watched.
Tears flowed from his eyes without him even realizing it, until Nonou noticed him and walked over.
"Kabuto?"
With that soft inquiry, Kabuto suddenly smiled.
He wiped the tears from his eyes, looked at Nonou before him, and revealed a childlike smile.
"I'm home."
And so, the Shinobi World lost a spy named Kabuto, and gained a Kabuto who cared for the children in the orphanage.
.....
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