Chapter 43: The Fragile Balance
In the dark night—
Kenzo's movements did not pause.
He moved swiftly as he left the village behind, his figure slipping through the trees like a shadow.
As he advanced, his gaze lifted slightly toward the sky.
The moon was already dipping down.
Fading.
Everything had gone as he predicted.
He had already calculated everything before taking action.
Every movement.
Every risk.
And most importantly—
A way out.
He finally slowed to a stop beneath a large tree, its thick canopy barely shielding the ground from the rain.
Reaching into his cloak, he took out a small map.
The paper was slightly worn, protected carefully from the rain.
This map had been bought at a steep price in the black market.
Not entirely accurate—
But good enough.
Kenzo's eyes scanned it calmly.
Right now, he was at the borders of the Land of Rain.
More specifically—
Near the shifting edges where the rain-soaked territory began to thin out, slowly blending toward the Land of Grass and the Land of Rivers.
These border regions were unstable.
No clear authority.
No proper patrol routes.
Just scattered villages and broken paths used by traders, smugglers, and rogue shinobi.
If he moved slightly west, he would reach deeper into the Land of Rivers.
If he shifted north—
He would approach the outer zones of the Land of Fire.
Each direction carried its own risks.
After a moment, Kenzo's gaze settled on a faint marking on the map.
Not too close.
Not too far.
A small settlement.
Barely marked.
Likely a cluster of a few dozen households.
Surrounded by uneven farmland and broken woodland.
Far enough from major routes to avoid attention—
But not isolated enough to be abandoned.
Perfect.
This village would be his next target.
He folded the map and stored it away.
For now—
He would only target small villages.
Larger settlements could wait.
Kenzo's eyes darkened slightly as his thoughts shifted.
His idea was simple.
He wanted to exploit the shinobi system.
The political environment of the current shinobi world was extremely complex and delicate.
The five great nations controlled most of the world's resources and power.
They were—
The Land of Fire.
The Land of Wind.
The Land of Lightning.
The Land of Water.
And the Land of Earth.
Everything outside of them—
Were smaller nations.
Buffer states.
Like the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rivers.
Places meant to absorb conflict.
So that the flames of war would not spread into the great nations themselves.
Because war—
Came with losses.
Economic damage.
Instability.
Destruction of infrastructure.
Things no major nation wanted within its own territory.
So instead—
They allowed it to happen elsewhere.
Almost every nation maintained its own hidden village for defense.
Such as Konohagakure.
Which, in truth—
Was a military organization.
And shinobi—
Were its special forces.
Across the entire world—
Shinobi made up only a small fraction.
One to three percent at most.
The rest—
Were ordinary people.
If one made a rough estimate—
The total population stood around one hundred to two hundred million.
A small number.
Kenzo's thoughts shifted further.
As for the nobles and the daimyō—
Their structure was even more complicated.
The nobles acted as feudal lords.
Each holding land.
People.
Influence.
This made direct action against them extremely dangerous.
Because they were connected.
Through alliances.
Through marriage.
Through shared interests.
If one fell—
Others would respond.
If the balance broke—
The entire nation could collapse into chaos.
And that chaos would not remain contained.
Other nations would see it as opportunity.
They would intervene.
They would invade.
They would carve away territory.
That was something no hidden village could afford.
If Konohagakure took direct action against the daimyō of the Land of Fire—
It would not remain an internal matter.
Other great nations would react.
Kumogakure would not sit still.
Iwagakure would move.
Even Kirigakure might take advantage.
Because removing a daimyō meant instability.
And instability meant weakness.
And weakness—
Invited war.
That was the real reason.
Not inability—
But consequence.
Even if Konoha succeeded—
They would face pressure from all sides.
Internal rebellion.
External invasion.
And a collapse of the financial structure that supported the village.
Because the daimyō funded them.
Remove him—
And that pipeline would break.
At least for a time.
And in war—
Time was everything.
So a silent balance was maintained.
The nobles governed their lands.
The daimyō held central authority.
And the hidden villages provided military power.
Each side taking what they needed.
Without crossing certain lines.
This balance existed in most nations.
But—
The Land of Rain was different.
It had never truly been stable.
Even at its peak—
It was held together by force.
And that force died with Hanzo.
After his fall—
No one replaced him.
No ruler.
No unity.
Only fragments remained.
Villages scattered.
Each surviving on their own.
The country itself had become hollow.
On the surface, it still existed.
But in truth—
It was nothing more than a battlefield that never ended.
Its position between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure ensured that.
A buffer zone.
A place where conflicts could be fought without consequence.
No nation truly cared about what happened here.
Only that it remained weak.
So wars were fought here.
Indirectly.
Through proxies.
Through mercenaries.
And when those conflicts ended—
Nothing changed.
The land remained broken.
There was no real governance.
Some regions were controlled by small factions.
Others by rogue shinobi.
They did have a daimyō—
But only for appearance.
He held almost no real power.
The same went for the nobles.
They had no true control over their lands.
This was intentional.
Maintained by the great nations.
Because this land—
Was never meant to rise.
Kenzo's gaze steadied.
In the current timeline—
The influence of Akatsuki had not yet fully expanded.
Which meant—
This was the best moment.
Small-scale killings—
Would go unnoticed.
For now.
The rain continued to fall.
And Kenzo stepped forward once more.
Toward his next village.