The wind howled violently, and a small fortress city loomed, appearing and disappearing amidst the swirling dust and sand...
Clop! Clop!
Heavy footsteps trod upon the sandy ground. Shinki gazed toward the faintly visible city and bowed his head respectfully. "Master Aoi, this is the Land of Ono!"
"Hmm."
Aoi nodded faintly. As he drew closer, he saw that the entire city was fortified to the teeth. Nearly a thousand samurai stood lined up along the battlements, guarding the walls.
Beyond that, Aoi sensed the distinct presence of chakra...
And there was quite a significant amount of it, too!
As expected, Aoi thought. No matter how small a nation is, shinobi are always an essential part. After all, many ninja villages exist and thrive without even belonging to a country.
It wouldn't make sense that a nation with the resources of a state backing it couldn't cultivate its own shinobi...
"Since that is the case, why didn't you bring any shinobi along with you?" Aoi asked, confused. Moreover, it seemed strange that Shimura, the Daimyo of the nation, would be traveling outside his borders during a time of conflict.
Five minutes later, as Shinki recounted their history, Aoi finally understood the whole story...
In the world of Naruto, many small nations existed between the great powers, serving as buffer zones.
Just like around the Land of Wind, there were the Land of Birds, Land of Rain, Land of Rivers, Land of Ono...
These small nations varied greatly in strength. Under normal circumstances, wars would have broken out long ago as they fought to unify the region.
However, the Land of Wind, being a Great Nation, strictly forbade its smaller neighbors from waging war, precisely because they served this vital buffer purpose.
If the small nations were to unite, not only would the buffer zone disappear, but this newly risen power would inevitably threaten the status of the Great Nations...
"But one year ago, the Village Hidden in the Sand was destroyed by Konoha," Shinki said, his voice filled with resentment.
"Since then, the Land of Wind has lost all ability to control its borders. Seeing this perfect opportunity, every nation around here has tried to rise up, leading to endless warfare and chaos!"
Hearing this, Aoi felt a strange twinge of embarrassment. I never realized that all these nations are fighting each other to the death... and at the root of it all, it's actually my own doing.
"But still — you are the Daimyo. Why were you traveling deep within enemy territory?" Aoi still couldn't wrap his head around it. It was practically walking right into a trap!
At this point, Shimura, who was standing nearby, spoke up.
"Among all the nations in this chaotic region, our Land of Ono is the weakest. If we did not seek aid from outside, we would surely have been conquered and wiped out by our neighbor, the Land of Birds, sooner or later!"
Shimura was subtly trying to tell Aoi: This is a total mess you've taken over. It's useless for you to be here; there's no saving it.
However, Aoi's attention was fixed elsewhere. "Seeking aid? Which nation did you go to?"
"The Land of Rain!"
Shimura ground his teeth as he spoke, clearly bitter. "The Daimyo of the Land of Rain sent a letter stating that he would only send troops to help... if I came to visit him in person."
"So you went?"
"I reasoned that the Land of Birds lies between the Land of Rain and my own land. I thought there was no way they would try to march an army all the way around the Land of Birds just to attack us," Shimura gritted out.
"But I never imagined they would conspire with the Land of Birds and simply sell me out completely!"
Hmm...
Aoi thought to himself: Should I say this is exactly the kind of thing Danzo would do?
The Land of Birds would get the Land of Ono, while the Land of Rain would claim exclusive control over the vast borderlands that the Land of Wind could no longer govern.
Quietly and secretly, the two nations had reached a perfect agreement...
"It seems this task isn't going to be as simple as I thought."
Aoi shook his head helplessly. The situation of the Land of Ono was far more dire than he had anticipated.
They couldn't even manage the basic diplomatic strategy of befriending distant states while attacking those nearby.
The situation was rotten through and through, with the threat of total annihilation hanging over them at every moment.
But now that he was here... "The Land of Ono will never fall!"
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