"Where am I supposed to find that missing one percent?"
Ever since Nobuko took the throne as Daimyō, Aoi — disguised as Master Gen — had been invited to take up residence in the Daimyō's palace.
The Gorge of No, the Plains of No, and the Hills of Birds.
Late into the night, Aoi marked these three locations on a map of the surrounding lands, deep in thought as if planning something important.
Nobuko stood beside him, acting as dutiful and attentive as a young bride, adding incense to the burner and grinding ink for his brush.
After studying the map for a long time, Aoi reached a conclusion: Unless I start a war, I will never claim that extra one percent of territory in my lifetime.
To the north lay the powerful Land of Earth.
With the might of Iwagakure behind it, trying to seize land from them would be like reaching into a tiger's mouth — nothing short of suicide.
To the south stretched the Land of Wind.
Though the fall of Sunagakure had weakened it greatly, an emaciated camel was still larger than a horse; the Land of No was far too small to pose a threat.
Even to the east, where the neighboring nations were considered the weakest, lay the Land of Birds and the Land of Rain.
One boasted formidable samurai, the other skilled shinobi — neither was a foe the Land of No could easily provoke.
Looking in every direction, all he saw were powerful rivals…
Worse still, the outcome of war between nations was something almost impossible for a single person to alter.
Even if Aoi threw caution to the wind, stormed into another country, and fought nonstop for ten days and nights to seize a piece of land, it would hardly count as a true victory.
If he dared act so recklessly, the shinobi of the great nations would never stand idly by.
They would band together and crush him completely.
While conflicts between villages were common, there was an unwritten rule throughout the ninja world: Shinobi must not interfere excessively in the affairs of ordinary people.
After all, shinobi were born from ordinary families.
If the civilian population was destroyed, they would have no foundation left to support them.
On this point, even the most powerful nations agreed.
This left Aoi with only one path forward: Develop the Land of No to its fullest, strengthen its national power, and compete fairly on equal terms.
But to truly raise a nation's strength, one essential requirement was a fully equipped shinobi village — complete with training grounds, ninja academies, research facilities, and a steady supply of techniques and weapons.
And all of these were listed as rewards for completing the main quest.
This created a frustrating loop:
To finish the quest, I need more national strength.
To build strength, I need a shinobi village. To get the village, I have to finish the quest…
Just as Aoi was racking his brain over this dilemma, urgent news arrived from outside: "Our scouts at the border report that the Land of Birds is preparing to launch a full‑scale invasion!"
"What? Perfect!"
Aoi leaped to his feet, slamming his hand on the table in excitement.
I was just worrying about how to justify invading them myself, and here they are offering me the perfect excuse on a silver platter.
Talk about convenient service — five stars all the way!
"Ding — New Quest Triggered: Counter‑Invasion."
Quest Objective: In response to the Land of Birds' aggression, use overwhelming power to show them who the true invader is!
Reward: One Kage‑Tier Treasure Chest, 3,000 System Points.
With that, an official order signed and approved by Nobuko was quickly sent out: Mobilize all forces and prepare for war — defeat the Land of Birds in one decisive strike!
Though the Land of No was small, it still had a population of nearly a million.
Close to ten thousand soldiers were assembled and marched toward the border to meet the enemy head‑on.
This won't be as simple as it sounds…
For some reason, Aoi suddenly felt a sense of unease.
Otherwise, the System — which is usually so stingy — would never give out a Kage‑level chest as a reward.
If that's the case, I must make preparations in advance.
He folded a note and slipped it into the mouth of a summoned messenger serpent, then murmured to himself: Let's hope I won't actually have to resort to this measure…
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