The war between the Land of No and the Land of Birds ended with a result that caught everyone completely off guard:
Despite having the advantage in numbers, the Land of Birds suffered a crushing defeat.
The Land of No seized the moment and pressed forward, capturing the Hills of Birds and expanding its territory significantly.
When news of this great victory reached home, the entire nation erupted in celebration — a triumph the Land of No had not seen in many years…
Yet even amid such joy, there were still voices of discontent and malicious rumors spreading:
"Master Gen deliberately let the Land of Birds' Daimyō escape."
"If he hadn't given such foolish orders, we would have won even sooner."
"He must be a spy working for the enemy…"
True to its reputation as one of the most powerful noble houses, the House of Sora controlled almost all public opinion in the country.
Even within the royal court, official petitions criticizing and accusing Master Gen piled up like falling snowflakes…
The House of Sora felt confident and pleased.
According to the usual course of events: under such overwhelming pressure, even if the Daimyō did not execute Master Gen outright, he would surely be stripped of all power and cast into ruin.
In their eyes, this was another perfect opportunity to show their strength and solidify their position.
As for what the Daimyō herself thought…
Please. The House of Sora had intermarried with the royal House of No for generations; they were practically family.
But they waited and waited — until even the excitement of the victory had long faded — and still no order to punish Aoi ever came.
What is going on here?
Had their influence suddenly vanished? Or had the royal family grown arrogant beyond reason?
Meanwhile, inside the Daimyō's residence…
"Master, shall I have them all executed?" Nobuko asked, her eyes sharp with killing intent.
To her, anyone who dared threaten Aoi deserved to die.
"Not yet."
It was not yet the right time for them to perish.
Aoi narrowed his eyes and smiled coldly.
When building a nation, even the dead can be made useful — we have to extract every bit of value from them.
For now, all they needed to do was wait.
"Let's hope Yenn brings me a nice surprise," Aoi murmured with a smile, then shook his head and opened his system inventory to review what he had gained so far.
Counter‑Invasion (Completed)
Reward: One Kage‑Tier Treasure Chest, 3,000 System Points.
The rewards were decent, but they were not the main prize. The real reward was still to come:
Main Quest: Become the Ruler of a Nation
Reward: One fully functional basic ninja village, complete collection of all standard D‑ to C‑rank ninjutsu scrolls.
No one knew how much gold and resources it would normally cost to build a ninja village from scratch — let alone the massive library of techniques from D‑ to C‑rank.
Those scrolls alone were worth more than the entire Land of No itself.
Far more, in fact…
"We will build our own ninja village!" Aoi announced firmly at the national assembly.
"If we want to truly grow strong, we cannot do it without one!"
"Hmph — fine words, but where will the money come from?" scoffed Sora Kou, head of the House of Sora.
"Do you really think the Land of No is overflowing with wealth?"
"Master Gen, perhaps you don't want a village — you just want to build another temple for yourself!"
"We have no extra funds to build temples and feed monks!"
The moment Aoi spoke, the nobles burst into mockery and disdain.
"You need not worry about the cost," Aoi said, his eyes narrowing into cold slits.
"All you have to do is send one young member from each of your families."
"You dare dream of such a thing?!" Sora Kou slammed his fist on the table and stood up.
"You want the children of the House of Sora to become monks? Do you intend to wipe out our entire nation?"
"Whether you send them or not is no longer your choice."
Aoi slapped an official decree onto the table.
"This is an order issued by Daimyō Nobuko: every noble house must provide at least one youth for training."
"I refuse to accept this!"
Sora Kou roared and stormed out of the hall. "I will go speak to Nobuko herself!"
After all, he was her own maternal uncle. He could not believe she would go against him like this.
But the result… Was already obvious.
If even her own father had been disposed of, what value did an uncle hold?
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