Chapter 93: Trapped
And just like that, Kazushi became a shinobi of the Hidden Sand Village.
From that point on, things began to spiral beautifully out of control.
The first domino to fall was a man named Kawakami Shō, a mid-ranking official who had, by sheer luck, avoided being carved up by Kazushi's wind blades back at the Daimyo's mansion. When Kazushi declared her intent to join Sunagakure and build her own power base, Kawakami Shō didn't hesitate. He knelt before her in a display of surrender so complete it was almost an art form.
His previous allegiance to the Daimyo had been a matter of pure pragmatism. The village was poor, and he'd hoped to squeeze a few resources from the feudal lord to help Sunagakure develop. Though the Kazekage, Shamon, wasn't in control of that funding, it was still for the good of the village, wasn't it?
Now, however, the political winds had shifted. Kazushi had not only sensed the decline of the Daimyo's regime but had actively engineered it, and she was now planting her flag in the sands of their village. As a man caught in the middle, Kawakami knew he had to pick a side, and quickly.
The choice was laughably clear. Compared to Shamon, this Yankawa Kazushi had strength—and with strength came funding. She had character—and with that character came more strength and more funding. She had a sharp mind—which, of course, led back to having strength and funding. In every conceivable metric, siding with Yankawa Kazushi was the only logical move.
Besides, what did it matter who he followed? They were all from the Land of Wind. It wasn't as if he was committing treason.
With that, Kazushi absorbed Kawakami Shō and his entire network of contacts and subordinates.
Shamon could only watch, helpless, as Yankawa Kazushi paved her way to power, one sack of ryo at a time.
He had long wanted to establish a Puppetry Research Division but lacked the funds; Kazushi simply took over the project and bankrolled it herself.
When the One-Tails went on a rampage, the jinchuriki was nearly killed while the beast remained utterly unfettered. Then Kazushi stepped in, and with an unnerving calm, pacified the rampaging Shukaku.
He had dreamed of opening a proper Ninja Academy but had no money; Kazushi used her personal fortune to construct the Land of Wind Ninja Academy from the ground up.
She even made a bold, public declaration that echoed through the entire village: "What the Kazekage cannot manage, I will. What the Kazekage cannot pay for, I will."
Who wouldn't flock to a leader who was not only wealthy and powerful but also ruthlessly effective? To top it all off, she was the Daimyo's daughter—a title that, despite the lord's recent demise, still carried an air of extraordinary authority. With this added prestige, her following swelled. The commoners, who saw their lives and their village improving daily, began to worship her.
In a shockingly short time, Kazushi had transformed into a titan of the Hidden Sand, a formidable figure with a legion of devoted followers.
Poor Shamon. His authority had been so thoroughly hollowed out that he was left with little more than a handful of die-hard loyalists.
"She's incredible. It's like she knows how to do everything," Chiyo remarked, her gaze fixed on Kazushi from a distance. As a fellow kunoichi, her face was filled with undisguised admiration.
"She established schools for our village, founded a research institute, and even promoted a Desert Reclamation Initiative," Ebizo added, his voice buzzing with a similar excitement. "Under her guidance, Sunagakure will undoubtedly grow stronger than ever before."
Standing nearby, Shamon was almost moved to tears—of pure, unadulterated frustration. His own star pupils were being completely brainwashed by this woman. He couldn't help but compare Tobirama's students to his own, and the result was just depressing.
Have you ever risked your life for your village? The question echoed in his mind.
He had. He'd risked it all, and he hadn't won. The wounds mottling his body from that failure still ached. But that was a complicated truth, one he couldn't easily explain to his disciples.
He couldn't win the fight, but he couldn't just lie down and surrender either. That was the impossible position Shamon found himself in. As he looked out at the Hidden Sand Village, so drastically changed since Kazushi's arrival, his heart was a battlefield of conflicting emotions. The village was visibly improving, thriving even. But could that woman, the Daimyo's daughter, truly be trusted?
A month passed. Kakuzu, who had initially planned to collect a quick paycheck and slip away, received a "Full Attendance Bonus" of one million ryo after diligently clocking in every day. Suddenly, the thought of leaving seemed far less appealing.
Kazushi had also mentioned quarterly bonuses, half-year bonuses, and even a massive year-end bonus. On top of that, there would be holiday pay during festivals.
Perhaps I'll stick around for a little while longer, Kakuzu reasoned with himself. Just to see how much these bonuses actually are. Purely to satisfy my curiosity, of course.
He was blissfully unaware that he was being ensnared by the gilded cage of corporate incentives. He now spent his days enthusiastically competing with Matsumoto Akira to see who could serve Kazushi her tea and water faster. He was quite content hiding in plain sight; after all, he was using an alias. No one knew it was the great Kakuzu, a man feared across the nations, fetching refreshments. And making money was nothing to be ashamed of.
News that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had been assassinated and his entire mansion leveled eventually spread beyond Konoha's borders. Shinobi from every nation learned of the event, and a tremor of fear ran through the ruling classes.
For a time, the Daimyo of the other great nations trembled, terrified that they would be the next to be purged. Yesterday, they were high and mighty feudal lords; today, they were leeks in a garden, waiting to be harvested. The worst part was their helplessness. They were, ultimately, just ordinary people.
The era of the samurai had long since faded. Even the bodyguards they hired were shinobi. And how could a few hired swords possibly stand against an entire hidden village?
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind had tried, supporting Kawakami Shō in an attempt to undermine the Kazekage. But that was a move born of desperation; the Land of Wind was simply too poor, its economy strangled, leaving Shamon with few options. Other Daimyo had considered backing a rival to challenge their nation's Kage, but none had ever succeeded.
Konoha had set too powerful an example. Now, the feudal lords of the major nations were all shrinking back into their territories, afraid to show their faces or cause trouble. They focused on obediently making money and paying their protection fees.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was particularly active. Upon hearing of his counterpart's demise, he immediately went to his personal treasury, selected a trove of priceless antiques and chests of gold and silver jewelry, and had an envoy deliver them directly to Konoha. The gift was presented to the village's acting leadership.
The message was unmistakable: "I am very well-behaved. A model leek. Please don't kill me."
Stelle, in her guise as Konoha's administrator, naturally accepted the unsolicited tribute with a gracious smile. She immediately set aside a portion as research funds for Orochimaru and slipped Hiruzen Sarutobi a hefty red envelope as an early wedding gift.
The other hidden villages were also watching the situation in the Land of Wind with caution. It wasn't as if they didn't have spies stationed there. Yet, despite the Daimyo having been dead for some time, their intelligence networks had only just delivered the news. This implied a terrifying truth: the Hidden Sand Village must have purged their spies and enforced a total information lockdown.
They had to send more agents. They needed to infiltrate Sunagakure, gather fresh intelligence, and determine how to approach this newly revitalized nation. Spies from every country descended upon the Land of Wind, all desperate to uncover what was truly happening within its borders.
The Hidden Sand became the hottest topic in the elemental nations, a fortress every village wanted to breach.
As it turned out, they didn't have to try very hard. Once Kazushi began her large-scale infrastructure projects across the Land of Wind, her identity was effectively exposed to anyone paying attention. Before long, a detailed file on "Yankawa Kazushi" landed on the desk of every Kage.
After reading her profile and seeing the reports on the Sand's explosive development, the leaders of the various nations collectively contributed a massive surge of emotional value.
Stelle listened to the system's notifications, immensely satisfied with this clone's efficiency. It was truly maximizing its presence, harvesting emotional energy from all corners of the continent. It had even managed to squeeze quite a bit out of those closest to her, like Hiruzen Sarutobi. A job well done.
After finishing her day's administrative work in Konoha, Stelle paid a visit to Orochimaru and Hiruko, offering them some chicken soup for the soul and a few words of encouragement. She also dropped by to check on Might Duy and Kato Dan during their special training, harvesting her daily dose of emotional feedback before heading to the Anbu's secret training base.
There, her clone—the one using the alias Uchiha Kou—was currently undergoing one-handed seal training under the personal guidance of Uchiha Kagami.
After this session, the schedule included left-handed sword training and advanced instruction on the use of the Sharingan. Kagami was not holding back in the slightest. The dense list of training regimens was enough to make Stelle's scalp tingle just looking at it.
Thank goodness for clones. If not for them, she would be the one suffering out on that training field right now. What a relief.
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