Three days had passed since Sunagakure first ignited the war.
The Sunagakure ninja who survived that battle could still vividly recall the terrifying scene on the battlefield—
A humanoid giant, as tall as twenty or thirty stories, rampaged across the field, crushing their forces into complete disarray. Even Rasa, the rising star with his Gold Dust, was handled like an ant being pinched.
As for the One-Tail Shukaku, it got beaten so badly it simply retreated back into its Jinchūriki's body.
Out of nearly ten thousand troops, over five thousand were captured alive.
What they thought would be an easy victory turned into a one-sided slaughter, with Amegakure dominating completely.
In Amegakure's underground prison, countless cells were packed tight with Sunagakure captives. Cells designed for six now held twenty-six prisoners each.
Every inch of space—floors, toilets, wash basins—was crammed with bodies.
As for those hard, stinking, damp beds, only squad leaders and above got to enjoy them.
Some tried to escape, but within an hour, their corpses would be tossed right back into their original cells.
These Amegakure executioners didn't bother disposing of the bodies, letting the pale, bloated corpses rot and stink in the fetid, humid cells.
To prevent disease from the rotting flesh, the Sunagakure prisoners had to use their fingernails, teeth, and fists to tear their comrades' corpses into pieces and flush them down the toilets.
For these captives, the dual torment—physical and psychological—completely crushed any thoughts of escape.
The warden of this massive prison had told them: "You're just currency, to be used in negotiations with Sunagakure."
Since that was the case, they might as well behave and wait for negotiations between the villages.
And truly, deep in their hearts, they feared this seemingly prosperous but terrifying Amegakure.
Outside the prison—
Aside from necessary guards, Amegakure's forces rapidly assembled, ready to give Sunagakure an unforgettable lesson.
That great canal cutting through the Wind Country's desert, connecting directly to Sunagakure, became Amegakure's perfect invasion route.
They say political beliefs slowly but steadily seep down to the grassroots, influencing the masses' values.
Amegakure's villagers were deeply influenced by their First Leader, Rii—
They were shut-ins, little good-for-nothings obsessed with all kinds of new gadgets, seemingly polite and well-behaved children.
But when war came, it passively activated the brutality and pettiness hidden deep in their hearts.
With so many factions in Amegakure, leadership wasn't decided by who talked the biggest game—it was all about whose fists hit hardest.
You say Mai Sakurajima is your waifu?!
Come on then—step outside and let's see whose fists do the talking! Only the winner gets to say such shameless things!
...
Amegakure's forces marched straight through, launching a fierce assault deep into the desert toward Sunagakure.
Meanwhile, a special delegation visited Amegakure's office.
However, their main target—Rinjin—was currently overseeing the siege outside Sunagakure.
Time passed. After another week, Rinjin finally got word and leisurely made his way back to Amegakure's rear headquarters.
At the conference room door, Rii stopped Rinjin just as he was about to enter, lowering her voice:
"Big bro, don't let them off easy. No villagers died, but the property damage is serious."
Hearing this, Rinjin smiled and ruffled Rii's hair, nodding.
"Of course. Doesn't their village have that guy who can dig up gold—Rasa?
Let's keep him here to mine for us!"
With that, he pushed open the conference room doors and strode inside.
As Rinjin entered, all discussion immediately ceased.
At the table sat a fat man wearing a fan-shaped hat and deep green robes, leisurely sipping tea. Beside him, Wind Country officials sat in a row.
Rinjin walked straight to the seat opposite the Wind Daimyō, flashed a cheerful smile, and greeted him:
"Lord Wind Daimyō, long time no see!"
"Long time no see, Lord Rain Daimyō."
Though Rain Country's little king couldn't really be called a daimyō, the Wind Daimyō remained polite when facing Rinjin.
In his view, personal strength wasn't everything—national strength was what kept a ruler's spine straight.
Current Rain Country might be tiny, but both economically and militarily, it surpassed Wind Country. Rinjin fully deserved the title of daimyō.
After some pleasantries, the chubby Wind Daimyō finally got to the point:
"Lord Rinjin, this visit to Amegakure is because I have some thoughts I must express."
"Please, go ahead."
"Well, our two countries' previous trade has been quite pleasant. Just my twelve merchant caravans have made considerable profit using Amegakure as a trading hub.
Wind Country's food import costs have also decreased significantly.
So I was thinking—why can't our two nations establish a long-term peaceful trade treaty?"
"What do you mean?"
"Both sides sign a trade agreement, completely removing trade barriers between our countries.
That way, Wind Country gets cheaper food and water,
and Amegakure becomes Wind Country's gateway, continuously gaining exclusive rights to sell Wind Country goods."
The Wind Daimyō didn't elaborate, but Rinjin understood.
Gateway—
Essentially, Wind Country would stop organizing caravans to transport their goods, instead outsourcing all shipping and sales to Amegakure.
This way, Wind Country saved on manpower and completely eliminated shipping risks,
while Amegakure took over Wind Country's goods sales, essentially becoming a massive import-export trading hub.
Obviously, this benefited both sides.
The key point was the competition between cost price and market price.
But these weren't issues for the two daimyōs to consider—they could leave such discussions to their subordinates.
However, Rinjin remained wary of Wind Country's demand for food and water.
Sunagakure had used a canal across the desert to achieve partial water supply freedom,
then when their strength expanded, they immediately turned their weapons on the water plant.
With this kind of ungrateful behavior, if he gave them a platform for cheap grain trading, wouldn't they get even more out of hand?
Facing the Wind Daimyō's eager eyes, Rinjin fell into thought.
Actually, it wasn't impossible to provide—as long as he kept Sunagakure firmly in his grasp, everything would be fine.
The key was: how to keep Sunagakure firmly in his grasp?
Now, the problem lay before him.
If he only needed a peaceful, stable Wind Country, he could just flatten Sunagakure.
But without ninja protection, the entire desert would definitely be overrun by bandits, and productive civilians would quickly transform into specialized raiders.
At that point, even if Wind Country was full of gold mines, nobody would want to work them.
Killing and robbing with a blade was definitely easier than swinging a pickaxe to mine.
But letting Sunagakure grow strong and seriously threaten Amegakure's safety wasn't a good idea either.
Thinking this, a bold idea suddenly appeared in Rinjin's mind—
What if... what if Sunagakure's villagers and ninja all collectively ate two pounds of brain-damage pills and spent all day chanting "Amegakure is our best friend"?
Wouldn't that be perfect?
Thinking this, Rinjin raised his head, looking at the Wind Daimyō with a beaming smile:
"Lord Daimyō, I think your idea is excellent~
Truly worthy of one of the Five Great Nations' daimyō—you've really thought this through!"
Hearing this, the Wind Daimyō's chubby chin immediately trembled, and he grinned broadly, nodding repeatedly:
"Lord Rinjin isn't bad either—this is what I call win-win cooperation!"
Ah yes, win-win cooperation~
Heh~
After attacking me and you still want to make money? Dream on!
With the general direction settled, the entire conference room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
After more casual chat, the increasingly comfortable Wind Daimyō couldn't help complaining:
"Rinjin, honestly, I feel quite wronged too!
This Sunagakure—they never told me about any war plans, then suddenly attacked you!
I promise to teach them a proper lesson when I get back.
Um... about those prisoners... could you do me a favor and release them?"
Hearing this, Rinjin immediately put on a troubled expression:
"Brother, it's not that I don't want to give you face—
you know Rain Country only has this one piece of land in Amegakure. How can everything be up to me?!
Besides, war isn't even my department!"
As he spoke, Rinjin seemed to make some difficult decision, gritting his teeth:
"How about this—I'll talk things over with the First Leader, and then you can have the Third Kazekage come say some nice words."
Hearing this, the Wind Daimyō's fat face also grew troubled.
"Little brother, you don't know the situation!
That... that Third Kazekage... he's... he's missing!"
"Really?"
"Really! They've searched the entire village and found no trace of him. Otherwise, Sun—"
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his small eyes quickly scanning the surrounding officials before saying gravely:
"Cough... you all leave first. I have important matters to discuss with the Rain Daimyō."
Hearing this, the officials all stood up and quickly left the conference room.
Seeing this, the Wind Daimyō moved his fat body to sit beside Rinjin, deliberately lowering his voice:
"Little brother, this is what my advisors told me—
They analyzed that the Third Kazekage's disappearance is being kept secret by Sunagakure.
This war—why they didn't choose Konoha—was to fight a victory and pave the way for their prepared successor!"
After speaking, the Wind Daimyō slowly sighed.
"But this kind of thing doesn't really concern us. I only came because Sunagakure's leadership begged me on their knees.
In the end, ninja business is for them to fight out. We just need to run our countries well, make money, and enjoy life."
Hearing this, Rinjin nodded repeatedly in agreement.
He believed it—
not because the other party was the Wind Daimyō, but because daimyōs were all hereditary rather than elected, making the probability of producing idiots extremely high!
Most importantly, whether what the Wind Daimyō said was true or not, he would personally verify it.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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