The walls of the Land of Wind's capital city gleamed a dusty yellow under the blazing sunlight. Renya pressed down on his straw hat to keep the dry, scorching wind from lashing his face.
"Meow! What kind of hellish place is this—so hot!" Scar couldn't help but complain, feeling like the fur on his body was about to ignite in this unbearable heat.
The capital lay in the very heart of the Land of Wind, even hotter than Sunagakure itself. In such a harsh environment, it was nearly impossible to grow crops, forcing the country to import food at high prices from other nations.
Water resources were equally scarce. Most ninja here specialized in Wind Release, while very few could use Water Release—and even those who could weren't enough to meet a nation's daily needs.
The majority of people here wrapped scarves around their heads to shield themselves from the sun. For them, taking a bath was a luxury only the wealthy could afford. Ordinary folk bathed maybe once a month.
The two walked along the main street. On both sides stood typical Wind Country buildings—low, sand-colored houses with wooden grilles over their windows to keep out dust. Street vendors sold desert specialties: dried scorpion skewers, cactus fruits, and jerky preserved by special techniques.
"I'm dying of thirst, meow!" Scar grumbled, shaking sand off his fur irritably. "This heat's worse than being drenched in the Rain Country!"
Renya, that guy, always loved visiting such miserable places. Couldn't he pick a peaceful, green country for once?
If it weren't for Madara-sama's orders, Scar would never have come along.
What kind of decent food could a country like this even have?
Sure, Renya was rich now, but there had to be somewhere worth spending money!
"There's a teahouse ahead. Let's go in and get some water," Renya said, feeling thirsty himself. The water he'd brought along had long been finished.
Calling it a "teahouse" was generous—it looked more like a small eatery.
When they lifted the curtain embroidered with an hourglass pattern, a cool breeze greeted them. The interior was dimly lit. A few Sunagakure ninja, clearly just back from a mission, sat whispering in the corner. When they noticed Renya's outfit, they immediately fell silent.
The three of them still had the mood to sit here drinking tea—it was clear they hadn't yet heard that their village had been wrecked by Shukaku.
"Outsiders?"
The shopkeeper was an elderly woman. Her sharp gaze swept over Renya's straw hat, the sword at his waist, and the fat black cat beside him.
"What would you like to drink?" she asked.
"Two cups of black tea," Renya said, pulling out a silver note and setting it on the table. "And two plates of food."
"Make that three! I've been traveling for three days straight, meow!" Scar shouted.
The old woman narrowed her eyes.
"A talking ninja cat… how interesting."
As she turned around, Renya noticed the kunai at her waist—it bore the Sunagakure insignia.
"…"
Well damn, he thought. Sunagakure must be desperate if they're running businesses in the capital.
Judging from the state of the Land of Wind's capital, even the Daimyō was probably tightening his belt. There was no way he'd spend much to support Sunagakure—especially after their defeat in the First Great Ninja War, when they had to pay a huge sum in reparations to Konoha.
A nation this poor—no wonder they wanted to start another war. Without invading others, where would they get the resources to survive?
Renya shook his head helplessly. When it came to resources, Hashirama's ideal of peace was doomed from the start.
The Land of Wind had too few missions to go around, and even fewer that paid well.
If they didn't start a war soon, Sunagakure's ninja would starve to death.
Even if Hashirama and Madara had unified the entire Shinobi World back then, such unequal resource distribution would have caused the same problems.
Perhaps Madara had realized this truth—that's why he planned to pull everyone into the world of Infinite Tsukuyomi. In that illusionary paradise, resource inequality would vanish completely, and everyone could live in eternal happiness.
...
From another angle, Madara's plan didn't sound entirely unreasonable.
To live happily in a dream and die without pain—wasn't that better than suffering miserably in reality?
In this world, the weak had no say in how they lived—especially the ordinary people trapped in constant struggle.
Renya had no grand ambitions. Whether it was the Shinobi World or the moon's plan, none of it really concerned him. All he wanted was to live peacefully.
The reason he sought strength was simple—to avoid becoming cannon fodder, slaughtered at someone else's whim.
Madara's plan had nothing to do with him. He wanted no part in the whirlpool of the "Eye of the Moon Plan."
Unfortunately, his strength was still lacking, leaving him with no choice but to let things unfold as they would.
If he were strong enough to defeat Madara, he'd tell him the truth—and make him kneel and sing "Conquered" while he was at it.
...
Just as Renya was lost in thought, two figures wearing straw hats entered the teahouse and walked straight toward his table.
"Kid, you sure ran fast!" said Uchiha Madara.
If Scar hadn't told him on the way that Renya had gone to the capital, they would have had no idea where this brat had disappeared to.
"M-Madara-sama," Renya stammered, feeling a bit guilty. He had just been imagining making Madara kneel and sing—and now here he was in the flesh.
"Hahaha! Renya, it's been a while!" Senju Hashirama laughed as he sat down across from him without hesitation.
He had been terrified when he first heard that Renya's Mangekyō Sharingan had destroyed Sunagakure, worried the boy had joined Madara's side. Thankfully, it had been a false alarm.
"Madara-sama, you're finally here!" Scar purred, rubbing affectionately against Madara's leg.
"Well done, Scar," Madara said approvingly as he looked at the fat cat. "You can go rest now."
With that, he unilaterally dissolved their summoning contract.
Renya let out a long sigh of relief as the fat cat finally rolled away.
That creature had been reporting his every move to Madara the entire trip, even doing it right in front of him. He hadn't even pretended to keep it secret.
Wait a second… if the cat was gone, didn't that mean he'd now be stuck traveling with Madara and Hashirama instead?
Damn it, he thought. Maybe the cat wasn't so bad after all.
"Hashirama-san, Madara-sama—why are you two here?"
Though he already had a bad feeling, he still asked cautiously.
What if—just what if—they were simply passing through?
Madara didn't answer, pretending not to hear. The so-called Demon of the Shinobi World didn't feel the need to explain himself.
"Ahahaha, it was getting boring sitting in that cave all day," Hashirama said, scratching his head with a goofy grin. "So we thought we'd come out and travel with you!"
He didn't like the idea of Madara and Renya spending too much time together, but since things had come to this, he had no choice. Besides, it had been years since he'd gone traveling with Renya.
"…"
Renya could only stare blankly.
He knew these two coming here meant nothing good.
Now that he had these two giant burdens tagging along, he could kiss his carefree wandering goodbye.
He wouldn't even get to choose which country to visit—it'd all be up to them now.
It felt like the sky itself was collapsing on him.
Those two demons—Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara!
Just you wait. Once I'm stronger, I'll personally—