Rasa, the brilliant Deputy Head of Sand Village's Anbu, and the future right-hand man to both the elders and the incoming Fourth Kazekage, only fully grasped Qingshui's intentions after Karura had clarified everything for him once he returned home that night.
It was both a conspiracy and an overt strategy.
Before Rain Hidden could solidify its position as a major power, it needed Sand Village to provide a "blood transfusion."
If it were another ninja village, like Konoha, even after losing almost a fifth of the Land of Fire's territory, it would still be incredibly wealthy. Providing aid to Rain Hidden wouldn't be an issue for them.
However, Sand Village wasn't just providing aid; it was also giving Rain Hidden the ability to "produce its own blood," and a very high-quality ability at that. This would allow Rain Hidden, which had been impoverished for countless years due to post-war reconstruction, to develop rapidly. But it would also make all aspects of the Land of Rain dependent on Sand Village, strengthening their connection.
If the relationship between the two sides continued, it would actually benefit both. But if the relationship between Rain Hidden and Sand Village broke down, then the better the Land of Rain had developed beforehand, the greater the blow it would suffer when the relationship ended.
It was a sweet, thirst-quenching, and delicious medicine, but it also contained hidden toxicity, capable of turning into poison at any moment.
Could anyone in Rain Hidden see through this?
The high-ranking officials of Sand Village didn't know. After all, for so many years, ninjas had only cared about missions and profits, simply fighting to the death. Such things might have happened in the Ninja World before, but whether they were recorded as history for future generations to learn, and whether the ninja class, who made a living by killing, could learn this history and understand these economic strategies between nations, was probably hard to say.
If anyone could see through this and inform Hanzo, Hanzo would most likely just accept it first, thinking of getting the benefits now, using the opportunity to gain strength, and then slowly decoupling once Rain Hidden truly became powerful.
The Land of Rain's rise to a major power status was ultimately delayed by more than forty years. To catch up with other ninja villages that had started so many years earlier and were still developing, it needed an open and inclusive environment to absorb external nutrients and seize opportunities for rapid development. Only then could it hope to achieve in ten or twenty years what others took thirty or sixty years to accomplish.
And before truly stabilizing its fundamental position as a major power, the Land of Rain now needed the support of Sand Village, the newly established hegemon, to have enough strength to contend with other major powers. This would secure a stable external environment for its development.
As for whether Rain Hidden could truly become powerful, how dependent its economy would become on Sand Village, and whether it could successfully decouple in the future, that would depend on the state of the Ninja World for a prolonged period, whether Rain Hidden would get such an opportunity, and the capabilities of the leaders of Rain Hidden and Sand Village.
Hanzo was very confident in Rain Hidden's future successor because Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, was there. He only needed to hold out until Nagato was capable of taking over as Rain Kage and leading this newly established major power.
Given Nagato's current strength, that day was not far off.
As for Sand Village, it went without saying. From top to bottom, everyone had unprecedented confidence in the incoming Fourth Kazekage.
At the same time, besides Yahiko, more people from various regions arrived in Sand Village. There was the Rouran Queen, as well as Daimyos and lords from other small nations affiliated with the Land of Wind, and some officials stationed in various parts of the Land of Wind.
Some of these officials were former noble ministers, but many were talents cultivated and selected by Sand Village itself.
There was no other way. Most commoners in this world were illiterate peasants. To maintain stable rule, collect taxes, get things done, and extend power to local areas, it was necessary to utilize these educated elites with management abilities to maintain control.
However, fortunately, this was the Ninja World. Among these officials, whether they were former Land of Wind nobles who adapted to circumstances or talents cultivated and selected by Sand Village itself, they could all be screened using Genjutsu to ensure they had no ulterior motives.
As for any selfish desires to profit for themselves, as long as it didn't cause trouble for Sand Village, they were used.
In fact, many officials were actually from Sand Village itself—with so many people in Sand Village, not everyone was a ninja. There were many ordinary people, and even more who came from families that once had ninjas but whose descendants lacked ninja talent.
These individuals had a high degree of loyalty to Sand Village, were from Sand Village, and had more experience than many local officials who hadn't seen much of the world. A significant portion of them were educated. They only needed to be selected internally and promised sufficient benefits, including their descendants being eligible to participate in Ninja Academy entrance qualification selections, lowered admission score requirements, and participation in "children's summer camps" for early assessment, and limited allocations for recommendations, thereby completely binding their family interests to Sand Village.
By afternoon, even the current Daimyo of the Land of Wind had arrived from the capital.
Even if the current Daimyo was just a mascot, a mascot still had some significance.
Moreover, the current Daimyo of the Land of Wind urgently needed to build good relations with Qingshui and the future high-ranking officials of Sand Village. This concerned his life, his quality of life for the rest of his days, and even whether his lineage could continue to inherit the Daimyo position.
This was the opposite of how things used to be. In the past, the Kage needed to maintain good relations with the Daimyo to ensure a substantial military budget from them for the village's development.
One night quickly passed amidst the urgent and orderly preparations.
Morning.
When the first ray of sunlight rose from the horizon, the plaza outside the Kazekage Building was already packed with people.
Countless individuals were filled with excitement, exhilaration, and anticipation, awaiting that moment.
However, the two Kazekage, the subjects of all this attention, didn't seem nervous at all. They even had time to discuss other matters.
Inside the Kazekage Office.
"Third Generation, how did the talks with Shinya go?"
Qingshui asked the Third Kazekage while Pakura adjusted his Divine Robe.
The Third Kazekage, wearing an old-style Kazekage robe, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the bustling scene outside the window.
"Not bad. Things have been clarified. Next time I go, I'll bring some livestock it likes, and a few large jars of good sake. We can take our time after that."
"Snakes drink sake?"
"It's sake brewed with fish mint and lizard blood. Some snakes enjoy preying on fish and small reptiles, and they're very sensitive to the smell of fish and the bloody scent of lizard blood. To them, it's like how we enjoy the aroma of roasted meat."
The Third Kazekage explained.
"Sake brewed with animal blood would probably take about a month to ferment, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, but I have quite a bit left over from back then in my cellar. If it's well-preserved, there might still be some thirty-year-old aged sake."
"Snakes lack the enzymes to metabolize alcohol, so they should get drunk easily, right?"
"A snake with Shinya's immense size and over a thousand years of cultivation doesn't get drunk that easily."
...
Time quickly passed during the casual chat between the two Kazekage.
Qingshui felt that if the Third Kazekage could mend his relationship with Shinya, it would be a good thing.
The old Kazekage was now in his fifties and had begun to decline from his peak.
Even though he was a Ninjutsu-type ninja, meaning his strength would decline slower, and no matter how much he declined, his foundation would prevent him from falling out of the Kage-level range, he was still undeniably weakening.
Having another top-tier large Summoning Beast skilled in close-quarters combat, capable of protecting the Third Kazekage, could greatly compensate for the decline in strength due to aging.
"It's time. Let's go up," the Third Kazekage said, glancing at the clock on the wall.
Soon, the group arrived at the open-air viewing platform atop the Kazekage Building.
Chiyo, Ebizo, Rasa, Pakura, Sasori, and several other high-ranking officials, along with Baki and Uzumaki Ayane, and seven or eight important members from various departments, stood behind them as a backdrop, watching the two figures in Divine Robes in front.
Cameras faithfully captured their images, transmitting them to the large screens in the plaza below.
"Fourth Kazekage, the future of the village rests with you."
The Third Kazekage removed the Kazekage Hat from his head and handed it to Qingshui.
This symbolized the legitimacy of the Sand Village and the succession of the Kazekage position.
"I will make the Sand Village even greater," Qingshui said solemnly to the Third Kazekage, putting on the Kazekage Hat.
The latter smiled faintly and waved at Qingshui.
Qingshui nodded slightly, then turned and walked to the railing, waving to the crowd below.
Immediately, cheers erupted, applause thundered, and countless people looked up, gazing at the figure on the high platform, clad in the Divine Robe and wearing the Kazekage Hat.
Their eyes held admiration, excitement, and longing.
Regardless, the many events that had transpired this year—the end of the Great Ninja War, the Land of Rain stabilizing as a major power, and the Sand Village's newly appointed Fourth Kazekage—all seemed to declare that the Ninja World was entering a new era.
...
...
Current Fortune Value: 71.48%.
In the One-Punch Man world.
Qingshui held a barbell in one hand, using it as a dumbbell to train his arm strength, while with the other, he pulled out his phone and opened the Hero Association's official app.
He had recently teamed up with Light Ray Genji to complete several high-level missions. After defeating a number of Wolf-level Monsters and three Tiger-level Monsters, his hero rank had risen to A-Class.
After that, he stopped teaming up with Light Ray Genji and began taking on missions by himself.
So, the current surge in Fortune Value, from just over 20% to over 70%, was largely due to his main body's succession as Kazekage, but about 10% of it came from his improved hero rank and standing.
There were now thirty-five A-Class Heroes, including Qingshui. After the last ranking update, Qingshui's rank had jumped to twenty-first.
The thirty-fifth ranked hero was a martial monk named Heavy Vajra. As for Toad Chain and Snakebite Sneck, they hadn't yet reached A-Class, but they had already broken into the top ten of B-Class. One was currently B-Class rank two, and the other B-Class rank four. It would likely only be a month or two before they reached A-Class.
The two-ton barbell was gently set down on the floor. Qingshui let out a long breath, feeling the sensation of abundant power coursing through his body.
The physical talent of humans in this world was truly extraordinarily high.
Previously, when his physical strength had reached about seven hundred kilograms, somewhat exceeding the limits of ordinary humans, he felt he was nearing the current physical limit. So, he spent some time intensively training to explore the limits of this body.
Then, the unexpected happened.
Just when he felt his body was on the verge of collapse and in considerable pain, he thought his strength had reached its limit. He then used Medical Ninjutsu to heal his overly damaged muscles before resting.
However, during his next training session, he found that his strength had subtly increased again, and his previous limit had vanished.
As expected, he might have broken through a Limiter.
It wasn't that breaking a Limiter made one Saitama; rather, Saitama had broken through too many Limiters, perhaps even all of them, to gain the terrifying power to defeat almost any enemy with a single punch.
Normally, one would need to repeatedly break through Limiters, like Garou, to gradually increase one's strength.
Perhaps many people, through intense combat or training, unknowingly break through one or two Limiters, gradually growing stronger. The difference lies only in their individual talent and willpower, and how far they can push themselves.
For example, Superalloy Darkshine is a prime example.
As for willpower, he didn't possess exceptional willpower; instead, his extreme inferiority and fragility led him to obsessively train and break through his limits, ultimately acquiring a super-strong physique that even Dragon-level Monsters couldn't damage.
As for the cultivation of martial arts and Swordplay...
Qingshui reached into a nearby bag and pulled out the advanced student's guide to Swordplay that Haragiri had given him, casually flipping through it.
This book actually contained information about Limiters, though it didn't use the term "Limiter." Instead, it stated that once a swordsman reached their limit, there were two ways to break through it.
One was to use external forces, and the other was through self-cultivation.
The former was like Garou, pushing oneself to the brink in battle, leading to extreme sublimation.
This method might seem simple and convenient, but it's actually quite complex, as you often don't know what conditions constitute being pushed to your limit. You might fight a hundred times and still not break through.
And it's easy to get yourself killed.
A safer method is to challenge enemies significantly stronger than yourself; only then is there a high probability of being pushed to the brink and touching your limit. As for those who are evenly matched with you or only slightly stronger, it's difficult for them to push you to a true dead end.
This method is too prone to fatal outcomes. Without a "blood-lock" cheat, it's genuinely not recommended.
The latter method, self-cultivation, is what the martial artists of this world have summarized over years of self-reflection: a scientific way of slowly pushing oneself toward the limit by tempering the body and will.
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