When Uchiha Shisui arrived at the eastern border of the Land of Bears with his two teammates, searching for a way to cross Devil's Ravine-
In the desert region bordering the Land of Bears and the Land of Wind, three figures dashed through the swirling yellow sand.
At the forefront was a Kunoichi from Sunagakure, her agile figure cutting through the wind, her green-gradient hair fluttering behind her. Her long legs kicked up clouds of dust as she sped across the sand.
Behind her followed two Sunagakure chunin, dressed in the village's distinctive wind-resistant attire, their heads wrapped in windproof hoods, faces marked with purple patterns.
"Pakura-sama, the Land of Bears is ahead." One of the Sunagakure's Ninja reported as a sparse green forest came into view, marking the border of the Land of Wind.
"Full speed ahead!" Pakura's expression remained stern, showing no intention of slowing down.
The two Chunins had no choice but to keep pace with their Jonin Leader.
Soon, the three figures vanished into the dense woods. As they ventured deeper, the trees grew taller and more imposing, the endless desert sands completely blocked out by the towering ancient forest.
Pakura, weaving through the trees, frowned in deep thought as she pondered the mission assigned to her by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
After the Daimyo of the Land of Bears was slaughtered by Hoshigakure's Ninjas, along with nearly the entire aristocracy, the few surviving nobles fled to seek help from the Daimyos of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
These nobles had marriage ties spanning across the Ninja World. Even in a small country like the Land of Bears, with a population of less than a million, its Daimyo and nobles had long-standing traditions of intermarriage with neighboring nations, which is a survival tactic for minor nations caught between greater powers.
When the Land of Wind's Daimyo heard that the Daimyo and nobles of Land of Bears had been massacred by Ninjas, he flew into a rage and summoned the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa
Though it was another country's Ninja Village that had rebelled, the Land of Wind's Daimyo used this as an excuse to berate Rasa and Sunagakure, even leveraging the incident to cut the Land of Wind's financial support to the village.
After enduring the scolding, Rasa returned to Sunagakure and summoned Pakura, assigning her the mission to investigate the Land of Bears and Hoshigakure.
However, regarding whether Sunagakure should dispatch forces to suppress the rebelling Hoshigakure's Ninja, Rasa gave no direct orders. Instead, he left the decision to Pakura's discretion based on the situation.
After entering the territory of the Land of Bears, Pakura and her team first disguised themselves and infiltrated a city near Hoshigakure in the central region, hoping to gather useful intelligence.
When reaching the city's entrance, the three braced themselves for the possibility of finding the city in ruins.
However, the bustling crowds at the entrance left the three Sunagakure's Ninja stunned.
Like all cities in the Ninja World, this one imposed entry taxes… primarily targeting merchants, while ordinary travelers paid only a negligible fee.
However, Pakura's team noticed that most pedestrians weren't being taxed at all. The guards only inspected small merchants carrying goods, while common folk passed through freely.
After entering the city, Pakura and the other two were shocked by its prosperity.
The streets were bustling with merchants and travelers coming and going, while numerous small vendors lined both sides of the road, loudly hawking their goods. Clearly, this street was the commercial market of the city.
This scene was completely different from what one would expect of a city that had just suffered a rebellion.
Feeling the abnormal bustle of the city around him, Pakura even wondered if she had unknowingly fallen into an enemy's Genjutsu. She quickly channeled her Chakra to check.
After finding nothing unusual, Pakura exchanged glances with the two Chunin accompanying her. The two Chunin nodded in understanding and dispersed to gather intelligence.
Meanwhile, Pakura headed into an izakaya (T/N: Japanese-style tavern) in the middle of the bustling market.
If one wanted to gather information, an izakaya, where all sorts of shady characters gathered, was the easiest place to pick up rumors.
However, filtering out valuable intelligence from the drunken, rambling chatter of intoxicated patrons was a challenging task even for a Ninja.
After entering the izakaya, Pakura took a seat in a corner, ordered a bottle of sake, and began eavesdropping on the conversations of the customers around her as they boasted and gossiped.
"Did you hear? The Kamijo Family in Saga Town was wiped out! All their assets were confiscated!"
"Not just that! Yesterday, I met a merchant from Saga Town who said the head of the Kamijo Family was publicly tried. So many victims who had been persecuted by them, with their families torn apart and their lives ruined, came forward to testify about the Kamijo Family's crimes. In the end, the family head was hanged on the city gates!"
"Hahaha! That's so satisfying! When I was doing business in Saga Town, those Kamijo dogs extorted so much silver from me!"
"And that's not all. After the assets of those big families in Saga Town were seized, landless farmers could rent their fields from the government for just a 10% tax! The government even provides low-interest or even interest-free loans for farming tools and seeds."
"10%? Back then, if you found a noble who only took 50%, he'd be considered a saint!"
"Who is this new lord? How can he be so good to the farmers?"
"Good to the farmers? He's good to us merchants too! Haven't you noticed the city gate taxes have been reduced? And if you register your goods in one city, you can use the certificate to avoid gate taxes in other cities for a certain period."
"The commercial tax is only 13%! And so many other random levies and fees have been abolished!"
"If the new lord can keep these policies going, I'll support them forever!"
"Hahaha! Well said! I wish the whole country could be like this! Doing business without fear of extortion, without worrying that offending some local tyrant will bankrupt you!"
Listening to the discussions around her, Pakura felt her head spin slightly.
As a Ninja, she had been trained in combat from a young age and had little knowledge of commerce.
But the excitement and hope for the future radiating from the travelers in the izakaya are very infectious.
Pakura didn't understand why ordinary people could celebrate so happily when the country was clearly suffering from a rebellion by Ninjas, with the Daimyo and nobles slaughtered.
Just as she pondered this, a figure sat down on the stool beside her.
"Boss, give me a bottle of sake." A clearly youthful male voice spoke up beside her, making Pakura instinctively glance over.
A spiky-haired black-haired young man in a black coat had taken the seat next to her. Sensing her gaze, he turned and flashed her a smile.
Instantly, Pakura's hair stood on end!
'This young man is definitely not an ordinary person!'
Pakura was about to draw her weapon and enter combat mode, but he heard the other party whisper: "This is a crowded place. You wouldn't want to cause the deaths of many innocent civilians, would you?"
Upon hearing this, Pakura's hand, which was already on the ninja tool pouch at the base of her thigh, suddenly froze.
Her entire body tensed as she stared at the young man beside her. Her instincts screamed that this person was the mastermind behind the upheaval in the Land of Bears and the rebellion in Hoshigakure!