Seeing Ōnoki's current state, Senya naturally knew what the old man was thinking.
Although nations hiring shinobi villages as military forces was an accepted practice throughout the Shinobi World, every nation had a very different relationship with its village.
The Land of Lightning's daimyo did not care about Kumogakure's internal affairs in the slightest. As long as Kumogakure was strong enough, it made no difference to him who served as Raikage. That was why Kinkaku and Ginkaku had been so decisive in assassinating the Second Raikage.
Unfortunately, after struggling against the aged Tobirama and finally wearing him down to death, they had their kill stolen by the Third Raikage and his men.
Otherwise, the strongest clan in Kumogakure today would not have been the Yotsuki Clan, but the Hagoromo Clan.
The Land of Wind was even more absurd. Its daimyo was like a profiteer interested only in pleasure. Aside from the first few years after its founding, the funding given to Sunagakure had dwindled more and more. By the time Rasa took office and inherited the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release—even gaining the ability to control Gold Dust—the daimyo began cutting funds again and again. Over the past two years, he had simply delayed payment altogether.
Rasa understood it perfectly well. The Land of Wind was barren, covered in deserts, and those daimyo and nobles had long since rotted to the core. The harsh environment meant Sunagakure had no way to rebel. If they truly fell out with the Land of Wind and war broke out, they would probably run out of food and water before they even finished settling the score, and their shinobi would starve to death.
As for the Land of Water, it was an island nation with a small population. Yet, surrounded by the sea, it was