White Powder

Land of Fire, Temple of Fire.

Jirō had just returned to the Temple of Fire, weary from travel, and before he could even catch his breath, he received news that struck like a bolt from the blue.

All land throughout the Land of Fire had now been completely brought under Konoha's control.

No longer could anyone simply seize whatever land they wanted.

However, one point was worth noting: ordinary civilians' farmland, homes, and the like would remain largely unaffected. They only needed to register them.

But much of the land previously claimed by these non-producing temples would be abolished.

Jirō's considerations ran even deeper. The land of the Land of Fire should, in truth, have belonged to the Daimyō.

Konoha's move to take it all over was clearly another step toward eroding the Daimyō's authority.

It could even be said that Konoha might be laying the groundwork now for completely abolishing the Daimyō's ruling status in the future.

"Lord Jirō, what do we do now?"

Jirō hesitated. He himself did not wish to get involved in the struggle between the Daimyō and Konoha.

After Kazuma and he had gone to advise the Daimyō last time, only to be refused, Jirō had understood the Daimyō's stance.

His personal abilities were fairly decent, but only among monks like these.

There were at least several hundred people in Konoha stronger than him.

With no help from the Daimyō, Jirō naturally retreated.

Will we only be able to live in poverty from now on?

Jirō fingered his prayer beads and fell into deep thought.

His personal desires for material comforts were not high, but he wanted the Temple of Fire to prosper.

Yet now, Konoha was clearly squeezing the living space of Warrior Monks like them.

For the moment, he could not think of