The Extravagant Emperor: Four Dishes and a Soup for a Single Meal?

Within the Land of Fire.

Nagato and Jiraiya were racing across the treetops.

There was no helping it. Compared to the muddy ground, where they had to keep Chakra attached to their feet at all times, leaping through the trees was the most efficient way to travel.

Even though they had entered the main road leading to the capital of the Land of Fire, the ground had merely been compacted somewhat by carriage wheels. It was vastly different from even the country roads or village paths within the Empire.

Nagato found this utterly incomprehensible.

If you wanted prosperity, build roads first.

Road construction did more than promote economic development. It could strengthen connections between two places, lower transportation and travel costs, break through geographical limitations, and allow areas that had once been remote or inconvenient to access to connect more easily to broader markets and economic networks.

Not only could it drive economic growth, but it could also reduce logistics costs, improve logistical efficiency, and enable goods to be transported everywhere faster and more cheaply.

Beyond that, it could break down transportation barriers between cities and rural areas, promote the exchange of goods, people, and information, and accelerate domestic development.

Once the roads were built, whether it was quality of life, tourism, or a nation's progress, everything would advance at breakneck speed.

But...

He had already seen what this world was like. Forget civilians—even shinobi relied on nothing but their own legs when traveling.

What a barbaric way to get around!

Wait! Was that a railway track?

"Do you have trains here too?"

Nagato immediately felt deeply ashamed. He had assumed they were incapable and had not bothered asking. Look! They had trains, didn't they?

But why had this "master" before him not taken him to ride one?

Jiraiya was slightly stunned by Nagato's sudden question, but when he followed Nagato's gaze, he immediately understood.

"Oh, you mean steam trains. Those things were eliminated long ago. Only some particularly old cities still have them, and they are basically just for people to visit and look at."

"Eliminated?"

Nagato was instantly horrified.

Had technology advanced so quickly in this world? Even trains had been eliminated?

In the Empire, trains were still the primary means of travel. Although airplanes existed now, only national leaders and the wealthy could afford them. Ordinary civilians simply did not have that kind of money.

The Chakra consumed every time an airplane took off was enough to drain a group of Jonin dry. As for the Empire's so-called new energy sources, there had not been much progress yet. Most things still relied on Chakra as an energy source.

"Do you have airplanes?"

In Nagato's simple mind, if something had been eliminated, then something more convenient and cheaper must have appeared!

"Flying chickens?"

Jiraiya looked confused.

"I'm not sure what kind of Summoning Animal these flying chickens are, but trains being eliminated here has nothing to do with Summoning Animals."

Jiraiya answered honestly.

"Huh?"

The confusion on Nagato's face deepened.

"You said trains were eliminated. Doesn't that mean a more convenient and economical means of transportation appeared?"

Nagato furrowed his brow, his expression strange.

"A more convenient means of transportation?"

Jiraiya finally understood what he meant and burst out laughing.

This young man really was too naive. He understood nothing...

"Train routes are fixed, and trains are huge. Rogue Ninja or enemy shinobi can easily hijack or destroy them. Even if we station shinobi on every train, we cannot provide complete protection."

"Every train attack causes many casualties and losses. In the end, civilians stopped being willing to ride them. The Daimyo saw that they could not make money from them and still had to spend a large sum every year maintaining the railways, so they had no choice but to stop them."

Nagato: "?"

No matter what, Nagato had never expected something as beneficial to the country and its people as trains to be eliminated, and for the reason to be merely that they were easy to hijack and destroy.

What kind of logic was that?

Did they just give up using this means of transportation because they were afraid someone might destroy it?

Nagato could not help feeling a wave of sorrow. Had no one ever thought about solving those unstable factors once and for all?

Looking at the wandering civilians along the road, Nagato's heart filled with sympathy.

They could not survive in their hometowns and could only wander from place to place.

In this chaotic world, other than becoming bandits or brigands, what else could they do?

Nagato realized that this world's problems were all-encompassing. There were severe flaws in everything from politics and economics to social structure.

Nagato turned his gaze toward Jiraiya, who still wore a smile, and a surge of disgust rose within him.

Jiraiya kept saying this world was wonderful, but whether in reality or in his words, Nagato could not see anything wonderful about it.

The two continued onward, arriving at the capital of the Land of Fire in just over half a day.

This made Nagato think more highly of Jiraiya. Jiraiya's heart was not racing, his face was not flushed, and despite sprinting for so long, he had not rested even once.

"This guy's taijutsu is this formidable too... No matter what speed I use, he can keep right on my heels..."

Nagato had no idea that Jiraiya was even more shocked inside.

"Unless absolutely necessary, we must not become enemies with them! Even if we do, we cannot let Hidden Leaf Village be the first to test their strength!"

Jiraiya silently made up his mind.

"So this is the capital of the Land of Fire?"

Standing atop an enormous palace, Nagato's face remained expressionless.

A religious dance was being held here, and the scene below was extraordinarily lively.

The nobles below sang and danced in peace, while the civilians looked like walking corpses.

Compared to the listless atmosphere within the Empire, this place was even worse.

Yet the nobles' faces were filled with joy and excitement.

"Well? Compared to your Empire, isn't our side livelier and more prosperous?"

Nagato watched as a civilian carrying a fruit platter accidentally stumbled, spilling fruit everywhere. A young noble kicked and stomped him, nearly even drawing the samurai sword at his side to slash him. Nagato nodded.

"It is indeed livelier."

Jiraiya had clearly not noticed any of that. He grinned carelessly as he watched the scantily clad dancers below.

Nagato then saw a dancer hurriedly retreat after finishing her performance, only to be stopped by a fat, bald man.

The dancer struggled, but the fat bald man laughed as he pulled her into his arms, then headed toward a room behind a curtain.

Along the way, he called over several men much like himself. They looked like either friends or brothers.

Jiraiya seemed accustomed to this. In his eyes, these people had security and high incomes, so they were already very fortunate.

He merely glanced over those scenes without paying them much attention.

"These are the Daimyo of our Land of Fire. Our Kage are basically appointed by them as well."

Seeing Nagato spacing out, Jiraiya offered an explanation.

"Senior, who do you think enjoys life the most in our Empire?"

Jiraiya was slightly stunned by Nagato's sudden question.

"Enjoys life the most?"

He glanced at the Daimyo below.

The one with the greatest power, the most wealth, and the strongest strength.

Without a doubt, it had to be their Emperor!

"Do you even need to ask? It must be your Emperor, right?"

In Jiraiya's eyes, their Emperor surely spent every night reveling in pleasure and never handled affairs. That was why the people below him were so filled with resentment.

Hadn't Nagato looked like that when he first arrived?

Nagato nodded.

"That is true. The person who enjoys life the most in our Empire is our Emperor, Lord Senju."

"When we are dealing with things, one Soldier Pill is enough to get by. Only when we have time do we go outside the university district to buy some takeout. Occasionally, we can eat freshly made ramen or steaming grilled meat."

"Only our Emperor specially selects talented people from across the country to become his personal chefs. Every meal, he must have at least four dishes and a soup, and the cooking methods are incredibly complicated. For this, he does not hesitate to waste the labor of several people!"

Yet as Jiraiya listened to Nagato, confusion appeared on his face.

He swept his gaze over the people below. Even the lowest-ranking Daimyo seated furthest down had beautiful women surrounding him, while even the maids and servants serving tea and pouring water numbered at least four.

Was it really that excessive for an Emperor who controlled the entire Shinobi World to use a few people just to cook?

"Besides that, he promotes monogamy, yet he himself has three wives!"

Hearing that, Jiraiya immediately showed envy, followed by even greater confusion.

"Huh?"

Forget three thousand beauties in a harem—even three hundred would barely be worthy of his status!

How could he have only three?

"And even so, countless elderly people in our Empire still condemn the Emperor, saying he is debauched and blinded by lust."