Of Course, Dictatorship Is the Only Way!

The icy gleam in Jingū Kiraku's eyes slowly receded.

It was true that he wanted to make the Land of Rain great again, but this had to be done step by step.

He calmed himself and turned his gaze back to the system panel.

The map before him expanded once more, zooming directly into the various regions within the Land of Rain.

Not only that, but marked figurines appeared across it!

For example, figurines wearing Konoha forehead protectors were stationed in the eastern part of the Land of Rain.

There were also Sunagakure figurines entrenched in the west, constantly plundering all kinds of resources.

And Iwagakure figurines gradually infiltrating from the Grass Country border.

Wherever those figurines were located, whether towns or villages, raging flames burned everywhere!

As for Hidden Rain Village itself?

Their territory had been compressed into an extremely limited area around Amegakure.

They were truly surrounded on all sides, their homeland fallen...

After all, once they had surrendered to Konoha, the Land of Rain's last breath had been snuffed out.

Under such circumstances, the Amegakure Ninja could not possibly withstand the blades of the ninja villages of the surrounding great nations. They could only let their enemies carve them up and slaughter them.

"You really left me one hell of a mess, Hanzo."

As he looked at the fires of war blazing throughout the country, Jingū Kiraku's expression darkened, though he also felt helpless.

The Land of Rain was simply too weak now. After years of wartime attrition, few of Hidden Rain Village's elites remained.

Not to mention the food blockade, soaring prices, and other problems they faced.

Under all these debuffs, driving out every enemy was somewhat unrealistic.

However...

It was not completely impossible.

Jingū Kiraku's gaze fell upon the figurines, each representing a different unit as they moved continuously across the map.

If he focused a little harder, he could even see their detailed information.

For instance, their numbers, their condition, and their approximate strength.

As a seasoned player of war games, Jingū Kiraku knew exactly what this meant—

He could learn the enemy's movements in advance from every angle and make immediate adjustments, achieving true "micro-management"!

Simply put, he had cheats on—and the full-map vision kind, at that.

Of course, in Jingū Kiraku's opinion, it did not count as cheating as long as nobody turned it off!

Perhaps one day, he might even recreate the classic scene of, "Move the kunai-gun emplacement five meters to the left"...

The difference was that they had been blindly commanding, while he truly possessed the conditions for micro-management.

Combined with the Poison Gas Bombs he had gotten from Hanzo, winning this war was not entirely without hope.

Just as Jingū Kiraku was privately considering the future of the Land of Rain, the system suddenly issued a prompt.

"Ding, you have successfully triggered the policy node 'Ninja Village System.'"

"Please select a policy suitable for the village from the options below—"

"High-Level Council: Select villagers to form a council, which will discuss and decide matters large and small within the village."

"Reward: Culture Value increased by 50%, loyalty of high-ranking ninja and ninja clan ninja increased by 50%, unlock the Council Building wonder."

"Democratic Decision-Making: Form an assembly of all villagers and issue policies and orders according to voting results."

"Reward: Gain 5,000 Reputation Value, loyalty of all units increased by 20%, unlock the Beacon of Civilization wonder."

"Aristocratic Politics: Invite nobles to participate in governing the village."

"Reward: Gain substantial financial support, food output increased by 10 points, unlock the Ninja Arena wonder."

"Dictatorial Rule: Eliminate all opposing factions and establish a dictatorship."

"Reward: Production Value increased by 50%, increase and decrease the loyalty of certain units, gain the unique skill Cult of Personality."

Tsk, tsk.

Looking at the four choices before him, Jingū Kiraku subconsciously rubbed his nose—

The High-Level Council could gain the support of the elite class, quickly consolidate the village's important internal forces, and strengthen internal rule in a short period of time.

Democratic Decision-Making represented democracy for all. It could grant a large amount of Reputation Value, win the support of all the people, and turn the nation into a beacon that everyone yearned for.

The benefits of Aristocratic Politics were even more obvious. As long as he chose that policy, the country's food problem could be immediately solved, and he could govern the realm alongside the noble lords!

All three policies would be of considerable help to the current Hidden Rain Village. They could even resolve some of its present difficulties to a certain extent.

So...

I choose Dictatorial Rule!

Jingū Kiraku made his decision with virtually no hesitation.

What a joke. The Land of Rain was at a critical moment of life and death. What it needed was a divine ruler descending into the world to save its people from fire and water.

Who had time for interest groups, universal democracy, or ruling the realm alongside nobles?

Of course he had to rule with an iron fist!

How else was he supposed to play micro-management without a dictatorship?

After making his choice, Jingū Kiraku immediately noticed a brand-new skill appear on his personal panel.

Cult of Personality (Passive): Livability +5 and Production Value +10 in all cities within your territory. Attrition for all combat units reduced by 50%.

Note: Your radiance shines upon every inch of the empire's territory.

Seeing the skill's note, Jingū Kiraku could not help laughing.

Who would have thought that one day, he would become the sun of the Land of Rain?

Would he unlock a passive in the future that made people applaud and cry whenever they approached him?

Just imagining old men like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Ōnoki charging at him with kunai in hand, tears and snot streaming down their faces, made Jingū Kiraku laugh uncontrollably.

Of course, setting aside those amusing thoughts, the effect of this passive was still incredibly powerful.

The 10 points of Production Value alone could nearly double Hidden Rain Village's productivity, not to mention the 50% reduction in combat unit attrition.

It was practically a godly skill for warfare!

After all, the essence of war was burning money.

A 50% reduction in attrition would greatly reduce Hidden Rain Village's logistical pressure, making it well-suited for guerrilla warfare and prolonged campaigns.

Still, to unlock this skill, Jingū Kiraku first had to purge the opposing forces within the village.

Just as he was considering how to deal with those opponents, a burst of killing intent suddenly locked onto him.

"Just when I was getting sleepy, someone brought me a pillow."

Jingū Kiraku raised an eyebrow.

The next second, several kunai tore through the air.

They shattered the office windows and flew straight at Jingū Kiraku.

Just as he was about to act, he saw a figure rush in from outside.

As a bright blade flashed through the room, the kunai were all cut down one after another.

Seeing the newcomer's back, Jingū Kiraku was slightly surprised.

It was Amemura, one of Hanzo's former subordinates and an Amegakure Jōnin.

There was also a female jōnin with a high ponytail—Erika.

Jingū Kiraku was no stranger to her.

After all, Hidden Rain Village only had so many jōnin. Remembering them was not difficult.

He simply had not expected these former subordinates of Hanzo to take the initiative to protect him.

Perhaps sensing Jingū Kiraku's strange gaze, Erika, dressed in a ninja uniform and looking rather valiant, answered somewhat awkwardly.

"I just don't want any more turmoil to arise in the village."

With that, she raised the longsword in her hand and prepared to kill the opposing faction members.

But the instant Erika moved, a strong hand pressed down on her shoulder.

She turned around in surprise, only to discover that Jingū Kiraku had already vanished.

So fast...

She quickly looked outside and saw that the new leader had already appeared behind the attackers, white clay seeping from his hand.