I Want the Entire Ninja World

Watching Erika flee in disarray, Jingū Kiraku smiled faintly.

This girl was quite the tsundere.

On the surface, she seemed tough and cold.

In reality, the loyalty value above her head had quietly risen from 50 to 65.

It might have only been a small increase of 15 points, but it was actually a huge improvement.

A loyalty value of 50 meant that she still harbored a certain degree of distrust and hesitation toward Jingū Kiraku, her new leader.

A loyalty value of 65 meant that she had initially accepted him as her new leader. So long as he did not do anything that harmed the interests of the Land of Rain, she would resolutely carry out Jingū Kiraku's orders.

That was already enough.

As a newly appointed leader, Jingū Kiraku urgently needed a group of capable people willing to get things done.

Among them, Erika and Amemura, who possessed the strength of jonin and abundant experience, were undoubtedly the best candidates.

Most importantly, although they had once been Hanzō the Salamander's subordinates, they were not fanatically loyal to him.

They were more loyal to the position of leader itself—or rather, loyal to Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Rain.

Therefore, as long as Jingū Kiraku did not do anything that outraged heaven and earth, they were trustworthy.

Of course, even if something unexpected happened, Jingū Kiraku could keenly detect their condition through changes in their loyalty values.

There was no need to worry about that.

The facts proved that Jingū Kiraku's trust in them had been repaid well.

Over the following days, the Rain Ninja loyal to Jingū Kiraku, led by the two jonin, carried out a major purge against the Hanzo Faction rogue ninja hiding in the shadows.

There were no surprises. The fighting ended in an extremely short time.

After all, nearly all the powerful ninja who were fanatically loyal had been taken by Hanzo to Rain Dragon Valley, where they had gloriously become nourishment for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path...

As for the rest, they were merely insignificant stragglers, utterly incapable of resisting the two jonin, Amemura and Erika.

As for how badly the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had been damaged in that explosion, or whether Uchiha Madara had been angered enough to cough up blood, that was no longer something Jingū Kiraku needed to care about.

He had more important matters to deal with now.

Looking at the documents that nearly covered his entire desk, Jingū Kiraku felt his temples throbbing wildly.

Eliminating the forces Hanzo had left behind was only the beginning. The real difficulties lay ahead—

Food shortages, rebuilding homes, inflation, soaring unemployment, foreign invasion...

These were all challenges Jingū Kiraku had to face.

The most important of them was the food problem.

Only by providing the villagers with sufficient food could their hearts truly settle.

This had also been one of Jingū Kiraku's promises before taking office.

Thinking of this, he opened the system panel again and expanded the Technology Tree.

At the very front of the standard Technology Tree was a node related to food—Agriculture.

When Jingū Kiraku fixed his gaze upon the node, a detailed explanation quietly appeared.

"City food production +1. Unlock unit: Spearman."

Spearmen, of course, were not of much use to Jingū Kiraku.

In this world dominated by ninja, no matter how many ordinary soldiers there were, they could only serve as cannon fodder.

At least, that was the case for now.

Therefore, what Jingū Kiraku cared about most was the effect of "City food production +1."

After all, the Land of Rain was shrouded in constant rain year-round, and its food production was pitifully low.

Most of it had to be handed over to those noble lords, leaving the farmers with barely anything.

Coupled with years of war and a complete blockade on imported food, their food problem had become extraordinarily severe.

Under such circumstances, trying to support the entire Land of Rain with that little food alone was nothing but a fool's dream.

Thus, Jingū Kiraku could only place his hopes on his cheat ability.

After accumulating Technology Value over the past few days, he now had 20 points—enough to unlock the "Agriculture" node.

What he was curious about, however, was how the system would increase food production.

It could not possibly make food fall straight from the sky, could it?

Jingū Kiraku shook his head, dismissing those strange thoughts, then decisively activated the node.

Just as he began anticipating what changes would happen in the village next, someone knocked on the office's wooden door.

After he said, "Come in," Erika entered, dressed in a Hidden Rain Village uniform with her hair tied in a high ponytail.

"What is it?"

Jingū Kiraku looked at the subordinate before him.

Although Erika's expression still appeared cold, her attitude had undergone a tremendous change.

At the very least, she had begun seriously working for him.

"We found a large amount of treasure and food reserves in the Hanzo Estate. Following your instructions, they have been placed on the streets for the public to 'admire'..."

Erika noticeably emphasized the word "admire."

After confiscating the Hanzo Estate, she had evidently gained a clearer understanding of Hidden Rain Village's former leader.

"According to the estate's servants, nearly all of this treasure was given by nobles from the capital."

"Their purpose was to have Hanzo cooperate with the merchants under their command to exploit the people of the Land of Rain."

"Or perhaps... cooperate with them."

Erika narrowed her eyes, a trace of killing intent brewing within them.

She had never imagined that the once high-spirited hero of the Land of Rain would eventually become so corrupt.

Jingū Kiraku, however, was not particularly surprised.

Hanzō the Salamander had long forgotten his purpose and original aspirations, abandoning his mission and beliefs...

Such an outcome was only natural.

Thus, under Erika's scrutinizing gaze, he spoke without hesitation.

"Send all the food to the Relief Station and distribute it among the people."

"Have the remaining treasures escorted to the Underground Exchange and sold. Exchange all of it for food."

"As for ninjutsu scrolls and the like, put them all in the Archive Room."

With a wave of his hand, Jingū Kiraku disposed of the entire inheritance without the slightest hesitation.

Such a decisive decision made Erika pause, and a strange glint flashed through her eyes.

Seeing her surprise, Jingū Kiraku raised an eyebrow.

"What? Did you think I would pocket this wealth for myself?"

His question immediately made Erika feel somewhat embarrassed.

"Well, that's not what I meant. I thought you would at least keep some of it. After all, it isn't a small amount..."

Jingū Kiraku looked at her, shook his head, and spoke in an exceptionally serious tone.

"The situation in the Land of Rain is already dire."

"Besides, what I want is not merely these things..."

"I want the entire Land of Rain!"

Jingū Kiraku's words instantly plunged Erika into a certain silence.

Of course, there was another half of that sentence he had not spoken aloud—

He also wanted the entire ninja world!