Setting Out

At this moment.

Everyone could see that the war was about to end!

The Land of Rain, which had once taken on three nations by itself, had now fallen into decline.

Years of war had plunged the resource-starved Land of Rain into civil unrest.

The entire country was in chaos.

It simply could not sustain Amegakure any longer!

Hanzo of the Salamander, the Rain Ninja Village Leader and Half-God of the Ninja World, had seen that the God of Shinobi was dead, that grass had grown several meters high over the Asura of the Ninja World's grave, and that the Second Hokage of each of the Five Great Ninja Villages was gone. He had thought the era of this Half-God of the Ninja World had arrived and wanted to propel the Land of Rain into the position of the sixth great ninja village in one fell swoop.

He had started out full of spirit, only to fucking discover in the end... he simply could not win!

Now, surrendering was not an option, but refusing to surrender was not an option either. They were stuck in limbo, waiting for an opportunity.

After all, surrendering so easily would not only disgrace him as the Half-God of the Ninja World, but also require enormous reparations~

Until his battle with the Three Sannin gave him that opportunity!

He did not want to surrender. He merely acknowledged the younger generation of the ninja world and did not want such outstanding juniors to die so easily on the battlefield.

So, this was him giving Konoha some face. He would not kill Konoha's future. How about they stopped fighting?

Then.

The war between the Land of Rain and Konoha ended just like that!

After a payment for the manuscript entered the treasury, the Land of Grass's coffers finally looked much better. They should not lack money in the early stages anymore.

But the Land of Grass still needed a stable source of income.

Things were fine for now, but if they wanted to grow stronger in the future, the required investment would be staggering!

"A shipment of grain will arrive in a few days! Arrange for people to receive it then!" Kusana made the arrangements.

Then.

He took the items Kana had purchased before he left, casually completed today's order, and asked, "Where's Mujie?"

"Lord Mujie set off last night!" Kana hesitated before saying, "Lord Mang, you were busy last night, so I didn't disturb you! Lord Mujie said that if there were no problems, Lord Mang could prepare to depart as well!"

Meanwhile.

Just as Kusana was asking about Mujie's situation, Konoha received the message Mujie had sent!

"Knock knock~"

There was a knock at the door. Then, without even a moment's pause, the door was pushed open!

"Hiruzen, over at Kusagakure..."

Mitokado Homura entered with a frown, his face solemn, just as he began to speak.

A flurry of hurried noises reached his ears!

The moment he looked up, he saw Hiruzen bend down and carefully pick something up... a book?

Then.

He swiftly hid it away and pretended nothing had happened as he said, "How many times have I told you? How many times! Knock before coming in! I'm studying! You just barged in like that! You've seriously disrupted the quality of my studies!"

"..."

They had been companions for decades. Who did not know the others inside and out?

What kind of book was that? As if he did not know?

Had he been looking at the Landlady, or Teacher Hyuga Kiyoshi?

Did he really think he had never seen it before?

Mitokado Homura looked at him with contempt in his eyes, but admiration on his face as he sighed. "No wonder you became Hokage, Hiruzen. Back then, the teacher must have chosen you because you loved learning and never put it aside, even after graduation! What about us? We were different! How long had it been since we graduated? We hadn't studied at all, hadn't even touched a book! Unlike you! You're truly disciplined!"

Having said that, he quickly got to the point.

"Kusagakure's representative has already reached the Land of Fire's border. They sent word that they also wished to agree to Konoha's request, but the Land of Grass is rebuilding. Their village lacks manpower and ninja, and their strength is too weak. They simply cannot participate!"

"So it was as expected~"

Hiruzen did not seem surprised by Kusagakure's choice. The entire ninja world knew that Kusagakure and Konoha were allies, yet they had also been flirting with Iwagakure and had never hesitated to sell Konoha's intelligence.

Fence-sitters!

They simply had no ninja morals at all!

This time, they had merely wanted to see Kusagakure's attitude toward Konoha now that the Land of Grass was rebuilding, to find out whether they had thrown in with Iwagakure. After all, the Land of Grass bordered the Land of Fire!

If anything unexpected happened, they could prepare in advance!

"Fine! The war is ending anyway. Whether Kusagakure participates no longer matters. Have Orochimaru and the others push forward and end the battle with the Land of Rain as soon as possible. At the same time, have Dan hold the defensive line against Sunagakure! Once Orochimaru's side is finished, they will quickly go support them!"

"Hey, I wasn't finished! Kusagakure said that although their circumstances are difficult, as Konoha's ally, how could they stand by and watch? Therefore, they are prepared to contribute their share, but they hope Konoha will support their reconstruction efforts!"

"...Speak plainly!"

"They want... money!"

Elsewhere.

The Land of Rain.

At the same time.

The Half-God of the Ninja World also received a letter from the Land of Grass.

Konoha had used its power to coerce the Land of Grass into attacking the Land of Rain. This was not the Land of Grass's intention.

The Land of Grass and the Land of Rain were neighbors, both long oppressed by great nations! We should stand united and watch over one another!

Therefore, all we need is thirty million!

Just thirty million! The Land of Grass will station troops at the border and never set foot in the Land of Rain!

It was direct and clear, leaving even Hanzo of the Salamander silent.

But how did a weakling like the Land of Grass dare threaten the Land of Rain?

Even if Amegakure was not one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, its strength was not something a fence-sitter could compare to!

"This is simply taking advantage of a crisis! A mere Kusagakure dares provoke Amegakure? Leader, let's deal with them!"

"That's right! Let them know how formidable Amegakure is!"

However.

Unlike the enraged rain ninja, Hanzo of the Salamander fell silent.

That was right.

He no longer wanted to fight!

He had started this war in high spirits, only to discover... forget Konoha, Amegakure could not even defeat Sunagakure!

The only one they had beaten was the overconfident Land of Iron.

But that was useless!

They had gained no benefits and turned the Land of Rain into a complete mess!

Therefore, this could not continue!

After a while.

Hanzo of the Salamander shook his head and sighed. "Fine. Tell Kusagakure! Five million! They are worth only five million! That already far exceeds an S-rank mission! If they refuse, Amegakure will surrender to Konoha, and then..." He let out a cold laugh. "We will declare war on Kusagakure!"

After saying that.

He shook his head again with a bitter smile.

Who would have thought that one day he would be threatened by a fence-sitter like Kusagakure!

He had long heard that Kusagakure survived by currying favor with all sides and selling every village's intelligence. Seeing it today... it truly was exactly as rumored!

The next day.

After seeing the message Mujie had sent back, Kusana could not help sighing.

There was a reason the Land of Grass had managed to offend every country around it and make all ninja despise it. Mujie had truly taken Kusagakure's fence-sitting ways to the extreme!

Upon receiving Mujie's message, Kusana immediately sneaked into the Land of Rain.

The poisonous smoke surrounding the Land of Rain could not stop him. Before long, he reached the location mentioned in the intelligence.

However.

Kusana fell silent as he looked at the little girl with light blue-purple hair tied into round buns, lying motionless on the ground in the distance.

Had he...

Arrived too early, or too late?!

A nation-building story! This is the version I'm going with! Salted Fish discovered that after not writing for three months, I was about to lose my touch! So I'll start with a familiar nation-building story!

As for One Piece... sorry. I overestimated myself. I couldn't find a way to work it in, and I've been muddling through ever since!

New author, new book. I hope those who find it readable will give it plenty of support!

The early setup will probably be rather boring. Salted Fish will try to make it as enjoyable as possible!

The synopsis and title have also been changed. They should refresh tomorrow!