The Consequences of a Snap Decision

The Consequences of a Snap Decision

Inside Sunagakure, Yunqing was carefully reading the intelligence Ebizo had sent over.

Pakura, his little secretary, stood beside Yunqing, while Rasa stood across from him.

"Before Suke left, he recommended you to me and asked that you temporarily take over his duties. Can you give me a reason why?"

Yunqing set down the intelligence report, leaned back in his chair, and asked.

Yunqing's words left Rasa dumbfounded. The young man was not yet the Fourth Kazekage from the original story. He lacked sufficient political savvy and had no idea how to answer.

Rasa hemmed and hawed for a long while, yet still failed to say anything.

Yunqing sighed and spoke on his own. "In terms of status, you were among the first beneficiaries of Magnet Release and are a direct subordinate of Teacher Sāmon and me.

"In terms of strength, you now possessed Jonin-level power and were considered quite good among the younger generation.

"In terms of temperament, your will was firm. No one among Sunagakure's younger generation could compare to you.

"These are the reasons I trusted you.

"Remember, I am your firmest support. Do not be afraid of making mistakes. Temper yourself properly."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage. I definitely will not disappoint you or Lord Suke."

The young Rasa spoke excitedly.

With every sentence Yunqing had spoken, he had grown more excited. By the time Yunqing finished, he could no longer suppress his emotions.

Yunqing truly regarded him as one of his direct subordinates.

How could that not excite him?

"Go on, then. Get to know those comrades of yours. And if anything comes up, ask that little girlfriend of yours more often."

Yunqing waved him away, speaking casually without caring about Rasa's flushed face.

Yunqing rather admired Rasa. Aside from his lacking political savvy, everything else about him was quite good.

The moment Rasa left the Kazekage Building, he saw his girlfriend Karura and eagerly rushed over to her.

"What happiness. If everyone in Sunagakure could be as happy as they are, that would be wonderful.

"Then I could retire after achieving success and enjoy the beauty of life."

Standing before the window and watching Rasa and Karura embrace happily below, Yunqing sighed with emotion.

"Yes, yes. But a regular patron of pleasure houses would never understand the greatness of love."

Pakura, the little secretary beside him, mocked him.

She was so adorable, yet this bastard still went to pleasure houses—and even made her pay the bill. It was simply outrageous.

"Haha, it's all trivial. They need relief too. Besides, I only went there to discuss life and ideals."

Yunqing gave an embarrassed laugh.

"Hmph." Pakura looked at Yunqing disdainfully before changing the subject. "Lord Kazekage, they are merely a group of craftsmen. Was there really a need to send Lord Suke? We were already short on manpower, and now it is even tighter."

"There was. Bunpuku said that he sensed Chakra from among those craftsmen. It was not strong, but it was definitely there.

"Then think about that Daimyo's ambition, and you can guess everything."

Yunqing narrowed his eyes, a dangerous gleam flashing within them.

"You mean there are children of the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools among them?"

Having spent some time at Yunqing's side, Pakura was no longer the naïve girl she once was. She quickly understood.

"That is only one part of it. More importantly, the importance we place on these people will determine how much inherited power we can receive.

"That Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools is a true hero. His bearing is beyond what ordinary people can match."

Yunqing recalled the words in Ebizo's letter. The Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools had disregarded his image and status to seek out Ebizo and discuss hiring craftsmen.

Most importantly, he had demonstrated an understanding of the Land of Wind, pointing out some of its strategies and tactics.

The overall vision he displayed made both Ebizo and Yunqing regard him in a new light.

Yunqing did not know how he intended to control Kirigakure, but Yunqing believed that the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools definitely had his own methods for controlling Kirigakure and would leave behind enough Uzumaki Clan members to rise again.

In Yunqing's eyes, the political and military structure of the Land of Whirlpools was the best and most in line with the course of historical development.

Given the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools a little more time, once he outlived the older generation of Uzumaki Clan ninjas led by Masahiko Uzumaki, he would be able to seize control of all the Land of Whirlpools' political and military power.

The islands of the Land of Whirlpools were not poor. On the contrary, they were quite wealthy. If Yunqing's reach had been long enough, he would certainly have swallowed the entire nourishing prize that was the Land of Whirlpools.

"Grasping both politics and the military in one hand—that is imperial rule, the political system with the strongest explosive power.

"It is still imperfect, but let me see how much fighting power Kirigakure possesses after receiving the full support of the Land of Whirlpools."

A sharp glint flashed through Yunqing's eyes as he thought to himself.

Afterward, Yunqing wrote Ebizo a letter instructing him to fully assist the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools in taking control of Kirigakure.

"Lord Kazekage seems to admire the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools very much."

Pakura asked softly.

"That is right. He is a true hero. He merely lacks Hashirama Senju's strength, but he possesses everything Hashirama Senju lacked."

Yunqing replied calmly.

The most unbalanced aspect of the ninja world was that ordinary people and ninjas who wielded supernatural powers shared dominion over it.

That was its greatest imbalance, and it had been personally established by Hashirama Senju.

Most terrifying of all, that imbalance had become ancestral law, making it impossible for later generations to change.

In Yunqing's eyes, the era of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had been the best era—the safest and best era, when ninjas held control of the world.

The two possessed the power to sweep aside everything. They could have completely made the ninja profession something special. At the very least, they should not have allowed useless trash like Daimyos to rule the world.

Yunqing had learned from Sāmon that before the Five Great Nations and the five ninja villages were established, the ninja profession had operated on a clan system. To support their ninjas, those clans kept ordinary people under their control, making them farm the land, conduct trade, and provide for the clan's ninjas.

That era was more about seizing land and mineral resources. Ninjas ruled everything; that had been the true ninja world.

Yet no one had expected the ninja world to produce two absurdly overpowered freaks, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Those two freaks had even been close friends—brothers in arms.

Neither of them had been particularly bright, nor were they educated enough. They only knew how to fight and kill.

In the end, on a sudden whim, they established ninja villages and divided ninjas and ordinary people into two separate worlds.

They had even handed over financial power.

That was also why Yunqing admired the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools. That man had already vaguely realized the value of unity and had begun preparing for it.

The idea was good, but the outcome was not. They had no good allies and an excessively powerful opponent.

As always, without strength, everything was meaningless nonsense.

"Pakura, just watch. The war between Kirigakure and the Land of Whirlpools will surpass everyone's expectations."

Yunqing declared with absolute certainty.

"Not Kirigakure?"

Pakura caught the flaw in Yunqing's words and added doubtfully.

"It is the Land of Whirlpools. Trust me—you will see how a nation unified in both economy and military wages war."

Yunqing shook his head and rejected Pakura's words.