Iwagakure and Kumogakure Go to War

"What?!!"

Upon hearing Deidara say that he had already dealt with the Daimyo of the Land of Earth ahead of time, Kurotsuchi cried out in shock.

"...Don't tell me you went to Iwagakure for this."

Shirozumi had only just learned that Deidara had done this as well, and he was momentarily speechless.

Sure enough, every member of the Akatsuki Organization was an unpredictable factor.

Even when their intentions were good.

Just like how Nagato had thrown a Chibaku Tensei at him before.

And now Deidara had helped kill the Daimyo of the Land of Earth.

"Of course not. I went there to perfect my art."

Deidara immediately denied it.

But Deidara's purpose no longer mattered to Kurotsuchi.

This was practically forcing her into the position...

"Oh, right, Kurotsuchi, you'd better hurry back.

Whether you inherit the position of Tsuchikage or pursue your ambitions can wait.

But if someone accidentally enters the Daimyo's residence to investigate something, none of them will be coming back.

You need to return and warn them."

"As for why, my mutated art, C4 Garuda..."

Deidara described the characteristics of his modified Garuda to Kurotsuchi, and her expression immediately changed.

"I..."

Kurotsuchi looked at Shirozumi, hesitating to speak.

After all, she had only just voluntarily asked to join them not long ago, yet now she was about to leave immediately. It was changing far too quickly.

"Go back. Don't think that just because the Daimyo is gone, there's nothing left for you to do. Those ministers are no different from the Daimyo.

If you don't deal with them, you still won't be able to grant the Land of Earth and Iwagakure freedom—the right to control their own fate."

Shirozumi did not care whether Kurotsuchi stayed or left.

When he agreed to let Kurotsuchi join, he had never expected her to remain for long.

His main purpose had been to let Kurotsuchi understand the Akatsuki Organization's goals up close. In the end, she still had to become the Tsuchikage.

"Mm, I understand. I definitely won't do worse than the Mizukage!"

Kurotsuchi clenched her fists and nodded solemnly.

"Get going, get going, Kurotsuchi. If you run into trouble that's inconvenient for you to handle yourself, you can give our organization a mission."

Deidara urged her from the side, afraid that Kurotsuchi would change her mind and decide to stay.

"Mm."

For once, Kurotsuchi did not argue with Deidara.

"Take this. I hope it helps keep your resolve firm."

As Kurotsuchi turned to leave, Shirozumi slipped something into her hand.

By the time Kurotsuchi came to her senses, she was already far away from Shirozumi and the others.

Kurotsuchi took out the item Shirozumi had given her and saw that it was a photograph.

A group photo.

One person in it was very familiar—Shirozumi.

The other...

Wearing a red high-slit qipao, with a pair of long, fair legs, she stood before the stone giant created by Earth Release: Stone Golem Technique, smiling confidently for a photo with Shirozumi.

The Stone Golem Technique required precise Chakra control, and she still had not mastered it...

"No wonder they call me Leg Shadow."

Kurotsuchi looked at her long legs in the photograph, then lowered her head to look at herself now.

She was only fifteen. She should still grow, right?

Kurotsuchi put the photo away and carefully tucked it into the inner compartment of her Ninja Tool pouch.

The appearance of this photograph made Kurotsuchi completely trust what Shirozumi had said before.

"Ōtsutsuki..."

Kurotsuchi recalled that when Shirozumi had reprimanded her earlier, he seemed to have revealed the name of that future enemy.

She also thought of how Deidara had risked being discovered and captured by returning to Iwagakure to steal scrolls that could increase his strength.

She needed to train hard and become stronger too...

"No wonder that scroll said the workload of a Kage had to be reduced."

At that thought, Kurotsuchi suddenly understood.

She clenched her fists and accelerated toward Iwagakure.

Just as she had told Shirozumi earlier, she and the Mizukage of Kirigakure, far away on the other side of the Shinobi World, had become fellow travelers—and rivals competing against each other.

"Konan, help send a message to Kisame in the Land of Waves. Tell him to inform the Mizukage that she isn't alone. The Fourth Tsuchikage of Iwagakure is her 'Reforms comrade.'"

"...All right."

As Konan agreed, she gave Shirozumi another Byakugan.

—First tell Kurotsuchi that the Mizukage had done it too, then tell the Mizukage that the Tsuchikage had done it too.

A typical Ponzi scheme.

The difference was that Shirozumi's deception served to strengthen both sides' convictions.

More than a month passed.

Iwagakure and Kirigakure saw initial development.

Since Kirigakure was overseas, news of the changes there did not spread beyond its borders.

Only Iwagakure, which had deliberately sent shinobi to investigate, knew some of what was happening in Kirigakure.

On Iwagakure's side, news that the entire Daimyo clan had mysteriously died, leaving no successor, quickly spread throughout the Shinobi World.

Ōnoki resigned to take responsibility and retired to become an elder of Iwagakure, passing the position of Tsuchikage to the fifteen-year-old Kurotsuchi.

With no Daimyo, the Tsuchikage became the highest leader of the Land of Earth.

The ministers tried to fight for power and profit, but they were suppressed before long.

Kurotsuchi, whose Ideological Steel Seal had been removed by Shirozumi, would no longer obey even the Daimyo's orders, much less those of these ministers.

The common people and ordinary shinobi below were initially unaccustomed to the Daimyo being replaced by the Tsuchikage, but before long, they gladly accepted it.

Using Iwagakure's Intelligence Department and Anbu, Kurotsuchi easily took control of where all resources went with firsthand information at her disposal.

Following what Shirozumi's scroll had said, Kurotsuchi immediately began the Reforms.

The redistribution of benefits reached nearly everyone. Even ordinary villagers of the Land of Earth enjoyed a halving of their taxes.

For shinobi, mission rewards and compensation for injuries and deaths were all increased.

At that point, even if a minister stepped forward and claimed he could succeed as Daimyo, no one would support him.

I could have endured the darkness, if I had never seen the light.

However, Iwagakure's "treasonous" actions naturally drew the vigilance of the other Daimyos.

Even though intelligence indicated that Iwagakure had not exterminated the Daimyo clan, the Tsuchikage was undoubtedly the greatest beneficiary of the outcome.

They would never believe that a fifteen-year-old girl could rule the Land of Earth. Ōnoki had to be the one pulling the strings behind her.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had no particular reaction, merely quietly increasing the number of Guardian Shinobi.

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind took the opportunity to once again cut Sunagakure's funding, declaring that if Sunagakure was dissatisfied, it meant they wanted to betray him and imitate Iwagakure.

The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, already suppressed by the powerful Raikage, had only intended to issue a protest against Iwagakure's actions. Yet the Raikage declared that they should wage war on Iwagakure.

Iwagakure had broken the rules of the Ninja World.

Since things had come to this, what else was there to say?

The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning naturally agreed with pleasure.

His favor toward the Raikage even increased.

Though the Third Hokage and Fourth Raikage often made decisions on their own and ignored him, their Daimyo, in normal times, the Raikage was still quite loyal when it came to protecting his ruling position.

At this time, the Land of Falls had already become the battlefield between Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

Both Kage had arrived at the front lines.

"I paid your organization, and only you two came?"

Kurotsuchi looked at her old acquaintance Shirozumi and the lone masked man beside him, then complained.

[There is a map of the Shinobi World here]