Wheat Waves

"Although Konoha has been low-key in recent years, its foundation is far deeper than other ninja villages, enough to support them against attacks from two major ninja villages. Perhaps only an encirclement by all three major ninja villages could defeat Konoha."

Chiyo remarked.

The strength of Hashirama Senju was despair-inducing. That Konoha remained so powerful even after Hashirama Senju's death was even more despair-inducing.

Fortunately, Konoha had never had a long-term, qualified leader.

Let's not even talk about Hashirama, a standard idealist.

Tobirama, on the other hand, was qualified. He suppressed the village's only hidden danger, the Uchiha, established the Ninja Academy and the Master-Disciple System, transforming a cluster of families who merely bowed to Hashirama's might into a true village. The identity of "Konoha people" gradually became synonymous with, or even surpassed, family identity.

It was a pity that Tobirama was already over fifty when he took office. Coupled with extremely rare events like the other ninja villages having internal strife during peace talks, one could say he was very capable, but just unlucky.

His successor, Sarutobi, possessed both the strength and intellect. He was qualified as a preserver of the status quo, but his reaction to the gradually changing, or rather, gradually unfavorable ninja world, was too conservative.

The ninja world was only so big. If you took more, others would have less.

The Land of Fire, with Konoha, occupied the most fertile land and the best ports in this world. It could be said that Konoha monopolized seven-tenths of the world's benefits.

Konoha naturally became the center of the world, and also its target.

During Sarutobi's reign, he implemented a policy of "minor matters not discussed, medium matters discussed briefly, major matters discussed extensively." Apart from missions, he rarely resorted to force.

This also emboldened other ninja villages. Some smaller ninja villages even dared to attack Konoha ninja during missions.

Setting aside strength for a moment, just their audacity is enough to make you wonder if they're convinced.

Although Konoha had many flaws, if someone truly dared to awaken this sleeping lion, his claws would not be something anyone could withstand.

Chiyo had developed psychological trauma during the last Ninja World War. She had neutralized Hanzō's poison and discovered the five-minute cooldown weakness of Salamander's poison gas. However, this did not bring the Sand Ninja the expected great victory; the Sand Ninja still suffered heavy losses.

And the incident with Tsunade was even more regrettable.

Most crucially, the last war with Konoha had cost her her son and daughter-in-law. Even Sasori had embarked on a path of no return by assassinating the Kazekage because of it.

Hearing the words "Konoha" and "war" suddenly triggered her PTSD.

If she hadn't known about Sasori's situation, she would have felt immense resentment towards Konoha. But now, she truly didn't want to go to war with Konoha again; she just wanted to see her grandson as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, we won't be the first to bear the brunt. The Cloud Ninja are far more eager than we imagined. If Konoha fails to quickly crush the Cloud Ninja forces and the war drags on, Sarutobi won't be able to accept the reactions of the other ninja villages. Peace talks are only a matter of time. Moreover, if the plan goes smoothly, our people might only need to show their faces to reap the greatest benefits."

Some things were not suitable to say to Chiyo, and even if he did, she might not believe him. If by chance his words came true, would she suspect him of colluding with Danzō?

If there were no such dealings, it would be fine. The problem was that there actually were!

Furthermore, Hoshino Maki intended to maintain this relationship well.

"If you are worried, we can observe the battle situation between the Cloud Ninja and Konoha first before deciding whether to enter the fray."

Chiyo's expression improved significantly upon hearing this.

"Hoshino Maki, I truly didn't expect this~"

Chiyo said, looking at the puppet in front of her, which was almost indistinguishable from the young man, with a complex expression.

She would never forget the endless convoy of carriages, the mountains of grain piled on them forming vast waves of wheat. Even the desert was considerate enough not to stir up sandstorms that day. Under the pure sunlight, the wheat waves seemed to be coated in a layer of gold, shimmering brilliantly. It was a sight of unparalleled beauty that Chiyo had never witnessed before.

Even recalling it now, she still found it hard to believe.

The elders and children in the village had winter clothes, and grain was supplied generously. During meal times, the aroma of cooking from every household filled the entire Sunagakure with smoke. The sight of plump, crystal-clear rice made this old woman's eyes well up with tears.

Perhaps this year, no one would die from hunger or cold.

This prosperous era, which she had never dared to imagine, had unexpectedly first been realized in Sunagakure.

Although she knew it was temporary and unsustainable, a mere fleeting moment.

But this period had at least allowed the people of Sunagakure to know what a beautiful world looked like, and what they were striving for.

These supplies were not all. The hospital had also acquired a batch of new equipment. One-third of the village area was installed with electric lamps, and two power stations were under construction. Technicians from the Land of Lightning would not leave until they had taught the people of Sunagakure.

But as you know, in the ninja world, uncontrollable factors always emerge. If the Hidden Cloud Village were to go to war with other villages, such as Konoha, then for the safety of these technicians, they would have to be inconvenienced to stay in Sunagakure for a while longer.

Chiyo looked at the young man before her, recalling his words when they first met about wanting to become Kazekage. It hadn't been long, and although he still liked to smile, he seemed much more mature.

She remembered when her son first went to the battlefield, this genius of the village had been so scared he was trembling, unable to even hold a kunai steady.

But after a week, he could skillfully and accurately pierce the enemy's head from a distance with a kunai.

Perhaps it was a woman who turned a boy into a man, but only the battlefield could turn a man into a ninja.

"I want to become the commander of the Medical Corps, and also, don't send Rasa to the front lines."

This sentence echoed in Chiyo's mind. Her refusal, she supposed, had not deterred his Kazekage dream.

The young man's plan had never stopped.

If he truly were the Kazekage...

Chiyo closed her eyes, the wheat waves swaying before her. When she opened them again, it was the dazzling incandescent light.

"Remember to bring Sasori back."

Hoshino Maki didn't understand why she suddenly brought up this topic, but he nodded: "Naturally."

"You will stay at the Chiyo Mansion during this period. The puppet is not a perfect disguise. And those old geezers, they shrink back when there's effort to be made, but come running when they see meat."

Chiyo snorted, a cold glint flashing in her slightly cloudy eyes.

Besides clans that dealt in ninja tools, the war had caused heavy losses to the elders and the clans behind them. This was also the main reason they agreed to exchange prisoners for supplies. Now that the supplies had arrived, shouldn't the distribution work begin?

During this time, many people had approached Hoshino Maki, hoping he would speak up for them and help them get a larger share.

Hoshino Maki didn't have the authority to decide the distribution of supplies, but as the person who contributed the most to the entire affair, he carried some weight. As long as he spoke up, and the amount wasn't too large, everyone would tacitly agree.

Even if they didn't give him face, they had to give the Chiyo Clan face, right?

This time, even Chōjūrō's allies couldn't refuse Hoshino Maki's friendship.

Moreover, it was rumored, though no one knew who started it, that the representative Chōjūrō had sent was indiscreet in his private life during negotiations. It was suspected that he spent his nights dancing in bars and his days sleeping in his room, never attending negotiation meetings but always lying on the drinking table.

The Cloud Ninja didn't even know such a person existed until after the negotiations were complete.

This completely embarrassed Chōjūrō. He was already feeling weak about the supply distribution, and now he was even more ashamed to speak up. Even the proud members of his clan, who were originally arrogant, were now keeping their heads down when meeting people.

Although they dared not speak openly due to Chōjūrō's reputation accumulated over the years, there was still a lot of private grumbling.

Chōjūrō appeared to be keeping his composure, but according to a porcelain merchant from Sunagakure, this was the third time Lord Chōjūrō had purchased porcelain for his mansion, and his requests were peculiar:

Cheap, and with a crisp sound.

Let's move on to another matter.

While Sunagakure was celebrating a bountiful harvest, the Land of Lightning Bank in the Land of Lightning's Daimyo's Mansion was already surrounded by people. Everyone angrily held up their checks and pushed forward.

"I want to withdraw money!"

"Please, give me my money back! My children are still waiting to eat!"

"Don't push me, I was here first!"

"..."

Inside the bank, the bank president wiped the sweat constantly beading on his bald head and shouted at his secretary, "Quick, go invite the Daimyo!"