Immigration Wave

Rasa was a serious man, professionally trained and not one to laugh—unless he couldn't help himself.

That just went to show how inexperienced he was. He wasn't very composed. Look at everyone else; they'd all managed to keep straight faces.

Of course, Rasa had rarely attended these high-level meetings lately. If he'd gone to more of them, he'd have known that Elder Chōjūrō wasn't disgracing himself for the first time. Everyone else had seen it all before. He was the only one experiencing it for the first time, so he was more sensitive to it.

"Ahem. Hoshino Maki, go on. Get to the point."

Chiyo gave a couple of light coughs to remind him. After all, Chōjūrō was an Elder; he still deserved some respect.

Hoshino Maki understood the hint. He wasn't a hotheaded novice, and he had a purpose in speaking up.

Only Chiyo knew he was competing for the Kazekage position—or, rather, she'd guessed that he hadn't given up after she turned him down.

In the Elders' eyes, he was merely Chiyo's proxy, or perhaps her attendant. The candidates for Kazekage were still Rasa and Chōjūrō.

If this had happened before, he might have let it go. But now he had a small fortune of 120 million and considerable standing among the ninja. It was time to show some aggression.

His clash with Chōjūrō was a stage.

Your status depended not only on your own strength, but also on the caliber of your opponent.

Some popular celebrities would rather be criticized than miss a chance to attach themselves to a superstar. Did they not know they were inviting abuse?

Of course they knew!

But the moment people started discussing them alongside a superstar, they'd already won.

Don't sneer—plenty of people wanted to be criticized like that and couldn't find a way in!

Now Hoshino Maki wanted people to know that Rasa wasn't the only one in the village openly dissatisfied with Chōjūrō. Hoshino Maki was, too. They were on the same level.

Besides, Chiyo had his back, so he wouldn't come out worse for it. And if anything really did happen, he had a few other contingencies besides Chiyo.

"Then I'll continue with my thoughts."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Especially not with the Cloud Ninja, who have always kept everything for themselves. Why would they suddenly ally with their sworn enemies, the Stone Ninja, and bring us in too, right after fighting us?"

"And they say Minato Namikaze is injured. Do we have any other way to verify that? Our spies haven't reported back yet. What if Minato is faking it?"

"That seems unlikely, doesn't it?" one Elder muttered, sounding displeased.

Hoshino Maki glanced at him. "My view is that the situation is still unclear. We should wait until things become clearer before getting involved. For now, only the Vanguard troops on both sides are fighting. We can sit back and watch. If the two sides are evenly matched, we'll be the decisive weight that tips the balance. If Konoha gains the upper hand, we'll have more leverage in an alliance with the Cloud and Stone villages. And if the opposite happens, the same applies in reverse."

After he finished, Hoshino Maki looked around the room. "In short, the three villages in a hurry are the ones with something to lose. Time is on our side."

Hoshino Maki looked at the Elders' expressions and sighed. "I understand how eager you all are to help the village grow stronger. I feel the same way. Unfortunately, the village has just been through a brutal war, and everyone's received plenty of good things. I doubt many people are eager for another war. Even if we're all itching to fight here, there's only so much we can do."

Hoshino Maki was adept at using public opinion as a shield for the leaders.

After all, the Elders' dignity had to be preserved.

"Ah, I said it from the start—we shouldn't have given those people so much. Look, now they've lost all their fighting spirit," one Elder muttered.

He'd barely finished when Chiyo gave him a chilly glance. He immediately fell silent.

"If no one has any objections, then we'll hold off for now. There's no need to reply in a hurry."

In the end, Chiyo set the tone for the Elder Council Meeting.

The matter seemed to end there. Over the following month, Konoha and the Cloud and Stone villages fought fierce battles. The western front against the Stone Ninja held up, but in the east, even when Ino-Shika-Cho fought together, they could only hold the AB Combo at bay. After Choza Akimichi was wounded, the team lost its only frontline fighter and its main source of damage. The lopsided combination of two supports and one fighter grew much weaker, and Konoha seemed unable to match the Cloud Ninja in top-tier strength.

The defensive line was pushed back again, and Konoha lost control of nearly a third of the Land of Fire.

As the center of the Shinobi World, what happened to Konoha affected the entire world.

Every country within the triangle formed by the Stone, Cloud, and Konoha was caught in the turmoil.

Small countries had to rely on great powers to survive. The only difference was whether they chose to submit or a great power made the choice for them.

Now that the great powers were caught up in war, the smaller countries couldn't escape either. The entire Shinobi World had become a mess.

In these circumstances, merchants naturally took action.

Apart from arms dealers and those hoping to profit from war, merchants all wanted a stable environment.

But with an era of chaos looming, it seemed their only options were the Land of Water and the Land of Wind.

It was easy enough to enter the Land of Water, but getting out was another matter.

The Land of Wind was different. Arms dealers could buy quality ninja tools there, and those hoping to profit from war could buy gold and medicine. The quantities weren't large, but following the big players and picking up a few scraps in a chaotic era was enough to make a small profit. For ordinary merchants, the Land of Wind offered a stable environment.

The Kazekage Building had even issued a new order: anyone with assets worth at least a million who bought a certain amount of property or made a large investment in Sunagakure could receive cheap grain and a tax break on business for one to three years.

The news spread through the Ninja World as if it had wings, drawing in countless merchants and wealthy civilians seeking peace.

At Sunagakure's gate, the narrow passage was packed with so many caravans that the wheels of two wagons were almost touching.

That was after it had been widened. Before, only one cart could pass at a time.

Hoshino Maki had long suggested to the Elders that they widen the passage, but Chōjūrō had rejected the proposal in the name of "village security." Chiyo had similar concerns and hadn't supported it either.

It wasn't until a supply convoy from the Land of Lightning, with its larger vehicles, got stuck outside the passage that they finally widened it in a hurry.

Even then, the widening had been conservative. Only two carts could pass side by side.

Since there was only one road in and out of Sunagakure, the narrow passage had been divided down the middle into two lanes, one for entering and one for leaving. Overall, this hadn't improved efficiency by much.

It did, however, give the village's children and women a new way to earn money: selling food in the passage.

Most merchants hadn't expected to get stuck there, sometimes for half a day, sometimes for two or three days.

Sunagakure had rarely received outsiders before, so it didn't have many inns. With so many people arriving all at once, there was no way it could handle the influx. Even after Hoshino Maki had finally persuaded the Elder Council with financial reports to approve expanding Sunagakure by cutting into Windbreak Rock, that still wasn't enough. Many people had no choice but to sleep in their wagons.

But even when everyone slept in wagons, where they slept mattered.

Sleeping inside the village was best, the passage was second, and after that, all they could do was huddle together outside and wait.

The same scene could be found at the Daimyo's Mansion and in some oasis towns, but it wasn't as extreme as in Sunagakure. After all, during wartime, everyone thought ninja villages were safer. That was why Sunagakure had the most visitors.

"My lord, Sunagakure has really changed in the past few months."

Jukang spoke, but his gaze never left the Little Princess, who had just learned to walk. He was afraid she might trip or bump into something.

"It has. I never imagined Sunagakure would become so lively in less than half a year."

Oyashiro En sat in a newly opened dessert shop, marveling at the change.

Sunagakure's days were hot, and the sandstorms were fierce, so people rarely went outside unless they had to.

But now, even under the blazing sun, plenty of people were out on the streets.

It proved that what determined a person's spending habits wasn't the natural environment, but whether there were enough appealing places to go—and how much money they had in their pockets.

Of course, the latter might matter more.

As the war continued, some merchants settled in Sunagakure. The sweets shop Oyashiro En was eating at was called Kan Kurikan. It had been a famous Konoha shop, and he'd tried its delicious treats when he was there. He'd thought the war would keep him from eating them for a long time, but now he'd found a branch here.

But that also showed just how much pressure the Cloud and Stone offensive was putting on Konoha. Otherwise, a famous old shop like this wouldn't have considered opening a branch in a desert country.

The hot, dry wind stirred the curtain at the shop entrance. Oyashiro En saw a merchant outside wiping sweat from his face while sitting in his wagon. He knew the man; they'd met when he was trading in other villages. The merchant had been fairly wealthy, but after so many rich people flooded in, he'd arrived too late to buy a decent house in Sunagakure. The Elder Council had also forbidden ordinary villagers from freely selling or renting out their homes.

Even so, he'd rather sit in a wagon in Sunagakure and suffer, paying the village a hefty fee for being stuck there, than lounge in a mansion in the Land of Hot Springs.

At least that wouldn't change as long as Sunagakure stayed out of the war.

Suddenly, their eyes met. The merchant in the wagon's eyes lit up. He jumped down, his bulky body jiggling all over as he hurried into the shop and over to Oyashiro En's table.

"Oyashiro, long time no see!"

"Indeed, Naoya. Has it been a year?"

"About that. Is this your child?"

Naoya looked at the little girl with her clear, sparkling eyes. Smiling, he reached into his sleeve, then paused. He withdrew his hand, took the Jade Pendant off his neck, and moved to hang it around Xiao Qiannai's neck.

"I didn't bring a gift for our first meeting. I've had this Jade Pendant for many years. It's kept me safe on all my travels, so please take it as a gift."

Oyashiro En hurriedly reached out to stop him. "Naoya, we're friends. You don't need to give her something so valuable."

They went back and forth for a while. Seeing how firm Oyashiro En was, Naoya had no choice but to withdraw his hand with a disappointed sigh.

Oyashiro En wasn't some inexperienced greenhorn. He knew Naoya was asking him for a favor. And he knew Naoya's personality: once he'd set his sights on Oyashiro En, he wouldn't let go. Even if Oyashiro En ignored him, Naoya would find all sorts of "suitable" opportunities to corner him. Better to be direct now than waste time he could spend taking his daughter out.

"Just say what you need, Naoya. You know me. If I can help, I will. But if I can't, there's really nothing I can do."

Naoya nodded ingratiatingly. "Of course. I wouldn't put you in a difficult position."

Oyashiro En sipped his tea without replying.

Naoya rubbed his hands together. "The thing is, Sunagakure used to let people buy houses and settle here, right? I arrived too late, so I can't afford to buy one. I can only settle here by investing. But the investment threshold has gone up, and I'm short—"

Oyashiro En finally relaxed. A loan would be easy enough.

"How much are you short?"

Naoya hesitated, then held up one finger.

"100,000? That's not too bad. I'll have someone bring it to you tomorrow."

"No, not 100,000. One million."

"One million?!"

Oyashiro En let out a squawk like a drake, drawing displeased looks from the other customers.

He hurriedly bowed to the shopkeeper and the other diners, smiling apologetically.

He wasn't an easygoing man, but in Sunagakure these days, he had no idea which of the people sitting in an upscale sweets shop he could afford to offend.

After apologizing, he lowered his voice. "Why do you need so much?"

Naoya looked as if he were about to cry. "I don't want to! I heard 500,000 was enough to settle here. Who knew the rules had changed by the time I arrived? They'd raised the amount from 500,000 to 1.5 million. It only just changed. If I'd arrived one day earlier, I wouldn't have had to fork over this extra million!"

As he spoke, he looked ready to cry. Arriving a day late had cost him a million. He really was unlucky.

"Jukang, you two go ahead and eat."

Oyashiro En took Naoya by the arm and led him outside. It was better to leave now. If Naoya started bawling in the shop and got thrown out, it wouldn't look good.

In a shady spot around the corner, Oyashiro En asked Naoya to explain the details. After hearing him out, he thought for a moment. "Go back for now. I'll find out what's going on."

Naoya's eyes lit up. That meant Oyashiro En had connections in the village!

He hadn't expected asking for a loan to open doors for him.

He nodded repeatedly. Naturally, he'd rather not pay this unjustified sum. But with his big, round face, the eager nodding looked rather comical.

After Naoya left, Oyashiro En stood there, pondering for a while.

As far as he knew, the rules for settling through investment hadn't changed. There had to be something fishy about suddenly demanding an extra million.

He couldn't help it if he didn't know about such a major matter. But now that he did, he had to report it immediately. His outing was ruined.

Watching Xiao Qiannai pout as Jukang carried her away, Oyashiro En felt helpless.

He'd thought returning to Sunagakure would give him more time with his daughter. Now he wasn't so sure.

"Please go in, sir."

Kojima opened the door and stepped aside, his broad frame clearing the way.

"Thank you."

Hoshino Maki's courtyard wasn't large. Usually, only he and a few promising young Medical Ninja lived there. They studied techniques and took turns cleaning the courtyard. When Kojima wasn't on a mission, he sometimes served as a bodyguard.

As soon as Oyashiro En stepped into the courtyard, he heard a crash. Then the door was kicked open, and Pakura strode past him, her face icy and her aura warning everyone to stay away. She didn't even glance at him.

Oyashiro En pressed himself against the wall and swallowed nervously before hurrying inside. He found Hoshino Maki embedded in the wall.

"My lord! Are you all right?!"

Oyashiro En pried Hoshino Maki out of the wall. He was about to fetch a Medical Ninja when Hoshino Maki grabbed him by the sleeve.

"Don't bother the Medical Ninja. It's nothing."

Hoshino Maki shook his head and brushed the bits of debris from his hair.

He didn't understand. If she had abdominal chills, wasn't massage a perfectly normal treatment? Why had she gotten so angry?

She'd agreed to the massage oil, and she'd agreed to where he'd applied it. He'd told her he was a novice at massage, too. She'd known all that beforehand.

Could it really have been because his hand slipped for a moment while he was applying the oil?

She couldn't expect him to make no mistakes at all. He was only a beginner.

Hoshino Maki sighed at how difficult she was to please, then asked Oyashiro En to help him sit down nearby. He seemed to have twisted his back.

Thanks to @bookfriend20170703221204597 and @You're the one who thinks so for the Monthly Tickets!

Thanks to @Come to My Bowl 12138 for the two Monthly Tickets!