Immigration Wave

Rasa was a very serious, professionally trained person who generally didn't smile unless he couldn't help it.

Otherwise, why would they say he was inexperienced and acted rashly? Look at everyone else; weren't they all holding back?

Of course, the main reason was that Rasa rarely attended these high-level meetings recently. If he attended more, he would know that this wasn't the first time Elder Chōjūrō had embarrassed himself. Everyone else had seen it before, but it was his first time, making him more sensitive.

"Ahem, Hoshino Maki, please continue, get to the point."

Chiyo coughed lightly to remind him. After all, he was an elder, and some respect had to be shown.

Hoshino Maki understood immediately. He wasn't a reckless youth, and his speech naturally had a purpose.

Only Chiyo knew about his intention to compete for the Kazekage position, or rather, Chiyo guessed he hadn't given up after refusing him.

In the eyes of the elders, he was merely Chiyo's spokesperson or attendant. The contenders for the Kazekage position were still Rasa and Chōjūrō.

If it were before, it would be fine. But now, with his 120 million treasury and considerable reputation among ninjas, it was time to show some aggression.

This competition with Chōjūrō was a stage.

Your standing not only depends on your strength but also on your opponent.

It's like how some popular celebrities would rather be scolded than not try to associate with top superstars. Don't they know they're asking for trouble?

Of course, they do!

But when people start discussing them alongside the top superstars, they've already won.

Don't look down on it; many people would love to be scolded like that but don't have the opportunity!

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

Anyway, with Chiyo backing him, he wouldn't suffer any losses. And if anything truly happened, besides Chiyo, he had prepared some contingencies.

"Then I'll continue with my opinion."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch, especially from Cloud Ninjas, who always go it alone. How could they suddenly ally with their mortal enemy, Stone Ninja, and then pull in us, who just finished a fight?"

"And they say Minato Namikaze is injured. Is there any other channel to verify this? Our scouts haven't sent back any news yet. What if Minato is faking his injury?"

"That's unlikely, isn't it?"

An elder muttered discontentedly.

Hoshino Maki glanced at him. "My opinion is that the current situation is unclear. We should wait until things become clearer before making a move. Right now, only the vanguard forces are clashing. We can sit back and watch the tigers fight. If both sides are evenly matched, we'll be the crucial factor to tip the scales. If Konoha is dominant, we'll have more leverage in the alliance with Cloud and Stone villages. The opposite is also true."

After speaking, Hoshino Maki surveyed the room. "In short, the three ninja villages that are in a hurry are Cloud, Stone, and Konoha. Time is on our side."

Hoshino Maki finished speaking, glanced at the elders' expressions, and sighed. "I understand everyone's desire to contribute to the village's prosperity, and I feel the same. It's just that the village just went through a brutal war, and everyone got a lot of good stuff. I'm afraid they're not very enthusiastic about war mentally. We might want to fight the enemy here, but we lack the will."

Hoshino Maki employed this tactic of using public opinion as a fig leaf for leadership with ease.

After all, he still had to save face for the elders.

"Sigh~ I said long ago that we shouldn't give those people so much stuff. Look, they've lost their fighting spirit."

The elder muttered this quietly for a moment before seeing Chiyo's gaze drift towards him, scaring him into immediate silence.

"If no one has any objections, we'll stall for now. There's no rush to reply."

Finally, Chiyo set the tone for this elder council meeting.

Things seemed to settle down. Over the next month, Konoha engaged in fierce battles with the Cloud and Stone villages. The western front against the Stone Ninja held steady, but the eastern front, facing the AB Combo, found even the combined might of Ino-Shika-Cho only able to act as a distraction. After Choza Akimichi was injured, Konoha lost its only front-line fighter and main damage dealer. This unbalanced combination of two support units and one fighter saw its strength greatly diminished. Konoha, in terms of top-tier combat power, seemed unable to contend with the Cloud Ninjas.

The defensive line was pushed back again, with nearly thirty percent of the Land of Fire's territory lost.

As the center of the ninja world, Konoha's situation affected the entire ninja world.

With Stone, Cloud, and Konoha as the points of a triangle, all countries within it were affected.

As small countries, survival meant relying on larger powers. The only difference was whether they actively sought dependence or if the larger powers helped them become dependent.

Now that the major powers were embroiled in war, these smaller nations couldn't escape unscathed. The entire ninja world descended into chaos.

Under these circumstances, merchants naturally took action.

Aside from arms dealers and those looking to profit from the war, merchants craved a stable environment.

But in this era of impending chaos, the Land of Water and the Land of Wind seemed to be their only options.

However, entering the Land of Water was easy, but leaving was difficult.

The Land of Wind was different. Arms dealers could buy excellent ninja tools there. Those seeking to profit from the war could buy gold and medicine. Although the quantities were small, it was enough for them to make a modest profit by scavenging scraps behind the big players in this chaotic world. For ordinary merchants, it offered a stable environment.

Even the Kazekage Building issued a new decree: individuals with assets reaching one million, upon purchasing a certain area of property or making a large investment in Sunagakure, could receive subsidized food and tax exemptions for one to three years.

This news spread like wildfire throughout the Ninja World, attracting a large number of merchants and wealthy citizens yearning for peace to settle there.

The entrance to Sunagakure's gates was already packed with numerous convoys, their wheels nearly touching.

This was the effect after widening the passage; previously, only one carriage could pass at a time.

Hoshino Maki had long proposed widening the passage to the elders, but Chōjūrō rejected it under the guise of "village security." Chiyo also had concerns and did not support it.

It wasn't until later, when a supply convoy from the Land of Lightning, with its larger specifications, was blocked outside the passage and couldn't enter, that the passage was urgently widened.

However, the widening was still conservative, allowing only two carriages to pass side-by-side.

Since there was only one road in and out of Sunagakure, this narrow passage was divided in the middle into two lanes, one for entry and one for exit. The overall efficiency did not improve much.

This actually provided a new way for the children, women, and elderly of Sunagakure to earn money—selling food within the passageways.

Most merchants hadn't expected to get stuck here, and while being delayed for half a day was common, being stuck for two or three days wasn't rare.

After all, Sunagakure rarely had outsiders visit in the past, so there weren't many inns. With so many people flooding in at once, the infrastructure simply couldn't handle the massive influx. Even though Hoshino Maki had presented financial reports and painstakingly convinced the Elder Council to agree to excavate windbreak rocks to expand Sunagakure's area, it was still far from enough. Many people had to sleep in their carriages.

Even when sleeping in carriages, there were distinctions in where you slept.

Sleeping within the village was considered good, the passageways were second best, and beyond that, people could only huddle together outside and wait.

The Daimyo's Mansion and some oasis cities were in similar situations, just not as exaggerated as Sunagakure. During wartime, everyone felt that ninja villages were safer, so the most people went to Sunagakure.

"Master, Sunagakure has really changed a lot during this time~"

Jukang said, but his gaze never shifted from the little princess beside him, who had just learned to walk, as if he were afraid she might fall or get hurt.

"Yes, I didn't expect it either. In less than half a year, Sunagakure has gained a lot of vibrancy."

Oyakuro En said with emotion while sitting in a newly opened dessert shop.

The daytime temperature in Sunagakure was very high, and the wind and sand were strong, so few people went out unless necessary.

But now, with the scorching sun high in the sky, there were still quite a few people walking on the streets.

This fully demonstrated that what determines a person's consumption is not the natural environment, but whether there are sufficiently attractive entertainment venues and the thickness of their wallets.

Of course, the latter likely played a bigger role.

As the war continued, some merchants settled in Sunagakure. The dessert shop Oyakuro En was eating at was called Kan Kurikan. It was originally a well-known dessert shop in Konoha, and he had tasted it when he was in Konoha; the taste was very delicious. He had thought he wouldn't be able to eat it for a long time due to the war, but he didn't expect there to be a branch here.

But this also showed how much pressure the attacks from Cloud and Stone had put on Konoha, otherwise, a well-known old shop like this wouldn't consider opening a branch in this desert country.

The hot wind blew the curtain at the shop entrance. Oyakuro En saw a merchant outside wiping sweat in his carriage. He recognized this person; he had met him while doing business in other villages before. He was quite well-off, but with the influx of many wealthy people, he had arrived late and could no longer buy a decent residence in Sunagakure. The Elder Council had also prohibited the arbitrary buying and selling or renting of ordinary villagers' houses.

Even so, he would rather cry in his carriage in Sunagakure and pay a large daily fee to Sunagakure than laugh in a mansion in the Land of Hot Springs.

At least, as long as Sunagakure was not involved in the war, this would not change.

Suddenly, their eyes met. The merchant in the carriage's eyes lit up. His large body jumped off the carriage, his flabby flesh trembling with a "duang duang duang" sound. He trotted into the shop and approached Oyakuro En's table.

"Oyakuro, long time no see~"

"Yes, Naoya. Haven't we seen each other in a year?"

"Not too long. Is this your child?"

Naoya looked at the crystal-clear child in front of him and smiled, reaching into his sleeve. Then he paused, withdrew his hand, and unclasped the jade pendant from his neck, intending to hang it around Hotaru's neck.

"I didn't prepare any gifts for our first meeting. This jade pendant has been with me for many years, protecting me on my journeys. Consider it a meeting gift today."

Oyakuro En quickly reached out to stop him: "Naoya, since we're friends, please don't give such an expensive gift."

There was a period of polite refusal. Seeing Oyakuro En's firm stance, he reluctantly withdrew his hand and sighed.

Oyakuro En was not an inexperienced novice; how could he not know that this person had something to ask of him? But he knew Naoya's personality. He was determined to latch onto him. Even if he didn't engage, he would find various "suitable" opportunities to pester him. It was better to get straight to the point now and not waste his time accompanying his daughter on her shopping trip.

"If you have something to say, just say it, Naoya. You know me. If I can help, I will, but if I can't, I truly can't."

Naoya nodded with a fawning smile: "Of course. How could I make things difficult for you?"

Oyakuro En drank his tea without speaking.

Naoya rubbed his hands: "It's like this. Sunagakure used to allow people to buy houses and settle down. I came too late and couldn't afford it, so I could only invest to settle. But now the investment threshold has been raised, and I'm a bit short."

Oyakuro En finally breathed a sigh of relief. Lending money was easier.

"How much are you short?"

Naoya awkwardly held up one finger.

"One hundred thousand? That's not bad. I'll have someone send it to you tomorrow."

"No, it's not one hundred thousand, it's one million."

"One million?!"

Oyakuro En exclaimed in surprise, like a duck, drawing disgusted glances from the surrounding diners.

He quickly bowed slightly to the shopkeeper and diners, offering an apologetic smile.

He wasn't a good-tempered person, but in the current Sunagakure, he didn't know which of the people enjoying delicacies in such a high-end dessert shop he could afford to offend.

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

Naoya looked like he was about to cry: "I didn't want to either. I heard that 500,000 was enough to settle down. Who knew that when I got there, I found out the rules had changed, and the amount was raised from 500,000 to 1.5 million. It just changed. If I had arrived one day earlier, I wouldn't have had to pay this million!"

He felt like crying, losing a million for being one day late was simply too unlucky.

"Jukang, you guys eat first."

Oyakuro En pulled the other person's arm and walked outside. It would look better to leave now; it would be undignified if this guy started crying here and got kicked out.

They went to a shady corner. Oyakuro En asked the other person to explain the situation in detail. After listening, he thought for a moment: "You go back first. I'll go ask what's going on."

Naoya's eyes lit up. This meant he had connections!

He didn't expect that borrowing money would also lead to connections.

He quickly nodded like a pecking chicken. It was naturally good not to have to spend this unnecessary money, though it looked somewhat comical with his fat head and big ears.

After Naoya left, Oyakuro En pondered in place for a while.

As far as he knew, the regulations for investing and settling down hadn't changed. There must be something fishy about suddenly demanding an extra million.

With such a major incident occurring, it was fine if he didn't know, but now that he did, he had to report it immediately. His shopping trip was naturally canceled.

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

He had thought that returning to Sunagakure would give him more time to spend with his daughter, but it seemed that wouldn't be the case.

"My Lord, please come in."

Kojima opened the gate, stepping aside with his burly physique.

"Thank you."

Hoshino Maki's courtyard wasn't large. Usually, only he and a few talented young medical ninjas lived there. Besides studying techniques, they were also responsible for cleaning the courtyard. Kojima also acted as a guard when he wasn't on duty.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he heard a loud boom, and then the door was kicked open. Pakura, with an icy expression and an aura that warned others to stay away, walked past him without even glancing at him.

Oyakuro En swallowed nervously, pressing himself against the wall, before quickly entering the house. He saw Hoshino Maki completely embedded in the wall.

"My Lord! Are you alright?!"

Oyakuro En pulled Hoshino Maki out of the wall. Just as he was about to find a medical ninja, Hoshino Maki grabbed his sleeve.

"Don't bother the medical ninjas, it's nothing serious."

Hoshino Maki shook his head, dusting the debris off his hair.

He just didn't understand. If it was a cold palace, wasn't massage a normal treatment method? Why was she so angry?

Applying the essential oil was with her consent, the location of the massage was also with her consent, and he had told her beforehand that he was a novice at massage, which she already knew.

It couldn't possibly be because his hand slipped while applying it, could it?

Not allowing even a single mistake was too difficult for a novice like him.

While lamenting how difficult the other party was to please, Hoshino Maki had Oyakuro En help him sit down nearby. His back seemed to be sprained.

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