News

Regardless of what Sunagakure was thinking, when meat comes knocking at your door begging to be slaughtered—even if it's scrawny and lacks much fat—if they are practically pleading to be fleeced, who are you to refuse?

To be fair, compared to Kirigakure, which is surrounded by the sea and can sustain an entire nation on seafood alone, the Land of Wind's Sunagakure truly has nothing.

If you really had to name a specialty, it would be the desert, followed by desert cacti and camels.

The main issue is that there isn't even any oil flowing under that sand; it's just a plain, miserable desert.

The essence of the Land of Wind lies in its northwest region, an oasis traversed by a river flowing down from the snow-capped mountains, rich in minerals and abundant resources.

But those belong to the Daimyo of the Land of Wind.

Sunagakure? Giving you a patch of land to build a village is already a favor, so don't push your luck—there's certainly nothing more to be had.

Although the Land of Wind provides a sum of money every year, it is truly a pittance.

Consequently, Sunagakure has spent years living in a dream where they strike gold in the middle of the desert.

But it's no longer a dream; the terms negotiated between Konoha and Kirigakure weren't kept under wraps. Fearing that Konoha might renege, Kirigakure made them public the very day they were signed.

When Yuya saw this, he thought, Oh, so you're terrified that people won't know you've been swindled by me? Fine, if you want to make it public, so be it.

Thus, the other major powers and smaller nations saw it too.

Sunagakure began to ponder.

Logically speaking, they considered themselves a major power, and since they assumed Konoha was just pulling this stunt to buy time—fearing Kirigakure would join the war (there was no doubt in the minds of Sunagakure's top brass that this was a stalling tactic)—then they could do it too.

You must sign one with us as well.

If you don't, we'll send our troops to attack you!

And so, this charade of Sunagakure begging to be swindled came to pass.

Yuya, naturally, readily agreed.

Senju Tobirama finally set his mind at ease.

Of the five major powers, they had just signed treaties with the Land of Wind and the Land of Water, so war with them was off the table.

Now, he could free up his hands to deal with the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth.

Consequently, the momentum of Konoha surged once again.

At this time, it was late summer.

From early summer to late summer, Konoha had maneuvered through the war, successfully ensuring that the other two nations would not intervene. The results were significant, and there is no need to explain what late summer signifies, is there?

Yes, the rice was ripe.

It was time to prepare for the harvest.

But at this very moment, a major incident occurred.

A squad from Iwagakure killed another squad from Kirigakure.

The cause was simple: since the previous negotiations hadn't been fully settled, there was still a possibility that Kirigakure's ninjas might continue to participate in the war.

Therefore, within the joint forces of Iwagakure and Kumogakure, there were still several hundred ninjas from Kirigakure.

Many were already dissatisfied that they hadn't been sent to the front lines, especially since they were eating the joint forces' rations every day.

Then, news came from Kirigakure that they were done fighting Konoha and were withdrawing.

This made the lungs of Iwagakure and Kumogakure explode with rage.

You bastards ate our food for nearly three months only to say you're quitting?!

Although their numbers weren't massive, it was still infuriating.

However, considering they were already struggling to handle Konoha, they knew they couldn't afford to fight Kirigakure as well, so the high command of the joint forces decided to swallow their pride and let these ninjas leave.

If these Kirigakure ninjas had simply left upon receiving the order, there would have been no issue.

But they insisted on eating one last meal within the joint camp.

What was the matter? Did Kirigakure not feed you? Did you have to mooch one last meal? (To be fair, the food in Kirigakure is indeed subpar; relying on the sea for everything means their diet is mostly seafood, and if you eat enough of that, you start to feel like you smell of fish.)

The Iwagakure logistics officer gave them half the usual portion. The Kirigakure ninjas, still hungry, demanded more, and the Iwagakure ninja, who had a short temper, snapped, "More your ass!"—instantly igniting the powder keg.

And that was how the squad of Kirigakure ninjas ended up being slaughtered.

When the Tsuchikage and the Raikage heard the news, they were stunned.

What was this?

Was heaven helping Konoha?

When Yuya learned of this, he was also quite amazed.

In the original history, the First Shinobi World War saw the Land of Earth and the Land of Water clash, with the Tsuchikage and the Mizukage killing each other, though the reason for their conflict was never clear.

Regardless, it certainly wasn't over a bit of food like this.

Yet, it had happened anyway. It was likely that these two nations, despite being worlds apart, would end up clashing after all.

Tsk tsk, the corrective force of history is truly terrifying.

And as it turned out, that was exactly the case.

The Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, was a man of explosive temper; one could tell just by how he had nearly started a war with Konoha on a whim not long ago.

How could he possibly endure it when a full squad from his Kirigakure had been wiped out?

You, the Tsuchikage, must hand the culprits over.

The Second Tsuchikage had his own things to say: what kind of trash are you people from Kirigakure?

They sponged off us for three months, and now that it's harvest time, they don't even offer to help before trying to sneak off. And if you're going to leave, fine, but did you really have to gorge yourselves one last time? Are you reincarnated starving ghosts or what?!

There is absolutely no way I'm handing anyone over! If you've got the guts, come and get them yourself!

And the Second Mizukage, refusing to be pushed around, actually brought his men and charged over.

Senju Tobirama even briefly suspected that this guy was using this as an excuse to pick a fight with them while he was at it.

However, the Second Mizukage was a man of his word; he bypassed Konoha's defensive perimeter without even a glance and continued straight to the west.

And so, the nation in the far northwest of the Shinobi World map and the nation in the far southeast began a battle that blotted out the sun and moon in the northernmost reaches of the Land of Fire.

Seeing this, Senju Tobirama and the Second Raikage had much to say, but in the end, both sides' words turned into:

Let's call a temporary truce; I'm going back to harvest my rice before I come back to fight.

Harvest the rice, and while I'm at it...

Watch the show.

Thus, in the early autumn of Year 17 of Konoha, the front-page headline of the very first issue of the Ninja News, founded by Yuya, read:

[Shocking! The Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage break out into battle—the reason is this!]

The people of Konoha had never seen such a thing, and they immediately bought out all two thousand copies of the first issue...

This so-called Ninja News had no high barrier to entry; as for printing techniques or woodblock carving, a ninja could handle it all with a single jutsu.

Still, it was necessary to have such an institution.

After all, every nation needed an organization that allowed the common folk to pass the time while also controlling public opinion and discourse.

Of course, since the barrier to entry was low, Yuya estimated that the other major nations would likely follow suit soon.

Well, that was fine too; it created some ninja job opportunities for the other nations.

For now, though...

I'll just watch the show first...

In the autumn of Year 17 of Konoha, Yuya returned to Konoha.

He came back to visit his master's wife, Uzumaki Mito.

At the same time, he learned a piece of news: "The Land of Whirlpools wants you to return, Mistress?!"

Yuya frowned decisively.

This Land of Whirlpools...

What are they trying to do?!

Damn it, a notification popped up on the author's dashboard and I thought it was a recommendation, but it was just a contest promotion—and for fantasy, of all things. When will there be a contest for light novel fanfiction? Even if I don't win, it'd be nice to be a participant.