Heavenly Fire Cult

Teacher Shinku certainly had not been able to obtain any intelligence regarding the Yuan Clan, but just because he lacked it did not mean Touma did not.

Yes, you read that correctly; despite never having left the village, Touma actually possessed an intelligence channel within the Yuan Clan. However, he had only learned of this channel from his mother's lips right before his departure.

Touma's late father, Dou Huan, may have been a war orphan, but he was not entirely without kin.

One must understand that relying solely on a war orphan's stipend would make it impossible to graduate from the Ninja Academy and become a genin.

In particular, Dou Huan had a talent for taijutsu, and the resources consumed by training in taijutsu were far greater than those required by a ninja who focused on ninja tools in the previous generation.

It was only because of his great-uncle's support that Dou Huan was able to grow step by step into a genin. Even the residence their family occupied near the core commercial district of Konoha had been paid for in full by this great-uncle of Touma's.

However, as a retainer to the previous Daimyo, Yuan Jiuxiong, this great-uncle had been required to remain at the Daimyo's estate at all times, awaiting orders.

It was only two years ago, when Yuan Jiuxiong abdicated and his brother, Yuan Benxiong, succeeded him, that the great-uncle, Dou Ying, finally had a chance to rest.

It is estimated that once the transition of government affairs is fully completed, the childless Dou Ying will come to Konoha to retire and live with Touma and his mother—an arrangement that had already been approved by the previous Daimyo.

Having worked for Yuan Jiuxiong for so many years, the great-uncle gradually gained the former Daimyo's trust and slowly took control of some of the secret forces belonging exclusively to the Daimyo himself.

The two most famous of these were the "Jinyuan Group" and the "Heavenly Fire Cult."

The "Jinyuan Group" originated from a band of bandits in the plains northwest of Konoha, initially organized by a group of wandering ninja with mediocre aptitude.

Later, under the secret funding of Yuan Jiuxiong and the management of Ghost Hand Dou Ying, they absorbed a large number of ninja who ranked high on the bounty lists of the Exchange Centers. By introducing comprehensive, standardized training, they developed into a ninja group with power not inferior to that of an average small ninja village.

It is worth noting that there are many similar ninja groups in the ninja world. The reason they are not classified as ninja villages is, on one hand, the lack of a unified voice internally and the existence of factional conflicts; on the other hand, it is because the overall strength of these groups simply does not qualify them as a ninja village.

First, the establishment of a ninja village requires a Kage-level ninja to propose it. A ninja who can be called a "Kage" must not only have a clear advantage in combat power compared to a jonin, but must also be recognized by the local common people for their virtue and prestige.

Secondly, establishing a ninja village requires the endorsement of a relatively independent and stable political regime.

Take, for example, the original story where Orochimaru established Otogakure in the Land of Rice Fields; he certainly must have obtained the support of the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields.

Otherwise, once Otogakure was established, it would have been impossible to accept domestic missions through the government channels of the Land of Rice Fields. Without a fixed quota of missions, the fragile economy of a ninja village would collapse at the slightest touch!

The other organization, the "Heavenly Fire Cult," is an organization that is openly considered a cult in the Land of Fire. However, the government of the Land of Fire has never exerted enough pressure to suppress it.

To put it bluntly, many high-ranking officials in the Land of Fire might not know that the "Jinyuan Group" was a force under Yuan Jiuxiong, but they certainly knew, to some extent, that the "Heavenly Fire Cult" was likely Yuan Jiuxiong's tool for accumulating wealth.

One must realize that in the last year alone, the "Heavenly Fire Cult" siphoned hundreds of millions of ryo from its millions of followers.

It was precisely because of these funds that Yuan Jiuxiong dared to carry out sweeping reforms during his reign, vigorously developing technology and infrastructure, allowing the area of the capital to expand to three times its original size.

Of course, besides accumulating wealth, the "Heavenly Fire Cult" also served as a scapegoat for human experimentation. For instance, the Mitsuki Pharmaceutical Group, a collaboration between Orochimaru and the Yuan Clan, conducted most of its human clinical trials within the "Heavenly Fire Cult."

Unfortunately, after the new Daimyo, Yuan Benxiong, took office, he also set his sights on the "Heavenly Fire Cult," that fat piece of meat, wanting to snatch it from his brother's hands. The two brothers are still bickering over it!

However, it is estimated that by the time the two brothers completely fall out, the high-value assets and core decision-makers within the "Heavenly Fire Cult" will have already been cleared out, leaving behind only some scattered items of little value. The person responsible for this cleanup work is none other than Touma's great-uncle, Ghost Hand Dou Ying.

Dou Ying's nickname is "Ghost Hand," but his true ability lies in accounting. During Yuan Jiuxiong's reign, while the Minister of Finance was nominally appointed every four years, in reality, the person who truly managed the national accounts was Dou Ying himself.

Many elders of the Yuan Clan had tried to catch Yuan Jiuxiong in a mistake so they could install their own supported clansmen, but no matter how they audited the public accounts, they could never find any issues.

In particular, these elders could clearly feel that the country's economy was improving and the people's income was increasing, yet the revenue of the national treasury was becoming less and less.

Even with massive investments in infrastructure, it was impossible to spend that much silver. A decrease in treasury revenue meant that the fixed income of these unproductive elders within the Yuan Clan was shrinking.

Touma brought Haruno Kizashi to the liaison office of the "Heavenly Fire Cult" and presented the token mailed back by his great-uncle.

Before the ownership of the "Heavenly Fire Cult" was transferred, this purple-red token, engraved with a cyan-green fire pattern, was the most important token representing the cult leader, Tianhuo Zhiyuan.

There was no actual leader; the so-called "Tianhuo Zhiyuan" was merely a body double skilled in the Transformation Technique. Every speech delivered was scripted by Yuan Jiuxiong himself, and could be treated as the man himself.

The doctrine of the "Heavenly Fire Cult" was quite unique, with rhetoric similar to "Are kings and nobles born with high status?" and it openly supported the overthrow of the Yuan Clan's rule.

However, apart from frequently holding public gatherings and large-scale social events, they never took any actual action against the Yuan Clan.

In fact, ordinary followers would sometimes take the initiative to help other members resolve conflicts and life difficulties, making the social environment relatively more stable.

Therefore, even if some members of the Yuan Clan looked down upon the existence of the "Heavenly Fire Cult," they had no reason to cause them trouble.

After all, the Land of Fire had no public law forbidding citizens from opposing the rule of the Yuan Clan, and since the process by which the Yuan Clan came to power was not exactly glorious, they naturally had no way to publicly deal with this so-called "cult."

Even in Konoha, there were followers and offices of the "Heavenly Fire Cult," and Sarutobi Hiruzen, generally aware of the cult's background, had never taken it seriously.

Little did he know that, besides collecting money and overseeing human experiments, the "Heavenly Fire Cult" was the largest intelligence agency under Yuan Jiuxiong. He had been able to sit securely on the throne of the Daimyo for twenty-four years precisely because of this, the largest intelligence agency in the Land of Fire.

After Touma presented the highest-level Heavenly Fire token and stated his questions, he obtained the corresponding intelligence for free.

Much like what Teacher Yuhi had speculated, the new Daimyo, Yuan Benxiong, indeed did not trust the Minister of Finance, Watanabe Kenfu.

His distrust of Watanabe Kenfu was not without reason. This Watanabe Kenfu was not originally from the Land of Fire; he had fled from the Land of Rivers. He had somehow managed to quickly marry into a noble family in the capital, transforming from a refugee into a noble overnight.

Coincidentally, just as the Daimyo was changing, this Watanabe Kenfu went from an obscure clerk in the Ministry of Finance to the deputy of the previous Minister of Finance in just two years, and was recommended as the acting Minister of Finance when the previous minister retired due to illness.

Once he was officially confirmed in the position according to procedure, he immediately began to push for comprehensive trade cooperation with the Land of Demons.

One must know that the Land of Demons is a country with scarce natural resources. With scarce resources come a small population, and with a small population comes poor production capacity; it certainly had no high-value specialties.

This so-called comprehensive trade cooperation looked, from every angle, like the Land of Fire was fully subsidizing the Land of Demons!