World Order

After the mission ended, Yuan Jiuxiong, their former employer and the daimyo, didn't skimp on the rewards. After all, the mission had directly brought down the Sugiyama Clan, the family of the Land of Fire's general.

The Yuan Clan obviously couldn't simply take their place. Most likely, one of the three remaining noble families would be chosen. But by the time those three families had decided the victor, the Yuan Clan would probably already have gained complete control of the army. Even if they took over the position of general, they'd be nothing more than a figurehead.

The first reward was an additional payment of about 200,000 ryo for every member of Team Shinku, on top of the 5 million ryo mission fee. That was nearly as much as the total mission earnings Touma and the other Genin had made over three years!

And that wasn't all. The second reward was a residence near Senbon Torii, the capital of the Land of Fire. Of course, Shinku-sensei received a small house with a courtyard, while Touma and the other two got small apartments.

Shibi and Zhao hadn't taken part in the final operation at the Sugiyama Clan's estate, but while guarding the dungeon, they'd successfully intercepted several rescue teams formed by members of the Yomi Sect. This had indirectly uncovered the Sugiyama Clan's intelligence network within the country.

That was no small achievement. With this intelligence network, Yuan Jiuxiong could quickly root out every hidden agent the Sugiyama Clan had planted and secure the position of general as swiftly as possible.

After seeing what his good-for-nothing older brother had done, the new daimyo, Yuan Benxiong, could no longer bring himself to oppose him.

He'd once thought his brother was a debauched, incompetent ruler who cared only about his own pleasures. Now he saw just how far behind his brother he was when it came to politics!

After all, he'd only noticed the Ministry of Finance's irregularities in the past few months. His brother, however, had already set his sights on Watanabe Kenfu—actually Onizuka Kenichi in disguise—before stepping down, and had built a plan around him to completely dismantle the Sugiyama Clan.

If his good-for-nothing older brother had really wanted to move against him, Yuan Benxiong reckoned he wouldn't even have noticed. So he simply ignored his brother's takeover of the Sugiyama Clan and the position of general, acting as if he hadn't seen a thing.

In truth, Yuan Jiuxiong had prepared a trap for his younger brother, too. But they had the same father, and he couldn't bring himself to kill him. At most, he'd have forced him to flee overseas like Onizuka Kenichi, ensuring he had enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Along with these material rewards, Yuan Jiuxiong gave Shinku Yuhi a promise: no matter what difficulties he or his descendants faced, if they could be resolved by Yuan Jiuxiong or his descendants, they could bring Touma's Heavenly Fire Token to him or his family.

It was an extraordinarily weighty promise. After all, in the world of nations, unless a village's Kage was powerful enough to rival an entire country, their influence couldn't compare with a daimyo's.

At present, only "God of Shinobi" Senju Hashirama and "Asura of the Ninja World" Uchiha Madara had reached the level of being able to rival an entire country. No one else had that kind of power.

Even Salamander Hanzo, whom the Land of Rain was now touting as a "demigod," wasn't strong enough to stand alongside Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. By the Shinobi World's commonly accepted assessment, his strength fell somewhere between Third Kazekage Jusa Tetsuo and Third Mizukage Kaibe Keisen.

Jusa Tetsuo and Kaibe Keisen were the bottom two in the current ranking of the Third Five Kage, and they were also at a disadvantage in strategic and tactical ability.

That's right. Although Third Raikage Yotsuki Ai looked like a brute, the old fox could go toe-to-toe with Ōnoki in matters of strategy and tactics. The two Land of Lightning–Land of Earth conflicts that had nearly erupted over the years had both been defused by the pair using various means.

A village's Kage could control the movements of most of its fighting forces, which was usually enough to give him unquestioned authority within the village. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't do that, yet for Ōnoki and Yotsuki Ai, it was effortless.

Konoha had its own circumstances. It had too many Kekkei Genkai and secret-technique clans, but they'd settled into a relatively stable balance. That balance couldn't be disrupted by force, and Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't truly control the Hyuga or Uchiha, either.

On top of that, the Senju Clan was still around. As far as prestige within the village went, Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't dare compare himself to Lady Mito or Toka!

Sunagakure and Kirigakure were in a very different situation.

Sunagakure had almost no Kekkei Genkai or secret-technique clans. The few Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques it did have had mostly been developed by Second Kazekage Shamon. Magnet Release, for example, had been taught to Jusa Tetsuo personally by Shamon. That made Sunagakure the easiest village to manage, relatively speaking.

Unfortunately, Shamon had taught Jusa Tetsuo Magnet Release but hadn't passed on his political ideas or administrative skills. After Shamon's unexpected death, Tetsuo had taken over in a hurry and found himself unable to stand up to the village elders. His position as Kazekage was little more than a formality.

Tetsuo had even proposed several times that they end hostilities with the Land of Fire and resume trade, only to have the village elders overwhelmingly reject his proposals. He'd been left with no choice but to appeal to the daimyo's court in the Land of Wind.

This had become a famous joke in the Shinobi World: a village's Kage, squeezed by his own village's elders, had to seek help from the daimyo's court. If Ōnoki or Yotsuki Ai had been in his shoes, they'd sooner have given up the position than put up with such an insult!

Compared with Sunagakure, Kirigakure sat at the opposite extreme.

Kirigakure had more Kekkei Genkai and secret-technique clans combined than Konoha. Although they might not have been as powerful individually, there was no balance within the village at all. Ordinary shinobi had almost no room to survive.

That was why, after taking office, Kaibe Keisen had begun enforcing the "Bloody Mist Village" policy without restraint. This policy hadn't been enacted while Uchiha Madara was controlling him; it had already begun before he was controlled.

Kaibe Keisen's goal was to rapidly weaken Kirigakure's clans and make enough room for ordinary shinobi to survive. Unfortunately, there were simply too many shinobi from the clans. Despite the "Bloody Mist Village" policy having been in place for so long, the number of clan shinobi hadn't decreased. If anything, it seemed to be growing.

The clans in the island nations near the Land of Water—such as the Land of Sea, the Land of Lan, the Land of Islands, the Land of Isles, and the Land of Hills—had all taken a keen interest in Kirigakure's brutal policy. It meant that anyone strong enough to fight could establish themselves in Kirigakure.

The Kaguya Clan, which had long lived in seclusion in the Land of Islands, had noticed the policy and moved to the outskirts of Kirigakure as a clan. They intended to use their Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai to carve out a future there!

As the "Bloody Mist Village" policy continued, Kaibe Keisen's control over Kirigakure dwindled. The Anbu still obeyed him, but the village's other decisions were being made without his involvement, through discussions among the clan leaders.

The clans had even stopped routing the village's funds through him as Mizukage. They went straight to the daimyo's court, taking control of the policies and the distribution of missions to ordinary shinobi in Kirigakure.

If Kaibe Keisen hadn't come from a noble family, he might not even have been able to cover the Anbu's expenses. But Kirigakure couldn't remain stable in such a fractured state. Even outsiders could see that sooner or later, the Mizukage's faction and the village clans would clash in a major battle—and it was anyone's guess who would win!