The Land of Waves was merely one of the nations outside the Five Great Nations in the present world. Whether in terms of economy or military strength, it was hardly worth mentioning.
However, one thing could not be denied: the Land of Waves occupied an extremely important geographical position. At the very least, this was true for the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, because the Land of Waves lay right between them.
It was a small island nation! However, this island nation was rather close to the Land of Fire. Some time ago, a bridge connecting the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves had been built—the very mission Naruto's team had undertaken. Ueno Kei knew about it.
The way for a small nation to survive was to seek balance amid the cracks. People always said that the daimyo of the Land of Waves was foolish and incompetent, but could a daimyo who had maintained his nation between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water truly be so foolish? Of course, the weakness of the Land of Waves' daimyo could not be denied.
There had once been rumors that the Land of Waves was controlled by a merchant named Gato. That was what they said publicly, but those familiar with the truth knew that Gato was just a merchant—how could he possibly control an entire country? Even if it was only a small nation without a ninja village, it was still a nation.
To put it plainly, Gato had merely been the Land of Waves daimyo's agent, helping him control the country's entire economy. Thus, while the weakness of the Land of Waves' daimyo had indeed been inherited through the generations—something ingrained in their bones—it was absolutely not what they truly wanted.
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