Investigating the Land of Rain

Hanzo's home.

"Uncle!"

"Godfather!"

Two different voices rang out. Hanzo held Yahiko in his arms and asked, "Are you getting used to school?"

"Mm-hmm, my classmates are all really nice!" Yahiko happily rubbed against Hanzo's chest.

"Uncle, now that you have a son, you don't want this nephew anymore!" Su Zheng's voice brimmed with jealousy.

"You brat, always causing trouble!"

Hanzo put Yahiko in the inner room, where he had prepared plenty of fun things. Yahiko, who had seemed somewhat mature before, returned to being a child again. It was nice to have someone spoil him!

Hanzo liked Yahiko's spirited, boyish appearance. He was completely different from Su Zheng when he had been little!

"Tell me, what did you come to see me about?" Hanzo asked bluntly.

Su Zheng rolled his eyes. Seeing Hanzo glance toward the inner room from time to time, he understood what he meant and said directly, "Uncle, how is the Land of Rain's reform progressing now?"

At the mention of this, Hanzo looked somewhat troubled. He wanted to change the Land of Rain, but his thinking had already become fixed. He only focused on shinobi and could not see ordinary people at all.

Naturally, he could not understand the suffering of ordinary people. This was also the fundamental conflict between him and Yahiko's group in the original story.

He believed that shinobi bled and died to protect the Land of Rain, so wasn't it only natural for ordinary people to pay taxes?

But he did not know there was a term called "militarism"! Nor did he understand what a strong nation was supposed to be for. He only fought endlessly, vainly trying to maintain peace, while behind him, the civilians of the Land of Rain had nearly been squeezed dry of their last drop of blood!

This was also why the Land of Rain could not develop!

Hanzo sighed and said, "Not well. Most of that money has been awarded to outstanding shinobi in the war, as well as the families of those who died."

Su Zheng looked at Hanzo seriously and said, "Uncle, I want to take over the Land of Rain's reform efforts."

Hanzo looked deeply at him and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Su Zheng laid out the speech he had prepared. "First, maintain local stability. Then, I plan to inspect every village and draw up a postwar reconstruction and development plan!"

Hanzo looked at his nephew in surprise. He had not expected him to think so deeply. It seemed his parents' deaths had affected him greatly!

After thinking it over carefully, Hanzo said, "I agree with your idea, but you need an official position. That way, it will be more legitimate!"

"Then I'll be the Minister of Development."

"Fine, you really don't stand on ceremony. You went straight for a ministerial post. But I have no experience in this area, so figure out how to find people to fill the department yourself!"

"Then just give me the basic reports on each village."

Hanzo waved a hand. "Amegakure doesn't have such documents. You'll probably have to find officials from the Daimyo's residence."

Su Zheng inwardly ranted wildly: They're so proactive when it comes to collecting money, but they don't handle a single thing!

"Big Brother, you're going out to have fun? Take me with you!" Konan grabbed Su Zheng's hand, wanting to go with him. Nagato and Haruna also looked at him expectantly.

Su Zheng did not know whether to laugh or cry and hurriedly explained, "I'm not going out to have fun. I have a task. I'm going to inspect local development and formulate the appropriate plans."

"Oh!" Nagato and Konan nodded in disappointment.

Haruna walked over and asked, "Can I go? I've read many books. I'll be useful if you take me with you!"

"No. The journey is too long, and the conditions are harsh. I don't want you to suffer. Stay home, and you can help me come up with ideas later!" Su Zheng explained.

"Okay." Haruna did not insist any further.

A wise gleam appeared in Konan's eyes. So Haruna reads books to help Big Brother. How devious! I need to work hard too, so that Big Brother will take me next time!

Su Zheng had no idea that one trip outside had made Konan think so much. All he could say was, never try to guess a girl's thoughts!

He greeted Shota and Maki, asking them to help look after the house. Ever since Su Zheng had wiped out the Gray Rain Clan, Shota had completely given up trying!

He felt that he could never keep up with Su Zheng's pace, so lying flat was not so bad! Maki, his teacher, felt deeply moved. The little brat from before had grown capable of standing on his own so quickly!

Su Zheng went to the Daimyo's residence, where they assigned him a young official, Endo Akira. From his eyes, Su Zheng saw a kind of pure stupidity!

"A Zheng, why do you want to become an official? Isn't being a shinobi good enough?" Endo Akira asked in confusion.

He had originally been very afraid of shinobi, but after learning that Su Zheng was even younger than him, he became much friendlier.

The Daimyo's authority had been stripped away, and they had been placed under Amegakure's control. However, Hanzo did not know how to govern, leaving these officials in a very awkward situation.

Su Zheng said, "War has brought too much pain to this country. I want to save its people!"

Endo Akira inwardly sneered. You shinobi only bring war, and you want to save this country? Can you even do it?

Yet he said aloud, "That's great. Then I suppose we share the same ideal!"

Su Zheng did not expose him and hurried onward.

Land of Fire, Daimyo's residence.

The Daimyo was playing shogi with his adviser.

"Daimyo, someone went to Kobayashi Company and took away a large amount of supplies," the adviser reported.

"Oh! Do we have any information on him?" a capable-looking long-faced man wearing a fan-shaped hat asked casually.

"Uh, no. Kobayashi Taro said he was his partner. Our people never saw him."

"He didn't touch our things, did he?" the Daimyo suddenly asked.

The adviser naturally knew what he meant and immediately responded, "No. How would he dare touch the belongings of those lords?"

"Mm." The Daimyo replied faintly. A man like him would never care about such trivial matters.

Zijing Village, the village chief's residence.

"Your presence honors this humble home, my lord!"

"Does my lord have any taboos? I can have the servants prepare food and wine accordingly!" A richly dressed man with a large beer belly warmly entertained them.

"No, no, just bring whatever you like!" Su Zheng waved a hand, indicating that he had no restrictions.

Ishida Sho entered the outer room, where a middle-aged retainer had been waiting for some time.

The retainer asked in confusion, "Why is Master treating them so well? They don't seem particularly special to me!"

Ishida Sho stroked his small mustache and smiled. "You don't know this, but that young shinobi is Hanzo's nephew. Now that the officials from the Daimyo's residence have been placed under Hanzo's control, befriending his nephew will naturally ensure that my family estate is passed down safely. If I can satisfy him, going a step further may not be impossible!"

The retainer flattered him. "Master is truly wise. But would someone like him even think highly of us?"

After pondering for a moment, Ishida Sho said, "Do this. Bring Ayako here. We'll arrange something tonight. With a young man's temperament, how could he resist the temptation of beauty?"

The middle-aged man said lewdly, "There's no need to use Ayako for that. I've been craving her for a long time!"

Ishida Sho slapped him and said, "Important matters come first. At worst, after it's done, I'll give her to you!"

Seeing the middle-aged man smile, Ishida Sho laughed and scolded, "Look at you. Hurry up and go!"

"Yes!"

At the banquet.

"My lord, are you satisfied with this feast?" Ishida Sho asked, his face glowing red.

Before Su Zheng could answer, Endo Akira rushed to say, "Satisfied, very satisfied!"

Su Zheng glanced at him. Endo Akira was already drunk. The girl sitting beside him had long since become half-undressed, and his hand had already reached into the abyss!

Su Zheng, on the other hand, had not drunk any wine or touched any women. He was the very picture of a gentleman.

He did not drink because he wanted to keep a clear mind at all times. As for not touching women, he simply wanted to control himself. There was no need to indulge his desires here!

Su Zheng turned to look at Ishida Sho and said teasingly, "Village Chief, have you forgotten something?"

Ishida Sho was somewhat confused. He had not forgotten anything! Could it be that Su Zheng wanted women and was already getting impatient?

He saw that Su Zheng had not touched the girl beside him either. That had to be it!

Su Zheng saw through Ishida Sho's thoughts and felt a wave of disgust.

Snap! Su Zheng snapped his fingers, and a bewildering voice rang out. "Slap yourself thirty times!"

Ishida Sho's expression became vacant, as though he had fallen into a whirlpool and was sinking deeper and deeper!

Slap! Slap! Slap!

The loud slaps even startled Endo Akira sober.

"A Zheng, what is this?"

Su Zheng ignored him. By the time Ishida Sho finished slapping himself, his already fat face had swollen even further, yet he still had not awakened.

"Tell me yourself. What have you done?"

"I, Ishida Sho, previously relied on the Hizume Clan to seize all the land in the village for myself and forced the villagers to work for me; I also forcibly took Karin as my woman..."

In a world without light, flowers could only wither!