Morning.
"A Zheng, why did you handle him like that yesterday?" Endo Akira asked in confusion.
Yesterday, he had naturally noticed Ishida Sho's vile nature as well, but he was only an ordinary person with no strength to change the situation.
When he saw Su Zheng happily eating his food, he had thought Su Zheng would not intervene, and his contempt for him had only grown stronger!
Who would have thought that the moment he finished eating, he would flip the table!
This was probably what they meant by "smashing the pot after eating from it"!
He had assumed Su Zheng would kill him outright and wipe out the village chief's family, but unexpectedly, he let the village chief live and merely hypnotized them.
Su Zheng smiled. "What, do you think I should have killed Ishida Sho?"
Endo Akira nodded.
Su Zheng smiled but offered no explanation.
Although the villagers had once feared Ishida Sho because he had ninjas backing him, ever since the Gray Rain Clan had been wiped out, the Hizume Clan had lost its authority as well.
They should have rebelled against Ishida Sho and taken back what belonged to them, yet they had not. Whatever their concerns were, if they did not resist, then they had to endure it!
Su Zheng could not help them escape their hardships forever, so from the beginning, he had never intended to help them reclaim what was theirs!
Pain could only be changed through one's own efforts!
Because one could not pray for that sole stroke of "luck" to fall upon them. Only then could they fight against this cruel reality!
After that, Su Zheng and the others traveled across more than half the Land of Rain. The people in some villages had fled because of the war, while other villages had been severely devastated. The Land of Rain's current state of development was indeed dire!
Konoha, inside the Root Organization base.
"Ah..." A miserable scream rang out from inside the room.
Danzo walked over and asked, "How is the experiment progressing?"
A researcher turned around and reported, "Lord Danzo, the First Hokage's cells are too powerful. Many test subjects cannot withstand this power, and the cells are eroding them very quickly!"
Danzo asked, "Can't you find a way to alter these cells and reduce their activity...?"
"My lord, it is theoretically possible, but we do not have enough data and do not dare make changes recklessly. Besides, we are running out of test subjects!"
"Then go capture more. We are still in the midst of small-scale wars, and people are the one resource we do not lack!" Danzo said viciously.
"Yes!"
Ever since the attack on the Third Kazekage, Danzo seemed to have become a different person. His whole body radiated a gloomy, eerie aura.
But there were benefits as well: Hiruzen Sarutobi relied on him even more, assigning him many tasks that could not see the light of day and tacitly allowing him to expand the Root Organization!
Looking at the empty right sleeve, Danzo felt a surge of rage in his heart.
"That damn woman!"
Danzo had originally wanted Tsunade to assist with his research, but she had flatly refused him. "Keep dreaming. My grandfather's power is not something you can control!"
Tsunade was too famous, and he could not use certain methods to coerce her. Left with no choice, he could only transfer some personnel and slowly conduct the research himself!
After losing his arm, Danzo began pursuing power madly, especially the power of the Senju and the Uchiha Clan!
His own talent was not particularly high. Unlike the Third Hokage, who was known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu," he only knew Wind Release and some Fuinjutsu. Strictly speaking, his combat strength was not great; he was merely at the jonin level, miles away from the strongest experts!
He could only use these methods to increase his power.
Deep in his heart, he retained a profound fear of the Third Kazekage and Magnet Release ninjutsu!
"A Zheng, how many villages are left? I really can't take this anymore!" Endo Akira wailed.
Over the past month, they had traveled throughout the Land of Rain and witnessed what life in the Ninja World was truly like.
Ninjas could live glamorous lives beneath the sunlight, but they were ultimately a minority. Most ordinary people could only struggle and sink deeper in their own lands for their entire lives...
The Naruto world's productivity was indeed extremely low. Agriculture was entirely manual, and industry was nearly nonexistent. The prosperity of ninja villages existed only because the special group known as "ninjas" concealed the lives of ordinary people.
Using the advanced existence of "ninjas" to conceal this rotten system—what a twisted world!
Su Zheng looked at the small mountain village in the distance and said, "Only a dozen or so villages remain. They're all nearby!"
"Ow!" Endo Akira wailed, forced to continue following him.
Along the way, Su Zheng dealt with many bandits and rogue ninjas. This greatly changed Endo Akira's opinion of him, and the two of them gradually became closer.
Maple Mountain Village.
A picturesque village with beautiful scenery.
Su Zheng walked along a small path. A breeze blew by, causing the surrounding maple grass to sway as a faint fragrance filled the air. This is probably something only a major village like Konoha would have, Su Zheng thought silently.
But once he entered the village, the scene changed completely. Dilapidated houses and tightly shut doors all displayed the village's decline.
At that moment, a frail old man approached with several young men.
"My lord, have you come to collect this month's tribute? We are a little short this month. Could we delay payment for a few days?" the old man asked in a pleading, negotiating tone.
One of the young men at his side could not hold back any longer. "This is already the third time you've come to collect this month, and you're still coming? This is really..."
Before he could finish, one of his companions pulled him back.
The old man bowed apologetically. "They are ignorant, my lord. Please do not take offense!"
Su Zheng waved his hand and turned to look at Endo Akira.
Whenever this happened, he felt awkward. The tribute was the "security deposit" the Daimyo used to manage villages; only by paying it could they receive protection.
They had encountered such situations many times along the way, so they were mentally prepared by now.
They arrived at the village chief's house, which was fairly spacious. Yet like the villagers' homes, it was simple and had barely any decent furniture.
After they sat down, the village chief asked, "May I ask why you have come, my lords...?"
Su Zheng had seen this sort of situation many times, so he got straight to the point. "We came this time to get a clear understanding of your village's circumstances—the real circumstances!" Su Zheng emphasized.
The old man looked at the two of them in silence for a long while before finally making up his mind and beginning his account.
It turned out that maple grass grew well in the village, and since it was a major ingredient in medicinal salves, the village had once been fairly prosperous.
But after the war began, their maple grass was violently seized and their property was looted. Rain Village was occupied with the war and could not spare attention for them, so things had become like this.
The village chief took out a document and said, "This is the maple grass purchase contract signed between the Stone Village ninjas and us."
After reading it, Su Zheng was furious!
The contract clearly stated: Sand Village would purchase maple grass at 0.5 ryo per jin, and the maple grass could only be sold to Stone Village. If the agreement was violated, they would bear the consequences themselves!
Wasn't this an outright tyrannical contract? Maple grass had originally sold for 50 ryo, yet they had practically wiped out the price entirely! This was utterly insane!
And because Rain Village had just ended a war, it simply turned a blind eye to the matter!
Su Zheng looked at the old man and said sincerely, "Please trust me. Leave this matter to me."
The old man stared steadily at Su Zheng for a long time, then smiled. "All right!"
As he watched the two leave, the young man looked at the supplies they had left behind and asked, "Village chief, do you really trust them that much?"
The village chief patted his shoulder and said, "I saw sympathy in his eyes."
"All right, distribute these things to everyone!"
"Yes!"
The young man happily carried off the supplies. No matter what, it was a good thing that they had left these items behind!
The remaining border villages were in much the same condition as Maple Mountain Village. All of them were being oppressed by ninjas from other countries.
It seemed that reform in the Land of Rain was urgently needed!
Before you continue