After Mingye finished speaking, he stepped down from the carriage and approached Kakuzu. As he spoke, the carriage behind him burst into flames on its own. The old man never came out, burning together with the carriage and horses until all that remained was ash. Kakuzu summoned water droplets to wash the ground clean and deal with the aftermath.
"You really are ruthless. That old man was just someone you happened to notice, yet you had him burned to death like that. But I still don't understand why you gave the Land of Water so many things for free!"
As Kakuzu cleaned up the scene, he questioned Mingye. Leaning against a large tree, Mingye watched him and explained, "An autumn leaf does not have much time left after it falls. Perhaps his death was a brilliant final bloom. Do you think that without me, he would ever have met great figures like you and me? Or would he have spent his entire life amid that chaotic peace, never even getting the chance to meet someone like Hozuki Gengetsu? I do not think he would hate me. Perhaps he would even thank me for giving him this opportunity.
"As for giving those things to Hozuki Gengetsu, heh, you should know this. Of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Wind lies in a barren desert. Yet harsh mountains and foul waters breed fierce people—let alone a desert! Their people are fierce by nature and deeply hostile toward Konoha. They have always wanted to change their country's environment, but because they could not defeat Hashirama Senju, they chose silence. The Land of Earth, meanwhile, lies among mountains. Though there is plenty of land beneath those ranges where people can live, their enormous population cannot produce enough food to sustain itself. They need