"These days are getting harder and harder. The village ahead had another batch of people starve to death. I really don't know what the daimyo is doing."
"Who the hell knows? I'm already planning to leave the Land of Fire."
"Where could you even go if you leave the Land of Fire? Even with money, you can't buy food now."
"I heard the Land of Waves has plenty of grain, and quite a few people are living there. I happen to have a friend there, so I can go rely on him."
Under Muzan's control, food prices in the Land of Fire had begun soaring wildly. On top of that, merchants had bought up huge amounts of grain while doing business at a loss some time ago, causing widespread famine.
The Land of Fire was now in a state of utter misery, suffering from severe inflation. The money in people's hands was no different from scraps of paper.
Unlike the common people of the Land of Fire, the nobles had not been affected in the slightest. They still indulged in music and revelry every night, utterly unconcerned with whether others lived or died.
Muzan had arranged this deliberately, intending to redirect the resentment of those who could not afford to eat inward rather than toward the invading Land of Waves. In addition, Muzan had dispatched people from the Inada Territory to spread word throughout every region of the Land of Waves' prosperity and the Mukawa Territory's abundance, saying that the people could live free from worries about food and clothing there.
For a time, significant conflicts erupted across various regions. The lofty daimyo had become frightened. Rebellions had broken out throughout the territories under his rule. A group of people had even infiltrated the previous night. If the ninja had