Food was a matter of life and death in any era.
All the more so in the shinobi world, where production was relatively primitive.
The Land of Wind now faced just such a deadly crisis.
Compared to the other nations, the Land of Wind had almost no ability to withstand a food crisis.
The grain merchants had fled, and grain prices within the country had soared to astronomical heights.
The common people could no longer survive. What could people do when they could no longer survive?
They went somewhere they could keep making a living.
Large numbers of starving refugees began leaving the Land of Wind together, hoping to find something to eat elsewhere.
Their first destination was the country they considered the wealthiest of all: the Land of Fire.
Some also thought of another country, the Land of Rain, which had partnered with the Land of Wind on the canal.
They could reach the Land of Rain simply by following the canal upstream. With its abundant rainfall, they ought to be able to find something to eat there.
Still, only a minority chose to head for the Land of Rain. After all, even though they were only ordinary citizens of the Land of Wind, they saw their homeland as a great nation, while the Land of Rain was far too small.
Yet this was precisely what the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, its ruler, least wanted to see.
As the ruler of the Land of Wind, what did he rule over? All that yellow sand?
No, he ruled over the people of the Land of Wind. But now his people were leaving the country. How could he tolerate that?
Crash!
At the Wind Daimyo's Residence, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind summoned all his advisers to a