A raised platform had been erected in the spacious square in front of the Rain Shadow Building in Amegakure.
As though the weather had decided to cooperate on this important day, the clouds that shrouded Amegakure had finally cleared in a rare spell of sunshine. Not a cloud marred the sky, and the sun hung alone overhead, shining down on the earth.
Today was destined to be extraordinary. Not only were the people of Amegakure waiting for the inauguration ceremony to begin, but, unexpectedly, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure had actually sent representatives.
Konoha had originally intended to join forces with the other major shinobi villages to isolate and ostracize Amegakure. To everyone's surprise, however, Iwagakure and Sunagakure had disregarded Konoha's stance entirely and chosen to attend Hanzo of the Salamander's ceremony.
The reason was simple. Compared with the fertile, resource-rich Land of Fire, the lands of the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind were barren.
With the emergence of the Chiba Commerce Association, goods from other countries had been transported through the vital transit hub of the Land of Rain and sold in the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, giving the people of both nations access to foreign products.
Furthermore, thanks to the Chiba Commerce Association's distinctive business model, the foreign specialties sold in those two countries were not particularly expensive. They could also entrust their own local specialties to the association to transport back to the Land of Rain for sale, bringing tremendous benefits to both nations.
Rather than follow Konoha in suppressing and excluding Amegakure, they were better off continuing to do business with Amegakure and the Chiba Commerce Association.
After all, there was no shame in making money.
The Land of Wind, in particular, was so poor that it could barely afford