At the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Wind, Reilly made the introductions. "My lord, these are the priests sent by the Holy Church: Will and his team."
"Wonderful, Merchant Reilly! The Holy Church has finally agreed to send priests to the Land of Wind!" the Daimyo said happily.
"Your esteemed lordship, may I ask why you are so eager for the Holy Church to send priests to the Land of Wind?" Will asked, bowing gracefully.
Looking at Will, elegant and noble in his spotless white priestly robes, the Daimyo could not help letting out a soft sigh. "The Land of Wind lies in the desert and has always been poor. Back in the Warring States period, although wars broke out now and then, our people could at least survive.
"But ever since the hidden villages appeared, our country has had to pay an additional, enormous sum in aid to our village every year. And all this time, aside from warfare, the ninja have contributed nothing else to the country's development. That means the already impoverished Land of Wind has to scrape together a little from the food its people need to survive and give it to Sunagakure every year. Our already hard lives have only grown harder." At this point, the Daimyo looked utterly miserable and sighed endlessly.
"It seems you truly are a fine Daimyo, one who cares deeply for his country and his people!" Will praised him.
"Priest Will, I've also heard about what your church has done in some of the smaller countries: treating the sick for free, eagerly rescuing disaster victims, helping fend off bandits, and so on. Each and every one of those deeds proves that you are not some evil cult, but followers of a benevolent god. That is why I hope the Land of Wind can also receive the blessing of the great Holy Light," the Daimyo said with apparent sincerity.
"Please rest assured, my lord. The Holy Light will never forsake any good-hearted nation that wishes to embrace it. I believe that, with your support, the Holy Light will surely make this barren land bloom with sun-seeking flowers of happiness!" Will replied, equally moved.
After they had exchanged pleasantries for a long while, Will said, "We only met today, my lord, yet I already feel we should have met much sooner. If I hadn't just arrived in your country and still had so many matters to attend to, I would certainly stay and talk with your lordship late into the night!"
"You flatter me, Archpriest Will. Though you come from humble origins, your speech is extraordinary. You seem more aristocratic than the true aristocrats themselves. Our long conversation today has eased many of my old worries. I look forward to another chance to talk through the night with you amid your busy schedule."
"Then, your lordship, I shall take my leave!" Will said, bowing slightly with one hand over his chest.
"Then I won't keep you any longer, Archpriest Will!" Reluctant to part, the Daimyo helped Will straighten up.
"Whew!" Once outside the Daimyo's residence, Will could not help exhaling deeply. "Good grief! Pretending to be a noble is exhausting! Priest Reilly, you handle this sort of thing next time!"
Reilly smiled and shook his head. "I thought you put on quite a good performance, Archpriest Will!"
"Exactly! Exactly!" The other team members came over and chimed in. Then a few of them started acting out the roles themselves. "My lord, my dear Daimyo!"
"Will, my dearest Will, shall we sleep together tonight?"
"Pfft! I can't take it anymore! Hahaha!"
Watching his companions' ridiculous performance, Will's face darkened. "That's enough, you lot! Do you think I can't lift my staff anymore?" With that, he raised his staff and chased his teammates around, roughhousing with them.
Off to the side, Reilly laughed heartily. "Ah, to be young!"
"Father, is this really a good idea?"
Looking at his daughter, the pearl of the desert, who was growing ever more graceful, the Daimyo said, "Fengsha, your father has no other choice. Sunagakure is becoming more and more unreasonable. I can only resort to this."
"Aren't you afraid you're inviting another wolf into our home, Father?" Fengsha asked worriedly.
"If they're wolves, let them tear each other apart! Besides, compared to Sunagakure's endless demands for money, the Holy Church only asks us to relax our policies. We don't have to worry about anything else. Where else could we find such a good deal? Wouldn't you agree, sweetheart?" The Daimyo of the Land of Wind laughed heartily.
"Yes, Father. You are wise. But Father, I want to join the Holy Church!" Fengsha said resolutely.
"Sweetheart, why would you have such an idea?" the Daimyo asked in astonishment.
"Father, our household needs power of its own, too. Compared to chakra, which relies on talent, the Holy Light, which grants power through faith alone, should be relatively easier to obtain. And according to reports from our samurai, in the other small countries, ninja have been utterly crushed whenever they fought the Holy Light Clerics. I don't want to miss out on such tremendous power." By now, a fierce fire burned in Fengsha's eyes. She had had enough of living under constant threats from the Sand shinobi.
The Daimyo looked at his daughter, deeply moved. She was his only precious child, and he had always cherished her, afraid she might suffer even the slightest hurt. Yet this daughter of his had shown extraordinary gifts from childhood. She was remarkably wise, so much so that, despite her young age, she already handled many of the Land of Wind's affairs.
"If you are so determined, sweetheart, then I can only ask you to shoulder this burden. It's all because your father is useless!" At that, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind covered his face and wept.
"Don't worry, Father! I will lead the Land of Wind toward greater strength!" Fengsha said, gently embracing the weeping Daimyo.
Seeing how considerate his daughter was, the Daimyo cried even harder. "My daughter will surely become a great empress one day!"
In the Kazekage Building in Sunagakure, Nameless, who had only recently taken office as the Third Kazekage, slammed his hand on the desk in fury. "What exactly does that idiotic Daimyo think he's doing? Instead of properly running the country, he's brought in a bunch of cultists!"
Beside him, Chiyo also frowned deeply. After being driven back by the Holy Church's forces, she had intended to return to the village and gather a stronger force to teach those cultists a lesson.
But nothing had gone as she wished. Shortly after she returned, the Second Kazekage died of old age, and the Third took office. Rather than heed her warnings, the new Kazekage turned his attention toward Konoha and sent her son and daughter-in-law to launch a surprise attack on it. They ended up dying brutal deaths at the hands of Konoha's White Fang, and the matter of dealing with the cult had been left unresolved.
"Third Kazekage, these cultists have come with ill intentions. We must take their actions seriously!" Chiyo said after a moment's thought.
"Oh? Chiyo, you know these cultists? Are they very strong?" the Third Kazekage asked calmly, reining in his rage.
"Very strong. If I hadn't had some strength of my own back then, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it back to the village!" Chiyo said flatly.
"Oh, so these cultists won't be easy to deal with. Send a few squads of ninja to test their strength!" the Third Kazekage ordered Chiyo.
"Yes! I'll make the arrangements right away!"
Watching Chiyo turn and leave, a cold, sharp glint flashed in the Third Kazekage's eyes. That old woman still hates me for getting her son and daughter-in-law killed. She won't even report the most basic intelligence. The thought sent another surge of anger through him.
Life and death are always uncertain when ninja carry out missions. Yet because your son and daughter-in-law died, you hold a grudge against me. Why don't you say anything when other ninja lose their sons and daughters-in-law?
Before you continue