Before dawn, the sound of wooden clogs lightly tapping the ground echoed in the corridors of the Land of Fire's palace. Tian Flying Swallow stood by the window, holding a warm teacup, watching the old servant sweeping fallen leaves in the courtyard, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the phoenix pattern on the rim of the bowl.
"Your Majesty, an urgent report from the Land of Hot Water." A maid entered with quick, hurried steps, the scroll in her arms still reeking of blood.
As Tian Flying Swallow took the scroll, the steam from the teacup blurred her vision. On the unfolded parchment, Tianming of the Azure Dragon Corps wrote in Tenmei handwriting, "The southern part of the Land of Hot Water has been ravaged by remnants of vampires, resulting in countless civilian deaths and injuries. We request the Land of Fire to send reinforcements to aid the civilians."
"Have the Left Minister expedite the dispatch of supplies and send them over by transport plane." She casually placed the scroll on the table, where a pile of documents half a foot high had already been stacked, with Zhang Konoha's letter requesting aid on top— the Kakuzu worn and curled, presumably sent from the front lines of the battlefield.
In October of the 27th year of Konoha, the Minister of Finance stormed in with dark circles under his eyes, the beads on his abacus clicking rapidly. "Your Majesty, grain prices have risen again! The refugees fleeing the border have almost emptied the granaries. If we don't open the national granaries to release grain soon, I'm afraid there will be chaos!"
"Open it." Tian Flying Swallow lifted the tea lid and blew on the floating leaves. "Transfer grain from the western reserves of the Land of Fire, distribute it daily and in fixed quantities per person, giving special care to the elderly and children. Have the Military Department keep an eye on things; anyone who dares to embezzle grain should be sent directly to the Ministry of Justice for execution."
The Finance Minister wringed his hands anxiously. "But the west has also suffered from war, and our grain reserves are already low. We also have to supply the new territories in the west, such as the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth..."
"Then take some more from my royal treasury." She took a sip of tea, tasting a slightly bitter aftertaste. "If I use less, the people can live a little longer."
In October of the 27th year of Konoha, the Minister of Military Affairs entered, his armor still stained with blood, clearly having just returned from the border. "Your Majesty, the Hell Oni Clan Land of Iron has defeated the Kirin Corps. Last night, the Oni Clan broke through the third line of defense of the Land of Iron. Konoha has requested the Land of Fire to send a million troops to support them. Lady Hyuga Suzune said that if they cannot send more troops soon, they may have to abandon the three northern towns bordering the Land of Iron."
As Tian Flying Swallow looked up, the morning light shone through the windowpane, tracing a golden edge to the corner of her eye. "Send 300,000 men from the legion stationed in the east," she said, pointing to the map. "Go around here, and avoid the Oni Clan. Tell the commanders not to focus solely on fighting the Oni Clan, but also to protect the townspeople during their evacuation. The Oni Clan have ninjas who will deal with them."
In November of the 27th year of Konoha, a commotion erupted outside. Konoha messenger stumbled in, his Forehead Protector askew, his voice hoarse as if rubbed with sandpaper. "Your Majesty! The Fourth Hokage... the Lord Hokage has fallen in battle! The village is in complete chaos! The advisors and elders are clamoring for a nationwide bloodbath, but the civilians are all fleeing to the capital of the Land of Fire!"
Tian Flying Swallow put down her teacup, the bottom of which made a soft sound as it collided with the table. She looked at the old pine tree in the courtyard; the wind and rain of the previous night had knocked the pine needles to the ground, but now a gray sparrow was hopping on the branch, pecking at the dew in the tree hole.
"Have the Ministry of Civil Affairs designate three resettlement zones in the eastern part of the Land of Fire's capital," she began slowly, her voice as calm as a deep pool. "Build temporary shelters, dig wells, and send medical teams there. Tell the fleeing people that with me here, they won't go hungry or freeze, and their suffering will soon be over."
"But... but what about Konoha?" The messenger's face was flushed with anxiety. "They say everyone who can carry a weapon is to be sent to the battlefield to fight the Oni Clan, even Jūni- or thirteen-year-old children are to pick up Kunai..."
"Tell them civilians can't go; it won't make a difference." Tian Flying Swallow stood up, her robes sweeping across the table, picking up several scattered documents. "Tell them to send all the civilian orphans to the Land of Fire; I'll have someone look after them. As for resisting the Oni Clan, we can only rely on ninjas. I'll provide full support in terms of money and supplies... Let them decide what to do on the front lines; the Land of Fire won't interfere."
Tian Flying Swallow stood in front of the huge sand table, her fingertips brushing across the red area representing the Land of Fire —where countless small flags were planted, blue ones representing the army, green ones representing granaries, and yellow ones representing refugee settlements.
She remembered what Tsubasa had said before he left, "You guard this place and manage the people's livelihood well; leave all the fighting outside to me."
He had just returned from the Shikkotsu Forest and was still a child, yet he smiled and ruffled her hair. Tian Flying Swallow didn't say anything then, but simply wiped the water from his temples.
In Jūni of the 27th year of Konoha, a maidservant brought over a stack of documents. The top one, a bar chart, showed that this year's autumn harvest was 50% less than last year's. "Your Land of Earth, this is a report on the people's livelihood from the Land of Earth."
Tian Flying Swallow picked up her pen and wrote on the report, "Adjust taxes according to the harvest. Reduce taxes by 30% in areas with poor harvests and increase taxes by 10% in areas with good harvests. Replenish taxes to disaster-stricken areas." As the pen tip glided across the paper, she suddenly remembered the secret report she received last night, saying that Tsubasa had appeared on the border of the Land of Iron and killed the Retreating Oni Clan, his blood staining half the sky red.
A smile involuntarily crept onto her lips. That man was always so reliable; she absolutely couldn't let him down.
In January of the 28th year of Konoha, as the sun set, the last document was finally approved. Tian Flying Swallow rubbed her sore shoulders and walked to the terrace. She saw rows of sheds erected in the square outside the palace, where refugees were lining up to receive porridge, and children were chasing and playing in the open space with wooden swords, their laughter as clear as wind chimes.
The Minister of Military Affairs appeared behind her unnoticed and whispered, "Your Majesty, we have just received news that Lord Tsubasa has driven the Oni Clan back to Hell."
"Understood." Tian Flying Swallow gazed at the sunset on the horizon, where the clouds were as red as fire.
As night fell, the palace lights came on one by one. Tian Flying Swallow sat under a lamp, checking the list of medicinal herbs to be distributed the next day, when she suddenly heard the sound of wings flapping outside the window.
A firebird landed on the windowsill, preening its feathers with its beak. A scroll was tied to its leg; unrolling it revealed a wing mark—the mark of the Tsubasa. The scroll bore only one sentence. "Happy New Year. This Immortal Golden Crow is a gift for you. The war in the north is basically over, but there are still some clean-up matters to handle. Wait for me."
Tian Flying Swallow held the scroll, feeling its cool touch against her fingertips. She looked up at the Immortal Golden Crow Immortal Golden Crow into the sky, where the night sky seemed to be glowing crimson, and she could vaguely sense the Golden Crow aura emanating from it.
"I'll wait for you to come back. I really like your gift," she whispered, as if speaking to herself, yet also as if speaking to someone a thousand miles away.
She smiled and lowered her head, continuing to write her opinions on the official documents. He would handle the war; she only needed to protect the lights of every household.