Chapter 43: An Invitation from the Daimyo
Uzumaki Hiroto's sister, Kayo, was two years younger than him and one year younger than Dana, but she was much smaller and thinner. Like her brother, she had never known a stable life.
After having lunch at their house, Dana invited Hiroto to come train with him at the Yotsuki compound. His own training schedule had become so packed lately that he was getting bored. It would be nice to have some company.
"Kayo can come too," he added.
It wasn't that he was a lolicon—he was a loli himself, after all. And there were plenty of girls his age at the orphanage, many of whom were already lining up to marry him in the future.
He paused to puff out his chest for a moment.
From a more pragmatic perspective, Kayo Uzumaki had red hair. She was worth building a relationship with.
Dana's life in the village settled into a routine. He molded chakra every day without fail, feeding his starving body. He visited the orphanage every three days. Every so often, with Dodai's help, he would handle matters related to the "blacksmith's shop" and follow up on the aftermath of the Kage summit. And he would occasionally train with Hiroto.
A month later, the Third Raikage returned to the village, along with old man Yoshitoki and the Konoha prisoners.
Yoshitoki's importance was self-evident. The Life Peep and Life Return jutsus were miraculous techniques, not to mention his lifetime of medical experience and other secret arts. He was not stingy with his knowledge. He had taken on several of the Cloud's "pseudo medical-nin," including Mamoru Anzai, as his disciples, and was teaching them everything he knew. Even the former head of the Cloud's ninja hospital was now studying under him, showing him the respect of a student.
Danzo, Sakumo, Tsunade, and the others were also brought back to the village. They were now important bargaining chips, and their safety was not a concern. At Dana's request, the management of the Konoha prisoners was given to Dodai, who then used his position to secretly make contact with them, especially Danzo Shimura. But that was a story for another time.
The first batch of trainees from the "blacksmith's shop" had graduated. Eighteen of them had met the qualifications, most of them from the Yotsuki clan's own forces. Under Dana's direction, they would now begin to replicate the factory model, radiating outward from the Land of Lightning. The craftsmen from the Land of Waves had also been brought to the village, and the Yotsuki were not just going to use their water-powered trip hammer, but improve upon it.
To avoid arousing suspicion, the entire project was still referred to as the "blacksmith's shop." The "branch offices" the trainees would establish would all have their own names. Only when the time was right would they be openly united.
Weapon forging was a core industry in the ninja world, equivalent to a military-industrial complex. It not only involved established interests in various regions, but even within the Land of Lightning, the Daimyo might not be pleased to see such an industry completely controlled by the ninja village. If he had the chance, Dana wanted to apply this model to other sectors as well.
Just as Dana was lamenting the fact that he was carrying a weight far beyond his years, the Third Raikage arrived.
"The New Year is almost here," he announced. "The Daimyo has invited our family to the capital to celebrate with him."
Dana, who was in the middle of reviewing documents related to the "blacksmith's shop," looked up, a puzzled expression on his face.
"I've never heard of this happening before." The Daimyo had never extended such an invitation in previous years.
"It's not common," the Raikage replied, "but it's not the first time either. The last time was before you were born. It's likely that the Nine Samurai of the Thundercloud have strengthened the relationship between the village and the Daimyo's court. We'll have to accept."
The Daimyo was the village's most important financial and legal backer. While he couldn't control the village, on paper, the Hidden Cloud was still a subordinate power, and the Raikage was his military advisor.
Dana tried to recall any information about the "Daimyo" from his previous life, but he came up empty. He hadn't followed the latter half of the story very closely, getting most of his information from chats with friends and watching short clips online. He had found waiting for the weekly releases to be too agonizing.
The Daimyo-Ninja Village system had been a puzzle to him from the very beginning. The chance to finally meet a Daimyo piqued his interest.
"Dad, what kind of person is he?" he asked.
The Third Raikage stroked his chin. "Hmm. A man who enjoys the finer things in life."
Dana wrinkled his nose. That wasn't exactly a glowing review.
His library was filled with books, and the collection was always growing, but they only contained records of past Daimyo. There were no books written about the current ones. But there did seem to be some common traits among the Daimyo of each nation, perhaps influenced by their environment. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the most prosperous nation, were known for their extravagance. The Daimyo of the Land of Water were mostly reclusive and didn't interact much with the mainland nations. The Daimyo of the Land of Wind were frugal and diligent. The Daimyo of the Land of Earth were generally good-natured. But there were no proper history books in the ninja world. Anything from 800 years ago was considered a myth. Even Hashirama Senju had been replaced as the "Strongest Hokage" in just twenty years. So the accounts in the books were mostly just anecdotes and could not be fully trusted. One of his favorite books, Annals of Governance in the Land of Lightning, described the previous Daimyo as an indecisive man.
There was still some time before the New Year. The Hidden Cloud, located in the northern part of the ninja world, was already covered in a blanket of snow. The faces of the people on the street were filled with smiles, not just because the village had been prospering in recent years, but also because the ninja world had been at peace for a long time.
But Dana knew that the peace would not last. The world was about to enter a period of nearly twenty years of constant warfare.
He had learned from his father that the recent Kage summit had not gone unnoticed. Although the specific details were unknown, the other powers understood that Konoha had suffered a major setback. As the strongest and wealthiest of the hidden villages, Konoha was always being watched. Many were now re-evaluating its strength, wondering if it was just a paper tiger. Some were even thinking, If the Cloud can take a bite out of them, why can't I?
To prove that it was still the top dog, Konoha would have to respond to these provocations with even greater force, which would only increase the friction in the ninja world. The Hidden Sand had recently been testing Konoha's borders, but had been repelled with heavy losses. The Hidden Stone was now extending its influence into the Land of Rain, and the legendary Hanzo of the Salamander, with his small and under-equipped village, was struggling to hold them off. No matter how strong Hanzo was, he was only one man, and the Land of Rain was simply too weak, its ninja force too small to even guard all its borders. The Hidden Mist, as usual, was quiet, content to stay on its island.
The Hidden Cloud, on the other hand, had gained a great deal of strength and potential from its "Fire Thief Initiative," not to mention the spoils from Konoha. For now, they could focus on their own development and observe the world from the sidelines.
As the situation in the world grew more tense, and with the possibility of war on the horizon, Dana had suggested to his father that they form a "Special Strategy Division." With Dodai as its public face, this new division would be responsible for all missions involving other villages and nations. It would be an integrated unit, responsible for intelligence gathering, analysis, foreign relations, and special operations. It would report directly to the Raikage, a sub-division of the ANBU, but with a different focus.