Chapter 269: Condemnation
The princes of various countries and their ninja guards were detained for nearly ten days. Although the common people might not have realized it, during these ten days, the Cloud preliminarily brought the entire country under its management at an astonishing speed.
With these people missing for so long, the changes in the Land of Lightning could no longer be kept secret forever—after all, the ascension of the new Daimyo was public information.
So, after the Land of Lightning was basically secured under the "Daimyo's Office's" control, Dana released them.
At the same time, he provided them with the official explanation of that day's events and basic information about the "Zetsu Organization."
Some believed it, some didn't. But none of them had time to discern the truth. They fled the capital and the Land of Lightning without stopping. Although the Cloud hadn't mistreated them during these ten days, the princes had been terrified the entire time.
Compared to the princes traveling by carriage, the news of the Land of Lightning's transformation traveled much faster to their respective countries. Leaving aside the insignificant small nations, the reactions of the Lands of Wind, Earth, and Fire were quite different.
The most furious—or the one with the most reason to be furious—was naturally the Wind Daimyo, because the Wind Prince was dead.
Although the one sent was a disfavored prince, he was still the Daimyo's son. The Daimyo had to show his anger, and show it clearly enough to display his authority.
In this anger, the Land of Lightning and the new Daimyo, Natsu Raihara, bore the brunt of it. Who knew if the Land of Lightning had staged the turmoil themselves? No one had ever heard of this "Zetsu Organization."
However, the Land of Lightning was far away. The Wind Daimyo didn't know the new Daimyo or anyone in the new administration, so he could only vent his condemnation through letters, which was unsatisfying. Thus, the Wind Daimyo turned his trouble-making toward Sunagakure.
Princes from three Great Nations brought guards from their respective villages. Why did only my son have an accident? Is Suna's brain dehydrated?
"You trash! I give you so much money every year, just to raise a bunch of trash?! You can't even handle a simple escort mission? Will I be the next one to die?! 'Elite Soldier Policy'? Your elites are all trash too!"
The Third Kazekage was summoned directly to the Wind Daimyo's palace and scolded until he was drenched in dog blood. He could only endure it. For the village's future and development, he was willing to bear these insults. But this unexpected disaster made him uncontrollably worried about Suna's future.
I'm afraid after this, life in Suna will become even harder.
The Third Kazekage wiped his face and walked out of the palace with a grim expression. Rasa, waiting outside the gate, asked anxiously, "Kazekage-sama, how did it go?"
The Third Kazekage shook his head, not knowing what to say.
Rasa's face fell too. Suna had been having a tough time in recent years—paying war reparations, facing budget cuts from the Daimyo, and even seeing a reduction in mission volume due to the rise of their neighbor, the Rain Village.
They were marching from "surrounded by enemies" toward "destitute poverty."
The Third Kazekage put a hand on Rasa's shoulder. "The Daimyo will likely cut the budget again. At this point, we can only save ourselves. Rasa, let's go dig for sand together. You dig for Gold Dust, I'll dig for Iron Sand. Work hard and earn money for the village."
Rasa tasted bitterness in his mouth. "Sir... my Gold Dust is one thing, but what use is your Iron Sand? It won't sell for much..."
"I recently met a wealthy merchant from the Land of Hot Water, the 'Kitanouji Guild.' They buy large quantities of various minerals long-term. The prices are excellent, their reputation is good, and they are honest with everyone. Iron Sand and Gold Dust are included. Anyway, work hard..."
"Yes, sir!"
Thus, with the determination to save their village, the two resolutely stepped into the great desert.
On the other side, in the Land of Earth, the atmosphere was even stranger.
The Earth Prince didn't die, but the news brought back made the Earth Daimyo restless.
"Daimyo-dono, is this true?"
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was also summoned to the Daimyo's palace. Compared to the Land of Wind, his relationship with the Earth Daimyo had always been good; they had known each other since their youth.
The Earth Daimyo was also the most supportive of his ninja village among the Great Nations. Although not as wealthy as Lightning or Fire, he spared no effort in supporting Iwagakure. In terms of investment ratio, the Land of Earth was probably the highest, which was why Iwa could support so many ninja.
The Earth Daimyo said gravely, "It is true. I have received an official letter from the new Daimyo's Office of the Land of Lightning. The new Daimyo is a woman, and she is the fiancée of the Raikage's son from the Cloud Village."
The amount of information in this statement was so massive that Onoki was momentarily stunned.
That Yotsuki Dana, the Number One Genius of the Ninja World, was engaged to a princess was known to all factions—it was publicly decided over ten years ago.
Although female Daimyos hadn't appeared in the Five Great Nations, there had been one or two in remote small countries, so that wasn't shocking.
But when these two things were put together, the implication made Onoki's brain jam.
"Is Yotsuki Dana going to settle down and become a noble?"
No, how is that possible!
So the truth is...
The Earth Daimyo said dryly, "It is said that all male heirs of the Raihara clan are dead. But this Natsu Raihara has no achievements and has never participated in politics. She was likely just an ordinary princess for political marriage before. So, the Cloud Village must be standing behind her."
Onoki read the letter repeatedly, his mind unable to calm down.
"Will the nobles of the Land of Lightning agree to this?"
In Onoki's concept, a Ninja Village controlling the Daimyo would turn the whole country upside down, wouldn't it?
The Earth Daimyo shook his head. "I don't know. But at least the Land of Lightning hasn't had any more chaos."
Onoki noticed another issue. "Daimyo-dono, Iwagakure's intelligence network isn't bad, but I have never heard of this 'Zetsu Organization.' It might just be a play directed and acted by the Cloud."
"Self-directed is very likely, but discussing that now is useless."
The Earth Daimyo suddenly asked in a deep voice, "Onoki, I don't understand ninja matters well. Is Kumogakure very strong?"
Onoki was startled. Has the Daimyo already thought this far...?
After a moment of silence, Onoki nodded heavily. "Very strong!"
"If Iwagakure went to war with them, what are the odds of winning?"
Onoki was silent for even longer this time. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Probably... less than ten percent."
This result shocked the Earth Daimyo even more. "You mean they are stronger than Konoha was at its peak?"
The Earth Daimyo vaguely remembered that before the last war, Onoki had said Iwa had a 40% chance against Konoha alone, and 70% if Suna helped distract them.
"What if... I'm saying if... the four Great Nations combined forces? Like they did against Konoha?"
"....Probably, fifty-fifty."
Recalling the Cloud's various performances, Onoki honestly felt that even with the combined power of several nations—considering the inevitable disunity—the odds might only be 30%. But he couldn't bring himself to say it.
The Earth Daimyo nodded heavily. "I understand."
Land of Fire, Konoha.
Unlike the other nations where news arrived before the people, Konoha's situation was slightly different.
Minato Namikaze was already reporting in the Hokage's office.
"Because my Flying Thunder God isn't proficient enough to transport people, I didn't choose to escape rashly. The Cloud's surveillance was tight. If I disappeared, Hizashi and Tsume would definitely be in trouble. Moreover, my judgment at the time was that following the Cloud's arrangements wouldn't be dangerous, so I chose to cooperate."
"It's unclear who administered the poison that day, but afterward in the capital, I witnessed with my own eyes a person killed by the Cloud transforming into a white humanoid monster. It basically matched the information about the 'Zetsu Organization' released by the Land of Lightning."
Sakumo Hatake asked, "Besides mastering flight, does Yotsuki Dana have any other intel?"
Minato recalled, uncertain. "He seemed... larger physically, but I can't confirm. He was flying cross-legged the whole time. Oh right, he seems to have developed a habit of going shirtless. I saw him twice, in the first and second half of the night, and he wasn't wearing clothes both times."
Homura Mitokado said, "Although Yotsuki Dana's situation is important, compared to that, the Cloud Village's actions are truly shocking..."
Starting with the Cloud, the basic rule of "One Country, One Village"—where the Ninja Village is "loyal" to the Daimyo—had been broken.
For the Konoha elders who firmly believed in the rules established by the God of Shinobi, feelings were naturally mixed.
Koharu Utatane asked, "Is there any reaction from the Daimyo's side?"
Sakumo replied, "They probably received the news too. They wrote a letter asking me to go to the capital. They said... there are important matters to discuss..."
Ninja World Year 44.
After the news of the new Thunder Daimyo spread, many countries in the ninja world unanimously issued condemnations against Kumogakure and the new "Daimyo's Office."
Some condemned a woman taking the throne.
Some condemned the death of their princes.
Some condemned the Land of Lightning for its lack of hospitality.
Strangely, officially, no one condemned the Cloud Village for using the Daimyo as a puppet.
However, the Great Nations secretly increased their funding for their own ninja villages.
Except for the Land of Wind, which cut the budget again.
On a level imperceptible to ordinary people, waves rose again in the ninja world.