"It's starting again. Father must be having a hard time. Looks like the life of having everything isn't as great as it seems."
Raidenmaru, with a straw in his mouth, sipped on a hot drink, exhaled leisurely, and wiggled his tail freely.
Click.
The sound of the door handle turning.
Holding a blanket, Hakushi stood at the doorway, heading towards Raidenmaru's pet house.
Seeing Hakushi like this, Raidenmaru suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Um... Father, what are you doing with that blanket?"
"It's too noisy inside. It's quieter here. I'll sleep here tonight."
Hakushi said this.
Sleeping inside, Hakushi worried that in the middle of the night, the house might suddenly collapse, burying him alive in the rubble.
No, no, that's not the crux of the problem. Raidenmaru didn't even know where to start criticizing.
This was a pet house, his base.
A living person even fighting a pet for food was one thing, why not spare even the house?
Ignoring Raidenmaru's dumbfounded expression, Hakushi crawled into the pet house, laid out a mat, and began to lie down.
Only then did Raidenmaru realize that Hakushi was serious.
Tonight, he truly intended to invade his territory and take over his living space.
"Though it's a bit cramped, I didn't expect it to be so quiet here. And you get such a beautiful view of the night. You have a nice living environment, Raidenmaru."
Hakushi stretched his body lightly. Though it wasn't big, it was enough for him to stretch out inside.
"I think you'd be better off going back to sleep in the house."
"Supporting one's father is a son's responsibility, right?"
"I'm not even an adult yet."
"What does that matter? You're already a qualified adult."
"..."
Raidenmaru lay on the ground, frustrated, not knowing how to retort to Hakushi.
"You don't mind if I eat a bit, do you? I'm actually a bit hungry. Didn't eat much this evening, my stomach's about to flatten out."
Hakushi reached for Raidenmaru's snacks and started munching with relish.
"..."
Drop dead, Father!
Curse you!
◎
Konoha Year 44, early February.
The Land of Demons started its new year with a work boom. Workers ended their holidays and threw their enthusiasm into this year's work.
With the leadership setting an example and providing ample funds, the Land of Demons was in a crucial era of rapid development.
Various new industries sprang up like mushrooms after the rain, attracting foreign merchants to learn and thereby boosting the local economy and industrial growth.
Meanwhile, Hakushi paid special attention to the Ninja World War.
It wasn't hard to imagine that the great nations used war to reestablish their dominance over the Ninja Realm. The small nations, unable to bear the impact of great nations' wars, became more barren and weaker.
For example, in the Land of Rain, the Daimyo and nobles had already deserted the country and its people, turning to flatter Hidden Sand and the Land of Wind.
Even so, the Daimyo and nobles still occupied the moral high ground in the Land of Rain. Though many people there resented and felt helpless about it, they hadn't yet tried to overthrow this unreasonable ruling structure.
Firstly, because of historical reasons, the Daimyo and nobles had always been in elite positions, part of the world's elite, naturally noble.
Secondly, the Land of Rain lacked the strength to overthrow such an unreasonable system.
Thirdly, it was related to the level of education. Even though there were quite a few righteous organizations in the country fighting for peace, wanting to save the nation, their action plans and goals suffered from serious ambiguity.
The fourth reason came from targeting by the great nations.
For a small ninja village like Hidden Rain, which shone during the Second Great Ninja War and with its special geographical position and such a strong ninja leader as Hanzo of the Salamander, if not weakened during wartime, allowing Hidden Rain to develop peacefully might one day become a major threat to the great nations.
However, as of now, Hidden Sand's ultimate target was still Konoha and the Land of Fire.
Since October last year, the frequency of messengers sent by Hidden Sand to the Land of Demons increased significantly, and their expenditures on medical gear boomed.
Once confirming that the Land of Rain was no longer a threat to Hidden Sand, the next step would be a general attack on Konoha, invading the Land of Fire.
Possessing more information than most, Hakushi could easily deduce Hidden Sand's grand strategy.
It's likely that someone on Konoha's side also analyzed the situation, like the Nara Clan. That clan was renowned for its intellect, historically serving as aides to the Hokage, holding important positions like Jonin Squad Leader.
And the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, greatly trusted the Nara Clan, given the longstanding alliance between the Sarutobi Clan and the Three Families of Ino–Shika–Cho, firmly established during the Warring States Era. To this day, the Three Families remained unwavering supporters of the Hokage's faction.
Hakushi could envision the Hokage faction gathering extensive intelligence for the Nara Clan to analyze.
Even if they were unable to deduce all the details, Hidden Sand's grand strategy and ultimate goal should be predictable.
Hakushi eagerly awaited Konoha's upcoming countermeasures.
Should the Konoha Squad led by Orochimaru fail in the Land of Rain, the power dynamics of the Five Great Nations might shift.
In the resting room of the office building—
Hakushi placed his hands on the window sill, gazing out at the now sunny sky.
The window was open, letting in a refreshing breeze.