Messy New Year

This year, so many, many things really happened. Almost all of the small countries over in the Land of Water had been tossed around by Makoto.

However, the Land of Fire was still incredibly calm.

Even... more so than in the past.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire sat in the palanquin cage and quietly looked towards the outside. Only to see that under the curtain of snow, there were men, women and children everywhere who were joyfully bringing all kinds of New Year's goods and preparing to go home for the New Year.

The work in the factories wasn't easy, and it was this time of year that they could enjoy some happiness and leisure.

There... is also a large amount of cheap industrial goods.

People who had worked for a year inadvertently realized that at some point, the prices of triplexes and TVs had begun to fall rapidly, becoming consumable by ordinary people...

"That's great."

Looking at the bustling scene in front of him, Daimyo sighed so softly.

He was traveling in a microcosm this time, and did not have the streets cleared in advance. But all he had seen along the way was a joyful atmosphere.

Land of Fire Daimyo's mood also became a bit better.

In the end, the Land of Fire was his country. Under his rule, the government was smooth and people were at peace, which made him feel more comfortable than any horse's ass.

...Though he knew full well that it was more a credit to the world's capital than to him.

Capitals always preferred places where they could multiply themselves safely and efficiently, and right now, that place was called the Land of Fire.

The world looked relatively calm today, but there was still a dark tide within. From the looks of it, the Land of Fire was the only one that had nothing wrong with it.

A huge amount of talent and money was siphoned in, and it was natural for them to invest in factories for their own proliferation. And after there were more factories, there were naturally more workers recruited.

Because of the rapid development of the high-tech industry, the number of skilled workers was surprisingly insufficient. In addition to sucking in another portion from the side of the Land of Wind, the big factory owners even had to raise the wages of some of the workers... Although this made the big factories very unhappy, the positive cycle was born as a result.

Once an industrial country with no deficiencies like the Land of Fire starts a positive cycle, then the problem becomes simpler... Especially those few small countries on the Land of Water side are still quietly moving closer to the Land of Fire side.

With Kusagakure and the Land of Rice taking on the agriculture of Land of Fire, and with so many small countries serving as markets for the Land of Fire, Land of Fire's financial income this year is extremely pleasing.

What was even more pleasing was that this figure would definitely be even better next year - because the Land of Water was fighting.

Because of the tyrannical and murderous nature of the Seventh Prince, all the big landowners and nobles really panicked.

They didn't know, in the end, who would lose and who would win. But they really didn't dare to stay in the Land of Water anymore... Most of them transferred their money to the Land of Fire.

The Daimyo of Land of Fire was a decent person, so naturally, he wouldn't forcefully swallow this part of the funds. But the Daimyo of the Land of Fire knows very well in his heart that this group of guys will definitely not always hold the money in their hands... Now the Land of Fire is really full of opportunities.

Not kidding at all.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire feels this most deeply - because in the courtroom, the damn new industrial faction has been so strong that it can already point at the domestic agricultural faction and curse it.

In terms of accumulating wealth, the Agricultural Faction was really no match for the Industrial Faction, and they were worried about that.

In this era where capital is starting to flow, as long as it is not invested indiscriminately, basically all can get a little harvest.

And the fastest expanding among them is... Konoha.

Konoha has always been a military organization, not much involvement in business and political circles. But since the monkey went down, Godaime Hokage replaced up after...

"It's a pity that he is a ninja, and he doesn't want to be the Roju's adopted son... Obviously you and I can have a relationship between kings and ministers. You will be your capable minister in governing the world, and I am willing to give you dignity, but... alas..."

When he thought of a certain Hokage, and the sword that almost pierced the sky, the face of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire sank.

He pulled the curtain closed and withdrew his gaze from the street scene.

Quickly, under the protection of the royal palace experts who were also disguised, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire arrived at a hidden tea house.

The tea house was very well decorated, but at this time there was not a single customer in the tea house. Except for a tea head who was customarily waiting around, all the idle people had been cleared out.

"All go out."

"Yes!"

The disguised guards invited the tea head out.

The tea head did not dare to say or ask, always hanging his head low and not saying a word, he just retreated out.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire naturally didn't have the heart to pay attention to these little people, as he walked straight into one of the largest tea rooms.

In the tea room, the other three daimyo in white dragonfish costumes were already waiting for him.

The daimyo of the Land of Fire sat in the main seat quite rightfully, and the other daimyo also sat down according to their country's power.

"All of you are usually incredibly busy, and it's the end of the year, so it can be said that you have a lot of things going on, and you can't spare a moment. -

"Everyone should know what I'm looking for everyone here for. The situation at hand is clear to everyone, so I won't waste everyone's time, so please speak freely."

After a moment of silence, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, who was relatively the most reckless in nature, was the first to speak.

"It can't be the same as before, a decision must be made!"

As time passed, the daimyo gradually realized the threat of the ninjas - the daimyo, even if they were blind, could see what had happened to the daimyo of the Land of Water.

It was no secret that the daimyo of the Landd of Water and Kirigakure did not get along. Everyone had heard of the disagreements and secret rivalries between the two sides.

If it was just like this, the daimyo wouldn't care. After all, the circle they lived in was just like that.

Every moment, there were always people who were constantly fighting for their own interests.

This was nothing, but the Land of Water Daimyo had been killed, and the bastard who killed the Land of Water Daimyo had cut off a piece of Land of Water's territory and established Land of Ninjas. Even though that territory was actually an island... no Daimyo could tolerate this.

And the internal war within the Land of Water that followed, there was no need to say more.

Without having to read the report, the daimyo knew that this matter should not have been planned by Kiri - if Kiri had done it, they would not have designed it so recklessly, and the other ninja villages should have made a scene a long time ago.

It was impossible for the other ninja villages not to use such a correct excuse.

The Daimyo didn't believe that they would hide from each other on this matter.

After all, the five great hidden villages had been killing each other for so many years, and each had their own important people die at the hands of the other.

Now that the Land of Water was in turmoil, there were countless ninja who wanted to strike at Kiri.

Even if the current best relationship is between Suna and Konoha, both sides are actually blood feud. Only Konoha has been bringing Suna to play now, bringing a huge amount of money for Suna, the relationship between the two sides this has been in the honeymoon period... but the hatred has not completely dissolved because of this.

The fact that the daimyo had left it alone for the time being for the sake of the money didn't mean that the hatred had disappeared.

The daimyo are certain that all it takes is the right provocation to get the two villages fighting again.

It's good that the village's interests outweigh individual interests, but there are times when...

But no matter what, even if Kiri hadn't done it, it was still true that the daimyo of the Land of Water had been killed by ninjas.

This has broken the bottom line of the daimyo.

0 times and 1 time are two completely different states.

0 was 0, and with the first time, there was usually a second time... Someone had already begun to disregard the authority of the daimyo, so all they had to do was to knock the flames down.

Regardless of whether it was a rouge ninja or a ninja village that did it.

Daimyos were usually slow, but endlessly vigilant when it came to positions of power.

They didn't care if it was a mistake to kill, only if their throne was secure.

But the daimyo hadn't figured out exactly how to do that.

The daimyo are not really clueless, it's just that... some words can't be said.

For the daimyo, maintaining their own status and suppressing the ninja and other nobles is a natural instinct. In this regard, the four daimyo have a common interest.

After all, a subject could surrender, but not a king.

But on the other hand, the great ninja village was the foundation of every great nation, not to mention the fact that it could not be moved, and even if it could be moved, how could it be moved casually?

In case, there are three people to their village moved the knife, and there is a guy did not move... This is also something that must be taken into account.

The daimyo had little faith in each other's modesty.

The daimyo of the Land of Earth swept his gaze across the crowd before finally looking to the daimyo of the Land of Fire.

"The way you cut the salaries of the important ministers last time was truly breathtaking, and now that the situation is like this, please don't be stingy with your guidance as well."

The daimyo were both rivals and allies of sorts. They were already standing at the top of the world's power, and even though the Land of Fire Daimyo had heard countless horse's asses in his life, he was still in a pleasant mood when he heard the Land of Earth Daimyo say that.

"Oh huh..."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire blocked his face with his fan and laughed softly, uttering the scenario he had thought of long ago.

"The ninjas haven't fought in two years, and their power is expanding quickly. In my opinion, another big battle to weaken the other side's power and increase their hatred is the best strategy - naturally, this strategy is impossible to implement, and it's possible that as soon as I open my mouth, I'll be collectively opposed by all the important ministers."

War was a nightmare for ordinary people, and how could it be any different for heavy ministers.

With people no longer needing to bear the heavy war taxes, the market slowly began to regain its vigor. Under Makoto's threading of the needle, the heavy ministers had long since realized that there were times when doing nothing and letting the market develop would get you far more than fighting a bad war.

The big factory owners were really willing to spend money in order to have less trouble, but it was much more refreshing than robbing the pariahs of those three melons and two dates.

Under these circumstances, except for those guys in the military ministry, the other factions' heavy ministers' willingness to go to war isn't really that high - not only are the heavy ministers against it, but the merchants and the dodgy people would be extremely opposed to it as well.

People are really fed up with all the temporary war taxes and all the nasty behavior that disregards tradition and borders on looting.

"Normally, we do nothing more than use force to oppress, profit to entice, and love to move. -

"The Ninja Village has its own military force. Even if the economy is not as good as ours, let alone victory or defeat, a person who is tired and injured will definitely not be able to escape. This is really a bad idea... so..."

The daimyo of Land of FIre paused and tapped the short table in front of him with his fan.

"After we go back, we might as well let our men have more contact with the people of the Hidden Village, and usually put a few more oil and water-rich missions to them, pulling each other's relationship. Ninja village is never ironclad, even the Kages, can not dominate all ninjas... to pull together properly, will be useful. -

"Secondly, it is to break the alliance between the ninja villages and stray from their relationship."

The Land of Fire Daimyo said so and looked towards the Land of Water Daimyo.

Nowadays, among the Hidden Villages, naturally, Konoha and Suna had the best relationship.

...So good that it made the Daimyo of Land of Fire a little sleepless.

Konoha was originally the strongest, and now it has recovered and developed the best, and the other four great hidden villages are gradually unable to match it, plus that strong and frightening Hokage... Konoha has that heart or not, it actually does not matter.

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind frowned.

"Your Highness, I know what you mean, but this... has no reason. Apart from the age not being quite right, the two sides can be said to be a match made in heaven."

...The Daimyo of the Land of Fire suddenly realized that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind seemed to have a very special fondness for Konoha... Or is it that he was simply scared by that sword... Although that sword was indeed terrifying...

"Then find a reason - is our princess no better than the daughter of Kazekage? In the Warring States era, there was nothing to be done about abandoning a hostage for the sake of the family's prosperity."

The tone of the Land of Fire's voice faded noticeably.

Land of Lightning Daimyo: "That Konoha fellow, I'm afraid he's not that easily fooled."

Because of some well-known reasons, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning and Makoto were on poor terms, but this rather made him understand Makoto even better.

"There will always be a way... for all of you to cooperate with me when the time comes."

"What you mean is..."

"He slept with one of the princesses of several of our families, is it not okay for me to ask him to marry her?"

The other daimyo looked at each other in disbelief, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

It wasn't that they couldn't spare their daughters.

A daughter-con person like the Lord of the Land of Snow was an oddity in the circle of daimyo. For a political creature like a Daimyo, there was no such thing as not being able to part with a daughter.

It's just that...

"Does everyone have something to add?"

After a moment of silence, the daimyos shook their heads.

"That's good... Of course, this is just the first step... Your Highness, speaking of which, that underwater tunnel between the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning has been bickering for many years, right? Shouldn't we implement it?"

The Daimyo of Land of Lightning was stunned.

He truly didn't expect the Daimyo of Land of Fire to bring up this thing at this time.

Land of Water was isolated overseas, and from a long time ago, it had always wanted to enhance its relationship with the continental countries and increase its continental influence.

Years ago, when a certain technical genius had broken through the technological threshold of the undersea tunnel, the Land of Water had been trying to advance the matter.

The merchants on both sides were happy to see it happen, and were even willing to pool their money.

Rightfully so, it didn't work.

It wasn't a technical problem at all.

Rather, it was a political problem.

Land of Lightning was so concerned that he refused to do so under hard pressure. After many years, there was no progress, until this time, when it was brought up again by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

"You are..."

"Now that the Land of Water is fighting into a mess, I know your thoughts, but you should also understand that those two sinful beasts, no matter what, are also blood brothers from the same mother, and their mother is still alive. -

"If we forcefully want to do something, maybe their mother will talk to them and make them unanimous for the time being... then it will be too troublesome. -

"In that case, we might as well slow down a bit..."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was really worried about the ninjas, but he also knew that the Daimyos were always in trouble and hoped that others would solve the problem.

In order to make them a bit more positive, he could only think of a way to bring their eyes into the Land of Water as well.

There was a benefit and a need, so this matter had to be done.

As the snow fell silently, the Daimyo of Land of Fire quietly told of his plans.

... ...

It was the end of the year, and because the Godaime Hokage had been dragged back to Konoha to be rescued, the allied forces of the nations were back on the defensive.

They hadn't wanted to fight anyway.

The Kages and the higher-ups of the villages had also returned to their respective villages - there were too many things for them to deal with, and they couldn't possibly spend all year round.

Makoto's sword was enough to shock a lot of people.

This was indeed the case.

After seeing Makoto's sword with their own eyes, the morale of Akatsuki's lower-level members had plummeted to the point where they couldn't fight at all.

-That sword is simply more exaggerated than Pain's Shinra Tensei march, the sword directly ripped through the continental shelf, came out of the Moses parting the sea.

The rouge ninjas in Akatsuki basically had two skills, and they were all knowledgeable. They know very well that can hit this strike, in the end, how much power is required.

Especially those Konoha rouge ninjas who have defected out before Makoto...

Fortunately, Pain didn't care about that, and he didn't really want to fight Konoha. Seeing the low morale of his subordinates, he just gathered his men and let them return to the island for the New Year.

The Akatsuki organization's executives, too, went into cat-winter mode.

Kakuzu stayed in the accounting room every day to plan his plans.

Tobi tried to make a whole burlesque show to liven up the atmosphere, and was pressed against the wall by Zetsu.

Konan is recuperating from her injuries.

Didn't know where Orochimaru had ran, and she didn't return to the island after the battle that day. Even if Pain uses ninjutsu to communicate, her appearance looks like she is wrapped in a quilt, rolling around like a maggot, as if she is a star-chasing girl who has just perfected CPs...

Pain seemed to be pondering some dilemma.

And Namikaze... she returned to the old Uchiha mansion.

Even at the end of the year, Konoha's Barrier Team was still working. But for Namikaze, this ancient jutsu was long outdated.

She easily escaped the blockade of the Barrier Team and entered Konoha.

After weaving through the crowd for a while, the disguised Namikaze made her way to the shadows of the old Uchiha mansion.

The Uchiha lineage was very perceptive, but Namikaze was also from the Uchiha.

She even knew the patrol routes of the Uchiha members in the old mansion.

"But there are so few people in the house right now... Yes, it's father who has taken brother and the others and run off to visitors... -

"It's been an incredibly smooth year for the Uchiha."

Makoto had been trying to drive the power of the big clans out as much as possible, which made the big clans who preferred to stay in their old homes more or less uneasy.

Fortunately, in the later days, Makoto proved himself.

Every time before he made a big move, he would notify the inner Konoha so that the big clans and even the scattered people would have something to gain.

The Uchiha, as the big clan of Konoha, had a somewhat brighter account this year compared to last year.

Even for the big clans, money was important.

With money, they can afford to raise more children, allowing the active ninja to gain more promotion, while also gaining more respect from others... The strength of the clan is so constantly climbing.

"Almost all of the younger generation of Uchiha clansmen have gotten married and had children this year. -

"If we could never go to war, that would be so good... The one who is always unmarried should only be Shisui-niisan. -

"But Shisui-niisan is being trained as an elder, it is indeed better to wait a little longer..."

The constant intertwining of the past and the present caused Namikaze's mind to drift a bit as well.

She took a few seconds to settle her mind, which led her to the young lord's residence.

There was Uchiha Sasuke's room - his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, had come of age and moved out of the Uchiha mansion for the time being to go to a ninja school. The ninja school was now a boarding school, so Uchiha Itachi didn't usually live at home.

Although an end-of-year visitor was a solemn matter, the second son, Sasuke Uchiha, was both young and a bit unwell lately, so he wasn't brought along.

Carefully controlling a few of the hidden sentries around him with his illusions, Namikaze quietly felt his way into Uchiha Sasuke's room - how could any young lord not have an escort around him, and what would happen if it happened that the young heir went out and ended up with a bunch of little brats throwing snowballs at him.

When Namikaze met Sasuke, he was sleeping. His little face was still a little pale from being sick.

As Namikaze walked up, she sat down on her knees beside him and gazed at the cute face in front of her.

"After all these years, it's still the same as before... No, only for me... For them... -

"How in the end is the harvest to be worthy of our upheaval along the way... Wouldn't it be better if nothing had happened? -

"What we really seek is always just happiness, not pain... isn't it? -

"Perhaps by being a little more honest, we would have... been just a matter of saying I do..."

As Namikaze crumbled strangely, little Sasuke seemed to notice and opened his eyes blankly.

"You're..."

"Come here, little Sasuke, sister will teach you something good."

Namikaze turned to little Sasuke and gave a malicious smile.

Click, underneath the shirt, an immense crack appeared at Namikaze's chest.

... ...

It was night, when the Uchiha couple returned home, they found that their second son Sasuke didn't know who had cast a trick, but had turned into a cute little girl.

"Who... even did such a thing... who dared! I want to kill him!"

But no matter how the Uchiha couple searched, there was no result.

Not only did the Uchiha couple suffer a great blow, even the eldest son Uchiha Itachi's mood also fell into the gray for a long time.

... ...

Pakura returned to Konoha from the temporary camp and did not return to Suna with the Kazekage.

New Year's Eve also can not be reunited with the family, it is indeed a little frustrating, but Pakura is also accustomed to it... After all, she does not have much family except for a small apprentice.

And the Konoha side is really important.

No one would feel at ease without putting someone here who could cover it.

This person also can't be a man.

Because Suna and Konoha are in a state of union, and on the other hand, little Temari is not yet five years old. If there wasn't a stable adult female to help her out, I'm afraid something would go wrong - we can't have Chiyo-baasama, can we?

"If it's a yearly gift, don't let me worry about it, just do what you did last year."

"It's just that that Suo guy's harem is getting bigger and bigger, so I need to find a way to help Temari out. By force? That obviously won't work, then..."

Pakura pondered all these have-nots.

Then the first thing she heard back in the embassy was...

"That Suo guy confessed his love for me in front of Temari... This idiot, what the hell are you doing! -

"How come I didn't know you liked me!"

... ...

Terumi Mei, who was covered in blood, pushed open the door to the Mizukage's office and said to the inside without looking.

"Even though we've won so many matches, we've reached our limit, I always feel... Makoto, you analyze it. -

"What should we do next?"

Terumi Mei said, but when she looked at the situation in the office, she realized that the only person inside was Yakura, who was also covered in blood.

The blood on both of them was that of their enemies, but the war could still be described as extremely brutal.

"I'm sorry, I'm not your boyfriend."

At this point, Terumi Mei no longer even had the heart to hang the former Mizukage on the wall.

She sat down and relaxed her body as much as possible.

"It seems like we're doing the wrong thing..."

The endless killing earlier had left Terumi Mei physically and mentally exhausted.

Yakura interrupted her.

"No, it is the right thing to do, and it is also the only way to cheer up the Land of Water - all over the world, every time there is a reform, there will be blood, either openly or secretly. -

"But at the same time, every time the person who succeeds in changing the law, he or she is also bound to eat a rich reward. The original daimyo were all just guardian daimyo, weak in strength. But when people gradually abandoned the traditions of the past and became warring daimyo, their strength was not comparable to that of earlier. -

"The people of the past, too, abandoned the so-called samurai and joined us ninjas to have the power we have now... -

"I know that what we are doing now will cause a great deal of bloodshed in the Land of Water. But only by embracing capital and money. By abandoning the nobles and landowners from before, the Land of Water will be able to see a new lease on life - and that's the only chance we have left to possibly bend the rules and overtake Konoha. -

"Do you know the first-mover effect? The process of catching up must be extremely painful..."

Terumi Mei forced herself together.

"I know... I'm just a little..."

It wasn't that Terumi Mei hadn't killed before, she could even say that her hands were full of blood.

But now that she did what she did...

Instead of continuing to pressure her, Yakura's tone loosened.

"On the bright side, there is power in us, not in the nobles who want to put us to death, so we can still be merciful. -

"That's good."

Yakura said so and took out a letter of worship.

"Several important people from several small countries will visit Konoha this year... You should quietly go and check it out as well."

"It might pay off. -

"It's official business."