"You know what? This iron lion’s been maintained pretty well. Ten years, and there isn’t a single spot of rust on it."
Jinghang stroked the dark iron lion’s head, his expression filled with nostalgic sentiment.
"Hehe, of course! This iron lion is not only the sacred relic from when Lord Kazekage exterminated the Evil God Cult and suppressed evil spirits, but also a testament to the friendship between Suna and Yugakure. I’ve assigned someone to maintain it daily."
The Yugakure Leader put on a flattering demeanor, a hint of obsequiousness showing in his expression.
"Lord Yugakure Leader, I’ve always been curious about something."
Jinghang crouched down and patted the iron lion’s base.
"What question does Lord Kazekage have?"
The Yugakure Leader asked rather anxiously.
"Tell me—those people buried underneath, are they still alive?"
Jinghang looked up at the Yugakure Leader, his face showing an eager, mischievous expression.
"This... I don’t know."
The Yugakure Leader’s face looked somewhat embarrassed.
"How about we dig it up and take a look?"
"Ah! Let’s... not do that!"
Sweat beaded on the Yugakure Leader’s forehead.
Jinghang stood up, dusted off his hands, and laughed.
"All right, Lord Yugakure Leader, just kidding. Don’t be so tense. I understand your difficulties, and you don’t need to worry—I won’t make things hard for you."
There’s no helping it—this is the tragedy of small ninja villages. When Konoha comes, they have to serve them. When Sunagakure comes, they still have to serve them. When told to make way, they make way. When told to allow garrisoning, they allow it. When asked for supplies, they obediently hand over supplies. When asked for financial support, they obediently pay up. There’s no room for negotiation. Even half a word of refusal could bring immediate danger of destruction—they have no power to choose.
Especially for villages like Yugakure—lacking in strength, few in number, but sitting on hot spring advantages with considerable wealth. If this Yugakure Leader weren’t so smooth and diplomatic, the village would probably have been destroyed long ago under the pressure of the great ninja villages.
"This time, as our Sunagakure counterattacks Konoha’s invasion, we need to establish a supply transfer station in Yugakure to ensure logistics. I hope Lord Yugakure Leader will give us face and let us pick a location. Don’t worry—I’ll restrain my subordinates and absolutely won’t let them disturb the village. Just name a price for the rent..."
Before Jinghang could finish, the Yugakure Leader interrupted.
"Oh my, Lord Kazekage, saying such things creates distance between us! What rent? Isn’t that clearly slapping my old face? Konoha has been bullying neighboring villages for years, relying on their power. Now Lord Kazekage raises the banner of righteousness to resist invasion—this is an act of upholding justice! Even if I were confused, I wouldn’t dare take your money! Come!"
Jinghang looked puzzled.
"Your village has raised a righteous army to resist invasion. Our Yugakure should attach ourselves and join this grand undertaking, but unfortunately, our village has meager military strength and can’t really help much. These three hundred million in cash are just to buy the Suna warriors some military boots and kunai—consider it Yugakure’s small contribution."
Ah, so it’s protection money after all. Jinghang shook his head helplessly. This Yugakure Leader really understood human nature and worldly affairs. For such a small village to survive in the cracks between two great villages until today, you have to admit they truly have their own way of survival.
That joke about digging up the iron lion probably really scared him.
Why bother? Making me look like some kind of yakuza.
Jinghang wanted to decline, but the Yugakure Leader insisted, acting as if he’d bash his head against a wall if the money wasn’t accepted.
Jinghang finally understood—in the Yugakure Leader’s eyes, not taking the money meant either it was too little, or they planned to destroy him.
This left Jinghang both amused and exasperated. He had no choice but to have someone accept it, and right in front of the Yugakure Leader, he announced the order: all ninja must camp outside the village and are forbidden from entering Yugakure—violators will be executed! Only then did the Yugakure Leader shed his worried expression and beam with smiles.
After sending off the Yugakure Leader, Jinghang returned to Sunagakure’s temporary main camp. This was actually the campsite and logistics supply station Konoha had used when stationed in Yugakure. Since Konoha retreated hastily, they set a fire and ran.
Unfortunately, "heaven smiled upon us"—soon after Konoha withdrew, Yugakure had a heavy rain. The tents barely burned at all, and the supplies inside suffered almost no losses. They could basically use everything as-is—the only thing that needed changing was the flags hanging high in the camp.
"I believe everyone has received the news. Hiruzen Sarutobi has not only issued a general mobilization order but also recalled Orochimaru’s five thousand southern ninja back to the village. I’m sure Danzō’s Northern Army remnants will also be recalled to Konoha soon. This war has entered a new phase—we’re about to march east and punish Konoha!"
Jinghang pointed domineeringly eastward, and the commanders in the tent erupted in cheers.
"Lord Kazekage, what are we still doing here? We should seize this moment of great victory and immediately march east to completely destroy Konoha!"
The burly Akaraku waved his fist, eyes full of excitement.
"That’s exactly what I want to explain to everyone today. Akaraku, sit down and don’t get so worked up."
Jinghang waved his hand.
"For a ninja village like Konoha with nearly a century of heritage, trying to completely destroy it through a single war is impossible—even if we had completely annihilated Konoha’s Eastern Army at the Battle of Lishi
Next, Jinghang provided detailed analysis from multiple angles: international geopolitics, the power dynamics of various ninja villages, casualty ratios, tailed beasts, and more. The Earthly Branches members were all carefully selected talents from Sunagakure, so they naturally understood these issues immediately.
"So, in my generation, conquering any of the Five Great Ninja Villages is probably unrealistic. But in your generation, it might be possible."
"However, through this war, we can replace Konoha and become the new dominant force on the ninja continent."
"Lord Kazekage, just tell us what to do!"
"Right! Just tell us what to do!"
"Wherever you point, that’s where I’ll fight!"
Everyone was fired up with high morale.
"What we need to do is destroy Konoha’s foundation! Make sure they can’t get back up for at least two generations!"
Jinghang walked to the map and pointed at Konoha.
"Konoha’s real economic foundation is actually their big financial backers—the Fire Country Daimyō and the Fire Eight Pillars Trading Association. Konoha’s longstanding practice has been: the Daimyō and Fire Eight Pillars provide money, Konoha provides manpower. This war is the same—according to intelligence, the Daimyō and Fire Eight Pillars have provided Konoha with nearly three billion ryo in war loans and supplies. They’re the real masterminds!"
Jinghang’s eyes burned with fury. These bastards made money even more ruthlessly than ninja. According to calculations by Hirai Kangsaburo’s accounting genius Higashi Yoshinori, after Konoha captured Amegakure, the Fire Eight Pillars Trading Association extracted wealth and materials worth 3.8 billion ryo from Amegakure—their ability to strip a place bare was truly astounding.
"It’s time to make them cough it up."
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