The Land of Rain had been developing steadily according to plan.
They were rescuing those trapped outside while simultaneously training and absorbing new shinobi. Currently, the Land of Rain still only had a limited number of qualified shinobi. The newly trained shinobi were only at the level of academy students.
But their strength grew rapidly.
While Konoha's academy was still squeezing cells to extract chakra, everyone in the Land of Rain had mastered the Basic Internal Energy Technique. Under Hanzo's strict training, three Rain Army soldiers could easily take on a single genin.
As for the Money Army… it was better not to mention them.
Once the Land of Rain had built up its military strength, they could proceed to the next phase of their plan.
However, before they could take action, shinobi from Kusagakure (Hidden Grass) began raiding the Land of Rain, plundering resources and attempting to capture Rain shinobi.
But the Land of Rain no longer had "Rain shinobi"—they had all been reorganized into a military force. When the Grass shinobi sneaked into New City to kidnap a few "shinobi," they were immediately overwhelmed by a massive army.
How could there be so many shinobi here?
Wasn't the Land of Rain supposed to be severely weakened?
The three Grass shinobi were full of confusion, but since they had already been captured, these questions no longer mattered.
"Sir!! We were just passing through! We had no ill intentions!"
The Grass shinobi wept and kowtowed desperately, their bodies bound tightly as they struggled to kneel and press their foreheads to the ground.
"It's a misunderstanding, really, just a misunderstanding!"
"You don't look like you're here by mistake," Kin said with an amused smirk.
"Tell me, what was your purpose in coming to the Land of Rain?"
The Land of Rain was currently under his lockdown, making it nearly impossible for information to leak out. These Grass shinobi were likely here to take advantage of the Land of Rain's perceived weakness—a common practice for Kusagakure, infamous throughout the shinobi world.
"It really was just a misunderstanding!"
The Grass shinobi wore bitter expressions, their eyes flickering to the masked figure standing beside Kin. Could that be Hanzo the Salamander, the demigod?
Then who is this man in the center…?
The next moment, all the Grass shinobi suddenly broke free from their restraints and lunged at Kin.
One of them appeared behind Kin, pressing a kunai to his throat, while the others formed a defensive perimeter, glaring at the surrounding soldiers.
"Nobody move, or I'll kill him!" the Grass shinobi holding Kin hostage threatened coldly.
Everyone present stared at the Grass shinobi with strange expressions.
They really couldn't have picked a worse hostage.
"What are you looking at?! Let us go, now!!"
The Grass shinobi tightened his grip, ready to draw blood as a warning—
Only for wooden branches to suddenly pierce through his body, lifting him into the air.
The other Grass shinobi turned and collapsed to the ground in horror at the sight.
The man they had been "holding hostage" was now rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"You just had to resort to violence. Now I don't even know how to play along."
"You… you're a shinobi?!" one of the Grass shinobi gasped.
"Nope."
Vines sprouted from Kin's body, swiftly binding the Grass shinobi in tight coils.
"I'm the daimyo!"
The black vines began to constrict. The Grass shinobi's eyes bulged as the vines grew darker.
"Soul Illumination Technique!"
"If you won't talk, I'll just take a look myself."
Soon, the Grass shinobi's bodies withered into husks. The vines retracted, and their lifeless forms slumped to the ground.
Kin sifted through their memories.
"Simple and straightforward," he remarked.
The Grass shinobi's goal was basic: capture two Rain shinobi, interrogate them for the Land of Rain's techniques, and steal Hanzo's potent poison arts.
Kusagakure, the village of relentless learners.
Truly…
"Living up to its reputation."
"What's our next move?" Hanzo asked.
"If these Grass shinobi go missing, their village will definitely send scouts."
Of course, if they had disappeared in one of the Great Nations, it would be a different story—Kusagakure might just quietly give up.
But the Land of Rain wouldn't intimidate them.
Kin stroked his chin in thought.
"What if we disguise ourselves as Grass shinobi and trade with other villages? Could that work?"
Using the Land of Rain's identity would attract too much attention, but Kusagakure's reputation was different. If things got dangerous, they could simply shed their disguises.
Kakuzu's eyes gleamed with interest—he had been waiting to make money for a long time.
But Hanzo shook his head. "It won't work. Kusagakure maintains good relations with the Five Great Nations. The moment anything suspicious happens, they'll report it immediately."
If not for Kusagakure's obsequiousness toward the Great Nations—bowing and scraping while paying "patent fees" (read: protection money)—their habit of stealing techniques would have gotten them wiped out long ago.
They participated eagerly in the Great Nations' events, never offending anyone powerful. As for smaller villages? That was another matter.
Most minor villages were roughly equal in strength. Aside from the Land of Rain producing Hanzo, none had high-tier combatants. And among them, Kusagakure was relatively strong.
"Then what if Kusagakure belonged to us?"
Kin proposed a hypothetical scenario: if they controlled Kusagakure, they could leverage its diplomatic ties to engage with the Great Nations. If the response was overwhelming, they could abandon the disguise. If not, they could retaliate and force caution.
"I like it," Kakuzu said firmly. As long as it involved profit, any plan was a good one.
"Still not feasible."
Hanzo shook his head again.
"Grass shinobi aren't easy to control. They're experts at biding their time. Given the chance, they'll expose us."
Those people were surrender specialists, never truly loyal. Even one surviving Grass shinobi would eventually leak their involvement.
Kakuzu glared at Hanzo.
What's this guy's problem?
Hanzo turned away, refusing to acknowledge Kakuzu. He often wondered if Kakuzu's brain contained anything besides thoughts of money.
"That's true."
Kin pondered. The only alternative was using the Soul Illumination Technique to alter memories and perceptions—but he was just a shadow clone. His ocular power and mental energy were far weaker than the original's. At most, he could extract memories; rewriting cognition only worked on civilians.
For shinobi? Nearly impossible.
Even if the original were here, using the Soul Illumination Technique on an entire village would likely turn him into a vegetable first. The technique required enduring the target's memories.
If the original became an idiot, could this clone take over?
Their thoughts and perceptions were identical—only their memories differed slightly.
Start the same, end the same.
Kin sighed. There was no "taking over." At best, he'd just be a version of himself missing some memories.
Being a clone is hard.
He glanced at Kakuzu, still fuming, and Hanzo, still refusing to engage.
"Then…"
"What if Kusagakure were completely wiped out?"
...
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(End of Chapter)