Chapter 227: Kirigakure's New Model
The rain had stopped and the sky cleared.
As her desire faded and reason returned, Chiba Megumi finally remembered what Lord Hokage had said before leaving work—that he was too busy to come. That seemed inconsistent with the Hokage currently beside her.
"Brother Hiruzen, didn't you say you had too much work and no time to come by?"
The beautiful woman propped herself up with one hand on the inside of the sofa, slightly lifting her upper body, looking at Li Yao curiously.
Brother Hiruzen... Hearing that title, Li Yao shook his head. The Third really knew how to play the game.
He laughed and said, "I come when I want, do what I want—do you have a problem with that?"
"No problem." The secretary leaned back down onto Li Yao's chest, her breath sweet and warm as she softly whispered, "Then... will Brother Hiruzen come again?"
Li Yao chuckled, "I will. From now on, I'll come feed you every night."
Even if I don't come myself, my Lightning Clone will. I'll make sure you carry my fine son and give me another backup body.
Li Yao added silently in his mind.
He was very satisfied with the body of his "good son" at Root's base. The more spare bodies, the better.
Chiba Megumi recognized Li Yao as the Third Hokage due to genjutsu.
With his current genjutsu prowess, making Chiba Megumi see him as the Third was effortless. He even adjusted his chakra to match hers exactly, including the chakra fluctuations.
With that, even a Byakugan would see their chakra as the same—no one would suspect she was under genjutsu.
Even Chiba Megumi herself wouldn't notice it.
And that gave Li Yao free rein to do as he pleased.
A single night can build a bond deeper than a hundred days.
A joyful and exhausting night passed. A new day arrived.
The Hokage's secretary didn't sleep in. She had work to do.
"Remember, don't speak of anything that happened in this room. Not even when we're alone. In public, everything should be just as before."
On the sofa, Li Yao gave instructions to the secretary, Chiba Megumi, who was getting ready to leave for work.
With a sweet smile, Chiba Megumi replied, "I understand, Brother Hiruzen."
The moment she stepped out the door, her flirtatious demeanor disappeared, replaced by a professional expression that concealed everything from the night before.
Once she was gone, Li Yao also left.
He passed swiftly through the underground, arriving at the Sarutobi clan compound.
He had already located it the previous night by tracking the Third's chakra.
It was still early, and most of the clan members were still asleep.
Beneath the peaceful compound, countless underground chambers were hidden—not just under the Sarutobi compound, but all throughout Konoha. Many clan compounds had them.
Each chamber was inscribed with sealing scripts, both to strengthen the walls against Earth Release techniques and to serve as alarms.
But none of that could stop Li Yao.
With his spatialized body, Li Yao bypassed sensory barriers and seals alike, entering and checking chamber after chamber without being detected.
Very soon—
Li Yao found the Scroll of Seals in a chamber beneath the Third Hokage's study.
He opened it, confirmed it was the real thing, and stored it in his Blackwater Space. Then, he returned to Chiba Megumi's house.
Unaware that his Scroll of Seals had been taken, the Third was still frowning at the Kirigakure intel he hadn't finished reading last night.
"Hoketsu, summon Danzō."
"Yes."
A voice sounded from the shadows. The ANBU agent disappeared immediately upon receiving the order.
The Third leaned back—only to notice something odd. The familiar enveloping softness didn't come.
He turned his head in surprise. His alluring secretary, who would usually rush to embrace him from behind, was simply standing nearby, acting properly as a secretary.
"Was that just my imagination?"
"She seems even more radiant... but her eyes are no longer wet."
A trace of doubt flickered through the Third's heart, but he quickly pushed it aside. Konoha's current situation left him no time for such thoughts.
Soon, Danzō arrived.
Chiba Megumi silently exited the office, closing the door behind her.
Whenever Danzō showed up, confidential matters were sure to follow—she was used to it.
Inside the office, the Third first handed over the intel on Kirigakure for Danzō to read.
"So soon… wait, this… how could this be?"
After reading it, Danzō felt shaken. His entire understanding of the world was being challenged.
Two years ago, the Water Daimyō's family was wiped out, the Third Mizukage of Kirigakure was mysteriously assassinated, and the entire Land of Water and its village fell into chaos.
If not for the fact that the Second Shinobi War had just ended—leaving all the major villages in recovery—and the Land of Water being notoriously hard to invade due to its oceanic location, the Rain Country would've already been overwhelmed by the other Great Nations.
Even without foreign invasions, such internal chaos should've severely weakened Kirigakure's power.
But in reality, just half a year after the Third Mizukage's death, the Three-Tails jinchūriki Yagura—capable of perfectly controlling his beast—crushed the chaos with overwhelming strength and took over as the Fourth Mizukage.
So far, everything still made sense.
What didn't was what came after.
The Rain Country's noble houses were too busy fighting over the Daimyō's estate to care about Kirigakure. They even cut off its funding.
After the rise of ninja villages, the Five Great Nations had agreed: nobles handle political matters, ninja stay out of it.
Otherwise, they'd return to the Warring States era, where daimyōs feared assassination and hired ninjas to wipe each other out.
Now they just had to allocate some funds annually and could sit comfortably, saving loads of money.
So even as the Rain nobles tore each other apart, no one dared demand anything from Kirigakure.
Violating that unspoken rule would bring the wrath of the other four nations upon the Rain Country—and its nobles weren't suicidal.
Logically, without support from the Rain nobles, Kirigakure should've ended up like Sunagakure: unable to afford ninja tools, unable to fund research—its strength declining by the day.
But under the Fourth Mizukage's leadership, the unfunded Kirigakure seized control of production resources and started selling them independently.
No roads? Build their own. No ships? Storage scrolls solved that. A single ninja could carry seven or eight scrolls—faster and safer than ships.
The profits they earned from trade were then distributed to the village as mission rewards.
And so, almost by accident, Kirigakure walked a peaceful, developmental path instead of one of bloodshed.
They had money, they had safety.
In a short time, their purchases of ninja tools and explosive tags surpassed even the old Kirigakure.
In fact, one could say—
In less than two years, Kirigakure had already completed all its wartime resource stockpiles ahead of schedule.
They could launch an assault on the Land of Fire at any time, while Konoha wasn't yet prepared for another large-scale Shinobi World War.
That was critical.
If Kirigakure really attacked—
Konoha, forced into battle, would be in a dangerous position. In the past, its vast lands and resources allowed it to delay. But now, the enemy might wear them down first.
"How is this possible?"
Danzō couldn't comprehend it.
To him, a ninja's job was to conquer and plunder through combat—not to run businesses.
But now, everything happening in Kirigakure filled him with a deep, unsettling fear that his peaceful world was about to crumble.
"We mustn't let Kirigakure continue down this path. We have to destroy it." A cold gleam flashed in Danzō's eyes. His first thought wasn't to imitate—but to sabotage.
Only other villages copied Konoha. Konoha would never stoop to copying anyone.
"I'll leave it to you," said the Third. That was exactly why he had summoned Danzō.
They both believed the same thing—when facing the unknown, destroy it.
(END CHAPTER)
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