Chapter 113: The Sky Over the Land of Water Has Completely Changed
Uchiha Dali had repelled Uchiha Obito, who had gone to attack Konoha, and Konoha's defenses were now tighter than ever before.
He set out for other nations in search of Tailed Beasts.
The Akatsuki organization was also working toward this goal and even considered recruiting Orochimaru into their ranks.
Once again, the entire shinobi world had fallen into turbulence and undercurrents—on the brink of a new crisis that could engulf the entire world at any moment.
Meanwhile, in Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village of the Land of Water—
Having witnessed the destructive power of Uchiha Dali, Yagura Karatachi and the elite ninja of the Hidden Mist unanimously decided to surrender to Uchiha Dali and submit to Konoha.
But what Uchiha Dali wanted wasn't merely the submission of the Hidden Mist Village—he wanted the entire Land of Water to yield to him.
And so, Yagura Karatachi's mission was to resolve the internal strife of the Land of Water and unify its people's will.
This was no easy task.
At this moment, Yagura led three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—Fuguki Suikazan, Raiga Kurosuki, and Jūzō Biwa—along with a squad of elite Anbu guards to the capital city of the Land of Water.
After Uchiha Dali's "baptism," the once-prosperous capital was now strewn with ruins and rubble.
After all, the entire country had been levitated tens of thousands of meters into the sky and then dropped back down.
There was no way everything could have remained unscathed.
People on the streets were busy rebuilding their homes.
Inside the feudal lord's mansion, after hearing the reason for Yagura and the others' visit, the Daimyō of the Land of Water remained unmoved.
Not only did he refuse the proposal from Yagura and the others—asking him to accept Uchiha Dali's terms of surrender—he even questioned Yagura directly:
"Fourth Mizukage, your Hidden Mist Village once promised to give everything for the Land of Water—even to sacrifice your lives to protect this nation."
"That was one of the conditions under which we provided you with a continuous flow of funding. And now you come to me, telling me that you can't defeat Konoha's people, and not only are you surrendering yourselves, but you also want the Land of Water to go along with you?"
"Utterly absurd! I will never agree to such terms!"
The Daimyō, long accustomed to being above others, responded forcefully.
No one had ever dared speak to him like this.
In ordinary times, Yagura's actions would be nothing short of insubordination and rebellion.
But times had changed.
Former vassals now held the upper hand.
It was Uchiha Dali who gave them this courage.
Yagura stared coldly at the Daimyō of the Land of Water and said, "It seems Your Excellency still doesn't understand the situation."
"Let me put it this way—Uchiha Dali is no longer just the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. He is also the new Daimyō of the Land of Fire."
"Do you understand what that means?"
Yagura stood with arms crossed, glaring at the fat and arrogant Daimyō seated before him.
Behind him stood Suikazan, Raiga, Jūzō, and over a dozen elite Anbu, all lined up in a row.
Upon hearing Yagura's words, the Daimyō's face changed dramatically.
Of course he understood.
"Insolence!"
"Fourth Mizukage, how dare you speak such treason before me! This is outrageous! Lawless!"
"As of this moment, I hereby declare that you are no longer the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village!"
"What are you all waiting for? Seize this traitorous criminal at once!"
The Daimyō shouted angrily, ordering the surrounding Mist ninja to act.
In normal times, his commands were absolute to these shinobi.
After all, the Daimyō's position outranked even the Kage of a village.
But now, the Mist shinobi remained completely unmoved.
"You… you all… what's the meaning of this? Are you rebelling too?!"
Seeing that he could no longer command the ninjas, the Daimyō's expression changed yet again.
He quickly summoned his samurai guards to protect him.
"Seize these shinobi! Damn them all—they're out of control!"
The samurai obeyed the order and launched an attack on Yagura and his group.
But before they could even draw their swords, Yagura unleashed a powerful Wind Release jutsu. Blades of wind surged forward, cutting down the samurai in an instant.
At that moment, Kisame seized the opportunity to attack the Daimyō.
"My apologies, Lord Daimyō. You have no understanding whatsoever of Uchiha Dali's power…"
"Last time, we followed your idiotic orders and ended up losing four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—we went from seven to three. We will not follow you to our deaths again."
"So please, just die here."
As he spoke, Fuguki Suikazan moved like a phantom, suddenly appearing in front of the Daimyō.
Though both of them were overweight, Kisame was a seasoned warrior, while the Daimyō was merely bloated and sluggish.
Shing!
Fuguki Suikazan's massive sword, Samehada, cleaved diagonally from upper right to lower left.
In a flash, the Daimyō collapsed in a pool of blood.
The other Mist shinobi immediately launched their own attacks, slaughtering any who dared oppose Yagura's will within the Daimyō's capital.
Under the bright, cold moonlight—
The sky over the Land of Water had completely changed.
…
Uchiha Dali's next destination was the Land of Wind, one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
Sunagakure lay in the heart of a vast desert—
A true village of sand.
Here, sandstorms struck frequently, sweeping across the village.
As a result, the architecture had evolved into unique shapes—round, domed buildings built to withstand the harsh elements.
Inside the Kazekage's office, Fourth Kazekage Rasa was buried in paperwork.
The Third Great Ninja War had ended.
But the aftermath still required massive cleanup.
Already disadvantaged due to the harsh environment and poor survival conditions, Sunagakure—always ranked lowest among the Five Great Nations—was now in even worse shape after the war.
Not only had they suffered massive combat losses,
But economically, they were now in a dire state.
What worried Rasa most was that they couldn't even afford medical supplies to treat their injured ninja—
Let alone provide compensation to the families of fallen shinobi.
"It's already very late, Rasa," his wife Karura reminded him gently.
"Tomorrow I have to visit the Daimyō of the Land of Wind. The village's funds are completely exhausted. We must request additional financial support to get through this crisis."
"If all else fails… Who's there?!"
In the middle of speaking, Rasa suddenly stood up, sharply alert, his eyes scanning the window.
"Oh? Pretty sharp."
A voice came from behind him, laced with a teasing tone.
The moment Rasa heard it, a chill ran down his spine.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslation. Thanks for your support!)