As cargo planes took off one after another from the outer runways of Konoha, the entire world began to change gradually.
The influence and impact reached every small and large country, with business models expanding by multiples overnight.
Previously, transporting goods could take ten days, half a month, or even longer. Now, it only required one or two days.
Moreover, the appearance of airplanes created far closer connections between many nations.
Of course, the biggest beneficiaries were the prominent clans of Konoha. With goods sold out, money flowed straight into their pockets.
Meanwhile, across various countries, a strange new organization emerged—dedicated entirely to selling new types of grain seeds.
This mysterious group came from nowhere and was known only as: Shinno (meaning "Divine Farmer").
Shinno advocated changing lives through agriculture, spreading love throughout the world.
Therefore, wherever the Shinno faction arrived, they distributed new seed varieties to rural farmers.
It was said that these new seeds had a fast growth cycle, were drought-resistant, disease-resistant, and pest-resistant, capable of maturing three times a year.
And the yield of the crops was several times higher than that of original plants.
This phenomenon immediately caught the attention of nobles and daimyos across all nations.
They dispatched numerous ninja and spies, attempting to locate this 'Shinno' group and uncover its secrets.
The sudden emergence of these high-yield crops was disrupting the existing lifestyle of ordinary people.
On a small scale, it could trigger social transformation; on a larger scale, it might even lead to national unrest.
The actions of the Shinno faction had already caused instability within the aristocratic and daimyo classes.
Land of Rice Fields.
"Retrieve all the grain seeds distributed by Shinno! The lowborn peasants are forbidden from planting them!"
Inside a spacious palace, a fat man was shouting furiously as he issued orders—he was the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields.
He had barely waited for the previous daimyo—who seemed to live forever—to finally pass away, only for him to ascend the throne just as Shinno began distributing seeds.
Such a precious thing—why wasn't it offered directly to the daimyo?
In his eyes, those lowborn commoners didn't deserve to plant such crops at all.
Besides, if the common folk had sufficient food supplies, how could they continue being exploited and oppressed?
People holding similar thoughts were not rare. Many nobles joined forces with the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields to confiscate these genetically modified grain seeds.
In their view, once civilians had enough food, controlling and manipulating them would become difficult.
Under normal circumstances, starving villagers during famines would sell their daughters, farmland, and house deeds.
The emergence of these new grain seeds was undoubtedly undermining their primary source of wealth.
They themselves were never people who struggled to get enough food, so they didn't care about these superior high-yield seeds at all.
The actions of the Land of Rice Fields quickly spread and attracted the attention of other nations.
Many nobles and daimyos became restless, eager to seize control of the grain seeds for themselves.
However, just at that moment, a notice was delivered and pinned above the daimyo's headboard in the Land of Rice Fields.
Written upon it was a clear warning: if the daimyo dared to defy the will of Shinno, he would receive death within seven days.
The moment this message spread, it instantly shocked countless people.
We're talking about a Daimyo here. Even though the Land of Rice Fields is a small country, its Daimyo holds an extremely prestigious status.
How dare the insignificant Shinno openly threaten the Daimyo's life? That's nothing short of extreme audacity.
These days, there are many who dare to assassinate nobility, but few who would dare kill a Daimyo—this clearly demonstrates how highly revered the Daimyo's position truly is.
Even the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages show great respect and courtesy when meeting a Daimyo.
While outsiders chatter endlessly, the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields is absolutely terrified.
The shuriken bearing the message was lodged right into his bedpost, barely ten centimeters away from his head.
To protect both his newly acquired position as Daimyo and his life, he paid a heavy price to summon ninja from the Hidden Villages of the Five Great Nations for protection.
After all, being a small nation, the Land of Rice Fields has no Hidden Village of its own.
A few scattered rogue ninja are simply insufficient to reassure the Daimyo.
Seven days later...
Within the Daimyo's residence, the palace gathered dozens of strong, physically capable ninja, each well-versed in various ninjutsu techniques.
In addition to the ninja, the Daimyo had also hired a group of samurai from the Land of Iron to guard him personally.
Such fear-driven behavior prompted ridicule from those who heard about it, thinking the new Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields was merely a coward clinging to life.
But the Daimyo didn't care. Seeing the assembled ninja and martial artists finally brought him some peace of mind.
It wasn't cowardice—if a shuriken could land in his bedpost, it could just as easily have struck his forehead instead.
Though he didn't understand why his attacker hadn't killed him yet, the danger certainly hadn't passed.
The worst torture is waiting for death.
Time passed slowly. The sun rose from the east, shining brightly before quickly reaching its peak at noon.
The sunlight was clear and bright, bathing everything in light.
In one corner of the palace, Jiraiya sat with Minato Namikaze and Kushina beside him, waiting casually.
"It's almost afternoon already. How come Shinno's people haven't shown up yet? Are they scared off?" Kushina complained.
With so many people packed inside, the palace felt cramped and stifling.
For her, it was practically a form of torture.
Minato comforted her, saying, "Kushina, let's wait a bit longer."
"Shinno never specified a time to arrive. They might not come until nighttime."
Just as he spoke, the sky began to darken, as if something massive had completely covered it overhead.
Alerted by Minato Namikaze's gaze, everyone inside and outside the hall looked upward together—hovering in the skies above was an immense fortress.
This airborne fortress blotted out the sky, soaring through the heavens and blocking half the sunlight.
Gulp… One ninja swallowed hard. Several weaker ninja, whose mindset lacked composure, began feeling the urge to retreat.
They had never seen anything this massive capable of flight.
The impact was like what primitive humans must have felt seeing a spaceship for the first time.
Still, the ninja from Konoha were slightly better—they had seen airplanes before, mechanical flying constructs.
Sitting aside, seemingly unfazed, even the usually laid-back Jiraiya sat up straight at the sight.
The way he looked at that floating fortress seemed slightly odd.
"Professor Jiraiya, have you noticed something?" Minato Namikaze asked.
Jiraiya rubbed his eyes slightly and scratched his head. "I feel like I've seen something like this before."
He thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead in realization.
"Oh right! That actually appears in Konoha's archives too."
"During the Second Great Shinobi War, when Konoha was at war with the other four great nations and the village was left vulnerable, a faction known as the Sky Ninja attacked. But their forces were too weak and were quickly repelled by Konoha."
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