A Sage's Pursuit of Power

In the office of the Raikage in Kumogakure, chaos reigned. In a fit of rage, the Raikage had completely wrecked the place.

Just moments ago, Kumogakure's think tank had suggested that he reach out to Iwagakure to propose an alliance.

Kumogakure and Iwagakure had been bitter rivals for generations. Of course, during this era, nearly all the major ninja villages held deep-seated grudges against one another.

But the animosity between the Raikage and the Tsuchikage was particularly personal. Years ago, Ōnoki had mobilized tens of thousands of ninja to exhaust the Raikage to death.

That grudge was only a few years old. To expect the Raikage to reconcile with the Tsuchikage now? That was simply impossible for someone with his personality to accept.

However, the Raikage also understood the reality of the situation. Konoha was no longer the same.

There had been countless times when he had fantasized about how, if Kumogakure had the kind of deep foundation Konoha possessed, he would have already unified the ninja world. Sarutobi Hiruzen, that coward, had squandered Konoha's potential.

But now, Konoha was truly operating at full capacity and beginning to expand aggressively. Only now did he realize that Konoha's expansion would first impact the other great ninja villages.

Currently, the situation was that Sunagakure had already clung to Konoha as an ally. Rumor had it that they were even involved in Konoha's official business ventures. Not only had they avoided decline, but their citizens' living conditions had reportedly improved.

Kirigakure, meanwhile, had retreated into isolation, concerned only with its affairs on its offshore island. That left Iwagakure and Kumogakure as the only villages directly impacted by Konoha's actions.

The Raikage was no fool. Kumogakure's prosperity wasn't solely dependent on funding from its daimyo. Behind the scenes, he had developed a vast network of businesses to ensure the village's prosperity.

But now, nearly all of Kumogakure's external trade operations had been taken over by Konoha.

There was no helping it—Konoha, as part of the Land of Fire, had vast resources, and its daimyo was too busy indulging in pleasure to manage them. With Konoha pushing boundaries, it had access to virtually unlimited resources.

In short, whatever Kumogakure had, Konoha had it as well and of better quality. Naturally, Konoha outcompeted Kumogakure in trade.

Of course, when it came to ninja-related business, reputation and the quality of the ninja teams involved mattered.

The problem was, based on Kumogakure's intelligence, Konoha's dispatched security teams were practically unbeatable unless the Raikage himself stepped in.

When the Raikage first received this report, he was dumbfounded. Had Tsunade gone insane? She had sent more than half of Konoha's forces to make money, was she not worried about the village?

But the reality was that Konoha had sent out thousands of elite ninja worldwide for maritime shipping, mining, and other ventures, yet the village's defensive systems hadn't weakened at all.

Apparently, a large number of Konoha's "retired" ninja had returned to contribute.

Retired ninja, my foot, the Raikage thought. While brash, he wasn't stupid. He knew this had to be personnel secretly trained by Konoha's ninja clans.

What puzzled him was that the major ninja clans typically prioritized their own interests. Even for someone as assertive as himself, it was impossible to rally them so effectively.

Tsunade had been in power for only a short time. How had she managed to get those clans to bring out their privately trained forces to support the village?

Even more perplexing was that Konoha's current policies were clearly weakening the ninja clans. So why did Konoha's internal situation appear so stable?

This was beyond the Raikage's comprehension.

In fact, it wasn't just him, very few in the ninja world understood what was happening in Konoha.

But not understanding didn't mean they couldn't feel the shift. Even someone as impulsive as the Raikage could sense something ominous. As for Ōnoki, with his cunning and experience, he certainly felt it even more keenly.

However, contrary to the predictions of the Raikage's think tank, before either Kumogakure or Iwagakure could make a move, surprising news came from Kirigakure.

The Mizukage Yagura had sent secret communications to both the Raikage and the Tsuchikage, requesting a meeting.

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Currently on Chapter 214 - Return to the Land of Rain