Reincarnation Paradise Park-Chapter 1001 - 3: Interests Among Ninja Villages
Dark clouds block the sun, and the rain in the Land of Rain keeps falling endlessly.
The weather in the Land of Rain is rainy over 60% of the time, making it extremely humid here.
Mention the Land of Rain, and a few keywords inevitably come to mind: dampness, poverty, war, and liquor.
The word liquor seems contradictory to poverty—if they struggle for basic sustenance, how can they afford to drink? This gives people from other countries a poor impression of the citizens here, thinking of them as reeking of alcohol, clad in shabby clothes, with faces pale from hunger.
Indeed, the shabby clothes and pale faces fit the image of the Land of Rain’s residents. As for being drunk, they have no choice in the matter.
In such a humid environment, if they don’t consume strong liquor appropriately, their bodies won’t withstand it, and ailments like rheumatism will sooner or later afflict them.
Alcohol culture is one of the reasons for the Land of Rain’s poverty, but it’s also one of the sources of income for its people. Because liquor is a daily necessity for them, their brewing techniques are naturally not lacking, ranking even among the top three in numerous countries.
Being able to produce great liquor doesn’t necessarily bring wealth; transportation routes are also needed. One day, the Land of Rain’s transportation channel was opened by what the locals consider a ’god.’ To outsiders, this ’god’ is known as Pain.
With trade, the Land of Rain was no longer impoverished. But recently, their foreign trade was abruptly cut off; although it re-opened shortly thereafter, they now had to pay a 40% tax.
Of course, the merchants from the Land of Rain couldn’t accept this, but within a few days, they all agreed to this absurd condition. Furthermore, regarding the export of liquor, there was now an additional transit site, Konoha Village.
Now, the liquor exported by the Land of Rain can only be sold to Konoha. Not only must they pay taxes, but they must also bear a not particularly high purchase price. Without competition, one can imagine how much the prices will be squeezed.
Over 50% of the profits from the Land of Rain’s exports are intercepted by Konoha, affecting not only the merchants but also the citizens. If originally a barrel of liquor could sell for 5 ryo, now it fetches at most about 2.1 ryo, maybe even less.
The citizens of the Land of Rain don’t realize the money being taken from them is Konoha’s spoils of victory, which came from fighting Nagato.
Naruto Uzumaki, who thinks he protected everyone, may never know what the people of the Land of Rain lost due to his ’redemption’ of Nagato, nor what Konoha gained, and the immense interests involved behind all this.
Naruto became a hero of Konoha because he defended it? Don’t make me laugh. Konoha was nearly leveled by Su Xiao and Nagato. At best, Naruto succeeded in resisting external enemies. As a lower ninja, neither his personal status nor public identity background is enough to make him a hero of Konoha.
Konoha once had three heroes: Senju Hashirama, Tobirama Senju, and Minato Namikaze.
Naruto became a hero mainly because he indirectly helped Konoha capture the economy of a small country.
Before Su Xiao and Nagato attacked Konoha, Konoha was capable of occupying the Land of Rain, but lacked a rightful reason. It was an era of peace, and Konoha dared not start a war first. Now, the reasons are sufficient: the Kage of the Land of Rain actively attacked Konoha and had ties with the Akatsuki Organization.
The person in charge of the affairs of the Land of Rain isn’t The Fifth Hokage. The present Fifth Hokage surviving is already a miracle; Brother Danzo handles these matters.
Regardless of Danzo’s character, his political savvy is absolutely strong. He’s not the Hokage, yet in Konoha, he has formed a loyal troop of his own; from this, one can see Danzo’s ability.
Under the cunning grip of Danzo, prosperity in the Land of Rain is unlikely, and it may soon go back to economic decline.
This is the aftermath of Su Xiao and Nagato’s attack on Konoha. Su Xiao is entirely indifferent to the Hidden Rain Village; he has no ties to this village. As for Nagato, politically speaking, Nagato’s political savvy is rather average compared to his strength.
Konan feels helpless but was left without a choice, while Obito is very pleased. The Land of Rain gathering focus is nearly serving as a substitute to attract fire away from the Akatsuki Organization. He even considered dissolving the Akatsuki Organization originally, as the combat effectiveness within was depleting immensely and attracting a lot of hatred.
After realizing the current situation, Obito immediately regrouped the Akatsuki Organization. As long as they’re not watched closely by Konoha, there’s no need to dissolve the Akatsuki Organization; infamy is still fame, and if used well, it greatly aids his plans.
In the Land of Rain, within a remote small town.
It’s evening now; the streets of the town are bustling with pedestrians, draped in raincoats, dragging their tired bodies from a day of labor into the ubiquitous taverns.
In a modest tavern, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and A Mu are dealing with dinner, which isn’t really substantial, just some grilled fish and wild vegetable soup.
A Mu eats with delight, although such a portion would never satiate him given his frightening appetite; this is merely a light snack after his main meal.
Su Xiao chews on his food; he had rushed here from the central region of the Land of Rain, passing several small towns along the way. He’d been to the Land of Rain before; not much has changed here, except for the appearance of numerous Konoha Ninja.
These Konoha Ninja claim to be here to support the Land of Rain’s lack of combat effectiveness, to prevent invasion by other large nations. In reality, they are the ’gentle’ aggressors.
The Land of Rain borders directly with the Country of Fire, and not only that, it also borders the Wind Country and The Land of Earth. Once Konoha successfully stations in the Land of Rain and creates a war supply station, they’ll have an innate advantage whether attacking the Wind Country and the Land of Rain or defending against sneak attacks from two countries.
Having borders with three major countries is the prime reason for the endless chaos in the Land of Rain. Should war erupt, this area is the best buffer zone without equal, as the Land of Rain forms a triangle separating the three major countries.
Konoha has been eyeing the Land of Rain not for one or two years; since the time of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, Konoha has desired to station ninja in the Land of Rain. Unfortunately, the leader Hanzo of the Land of Rain then wasn’t easy to provoke; the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju and Jiraiya attacked the Land of Rain five times in total, all repelled, and in these battles, Hanzo bestowed Jiraiya et al. the title of Three Ninja.
Today, Konoha has succeeded, and the merit falls to a lower ninja. Therefore, Konoha does not hesitate to confer the title of hero on this lower ninja, since he has accomplished the age-old wish of two Hokage generations.
Su Xiao deduced these things from the history of Hokage; whether this deduction is accurate or not could be seen from the number of Konoha Ninja within the Land of Rain.
Immediately after a major war, Konoha dispatched so many ninja to the Land of Rain. The elder Utatane Koharu of Konoha personally oversees the Land of Rain to prevent the Sand Hidden Village and Iwagakure Village from intervening. Indeed, the Sand Village is an ally, but if the stakes are high enough, allies can also be unreliable.
Su Xiao has mostly understood the situation of the Hidden Rain Village and concluded this is not a place to linger. Once he engages enemies here, Konoha will immediately dispatch numerous ninja to encircle him.
Currently, all the Great Ninja Villages seem calm, yet beneath the surface, turbulent undercurrents are stirring.
Su Xiao didn’t linger long in the Land of Rain and headed directly to the east side of the Land of Rain, which is the territory of the Country of Fire. He intends to visit the Akatsuki Organization base within the Country of Fire to search for traces of its members.
