445. The Tide

"Shinobi World United News, April 5th, Year 59 of Konoha's Calendar."

"Amegakure leader Yahiko has officially announced that the centuries-long bloody rule of the nobility in the Land of Rain has come to an end."

"Moving forward, Amegakure will take over governance, becoming the sole legitimate government of the Land of Rain, and will prosecute all crimes committed by the nobility within its borders."

Beneath this bold headline was a stark photograph.

The once opulent and extravagant capital tower now lay in ruins.

The formerly exquisite buildings appeared to have been torn apart by an invisible, overwhelming force, leaving nothing but a massive scar-like crater in their place.

This ruthless approach undoubtedly demonstrated the new government's determination to completely sever ties with the nobility.

At the same time, it sent shockwaves throughout the shinobi world.

No one had expected that the Land of Rain would be the first to successfully overthrow its noble regime, following in Konoha's footsteps.

And they had done so with such radicalism, leaving no room for retreat!

Of course, the Land of Lightning didn't count.

Kumogakure hadn't completely purged the noble class; at best, they had merely entered into a co-governance arrangement with the noble lords...

Soon after, news of victories from the Land of Rivers and the Land of Grass followed.

Kawagakure and Kusagakure, through the relentless efforts of their people, had successfully established new regimes, breaking free from the dark era of noble rule.

Konoha naturally extended its sincere congratulations and blessings to these three new governments, announcing plans to establish embassies in their capitals to expand cooperation and foster mutual development.

At the same time, Konoha expressed its hope that more nations would rise up against oppression and join the ranks of freedom and democracy.

"It seems the world really has changed," sighed Hiruzen Sarutobi, the former Hokage, as he sat in a small courtyard in Konoha, holding the newspaper in his hands.

He couldn't believe that the centuries-old system of noble rule had collapsed so abruptly in less than a decade, like a wildfire consuming dry grass.

Fortunately, Konoha was on the right path.

Hiruzen slowly folded the newspaper, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Perhaps his past failures hadn't been entirely without value...

Meanwhile, in the distant Land of Lightning, Raikage A sat with a grim expression on his face in the seat of ultimate power reserved for the leader of Kumogakure.

To maintain national stability and peace, A had not followed Konoha's example of relocating the capital to Kumogakure.

Instead, he had adopted a compromise, preserving the capital's original status and moving Kumogakure's high-ranking officials there in hopes of balancing various factions and promoting national development.

Additionally, they had actively learned from the Land of Fire's advanced experiences, vigorously pushing for military reforms.


They had carefully established military districts near the capital, dedicated to systematically training and cultivating Kumogakure's forces, aiming to enhance the Land of Lightning's military strength and overall power.

However, while the ideal was one thing, reality was another.

Without a complete revolution, A encountered unimaginable obstacles in his governance.

A mere proposal to increase commercial taxes to raise military funds was met with unanimous and vehement opposition from the noble ministers.

It was only after the daimyo personally intervened that the policy was reluctantly implemented.

But what A hadn't anticipated was that the policy's implementation was only the beginning of his troubles.

Soon, anomalies appeared in the market, with the prices of essential goods like grain and cotton skyrocketing like wild horses.

An investigation revealed, unsurprisingly, that it was the noble merchants behind the scenes.

To protect their vested interests, they had deliberately inflated prices, passing the increased costs from the tax hike onto the common people.

Since the Land of Lightning's domestic market was essentially monopolized by these noble factions, no one could effectively curb their arbitrary price hikes.

This infuriated the Raikage to the point where he wanted to cut them all down.

But doing so risked inciting internal chaos, giving Konoha an opportunity to exploit.

In short, A's tenure as the leader of the Land of Lightning had been incredibly frustrating...

Just as A was seething with anger and helplessness, Mabui cautiously offered a suggestion.

"Lord Raikage, I believe we can take a page from Konoha's book and have the judicial department revise the relevant laws and regulations. By establishing clear and strict legal provisions, we can restrict these nobles from arbitrarily raising prices, thereby preventing further harm to the general populace."

Hearing this suggestion, A's frown deepened.

"Even if the judicial department drafts such laws, getting them approved by those noble ministers will be no easy task. It'll just lead to endless bickering and disputes. By the time they're done arguing, the people of the Land of Lightning will have already starved to death from these exorbitant prices!"

In the high-level meetings of the Land of Lightning, bickering had become a common occurrence.

Almost every policy that threatened the nobles' interests faced countless obstacles during implementation.


Although the noble ministers dared not openly confront the hot-tempered A, their influence permeated every level of the capital's administration, from high-ranking officials to low-level clerks.

Offending them would result in all sorts of underhanded tactics to obstruct and retaliate.

While they couldn't remove A from his position as Raikage, they could ensure that many of his policies were hindered at every turn.


In such a stifling and frustrating environment, A felt like a powerful beast trapped in a quagmire.

He had immense strength but nowhere to direct it.

Every struggle only sank him deeper into the mire, making it harder to break free.

At this thought, a blazing fury erupted in A's eyes, a fire that seemed capable of consuming the entire world.

He slammed his iron-hard fist onto the table and roared:

"I don't care anymore! Damn it, go tell the daimyo that I'm sending the Kumogakure forces into the city! By dawn tomorrow, if anyone hasn't lowered their grain prices, I'll cut off their heads myself!!"

Such a radical order startled Mabui.

She was about to say something to dissuade him but was met with A's fiery, resolute gaze. Wisely, she swallowed her words.

She knew that the Raikage's patience and tolerance had reached their limit.

Perhaps only such tough methods could break the suffocating deadlock...