385. The Shinobi World in Turmoil

In the northeastern desert of the Land of Wind, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, wearing a bamboo hat and a ceremonial robe, raised his hands with great force.

Powerful Magnet Release chakra surged out, pulling vast amounts of gold dust buried deep underground to the surface.

The gold dust broke through the layers of rock like a tsunami, eventually crashing onto the ground of the mining area.

Witnessing this, the Sunagakure shinobi and workers who had been watching for some time couldn't help but gasp in awe.

Although this wasn't the first time they had seen the Kazekage perform such a miraculous feat, it was still incredibly impressive every time.

After the initial shock, they quickly moved forward, using Wind Release to transport the gold dust onto carts, which were then sent to the smelting plant for purification.

Only purified gold could fetch a good price on the international market.

After finishing today's work, Rasa landed on the ground, visibly exhausted, and let out a tired sigh.

As soon as he touched down, his trusted aide, Baki, quickly handed him a handkerchief.

"Thank you," Rasa said softly, taking the handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"It's my duty," Baki replied, bowing his head respectfully.

Rasa didn't waste time on pleasantries and asked directly, "Is there something you need to report?"

Normally, Baki, as his right-hand man, had a lot of responsibilities and shouldn't be here at this time.


His presence indicated that he had something important to report.

"As expected, nothing escapes the Kazekage's sharp eyes," Baki said with a smile, though his expression was somewhat stiff. "This is intelligence from Konoha regarding the reforms in the Land of Fire."

With that, he pulled out an intelligence scroll from his robe, detailing the specific results of Konoha's reforms.

This included the size of their shinobi forces, population growth, economic conditions, technological advancements, and more...

After reading the report, Rasa's expression visibly darkened.

According to their spies in Konoha, after the military reforms, the number of shinobi in Konoha's forces had significantly increased.

At the same time, their technological level had also made further breakthroughs, leading to the development of more advanced transportation tools and other innovations.

Moreover, with the removal of the local nobles' interference, the business environment within the Land of Fire had become increasingly prosperous.

Many trade associations had even expanded beyond the country's borders, doing business in the Land of Wind, the Land of Water, and other nations.

Most importantly, in Wind Border City, due to the continuous improvement in living conditions within the Land of Fire, there had been multiple cases of illegal immigration.

Some civilians and merchants were attempting to sneak into the Land of Fire through the Land of Rain, hoping to become residents there.

Even some Sunagakure shinobi stationed there were beginning to show signs of restlessness...

This was what Rasa found most unacceptable!

After reading the secret report, he couldn't help but rub his temples and ask, "What about the Daimyo? Any updates?"

Hearing his question, Baki shook his head helplessly. "The Daimyo still hasn't approved our request for military funding..."

At this, a look of disappointment flashed in Rasa's eyes.

Even with the shinobi world in its current state, those short-sighted nobles still refused to compromise?

He clenched his fists silently, saying nothing.

After a long while, he finally looked up at the thick smoke rising in the distance.

The smoke rose like a black pillar, piercing the sky!

The source of the smoke was the mining area that Sunagakure had leased to Konoha.

The black smoke was the exhaust from their steel factories during the smelting process.

In this era, there was no concept of environmental protection; efficiency and profit were all that mattered.

Not only that, but they had also built a long, steam-powered conveyor belt within the mining area.

Carts of ore were dumped onto the belt, which transported them into high-temperature furnaces.

After smelting, the processed materials were transported by the steel cars manufactured by Konoha to the Land of Rain.

From there, they were sent via railway to Konoha for more precise processing, eventually being turned into various industrial products that were then distributed worldwide...

Although Rasa was aware of this entire process through intelligence reports, Sunagakure simply couldn't replicate it.

Their technological and economic levels didn't support such operation.

Even if they managed to steal a few cars from Konoha, it wouldn't make a difference.

Without a complete industrial chain, they stood no chance of competing with Konoha.

Listening to the roar of machinery from Konoha's mining area and watching the people of the Land of Wind scavenging for gold dust on the ground, a strong sense of frustration welled up in Rasa's chest.

His gaze suddenly became firm, as if he had made a decision.

——————

Meanwhile, in Kumogakure, the village most concerned with Konoha's activities, the Fourth Raikage, A, was also reviewing intelligence reports.

With his arms crossed, he glared at two secret reports on his desk.


One detailed Konoha's latest developments, while the other covered the recent situation in the Land of Hot Water.

Unlike the other major nations, Kumogakure wasn't just worried about Konoha's progress—they were facing direct pressure from it.

After all, they were currently engaged in a proxy war with Konoha in the Land of Hot Water.

Any progress Konoha made would directly or indirectly affect the situation on the front lines.

With the introduction of railways, cars, auxiliary medicines, and chimeric summoning beasts, the forces they supported in the Land of Hot Water were steadily losing ground.

The situation had become so dire that they were on the verge of losing the capital.

If things continued this way, within a year, the entire Land of Hot Water would undergo a regime change, completely taken over by the resistance groups supported by Konoha.

This would leave Kumogakure facing an extremely severe geopolitical environment.

As a result, Kumogakure's current pressure was far greater than that of Iwagakure or Sunagakure... This was why A was so anxious.

Of course, as the second-strongest nation in the shinobi world, Kumogakure still had its advantages.

Beyond their formidable military strength, their greatest asset was the harmonious relationship between the Raikage and the Daimyo.

Unlike the Land of Fire, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning hadn't grown wary of Kumogakure after the coup in the Land of Fire.

Instead, he continued to trust them and even increased their military funding.

This was the main reason Kumogakure was still able to keep up with Konoha's pace.

However, in A's view, this wasn't enough.

To truly catch up to Konoha, or even surpass them, the most important thing was...

Reform!