Escape From Konoha

The Country of Wind, Sand Hidden Village.

The vast expanse of yellow sand lies on the ground, stretching as far as the eye can see.

In this endless ocean of sand and dust, the Sunagakure Ninja Village was built in such a harsh environment.

Apart from the color of the sand, there are basically no other bright colors visible near Sand Hidden Village.

The village is surrounded by steep sandstone. The medium-low terrain and high circumference provide sufficient security for Sand Hidden Village and are also conducive to the dredging of underground water veins.

Taking advantage of this natural geographical advantage, the village was surrounded tightly. The Sunagakure ninjas standing guard there could have a commanding view of the environment below.

There is only a narrow passage at the main entrance that connects the inside and outside of the village, which is called the "One Line of Sky".

Unless it is an invasion from the air, it is difficult for outsiders to raid from the front without permission.

The dangerous environment in the sky will scare off intruders.

Based on such a favorable environment, Sunagakure Village has been surviving in the desert very comfortably for decades.

Amidst the sky full of yellow sand, the spherical sandstone building is the landmark building of Sand Hidden Village. From the residential houses to the wind shadow building, they basically adopt this kind of smooth-looking building structure, which is helpful to prevent sand and dust in the desert. environment.

At this moment, in the conference room of the Kazekage Building, the high-level officials of Sayin, headed by the fourth Kazekage Rasa, are holding a large-scale meeting once a month.

Twelve chairs surround the huge stone round table in the center. In addition, there are cactus potted plants in the meeting room, and the environment is quiet and empty.

This is also related to the geographical environment of the Kingdom of Wind.

Most of the environment in the country is a desert where there is no way to use resources, and there is a lack of plants. For Sand Hidden Village, wooden furniture is very expensive.

The land suitable for growing herbal medicine is also very scarce in the village. Although Sunagakure Village has first-class medical technology, it is difficult to expand its scale. This is the fundamental reason.

But for this, Luo Sha, who is a contemporary Fengying, can only choose to give in. The environment of Sha Yin Village is so bad.

And in many cases, most of the funds that Sand Hidden Village received from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind were used for military development.

For example, research on Tailed Beast technology, expand the scale of ninjas, and develop sophisticated ninja tools to ensure that the combat power will not be insufficient during the war.

The twelve seats were filled with people. Except for Kazekage Rasa, the other eleven people were elders of Sunagakure Village or jounin who were very influential in the village and held important management positions.

"...As for the above, regarding the planning and training of the younger generation of ninjas in the next few years, we will continue to implement the previous policies. In the next few years, I hope you can cooperate more."

Luo Sha made a brief summary of the ninja training plan of Sha Yin Village, and hoped to work together with the elders of Sha Yin.

"Master Kazekage, you are being polite. In the past few years, excellent juniors have emerged in our village, and Master Kazekage's leading role is indisputable."

An elder said with a smile.

The rest of the elders also nodded frequently. Regardless of their strength, Fengying Luosha's gold dust technique solved many problems in Yinsha Village.

Their village's current military funds, which are not small, are all earned by Luo Sha using his own ability to mine placer gold. Not only are they all obtained from the daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind.

In view of this, Sunagakure Village has already recovered from the period of decline after the Third Ninja War in recent years, and is even stronger than during the Third Ninja War.

"Without the concerted efforts of all the elders, I would not have been able to reach this point. In short, let's encourage and move forward together."

Luo Sha responded with a smile.

The Kingdom of Wind is the country with the most scarce resources among the five major countries. Most of its land area is desert that cannot be cultivated.

Food and water sources are bigger problems, and they rely heavily on imports.

The food mainly comes from the surrounding small countries such as the Bear Country, the Quiet Country, and the Bird Country. The water source mainly comes from the Rain Country, which has rainfall all year round.

Just in case, there is a storage space inside Sand Hidden Village, which stores a large amount of food and water in case of emergency.

"The village planning issues will end here. Regarding the content of the next meeting, there are issues related to the Kingdom of Ghosts, which need to be discussed and resolved with everyone."

Luo Sha looked quite embarrassed when she said this.

"Ghost Country? Are they coming again? It's really troublesome."

When Luo Sha mentioned the name of this country, the elders present here all mentioned God.

Since the Third Ninja War, the Kingdom of Demons has achieved an economic boom that has attracted the attention of the five major nations.

Countless big businessmen gathered in Ziyuan City to do business, turning it into the most prosperous commercial metropolis in the shinobi world. According to statistics from professionals, the tax revenue of the Ghost Country in the past three years has been close to that of the Fire Country, the leader of the five major countries. Its economy His strength is among the best in the ninja world.

The developed pharmaceutical industry, entertainment industry, shipbuilding industry, machinery industrialization production capacity, etc. are all capitals that many businessmen are flocking to.

As a result, the Aster Flower Chamber of Commerce developed into the number one chamber of commerce in the ninja world. In terms of business status, it surpassed the Fire Nation Chamber of Commerce Alliance and became truly wealthy.

Logically speaking, there would not be much connection between this country and Sunagakure Village.

The key to the problem is that during the Third Ninja World War, due to the tight financial resources for the Sunagakure Village at that time, diplomats from the Country of Wind negotiated with the managers of the Aster Flower Chamber of Commerce in the Country of Oni to provide guarantees for the Sunagakure Village. , hoping that the Shion Flower Merchant Association would open a huge loan to Sunagakure Village.

At that time, the loan business of the Shion Flower Merchant Guild had just started. Faced with such a big customer as Sunagakure Village, and with the official personnel of the Wind Country as a guarantee, they readily approved Sunagakure Village a large sum of military expenses for the war.

Sunagakure Village also promised to repay the loan within the specified time.

After calculating the time, it was actually more than two years ago that Sunagakure Village was due to repay the loan. However, due to diplomatic intervention, they requested the Shion Flower Merchant Association to continue to extend their grace for some days.

Bringing it up at this time proves that the grace date more than two years ago has also arrived.

The elders of Sunagakure sitting in the conference room, like Luo Sha, felt a little embarrassed.

The reason is simple. The amount of the loan is huge. In order to develop its military strength in recent years, Sunagakure Village has already spent 7788% of the funds approved by the above. How can it still have the ability to repay the loan from the Ziyuan Flower Chamber of Commerce?

Luo Sha also saw the embarrassment of the elders, so he coughed and said: "Just in the morning, diplomats from the Kingdom of Ghosts have arrived here. We hope that Sunagakure will repay this loan as soon as possible to avoid breach of trust. No second loan is available.”

"The Kingdom of Ghosts does not lack development funds. Can't they extend it for a while?"

The Aster Flower Chamber of Commerce is not the private chamber of commerce of the Kingdom of Demons, but is officially owned by the Kingdom of Demons. It is a government official of the Kingdom of Demons and holds the real power in the back. It is said that it is also inextricably linked to the military of the Kingdom of Demons. It can basically represent the official financial department of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

The reason why it is still named after the Chamber of Commerce is because the Aster Flower Chamber of Commerce was originally a private chamber of commerce and was later integrated into the government system of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

"You can't say that. We should have repaid the loan more than two years ago. For the sake of our Sunagakure Village, the Ziyuan Flower Merchant Association continued to extend the grace period for more than two years. It has done its best. I think it should be possible. We should appropriately reduce military expenditures, collect a full share of the debt, and return it to the Ziyuan Flower Chamber of Commerce as soon as possible to avoid breaking trust."

An elder shook his head.

"But, in that case, how can we develop the village? The military expenses given to us by the daimyo are fixed every year. It's not that we don't want to repay it, but that we really don't have the ability to repay it."

"It's okay to squeeze in, right?"

“The village needs funds to develop.”

Another elder blocked the conversation directly, and most of the elders quite agreed with this point of view.

Although this matter was caused by Sunagakure Village's loss, the amount of the loan to the Shion Flower Chamber of Commerce was too large at that time. If it were made up at this time, it would probably affect the development plan of Sunagakure Village in the next few years, which would mean that Sunagakure Village would be in trouble in the future. Several years of doing nothing.

Such a thing must never happen.

The peace era is one of the few important transitional periods in which they can accelerate the development of military power. At this time, they must have a racing spirit and be fully prepared for the next ninja war.

If the loan is repaid, Sunagakure Village will lose to the rest of the Ninja Village in the race. Such a thing is impossible no matter how you think about it.

"Master Kazekage, what are your thoughts?"

The debate on this matter actually only revolved around the issue of whether to repay or not, but in the end it was up to the Kazekage himself to make the final decision.

After Luo Sha looked around the conference room, he said to the elders of Sunagakure: "Actually, I think that our Sunagakure Village alone cannot make the decision on this matter. As we all know, our Sunagakure Village belongs to the military of the Kingdom of Wind. Even if an institution borrows money from other countries, it stands to reason that it should ask for it from the Daming Mansion. After all, when the loan was originally borrowed, there was an official next to the Daiming as a guarantee."

"Master Kazekage means..."

The elders of Sunagakure present were not fools, and they immediately understood Sunagakure's intention.

"What Mr. Kazekage said makes sense. Since the daimyo sent officials as guarantee at that time, the repayment of the loan should be left to the daimyo. We, Sunagakure, have no right to interfere in this kind of thing."

"Yes, the Daimyo is the top manager of the Kingdom of Wind. It is really against the rules for people from the Ziyuan Flower Merchant Association to come to us to ask for debts."

The direction of the wind changed immediately, and everyone knew that this was a good idea.

Anyway, Sunagakure Village cannot be allowed to spend this money, otherwise the development of Sunagakure Village will stop in the next few years, and the gap with powerful ninja villages such as Konoha will become wider and wider.

"Since the elders have agreed, this is how I will respond to the diplomats of the Kingdom of Ghosts."

Luo Sha was relieved.

In fact, he had already negotiated with the Dai Ming of the Kingdom of Wind before this, and his decision was actually agreed by the Dai Ming of the Kingdom of Wind.

As long as both of them continue to shirk each other's repayment responsibilities, they can just extend the repayment date indefinitely.

With the military power of the Kingdom of Wind, the Kingdom of Ghosts, as a small country, would not dare to make military threats.

As for the economic threat, let the Sunagakure ninja troops take a walk around the Kingdom of Demons, and the matter can be resolved satisfactorily.

From Luo Sha's point of view, this matter finally passed satisfactorily.

He didn't believe that the Kingdom of Ghosts had dared to hold on to this matter and provoke the Kazekage and the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind at the same time.

If it were not for its status as a neutral country and the possibility of utilizing the abilities of mikos in the future, Luo Sha would not take the Kingdom of Ghosts seriously at all.

Without a strong military force as a foundation, a business empire piled up is nothing but a castle in the air, which will be broken at the touch of a touch.

It's not that I'm afraid of the status of a neutral country. In history, there are many examples of neutral countries getting involved in wars. The kingdom of ghosts is just a little special in the neutral country.

For the Kingdom of Winds, the use of military to oppress a neutral country is not about being able to do so, but whether or not one wants to think about it.

After all, the kingdom of ghosts is still looking at the ninja world with the thinking of a traditional weak country.

In this ninja world, the strong have always been respected.

The power of the ninja is the only eternal theme in this ninja world.

◎

In the office, while making hot tea, Shiraishi casually looked at the report submitted by the diplomat, finally showing a smile on his face.

"As I expected, Hidden Sand Village really plans to do this."

In fact, he doesn't need to interpret it in detail, he can also know all the contents of this report.

He had already anticipated this situation when Shayin Village postponed the repayment date more than two years ago.

Given Sha Yin Village's ugly appearance in the Land of Rain in the past, Shiraishi was not surprised to do such a thing.

"What should we do next, Shiraishi-sama?"

asked the man standing in front of Shiraishi.

His face was ordinary, his fingernails were cracked, and his skin was rough. He looked like a farmer who often worked in the fields.

His actual identity is that of a member of the spy department of the Oni Nation's military, serving as the captain.

Codenamed Ugly Bull, he is Baishi's trusted subordinate.

"The prerequisites for bordering the Kingdom of Wind are almost complete. Next, we just need to guide the situation in a direction that is beneficial to the Kingdom of Ghosts."

"That is to say..."

The ugly cow narrowed his eyes.

"Well, just like you think, the Xiong Kingdom can close the net. I will leave the order to you, ugly cow."

"Yes, I understand."

Ugly Bull nodded, and it was his task to assist the ninjas of the Ghost Country in the Bear Country to complete the plan to capture the Bear Country.

Over the years, the Kingdom of Ghosts has been secretly operating in the Kingdom of Bears for a long time. Even many officials of the Kingdom of Bears have replaced their people, not to mention the underlying organizations, and the base is even larger.

The reason why we choose to take action now is to prevent flaws in the plan, which will cause the entire plan to be blocked.

However, looking at it now, there is no need to be so low-key at all.

"Then, Master Shiraishi, I'll take my leave now."

"Go ahead."

Shiraishi nodded and watched the ugly cow leave.

After Chou Niu left, Shiraishi took out a new document and started scanning it.

Not long after, the door rang again, and a man walked in from outside.

Wearing a black coat embroidered with an aster flower emblem, and carrying a heavy-looking black leather box in his hand, he gave people a taciturn and mysterious image.

There is also a golden circular nameplate made of pure gold hanging on his chest, which also has an aster flower pattern on it.

This kind of nameplate represents the identity of the debt collector of the Ziyuan Flower Chamber of Commerce, and it is also the highest level gold medal debt collector.

"Mr. Kakuzu, I haven't seen you for a long time, and there's still no change at all."

Shiraishi put down the documents in his hand and smiled at the gold medal debt collector.

“We have each other in this.”

Kakuzu stared at Shiraishi's face.

In the past few years, Shiraishi's appearance has basically remained unchanged in his opinion.

He is obviously a man in his thirties, but he still looks like a young man in his twenties.

The same goes for the two women beside him, who maintain their beautiful youthfulness of eighteen or nineteen years old.

Considering that the other party was a medical ninja, and was the student of Tsunade, one of the three ninjas, in Konoha, Kakuzu was not surprised.

In the ninja world, there are many kinds of ninjutsu, and the types are also different. Ninjutsu that maintains youth and prolongs life also exists in the ninja world.

I myself am the best example.

As long as you can replenish enough hearts, you can live forever and watch all the vicissitudes of history in this world.

"Actually, I asked Mr. Kakuzu, a gold medal debt collector, to come over this time because I have one thing to ask of you."

Shiraishi straightened his face and got down to business.

"I don't think it's an easy thing for you to ask me for in person."

Being suddenly approached by Shiraishi, Kakuzu knew that the other party's request for him would definitely not be an easy task.

"This is a bill sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Please take a look, Mr. Kakuzu."

Shiraishi picked up a form.

Kakuzu stepped forward to take it and quickly glanced at it.

"I see. Sand Hidden Village has exceeded the deadline and failed to repay on time. Does it need to collect debts? However, things of this level should not be something that I, a debt collector, can handle."

Kakuzu said to the point.

Even if he has become the only gold medal debt collector in the Ziyuan Flower Chamber of Commerce with his extraordinary ability in the past few years, he is not qualified to interfere in this kind of thing.

This kind of matter cannot be managed by a debt collector. It involves the national level and requires formal negotiation between diplomats and the Country of Wind.

"But now the Kazekage of Sunagakure Village and the daimyo of Wind Country are shirking responsibility to each other, and no one is willing to give an accurate answer. This makes our diplomats very headache. It is conceivable that they have no sincerity at all. Pay back the money you owe.”

"So, what do you mean..."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes and his voice was slightly deeper.

He had long known that the Kingdom of Ghosts would not settle for the status quo.

On the surface, business is prosperous, but what is more terrifying than business is the military organization that is hidden in the depths and never shows up.

People's understanding of the Kingdom of Ghosts is limited to the tip of the iceberg.

When the entire iceberg emerges from the water, it will definitely shock the entire ninja world.

"Since they are playing ball with each other, we can only use our own methods to collect the debts. After all, isn't it a matter of course to repay debts?"

At this time, Shiraishi put his hands on the table, raised his chin casually, and asked with a smile on both sides.

"Haha... Yes, repaying debts is indeed a matter of course. But I didn't expect that you were planning the Kingdom of Wind so early. The military's ambitions are really big enough."

Kakuzu also smiled, not so much because he had any bad intentions, but because he saw something that made him very interesting.

He didn't know about the military's plans because he was completely uninterested in work other than debt collection.

He could only make these guesses based on enough information to come up with an answer that was in the best interest of the Ghost Country.

But he didn't expect that the first target of the Ghost Country would be a country at the level of the five major countries.

"Then, I will leave it to Mr. Kakuzu to handle the debt collection work in the Kingdom of Wind."

"I understand. Collecting debt from a country is really an unprecedented challenge, and I will complete it."

Kakuzu sighed and accepted Shiraishi's request.

Maybe he will see some very interesting things next. The era when the five major powers dominated the ninja world is likely to be gone forever.

But what does this have to do with him?

He's just a debt collector.

Debt collection is his job.

Regardless of whether the person who owes money is an individual, an organization, or a country, all are treated equally before debt collectors.

No one can match a debt collector's obsession with money.

◎

Sunny morning.

The daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind got up and dressed normally under the care of his maid. Suddenly, the maid let out a low cry, as if she had seen something incredible.

"What's wrong?"

The daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind had a bloated and slightly old face, with wrinkled skin and flesh. He was very dissatisfied with the maid's fussy behavior.

"Lord Daimyo, this..."

The maid picked up a piece of clean white paper from the bedside. The back of the white paper was red, with red fonts clearly written on the back.

"What is this? Did you put it there?"

The Daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind narrowed his eyes. He didn't remember that he had such a piece of paper beside his bed last night.

"No, I just discovered it."

"Look what's written on it."

"yes."

The maid nodded tremblingly and unfolded the font on the white paper. The words 'pay back the money' were roughly written on it with bright red paint.

Pay back the money?

The Daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind frowned. These two words reminded him of a very unpleasant thing.

Moreover, who put this piece of paper in?

With such doubts, he took the paper from the maid's hand, crumpled it into a ball, threw it on the ground, and quickly walked out of the room.

Walking outside, the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind suddenly saw two ninja guards waiting at the door. They had fainted on the ground at some point.

In the courtyard, red and white colors complement each other.

White paper is daubed with red fonts, and such white paper is posted on the walls, pillars, the edge of the pond, and even on the floor.

And without exception, the word 'pay back' is written on the white paper.

The flesh-filled face of the Lord of the Wind Kingdom immediately began to tremble with anger, and the words 'pay back the money' written on the white paper made his eyes feel extremely stinging.

Who is it?

Who dares to be so bold, dares to act recklessly in Daming Mansion, doesn't he want to die?

And when he thought about the ninja guard at the door who had fainted on the ground, and the other ninjas protecting him in the dark, who had no reaction at all to what happened in the courtyard, the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind suddenly thought of something, and then a look of fear appeared on his face.

Being able to silently knock out the ninja guards around him, if the person who did this had the intention to kill him, wouldn't it be...

The daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind trembled, panic rising from the bottom of his heart.