Chapter 328: The Land of Snow Coup d'état
After surveying all the major hidden villages and finding no target to stir up trouble with, Ishiro simply contacted Nagato through the ring in his hand. Ishiro's original intention was to ask if Nagato had any plans, so he could catch a ride and pick up some benefits.
Who knew that when Ishiro's illusion was connected by Nagato's Magic Lantern Body Technique, Nagato happened to be discussing matters with Konan and Yahiko. They had just run into a problem.
Whether it was Nagato or Yahiko, their goal of changing the ninja world had always had a clear purpose: to let the common people of the ninja world live good lives. Although the paths the two chose were different, their ultimate goal was the same.
But precisely because this goal had never changed, Nagato and Yahiko had fallen into a state of confusion. Unlike in the original story where a sudden great change caused a shift in mentality from one extreme to another, in this life, Nagato's path had been very stable.
Even the establishment of the Dark Akatsuki had received theoretical support with Ishiro's help.
But precisely because he was more down-to-earth than in the original story, Nagato's thoughts were also more practical. After Nagato's Dark Akatsuki took control of the military power of the Land of Rain, Nagato had imposed a semi-closed management on the country. Except for the trade with the Land of Earth, which was not cut off because of Ishiro, the ninjas of Amegakure almost never left the Land of Rain.
But after a period of time, the observant Nagato found that he had not improved the lives of the civilians of the Land of Rain by much. Without Hanzō and the Village Hidden in the Rain, the lives of the civilians were still the same.
This was also normal. The current Land of Rain was not like when the three of them had just established the Akatsuki, having just experienced the tragic Second Great Ninja War where civilians couldn't even guarantee their basic livelihood. At that time, as long as the Akatsuki did something within their means, they could improve the lives of the civilians.
But now, the Land of Rain had not participated much in the Third and Fourth Wars, and the civilians could still survive. So after Nagato replaced Hanzō, he was stunned to find that the civilians of the Land of Rain were not grateful to him. Of course, there was no resentment either; everyone was just looking at this matter from the sidelines.
This made Nagato feel confused.
And when Nagato told Yahiko about his doubts, Yahiko had a sudden realization and found that he had also encountered the same problem.
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had been discussing this problem for a long time, and finally, they came to a conclusion. No matter what method was used to rid the ninja world of war and win peace, one thing had to be done in the end: to make everyone's life better.
But both Nagato and Yahiko had created a relatively independent environment for their respective countries, but they had not brought about the changes that could improve the lives of the civilians.
Thinking about it carefully, whether it was Jiraiya, or Black and White Zetsu who had deceived Nagato, or Obito, they had only said that if the ninja world followed their will, peace could be achieved. But no one had ever taught them how to govern a country after peace in the ninja world was achieved.
So they thought, "If we can't improve the lives of the civilians in the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain now, then even if we bring peace to the ninja world, what's the use? Is it just to prevent everyone's life from getting worse?"
The self-confidence of all three was hit.
It was at this moment that Ishiro contacted Nagato.
Through the Magic Lantern Body Technique, Ishiro participated in the discussion of the three. After understanding their thoughts, he smiled easily. This, he was a professional at.
Ishiro said, "You three are just splitting hairs. First of all, you have brought peace to your countries, which has prevented everyone's lives from heading in a worse direction. This point alone is worthy of affirmation."
"Secondly, you have made a mistake. Governing a country and maintaining peace are two completely different things. A person who maintains peace does not necessarily know how to govern a country. If you yourselves don't know how to govern, you can ask professional people, or directly hand over the matter of governing the country to professional people."
"Thinking about it carefully, Hashirama Senju and the others back then probably thought the same way. Ninjas who generally only know how to fight and kill do not know how to govern a country, so they handed this task over to the Daimyo."
"We can also learn from this. We can, like Hashirama, hand over the matter of governing the country to the Daimyo. Of course, if you feel that the Daimyo is not doing a good job, you can also change the Daimyo system, let more capable people serve as Daimyo, and no longer let this identity only be passed down from father to son."
"Then, you can learn. You can emulate our Iwagakure. In these years, the lives of the civilians in the Land of Earth have improved a lot. You can go and see, understand how the Daimyo of the Land of Earth does it, and then inform your Daimyo of the successful experience, or you can send your own people to do it."
"As for what our Iwagakure has done, I will make a list later for your reference."
"Finally, and most importantly. For example, Nagato, if one day you use force to make the entire ninja world have no more war, but you don't know how to govern the ninja world, what do you do? You can let me do it. Although my method and path to achieving peace are different from yours, if in the end I fail, and you succeed, then I can also, under the peace you have established, work hard for your path of peace."
"So, don't be defeated by a little bit of dissatisfaction in front of you. Don't easily waver in your beliefs. If you don't believe me, you can try. In your country, emulate some of the policies of the Land of Earth and see if you can bring about a change in the lives of the civilians."
Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko looked at each other. Finally, Konan said, "If we had known earlier that Ishiro knew the answer to this question, we wouldn't have had to think so much. I was almost worried to death. I thought all these years of effort had been in vain."
Nagato and Yahiko were both a little embarrassed.
However, Yahiko, after all, had some of the thick skin of a protagonist. He quickly changed the subject and began to discuss with Ishiro how to govern a country.
Ishiro felt some regret. He had originally wanted to come to Nagato's place to see if there were any benefits to be gained, but who knew that after coming, he had given a lesson to three idealists.
Looking at the expressions of Nagato and Yahiko, Ishiro knew that they would definitely not be leaving the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain for a short time.
Without properly experimenting with the method Ishiro had mentioned, and without seeing a real improvement in the lives of the civilians, the doubts of the two would not be completely resolved.
After dispelling the Magic Lantern Body Technique, Ishiro felt a bit listless.
However, "to intentionally plant a flower but it doesn't bloom, to unintentionally stick a willow branch in the ground and it grows into a shady tree." Ōnoki, who was out seeing the world, sent a message to Ishiro.
This was the first letter Ōnoki had sent back since leaving the village. The letter wrote about one matter: the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, Sōsetsu Kazahana, had died. There were rumors in the Land of Snow that he had died at the hands of his own younger brother, Dotō Kazahana. And Sōsetsu's only child and heir, Koyuki Kazahana, was now wandering outside.
Ōnoki told Ishiro this not because he wanted Ishiro to do anything. He just wanted to tell Ishiro that Sōsetsu had left behind a treasure, and this treasure, according to Ōnoki's speculation, might have a little connection with the previous Kage of Iwagakure. So Ōnoki hoped that Ishiro, in his capacity as Tsuchikage, could contact Dotō and see if they could study that treasure.
Ōnoki himself had already contacted Dotō, but Dotō did not give him, the former Tsuchikage, any face.
However, Ishiro didn't think so. He felt that Ōnoki's idea was wrong. They should not cooperate with Dotō, but should cooperate with Koyuki Kazahana.
It wasn't that Ishiro cared about what was orthodox. What Ishiro was thinking was that Koyuki, who was not too concerned about the so-called treasure in the original story, was a little girl. Dealing with a little girl was much easier than dealing with an ambitious man.
The Land of Snow was a neighboring country to the northwest of the Land of Earth. The Land of Earth was the only great nation surrounding the Land of Snow. An ambitious man appearing in the Land of Snow was no big deal for the Land of Earth or Iwagakure.
Especially since this Dotō had established a ninja organization. This was a guy who was both a Daimyo and a hidden village leader. It was impossible for Ishiro to let the other party grow in power.
"Someone!" Ishiro shouted to the empty office.
As soon as his voice fell, an Anbu wearing a mask came in from outside the office. This person knelt on one knee and said to Ishiro, "Lord Tsuchikage, what are your orders?"
Ishiro said, "Search within the country. See if there is a team of two, a middle-aged man with a little girl of four or five."
"The little girl is the master, the middle-aged man is the guard. They came from the Land of Snow. The middle-aged man's name might be Sandayū Asama. The young lady's name might be Yukie Fujikaze. They might also be using other names. Find them, and be quick!"
"Yes!" The Anbu immediately left after receiving the message.
This task was not difficult. Ever since reaching an agreement with the Daimyo to train guardian ninjas, Iwagakure had sent ninjas to every city and town in the country. Although Ishiro's description was simple, there certainly wouldn't be too many combinations of a middle-aged man and a little girl from the Land of Snow. The Anbu only needed to contact these dispatched ninjas to easily complete the task.
As for why Ishiro was sure that Koyuki was in the Land of Earth, that was easy. There were no other great nations around the Land of Snow. Koyuki could only escape Dotō's pursuit in the Land of Earth. And only the economy of the Land of Earth would make a Daimyo's daughter like Koyuki not seem so out of place.
If Koyuki had gone to other small countries, she could have easily exposed her identity due to her living habits and attracted pursuit.
The Anbu's efficiency was very high. Not two days after Ishiro gave the order, he received accurate news.
The Anbu submitted three suspicious pairs of a middle-aged man and a little girl. Ishiro just gave it a rough look and confirmed Koyuki's identity.
After reading the intelligence, Ishiro found Ikura, told him about his plan, and then left Iwagakure with a dozen Anbu squads.
Ishiro brought so many people not because he was worried about accidents. Dealing with Dotō and his subordinates was simple; Ishiro alone, or Ōnoki alone, could do it. But after dealing with Dotō, Ishiro still needed some subordinates to handle the follow-up matters.
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