The capital of the Land of Fire was the largest and wealthiest city in the world, home to a staggering number of people and spanning a massive area — all housed within great walls and surrounded by fields and farms.
Which wasn't all that surprising. The Land of Fire was by far the largest and richest. In this age, the wealth of a nation still came down to the amount of food it could produce; only that
mattered in the end. Sure, metal and gold mattered to some extent. Still, despite a place like the Land of Iron having a lot of that, it was a struggling place.
Because food meant people, and people meant work — and that meant profit. And the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had a whole lot of that, much of it found here in his capital city, filled with wide streets and large mansions belonging to other nobles.
Even just the palace alone was the size of a small town, holding his family and countless women.
The sun was setting as we finally approached the gate. The queue of carts and wagons was fairly short, as most who would reach the city today had already done so. Even then, many people still came and left.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Kanna asked nervously as she approached, glancing fearfully at the guards on the wall and those at the gate.
I never really understood why people feared the Daimyō and his forces so much — he was, in the end, just a man. I had once been married to one, and I had killed plenty when I took control of the world. Among those humans I freed from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Daimyō were those who couldn't accept my rule the most.
They had been easy to kill, mere ants under my boots. A few had been warriors, yes, but they had no chakra. Even today, after my son granted chakra to all, the Daimyō still had a pitiful amount. His power was all built on illusions and delusions.
Konoha's army could crush this place easily; it was merely this strange idea that the Daimyō was beyond reach — some powerful, fearful entity — that kept people from trying.
That, and the huge amount of work it would be to rule a place like the Land of Fire. There was a reason the clans had once upon a time allowed selected vassals to start ruling in their place.
Because to train in the use of chakra and ruling a nation just didn't go well together — both were full-time jobs. Just look at someone like Konoha's Hokage: he was slowly wasting away as he worked day and night, his strength slipping not just from age but from a lack of training.
Having the strongest person be in charge felt right… but often turned out horribly. Not everyone was a good ruler just because they were strong.
"It's fine, Kanna, nothing will happen," I said, dismissing her worries as our steps took us ever closer to the gates.
But my words didn't calm Kanna down at all. She hugged Karin tightly — tight enough to startle the little girl. "But… aren't you… I mean… a missing-nin?"
"I am, but that isn't the same as being a wanted criminal. Only in places where I have a bounty and an outstanding capture or kill order will anyone do anything — and that is, so far, only in the Land of Water," I explained.
And indeed, the guards didn't even stop us. They likely had a list of people to stop memorized, and if not the guards, the hidden shinobi surely knew the bingo book inside out.
And while I had a page in there, I was just a C-rank threat, with only a bounty issued by Kiri and some in the black market. But those only mattered to bounty hunters — these shinobi only cared if I was a wanted criminal or not.
And thankfully for everyone involved, I wasn't one here, so I could walk around openly and none would really care at all.
Kanna didn't look convinced, though she forced a weak smile as we passed beneath the massive gate. The guards barely glanced at us — too focused on merchants' manifests and the slow-moving line of wagons behind us.
Beyond the gate, the capital unfolded like a tapestry of light and sound.
The wide avenue stretched forward, paved in smooth stone, flanked by neat rows of paper lanterns that had already begun to glow with the first signs of dusk. Criers called out news of the court, the price of rice, and events happening through the city.
Kanna froze for a moment, her mouth slightly open as she looked around at the endless flow of people — nobles carried in palanquins, monks passing in quiet lines, merchants shouting about fresh silks and saltfish.
"It's… so big," she murmured, shifting Karin's weight. "I've never seen so many people in one place."
"It's a hive," I said, my gaze sweeping over the rooftops, through buildings — my Byakugan exposing the full, massive scale of the city to me. "I will admit, despite so many people living here, they aren't living too poorly."
I had to admit that the current line of Daimyō weren't mistreating their people — though if I recalled correctly, Hashirama had a hand in that, as it was his approval that gave him the Land of Fire.
It was also why Tsunade was known as Tsunade-hime; she was a real princess, as Hashirama's line was given a princely title, as was Madara, for that matter. Though since he died without heirs, his title died with him.
In contrast, my own Hime title was just a nickname I had picked for myself — and I used fear and the threat of death to make people use it around me.
We walked through the merchant lanes. Vendors hawked paper fans painted with koi and little wooden toys with faces that smiled too wide. A skewer-seller bowed when he saw the shape of my dress; his eyes flicked to my blindfold and slid away like a frightened animal.
Kanna flinched, then tried to smile. "Was that…"
"Perhaps," I said. My voice was even. "I can't know the minds of everyone, but maybe he mistook me for some noble he didn't want to offend? Or he went to report something to someone — this city is filled with all kinds of people."
I said, though despite my words I did track the man using the all-seeing sight of the Byakugan. I wasn't an unkillable goddess — not yet — so I couldn't let my guard relax too much. "Now, let us find somewhere to rest."
We found lodging in a quieter quarter — an inn with lacquered eaves and paper screens that shut out the street. The proprietor fussed in the proper way, bowing with a face practiced in the art of servitude, and led us to a room warmed by a brazier.
It wasn't quite the kind of high-end place I normally preferred to stay at, but I had seen this place's hidden charm — that is, to see through buildings. This inn was clearly old and had almost been entirely hidden over the years by newer buildings shooting up around it.
Yet it was a private place, and clearly built with love and maintained with care. Despite its mid-level of luxury, it had soul, and the owner was clearly someone who cared about his craft far more than he cared about money — which was why I picked it.
"Rest," I said, setting the small lacquer rattle I had purchased down within her child's reach. "Tomorrow we visit the tailor and the shop for toys. You will have more than one dress."
She looked at me with a kind of stunned gratitude I had not been offered in a long time. "Thank you… Kaguya-hime."
"Think nothing of it. You are my responsibility, and I will take it seriously. If I can't even take care of one person, what will come of my ambitions?" I said, more to myself than to her.
After all, my ambitions weren't to become something as simple as Hokage or a powerful shinobi — no, it was to rule this entire world and to bring peace to everyone. A dream and idea I had fallen in love with all those years back when my then-husband talked of his dreams.
So if I couldn't protect one woman and her child, what chance would I have to save this world — my nursery — from the dangers of my clan?
As Kanna and Karin settled down in their bed, I sat cross-legged on mine and looked out, my gaze spanning a full 360 degrees and passing through every barrier. In front of me, there were no secrets.
No matter how secluded a noble's mansion was from the rest of the city, no matter how tall or thick their walls — before my eyes, all was visible.
The capital stretched endlessly before my vision — a living tapestry of light, shadow, and ambition.
I could see the markets where merchants bartered over copper and silk; the slums tucked behind the bathhouses, where orphans picked through refuse; and, beyond them all, the inner ring where the nobility reclined behind painted screens and false smiles.
It was… orderly, I had to give them that. Humanity had learned how to cage its own chaos. But I could also see the cracks — the sickness festering beneath the beauty. Corruption, greed, deceit… the same cycle of indulgence and rot that had consumed my world once before.
Free will was beautiful beyond reason, but it was also a sweet poison; it could turn sons against their mothers, it could turn husbands against their wives. It could be oh so beautiful — or reduce women like Kanna to living tools.
Though taking it away wasn't the way — turning everyone into a White Zetsu would be a waste. It was free will that made life beautiful, that made teens stand up and fight legends and gods.
It didn't have to be removed — just… controlled.
Even now it was controlled. Shinobi with the power to overturn this city walked respectfully through the streets, worked to carry out orders.
Wasn't that their free will being bound and controlled?
What I would do… was that all that much different?
Taking away chakra… wouldn't that be a kindness?
What had chakra ever done for someone like Kanna? Reduced her to a slave, a tool, slowly drained of life…
Hagoromo, are you watching from the Pure Lands? Are you seeing what your decision ended up with?
Will you weep as the Uchiha clan is killed off, reduced from thousands to one boy?
Or has time killed that bleeding heart that once turned you against me?
(End of chapter)
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