Chapter 301: Land of Snow
This country, the Land of Snow, had undergone an almost earth-shaking change in the last two years.
As a native who had lived in the Land of Snow for more than twenty years, Akyo felt this deeply.
He was currently walking down a bustling street in the capital, feeling the few bills in his pocket, thinking about what he wanted to buy today. He didn't have much money and couldn't buy too many things; he had to be careful with his calculations. Akyo was still a very poor person. But in the past year, he had gradually been able to fill his stomach, and Akyo was already very satisfied with this.
He held a small flag in his hand, which his wife, Ake, had specially stuffed into his hand. Today was the day Her Excellency Kazahana Koyuki returned to the country. Everyone was spontaneously preparing to welcome her. Akyo had deliberately eaten his fill this morning, put on his best clothes, washed himself clean, and had rushed here early, as if participating in a grand festival.
No one had asked him to. Akyo, just like everyone else, had naturally thought of doing this. He finally had the strength to shout the name of the new daimyo, Her Excellency Kazahana Koyuki!
Akyo touched his full stomach and the dry rations in his pocket, and a happy smile appeared on his face. In his memory, his past self was always very, very hungry, unable to get enough to eat. At that time, the daimyo of the Land of Snow was still Lord Kazahana Dotō... bah, it should be the usurper and traitor, Kazahana Dotō!
At that time, his family couldn't store any grain: the climate of the Land of Snow made it difficult to grow crops, and the harvest was not high. Even if they didn't collect taxes, it was not enough to feed the whole family. When the traitor Kazahana Dotō had ruled the country, he would often demand 50% or 70% of the harvest. The people sent by the Daimyo's office to collect taxes were vicious and would scrape the land to get the grain. If anyone dared to resist, a Snow Ninja would come over the next day to "take care of the hard bones."
Akyo remembered that in his childhood, there had been a year with a very poor harvest. A family in the village had been caught by the Snow Ninja because they couldn't hand over enough grain. They had been hung on a tree at the entrance of the village and beaten for a whole day. When their bodies were collected, they were no longer in human shape. That year, his father had desperately protected the last bit of food in the house, stopping them from taking it away, crying and shouting that it used to be a tax of one-tenth. Then he had been kicked away by the tax collector. "That's the old history of that trash daimyo, Kazahana Sōsetsu! Take it all! If you dare to stop me again, I'll hang your family up too!" That year, he was the only one of his brothers and sisters who had survived.
The people were starving, but the daimyo and his men were all well-fed. The number of Snow Ninja being trained increased, and their equipment got better and better.
Some people had thought of resisting, but their hands, which were too hungry to hold their weapons, were simply unable to fight against the ninja. A single Snow Ninja could suppress a city. The people, who were on the verge of not being able to live, had risen up, and then had been massacred in large numbers.
In a world where supernatural powers exist, the power comparison between ninja and ordinary people is unbalanced. No matter how many ordinary people there are, without mastering the use of chakra, their power is insignificant and cannot withstand a few ninjutsu strikes from a ninja.
Akyo did not know that there was a saying, "There is no revolution in the age of the breech-loading rifle." Regardless of whether this statement is correct or not, in this world, "There is no uprising in the world of chakra" was the absolute truth.
The uprising had failed. From that day on, the light in Akyo's eyes had disappeared. He was still alive, but he was merely alive.
The story had changed more than a year ago.
Akyo hadn't known what had happened that day. He had just seen everyone suddenly talking secretly in whispers, their eyes as if they had suddenly brightened. They said that Kazahana Dotō was dead, and a new daimyo was ruling the country. Akyo hadn't believed it. How could Kazahana Dotō, who had so many Snow Ninja under him, be dead? They really liked to dream. But even if it was a dream... it was a very sweet dream.
However, after a few days, that lackey of Kazahana Dotō, who would usually come to the village from time to time to mooch and throw his weight around, hadn't come. Only then did Akyo feel truly surprised. The people in the village said that he had been captured and publicly tried, and then sentenced to death—he was hanging from the gallows, swaying, and would never be able to come again.
Later, it really had been a sweet dream come true, step by step. A young girl had come, claiming to be a ninja entrusted by the new daimyo. She had brought a new official and had arrested the bad guys who had been riding on their heads, and had tried them in front of the whole village. That person who had kicked his father and had taken away their life-saving food had been sentenced to death. Akyo had gathered his courage and had rushed up to kick that person hard. That night, his long-numb eyes had uncontrollably shed tears all night.
Akyo felt that he would never forget the scene of that day for the rest of his life.
And that ninja girl. He had always thought that ninja were evil, aiding the tyrants. At that moment, he had suddenly understood that a ninja was like a knife. In the hands of an evil person, it was a murder weapon. But on the contrary, it could also be a tool to eliminate evil and promote good. A delicate and beautiful girl like that, surely she wasn't a bad person, right!
This was the view of most ordinary people in the Land of Snow on ninja.
Later, life had really slowly gotten better. The new daimyo had restored the true one-tenth tax, abolished Kazahana Dotō's exorbitant taxes, and had even given them emergency rations. Although the amount of grain that could be harvested from the fields was still the same, they were finally able to eat their fill.
That geothermal heating system had also made the village warmer. Most of the people in the Land of Snow had suffered from all kinds of ailments due to the long-term cold, and now they were finally living in warm days.
Such a life was already a good life that people in the past could not even imagine. Smiles had reappeared on the children's faces, and life had become full of hope.
Half a year later, that ninja girl had come to investigate again. That newly assigned official had almost been dismissed and imprisoned because she had found some problems with him. Later, everyone had still pleaded for him. Although he was a little greedy, he had still done a lot of practical things for everyone.
Akyo had truly felt the change. He knew that all of this had been brought by the new daimyo. It was she who had brought hope and new life to everyone. So after hearing that Her Excellency Kazahana Koyuki was returning to the country today, he had suddenly thought that he had to come over to the capital to see her in person.
After waiting for a while, the crowd gradually became boisterous. Akyo found a high place with a very good view. When he saw a path being cleared in the crowd in the distance, he knew that the new daimyo had returned.
He had heard that she was a great beauty, a world-famous star. Akyo felt a faint anticipation in his heart as he watched Kazahana Koyuki walk over, surrounded by her entourage.
And then, he saw the new daimyo, Her Excellency Kazahana Koyuki.
She was even more beautiful than he had imagined... His poor vocabulary couldn't find the right words to describe this feeling. A fairy from the legends would be just like this, right? But she was more dignified than a fairy. The gorgeous clothes on her body made the new daimyo look so graceful and luxurious. Her majestic presence almost made it impossible for people to look at her directly. As expected, only such a person could save the Land of Snow!
Akyo didn't dare to be rude and keep staring at the daimyo. So he shifted his gaze to the side. A girl in a down jacket, a white, long, plush stand-up collar covering the lower half of her face, and a purple mark on her forehead that was particularly conspicuous... What a familiar woman! Akyo blinked, and just as he was about to try hard to recall, the girl had already disappeared.
"Huh? What was I thinking just now?" Akyo shook his head, feeling as if his memory had suddenly gone blank for a few seconds. He gave a silly laugh, patted his head, and didn't dwell on it. He followed everyone and shouted and cheered wildly, and soon he had put this matter to the back of his mind.
"What's wrong?" Kazahana Koyuki, who was smiling and waving at the cheering crowd, suddenly noticed the girl beside her form a hand seal in front of her.
"It's nothing," Haruno Sakura said with a gentle smile, putting her hand down. A fluctuation of chakra flashed across her body, and the deceptive effect of the genjutsu was immediately strengthened a lot. Some people who have been through hardships and are still able to pull themselves together will have their spirits become very strong and cannot be underestimated. If you treat them as ordinary people, the genjutsu will be seen through if you're not careful.
After passing through this section of the road, there were fewer people. Kazahana Koyuki covered her mouth and secretly asked, "Sakura-chan, why did you have to use a genjutsu? Wouldn't it be nice to appear in front of everyone with me? In fact, you're the one who has done the most for this country."
"It's just a bit of empty fame. I don't care. Besides, this is your country, after all..." Haruno Sakura said with a free and easy laugh. "And it wouldn't be good if word got out that I've appeared in the Land of Snow!"
"Is that so..."
Kazahana Koyuki looked at the girl beside her deeply.
She actually felt a little guilty. Haruno Sakura was the one who had put in the most effort for the changes in the Land of Snow. Koyuki herself, as the daimyo, had only given orders. If not for Sakura being able to split into hundreds of clones to convey her will, the Land of Snow would probably just have a different daimyo. The situation at the bottom would still be the same, and there wouldn't have been too many changes.
However, in the propaganda, all the credit had been given to herself, who had done nothing but move her lips, while Sakura's contributions had been lightly passed over. And this plan had been proposed by Sakura herself.
"Isn't that deceiving them?"
"It's just a propaganda strategy. The truth is not important," Sakura had said at that time. "If the credit is given to another person, your halo and prestige will be greatly weakened, and you won't be able to leave the Daimyo's office at ease to go out and film."
"What's more, the Snow Ninja have caused too much harm to this country. If you tell them at this time that there are also good people among the ninja, their minds will be confused, and it will not be good for the country's operations to return to normal as soon as possible. And as a ninja, it's useless for me to gain this empty fame."
Are all ninja so indifferent to fame and fortune?
Perhaps for them, the cheers of ordinary people don't mean anything. Ninja and ordinary people who don't understand chakra, although they live on the same planet, are like people from two different worlds...
As an ordinary person, Kazahana Koyuki, although they were friends, still couldn't understand Haruno Sakura's thoughts. Those things that seemed very important to her were not worth mentioning to Sakura. At least in this world, chakra was the most important thing to her...
Kazahana Koyuki sized up the girl beside her, who was smiling faintly and quietly. Many chaotic thoughts were in her mind, and she wanted to know her thoughts more deeply. But the words that came out of her mouth, when she opened it, had become, "When did you start wearing winter clothes too? Aren't ninja not afraid of the cold?"
"If I use chakra to maintain my body temperature, then it's no problem to wear a swimsuit in the middle of winter. But... wearing thick clothes makes me look like an ordinary person. Otherwise, I'd be too conspicuous! And I can't use genjutsu all day, right? It's very tiring!" Sakura said, squinting her eyes and smiling. "It's also a good opportunity to experience the life of an ordinary person. These clothes are quite warm!"
As she spoke, she exhaled, and a cloud of hot steam came out of her mouth, covering her expression and her eyes in a white mist.
It made it hard to see her clearly.
An ordinary person...
Koyuki blinked. "I always feel that you ninja are already a different species from ordinary people. I really still don't understand your thoughts. Are all ninja so precocious?"
"There are indeed some ninja who are more precocious, either physiologically or psychologically... because of the stimulation of chakra, this is not strange among ninja. It's very normal for a twelve-year-old to look like an eighteen-year-old, or to start thinking about profound philosophical questions very early..." Haruno Sakura explained.
"So you're an example of being psychologically precocious? To start thinking about these questions at such a young age!"
"Hn, hn," Haruno Sakura answered vaguely. Her precociousness was because she was a transmigrator. She couldn't tell Koyuki this... In the eyes of outsiders, she was also considered precocious. But in Konoha, there were even more exaggerated examples of precociousness. In addition to her appropriately hiding her abilities, she didn't stand out that much.
She skipped this topic and continued, "Of course, sometimes chakra can also delay the body's development. It's said that the Fourth Mizukage, because he had trained in a certain secret technique, had maintained the appearance of a child all his life, and was only 1.5 meters tall."
"Then you're the type who is physiologically late-maturing, and psychologically precocious, Sakura-chan! All the nutrients have gone to your brain. Ninja are really amazing."
"..." Sakura was speechless.
And she couldn't even refute it. Ice Style had indeed adjusted her development time.
As the two were talking, they had already walked into the Daimyo's office.
The moment Kazahana Koyuki closed the door, she revealed her true colors.
She threw her graceful and elegant clothes onto a coat rack, revealing the short clothes underneath. Without any of a queen's dignified temperament, she slumped on the sofa and hummed twice. "This kind of show is really tiring!"
This appearance, if the people outside saw it, they would definitely be shocked and wouldn't be able to believe it!
Koyuki muttered a sentence, then waved her hand and asked Haruno Sakura, "Tell me! You secretly ran to my country. What good deeds did you do this time!"
"I came to train in ninjutsu. You wouldn't understand the specifics... In short, it's probably ninjutsu that speeds up energy accumulation and reaction speed," Haruno Sakura said, sitting opposite her.
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