When Minamikawa Yuu chose to confirm, the whole world seemed to turn upside down.
Heaven and earth began to invert, and the world before his eyes gradually faded into pitch darkness, blotting out the light of day.
Minamikawa Yuu felt his consciousness being gradually pulled away before he plunged into the abyss.
It wasn't until the next moment that his world became bright once again.
When he opened his eyes, his field of vision had completely changed.
He was in a grand hall that appeared magnificent and ornate, yet it carried an inexplicable sense of decay, as if it hadn't been maintained for a long time.
Minamikawa Yuu subconsciously stood up, only to realize that his appearance had also changed.
He was now about ten years old, several years older than his previous body.
After gathering his thoughts for a moment, he stood before a mirror to examine his current appearance.
A reflection was revealed within the bronze mirror.
He was only about ten years old with delicate features, draped in a long robe; his overall attire was dignified, making it clear at a glance that he was no ordinary person.
Just by looking at this appearance, one would know this person must be a noble, far removed from the common folk.
His exterior was magnificent enough, but his body had become much weaker.
"My Chakra..."
Sensing the frailty of his body, Minamikawa Yuu couldn't help but frown.
This body was about ten years old—clearly a few years older than his original form—yet it was significantly weaker.
The main reason for this was the complete lack of Chakra.
This body held absolutely no trace of Chakra.
Just a moment ago, Minamikawa Yuu had subconsciously tried to refine Chakra, but he had failed.
"The Land of Ancestors... this is a completely unfamiliar name."
Minamikawa Yuu lowered his head in thought.
Memories surged in his mind, but to him, they held not the slightest trace of familiarity.
The Five Great Nations in his memory did not exist at all in this world; instead, there were names like the Land of Ancestors and the Land of That.
As for the profession of Ninja, it also did not exist in this era.
Currently, the military backbone of the various countries was the samurai class.
And even among the samurai, it seemed that the ability to use Chakra did not exist at all.
There were various legends of demons in the outside world, said to cause trouble from time to time and devour many lives.
Overall, there was not a single point of similarity with the world in Minamikawa Yuu's memory.
"Where the hell did this send me?"
Minamikawa Yuu felt a bit of a headache coming on.
This situation was completely different from what he had imagined.
Fortunately, because his original body still existed, even if he died in this world, he wouldn't truly perish; he would merely return to his original body.
Additionally, the options provided by the Reincarnation Panel were genuine.
His name was now Tenji, the Daimyo of the Land of Ancestors.
The name "Tenji" was not a title, but merely a personal name.
However, his status as a Daimyo was genuine.
His predecessor's father had died in battle some time ago, and he had thus inherited the position, becoming the new Daimyo of the Land of Ancestors.
Unfortunately, although he held the title of Daimyo, this country did not seem very large to Minamikawa Yuu.
Let alone comparing it to the Five Great Nations of later generations, it was probably inferior even to a small country like the Land of Grass.
The entire country was not only small in territory and population, but it also faced constant strategic threats from enemy nations.
The people within the country were poor, generally making a living through farming; the situation could be described as being beset by difficulties both at home and abroad.
"Ah, the start isn't very smooth."
Carefully reviewing the current situation, Minamikawa Yuu smiled unconsciously.
"This is quite interesting."
He had thought this reincarnation would allow for a long period of cultivation, never expecting that this world wouldn't even possess a power like Chakra.
Since that was the case, playing this reincarnation as a realistic kingdom-building game seemed quite good as well.
"Then next, let's start farming."
He thought to himself, then stood up.
Outside the Land of Ancestors, the current situation was actually quite dire.
Aside from the poverty of the domestic population, there was also the external threat of the Land of That.
Now that the previous Daimyo had just fallen in battle, the Land of That was very likely to launch a large-scale invasion.
Facing this situation, Minamikawa Yuu decisively chose to play humble.
In the role of a junior, he personally wrote a letter to the Son of Heaven of the Land of That, expressing his willingness to submit, proactively offering an annual tribute, and proposing a future engagement with the princess of the Land of That.
With this series of actions, the Land of That was very satisfied with the Land of Ancestors' tactfulness.
With the external threat neutralized, Minamikawa Yuu began to focus on internal affairs.
He withdrew money from his private treasury, recruited samurai on a large scale, and adopted orphans, spending two years building up a private force of his own before beginning a vigorous transformation.
In Minamikawa Yuu's view, the situation in the Land of Ancestors was rather primitive; the entire economy was based on agriculture, and let alone ordinary commoners, even the nobles were very poor.
However, this was also an advantage for him.
Poor nobles meant that the resistance to domestic reform was reduced.
With external pressure weakened and a private army in his hands, this little bit of resistance made no difference.
He reformed commerce, abolished various privileges of the domestic nobility, and reduced checkpoints and taxes such as transit duties.
In agriculture, he distributed land, absorbed the population, and found excuses to deal directly with the domestic landlords.
As several years passed in this manner, the entire Land of Ancestors underwent great changes.
The population in various places multiplied, and people from various countries were attracted to the land.
Towns prospered, commerce flourished, and public security greatly improved.
Tax revenue increased, which also attracted many samurai and nobles, significantly boosting the strength of the entire country.
This year, Minamikawa Yuu was seventeen years old.
Unknowingly, he had been buried in development work for several years.
Just as he was preparing for his next big move, an incident caught his attention.
In the southern part of the Land of Ancestors, a God Tree suddenly appeared.
The God Tree had first appeared last year; initially, it was not much different from an ordinary tree.
But after only one year, the God Tree grew vigorously, exceeding a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
This rapid growth rate attracted the attention of many people.
Gradually, this tree came to be hailed as the "God Tree," and its fame began to spread far and wide.
Minamikawa Yuu also took notice of the God Tree at this time.
At that moment, he didn't perceive anything amiss.
Although this world didn't have the power of Chakra, there were still other supernatural forces.
There were demons running rampant outside, as well as shrine maidens who were said to possess a unique form of Senjutsu.
Among the samurai groups, many individuals also possessed unique techniques that could slay demons.
Minamikawa Yuu had a deep understanding of these things and had recruited many such figures under his command, so naturally, he did not find these matters unfamiliar.
In his view, this so-called God Tree was likely just another type of demonic object, nothing too out of the ordinary.
However, this thing was located within the borders of the Land of Ancestors, after all.
Driven by curiosity, he set off immediately, heading toward the location of the God Tree.