Chapter 34: Iwagakure and Kumogakure Go to War
"What?!!"
When Kurotsuchi heard Deidara say that he had already dealt with the Land of Earth's daimyo ahead of schedule, her face went pale with shock and she cried out.
"...Don't tell me you went back to Iwagakure just for that."
Shiromo only learned about this now as well. He was momentarily speechless.
As expected, every member of the Akatsuki was an unstable variable.
Even when their intentions were good.
Just like when Nagato had casually thrown a Chibaku Tensei at him before.
And now Deidara had gone and helped by killing the Land of Earth's daimyo.
"Of course not. I went there to perfect my art."
Deidara flatly denied it.
But whatever Deidara's true purpose was no longer important to Kurotsuchi.
This was practically forcing her hand…
"Oh right, Kurotsuchi, you'd better hurry back."
"Whether you inherit the position of Tsuchikage or carry out your ambitions can be put aside for now."
"But if someone accidentally enters the daimyo's residence to investigate something, they won't be coming back alive."
"You need to return and warn them."
"As for why, my altered art, C4 Karura, it…"
Deidara described the special traits of his modified Karura to Kurotsuchi in detail. Her expression changed instantly.
"I…"
Kurotsuchi looked at Shiromo, hesitating to speak.
After all, not long ago she had personally asked to join them, only to leave again immediately. The turnaround was a bit too fast.
"Go back. Don't think that just because the daimyo is gone, there's nothing left for you to do."
"There are still those ministers. Their existence isn't much different from the daimyo's."
"If you don't deal with them, you still won't be able to give the Land of Earth and Iwagakure true freedom, or the power to control their own fate."
Shiromo didn't mind whether Kurotsuchi stayed or left.
When he agreed to let her join, he never expected her to remain for long anyway.
The main purpose was to let her understand Akatsuki's goals at close range. In the end, she was always meant to return and become Tsuchikage.
"Mm. I understand. I definitely won't do worse than the Mizukage!"
Kurotsuchi clenched her fists and nodded solemnly.
"Get lost already, get lost. Kurotsuchi, if you run into trouble you can't conveniently deal with yourself, you can always post a mission with our organization."
Deidara urged her from the side, clearly afraid she might change her mind and stay.
"Mm."
For once, Kurotsuchi didn't retort.
"Take this. I hope it helps steady your resolve."
As Kurotsuchi turned to leave, Shiromo placed something into her hand.
By the time she reacted, she was already far away from Shiromo and the others.
She took out what Shiromo had given her.
It was a photograph.
A group photo.
One person in it was very familiar, Shiromo.
The other…
She was wearing a red, high-slit cheongsam. A pair of long, fair legs stood before a rock giant formed by the Earth Release: Golem Technique. She was smiling confidently as she posed for the photo with Shiromo.
That technique required extremely precise chakra control, something she still hadn't mastered yet…
"No wonder they call me the 'Leg Kage.'"
Looking at her long legs in the photo, Kurotsuchi lowered her head and glanced at her current self.
She was only fifteen now. She should still grow, right?
Kurotsuchi put the photo away and carefully slipped it into an inner compartment of her ninja pouch.
The existence of this photo made her completely trust what Shiromo had said before.
"Ōtsutsuki…"
Kurotsuchi recalled that earlier, when Shiromo had been scolding her, he seemed to have accidentally revealed the name of a future enemy.
She also thought about how Deidara had risked exposure and capture to return to Iwagakure and steal scrolls that could increase one's strength.
She, too, had to train hard and grow stronger…
"No wonder that scroll emphasized reducing the Tsuchikage's workload."
Realizing this, Kurotsuchi suddenly understood.
She clenched her fists and accelerated toward Iwagakure.
Just as she had said to Shiromo earlier, she and the Mizukage of Kirigakure, far away on the other side of the shinobi world, had now become comrades walking the same path, and also rivals competing with one another.
….
"Konan, help me pass a message to Kisame in the Land of Waves. Tell him to let the Mizukage know that she's not alone. The Fourth Tsuchikage of Iwagakure is her 'comrade in reform.'"
"...Alright."
As Konan agreed, she shot Shiromo a sideways glance.
First he told Kurotsuchi that the Mizukage had already acted, and now he was telling the Mizukage that the Tsuchikage had acted as well.
A textbook Ponzi scheme.
The difference was that Shiromo's deception served to strengthen both sides' resolve.
…..
More than a month passed.
Both Iwagakure and Kirigakure saw initial developments.
Kirigakure was overseas, so the changes there didn't spread outward.
Only Iwagakure, which had deliberately sent ninja to investigate, knew some details about Kirigakure's situation.
As for Iwagakure, news that the daimyo's entire family had died under mysterious circumstances, leaving no successor, quickly spread throughout the shinobi world.
Ōnoki took responsibility and resigned, stepping down to become an elder of Iwagakure, passing the title of Tsuchikage to the fifteen-year-old Kurotsuchi.
With no daimyo, the Tsuchikage became the highest authority in the Land of Earth.
The ministers attempted to seize power, but they were suppressed before long.
With the ideological shackles in her mind shattered by Shiromo, Kurotsuchi would no longer obey even the daimyo's orders, let alone those of a group of ministers.
At first, the civilians and ordinary ninja below felt uneasy about the daimyo being replaced by the Tsuchikage, but they soon accepted it.
Relying on Iwagakure's intelligence division and ANBU, and with firsthand information in hand, Kurotsuchi easily took control of the allocation of all resources.
At that point, following the contents of Shiromo's scroll, she immediately launched reforms.
The redistribution of benefits reached almost everyone. Even ordinary villagers of the Land of Earth enjoyed the benefit of having their taxes cut in half.
On the ninja side, mission rewards and compensation for injury or death were all increased.
At this point, even if a minister stood up and claimed he could succeed as daimyo, no one would support him.
They could have endured the darkness, if they had never seen the light.
However, Iwagakure's "rebellious" actions naturally drew the vigilance of the other daimyō.
Even though intelligence suggested that Iwagakure hadn't wiped out the daimyo's family, in terms of results, the one who benefited the most was the Tsuchikage.
They didn't believe a fifteen-year-old girl could truly rule the Land of Earth. Behind the scenes, it had to be Ōnoki pulling the strings.
The Land of Fire's daimyo showed little reaction, merely increasing the number of guardian ninja in silence.
The Land of Wind's daimyo took the opportunity to further cut Sunagakure's funding, stating that if Sunagakure expressed dissatisfaction, it would mean they intended to betray him, just like Iwagakure.
As for the Land of Lightning's daimyo, originally suppressed by the powerful Raikage, he merely wanted to voice a protest against Iwagakure's actions. Instead, the Raikage declared that they should go to war with Iwagakure.
Iwagakure had destroyed the rules of the shinobi world.
Since that was the case, what more was there to say?
The Land of Lightning's daimyo naturally agreed with pleasure.
His favor toward the Raikage even increased.
Don't be fooled by how the Third and Fourth Raikage often made unilateral decisions and ignored him as daimyo. When it came to safeguarding his ruling position, the Raikage was still very loyal.
At this moment, the Land of Waterfall had already become the battlefield between Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
Both villages' Kage had arrived at the front lines.
"I paid money to hire your organization, and they only sent the two of you?"
Kurotsuchi looked at her old acquaintance, Shiromo, and a masked man beside him, and complained aloud.
(End of this chapter)