After arriving at Otogakure, Chinya was surprised to find the village already quite impressive in scale.
Seeing Chinya's astonished expression, Yahiko asked with a hint of pride, "How is it? Pretty good, right?"
Chinya looked around, "Yeah, it actually looks pretty organized. It's practically on par with some smaller ninja villages. Daiki and you must've worked really hard."
Yahiko remarked, "Your teacher handed down his ideas and then left everything entirely up to us. And that Daimyo of Rice Country is such an idiot—he ignores his people suffering in misery while he himself enjoys a luxurious lifestyle of drunken excess. I got so furious..."
Chinya asked curiously, "So you killed the Daimyo of Rice Country out of anger?"
Yahiko shook his head, "No, killing him would cause too much trouble. So we had a 'friendly discussion' with the Daimyo. Eventually, we reached an agreement—He keeps being the Daimyo officially, but has no authority over Rice Country anymore. The actual governance is under Otogakure's control. We periodically send him funds so he can keep up his luxurious lifestyle."
Chinya raised an eyebrow. Friendly discussion? I bet that was one hell of a 'discussion'.
Sure enough, Raiga Kurosuki scoffed contemptuously, "When I placed my Lightning Sword against his neck, he nearly wet himself. Cowardly as a rat, yet still dares to call himself a Daimyo?"
Yahiko continued, "In short, now the Daimyo remains the nominal ruler of Rice Country, while in reality, we hold all the power. He's now just our puppet, bound by Orochimaru's cursed seal, giving us full control over his life and death. Whether he wants to agree or not, he has no choice.
Initially, we wanted to mobilize the people of Rice Country to help build Otogakure.
But the situation there turned out far worse than we imagined—wandering samurais, rogue ninjas, and corrupt merchants were roaming freely, oppressing and exploiting the people.
As a result, many believed Otogakure's founding was only another form of exploitation. Most of them were indifferent toward us from the start—some even hostile.
To gain the locals' participation in building Otogakure, we first had to clean up this mess—to show them we're different from those rogue ninjas, samurais, and merchants.
So we spent half a year wiping out these bandits and rogue warriors. It nearly killed us from exhaustion.
Still, it worked. We eliminated the bullies who tormented them, and unlike others, we never mistreated them ourselves. Our reputation gradually spread. More and more people started trusting us and voluntarily came forward to help construct Otogakure.
We also promised anyone who helped with the construction could become one of our first official villagers. Soon, more and more people joined the effort.
Thanks to their support, Otogakure grew into what you see today. Now, the first batch of citizens have already moved into the village."
After hearing Yahiko's explanation, Chinya smiled and said, "You guys actually pulled it off."
Yahiko quirked his lips and said, "Don't get too excited either. There's one problem that needs your decision as our leader."
Chinya asked, "What problem?"
Yahiko answered, "Funding issues. Building Otogakure requires huge capital. Although we obtained some money from corrupt merchants, it's almost used up now. We're practically dead broke."
After thinking for a moment, Chinya asked, "I still have about 30 million ryo left. Should be enough to support Otogakure for a while, right?"
Yahiko's eyes lit up like they'd hit the jackpot: "Chinya, you're actually this rich?"
Chinya rolled his eyes at Yahiko, "That's all I've got. I don't have any income now either. So we can't just keep running through resources like there's no tomorrow. Once Otogakure stabilizes, we need to seek cooperation with surrounding smaller countries—open trade where appropriate and accept commissioned tasks when needed. We mustn't let ourselves go bankrupt by idleness."
Yahiko nodded and said, "I know. We've also recruited several wandering ninjas to train those who show ninja potential. Plus, Orochimaru has given me many basic elemental jutsu. Once they finish their basic training, we can teach them how to use ninjutsu.
But relying solely on those wandering ninjas isn't good enough. We have our own duties too and won't have time to teach on a regular basis. Now that you've got 30 million ryo, an idea occurred to me.
I plan to emulate Konoha's Ninja Academy by establishing a school that teaches fundamental ninja knowledge and techniques. This way, Otogakure will have a steady supply of ninjas. What do you think, Chinya?"
Chinya agreed, "Sounds great. But we need to take things slowly. Can't rush until Otogakure becomes stable. Rome wasn't built in a day."
"Yeah, I know," Yahiko responded, "but since you're back now, these concerns are yours to handle. I'm just letting you know my thoughts. Whew... Finally off my back. I was about to die of exhaustion!"
Yahiko stretched lazily, suddenly feeling relaxed at the thought that he wouldn't need to worry about these matters anymore.
Chinya grabbed Yahiko's shoulders tightly and showed a subtle smile: "Daiki, now that I've become the leader of Xiao Organization, it might not be suitable for me to serve simultaneously as Otogakure's leader. Also, Orochimaru-sensei is already overwhelmed with his research and surely wouldn't want this position. Therefore, Daiki, this role of Otogakure's leader should be handed over to you."
Yahiko stared at Chinya incredulously: "Hey! That's not fair! I've been waiting exactly for your return so I could be relieved from these burdens. How could you pass this responsibility back to me again?!"
Shrugging his shoulders, Chinya replied, "Because you're the deputy leader of Xiao Organization after all. Yet I'm not a dictator. Let me ask others' opinions too. Pakura, Raiga, Zabuza—if Daiki doesn't want to be Otogakure's leader, would any of you three like to try? If anyone among you is willing, then we'll choose accordingly."
"No no no, definitely not interested."
"I have zero interest!"
"Absolutely count me out."
Pakura, Raiga Kurosuki, and Zabuza quickly refused.
Besides Zabuza, both Pakura and Raiga Kurosuki helped build Otogakure. They knew better than anyone how grueling the work had been. Leading a ninja village? That's just begging for suffering.
Zabuza figured Chinya was just messing around. After all, he'd only just joined the Xiao organization—there's no way they'd put someone in charge of a ninja village that fast.
Chinya smiled brightly and slung an arm around Yahiko's shoulders. "See? None of our comrades want the job. You've been doing an amazing job as vice-leader—even if I tried, I couldn't match you. So it's gotta be you, Daiki."
"Alright then, it's settled! Come on, let's go say hi to Miyuki first, then we'll drop by and see Master Orochimaru. It's been a while—it's been tough not seeing them."
Yahiko stood there, stunned, watching Chinya's back as he walked ahead.
What? Just like that?
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