Ever since the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, and the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu, perished together in the First Shinobi World War, the twenty-something Ōnoki had become the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
Little did he know, he was about to begin a political career that would last for decades...
"Sensei, I will definitely avenge you."
Inside the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki's eyes burned with flames of hatred as he clenched his fists tightly.
If not for Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu suddenly appearing from the rear of the Land of Earth, his teacher would never have died in that battle.
From that moment, the Land of Water and the Land of Earth had forged a deep hatred.
If given the chance, one day he would defeat the Land of Water and send those people down to accompany his sensei.
Mu had taught Ōnoki the Kekkei Tōta, "Dust Release," which combined earth, wind, and fire nature transformations, and had passed on the "Will of Stone," hoping he would lead the village into prosperity.
To fulfill his teacher's will, Ōnoki was determined to become an outstanding Kage, and lead his village into becoming the most powerful one in the shinobi world!
But lately, he had felt uneasy, as if something bad was about to happen, leaving him inexplicably agitated and restless.
It was the same feeling he had back when the Kirigakure forces launched their ambush from behind the Land of Earth.
"Could it be that Kirigakure still hasn't given up its treachery?" Ōnoki muttered under his breath.
After that ambush, Iwagakure had learned its lesson well. Now, not only had they strengthened their defenses, but also dispatched shinobi squads to patrol the borders.
All to prevent Kirigakure from launching another sneak attack on Iwagakure!
Foreigners without proper identification would be detained by force, and if enemy shinobi were discovered, they could be executed on the spot without question!
Every nation's shinobi only carried out missions within certain boundaries. If the mission destination was closer to a particular country, the client would go to that nation's shinobi village to request it.
There would never be cross-country missions that were troublesome and unrewarding.
A shinobi appearing in another country's territory would likely be treated as a spy.
If their identity was exposed, and luck was on their side, they would be captured as prisoners, then ransomed back to their village for money. If their luck was poor, they would have only one fate—death!
"Pass down the order: strengthen vigilance in the coming days. Gate guards must verify the identity of all outsiders." Ōnoki instructed his subordinates.
The war had ended only a few years ago, and the village had not yet fully recovered from its losses. Problems must not occur at such a time.
He had no intention of ending up like Kumogakure—after the war, their village had been left without successors, nearly all their top fighters wiped out.
Without at least ten or twenty years of recovery, Kumogakure could not bounce back. If not for the wealth of the Land of Lightning, they would have already been erased in the last war.
Ōnoki had heard that in recent years Kumogakure had been vigorously developing its economy, but he had no idea where the Raikage, that brute, had gotten so much money.
After all, although Kumogakure's geographical environment wasn't bad, the village's finances were limited. Especially right after the war, theoretically, they should have been broke...
Even with ample funds, it would still take decades to rebuild.
All of this was thanks to Konoha's so-called "Poison Master." Fortunately, Mu had changed opponents before that figure had risen, otherwise Iwagakure would have ended up as miserable as Kumogakure.
"The Konoha Poison Master..." Ōnoki narrowed his eyes.
That man who had caused Kumogakure such terrible losses could just as easily inflict the same disaster upon Iwagakure. For the safety of his village, Ōnoki had to find a way to eliminate him!
The problem was, he had never once seen this mysterious Poison Master. According to the victimized villages, Sunagakure and Kumogakure—
Almost everyone who had seen the Konoha Poison Master had died by poison.
Since there was no chance of meeting him, it was impossible to eliminate him. For now, the only option was to focus on developing the village's economy. Once the village grew stronger, then they could consider expansion.
Ōnoki had no idea that the Poison Master he spoke of had already slipped quietly into the Land of Earth.
Moreover, he had actually already seen that so-called legendary Poison Master long ago.
...
Inside a caravan wagon, within the Land of Earth.
"Honored shinobi, thank you so much!" The caravan leader looked gratefully at the blue-haired youth and the fat cat sitting opposite him.
As usual, they had been transporting goods to trade in Iwagakure, when they were suddenly attacked by rogue shinobi. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, the caravan's hired guards stood no chance.
If not for this youth appearing in time, they would all be dead.
When the caravan leader learned that the youth was also heading to Iwagakure, he enthusiastically invited him and the cat to travel together.
On the one hand, it was to express gratitude for saving their lives. On the other, it was to seek his protection, so they wouldn't be robbed again.
After all, their original shinobi escorts had just been killed by the rogue shinobi.
If it happened again, they would all be doomed.
"A small matter, no need for thanks." Renya smiled and waved his hand, though he felt a little helpless—the old man had been thanking him nonstop the whole way.
He had only just entered the Land of Earth when he stumbled across the scene. Casually killing a few rogue shinobi, he had saved the caravan's lives.
Under the caravan leader's repeated pleading, he had finally agreed to travel with them to Iwagakure.
With the caravan as cover, he wouldn't have to sneak into Iwagakure alone.
"Benefactor, please accept this small token of appreciation." The caravan leader pulled out a thick stack of silver notes and offered them to Renya.
"Haha, how could I refuse?" Renya chuckled, quickly slipping the notes into his robes—so fast that the caravan leader barely saw it happen.
He hadn't taken any missions recently, so he was indeed low on money.
He wondered if on this journey he might "accidentally" run into Kakuzu. If he did, he could ask for some pocket money.
Finding Kakuzu wasn't that hard in the shinobi world. As long as one frequented the biggest exchange houses, eventually Kakuzu would appear.
After all, that guy only ever hoarded money, never spending it. Better to just take some from him to buy ingredients and research new poisons.
In his battle with Hanzō the Salamander, Renya had been inspired with new ideas. But without funding, he had no way to conduct experiments, so he had set it aside for now.
...
The largest exchange house in the shinobi world.
Having just finished an assassination and now counting his money, Kakuzu suddenly shivered for no reason.
"Damn it, why do I have such a bad feeling!"
He instinctively looked around warily, finding nothing unusual. Grabbing his money tightly, he hurried out of the exchange house.
This was no place to linger. His instincts told him it was dangerous!
Though he had absolute confidence in his own strength, his instincts also told him that it was best to stay low-profile.
If he ran into someone strong who wanted to kill him for money, he'd really be finished!
Blind confidence was foolish. Such people never lived long. Only those who judged the situation wisely could survive to the end.
As long as he remained cautious, he would never die!