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  The Land of Rice Paddies.

  ....

  ....

  Fugaku Uchiha’s mood was—plicated. It wasn’t because the Kumogakure ninja statiohere were particurly strong. His Blitz Unit had easily swept through their defenses.

  His uemmed from the nature of this—operation.

  This was Konoha’s first unprovoked act of aggression, a war of quest disguised as—liberation.

  The Kusagakure operation could be justified as a respoo Kumogakure’s enent. But the Land of Rice Paddies?

  Konoha’s primary objective wasn’t even strategic, to establish a blockade against Kumogakure, but rather—eic. They wahe Land of Rice Paddies’ resources.

  This invasion was driven by Konoha’s desire for expansion, for cheap raw materials to fuel its growing ey.

  And this—exploitation wasn’t limited to resources. It exteo the people themselves.

  Not in the same way as Kirigakure’s “water ghosts,” of course. As Gojo Kaigetsu put it, they were the locals—opportunities. Jobs. At—petitive wages.

  It was still exploitation.

  The Land of Rice Paddies didn’t even have a Hidden Vilge. Their ninja had to rely on the Daimyo for missions.

  Their equipment was outdated, their uniforms—ent. They cked even basic headbands.

  The Daimyo of the Land of Rice Paddies had likely joihe Kumogakure Co-Prosperity Sphere because Kumogakure’s approach was—direct.

  They offered tangible bes.

  Membership in the Co-Prosperity Sphere came with financial aid, military prote, and symbolic political and eic support.

  For a small nation, it was an attractive offer.

  The Land of Rice Paddies’ Daimyo, his merts, and his advisors had readily agreed.

  Too far from Kumogakure, too close to Konoha.

  Their decision had led to this invasion.

  Fugaku felt a pang of guilt, but he was a Konoha ninja. He’d follow Gojo Kaigetsu’s orders.

  He elimihe Kumogakure ninja, mercy to those who surrendered.

  Within half a day, they’d reached the Daimyo’s pace.

  The streets were filled with impoverished civilians, their faces refleg—a strange te.

  Fugaku, with his Sharingan, could seheir emotions.

  There was no joy, no gratitude, only fear ament.

  He was—uled.

  The Sharingan’s polified emotions.

  In Kusagakure, the vilgers had weled them as liberators. Here, in the Land of Rice Paddies, despite its worse ditions, they were met with hostility.

  Fugaku sighed. Advisojo, in his benevolence, sought to—“Acquire” the Land of Rice Paddies’ resources and workforce. But to the locals, they were invaders.

  Suappreciated kindness.

  Advisojo’s greatness—it needed no expnation.

  The vilgers didn’t o uand. They simply had to—accept.

  “Unappreciated love, iions twisted—this—is true benevolence,” Fugaku Uchiha murmured, a warmth spreading through his eyes, easing the Sharingan’s strain.

  “Lord Fugaku, are we—doing the right thing?”

  Shisui Uchiha had joihe Blitz unit. His exceptional performa the Academy, coupled with Fugaku’s reendation, had earned him a p this in-level operation.

  War was a ninja’s catalyst, the perfeviro for the Sharingan to evolve.

  On their way to the Daimyo’s pace, Shisui had withe hardships of the Land of Rice Paddies.

  Soldier Pills, practically worthless in Konoha, were fought over here.

  There were no “Pay It Forward” systems, no acts of charity. Ninjas prayed for their rades’ deaths, eager to sge their equipment.

  He’d realized…

  The ninja world was a cruel pce. Konoha’s prosperity, to those in smaller nations, was a distant dream, a paradise they could only rea the afterlife.

  There was no Will of Fire here, no freedom, no equality.

  This wasn’t just the ninja world; it was—hell.

  “A mature Konoha ninja doesn’t himself with right ,” Fugaku Uchiha said, his tone instructive. “A mature Konoha ninja, especially an Uchiha, follows orders. First, the advisor’s orders. Then, the Hokage’s. And a mature Konoha ninja only siders ohing: whether it bes Konoha. The vilge leadership has deemed this operation necessary. Advisojo entrusted this mission to me. Therefore, I will plete it. This—is our ninja way.”

  Shisui Uchiha houghtfully.

  A mature ninja only sidered the bes, not the morality.

  “Get out! Leave!” A child, emboldened by ahrew a rock at them. His parents, their faces etched with fear, tried to pull him back.

  Fugaku casually deflected the rock with a kunai, signaling his subordio stand down.

  “Shisui, what do you see in their eyes?”

  “Fear—and—hatred,” Shisui replied, his voice barely a whisper.

  “Why do they feel this way towards Konoha ninja?”

  Shisui couldn’t answer. Perhaps—because they were invaders.

  “Because they ck—love,” Fugaku Uchiha decred. “They don’t uand. They think Kumogakure’s handouts, their empty promises—that’s all there is. They don’t realize that what Advisojo offers is—real. A ce at a better life, a proper ninja system. That’s what will truly ge this—backwater.”

  Was that it? Not invasion, but a ck of—love?

  Shisui’s eyes widened, as if he’d glimpsed a new path.

  “But for now, our priority is to—obtain the Daimyo’s approval.”

  The advaeam had cleared the way. The two Uchiha reached the Daimyo’s paopposed.

  A simple wall seemed to divide two worlds. Outside, poverty and despair. Inside, even the pilrs were adorned with gold. The Daimyo’s gardens housed exotic beasts, their feeding bowls filled with the fi cuts of meat.

  “In the ninja world, the poorer the vilge, the greater the disparity between the rid the poor,” Fugaku remarked. “Out there, people starve. In here, even the dogs eat meat. Do you think Kumogakure’s aid went towards—those gold pilrs? Or towards improving the lives of the vilgers? Do you still feel any—guilt, Shisui?”

  Shisui Uchiha lowered his head in shame. He took a deep breath, his gaze hardening with resolve.

  Eainja had their own path. Some chose loyalty, others—love. Shisui, at eight, seemed to have found his—a love that transded borders, a love that—liberated.

  He would emute Advisojo.

  A liberator who needed no justification. Even if it meant fag the rese of those he sought to save.

  “Perhaps they’ll say they don’t need our help. But—saving them has nothing to do with them.”

  “Shisui! Your eyes!” Fugaku Uchiha’s surprised voiterrupted his thoughts.

  Shisui’s Sharingan had activated. The siomoe spun, splitting into two, then three.

  A three-tomoe Sharingan, at eight!

  Fugaku Uchiha beamed. A-year-old with a three-tomoe Sharingan. A prodigy even by Uchiha standards.

  A true blessing.

  He himself hadn’t awakened his Sharingan until he was fifteehought his son, Itachi, a two-tomoe Sharinga five, rodigy. But Shisui—he was on another level.

  Though a Sharingan’s power wasn’t solely determined by the age of its awakening, Shisui’s potential was undeniable. He was destio bee, at the very least, ae Jonin.

  ‘Advisojo—he truly is the Uchiha ’s savior! This unpreted groe it all to him.’

  Fugaku Uchiha’s gratitude rofound.

  “My—my Sharingan—it’s evolved?” Shisui, too, was surprised by his sudden growth.

  “Remember this feeling, Shisui. When your ninja way falters, remember this moment. This third tomoe—it’s the path you must follow.”

  “Yes, Head.”

  ‘My ninja way—is liberation. A love that—pels. If they won’t accept it willingly, I’ll force them to.’

  They soon reached the Daimyo’s chambers.

  The advaeam had—cleared the room, leaving only the Daimyo, who gred at the Uchiha ninja.

  “You—you dare trespass?! Do you know who I am?! I’m—I’m practically brothers with the Fire Daimyo! I’ll have you all executed!”

  Though the Land of Rice Paddies cked a Hidden Vilge, its Daimyo still had—a temper. The smaller nations surrounding Konoha had historical ties to the Land of Fire.

  Fugaku Uchiha’s expression turned—amused.

  The Fire Daimyo? After the Kazuma i, he was now under Konoha’s—prote.

  “Perhaps you’re unaware, but this—operation has the Fire Daimyo’s approval.”

  “Impossible! He wouldn’t attack me! You’re lying!”

  “You see, in the Land of Fire—when the Daimyo and the Hokage agree, the Hokage follows the Daimyo’s orders. When they disagree, the Hokage follows the advisor’s.”

  “So, these are the Daimyo’s orders.”

  “???” The Daimyo stared at him, dumbfounded.

  If they disagreed, shouldn’t the Hokage follow the Daimyo’s orders? What did a mere advisor have to do with it?

  “Enough! I want to speak with the Fire Daimyo!”

  “As you wish.”

  Fugaku Uchiha gestured, and a dusty, outdated puter was brought in. It had two thick cables, one ected to a power source, the other to a headset.

  This was the “red phone” between Daimyo, the ninja world’s most advanced unication device.

  It used a jutsu simir to the Telescope Teique to create a point-to-point video link. Due to its plexity, it was only used in emergencies.

  The e was established.

  ...

  “Brother—what is it?” the Fire Daimyo asked.

  “Why are your Konoha ninja attag my territory? Did you order this?!”

  “I…” The Fire Daimyo began to speak, then noticed Fugaku Uchiha standing behind his—terpart. He g his own “guards,” Konoha ninja assigo—protect him. They stared back, their expressions unreadable. He sighed and nodded relutly.

  “Yes, these are my orders. And I’ve granted Fugaku Uchiha full authority. You will—cooperate. Or else.”

  Click—

  The e ended.

  The Daimyo of the Land of Rice Paddies slumped in his seat, defeated. He might not fear ninja, but he certainly feared the Fire Daimyo.

  “So—what do you want? Money? Women?”

  Fugaku Uchiha’s face twisted in disgust. He delivered Gojo Kaigetsu’s demands.

  “We need nd. Enough for a thousand ninja to train ahousand civilians to live. And—we’ll be taking this pace. Find other—aodations. We’ll provide you with a—stipend. Just—stay out of our way. Don’t interfere.”

  “Or else…” He drew his kunai, slig a k from the Daimyo’s desk.

  “My kunai is—quite sharp.”

  This was too muot only the nd and the treasury, but even his pace? He might as well hand over his es as well.

  The Daimyo, seeing the ly severed piece of his desk, gulped, a forced smile appearing on his face.

  “Of course, of course. I’m—delighted to have Konoha’s assistan developing the Land of Rice Paddies.”

  He retrieved his Daimyo’s seal and ha to Fugaku Uchiha. “I have—another residence. I’ll—go there. With this seal, my ministers will—cooperate.”

  “Escort the Daimyo to his—new residence,” Fugaku Uchiha ordered, and two Konoha ninja dragged the now-unscious Daimyo away.

  Shisui Uchiha, watg this, felt a strange disect.

  Iraditional view, the Daimyo’s authority was absolute, a figure to be revered and obeyed.

  Though such ses were weaker in Konoha, they still lingered.

  Even the Daimyo of a small nation like the Land of Rice Paddies—he wasn’t someohey, mere ninja, could disrespect. But today, the Daimyo had beeed like—a dog.

  This—challenged Shisui’s worldview.

  ‘So—the Daimyo is—nothing special.’

  ‘Just an ordinary person, easily trolled by ninja. True power belongs to the Hokage—and Advisojo.’

  “ Head,” Shisui asked, “why does the Fire Daimyo allow Konoha such—freedom? Why did we used to obey him?”

  Fugaku Uchiha polished the Daimyo’s seal. “Ninja are busy training and fighting. They don’t create wealth. The vilges need mohe Daimyo had the money, so—it became a tool of trol.”

  “Then why not—elimihe Daimyo and take his wealth?”

  Fugaku Uchiha g his young prodigy. Such—bold thoughts.

  “The Daimyo represents—the people. He’s a symbol of authority. If ninja could casually eliminate him, who would bother w, creatih? They’d be like—livestock, sughtered at a ninja’s whim.”

  “In the past, the vilge relied on the Daimyo’s funding. But now—thanks to Advisojo, our ine is more diversified. We no longer he Daimyo’s—leash.”

  Shisui Uchiha nodded, abs his words. ‘So—the Daimyo isn’t someone we o respect. He’s merely a—figurehead.’

  ‘The vilge nomihe Hokage, but the Daimyo approves. But for Konoha to expand, we need more ually, we’ll csh with the nobility.’

  ‘If I were powerful enough—I’d trol the Daimyo. The Hokage would choose the Daimyo. And judging by the other Daimyo’s—attitude—if I could trol the Fire Daimyo, make him pressure the others, threaten war—it would be Konoha immensely.’

  ‘The Land of Fire belongs to Konoha! It exists to serve the vilge, to fuel Advisojo’s—benevolehe Daimyo should be—Konoha’s spokesperson.’

  A new path opened before Shisui Uchiha.

  Fugaku Uchiha, following Gojo Kaigetsu’s instrus, summohe Land of Rice Paddies’ ministers, samurai, and merts.

  “Konoha has e to the Land of Rice Paddies for two reasons.”

  “Oo establish a Hidden Vilge.”

  “Two, to i in yricultural sector. Until your debts are repaid, Konoha will be your sole trading partner. All your produce will be sold to us—at eighty pert of market value.”

  “Any objes?”

  The merts shook their heads.

  Konoha would i in their development? In exge for a twenty pert dist? The increased produ would more than pensate for that.

  The ministers and samurai, however, were—intrigued. These ninja vilges—they were strange.

  Kumogakure had offered aid and prote. Though their ninja were—disruptive, they’d improved the region’s security.

  And now, Konoha was iing in their ey and—building a Hidden Vilge?

  They khe bes of a Hidden Vilge.

  It was a symbol of prestige. Only nations with Hidden Vilges were truly reized in the ninja world.

  And it provided a steady stream of ihrough missions.

  Larger nations fuheir vilges; smaller nations—leeched off them.

  The Land of Rice Paddies had long dreamt of establishing a Hidden Vilge.

  But the prerequisites were—daunting. The initial iment aside, there were three main paths:

  A sacred relic or a powerful ied jutsu.

  A rogue ninja from a rger vilge, establishing a base and recruiting followers.

  Or—some sort of advaeology that allowed them to—remain hidden.

  Now, it seemed, their dream would finally be realized, thanks to Konoha’s invasion.

  Were these Konoha ninja invaders, or—saviors? The Land of Rice Paddies’ leadership was—flicted. Some were even moved to tears.

  The ninja world wasn’t g in patriots. And their dream of a Hidden Vilge—it was finally within reach.

  “We’ll call it—Otonokuni no Sato,” Fugaku Uchiha announced.

  “Any objes…?”

  “I object, Konoha ninja!” An elderly miepped forward. “A vilge’s name is its—identity. It should be—fitting. The Land of Rice Paddies—we’re known for our—music. How about—Otogakure?”

  “Otogakure? Not bad.”

  The name sparked excitement.

  “I’m willing to doen million ryō to Otogakure’s development!” a mert decred.

  “My family possesses a secret sound-based ninjutsu. We’ll do to the vilge,” a samurai announced.

  “I—I will dedicate my life t Konoha!” an elderly minister cried.

  Fugaku Uchiha was surprised. He recalled Gojo Kaigetsu’s words: Never uimate ninja.

  Even in this insignifit nation, there were hidden talents. Sound-based ninjutsu? That was unheard of in Konoha.

  He’d have to—acquire it for Orochimaru’s research. Perhaps it would expand Konoha’s jutsu repertoire.

  The atmosphere in the Daimyo’s pace was—festive. They seemed to have fotten they were under occupation.

  Fugaku Uchiha circled an area on the map, where the Land of Rice Paddies bordered the Land of Fire. “This will be Otogakure’s location. Close to Konoha, for veransport of materials and goods.”

  “Konoha envisions Otogakure as a—multifaceted vilge, iing erce, research, military, and education.”

  “Spread the word. We’re recruiting. Children, rogue ninja—no criminals.”

  The pns for Otogakure were disseminated.

  The Land of Rice Paddies’ official historian diligently recorded the event:

  [Previously recorded: August, Konoha year 51. Uchiha Fugaku, leading over a hundred Konoha ninja, occupied the Daimyo’s pace. The ninja, cd mostly in white, became known as the “White Invasion.”]

  [Otogakure Year 1, Konoha Year 51. That summer, a Konoha ninja drew a circle on the southern border of the Land of Rice Paddies, and the vilge of Otogakure was born. Konoha awakehe Land of Sound. The Uchiha—they warmed the hearts of our people.]

  “Konoha’s angels have arrived! Otogakure is established! We’re recruiting! Ninja, samurai, able-bodied civilians, even children! Loyalty!”

  Curious vilgers emerged from their homes. “Weren’t they—invading us? What’s going on?”

  A feroached the notice boards.

  “Hey, you—thinking of joining? This could be a trap.”

  “What do I have to lose? My family’s dead. It ’t get any worse.”

  “And it’s our vilge! We’ll be—ninja masters!”

  “Let’s go!”

  Konoha’s influence spread.

  …

  …

  “Proteg the border towns? Preventing—u?”

  A, stroking his , relutly accepted the expnation. It was fortuhat it was Hyuga Hiashi, not Fugaku Uchiha.

  If Fugaku Uchiha had been in charge—he might have reached Kumogakure’s gates by now.

  And A would be mobilizing his forces for a “Raikage Tower Defense” operation.

  As for Hyuga Hiashi—A wasn’t uimating him. As a fellow taijutsu specialist, he respected Hiashi’s abilities.

  But the Byakugan, mostly used for support—it wasn’t as—impressive as the Sharingan.

  Still, the Byakugan…

  “I have an idea!” A smmed his fist oable, startling Mabui.

  “What is it, Raikage-sama?”

  “Gojo Kaigetsu wants a—mock war? Fine. But when the peace treaty is signed…”

  “Kumogakure will send its own delegation! And we’ll—force Konoha, force the Hyuga , to hand over a pair of main family Byakugan as—pensation.”

  “After all, it was Konoha who attacked us, and it was the Hyuga Head who led the invasion.”

  “They have to—pay the price!” A cracked his knuckles, his meaning clear.

  Konoha had pyed dirty, taking the border towns. While he could recim them ter, he was still—annoyed.

  Sihat blond brat couldn’t be trusted, he’d py his own game.

  “Raikage-sama,” Mabui said cautiously, “how long do you ihis—mock war to st?”

  “Until I’ve dealt with those elders and their s.”

  “As for the Land of Rice Paddies—we ’t help them now. Send a message. Tell them to hold on. We’ll—assist them eventually.” A, despite his gruff exterior, wasn’t heartless. He wouldn’t abandon them pletely.

  “Raikage-sama—they’re refusing our calls. They said—they’re worried about what Konoha might think.”

  “?”

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