Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 154 The Backyard Plan

"Mmm! That feels good~"

Inside an inn in the Land of Mountains, Yahiko's body lay in the hot spring, with only his head floating above the water.

My tense nerves gradually relaxed, and I felt like I was melting. All I wanted to do was take a relaxing bath.

However, after soaking quietly and obediently for a few minutes, Yahiko's thoughts drifted back from paradise, and he couldn't help but think about the purpose of his trip.

He looked up at the other side of the hot spring, where figures were faintly visible in the mist, and asked worriedly, "Boss, we finally made it here. Is it alright if we don't go see the people from Yangyan Village?"

The bathrobe was neatly folded and placed on the dressing table to the side. Yun Chuan squinted as he soaked in the hot spring. Everywhere he looked, there were fine water droplets, which clung to his shoulders and looked round and full.

"It's alright, the time isn't right yet."

He looked up at the twinkling stars in the open-air hot spring sky, so dense and bright, unlike the rain country which was always shrouded in rain.

"It's only separated by a mountain, yet the difference in environment is so obvious," Yun Chuan remarked. "It would be perfect as a 'back garden'."

The Mountain Country is located in the region bordering the Grass Country and the Rain Country.

It is precisely because of the country's unique mountainous terrain that the Grass Country, which is also a plain, does not have the harsh environment of the Rain Country, and even has grain cultivation conditions that are second only to the Fire Country.

The still-developing Dawn Cultivator is barely able to achieve self-sufficiency in the Land of Rain, where the growing environment is harsh, thanks to improved hydroponics techniques.

However, as its influence gradually expands, hydroponics is ultimately not the best solution.

Therefore, the two small plains countries adjacent to the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds and the Land of Grass, are undoubtedly the best choices as "granaries".

The southern part of the Land of Rain is currently Hanzo's territory. The two sides are facing a common enemy and are in a temporary honeymoon period, so the Land of Rivers, which borders the south, is excluded.

Moreover, the environment of the River Country is mostly dense forest, which is more suitable for growing cash crops such as rubber, but obviously not suitable for growing food crops, so we can let it go for now.

The Bird Country, which borders the western part of the Rain Country, is quite simple; it is just a small country with limited territory and weak strength.

Such small countries, lacking ninja villages and situated at the lowest level of the ninja world, are the first to suffer whenever war breaks out. If they are lucky, they can barely survive; if they are unlucky, the destruction of their country and the loss of their homes are commonplace.

This is not an exaggeration. After the Warring States period, the number of states decreased and no new states emerged.

In an era where one country is essentially one village, the power of large countries has grown increasingly strong and irresistible. There has never been a case in the past few decades where a small country has risen to become a large country.

"Boss, this time, we're going to face off against the Land of Waterfall, right?" Yahiko suddenly asked. "Are they very strong?"

"...Perhaps."

Yun Chuan's thoughts raced, and he smiled noncommittally: "After all, it's the only ninja village besides the Five Great Ninja Villages that legally possesses Tailed Beast weapons."

If we don't count the artificial tailed beast "Zero-Tail Void" hidden in the skies above the Land of Rain, that aerial fortress.

"what?"

Yahiko's surprised voice came: "That village hidden by the waterfall? I heard that because of its remote location, it was rarely affected by the war between the five great nations. They even have tailed beasts?"

Although he had brushed up on a lot of book knowledge, he still didn't understand this aspect well enough.

"It's not only the Five Great Nations that have Tailed Beasts. During the first Five Kage Summit, Hashirama Senju gave one of the Tailed Beasts to Takigakure Village in the Land of Taki, which is not one of the Five Great Nations."

Yun Chuan explained calmly, "Besides the tailed beasts, that ninja village also possesses something called Hero's Water, which can greatly increase a ninja's chakra after consumption."

"There are such amazing things?" Yahiko's eyes lit up, but when he remembered his ninjutsu talent, he immediately fell into a slump again.

"It has little strategic significance." Yun Chuan shook his head. "The amplification ability of Hero's Water is indeed very strong, but it will devour the user's life force. Although the amplification ability is strong, the side effects are also extremely obvious."

Of course, that being said, the interest still exists.

Finding an opportunity to borrow some of the Hero's Water for research is entirely feasible.

Thinking about it this way, the Land of Waterfalls may have been very close to being a major power in the past. The Hidden Village of Waterfalls was one of the few ninja villages among the small countries, apart from the five major powers.

Unfortunately, they ultimately couldn't withstand the targeting of the five great nations, and the higher-ups of Takigakure Village must have some serious mental issues.

This can be seen from the fact that Kakuzu was sent to assassinate Hashirama Senju.

Judging from Kakuzu's ability to steal the "Earth Grudge" and kill all his superiors before his defection, he was at least a strong figure in Takigakure.

As a result, this high-level combat capability was severely punished because an assassination mission that was absolutely impossible to complete failed.

You can impose a fine, but the form should outweigh the meaning. Reason and law should be balanced, and at the very least, it shouldn't discourage people.

For loyal ninjas who are prepared to fight for their village even at the cost of their lives, such severe punishment without any mercy would be too inhumane, and it would be strange if it didn't arouse hatred and resentment among the village's ninjas.

In that situation, killing the high-ranking officials who had treated him unfairly and then taking the forbidden technique "Earth Grudge" from the village was Kakuzu's only option.

However, Kakuzu who fails in an assassination mission is severely punished and often dies in prison. It is possible that he was caught up in the power struggle among the higher-ups of Takigakure and thus suffered unfair treatment.

After all, that was Hashirama Senju... Anyone with a sound mind knows that was an impossible task.

If the assassination had actually succeeded, the strongest ninja village wouldn't be Konoha now, but Takigakure.

As it turns out, Takigakure, which was once powerful, has now declined and doesn't even have a decent, powerful ninja anymore.

Even a small country like the Land of Waterfalls, with its relatively strong ninja forces, suffered a tragic fall on the road to becoming a major power; needless to say, the Land of Birds was in even worse shape.

The increasing stability of large countries and the growing impoverishment of small countries has become an almost tacit understanding.

Therefore, if the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind are slightly sown apart in the future, the Land of Birds, caught in the middle and lacking in military strength, will be in trouble.

Then, by providing humanitarian aid to them as fellow small countries, it would be easy to draw them into our camp and gradually assimilate them into our territory.

The real challenge lies with the Grass Country, which holds a unique position.

This small country, which is like a weather vane, is, to put it nicely, particularly good at international diplomacy; to put it bluntly, it is opportunistic and sycophantic.

Unfortunately, this country also possesses the relatively well-equipped military force of Kusagakure Village, as well as the "Hozuki Castle," a prison used to detain prisoners from various countries.

Dealing with them is indeed more troublesome than dealing with the Bird Country.

Of course, when Yun Chuan felt troubled, he was not referring to the military strength of the Grass Country and the Grass Ninja Village.

Rather, it was about how to incorporate the Land of Grass into his territory without attracting attention, making it his "backyard."

It might be appropriate to reveal Dawn's strength and existence now, but it would be premature to reveal its intention to annex smaller countries.

The reason why Dawn lived such a peaceful and uneventful life in the years before was because Amegakure was in the open, while they always remained hidden and quietly developed.

However, with his strength gradually expanding, and his previous open appearance in front of the people of Amegakure and his cooperation with Hanzo to attack Sunagakure, it is estimated that his information and that of Akatsuki have already been delivered to the desks of the Five Kage.

"Actually, it's alright." Yun Chuan exhaled a puff of white mist and muttered to himself, "Isn't this exactly what I wanted?"

Since you can't hide anymore, then stand up openly and honestly, instead of hiding like a rat in a dark sewer.

Of course, the premise is that the intention to annex smaller countries cannot be exposed.

That's why he set his sights on the Mountain Country, located between the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass.

(End of this chapter)