Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 119 Purifying Amegakure

"Then why Iwagakure? Shouldn't we trade with Konoha to maximize our profits? Konoha can definitely offer a higher price than Iwagakure."

Hanzo asked, looking puzzled.

He could now understand why Kirito acted first and then informed him, but he had no idea why Kirito would choose to make a deal with Iwagakure.

Upon hearing this, Kirito could not, of course, say that this was a conspiracy he had devised to deepen the conflict between Iwagakure and Sunagakure.

Now that Konoha is surrounded by enemies, he must do his best to sow discord among these enemies.

Handing over the two elite puppeteers of Sunagakure, Akasuna and Sunagakure, to Iwagakure would undoubtedly greatly provoke the already hostile Sunagakure.

At that time, a major battle may break out again at the border between Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

In this way, the pressure Konoha faces from Sunagakure and Iwagakure can be greatly reduced.

Kirito thought for a moment and decided to try and fool Hanzo, asking in return, "Hanzo, do you know what the core industry of our Land of Rain is?"

Hanzo was silent for a moment, then seemed to realize something and exclaimed, "It's industry!"

"That's right. Due to our unique climate, agriculture in our Land of Rain can't develop, so we have to focus on developing industry. Our industry is mainly heavy industry, such as metal refining and processing. The Land of Earth has always been our Land of Rain's largest exporter of mineral resources. However, because of your previous falling out with Iwagakure, normal trade between the two countries has been severely disrupted. Mineral resources from the Land of Earth can't be transported in, many factories in the country have closed down, and many people have lost their jobs as a result."

Our Land of Rain is currently in dire need of reconstruction. The most important thing right now is to ensure our people have food and jobs, and to improve their lives. Therefore, it is essential to re-establish normal trade relations with the Land of Earth. My purpose in using those two highly skilled puppeteers from Sand Village to trade with Iwagakure is to repair the relationship between our two villages.

Kirito nodded and explained logically and reasonably.

He now has a fairly deep understanding of Hanzo the Salamander.

As a ninja, his opponent was undoubtedly very powerful, and there were few people in the ninja world who could defeat him.

As a leader, he was quite competent, gaining a large number of followers through his personal bravery in leading from the front.

But as a politician, Hanzo the Salamander is not suitable.

His domestic affairs skills were a complete mess. Otherwise, he wouldn't have cut off normal trade between Amegakure and Iwagakure in a fit of anger and implemented a policy of isolationism, completely unaware of the serious consequences this would have on the Land of Rain's economy.

The reason why the Land of Rain has become like this is partly due to the war, and partly due to Hanzo's policy of isolationism.

Many people lost their jobs, had no money to buy food, and even those who had money couldn't buy enough food because food supplies couldn't be delivered from outside, naturally leading to social chaos.

In short, Hanzo the Salamander was a crude warrior with astonishing combat power. He was good at killing and arson, but he was completely incapable of handling domestic affairs.

Hanzo lacked domestic political skills, but his comprehension was still good. When he heard that his closed-door policy, implemented to prevent Iwagakure spies from entering the country, had caused many people to lose their jobs, his face immediately darkened.

He was far too blindly arrogant back then. When Iwagakure tried to win him over, hoping that Amegakure would accept Iwagakure's support and agree to Iwagakure's request to restrain Sunagakure, he completely disregarded it and even mocked Onoki for his wishful thinking, telling him not to try to interfere with him and Amegakure. This caused a conflict between Iwagakure and Amegakure.

As Kirito predicted, Amegakure and Iwagakure continued to become enemies, severely disrupting normal trade between the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth. This ultimately led to the closure of many factories in the Land of Rain, a surge in unemployment, and further exacerbated the conflict between Amegakure and the Daimyo of the Land of Rain, resulting in a reduction in military spending.

The decline of Amegakure began from this point.

He now understood that if the Land of Rain wanted to restore its former glory, it was crucial to maintain friendly relations with the Land of Earth. Otherwise, if many factories in the country lost the supply of raw materials from the Land of Earth, the domestic economy would inevitably suffer a severe blow.

He never imagined that even the economy of the Rain Kingdom would be subject to others.

At this moment, Hanzo began to doubt whether he was qualified to continue as the leader of Amegakure, or whether it was really a good thing for him to continue as the leader of Amegakure.

With his current abilities, he doesn't seem to be a suitable leader to guide the Rain Kingdom to prosperity.

"Masashige, how did you come up with these ideas?"

Hanzo looked up at Kirito and asked in confusion.

The Hattori Masanari he knew was actually about the same level of education as him; neither of them had read many books and could not possibly have seen the current crisis facing the Land of Rain or uttered those words that he had just heard that made a lot of sense.

"It's nothing much. After leaving the Land of Rain, I wandered around and saw many new things. I also read some books when I had nothing to do, so I guess I broadened my horizons a bit."

Upon hearing this, Kirito's face immediately showed a sentimental expression, and he sighed.

Then, his expression turned serious, and he said solemnly to Hanzo:

"Hanzo, in this world, it's not just our Rain Country that is oppressed by other great powers. There are many small countries that are in the same situation, and the lives of the people there are even worse than in the Rain Country. If it weren't for the fact that the Rain Country produced a demigod like you, the Rain Country would have been divided up by the three great powers around it long ago."

"I came here to save the Land of Rain from this disaster. Otherwise, when you, Hanzo, grow old or die, the Land of Rain will only be worse off than it is now. Let's work together to build the Land of Rain stronger than before. I need your strength."

After saying that, he stretched out a hand to Hanzo.

Upon seeing this, Hanzo did not hesitate and immediately reached out to grasp Kirito's outstretched hand, his face showing excitement. He said, "Alright, let's make the Land of Rain even stronger than before. Masashige, come back and assist me. Amegakure needs a wise man with vision like you."

That's right, the Land of Rain cannot become worse than it is now.

His dream has always been to make the Land of Rain the sixth largest country in the ninja world. If he is not capable of fulfilling this dream, then he can leave it to future generations.

However, before that, he must leave a better Rain Country for future generations than the one he has now.

"He really believed me, but I'm sorry, it's impossible for the two of us to do it alone."

Kirito looked at the excited Hanzo of the Salamander in front of him, feeling the pain and warmth coming from his right hand, and sighed in his heart.

What he just said was merely a pretext to prevent Hanzo from doubting his actions and identity; he never expected Hanzo to take it so seriously.

After all, the Land of Rain is adjacent to three major powers: the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind, making it a natural buffer zone for these three powers.

If two of the three major powers go to war, the Rain Country will inevitably become the battlefield for the two powers in order to prevent the war from spreading to their homelands.

Given such a hostile international environment, it's easy to imagine how difficult it would be for the Rain Country to develop; it's practically a nightmare.

Moreover, neither the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, nor the Land of Earth will allow the Land of Rain to grow stronger. Making the Land of Rain a buffer zone without any ability to resist is the ideal choice for these great powers.

In fact, if it weren't for the sudden emergence of Hanzo the Salamander, a demigod who used his immense strength to make Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure realize that Amegakure was not to be trifled with and dare not easily use the Land of Rain as their battlefield, the Land of Rain might have become what it is today much earlier, or even been divided up by the three great powers and turned into a puppet state.

Kirito is now in a difficult situation. If he doesn't agree to Hanzo's request, Hanzo will probably turn against him immediately.

However, this aligns with his previous plan to use Hattori Masanari as a front to become a high-ranking member of Amegakure.

So he immediately put himself in the shoes of a high-ranking member of Amegakure and said coldly, "No problem, I'll go back with you this time. But before I go back, I think Amegakure needs to undergo a purification process. Hanzo, what do you think?"

"it is good."

Hanzo remained silent for a moment, a look of reluctance and hesitation flashing across his face, but he ultimately put on a cold expression and said in a cold voice.

If the Land of Rain wants to be reborn, it must start with the rebirth of Amegakure.

It's tough for a new author to get ahead, so I hope all my fellow readers will visit often to increase the readership. After you finish reading, I hope you'll vote for this book and invest in it. If you could give me some monthly tickets and rewards, I would be extremely grateful. It's so hard for a new author and a new book.

(End of this chapter)