Chapter 182: Edge After the War

The scroll prepared by the staff under Elder Genshi was written with extreme brevity, aiming for clarity and speed.

In essence, Kirigakure was looking to hire shinobi and civilians from Amegakure to help complete D- and C-rank missions issued within the Rain Country.

Nestled between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, Yahiko and the other two found the content on the scroll surprisingly familiar at first glance.

Although the Third Great Ninja War had officially ended three months ago, the air still reeked of gunpowder. Hidden tensions had only grown sharper and more volatile.

As Konoha and Sunagakure began withdrawing their forces from the battlefield and reassigning ninja to peacetime duties, they noticed something strange.

The number of D-rank missions had plummeted—so drastically that it nearly matched the number of A- and S-rank missions.

A bizarre phenomenon.

Neither the Hokage nor the Kazekage dared take the matter lightly. They immediately launched investigations.

What they uncovered was astonishing: during the war, most D-rank missions had been carved up and taken over by several newly emerged corporate groups!

This was unprecedented—even in the previous two wars.

Back then, industries and citizens across various nations knew that shinobi were busy fighting. Most people wouldn't bother issuing missions to active combat villages. They'd either wait until the fighting was over or go to other, non-participating villages.

During the war, Kirigakure's ninja roamed across the continent, handling these alternative missions.

The other villages turned a blind eye. After all, they couldn't spare the manpower. And they couldn't exactly put a blade to their clients' throats and say,

"Don't cause trouble until we're done fighting!"

That just wasn't realistic.

So they let Kirigakure and even Takigakure take those jobs. They figured, once the war ended, their loyal clients would come back.

That was how things worked—at least for high-level, cross-border C- to S-rank missions.

But what about the local, small-scale D-rank ones?

When they dug deeper into their own populations, the upper ranks of both Konoha and Sunagakure found themselves staring at grim reports.

In the span of a single year, several corporations had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and carved up the entire D-rank mission market. It was like they'd coordinated in advance—each one taking a designated territory.

And it was even worse in the more developed Land of Fire. There, these corporations had gone so far as to set up public computer access points—entirely at their own expense!

Civilians could walk in, log on, and submit missions through the network. The simplicity of the process attracted waves of users.

And that wasn't even the worst of it.

Sure, it made sense for them to expand their influence during the war. And using a computer network to streamline the process? That was clever. Copyable. Even bannable.

But there were three fatal points that made it impossible for Konoha and Sunagakure to retaliate against these so-called "corporate enemies" who were robbing them blind.

First, the cost of a single mission.

Traditional ninja missions started at 5,000 ryō. These companies charged an average of less than 500 per job. Dirt cheap in comparison.

Trying to shut them down would mean forcing citizens to go back to paying ten times as much.

You'd be universally hated.

Second, the people these companies hired.

Other than a few from the Land of Water, most workers were local hires. These jobs—cleaning services, deliveries, security—needed tons of manpower. And they offered solid, stable salaries, far better than farming.

Cutting them off would make Konoha and Sunagakure look like villains, taking food out of the people's mouths. Again—universal hate.

Third, the daimyō's government.

These companies hadn't skipped out on taxes. Quite the opposite—they paid every coin owed and made hefty "donations" to the daimyō's coffers.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen and Rasa raised their concerns to the daimyōs, they got a blunt reply:

"Stay put. Don't make trouble."

They looked around, only to find enemies both above and below. Strangers on all sides.

These corporate forces hadn't just appeared out of thin air. Their sudden rise and ruthless efficiency clearly pointed to someone pulling the strings from the shadows.

It wasn't long before Sarutobi remembered a document signed years ago with Kirigakure—an agreement to hire their shinobi to escort trade ships.

They'd used this very method before.

It didn't take much digging. Hidden village shinobi weren't raised for nothing.

An investigation revealed that all of these companies were secretly protected by Kirigakure ninja. Many of their core members hailed from the Land of Water!

The war was over, and the four great villages were all severely weakened. Kirigakure had been conserving its strength.

And now the young Mizukage was playing dirty—employing a strategy never before seen in the ninja world:

Economic warfare.

Konoha and Sunagakure knew this hit at the heart of their survival.

Neither could find a way to ban these companies internally, so they coordinated and turned their sights outward—launching a diplomatic offensive against Kirigakure.

Everyone across the ninja world watched as the war of words raged on for three months.

Iwagakure soon realized the same issue was creeping into their country too. But compared to the inferno sweeping through the Lands of Fire and Wind, theirs was still just a spark.

Kumogakure was an ally of Kirigakure. And since Kirigakure didn't have the strength to challenge all four major villages, they never laid plans in the Land of Lightning. After forming their alliance, they even warned the Fourth Raikage in advance.

...

In the heart of the continent, in the Land of Rain, Yahiko and the others were well aware of this explosive post-war development.

And now, it seemed Kirigakure had its eyes on Amegakure too?

The offer made to the Akatsuki wasn't just an empty promise.

The encrypted message in the scroll made it clear: if the Akatsuki were willing to support and assist Kirigakure's operations in the Land of Rain, they'd be handsomely rewarded.

The Kirigakure envoys had brought more than just words. They came bearing cold, hard cash, ninja tools, and other valuable supplies—far from a small sum.

If they accepted it, Yahiko estimated the Akatsuki wouldn't have to worry about funding for the next three years.

And there was more. Kirigakure promised that once they gained a foothold in the Land of Rain, the local branches would prioritize hiring the Akatsuki.

So long as the Akatsuki didn't undergo any drastic changes, Kirigakure would fully support their future growth.

This wasn't a small matter.

Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato asked the Kirigakure ninja to wait as they moved to another room for a private meeting.

But the three of them were barely twenty. Though Jiraiya had taught them the core ninja arts needed to survive in this world, he hadn't prepared them for matters of statecraft.

They were at a loss, and all they could do was repeat the same question:

"What should we do?"

No one had taught them how to deal with this. The only people they could consult were each other.

Should they agree?

What would happen if they did?

Konan, the only girl in the group—and the one with the clearest head—was the first to calm down.

"We can take a cue from what's happening in Konoha and Sunagakure."

What was happening in Konoha and Sunagakure?

Caught off guard by Kirigakure's long-brewing scheme, their D-rank mission systems had been gutted—if not destroyed outright.

As for what lay deeper, or what the long-term outcome would be—Yahiko and the others couldn't begin to guess.

But even looking at just the surface—the way Konoha and Sunagakure were teetering on the edge of all-out war with Kirigakure—it wasn't hard to see this for what it was:

A calculated conspiracy designed to cripple the hidden villages.

If the Akatsuki agreed to help Kirigakure with this plan, Amegakure would surely turn against them. Eventually, they'd end up clashing with Hanzo of the Salamander.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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