The Conspiracy Begins to Surface

The Land of Waves somewhat resembled Okinawa from Ino's previous life, with its subtropical climate and a network of rivers crisscrossing the country. Along the riverbanks grew plant communities that the locals called mangrove forests.

The residents wore bamboo-woven hats, and the town was filled with a heavy mist.

Ino kept observing her surroundings.

The town was simply too small. If something happened in any household, the whole town would know within five minutes. There was really no room for any mischief, and she didn't see Little White, who was supposed to be out buying medicine in women's clothing.

Since she didn't see him, it was time to head back.

Carrying bags of various sizes and holding four fish, Ino used a Sensory Jutsu before leaving and unexpectedly made a discovery.

A seemingly weak Chakra reaction appeared within her sensing range, moving rapidly about five kilometers north of the town.

In the entire world, the number of people who could use Chakra was very small. In a tiny place like the Land of Waves, the number of such individuals could be counted on one hand.

Was it Haku? He seemed weaker than she had anticipated.

Ino quickly left the market.

She didn't recklessly rush to intercept but instead enhanced her sensory abilities on an eagle, using its eyes to search the area she had discovered earlier.

"Huh? Who is this guy?"

No one without eyebrows or any cross-dressing figures appeared. In the eagle's vision, there was only a thin man wearing a wide robe with a katana at his waist.

Afraid she might have misjudged, Ino sensed again. No mistake, it was indeed this guy who had used Chakra while running.

A samurai from some country?

Chakra was mostly used by ninjas, but it wasn't exclusive to them. It was just that ninjas monopolized this knowledge. Some ancient priestesses and samurai could also use Chakra.

The Shinobi World was actually an extremely closed circle. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the five major ninja villages, along with the samurai of the Land of Iron, gathered a total of 80,000 troops, but there was a lot of exaggeration in that number.

Throughout history, it was common to inflate numbers—10,000 became 30,000, 100,000 became 200,000, and 200,000 became 800,000.

The ninja alliance wasn't that inflated. Judging by Ino's ninja registration number, 012604, even after accounting for those who had defected, died in battle, or from illness, the Hidden Leaf Village, the most populous and powerful ninja village, might not have been able to muster 20,000 ninjas, even if they included all clan ninjas who didn't attend the Ninja Academy, from ages 8 to 80.

Sunagakure and Kirigakure were even worse off. The former was vast but sparsely populated, while the latter was plagued by internal strife. How many ninjas could they possibly have left? This so-called 80,000-strong army likely included every ninja in the Shinobi World. Ino remembered that Old Jonin Rashi, who publicly stated that the Cloud Hidden Village had sent Kinkaku and Ginkaku to capture the Nine-Tails before Uchiha Madara, was among those 80,000.

Genji was indeed 90 years old, but he didn't have to go to the battlefield. How old was Rashi? 81! Two years older than the Third Tsuchikage. An 81-year-old man shouting about fighting the enemy to the death—what kind of scene was that? This 80,000-strong ninja alliance also included a significant number of samurai. The total population of the Shinobi World was probably around 60,000 to 70,000. How many people were there in the entire world? Over a billion! The Shinobi World's population was less than one-thousandth of the global population.

Ninja techniques and the use of Chakra were undoubtedly skills mastered by an elite few within a small circle.

Nowadays, it's quite rare to come across a samurai who can use chakra.

As the thin samurai entered a heavily guarded farmhouse, about a quarter of an hour later, he emerged once more.

Should she intervene in this matter? Just as Ino was pondering, two more men followed the thin samurai out. One was a tall, black-haired man with prayer beads around his neck, whom she didn't recognize. His rather lavish attire suggested he might be a noble from the Land of Water.

The other man, who was portly and wore a constant smile, she had seen before—at least in photographs. This fat man was a close subordinate of Dango, the chief financial officer of the Land of Fire.

Dango managed the finances of the Land of Fire, answering only to the daimyo of the Land of Fire, truly a man of immense power, second only to the daimyo himself. Why would his trusted subordinate appear in the tiny Land of Waves? And why was he negotiating with someone who seemed to be from the Land of Water? Could it be that they were responding to the Third Hokage's call to improve bilateral relations in the Land of Waves ahead of time?

That was absolutely impossible!

Ino was not enthusiastic about forming an alliance with the Hidden Mist Village. In three years, Kaguya Otsutsuki would return. What use was an alliance now? But she was of low status and could hardly speak to the Third Hokage about the conspiracies of Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito.

She couldn't stop the affairs between the two villages, but she could at least see if there was any benefit to be gained.

Now, it seemed that the two nations were secretly plotting something? She felt she couldn't just sit back; she needed to know what they were up to.

As Dango's fat subordinate and the lavishly dressed noble from the Land of Water left the farmhouse, Ino didn't move against them. Instead, she looked in the direction the thin samurai had gone, released her control over the hawk, and pursued him herself.

"Who's there?"

The thin samurai, galloping on horseback, reacted swiftly. Sensing a gust of wind behind him, he didn't hesitate. Standing up in the stirrups, he prepared to leap to the side, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword, twisting his torso to assume an Iaido stance.

He was fast, but Ino, who had already boosted her speed to 6, was faster.

The kunai struck the samurai's back with force, slicing through as he jumped. The wound on his back affected his movement, causing his leap to falter. His right foot got caught in the stirrup, and with a loud "thud," he fell face-first to the ground, dragged over a hundred meters by the galloping horse.

Ino waited for a moment, ensuring the samurai had no means of escape, then threw another kunai to cut the stirrup's rope.

Worried he might not tell the truth, she didn't bother questioning him. Instead, she knocked him out with a punch, dragged him to a secluded spot, and began reading his mind.

"Hah, so you're a samurai of the Land of Water's daimyo, negotiating with the Land of Fire's Dango, and Tenzen Daikokuten? A noble from the Land of Water..."

Ino carefully reviewed his recent memories.

On the surface, it appeared to be a private meeting between nobles from the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, with no substantial issues discussed.

The core of the matter wasn't surprising. Ninjas, who made up less than a thousandth of the world's population, wielded 99% of its military power. The Great Ninja War was essentially just a brawl between a few villages, but the ninja techniques of the Jonin could easily destroy entire villages or level two mountains.

The individuals who control 99% of the world's wealth began to feel discontent, and more so, insecurity. In a situation where their future is uncertain, what use are power and money?

They believed that everything the ninjas wore, ate, and used was supplied by them, and thus, they should have more rights. They colluded together, attempting to grasp more military power.

This matter involved a significant number of people, and even the shadows of the daimyo of the Land of Fire and the daimyo of the Land of Water could be seen among them.

Ino shook her head secretly. She really wanted to say to those two, "Daimyo, why are you plotting a rebellion?"