Chapter 1: The Leader of the Land of Grass
"Lord Hikaru, it's time!" Hearing someone call him, Kenji, who was sprawled out on his desk, slowly opened his eyes and looked up at his assistant.
She was a gentle, red-haired woman with a generous demeanor.
Then…
He lifted his head from her lap. "Sorry, I overslept again, Kana."
He stretched comfortably.
Kenji.
A transmigrator.
That's right.
He had become the universally despised Daimyo of the Land of Grass and the Village Head of Kusagakure.
This model, where the Daimyo is also the village leader, was very common in smaller nations. After all, small countries lacked population and had weak military strength. Therefore, to maintain stability and concentrate their power, the military authority was also held by the Daimyo.
"It's alright!" Kana smiled gently and shook her head. "The Land of Grass is rebuilding! Lord Hikaru has been working very hard!"
As she spoke, her eyes, filled with a soft light, gazed at the black-haired young man before her.
He was the one who had saved her and brought her to the Land of Grass, giving her a home so she no longer had to wander.
"By the way, Lord Mujina said that you should go to the meeting room when you wake up. It seems to be something very important."
"Something very important? What is it now?" Hikaru frowned slightly at Kana. "Didn't I say not to bother with other matters for now? All work should be focused on the reconstruction of the Land of Grass!"
The Land of Grass.
Located northwest of the Land of Fire, it bordered the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Rain. Because of this, much like the Land of Rain which often served as a battlefield for the great nations, the Land of Grass did not have it easy. It had even been destroyed during the later stages of the First Great Shinobi War.
Only now, after more than a decade, had it begun to rebuild.
And Kana was someone who had come to the Land of Grass during its reconstruction.
Red hair!
The Uzumaki Clan!
Without a doubt…
This was the future "first-aid kit" of Kusagakure, the mother of the devoted Karin, that tragic woman!
Of course, now that he had become the Daimyo of the Land of Grass, he certainly wouldn't do something so depraved.
So, he had immediately made her his assistant and had her conceal her special constitution.
Now she stayed by his side, serving as his secretary, assisting him with all matters related to the Land of Grass.
Speaking of which… the country was truly like its name.
The Land of Grass, surviving in the cracks between the great nations, was like a small weed, stubbornly holding on to life.
If they didn't have their own jutsu, they would steal or copy them. If they didn't have missions, they relied on brokering intelligence between the three nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind. They were skilled in diplomacy and information gathering, using intelligence from various countries to exchange for a chance at survival.
Like grass on a wall, swaying with the wind. One day, seeing Iwagakure's might, they would pledge allegiance to Iwagakure. The next day, seeing Konoha's strength, they would shout to Konoha, "Kusagakure and Konoha have a long-standing historical bond, we are our own people!" They didn't even care about saving face.
But it was precisely because of this that a small country like the Land of Grass could tenaciously survive through constant warfare, unlike the Land of Whirlpools… which was so utterly destroyed that even its shinobi clan was facing extinction.
Of course, there was another possibility.
The Land of Whirlpools was truly powerful, and everyone was afraid of it rising again. But the Land of Grass… what was that thing again?
Even the jutsu in their country were knock-offs of others. So what if it rose up? How strong could it be?
These people…
They looked down on the power of imitation!
Underestimating the Land of Grass?
Kusa Hikaru.
That was his name now.
Using Kusa as a surname… speaking of which, besides the Mu and Ryu clans, the Land of Grass had no other surnames. Most people only had given names.
In the shinobi world… only nobles had surnames.
One could just imagine.
The Land of Grass was truly pathetic.
Oh, right, now they had to add the Uzumaki clan. Although there was only one member, she would surely become a part of the Land of Grass in the future.
"Forget it!" Kusa Hikaru yawned, looking at the neatly dressed, clean, and poised Kana standing beside him.
After some time, Kana had already become an excellent assistant.
"Let's go and see what's going on."
"Understood!" Kana smiled gently and nodded. However, seeing the fatigue on Hikaru's face, she hesitated for a moment, her cheeks blushing slightly as she whispered, "How about… um… Lord Hikaru… you replenish… your… energy?"
Replenish energy.
That's what Lord Hikaru had called it, saying it was a way to avoid suspicion.
"You'll feel more refreshed this way~"
"?!"
A short while later.
A re-energized Lord Hikaru, accompanied by Kana, arrived at the Kusagakure meeting room.
It was a temporarily constructed meeting room, so it wasn't much to look at.
At this time.
The higher-ups of Kusagakure were already waiting inside.
As he entered, under everyone's gaze, Hikaru sat directly in the main seat. He looked at the nobles of Kusagakure before him, clasped his hands in front of his chin, and asked with a serious expression, "What happened? Why the urgency?"
"Lord Hikaru!" x5
The tiny Land of Grass, including him and Kana, had only seven people in its entire upper echelon. Moreover, aside from himself, Mujina, and Ryuko, who were reasonably strong, the skills of the others… were particularly weak.
Because of this, during the Third Great Shinobi War, if it weren't for Karin serving as a "first-aid kit", the Land of Grass would have been nearly crushed by the Kaguya clan and destroyed once again… It was truly a disaster-prone nation to think about.
"My apologies for disturbing you, Lord Hikaru!"
Mujina was a clever man, possessing the traditional skill of Kusagakure… bluffing, also known as having an advanced case of social and diplomatic mastery.
The reconstruction of Kusagakure was largely thanks to him.
Of course, this guy would also be the first to flee without hesitation when faced with danger.
And although most of Kusagakure's mainstream jutsu were copies, Mujina's family still possessed several excellent Fire Style jutsu. Therefore, compared to the others, Mujina's strength as a Jonin was already considered top-tier in the Land of Grass.
However.
He was a scoundrel who got things done.
"Konoha has heard about our reconstruction and hopes that Kusagakure can continue to cooperate with them. They want me to lead an attack from above the Land of Rain to assist Konoha's forces and end the war as soon as possible!"
As he finished speaking, the meeting room fell silent. Aside from Kana, who was slightly taken aback, the others openly displayed looks of refusal.
It couldn't be helped.
The Land of Grass had just begun to rebuild and had no spare capacity to join the war.
"Impossible!" A cold, white-haired woman named Ryuko immediately refused, shaking her head. "The most important thing for the Land of Grass is reconstruction. We don't have enough personnel, let alone spare hands to join a war!"
"That's right!"
"To hell with Konoha! It's not the first time we've betrayed them anyway. Let's switch sides and ally with Iwagakure this time!"
"Yes, Iwagakure is developing quite well right now!"
"..."
The group began to shamelessly chatter, discussing their fickle, opportunistic plans.
They weren't ashamed of it; in fact, they seemed proud.
After all, this was the survival creed of Kusagakure: be a weed on the wall, swaying to whichever side is stronger.
Listening to them, Hikaru's face darkened. Although being an opportunist… playing all sides was a time-honored tradition for Kusagakure—after all, the Land of Grass was weak in every aspect—they couldn't talk about it so brazenly!
Besides, they couldn't rely on playing all sides forever. That was a lack of ambition!
It seemed this old way of thinking needed to be changed.
Education!
That had to be arranged immediately!
He looked at his system.
[Ninja Orders]
Just as the name suggested… it was an order system. As long as he completed the orders, he would receive corresponding rewards. It was originally just an event in a game, but he didn't expect to have brought it with him.
Unfortunately.
He was playing on a private server. If only he had brought the benefits interface, he remembered the VIP codes. He could have reached a combat power of ten million in minutes, and even Six Paths Madara would have been no match for him!
However.
The system seemed to be bugged. Some characters who shouldn't have been born yet were actually on the list.
It was probably a complete copy of the game data.
Of course, Kusa Hikaru didn't mind. As long as he could become stronger, it was fine.
Just as Hikaru was looking at his system.
"I think we can agree to it. In some respects, Konoha is better than Iwagakure. At least they don't arbitrarily start wars!" Mujina shook his head and said with a smile. "Kusagakure is rebuilding and needs time. There's no need to antagonize Konoha! We can agree to help but not actually contribute any real effort. We can even cooperate with Konoha on one hand, and on the other, have a word with the leader of Amegakure. I believe they don't want another village joining the battlefield either, even if it's just a small one!"
"..."
Truly a man who had maxed out Kusagakure's "Art of Political Maneuvering". He could say such shameless things without batting an eye.
Playing both sides?
Brilliant~
At that moment, Mujina pushed forward a stack of documents. "Also, regarding the talent poaching… in Kusagakure's, ahem, 'Project Heaven's Deception', the target the leader mentioned has been located!"
(End of Chapter)