Being caught bullying his teammates by a squad leader he barely knew was admittedly a little embarrassing for Daimaru.
Fortunately, they were all shinobi.
As long as it wasn’t during a mission, acting a little recklessly wasn’t a big deal.
The pressure shinobi lived under was immense—especially those from Sunagakure, whose circumstances were far from ideal.
Having a small hobby to relieve stress wasn’t a bad thing.
Temari liked cultivating ornamental plants, though the scenery of the Land of Wind was painfully monotonous, consisting of little more than endless desert dotted with a few scattered oases.
Kankuro enjoyed collecting puppets.
It wasn’t entirely for combat—he genuinely loved all kinds of dolls.
Then there was Shikamaru Nara, who loved playing shogi; Choji Akimichi, who enjoyed eating far too much; Hinata Hyuga, who liked pressed flowers; Might Guy, who enjoyed baseball; Kakashi Hatake, who loved Make-Out Paradise; and Hiruzen Sarutobi, who appreciated beautiful women…
In short, life couldn’t revolve entirely around killing and fighting.
People needed something else to enjoy.
As for Daimaru, his temper wasn’t particularly good, so teaching two little girls how to properly respect their teammate really wasn’t a big deal.
Otofū slowly walked over and checked on the unconscious Chi and Yome.
“They’re fine.”
“I know my limits.”
Daimaru explained, sounding just a little guilty.
Otofū sighed.
“They won’t be waking up anytime soon.”
“That’s fine.”
“The sandstorm is still lingering nearby.”
“We’ll rest here awhile and continue once they wake up.”
The sandstorm, which had briefly weakened, began raging once again.
With sand filling the sky, there was no point in rushing back.
That was one of the worst things about the Land of Wind.
The ever-changing weather had an enormous impact on daily life.
Using Earth Release, Otofū excavated a small shelter between two rock faces.
Together with Daimaru, he carried the unconscious Chi and Yome inside before sealing the entrance.
The howling winds of the approaching sandstorm became much quieter.
Inside the dim cave, the two men lit a fire and sat around it, eating and drinking.
“Daimaru.”
After they’d finished eating and Otofū had closed his eyes to rest, he suddenly spoke.
“Do you want stronger teammates?”
Daimaru paused halfway through stuffing dried rations into his mouth.
“Can teammates really be changed that easily?”
“Captain…
you’ve got quite the backing, don’t you?”
“Normally, no.”
“But you’re worth making an exception for.”
Because the matter concerned Daimaru’s future, Otofū carefully chose his words before speaking seriously.
“A Jonin squad leader has a certain amount of authority.”
“If I really put my mind to it…”
“…it’s not impossible.”
“Hearing you say that…”
“It doesn’t sound like this kind of thing is all that uncommon.”
Otofū answered matter-of-factly.
“If someone truly deserves special treatment because of their talent…”
“…the village won’t stubbornly stick to the rules.”
As though recalling something unpleasant, he let out a long sigh.
“You Genin probably don’t realize it…”
“…but the village’s situation isn’t good.”
“The workload of Chunin and Jonin is far heavier than it was before the Third Great Ninja War.”
“If we find promising younger shinobi and help them grow as quickly as possible…”
“…it benefits us too.”
“Because there aren’t enough high-ranking shinobi?”
Daimaru asked.
“Exactly.”
The overall military strength of each hidden village wasn’t exactly confidential, but neither was it public knowledge.
Unless absolutely necessary, discussing such matters privately was forbidden.
Otofū hesitated for a moment before finally confirming Daimaru’s guess.
“Do you know what the greatest loss Sunagakure suffered during the Third Great Ninja War was?”
Daimaru shook his head.
By the time he’d been born, the Third Great Ninja War was already nearing its end.
As an ordinary Genin, there was no chance he’d ever come into contact with such secrets.
Things he hadn’t known before transmigrating were just as unlikely to become known afterward.
Otofū poked at the campfire, causing the dim flames to flare brighter.
The flickering firelight cast shifting shadows across their faces, creating an oddly eerie atmosphere.
“Although we lost to Konohagakure during the Third Great Ninja War…”
“…that was because we simply weren’t strong enough.”
“We have no one else to blame.”
“Apart from a few personal grudges—such as family members being assassinated—the hatred between Sunagakure and Konohagakure wasn’t especially deep.”
Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law had been killed by Konoha’s White Fang, Sakumo Hatake.
That sort of hatred could never simply disappear.
Even so, the weakened Sunagakure needed an alliance with Konohagakure to secure support against its increasingly aggressive mortal enemy—Iwagakure.
The Lands of Wind and Fire shared a common interest in resisting the Land of Earth.
The conflict between Sunagakure and Konohagakure wasn’t irreconcilable.
By contrast, Sunagakure’s relationship with Iwagakure was one of irreconcilable hatred.
Over the past several decades, dozens of northern settlements belonging to the Land of Wind had fallen into enemy hands.
Even now, they had never been fully reclaimed.
The habitable regions of the harsh Land of Wind were already scarce.
Losing even one was unacceptable.
Yet because Sunagakure lacked the strength to recover its lost territory, it had little hope of reclaiming it.
All it could do was establish a defensive line at key northern strategic positions to resist Iwagakure’s gradual encroachment.
“More than ten years ago…”
“We may have lost the war.”
“But our strength remained.”
“If we’d simply been given time to recover…”
“…we could have returned to our former state.”
“But…”
“It was the Daimyo.”
“The ruler of the Land of Wind.”
“That spineless fool was completely deceived by the lies of so-called peace and stability.”
“He actually negotiated a ceasefire with the Land of Fire.”
“The agreement required Sunagakure to reduce the size of its shinobi forces.”
“And nearly thirty percent of our commissioned missions were voluntarily handed over to Konohagakure.”
“Those clauses are the shackles that have left us struggling to survive today.”
To put it simply…
Sunagakure had lost half the battle at Kikyo Castle during the Third Great Ninja War.
The other half had been handed away by the naïve Daimyo of the Land of Wind.
The Land of Fire and Konohagakure gladly accepted the gift that had fallen into their laps.
Within just a few years, they had completely recovered.
Peace had indeed arrived.
But Sunagakure, burdened by hardship, had gradually been pushed to the edge of despair.
So…
even without Orochimaru manipulating Sunagakure into joining the Konoha Crush…
…the village leadership, having already reached the limit of their endurance, would eventually have gone to war with Konohagakure anyway.
It would’ve been one desperate gamble for survival.
Feeling the resentment in Otofū’s voice, Daimaru understood.
Konohagakure’s greed toward its own ally was infuriating.
The foolishness of the Land of Wind’s Daimyo was even more despair-inducing.
If Sunagakure didn’t fight back now…
…it would eventually lose even the strength to resist.
One of the Five Great Hidden Villages would become nothing more than Konohagakure’s vassal…
…and the laughingstock of the entire ninja world.
After a long silence, Otofū gradually calmed himself.
“Daimaru.”
“What do you think?”
“I was once just an ordinary shinobi.”
“It was only because Senior Baki recognized my potential that I was able to become a Jonin.”
Daimaru looked at Otofū’s expectant expression before quietly asking,
“I want to know…”
“After you left your old team…”
“…what happened to your other two teammates?”
Otofū’s expression stiffened.
A bitter smile slowly appeared on his face.
“They…”
“…died in battle long ago.”
“I see…”
Daimaru murmured softly.
“Captain…”
“Thank you for telling me all this today.”
(End of Chapter)
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