The first harvest had changed everything.
Liyue was no longer struggling to survive.
The fields were producing food.
The oasis continued expanding.
More travelers were arriving.
And the population had reached nearly one hundred.
Noel stood on the highest point of the city wall, looking across the desert.
The settlement below was alive.
Farmers carried baskets of crops.
Merchants moved between stalls.
Children played along the stone streets.
Workers expanded the walls.
Noel smiled.
“Not bad.”
Aran stood beside him.
“You’re thinking about something.”
Noel nodded.
“I am.”
He pointed toward the endless desert.
“Liyue can’t remain this small forever.”
Aran looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Noel’s expression became serious.
“This entire region is going to change.”
He remembered the future he knew from Naruto.
The great nations.
The villages.
The wars.
The shinobi clans.
The Land of Wind.
But none of those things existed yet.
Not in this era.
There were only scattered human settlements.
Tribes.
Travelers.
Small communities.
No great nation had claimed the desert.
Noel looked at the horizon.
“Someday, this entire land could become one country.”
Aran’s eyes widened.
“And Liyue?”
Noel smiled.
“Liyue will be its heart.”
A Future Capital
The system appeared.
[Long-Term Objective detected.]
[Develop Liyue into a regional capital.]
[Potential future status: Capital of the Land of Wind.]
Noel stared.
“…You already know?”
[Projected historical development detected.]
“So eventually this desert becomes the Land of Wind.”
[Possible.]
“Possible?”
[The future remains subject to host actions.]
Noel smiled.
“Then we’ll make it happen.”
He looked at the city.
“Liyue won’t merely survive.”
“It’ll become the center of this land.”
Aran smiled.
“Then I’ll help build it.”
The First Expansion
Noel gathered the city’s leaders.
“We’re expanding.”
The council immediately began discussing plans.
New farmland.
New roads.
New wells.
More defensive walls.
Trading routes.
Noel listened to every suggestion.
Then he pointed toward the map.
“We need to connect the surrounding settlements.”
One merchant looked surprised.
“Other settlements?”
“Yes.”
“They aren’t part of Liyue.”
“Not yet.”
The room became quiet.
Noel smiled.
“We’re going to offer them something.”
“What?”
“Protection.”
He pointed toward the desert.
“Water.”
Then the farms.
“Food.”
Finally, the city.
“And a place to trade.”
Noel leaned back.
“They can remain independent if they want.”
“But if they want to join us…”
He smiled.
“…we welcome them.”
The system appeared.
[Diplomatic development initiated.]
[Morax Template Synchronization: 5.0%]
Noel chuckled.
“Another five percent eventually.”
The Golden Statue
That evening, Noel walked through the central plaza.
His statue stood beneath the moon.
The faint golden glow illuminated the surrounding streets. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
A young child sat beneath it.
Noel stopped.
“Why are you sitting here?”
The child looked up.
“My mother says this place makes people feel safe.”
Noel smiled.
“Does it?”
The child nodded.
“Yes.”
Noel looked at the statue.
He had created it as a symbol.
But now it had become something more.
It represented home.
He quietly placed a hand against the statue.
A faint golden pulse spread through the stone.
The child smiled.
“Lord Noel?”
“Hm?”
“Are you a god?”
Noel froze.
“…Why would you ask that?”
“Because everyone says you made Liyue.”
Noel looked at the statue.
Then at the city.
“I don’t know.”
He smiled.
“Maybe someday.”
Far away, the Tailed Beasts felt the change.
Kurama opened his eyes.
Shukaku is becoming something strange.
Gyūki laughed.
He’s building a kingdom.
Matatabi added:
And humans seem to trust him.
Son Gokū grinned.
Perhaps we should visit.
Kurama’s ears twitched.
Eventually.
Back in Liyue, Noel looked toward the distant desert.
He didn’t know exactly how the future would unfold.
But he knew one thing.
One day, this barren land would have a name.
The Land of Wind.
And at its heart would stand a city built from stone.
Liyue.
And above it all…
Would stand the being the people would eventually call:
The Geo Archon.
But that future was still far away.
For now, Noel was simply a Tailed Beast trying to build a city.
And tomorrow…
There was more work to do.
To be continued…