Chapter 256: The Warring States Situation
Howling winds roared as a small city loomed faintly within the swirling sand…
"Step, step!"
Heavy footsteps pressed into the sand. Looking at the barely visible city, Yeshenke respectfully lowered his head. "Teacher Jiexuan, this is the Land of wilds!"
"Mm."
Li Jiexuan nodded lightly. Only when he approached the city did he realize just how heavily fortified it was. Nearly a thousand samurai stood atop the walls, guarding the city.
Beyond that, he also sensed the presence of chakra…
And not in small numbers!
As expected no matter how small a country might be, ninja were indispensable. After all, many ninja villages didn't even have a nation backing them and could still sustain themselves. There was no reason a place supported by a country couldn't cultivate ninja…
"In that case, why didn't you bring some ninja with you?" Li Jiexuan frowned slightly. Even for Noshimura, a daimyo, to appear in another country during wartime was strange.
Five minutes later, after listening to Yeshenke's explanation, Li Jiexuan finally understood everything…
In the world of Naruto, many small countries existed between the great nations as buffer zones like the countries surrounding the Land of Wind: Bird, Rain, River, and wild…
These smaller nations varied in strength. Under normal circumstances, they would have long since gone to war, seeking unification.
However, the great Land of Wind, in order to preserve these buffer states, forbade the smaller nations from waging war. Because once unified, not only would the buffer zone disappear, but the newly formed larger nation could also threaten their status…
"But a year ago, the Hidden Sand Village was destroyed by Konoha." Yeshenke cursed bitterly. "Since then, the Land of Wind has no longer had the strength to control its borders. Taking advantage of this opportunity, every nation wants to rise, and the region has fallen into endless war!"
Hearing this, Li Jiexuan couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. He hadn't expected that all these nations fighting and killing each other could ultimately be traced back to his own actions…
"But as a daimyo, why would you appear in enemy territory?" Li Jiexuan still couldn't understand. Wasn't that basically asking to be captured?
At this point, Noshimura spoke up from the side.
"In this chaos among the nations, our Land of wilds is the weakest. If we don't seek outside assistance, sooner or later we will be destroyed by our neighbor, the Land of Birds!"
Noshimura was clearly trying to tell Li Jiexuan: this is a hopeless mess even if you take it, it won't be worth anything…
But Li Jiexuan wasn't paying attention to that at all.
"Outside assistance? Which country did you go to?"
"The Land of Rain!"
At this, Noshimura gritted his teeth. "The daimyo of the Land of Rain sent a letter saying I had to personally visit him before he would send troops to help!"
"So you went?"
"I assumed that with the Land of Birds lying between us, he wouldn't dare bypass it and directly attack the Land of wilds." Noshimura clenched his teeth. "But I didn't expect him to ally with the Land of Birds and sell me out!"
"…Right."
Li Jiexuan could only think this really had the style of a certain schemer.
The Land of Birds would gain the Land of wilds, while the Land of Rain would monopolize vast territories that the Land of Wind could no longer control. Silently, the two nations had reached an agreement…
"Looks like this mission won't be simple."
Li Jiexuan shook his head helplessly. The situation of the Land of wilds was far worse than he had imagined. It couldn't even manage a "distant alliance" strategy its situation was utterly rotten, with the threat of destruction looming at any moment.
But since he was here…
"The Land of wilds will never fall!"