The Frost ninja village was completely wiped out. Based on what little remained of the Frost shinobi who survived, it was almost certainly Cloud Village behind this.
When Cangyan received the news, his first reaction was rage.
Smaller ninja villages weren't like the Five Great Ninja Villages.
They lacked both the strength to expand and the influence needed for international operations.
As a result, these minor villages relied far more heavily on funding from their daimyo.
Even dogs deserve consideration from their masters—they'd been under our protection for years, yet someone just wiped them out entirely.
How could Cangyan not be furious?
Yet when he looked at the map,
Lightning Country stretched vast across the land, while his tiny Frost Country was barely a speck. There was no way to retaliate.
Let it go.
Now that Lightning Country had openly turned hostile, all he wanted was to find a new protector for his nation.
Hidenaga White Zetsu—the man known among allies and enemies alike for his icy logic—seated himself without waiting. "So what's next? Keep funding them again? Wait another two or three years to train up a new batch of ninja?"
"What else are we supposed to do then?"
"In my opinion, there's no need. Why waste money on a bunch of useless people?"
Cangyan fell silent.
"What exactly have they done for national defense? What have they contributed to the economy? If they're of no use whatsoever, why keep them around at all?"
"Without ninja, ordinary people wouldn't stand a chance against invasion. Other countries have them, so I must have them too."
"But aren't there plenty of countries surviving perfectly fine without ninja?"
"Hidenaga, what exactly are you implying?" Cangyan shot back.
Hidenaga White Zetsu smiled and continued, "Cangyan, we all know the history of ninja well enough.
A hundred years ago, they were nothing but tools in our hands.
Then came two extraordinary figures—Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
Their unmatched power brought peace to a chaotic era, earning them the submission of all ninja.
For a while after, peace was maintained.
But then the ninja began thinking—they started wondering whether they also deserved a place of their own.
To appease them, we had no choice but to hand over some of our land to them.
Now imagine—if someone equal to Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha appeared in the future?
If someone else leads the ninja forward, giving them time to recover and grow, guiding them toward independent thought?
Won't they want more—perhaps even take everything we possess?"
"How dare they!" Cangyan slammed the table, shouting.
"There's nothing they wouldn't dare," Hidenaga White Zetsu continued calmly. "Ninja have no true loyalties. To achieve their goals, they'll stop at nothing.
They could protect someone today and eliminate them tomorrow—that was nothing out of the ordinary for them.
With their power, who could possibly stop them if they decide to act on their desires?"
At the image flashing through his mind, cold fire flickered in Cangyan's eyes.
"So tell me, why bother keeping such creatures alive?" Hidenaga White Zetsu shrugged carelessly.
After a long silence, Cangyan shook his head repeatedly. "No, we can't. Without ninja, who will defend us from invasion?"
"Then tell me," Hidenaga White Zetsu asked pointedly, "have they ever stopped an invasion?"
Hidenaga White Zetsu chuckled softly, "If they could truly accomplish that, how would our nation have become a battlefield for other countries?"
"What do you suggest we do then?" Cangyan felt displeased with his attitude.
"A cultural renaissance — rid ourselves of ninjas."
Upon hearing this, Cangyan remained stunned for quite a while before scoffing, "You can't possibly mean relying on old-fashioned samurais, shrine maidens, monks, and yin-yang masters, right?"
"Ninjas can be quickly trained, but those old-school practitioners often require decades of hard cultivation. For the same level of strength, ninja using ninjutsu deliver much greater destruction. They do have some use, but on the battlefield, they simply can't match up to ninja."
"Precisely because of this, we must push ninja out of mainstream warfare. Just imagine, how many lives would be needed to stop an ambitious ninja? And how many people would it take to defeat a single samurai?" Hidenaga White Zetsu explained calmly.
"Once upon a time, samurais did hold higher status than ninjas," Cangyan smiled without mirth.
"So what if they did?"
"Hehe, after all that talk, why don't you start by dissolving your own village first?" Cangyan regained his composure.
Cangyan understood exactly what Hidenaga White Zetsu meant.
However, even though ninja rebellion might happen in the future, it was still something for later.
But right now was what worried him more.
If any powerful force were to suddenly attack the Country of Frost, this nation without ninja protection could easily face total annihilation.
Once their country fell and their family perished, all the wealth and luxury he currently enjoyed would vanish completely, and even his life as the daimyo would come to an end.
Future worries could wait until the future; he just wanted to keep enjoying his luxurious, easy life.
A small country like theirs couldn't possibly get dragged into the great power wars — so why even meddle?
Hidenaga White Zetsu cast a calm glance at him and said, "I will reclaim all my rights."
Cangyan smiled faintly without responding further.
This conversation had reached its end — clearly, their minds worked on different wavelengths.
After a while, Cangyan silently issued a dismissal order.
After exiting the palace of the Country of Frost, Hidenaga White Zetsu took out a notebook from inside his robe and carefully flipped through its contents.
"It seems I forgot to mention one point. The effect wasn't achieved, and their reaction wasn't quite what I imagined."
"Since we're not on the same path, I'll have no choice but to turn you into one of us," he murmured to himself.
Country of Hot Springs.
"There are suddenly so many Tsunades appearing, and I can't tell any differences at all."
Shizune sighed while looking at the six identical-looking figures standing before her.
Tsunade silently observed the scene.
According to intelligence provided by Hiroki Hyuga and others, these beings were known as White Zetsu.
By absorbing someone's chakra, they could memorize its characteristics, reproduce identical chakra, and transform into an exact copy of that person including their ninja techniques.
They didn't even need to learn — they were literally born for war.
Although various reasons might prevent these White Zetsu replicas made in her image from displaying her strongest abilities, they still constituted terrifying combat power.
Suddenly, a White Zetsu emerged from underground and announced to the group maintaining their disguises: "Time to move."
Immediately afterward, they all melted into the earth below.
Leaving the White Zetsu free to wreak havoc within the halls of the Frost Country's palace.
Hidenaga White Zetsu strode through the palace corridors, examining the government records and meeting minutes of the Country of Frost.
The written administrative plans were, for the most part, nearly identical.
In fact, many of the discussions were completely the same—the only difference was the recorded time.
Back during his time in the Country of Hot Springs, he had already gone through their official records and meeting logs.
The policies of these two countries were almost identical, as though they were standardized responses from the same source.
In the future, similar situations could simply be copied and reused as-is.
"Even preserving old systems can allow a nation to endure for centuries."
"Governing a country is no more than this," Hidenaga White Zetsu said with a faint smile.
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