Black Naruto: Shadow Moon

In the luxurious palace of the daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind, the lavish decorations and gorgeous furnishings demonstrate the wealth and enjoyment of the ruler.

Thick brocade curtains blocked out the dust from outside, and the air inside the palace was filled with a rich scent of incense.

The Daimyo of the Wind Country, who was sitting in the center of the palace, was a man of indescribable size. He was like a mountain of flesh, almost filling the spacious throne.

The daimyo had a satisfied smile on his face, his eyes half-closed, and he seemed not to care much about anything around him.

His hands were filled with all kinds of delicious food. Every piece of cake and every glass of wine symbolized the blood and sweat of the people of the Wind Kingdom.

Standing in front of him was the leader of the Wind Country Ninja Village - the Third Kazekage.

The Third Kazekage had a stern expression, and his eyes revealed a barely perceptible hint of fatigue and anger.

He was wearing the ninja robe of the Sand Village, with his arms crossed over his chest, silently looking at the ruler of the country in front of him.

He understood that today's conversation would be as difficult as in previous years - every time he came to apply for military funds and funding, the daimyo would always find excuses to cut them or even directly refuse.

"Ah, Lord Sandaime Kazekage, please take a seat." The daimyo said lazily, with a playful smile on his lips and a nonchalant attitude in his voice.

The Third Kazekage frowned slightly, but still sat down opposite the Daimyo and said with a hint of coldness: "Damiyo, this year's military budget and necessary funding requirements for the Sand Village have been listed. I hope you can pay attention to the development needs of our village and give us enough support."

The daimyo slowly raised his eyelids, revealing a pair of greedy eyes. "Oh? Is that so? However, Lord Kazekage III, our country's tax revenue this year is not ideal. As you know, the environment in the Wind Country is bad, and the economic development is slow. In addition, as you know, my expenses... are also quite high." He said, motioning his men to hand him a piece of exquisite pastry.

The Sandai Kazekage's face darkened, and his dissatisfaction became more obvious.

The daimyo of the Wind Country indulges in pleasure every day, and does not care about the lives of the people of the Wind Country or the future of the country.

The people of the Land of Wind lived in dire straits, while the daimyo lived a luxurious life in a luxurious palace.

The country's economy was deteriorating and tax revenues were meager, but the daimyo's extravagant lifestyle was never affected.

"Your Excellency, the Sand Village is charged with protecting the Kingdom of Wind. Our ninjas need resources to train, and the village needs funds to maintain operations. If we continue to cut military spending and funding, we will not be able to effectively protect the country's security," the Third Kazekage said firmly, with a hint of suppressed anger in his voice.

The daimyo waved his hand nonchalantly, as if he was shooing away an annoying fly.

"Lord Fengying, I understand your difficulties, but you must also understand mine. The country's financial situation is worrying, and I'm holding several important banquets recently, which cost a lot. I'm afraid I can't give you too much support." He paused, a trace of calculation flashed in his eyes.

"Of course, you can consider other ways to increase income, such as... further exploiting the mineral resources of the Wind Country? I heard that you yourself are a master of magnetic escape, and you can completely subsidize the village's finances through ore refining."

The Third Kazekage felt humiliated. As the leader of the Sand Village, he had to use magnetic jutsu to mine in the desert to maintain the village's economy.

He knew that the daimyo was deliberately making things difficult for him, taking advantage of the defeat in the Second Ninja World War to cut military spending and further restrict the development of the Sand Village.

"Your Excellency the Daimyo, the ninjas of the Sand Village are already doing their best to protect the Kingdom of Wind, and the village is also doing its best to keep operating, but we need your support to move forward," the Third Kazekage said calmly, trying his best to control his emotions.

The Daimyo shrugged and said nonchalantly, "I'll consider it, Kazekage-sama. However, you have to understand my difficulties. Perhaps... the situation will improve next year."

The Third Kazekage's mood became increasingly heavy.

He knew that it was impossible to expect this greedy daimyo to be responsible for the future of the Sand Village.

He could only rely on his own strength to continue to fight for all possible resources for the village.

He took a deep breath, stood up, bowed slightly to the daimyo, and then turned and left.

"I hope you can remember that the safety of the Wind Kingdom concerns the fate of everyone, including yourself." He left this sentence coldly and walked out of the palace full of luxury and decadence.

Walking out of the palace gate, the Third Kazekage looked up at the vast desert and secretly decided in his heart that no matter how great the difficulties he faced, he would strive for more resources for the Sand Village to ensure the survival and development of the village.

No matter how difficult it was, he couldn't let the Sand Village decline in such a barren land.

Uchiha Kagezuki, Hinata Ayane and Yamanaka Chinatsu stood on the high ground of the Sand Village, overlooking the village surrounded by endless yellow sand.

In stark contrast to Konoha's lush forests and pleasant climate, the Sand Village's environment appears extremely desolate and harsh.

The wind blew up sand and gravel, which kept hitting the stone walls of the village. The air was filled with a suffocating dryness and heat.

Uchiha Kagezuki observed all this silently, secretly thinking about the current living conditions of the Sand Village.

He had heard that the economic situation of the Sand Village was not good, but when he saw it with his own eyes, he realized that the degree of poverty here was far beyond his imagination.

Most of the buildings in the village are made of rough stones and clay bricks, lacking basic decoration and appearing rough and simple.

The villagers were dressed simply, their faces covered with wrinkles caused by wind and sand erosion, and their eyes revealed a sense of fatigue and numbness.

"The environment here is exactly the same as that of Iwagakure," Ayane whispered, with a hint of worry in her voice, "It's even worse than Iwagakure."

"That's right," Yingyue nodded, looking around the village, "It's really difficult to maintain the operation of a village in such a barren land."

"No wonder the ninjas here have to rely on the daimyo's grants and missions to make a living," Chinatsu interrupted, "If the ninjas of Sand Village take control of the economy, their existence will become a threat to the daimyo of Wind Country. This may be the reason why the daimyo of various countries are on guard against ninjas."

Uchiha Kagezuki thought to himself, just as Chinatsu said, if the ninjas have mastered the military power and also controlled the economy, then gaining huge political power would be a natural thing.

This is exactly what the daimyos and officials of various countries do not want to see. They do not want the ninja group to be not only their tool, but also a threat to their power.

"It has become an unspoken rule in this world that ninjas do not engage in production activities," Shadow Moon said in a deep voice, "Daimyo want ninjas to rely on their economic support, so that ninjas have to obey them, rather than taking control of the fate of the country."