Entering the Land of Rain from the Land of Fire, and then into the Land of Wind, the weather suddenly heated up, as if moving from the rainy season to summer. A giant sun scorched the earth like a furnace.
The excess heat evaporated the moisture from every living being on the ground.
Haruki pulled open the curtains and infused chakra into the air, causing a cool breeze to flow inside from outside the carriage.
Tsunade and the others immediately sighed in relief as their tense bodies relaxed in the coolness.
"Teacher, there's a small town up ahead," Minato Namikaze suddenly shouted.
Haruki lifted his head and looked through the window, seeing an oasis a hundred meters away.
It was like a distorted oil painting.
The green represented the only life, the black showed the marks left by Fire Release, the yellow was the wreckage left by sweeping sand, and humans seemed like insignificant embellishments.
They wore tattered clothes, or rather, rags, indifferent even to being exposed.
Their faces were sallow and emaciated, and they were disheveled and numb.
The houses were tilted and had not been repaired, perhaps due to lack of funds.
Further out, the fertile fields by the flowing lake had disappeared, replaced by the scars of burning and wind blades.
This indicated that the area had been affected by battle.
Some people looked up and noticed Haruki and the others, but there was no reaction. At this point, nothing could stir their emotions.
The world seemed like a mirror.
Outside the mirror was glitz and glamour; inside the mirror was ruin and decay.
Feasting amidst the stench of wine and meat while corpses lie frozen by the roadside.
It was nothing more than that.
"Teacher."
Mikoto Uchiha couldn't bear to look any longer and turned to ask, "Can we help them?"
"How?"
Haruki withdrew his gaze and shook his head expressionlessly:
"Give them food and clothes? You can save them for a moment, but not for a lifetime. Do you think this is the only town like this? The entire war zone is like this. Konoha has some resources to help parts of the Land of Fire, but what about the Land of Wind? They usually rely on external procurement for food; how can they have surplus now?"
At this point, he suddenly snorted coldly.
"The Land of Wind's daimyo and nobles might have food, but most would rather let it rot in warehouses than use it for relief."
"Why?" Mikoto Uchiha was puzzled.
"Because they fear starving themselves. The more they hoard, the safer they feel, and these commoners mean nothing to them."
"How can it be like this?" Mikoto Uchiha was shocked, murmuring.
"And they can take the opportunity to raise prices and make a fortune. It's killing two birds with one stone."
Haruki's mouth curled into a sneer. Nobles live to make profits, and the greater the disaster, the more they earn.
As long as they can maintain their dominance.
Both commoners and ninjas are tools.
Ninjas are just slightly higher-grade and more dangerous tools, treated differently in practice.
But in essence, they are the same.
Haruki glanced at everyone's expressions.
Mikoto Uchiha and Tsunade looked sympathetic.
Minato Namikaze was contemplative. He had started to understand the significance and power of commoners through Haruki's teachings and was trying to figure out how to solve the problem.
But limited knowledge made it difficult for him to come up with good solutions.
"Minato."
Haruki took out a storage scroll. "Go help them."
Minato Namikaze was slightly taken aback. He thought Haruki had decided not to lend a hand after his earlier words.
"Go."
Haruki didn't explain and urged him again.
"Okay."
Minato took the storage scroll, a kunai appearing in his hand, and he sped toward the town. In a moment, he disappeared.
Haruki sighed.
He wasn't truly heartless.
He had experienced such scenes personally at the start of his journey. Without Tsunade, he would have died long ago.
Though he had understood before, he now truly realized that just reforming Konoha was far from enough. The Land of Fire should be prioritized for reform as well.
His original plan was to transform Konoha to control the Land of Fire and reform it from top to bottom.
Moments later, Minato Namikaze returned.
Haruki saw the townspeople kneeling in their direction through his extraordinary vision.
Their previously numb eyes now held hope.
At least a short-term hope for survival.
"Minato, if you were the Kazekage, what would you do?" Haruki asked, taking back the storage scroll and noticing his student's somewhat excited expression from the rescue.
Minato Namikaze fell into thought and said after a few seconds, "Inform the daimyo and rescue them together."
It was a standard, appropriate response.
The most suitable approach given the current situation. If the Kazekage acted independently, it might provoke the daimyo's displeasure.
Sunagakure has long received aid from the daimyo, and they have no resources to spare; they can only hope for help from the daimyo.
"The daimyo might provide help, but how much will reach them?"
"Why?" Minato Namikaze asked.
"Layered exploitation," Haruki smiled faintly. "That's the nature of nobles. Anything that passes through their hands, they try to keep some for themselves. They don't care what the commoners get. And the daimyo wouldn't know because he doesn't get information from the commoners."
"..."
Everyone was silent.
Minato and Mikoto had not dealt with nobles, so they were less aware.
But Tsunade and the two from the Hyuga clan knew their nature well.
A chicken crossing through would end up as mere feathers.
In any space, any country, as long as there are nobles, this result is inevitable.
It's dictated by the system.
Unless the lifeline is in the hands of the state.
Haruki smiled. "What would you do now?"
Minato Namikaze hesitated and said, "Find a way to replace these nobles with fair officials."
"A temporary fix, not a long-term solution." Haruki waved his hand. "How can you ensure that the replacements are fair? People can be deceitful; if they still act the same in secret, isn't it even more dangerous?"
Minato Namikaze was stunned, then fell into deep thought.
Haruki waited for a while but didn't hear an answer.
Ultimately, Minato grew up within the system. Without guidance, he couldn't think of overthrowing it.
"Teacher, is there a solution?" Minato asked straightforwardly.
"Change the system."
"Ah?"
Minato Namikaze was shocked, unable to react.
Another system?
"Never mind, just a thought, said casually. Don't take it to heart."
Haruki shrugged. "After all, we're just ninjas. How to do it specifically isn't our concern."
Minato Namikaze glanced at him, noting that his expression was the same as before.
Just ninjas?
But they don't have to be just ninjas.
He felt there was more to Haruki's words, but since he said so, he didn't press further.
The carriage fell silent again.
The silver-haired loli Tsunade instinctively looked up at Haruki.
Noticing this, Haruki smiled slightly, hugged her slender body, and patted her hair, feeling like an old father.
Tsunade squinted her eyes slightly.
Since the war ended, Haruki's changes had surprised her.
Outsiders might not know, but as his self-proclaimed girlfriend who understands him best, she had keenly sensed these changes, though she still felt some unexpectedness.
If publishing novels, holding celebrations, and creating newspapers were considered business talents, today's insights into the system were beyond a ninja's capacity.
Ninjas follow ninja rules, focusing on completing tasks, not pondering such matters.
Changing the system?
Tsunade found it intriguing.
She was indeed disappointed with the current state of the Land of Fire and even Konoha.
She also knew a bit about what Danzo Shimura was doing.