Naruto: Did i Just Get Reincarnated as Gojo?

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Unbeknownst to their own ninja forces, the Four Great Kage embarked on a clandestine journey to the Land of Iron, a designated neutral territory.

Convened at the behest of the Fifth Kazekage, Baki, and with the Land of Iron's neutrality assured, the meeting of the four villages was held within the samurai nation.

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The Land of Iron.

Due to historical circumstances, predating the First Shinobi World War, the ninja had agreed not to attack this nation.

Consequently, the Land of Iron had been spared the devastation of several Shinobi World Wars. Of course, to ninja, agreements were often as disposable as toilet paper.

Nevertheless, the Shinobi World did require a neutral ground for peace talks. Moreover, the Land of Iron wasn't protected by ninja, but by a warrior class known as "samurai."

Therefore, even when the Shinobi Wars reached their most fevered pitch, the Land of Iron remained untouched by the conflict.

The Five Great Nations of the ninja world were like diners, the smaller nations were the dishes, and the Land of Iron was the table designated by the diners for their feast.

To redistribute the spoils of the Shinobi World, even Kumogakure and Iwagakure, locked in a generations-long cycle of intense conflict and accumulated hatred, unanimously set aside their animosity and chose to hold secret negotiations in the Land of Iron.

Mifune, leader of the Land of Iron's samurai, served as the mediator for this Four-Kage Summit.

As the leader of a perpetually neutral nation, Mifune couldn't care less why another diner hadn't arrived. After declaring the meeting's commencement, Mifune positioned himself at the chamber door, his hands resting on his sword hilt, eyes closed, standing guard like a stone sentinel.

In his own words: "My iaijutsu can strike you down before you ninja can even complete a hand seal. In other words… you won't even have a chance to weave a sign before your heads roll. So behave yourselves. Abide by the Land of Iron's rules. Ninja battles are strictly prohibited here. I, too, will adhere to my own rules. What transpires in this chamber, stays in this chamber."

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The atmosphere within the secret meeting room was heavy with tension.

Because the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was still undergoing secret treatment, Kirigakure was represented by Ao—the right-hand man of the Elder Council.

Ao was the first to break the silence. "Fifth Kazekage, you've invited the Kage of our three great nations to a secret meeting, deliberately excluding Konoha. I highly doubt it was merely to sit here and stare at one another, was it?"

A, the Raikage—snorted in agreement, impatiently tapping his fingers on the table. "If you have something to say, say it quickly. I fear that if I remain in the same room with this old fossil, Ōnoki, I might be unable to restrain myself from killing him!"

"Brat! Do you wish to follow in your father's footsteps?!" Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage, retorted.

The simmering conflicts and deep-seated grudges between the villages erupted without reservation, accusations hurled across the room.

There were no eternal friends, only eternal interests.

And between the four ninja villages, they were not only not friends, but bitter rivals, locked in constant competition. Their presence in this room was solely motivated by a shared, albeit unspoken, self-interest.

"Ahem… I do have something to say," Kazekage Baki finally spoke. "Since everyone has made the journey to the Land of Iron for this secret meeting, I believe you likely have a notion of my intentions, correct?"

"Konoha's recent development has been accelerating at an alarming rate. I believe that if our four hidden villages fail to unite, we will, sooner or later, be swallowed whole by Konoha."

"Konoha is employing economic warfare to suppress our four ninja villages! I can tell you frankly, many within Sunagakure have already aligned themselves with Konoha, solely focused on profiting from their association!"

As he spoke, Baki's finger pointed at Ao, the Mizukage's representative. "Your Kirigakure is in a similar predicament, is it not? Forcibly bound to Konoha through economic means."

"And your Kumogakure as well… The ninja war in the three border towns has plunged the Land of Lightning's economy into a state of crisis."

"Hmph." Ao and A offered cold snorts, tacitly acknowledging the truth of his statement.

Money was a desirable thing, but for them, ninja… expanding their territories, enabling their ninja to plunder more resources, and upholding their ninja way from start to finish – these were far more crucial than mere currency!

Kirigakure could be considered the village that initiated cooperation with Konoha the earliest, and thus possessed the deepest understanding of their methods. However, this collaboration had inevitably triggered numerous internal conflicts within Kirigakure.

Even within the Kirigakure Elder Council—a profound ideological schism had emerged.

One faction maintained that the essence of being ninja was to create a better life for themselves, the elders. Since aligning with Konoha offered a path to this better life, there was no shame in becoming a vassal state.

Past grievances were relegated to the past. Driven by the promise of wealth, they completely abandoned old hatreds.

This group became the loyal running dogs of the Konoha ambassador—Nara Shikaku, actively participating in and enthusiastically supporting the various policies implemented by Shikaku.

They traversed between Kirigakure and the islands ceded to Konoha, gathering economic intelligence for Shikaku; soliciting business; providing capital; managing the workforce of the Land of Water; overseeing the collection and disbursement of gold and silver—They transported Kirigakure's skilled individuals and valuable assets to Konoha Island in exchange for Konoha's "bones."

In the process of collaborating with Konoha, they reaped substantial profits, accumulating wealth beyond their wildest imaginings. Their prestige within Kirigakure also grew exponentially.

—They became the Comprador Elder class.

They were the bridge connecting Kirigakure and Konoha, the tools and willing slaves of Konoha's hegemonic exploitation and oppression of the Land of Water's people.

The essence of Kirigakure's compradors was as instruments of Konoha's economic invasion, actively hindering the development of Kirigakure's industry, commerce, and ninja capabilities.

With the backing of the Kirigakure compradors, Konoha's roots were firmly entrenched in the Land of Water.

The shipping companies, mining operations, and ninja tool foundries established by Konoha in the Land of Water were relentlessly squeezing the life out of Kirigakure's local enterprises.

The islands belonging to Konoha seemed to possess a magnetic pull, continuously drawing in the wealth of the entire Land of Water.

Many affluent nobles in the Land of Water, yearning for a better life within their limited circumstances but unwilling to abandon their ancestral homes, could only achieve a semblance of their former comfort by immigrating to the Konoha-controlled islands.

The financial state of the Mizukage Tower deteriorated steadily.

On one hand, a colossal sum was required to treat the Fourth Mizukage, and the village desperately needed to rebuild, to recover the vitality lost during the "Bloody Mist Village" era.

On the other hand, these elders were systematically hollowing out Kirigakure's foundations, enriching themselves and Konoha.

The comprador faction's power grew, and in stark contrast, the situation of the traditional, conservative ninja faction became increasingly precarious.

The funds available to the Mizukage Tower dwindled. Kirigakure, unlike Sunagakure, possessed no desert mines, nor did they have puppetry techniques capable of substituting for ninja in combat.

The village's total population was also the lowest among the Five Great Nations, decimated by successive ninja wars and the Bloody Mist's internal purges.

Without a source of new ninja, the Mizukage Tower was powerless—even if it desired to support the development of the ninja profession. It was impossible to conjure school-aged children out of thin air for training.

To incentivize Kirigakure villagers to have more children, and to attract the people of the Land of Water to immigrate to Kirigakure…

The Elder Council, once the de facto rulers of Kirigakure, had even humbled themselves, personally visiting a village that had suffered the most brutal persecution during the Bloody Mist era.

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