Chapter 4: The Wind Daimyō

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Capital City of the Land of Wind – The Daimyō's Residence

"Lord Daimyō has granted you permission to enter," an old maid said respectfully, gesturing to the door.

Nahil gave a polite nod and stepped inside, with Amon following right behind him.

Rasa, who had been accompanying them, lingered briefly at the door. But after a moment's thought, he decided to join them.

"Ah… I'm sorry, Rasa-sama," the old maid said softly, stepping into his path with a practiced bow. "Lord Daimyō has granted audience only to Nahil-sama and Amon-sama."

"…I see." Rasa gave a calm nod, maintaining his usual composed expression. Of course, deep inside, he was cursing the old hag like any sane person in his position would.

Still, Rasa knew the Daimyō wouldn't grant him an audience under the current circumstances. This was nothing more than a calculated gamble—a chance to gauge just how bad his health really was and catch the first scent of any political shifts on the wind.

In truth, he was already surprised they allowed him past the gates, much less close enough to wait outside the personal chamber.

"Then let's hope it's worth the wait."

Spotting a good-looking wall, Rasa leaned against it, waiting for his "new friends".

---

Meanwhile, in the Wind Daimyō's Chamber

"Huh? …You aren't dying?"

Hearing those words was none other than the Wind Daimyō himself, seated upright on his bed. He looked like he was still in his forties—black hair, a neat goatee, and clearly healthy. Definitely not dying.

He wore his daimyō attire: a royal purple robe draped over a plain brown kimono. Beside him rested a matching purple hat, clearly a match to his robe.

It was far from the standard attire of the daimyō of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. His style hinted at a man who either didn't care much for tradition… or simply preferred to bend the rules to suit himself.

This was Kazehara, the Wind Daimyō, and right now, he looked absolutely livid as he glared at one of the two boys standing before him.

"You little bastard… If I'd raised a dog all these years, at least it would've wagged its tail when it saw me! Dammit are you disappointed I'm not dying?!"

"I swear I'm gonna… oh, thank you, Amon!" The Daimyō gratefully accepted the long thin stick Amon handed him—clearly created for one purpose: inflicting pain.

The Daimyō eyed the stick, and for a split second wondered where the hell Amon had been hiding it. The only place that made sense was his…

He quickly shook his head—nope, not even imagining that. Then he refocused on the stick. With a sharp flick, the stick sliced through the air with a harsh lash.

Nahil trembled. "I… I was just joking! No need for violence, guys. How about we just forget what happened?"

"NO."

Amon cut in, refusing before even the Daimyō could think.

"You disrespected Kazehara-sama, wished him dead, left the capital without permission, dragging me along. How are you still this childish in your twenties? We were about to die because of you."

"Dude… we're on the same side." Nahil, now pale, looked like he was about to cry. 

"Nah. We're not."

"...I see." Nahil looked up, his resolve solidifying. "If I'm going down, I'm not going alone. Daddy, it was Amon's idea to leave the capital!"

"Oh?" Kazehara slowly turned to Amon, still holding the stick.

"...Nahil made some plans for the Land of Wind after your death. He already started treating himself like the Daimyō."

"Dude, that's you!"

"Oh right..."

Now, Amon felt regretful for giving Kazehara the stick.

"You brats... Still the same as ever!" Kazehara sighed. "Do you have any idea how dangerous your so-called 'adventure' was? I was really worried about you two. Normally, I'd punish you severely for that reckless behavior... but that's not exactly an option right now."

Amon and Nahil exchanged awkward glances. They had just crossed over, so if anything was wrong, it was on the system's pre-arranged identities—not them. But yeah… try explaining that without sounding insane.

"Well, what matters now is that we're all safe," Amon said, breaking the silence.

He'd already gotten some background info from the Suna ninjas and Rasa. Apparently, his father had died protecting the Wind Daimyō. To repay that sacrifice, Kazehara had raised Amon like his own son, treating him no differently than Nahil. So even though Amon wasn't born into nobility, he was still highly respected among the people.

And from what Amon could see now, yeah—Kazehara really was a good man. He genuinely treated him like a son.

Clearly, Kazehara held genuine fatherly feelings for both Amon and Nahil, but for these two admins, this was actually their first meeting. They were just trying to act natural.

On the way here, Amon had already asked the system if people close to them would notice anything off. The system explained that their identities and past behaviors were modeled after their "true" selves, so no one would find anything strange.

"Well... I didn't mean to be rude, but I heard you were dying, so I rushed back as soon as I could," Nahil said after Kazehara calmed down. He was genuinely confused—according to the system, the Wind Daimyō was supposed to be on his deathbed.

Amon added, "Good thing the news wasn't true."

"It's real... I'm really dying." Kazehara let out a deep sigh. "I might look fine now, but the illness will catch up to me. The doctors say I've got about two years left."

Hearing those depressing words, Nahil lowered his head and mentally screamed at his system. 'What the hell is happening?! You said he was about to die! Are you even a real system?'

[Ding!]

[Your identity info is: The only son of the current Daimyō. + Congrats, your father will die soon.]

[2 years is within the range of "soon."]

Nahil was speechless. Since when did "soon" mean two years? Only corps used that kind of "soon" to milk their users.

『Nahil: Dude...』

Nahil quickly opened the admin chat to notify Amon.

『Amon: Well, at least "soon" means two years and not Hunter x Hunter levels of "soon."』

『Nahil: ...So what now? Gonna tell Kazehara about your water plan thing?』

『Amon: Idk.』

Kazehara, noticing the silence, smiled warmly. "You don't have to look so down. I've already lived my life the way I wanted."

" It's your time now."

He stood up, voice turning serious. "Get ready, you two."

"Starting tomorrow, Nahil is the Wind Daimyo."

"Amon, you'll serve as his official Advisor."

"The Land of Wind will be in your hands from now on. I'll stay by your side to guide you, but only for a few weeks."

'That's just... AWESOME!!'

That was exactly what both Amon and Nahil were thinking, though they still put on their best sad faces.

"Isn't there really no way to cure it?" Nahil asked, eyes misty.

"Maybe the doctor was wrong?" Amon added with a grief-stricken face.

Kazehara gave them a sad smile. "Unfortunately, no. But at least I still have time to set things in order." He sighed, then looked at the two boys. "Starting tomorrow, prepare yourselves... you're going to learn how to rule one of the Five Great Nations."

"Now listen closely. I'm about to summarize your duties, your priorities, what to overlook...."

He began listing what they should focus on, what to delegate, and what to quietly ignore. Political, military, and economic matters—all crammed into a crash course in ruling a nation.

"And about Sunagakure..." Kazehara's tone shifted, his expression darkening with a sneer. "Yes, they're the military force of the Land of Wind, but they've grown arrogant. Especially that so-called Third Kazekage..."

His gaze sharpened. "He even had the nerve to demand a massive budget to prepare for war with Konoha."

Nahil sighed, "… Is war really necessary?"

"I guess so," Amon nodded, "I've heard tensions between Iwa, Suna, and Konoha are already boiling over. The Second Great Ninja War could erupt any day now. I still don't understand why they even want a war in the first place."

"It's all because of that greedy Fire Daimyō," Kazehara said through clenched teeth. "That bastard is economically strangling the Land of Wind."

"Bad enough to start a war?" Nahil asked, confused.

Kazehara sighed. "I didn't want to dump the big problems on you right away… but I guess it's time. You see, most of our water comes from oases and a bit of underground reserves—but it's nowhere near enough. Just the capital alone needs far more, not to mention Suna and the other villages."

He continued, "So, we buy water from the Land of Rivers. Things were fine at first… but the Fire Daimyō, wanting to keep his country as the strongest, didn't let us have peace. Every now and then, he teams up with the River Daimyō to raise water prices or even cut the supply altogether."

Kazehara's voice grew harsher. "We managed to cope until now, but recently he increased the taxes on everything leaving the Land of Fire. That means food prices shot up—everything shot up—and of course, water got even more expensive."

Amon looked surprised. "So the Land of Fire is the one pushing for war with us?"

Kazehara shook his head. "It's not just us. The Lands of Earth, Lightning, and even Water got hit too. But we took the worst of it. The Fire Daimyō is an idiot who thinks he has the strongest military. No matter how we tried to solve things peacefully, he just has to show off that Konoha has the strongest ninjas in the world and can crush us easily."

"The man is just asking for war." Nahil muttered, he felt the situation was really bad right now.

"Damn war… that'll double the cost of food and resources." Kazehara grimaced at the grim prospects for his country. "What's worse, if Suna doesn't deliver results, I'll have to cut their funding without hesitation. And not just that—I might start outsourcing their missions and hire cheaper shinobi from other villages instead."

"Things are worse than you can imagine."

"..."

『Nahil: So Suna's decline in the future wasn't a coincidence?』

『Amon: Yeah? That was actually mentioned in the anime… Did you watch Naruto through Shorts or something?』

『Nahil: ...』

『Nahil: Anyway, what's the plan now?』

『Amon: Nothing changed. You'll take over as Daimyō, I'll be your advisor, and I'm heading to Sunagakure after we stabilize things.』

『Nahil: You wanna be a ninja?』

『Amon: Of course. But the reason I'm going there is because I need the Third Kazekage's support—plus the village itself. If possible, I'll try to stop the Second Ninja War.』

『Nahil: So you get all the fun while I'm stuck with boring paperwork? No way—I'm coming too. And I wanna be a ninja.』

『Amon: ...』

After a long talk with Kazehara, the duo finally left the room. They needed rest—tomorrow was going to be a big day.

---

Outside, they found Rasa still waiting for them.

"...So how is Lord Daimyō right now? The news about his bad health really shook everyone in Suna," Rasa said calmly, though it was clear he was fishing for information.

"He's perfectly fine—healthier than ever, actually," Amon said with a casual smile. "Just got bored of being Daimyō, so he decided Nahil will take over starting tomorrow."

"I see..." Rasa's eyes lit up. In his mind, he had already confirmed it: the current Daimyō was truly dying, and Nahil would be the one to succeed him.

With war looming on the horizon, earning the favor of the new Daimyō could prove to be a massive advantage for Sunagakure.

Nahil clapped Rasa on the shoulder. "Why don't you stay here for a couple of days? Amon and I are planning to visit Suna soon—might as well escort us yourself."

"Oh? That would be my honor, Daimyō-sama," Rasa said, genuinely pleased with how things were unfolding.

"Haha, Rasa-kun, I'm not the Daimyō yet. Even if I was, you can just call me Boss as I told ya. No need to be so formal," Nahil said with a grin that made Rasa internally curse.

Amon pulled Nahil back slightly, stepping in. "Anyway, Rasa—talk to the Third Kazekage and ask what you should do. He is the Kage, after all."

"Yeah... thanks, Amon." Rasa nodded, then turned to leave. He was already planning to return to Suna ASAP. He needed to discuss this matter with the Kazekage himself. This was big news—huge, in fact. Two bombshells in one night.

— — —

The next day

 Nahil officially became the Wind Daimyo, while Amon was appointed as his Advisor.

Thanks to Kazehara, everything had been arranged perfectly—there was no room for political sabotage during the ceremony. And so over the following days, the two admins gradually settled into their new roles, with Kazehara guiding them every step of the way.

— — —

Then, five weeks later...

"Alright, I'm leaving," Kazehara said, giving the boys a proud smile.

"Huh? Already? Are you gonna die now? I thought you had, like, two years left or something," Nahil asked, looking genuinely confused… and saying all the wrong things.

"...Honestly, I don't even get angry at your dumb comments anymore," Kazehara muttered with a sigh. "I only have disgust for you."

"Oh, me too!" Amon's eyes lit up like he'd just found a kindred spirit. He and Kazehara bumped fists, and Amon even handed him a badge that read: {Pure Disgust} with Nahil's face on it and a big red X stamped across.

Feeling a bit more cheerful, Kazehara continued, "Anyway, I'm heading to your uncle's place. He claims his doctors are the best, so I'll get checked out there… and enjoy the view while I'm at it. He may not rule one of the Five Great Nations, but he's still a daimyo. I'm curious to see what he's got to offer."

Amon and Nahil walked with Kazehara all the way to his carriage.

"And," Kazehara turned to Amon, "Like I said: Your water plan is brilliant. No one in the Land of Wind would refuse it… But sadly, with war coming, there won't be any resources to build it."

Amon just smiled. "I've already thought of a way. But everything will have to wait until I get to Suna."

Kazehara nodded. "You already told me your plans, so I arranged things for you. At least you won't run into any political opposition. But you should know by now—the final say in Suna isn't really mine. Even though they're our military force, the shinobi have great power that gives them special privileges."

"That's right, power is the way… so besides Amon's plan, I'll take the power route… I'm gonna be the strongest ninja. The Kazekage." Nahil declared passionately, breaking the serious air.

"Ninja? Hahaha! I've got better odds of getting cured than you two becoming ninjas!" Kazehara laughed, waving dismissively as he stepped into the carriage. "That's it, boys. You're on your own now. Goodbye."

"..."

As they watched him disappear into the distance, Amon glanced at Nahil. "Ready for the real thing?"

"Hell yeah," Nahil grinned.

Amon smirked, his eyes sparking with excitement. "You've wrapped up your work here? I'm not waiting for you."

Nahil nodded. "Everything's stabilized in the capital, and luckily the people Kazehara trusts can take on some of our duties. I just need two days and we're good to go."

"Perfect. Two days is enough time for Rasa to come and escort us." Amon calculated, since he'd already sent a letter to the Kazekage—and got a reply that Rasa would be the one to come.

Nahil raised his hand and grinned. "Amon, let's see who becomes the stronger ninja first."

"Challenge accepted." Amon clapped his hand back.

"What does the winner get?" Nahil asked curiously.

"If I win, you'll be my servant for three years."

"WHAT? Three years?!" Nahil looked shocked.

"So that's your problem? Not the 'servant' part, just the three years?" Amon shook his head in mock disappointment. "Oh, Nahil, Nahil… I thought you had at least some honor."

"Dude… why do you always twist my words?" Nahil groaned, feeling like Amon lived to bait him. Then his eyes lit up. "How about this—whoever loses has to do one thing for the winner. No questions asked. But of course, nothing that causes harm or humiliation."

"Fine. If that makes you feel better after losing." Amon smirked, already plotting what he'd make Nahil do.

"Tsk, we'll see about that. Amon vs. Nahil— the game is on!"

...

Too bad for them, that challenge wouldn't get started anytime soon… not until the second time they set foot in the Narutoverse. And that would be after two or more crossovers in other worlds.

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