Naruto: In Konoha Village, I awakened Wood Release at the start.

Province of Earth.

The once dilapidated and overcrowded Iwagakure village has long been completely razed to the ground.

What stands today is a magnificent, colossal stone city.

The city wall, which is 100 meters high, is made entirely of hard obsidian and is a single, seamless structure.

Onoki, leaning on his cane, stood at the very top of the castle wall.

As the wind blew, the old man's originally hunched back miraculously straightened considerably.

He looked down at the wide, flat main road below.

Countless caravans laden with ores and local specialties stretched like a long dragon, one after another.

The street is lined with shops, and the calls of vendors can be heard from a great distance.

This vibrant vitality would have been nothing short of a dream three years ago.

Huang Tu held a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) bigger than his face in his hand and chewed it in big bites.

He stood beside Onoki, chewing and mumbling incoherently.

"Dad, this is unbearable!"

"They're hundreds of times stronger than we were in Iwagakure!"

"Those agricultural ninjas in the Empire are amazing! How can this flour be so chewy?"

Speaking of it.

The loess took another big bite.

Listening to his son's pathetic remarks.

Onoki was instantly enraged.

He suddenly turned around, swung his crutch in the back, and struck Huang Tu's calf with the stick.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud was heard.

"Eat, eat, eat!"

All you ever think about is eating!

"How could I have given birth to such a good-for-nothing!"

Onoki's eyes widened, and his mustache stood up straight.

The loess grimaced in pain and quickly backed away.

But his hand still protected the half of the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger).

"Dad, why are you hitting me?!"

"I wasn't wrong, life is really good!"

"Of course I know that life has gotten better!"

"I'm angry because you're so useless!"

Ohnoki, frustrated and disappointed, jabbed the ground with his cane.

He pointed to himself, then pointed to the yellow earth and roared.

"I'm practically half-buried already, how many more years can I hold onto this governorship?"

"Look at the governors of the other provinces, they're all desperately trying to achieve political success!"

"All you do all day is eat and sleep!"

"You better be more careful!"

"Lead more teams to mine several large chakra mines!"

"Accumulate more merits and make your political achievements look impressive!"

"From now on, you must succeed me as the governor of this Province of Earth!"

"..."

As Onoki spoke, he grew increasingly angry, wishing he could jump up and smash Huangtu's head.

He had completely resigned himself to his fate and dared not disobey Chiba.

But he wanted to preserve his family's influence in the province of Tsuchi no Kōshō.

Upon hearing this, Huang Tu's face immediately fell.

Letting him fight is fine, but making him a provincial governor?

The mountains of documents piling up every day can drive a person crazy!

"Don't mess with me, Dad!"

"I can't do it! I'm just not cut out for it!"

"Just looking at those reports makes my head spin; it's exhausting!"

Huang Tu waved his hands repeatedly, his face full of resistance.

His eyes darted around, and he quickly shifted the blame.

"Heitu is quick-witted and very clever!"

"Why don't you just skip me and train Heitu to succeed you?"

Upon hearing this, Onoki was so angry he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

That damn bastard, he's hopeless!

"You unfilial son!"

"I'm going to break your legs today!"

Ohnoki howled and chased after the yellow earth all over the city wall, brandishing his cane.

The commotion caused by the father and son drew frequent glances from the city guards below.

But no one dared to step in and mediate; they were all secretly suppressing their laughter.

The province of Tsuchi is much more vibrant now than before.

……

Province of Thunder.

The terrain here is mostly mountainous and has many valleys.

The ninjas are working feverishly to clear a path through the mountains and lay railway tracks to the outside world.

Inside the governor's office.

The atmosphere, however, was extremely agitated.

Ai sat at his desk, veins bulging on his forehead.

In front of him was a mountain of documents awaiting approval.

He has a fiery temper; he'd rather take action than talk.

When I was the Raikage, I could just smash anything that was difficult to deal with with one punch.

Now, as a provincial governor, one must act entirely according to the rules and regulations of the empire.

Every project allocation and every personnel transfer requires careful reading of the terms and conditions.

"Damn paperwork!"

Ai felt like her brain was about to boil.

He growled in a low voice, irritably tugging at his collar.

Just then.

A loud "bang" was heard.

The heavy solid wood door was violently slammed open from the outside.

An office worker wearing glasses rushed in in a panic.

"Reporting...reporting to the Governor!"

"Something terrible has happened!"

The civilian staff member was pale and panting heavily.

Ai suddenly looked up.

A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.

Could it be that some remnant of the revolution is preparing to rebel?

"explain!"

"I'll hold the sky up even if it falls!"

Ai slammed his fist on the table, scattering documents all over the floor.

The civilian staff member swallowed hard and stammered.

"A group of bandits has been discovered near Yunlei Gorge!"

The air suddenly became quiet.

Ai's eyes widened, and she was completely stunned.

He even suspected that his long hours of working late into the night to review documents had caused a problem with his ears.

Mountain bandits?

After His Majesty ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to mobilize the ninja army and carry out a thorough crackdown on organized crime.

Those bandits and robbers who ruled the mountains were long ago blasted into dust.

It's been two and a half years!

Throughout the entire Thunder Province, not even a petty thief has appeared.

Doors are left unlocked at night, and lost items are not picked up on the road.

Now, someone actually dares to jump out and become a bandit?

"Where did this idiot come from?"

"Are they so hungry they're starving that they're taking such a risk?"

Ai finally came to her senses, and anger instantly surged to her head.

The civilian staff member trembled from the shouting and quickly pulled out an intelligence scroll.

"No...no, sir!"

"It has been confirmed that they are a group of lazy and good-for-nothing street thugs."

"They complained that working at a power plant was too tiring, and they didn't want to work on a construction site carrying bricks."

"They banded together and went to Yunlei Gorge to intercept merchant caravans, hoping to make a quick buck..."

The civilian staff member's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke.

Ai was furious when she heard this.

That's absolutely ridiculous!

How good are the Empire's current policies?

Job opportunities are everywhere!

Even an ordinary person can achieve anything, as long as they are willing to spend a day carrying bricks on a construction site or feeding pigs on a farm.

The reward they received was enough to buy several large steamed buns, ensuring they wouldn't starve.

Those ninjas who mastered Lightning Release made a fortune by releasing their chakra at power plants.

In this era where gold is everywhere.

How could someone be so lazy as to do something that could get them killed?

These ignorant maggots are not only defying the laws of the empire.

It was like rubbing his face, that of the provincial governor Lei Zhixing, into the ground!

If His Majesty in the capital finds out...

I thought he couldn't even manage the security of a province!

"You bastard!"

"They're utterly courting death!"

Ai was so angry that his hair stood on end.

The violent lightning chakra burst forth uncontrollably from his body in an instant.

"Where's Killer Bee?!"

"Get the hell in here!"

next moment.

Ai strained his throat, his voice booming like a bell.

The voice just fell.

"Bang!"

The floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the office shattered with a crash, leaving shards of glass scattered all over the floor.

A burly man wearing black sunglasses and carrying several ninja swords jumped in.

"Big Brother is calling for Grandpa! Oh!"

"What's the rush that made Big Brother throw a tantrum like Dad?! Yeah!"

Kirabi wiggled his hips and danced wildly.

Looking at this mischievous little brother who broke in through the window.

Ai's already raging anger surged to another level.

He didn't even bother to use the main entrance, but he had to smash the newly replaced glass!

"boom!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Ai slammed his fist hard on the desk in front of him.

The sturdy table snapped in two in an instant, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

"Shut your damn mouth!"

"Take your squad and get to Yunlei Gorge immediately!"

"Bring those lazy, good-for-nothing bastards back to me!"

Ai pointed at Killer Bee's nose and started cursing.

"Who should we arrest?"

"Yo!"

"Who's been so foolish as to anger the provincial governor!"

Kira stopped twisting, a look of confusion appearing behind his sunglasses.

"Mountain bandits!"

"A bunch of bandits who resorted to robbery because they were too lazy to work!"

"Remember, you are not allowed to kill them!"

"Dying is too good for these idiots!"

Ai gritted his teeth, a cruel glint in his eyes.

"Bring them back alive."

"I'm sending them to the newly built public toilets in the provincial capital!"

"We've been digging latrines for ten years straight! Not a single day less!"

"..."