Author's note
the world of Naruto's geography will be based on the cover image by xShadowRebirthx
****Naruto POV****
After my two vassals and I sat down, Daisuke pulled out five privacy seals. Which he applied to the door and the various windows in the room; after a moment the seals sent out kanji script chains that wrapped around the room and stopped at the four corners of the room.
When they dissipated, Daisuke sat down and said, "I believe you would like to know the state of Wave country and the state of our military."
As I thought about what to ask. The first thing that came to mind was "Why did the samurai of Wave not prevent Gato from brutalizing the people?" I ask with an edge of malice Daisuke visibly flinched,
"The old Daimyo was in the process of modernizing the samurai force; he had sent all the samurai, but the Ashiguru to the land of iron then snow country. But, at the time the Ashiguru were no more than mere peasants who were called on in times of dire need. To put it simply the actual soldiers were in the middle of distant lands acting as ambassadors, that was meant to sit in and learn new ways to protect the country. but when we returned the country had been plundered and destroyed."
Naruto hummed in response but was confused, "What changed? The Ashiguru at their present state seems much better equipped and seemed more disciplined than just a peasant militia?" Tazuna cleared his throat to draw my attention
"The people of wave after you liberated us with team seven started the rebuilding process. But we could not forget how we as a people we were oppressed, so we swore a blood oath as a nation to strive never to be conquered. When the samurai had returned, we were ecstatic our lost sons and daughters had finally returned with the necessary skills to teach us how never to be oppressed again, to help us form a standing army."
This surprised me as I was listening to Tazuna. I realized that the people of Wave are going to make sure they take the necessary steps too never be oppressed again. my next question is quite easy "What is the GDP of wave country?" I asked
Tazuna seamed to think about this for a moment before answering. "About twenty-five to thirty million Ryo." at first I thought that was a lot but remembered Sarutobi-Jiji mentioning that the most impoverished nation's GDP was fifteen million Ryo which was the land of noodles at the time. So Wave is in the bottom ten of the poorest countries.
As I thought I remembered to ask "how many people live in the country. what percentage of the people need to be devoted to growing food for the rest of the nation?" Tazuna turned to Daisuke and asked for the forms he was carrying after looking through them he answered happily
"We have one hundred thousand adult citizens over the age of seventeen, but, below the age of sixty; and twenty thousand children below the age of seventeen." He closed his eyes in deep thought.
"Of which they are all dispersed between the five districts which are as follows A, B, C, D, and, E. but, with the civil war in Kiri, we have an unknown amount of refuges as well."
I interrupt him to ask "Why has Wave not given these people amnesty?" Daisuke responds quickly
"Only the Daimyo can offer Amnesty" that does make sense. I will remember to grant amnesty to the refuges. I motioned for Tazuna to finish.
He recollected his thoughts and continued, "by the estimates we have, twenty-five thousand people will need to work the land to produce enough agricultural product to keep our current populace fed and an additional five thousand to harvest enough fish to prevent any protein deficiency related illnesses."
Finally, this is good; only one-fourth of our populace is growing or harvesting food, this frees up a lot of potential manpower in case war breaks out. I have three more questions, "How many soldiers are wave supporting?"
Daisuke smiled proudly as the army is his pride and joy "fifteen thousand active duty Ashiguru with only two hundred Samurai acting as field officers, and an additional five thousand reserve soldiers. "I could feel my mouth gaping as I was trying to recover al I could ask was
"Why so many soldiers?"
Tazuna smiled sadly as he spoke "It is so we will never be crushed and defiled, by a man like Gato, ever again!" he spoke with such conviction, it floored me.
I looked at the two of them; memories of how wave looked when I was last there. Anger starting to flood my mind but moments later pride at the peoples will to never be oppressed again,
"I promise I will not allow Wave country to be enslaved to the whims of some person far away who cares little for our people! this I promise; even if it costs me my life!"
After I said, my speech both Tazuna and Daisuke smiled in response, and Tazuna leaned over and whispered something to Daisuke I could barely hear,
"See I told you Lord Naruto would be the best choice that we could pick for a leader." That brought a small smile to my face.
"Wait I thought that wave is ruled by a civilian government? how does wave have Samurai?" I inquired.
"The Samurai of Wave is not, like the other nations, Wave country only has two Samurai clans, because of this wave allows the people to train under one of the two clans. This lack of Sword skill and Chakra skills; led our previous Daimyo to send the Samurai of Wave to Iron country. after Gato came the other Samurai Clan was killed off, by Zabuza and his apprentice" Daisuke replied
Tazuna then answered the other part of my question, "Wave is technically ruled by a civilian government, but that is to decide how we distribute resources to the people, determine what laws, building codes, and trade agreements we enter." Tazuna paused as he took a deep breath before continuing.
"The Daimyo is responsible for how many soldiers we need; when and where to garrison them, how they are to be trained, and what to equip them with," Daisuke interjected here,
"The Daimyo can also grant pardons for crimes committed and levy taxes; though the civilian council can veto the tax law if four of the five districts are in agreement. Both the civilian senate and the Daimyo need to agree when wave declares war or joins one side or another in war." Daisuke said with pride. I could see why most civilians outside of wave have no say in how their country is run or if they do they need to rely on stronger nations backing them.
"This will be my last question for the night. How many fishing ships, trade convoys, and patrol vessels do we have?" I questioned my two advisors.
Tazuna lightly smiled "One thousand; five man fishing ships, but, we only have twenty trade ships which can only export 40% of our trade goods. But my boys and I are working around the clock to build more convoys." after Tazuna finished Daisuke began
"Wave only has enough patrol vessels barely with fifteen operable ships; most were destroyed when Gato was in power. At this point, our patrol vessels; have coverage of one-third of our naval territory. though we have an able-bodied naval manpower, most of the soldiers are experienced sailors so when we do get the Patrol vessels we need we can quickly staff them."
I started to gather my thoughts, hm we are right on manpower, but our ability to prevent piracy is low as we can only patrol one-third of our naval territory.
The best news of tonight is that I have an excellent agricultural infrastructure to support the people's growth, and with the ninja, I will be receiving as a coronation gift I will have the necessary amount of Chakra users to ensure the solidity of my rule from foreign encroachment.
Most minor powers would not have the resources to afford a naval invasion, but, the major players, on the other hand, are a considerable threat.
I need to find a way to even the playing field somehow; before I could continue worrying about the future.
I saw Daisuke, and Tazuna stands up as if sensing my unspoken question Daisuke answered me "We will need to prepare for your trip to the capital of Fire country, then the last leg of the journey to Wave country for your coronation."
"Oh, I will need to say goodbye to all of my friends in the village." I notice Daisuke form a tiger seal as he went to the windows and only door to unseal the room.
"The ashiguru will be on rotation for guarding you," Daisuke informs as he leaves the room.
I woke up with a start when I heard some knocking on the door I snapped awake and grew worried; where was I, my apartment never looked this nice before I could reach for my kunai.
The memories from yesterday rushed into my mind I remembered that I became the Daimyo of Wave country. The thought brings a smile to my face that there's a whole country that's willing to accept me.
I am brought out of my thoughts when a slightly more forceful knock rapped on the door
"Lord Naruto, please awaken we need to prepare for your journey to the capital." a voice I remember was the lieutenant for this squad of the Ashiguru,
"I will get dressed then I will be out," I called out in response. After a few minutes, I curse under my breath quietly
"Damn the bastard who made kimonos so annoying to put on properly," I stated as I was finally able to finish dressing and left the room as I left an Ashiguru went and gathered any items I may have left.
"My Lord!" He called out frantically, he rushed over to me and kneeled before me holding his hands into a cup with the ring of Waves in his hands.
"You almost forgot this symbol of power though I do not wish to make it a habit of ordering you; you must never forget this ring as it is a symbol of your divine authority." He quickly stated trying not to look up at me a look of shame in his face.
I quickly put my ring on feeling slightly embarrassed, before I patted his shoulder and forced him onto his feet.
"It's alright you did me a great service and your duty; do not feel down." he nodded but still had a look of shame, as he followed close behind me.
When we left the hotel I turned to Daisuke and Tazuna to give my orders "Daisuke would you go with two Ashiguru and start collecting the necessary supplies of our journey to the capital of Fire country." As I gave this order, two Ashiguru broke away from formation to stand directly behind Daisuke.
The old Samurai bowed and left to purchase the necessary supplies with the two Ashiguru following closely behind.
I directed my attention to Tazuna "I need you to go purchase a messenger hawk and tell the shipwrights to build and refurbish the patrol vessels, then find Daisuke and help him with collecting the supplies for our journey." I ordered. Before Tazuna could leave, I pointed to two Ashiguru and ordered them to accompany Tazuna.
"Yes, sir." The soldiers replied with a bow and followed Tazuna.
I started walking to the training grounds thinking what am I going to say.
'Oh hey, guys I am just going to abandon you all and become a daimyo of another country' oh yea like that will go over well.
As I was lost in my thoughts I did not look where I was going and bumped into someone I was caught by an Ashiguru who kept me on my feet.
I looked down and noticed Konohamru, Moegi, and Udon when they saw me they said in unison
"Boss." Konohamaru started speaking for his team,
"Where have you been we looked every for you yesterday, then we found Sakura she said about something about you are leaving the village, but, that couldn't be true... You would never abandon the village or your dream of becoming Hokage!" He exclaimed becoming louder at the end of his speech.
I looked at the Konohamaru corps sadly as I spoke.
"I did want to become Hokage, and in some ways I still do, but the people of Wave country need me. So I need you to become Hokage for both of us." I said with a small tear in my eye I noticed that Konhamaru, Moegi, and Udon were tearing up while I spoke... man I hate goodbyes.
After I finished, Konohamaru wiped his tears away and looked at me with a fire in his eye as he spoke.
"I will become the best Hokage Konoha has ever had I will be Hokage for both of us. This I promise!" Konohamaru's declaration brought me great relief I was worried that he would slide back into being a pretentious little snot.
The same look of fire determination that Konhamaru had was shared with Udon and Moegi. Konohamaru will go far with friends like those two; he will be alright.
One of the Ashiguru taps my shoulder while whispering that we need to leave for the fire capital by the end of the day. I nod in response "I am sorry about this, but I need to find the rest of the Konoha eleven, to say my goodbyes to them as well."
Konohamaru thought for a moment then he pounded his clenched fist on his palm.
"Try training ground seven they were all there last I saw today." I thanked Knohamaru and his two companions.
Before I started running to training ground seven, I could hear multiple footfalls behind me it's probably the Ashiguru. I easily outran my body-guards while running to the training ground.
When I reach training ground seven I see team ten, team eight, and team Gai, with the remainder of team seven. When I entered the training field, I could feel the oppressive atmosphere saturating the area.
I started walking towards them.
When I noticed that they are aware of my presence; I waved while I greeted the group "Yo."
"Is what Sakura and Sasuke said true? are you leaving the village to become a Daimyo?" Shikamaru asked.
"yes, it is true," I stated bluntly.
"b-b-but w-why w-what," Said Hinata she took a stabilizing breath and continued
"What a-about your n-nindo y-you promised you would become Hokage of the leaf village?"
"Yes I did, but there is a country that needs me to help them. I know how could the class fool help a whole country, but, you all should have seen that country when Gato was in control." I said, anger rolling off my tongue at the thought of what those people went through; I paused momentarily before continuing.
"People could barely feed themselves, bandits having their way with whatever and whoever they want. Though worst of all Gato destroyed their spirit; the heart of a nation was crushed all because of one mans whims." I said, the anger starting to become intoxicating as I let off an amount of killing intent that none of them even knew I had capable within me.
Some were shocked others were scared of the ki I let off; before it receded as he reigned himself in.
"I gave those people hope and confidence in their nation." my words finally started to calm as I finally reigned myself in and became more impassioned towards the end.
Sasuke snorted and stated, "Then those people must have been really desperate if they chose someone like you to lead them." I could hear Ino, Sakura agreeing with him spitting in the faces of my people. It made me grit my teeth in anger at the lack of faith from even my own team.
Kiba let out a deep sigh while he said, "You know I don't like to agree with the duck haired bastard... But he does make a good point how do you expect to help Wave succeed when you can't even pass the Chunin exams." I could see Shikamaru, Choji, and, Tenten giving various agreements except for Shikamaru who could only motivate enough to nod.
Rock Lee seemed to shake a little before he ran up to me with fire in his eyes. "At first I was surprised to hear you were a Daimyo, in fact, I was burning in jealousy of the youthful accomplishments it must have taken to get this far this fast; but to be honest I wasn't sure that you would have the mental fortitude or the knowledge to succeed as a Daimyo but that speech there is burning with such youth that you will succeed no matter what the challenge is!" As tears of youth spilled from his eyes like a waterfall.
Neji spoke up next while Tenten started dragging lee away who had begun to get more unruly,
"While I would normally not have any faith what so ever that you could rule Wave country at all, but, you have a tendency in breaking normal conventions, I believe you may surprise everyone here."
before Shino could say anything, we heard the sound of multiple Shunshins behind Naruto; five ninjas appeared kneeling behind Naruto "Lord Naruto we are the ROOTs of the mangrove that will defend your interests both domestic and abroad." The unnamed female ninja stated in a dead tone.
the lead ROOT ninja introduced herself "My name is Hibiki Kohaku, my squad and I passed nine Ashiguru while searching for you, they were quite worried about you, and one of them informed me that Tazuna and Daisuke have finished gathering the supplies and have a ready carriage, so if you are done here I can take you to Daisuke."
I quickly said my goodbyes not wanting to hear their spiteful words and lack of confidence any longer and went with Hibiki.
Hibiki was 5'9" tall with honey-gold hair tied into one medium length braid, and her eyes were a brownish hazel color.
Her body was lithe, her body covered up in Jonin tactical armor or even ANBU but I wasn't sure, only her arms weren't covered as they had twelve individual tattoos all of which looked like seals of some kind.
She was wearing no form of a headband, but that was to expected. She is wearing a green Jonin tactical vest that had nine scrolls that differed with three colors, blue, black, and red.
There was what seemed to be a short sleeve fishnet shirt under armor below her vest. Her pants were black with two kunai pouches fastened to both legs, and there were two bladed tonfas on her back.
While Hibiki's hands were covered with a pair of custom gloves that had flexible metal plating lining the palm of her gloves. With something engraved on the center of each of her palms.
"What about the Ashiguru shouldn't we tell them you found me, so we don't leave them behind?" Naruto asked. Hibiki replied,
"We had already informed them we would find and bring you back to Daisuke, so I ordered them to return to Daisuke."
"If you are ready my lord I will transport you to the meeting location." She queried. I nodded in response and felt her grab my shoulder.
The world exploded into fast moving colors and blurs rushing by my vision, suddenly, too suddenly we stopped at the gates to Konohagakure. I could feel the bile try to rise from my stomach, as I took a moment force my stomach to calm down.
Daisuke and the Ashiguru were waiting by two carriages. "The squad of Ashiguru will be riding along with us on horseback." Before I could board my coach, I saw Kakashi appear and say to me, "You will always be my number one knuckleheaded ninja." I could tell this was the closest to I will miss you kid.
Before I could even respond a familiar voice spoke up behind Kakashi "While I am not one for interrupting the finale farewell between master and student... I would head to Keishi the capital; Lord Hiroshi should not be kept waiting" the voice of Noburu informed.
I quickly boarded the Carriage continually turning my head in an unspoken goodbye knowing that my life would be forever changed after leaving. I saw the Ashiguru, and the samurai takes opposite positions on the carriage in a defensive posture. I heard the driver whip the horse with a command to move South-east towards the Capital.