I simultaneously traverse countless worlds

According to the intelligence Li Mo obtained, the Rainbow Country was a place where prisoners were exiled after the Water Country was newly established and after the battle for the succession of the Water Country's daimyo.

It was probably the new daimyo of the Land of Water who, with the thought that "making him suffer more than dying," arranged for that loser and many of his subordinates to be exiled there, and then had the Land of the Sea, a subordinate kingdom, keep an eye on them.

It is foreseeable how desperate the heir of the Daimyo of the Land of Water and his subordinates must have been, but they could not refuse the Daimyo's orders. A total of more than 20,000 people went to the Rainbow Country to explore it. After several decades, thanks to a few lucky coincidences, the Rainbow Country was finally established and recognized by other countries. However, with a small population and located in a distant sea, even the Land of Water had little interest in this small country, let alone the other major countries of the ninja world.

If a comparison had to be made, Li Mo felt that it could be compared to Qiongzhou during the feudal era of the Celestial Empire. That island was only a few dozen kilometers away from the mainland and was regarded as a remote place of exile by the Celestial Empire for over a thousand years. The situation in the Ninja World was more complicated. The five great nations, including the Land of Water, were mostly focused on their own homeland and wars with other great nations. The Rainbow Country was simply too far away for them.

The total distance of more than 3,000 kilometers across the ocean is far too far for the ninja world continent, which is still in a semi-feudal era. Even the Land of the Sea, which is closest to the Land of Rainbows, is more than 1,000 kilometers away, making it difficult to attract the attention of other countries.

For Li Mo, the situation in the Rainbow Kingdom was terrible, but it was the territory he felt was most suitable for him to occupy, cultivate peacefully, and develop his own power!

You're talking about the Ninja World Continent and the Land of Water?

Well, the Ninja World Continent was already a chaotic battleground between the four great nations and the four great ninja villages. Even Hanzo the Salamander, the demigod who defeated the three legendary ninjas of Konoha in the Second Shinobi World War, could only stay in the Land of Rain and was unable to expand. Other small countries had little chance of becoming powerful.

Without going into too much detail, Hanzo the Salamander is definitely a top-tier Kage-level ninja. His strength far surpasses that of Li Mo, who estimates himself to be hovering between Special Jonin and Elite Jonin. Yet, even he couldn't lead the Land of Rain to prosperity in the ninja world. The situation in other small countries must be equally bleak, so Li Mo won't bother joining in.

As for the Land of Water, Li Mo didn't want to face the Third and Fourth Mizukage, shrouded in blood mist. Besides, with the elites of Kirigakure still around, running away from Kirigakure to develop in the Land of Water would only attract Kirigakure's attention. Moreover, Li Mo was certain that if he stayed in the Land of Water when Obito Uchiha, that mentally ill patient, controlled the Fourth Mizukage, he would definitely encounter trouble. It wouldn't be good if he attracted the attention of Black Zetsu and other forces in advance.

After careful consideration, Li Mo set his sights on the remote small countries of the ninja world. His initial targets were the Land of Snow, the Land of the Sea, and the Land of Rainbows. After gathering information and comparing them one by one, he directly ruled out the Land of Snow and the Land of the Sea.

Unfortunately, while the Land of Snow in the original Naruto storyline does exist, it's located across most of the ninja world. Its location is similar to Hokkaido in Japan or even Sakhalin Island in China. While it might be an exaggeration to say it's perpetually covered in snow and ice, snow and ice are common in June and July, making it unsuitable for ordinary people. The Land of the Sea, being closer to the Land of Water, would likely attract the attention of the Land of Water if a settlement were to be established there.

After careful calculation, Li Mo decided to choose the Rainbow Country as his base. Looking at the Rainbow Country, which resembled a tropical island, and the rainbows that appeared in the morning due to the refraction of water mist, he understood why the Rainbow Country was named as such. Instead of immediately going to the Rainbow Country, he carefully concealed his arrival and arranged for three subordinates to go to the island to gather intelligence using transformation techniques and other methods.

On the seventeenth night after leaving the Sea Kingdom, Li Mo leisurely set foot on the main island of the Rainbow Kingdom. He did not show himself openly but concealed his presence as he walked towards the capital city of the Rainbow Kingdom, a small city with about ten thousand people!

Chapter 48 Easily Seize the Country

Under the cover of night, the so-called capital city of the Rainbow Country fell into silence. Occasionally, a faint candlelight could be seen in one house, while only the daimyo's castle tower in the city had bright lights powered by electricity.

In a sense, the technology tree in the Naruto world is quite skewed, and incidentally, the technology penetration rate is also quite poor. At the beginning of the original Naruto storyline, the five great ninja villages and many cities in the ninja world had electricity and electrical appliances, but the level of technology was clearly at most at the level of the 1950s. Outside of Konoha or other ninja villages, ninjas on missions still relied on their own two legs to run on dirt roads.

At least before the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the shinobi world was divided into five major nations and a large number of smaller nations. Even if there were certain technological achievements, it would be difficult to promote them on a large scale. Even if a country wanted to promote its technological products, it would have to obtain the approval of other countries and shinobi villages, which was naturally a very difficult process.

For the Naruto world, which was more than a decade ahead of the start of the Third Shinobi World War, even electricity technology was not yet widespread. Li Mo only saw widespread electric lights and running water in Kirigakure. When he left Kirigakure and saw the Land of Water, the towns and ports he passed through had extremely low levels of electrification, and the roads and other public transportation facilities were still in the feudal era. Apart from the main roads, which were somewhat maintained, the rest were all dirt roads.

As for the Land of Rainbows, it is even more difficult for small countries located far from the mainland to import technological products. Currently, only the Daimyo and the so-called capital city of the Land of Rainbows have a certain power supply, and at night only the castle tower where the Daimyo lives has lights on, which is quite conspicuous. Considering that the wars and conspiracies in the Naruto world basically do not involve the Daimyo, their vigilance can be described as very lax.

Now, the security at the castle tower that Li Mo considered his target was only enough to deal with ordinary thieves or low-level samurai. He easily infiltrated the tower and quickly used his methods to isolate the scene inside and outside the castle tower!

………………

The Castle Tower of the Rainbow Country, where the daimyo resides

As the daimyo of the Rainbow Country, his status was certainly higher than that of the wealthy merchant Gato, who only recruited ronin and rogue ninja. Even though the Rainbow Country was located overseas and had hardly encountered any external enemies, the daimyo still spent money to train a group of private ninjas.

Of course, the private ninja trained by the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country are far inferior to the five great ninja villages that can mobilize tens of thousands of ninja troops at any time, let alone the ninja villages of smaller countries such as the Rain Village of the Rain Country and the Waterfall Village of the Waterfall Country. In total, there are only about thirty ninjas, including two special Jonin-level ninja commanders, a little over ten elite Chunin and ordinary Chunin, and the rest are just ordinary Genin.

A private ninja force of this size wouldn't even be a threat to the Land of the Sea, which doesn't have any ninja villages. The major merchant guilds that go out to sea for trade have a habit of hiring ninjas. In addition, with the ninjas recruited and trained by the daimyo of the Land of the Sea, crushing these private ninjas of the Rainbow Country would be effortless. And any special Jonin from any of the five great ninja villages, along with a Chunin squad, could probably easily defeat these ninjas of the Rainbow Country.

After all, the ninjas of the five great ninja villages are the best in both quality and quantity. Those small ninja villages struggling to survive may have a few secret techniques or unique ninjutsu, but the five great ninja villages still have the most complete ninjutsu, secret techniques and bloodline limits. This is the difference between them and the fully armed armies of the five great powers and the soldiers of ordinary small countries.

Moreover, the Land of Rainbows is far from overseas and rarely encounters enemies, so the combat strength of the ninjas trained by its daimyo is a big question mark!

"Huh? What happened to you...?"

When a Chunin guarding the gates of the Rainbow Country's daimyo clan discovered that another comrade seemed to have inexplicably collapsed, his first reaction was not to realize the arrival of the enemy, but to approach and wonder if something had happened to his comrade.

Faced with such a weakling who didn't even realize the enemy had infiltrated, Li Mo, who had used Shadow Escape to infiltrate into the enemy's shadow, was speechless. He simply reached out and pressed on the Chunin's neck, releasing a slight burst of energy to knock him unconscious. Then, he directly fused the two Chunin guarding the castle with Shadow Seeds, treating them the same as the other two groups of four Chunin patrolling below the castle tower. They became his subordinates and wouldn't become any unexpected obstacles.

Seeing that the guards had been dealt with, Li Mo entered the daimyo's bedroom, ignoring the two beautiful women who were very alluring to ordinary men, and directly planted a special version of the [Shadow Seed] on the daimyo of the Rainbow Country who was sleeping like a dead pig.

"Can you gather the remaining ninjas?"

A moment later, the daimyo who had been fused with the special version of the [Seed of Shadow] woke up and quickly turned over to kneel respectfully before Li Mo. Li Mo looked at the two unconscious women and asked directly.

"Sir, there's no problem. They're training in the forest camps around the capital, while the Chunin and Special Jonin are living inside the capital!"

Faced with Li Mo's question, the middle-aged fat daimyo, who looked to weigh over 200 pounds, was very respectful. He directly explained the situation of the domesticated ninjas that he used to regard as his protective daggers. He even seemed afraid that his new boss was unaware of the situation, so he explained the situation of this batch of ninjas under his command. He was almost ready to find detailed information to give Li Mo a thorough report on the situation.

As a new version of the [Seed of Shadows] launched by Li Mo, it can ensure that the fused personnel do not become mere suicide soldiers who only know how to obey orders. While ensuring their loyalty, it can also allow them to have normal thinking, which can be regarded as a new trump card!

"Very good, let's summon them tomorrow morning!"

Seeing the fat daimyo's respectful attitude, Li Mo, who had been scouting the Rainbow Country during the day and knew that this small country was home to a daimyo with a small ninja force, was quite satisfied with the other party's respectful demeanor. He directly gave orders to this newly recruited subordinate and revealed his own objective: "Also, be prepared to abdicate within five years. Any questions?"

That's right, Li Mo didn't intend to remain invisible forever. Becoming the Hokage of the Rainbow Country seemed too narrow-minded for him. Li Mo wasn't like Naruto, who had been turned into a hot-blooded idiot and dreamed of becoming Hokage all day long.

According to Li Mo's idea, it would be best to become the leader of a force, just like he did in the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress world. However, the situation in the Naruto world is slightly different. The ninja village that controls the strongest power actually has a certain influence on its own country. In terms of status, it is actually slightly lower than those daimyo who were born into the right family. In addition to the management of the ninja village and matters related to combat, even the crucial financial power is influenced by the daimyo of their own country.

In this case, Li Mo's idea for the Rainbow Country is to simply become the official head of the Rainbow Country himself. Things like the ninja villages can be temporarily disregarded. It would be good enough if his forces could just set up a framework for the time being.

"As you command! Sir!"

Upon hearing Li Mo's instructions, the fat daimyo's answer was very affirmative. He had been able to sit securely on the daimyo's throne in the Land of Rainbows for nearly twenty years, which did not mean that he had never encountered any danger. He had managed to stand out from several sons of the previous daimyo and firmly control the only ninja army under the daimyo's command. It would be a lie to say that he had no tricks up his sleeve. At most, he was simply subdued by Li Mo's dimensional reduction attack.

At the very least, Fatty Daming, being an ordinary person, was no match for Li Mo's enhanced version of the [Shadow Seed]. After merging with it, he truly became a loyal lackey, busy serving his new boss!

……

A dozen hours later, Li Mo, who had been caught off guard, happily gained two special Jonin and more than a dozen elite Chunin and Chunin-level subordinates. These ninjas were completely unable to react effectively to Li Mo's sneak attack.

It should be said that, facing Li Mo, whose combat consciousness was superimposed by multiple Li Mos, the two special Jonin from the Rainbow Country made a slight reaction, but were directly subdued by Li Mo in the next second. As for the other dozen or so elite Chunin and ordinary Chunin, they were controlled by the Shadow Binding Technique of [Shadow Escape], and could not even resist and obediently became prisoners. Subsequently, they became Li Mo's subordinates along with the two special Jonin.

When Li Mo inquired with the two special Jonin, he learned that most of the ninjas in the Rainbow Country were selected from trusted confidants and wandering ninjas by the previous daimyo and gradually trained. The two special Jonin were orphans collected by the Rainbow Country. They were given special training because their ninja talent was confirmed. However, the Rainbow Country's resources were really limited. The two special Jonin were almost thirty years old and at the end of their peak, they only had the combat power of a special Jonin-level ninja. They were still considered to be at the bottom of the class.

After all, the Land of Rainbows is a remote overseas region far from the ninja world. Even rogue ninjas and wandering ninjas wouldn't run to such a small place. There are no powerful enemies around, so the inheritance, resources, and environment for cultivating ninjas are very poor. The two special Jonin mostly act as black gloves for the Daimyo of the Land of Rainbows. Their opponents are mostly samurai who know a little about chakra, so they are not considered strong.

Of course, Li Mo hadn't given much thought to his newly recruited ninja subordinates. He had taken control of the Rainbow Country's daimyo and obtained an official identity, and only then did he learn about the situation in the Rainbow Country. He couldn't help but frown and sigh softly:

"Tsk tsk, no wonder no one has ever set their sights on the Rainbow Country. With a population of only 100,000, it's probably barely even a tiny bit stronger than the Land of Waves..."

Chapter 49 Territory and Strategy

It should be said that Li Mo had a certain estimate of the situation of the Rainbow Country before, thinking that this small country should be a remote country that was not wealthy. However, he was a transmigrator from the 21st century, and his thinking and comparison were subconsciously based on the situation in the 21st century.

According to a hamster-themed content creator that Li Mo follows, from the perspective of modern people in 21st-century China, a modern country with a population of over 100 million can be considered a large country. A medium-sized country is one with a population of over 100 million but lacking in industrial technology, or a modern technological country with a population of less than 100 million. The standard for a small country is probably one with a population of less than 10 million and a certain level of economic strength or unique advantages in industry.

What? You mean a country with a population of less than one million, or a country with a population of several million that has no industry?

This tiny country, which could be wiped out with a single hydrogen bomb, doesn't deserve any attention from others. Even if it has oil or other precious minerals, America might find an excuse to impose sanctions one day, or the West might manipulate it into staging a coup.

However, after Li Mo read the detailed information about the entire country provided by the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country, he realized that his perspective from the world before his transmigration was far too advanced for the small countries of the Ninja World Continent. Even the Land of Water and the Land of Wind, two of the Five Great Nations, had a population of less than ten million. The Land of Fire, with the largest population, probably had only thirty to forty million people. And it was rare for the small countries to have a population of more than one million; most had only a few hundred thousand or tens of thousands of people.

The total population of the Rainbow Country barely exceeds 100,000. The country's pillar industries, ranked from heaviest to lightest, are agriculture, fishing, commerce, and handicrafts. It can be described as a remote overseas country in the feudal era.

Forget about any industrial development; the Rainbow Country itself is just a small port city and a dozen or so surrounding towns, plus more than a hundred villages.

In other words, the so-called capital of the Rainbow Kingdom is just a small port city. In the past, it relied on fishermen to go out fishing to support the marine fishing industry. In reality, agriculture was the main source of food for the more than 100,000 people in the Rainbow Kingdom. Commerce was supported by the few ocean-going merchant ships in the Rainbow Kingdom and the occasional foreign merchant ships. The remaining handicrafts were just blacksmiths, carpenters and other craftsmen who made a living by their skills.

Li Mo carefully reviewed the situation of the Rainbow Country and found that the Rainbow Country's economy was a very normal feudal society, with a small-scale peasant economy that tried to be self-sufficient. However, the Rainbow Country used to be just a place of exile. Although the island where the Rainbow Country is located is very large and has a tropical climate, without a continuous source of external support and corresponding technology, it has barely managed to get by over the decades. Trade still relies on a small amount of sugarcane, whale oil and other special products.

Looking at it this way, it's understandable why the Rainbow Country wasn't targeted by other countries. It would take a huge amount of money to build a fleet to attack it, and even if you took it, you'd still have to worry about how to feed its population of over 100,000. It might take more than a decade to break even.

Fortunately, Li Mo had some expectations about the situation in the Rainbow Country. Although some of his predictions were wrong, he was not disappointed because the Rainbow Country did indeed have great potential for development!

It's important to know that the best territory in the ninja world is the Land of Fire, with its vast, dense forests and fertile plains. This gives the Land of Fire the largest population and abundant food, making it the envy of the other four great nations and a host of smaller countries.

Countries like the Land of Lightning, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth all have harsh environments, limiting their population and making further expansion difficult. For example, the Land of Water, where Li Mo transmigrated, has a typical island climate, with fog often seen in the mornings and evenings. Its agriculture and fishing industries barely support the entire Land of Water, and expanding into new fields is virtually impossible.

In layman's terms, the Land of Water has reached the upper limit of the country's population carrying capacity under the current agricultural technology. It would be difficult to support an increase in population. The Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind are in the same situation, except that they each still have some room for development or no room for development left.

It is clear that, given the current situation, if the countries of the ninja world want to continue to develop, they must either climb the agricultural technology tree or the industrial technology tree. Otherwise, either the five great nations will annex the smaller countries as a buffer, or they will simply launch a ninja world war and reduce the population to a certain extent!

However, the situation in the Rainbow Country is completely different!

According to Li Mo's observation, the Rainbow Country is located in a tropical marine environment. Although it does not reach the Earth's equator, it is not far off. The main island of the Rainbow Country has an area of ​​over 15,000 square kilometers, with mountains, forests, and plains. It has abundant rainfall and relatively fertile land, making it a fertile land waiting to be developed.

While the Rainbow Country has a small population and has only developed a small area by the sea over several decades, with over 95% of the main island still undeveloped and the surrounding dozen or so islands serving as temporary docking points for fishing boats, it is precisely this that gives it great development potential, making it far superior to the Water Country, which is already overpopulated.

At least, the secret information held by the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country regarding the main island and surrounding islets revealed that the main island has iron, coal, and copper veins, as well as a small gold mine that the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country is secretly mining. However, these were all kept secret in the past, and only the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country knew about these secrets. Moreover, the insufficient population meant that the Rainbow Country had previously prioritized solving basic livelihood issues such as food and clothing, and its remote location made it difficult to attract other talents.

In reality, the development potential of the Rainbow Country is quite good. In terms of resources, it is enough to support a small industrial cluster. As for issues such as technology and population, it depends on whether the leader of the Rainbow Country, the Daimyo, is willing to carry out large-scale development for his country and invest a lot of money and resources for it.

If we're talking about the daimyo of the Rainbow Country, in the original Naruto storyline, these daimyo who control both the greater good and wealth are far more vigilant about their own ninja villages than they are interested in politics. As for developing their own country, they don't have any overall plan at all. Even after the Fourth Shinobi World War, the daimyo were still less concerned about the development of their country than the local nobles and wealthy merchants. They were basically a bunch of useless parasites.

Therefore, Li Mo had set Rainbow Country as his target in advance, with the intention of gaining control. Even if Rainbow Country was not suitable, it could serve as a secret base in the early stages. The actual situation he saw now was much better than Li Mo had expected. Resources were plentiful and there were certain basic conditions. Even if the technology was really lacking, it was not an insurmountable problem.

With this in mind, Li Mo became even more focused on using the Land of Rainbows as his main base, intending to lie low and develop during the Third Shinobi World War. He would only consider getting involved in the war when his strength had greatly increased!

Chapter 50 Changes and Situations

Control of the Rainbow Kingdom quietly fell into Li Mo's hands, but most of the common people of the Rainbow Kingdom were completely unaware of this. Many of them were illiterate and spent their days either in the fields or fishing to make a living. They had no idea about the situation of the daimyo and samurai lords of the upper class.

Soon, the changes that Li Mo brought to the Rainbow Kingdom were felt by the common people!

By order of the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country, they have begun recruiting idlers to cultivate new fields. One-tenth of the cultivated land will belong to the pioneers themselves?!

The news immediately caused an uproar among the common people of the Rainbow Kingdom.

Don't misunderstand, the commoners didn't think the conditions were too low. On the contrary, the conditions offered by the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country were very tempting. In the past, the farmland cultivated by the commoners would have belonged to the Daimyo and nobles.

Does the new farmland you cultivate now belong to you?

There have been commoners who thought this way, but the samurai under the command of daimyo and nobles, and the ninjas who came to clean up "bandits" for a fee, would never mind showing these warriors bloody cases to other commoners, giving these people, whom they regarded as talking animals, a deterrent force.

Previously, the daimyo and nobles of the Rainbow Country did the same thing, except that they granted fiefdoms to their samurai or allowed a few artisans to buy a few acres of farmland. The other farmers in the Rainbow Country were either tenant farmers who rented land or fishermen who risked their lives to go out fishing. If the Rainbow Country hadn't actually lacked people but not land, it would probably have been in the same situation as the common people of the Land of Water, being exploited to the extreme by the daimyo, nobles, and samurai.

Even so, the common people of the Rainbow Country can barely afford to eat their fill; living comfortably is still a pipe dream, and owning their own land is even more of a fantasy.

Now, the order from the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country, controlled by Li Mo, is to allow commoners who previously had no land to cultivate new land and obtain a small portion of land of their own. Even though many requirements have been put forward, the commoners who hear this find it hard to believe.

When the first brave soul to take the plunge appeared and actually received an accurate answer from the Rainbow Kingdom's officials, and was instructed by the officials to burn the wasteland before filling in the water pits, and after some rough preparations, obtained a land contract from the officials, it immediately caused a sensation among the Rainbow Kingdom's commoners. They accepted the task and worked together to cultivate new farmland, which quickly became the most popular activity in the Rainbow Kingdom.

In just over a month, the Rainbow Country reclaimed 200,000 acres of new farmland. Even though these newly reclaimed fields were uncultivated, the burning and prior fertilization prevented them from being as desolate as land reclamation in feudal times. The first season's harvest was expected to be good. In addition, more than 5,000 commoners owned their own land, which greatly enhanced the prestige of the Rainbow Country's daimyo. Praises of his benevolence were heard everywhere.

At the same time, the daimyo of the Rainbow Country issued a series of orders, including building salt fields, increasing the catch of fish to make fish floss, expanding the city and public buildings, making full use of all the human resources of the Rainbow Country. However, few ordinary people complained because the daimyo spent a lot of resources and money to hire them, rather than directly conscripting laborers and even requiring the laborers to bring their own food.

After more than a month, when the situation in the Rainbow Country improved, Li Mo issued an order through the Daimyo of the Rainbow Country that all school-age children should be concentrated for education. No civilians objected and some even sent their children over voluntarily!

………………

"Attention! When jogging, control your breathing rhythm and don't let it get out of control!"

"All literacy goals must be achieved. Students who do not meet the requirements will stay behind to clean the school in the afternoon, and their families will be notified!"