Chapter 356: Tragic Annihilation of a Nation
Masahiko and Mifune engaged in a staring contest for a long time. The scene became extremely awkward for a while.
A samurai's concentration is indeed very strong, but how could Masahiko be willing to admit defeat?
"Staring like this puts me at a big disadvantage. Mifune's face is too ugly; looking at him makes me very uncomfortable. But for him, looking at me is simply an enjoyment..." Masahiko thought to himself. "It seems I have to think of a way."
Masahiko pondered for a moment, secretly condensing Wind-attribute chakra in his right hand. A faint whirlwind formed at his fingertips. With a flick of his finger, a gentle breeze blew towards Mifune's eyes...
Mifune was actually able to react, turning his head to dodge, and naturally resting his right hand on the hilt of his sword.
"You blinked!"
Mifune: ???
Masahiko showed a slight smile, then quickly concealed it, his expression finally becoming serious and solemn. With the tomfoolery over, it was time for real business.
"Tell me, what exactly is this deed that incites the wrath of men and gods, that you even dared to suspect me?"
Mifune slowly took his right hand off the hilt and pondered slightly. "Apologies, Senior. This matter could absolutely not have been done by Senior. It's just that the timing of your appearance is truly too coincidental. Please, follow me."
Masahiko nodded, leading the three children to follow Mifune all the way into his General's Residence.
Mifune rummaged for a moment, took out a folded map, and unrolled it before Masahiko's eyes.
"This is a map of the vicinity of the Land of Iron. I wonder which route Senior took to get here."
"The Land of Earth."
Mifune nodded. "As expected. If you had set off from the Land of Whirlpools, perhaps you could have saved the innocent people of the Land of That along the way."
"Hmm?" Masahiko frowned, searched the map for a moment, and found a country marked with a small red 'X'. "The Land of That was annihilated?"
Mifune sighed. "News arrived yesterday. The Land of That was completely annihilated."
Masahiko was startled. "Completely annihilated?"
Mifune nodded, indicating that it was indeed the case.
"Hey, Great Elder, what does completely annihilated mean? It couldn't be..." Karin's face looked a bit pale.
"Ah, it means exactly what you think." Masahiko took a deep breath.
Complete annihilation meant that the Land of That wasn't annexed by another country, but that everyone, from the Daimyo down to the most ordinary civilian, was slaughtered to the last person.
This was not something a war between nations could accomplish; it was absolutely done by a ninja. But even in the Warring States period, very few people would do such a thankless task that required so much effort. What kind of deep-seated hatred or resentment was this?
Pausing for a moment, Mifune continued, "According to intelligence, a ninja released a large-scale ninjutsu in the Land of That. I have already sent Okisuke to lead a team to investigate. I expect they will return early tomorrow morning. Perhaps there will be areas where we need Senior's help."
"A large-scale ninjutsu? The number of ninjas who can annihilate a country are indeed not many, but they aren't too few either."
Although the Land of That was called a country, its size couldn't even compare to Konoha Village; it was just an inconspicuous small dot on the map. Small countries like this were numerous around the Land of Iron. They all belonged to the category of the Land of Iron's dependents, receiving protection from the samurai. Ninjas rarely appeared within their borders.
In the current ninja world, there were still some ninjas capable of wiping out a country of this scale with a large-scale ninjutsu. Leaving others aside, the Jinchuriki could almost all do it—just a matter of two Tailed Beast Bombs.
Mifune nodded. "This matter will definitely make the surrounding small countries feel insecure. If Okisuke's investigation yields no results, I hope Senior can lend a hand to apprehend the culprit."
Masahiko once again put on an expression of full righteousness. "I am absolutely duty-bound in this matter!"
Mifune was taken aback, then turned his head and called out, "Urakaku, prepare the guest rooms. Senior has had a long and tiring journey, and it's getting late. Please let Senior rest."
Masahiko was helpless. Now even his 'righteousness' wasn't believed. "Rest assured, helping you investigate this matter will be considered the payment for Kimimaro learning sword techniques."
Only then did Mifune nod. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior."
Seeing the samurai named Urakaku finish arranging the guest rooms and walk over, Masahiko suddenly remembered something else.
With a wave of his right hand, the human puppet Hanzo appeared before the group. The faint blue barrier around Hanzo had still not been canceled by Masahiko.
"This is... Lord Hanzo!" Mifune was startled, recalling the intelligence from the Land of Rain. "He truly is no longer in this world."
"Mm, not only is he no longer in this world, but his corpse was also turned into a human puppet, and now he is a poison man." Masahiko explained. "I remember you knew him. Find someone to bury him. There is no place for him in the Land of Rain anymore."
Mifune took a deep breath. "I understand, Senior."
Masahiko nodded, then paused.
"By doing this, when Yahiko comes to request the neutral Land of Iron to join the Akatsuki organization, he'll probably run into trouble..."
...
The next day, early morning.
Masahiko and the three children finished breakfast and followed a samurai guide to a spacious open field. Mifune stood quietly holding a wooden sword, looking as if he had been waiting for a long time.
"Senior, I need to test this child's foundation in sword techniques first."
Masahiko turned around. "Kimimaro, you are only allowed to use one bone sword. Do not use your other abilities."
Kimimaro charged forward with fighting intent, but Mifune was far beyond an opponent he could match right now. With just a light flick of the wooden sword, Kimimaro almost couldn't hold onto his bone blade.
After a few probing moves, Mifune increased the force of his wooden sword, and Kimimaro stumbled back to Masahiko's side.
"Attacking purely on instinct? He has a lot to learn."
Masahiko nodded. "That's why I will be staying here for about three months. During this time, I will have to trouble you to find someone to teach him sword techniques, Mifune."
"Three months is barely enough." Mifune replied, "Time is tight. Before Okisuke returns, I will personally teach him some basics of sword techniques."
Masahiko nodded in satisfaction and patted Kimimaro on the shoulder. "Watch closely and learn well."
"Yes, God!"
While Kimimaro learned basic sword techniques with Mifune, Masahiko guided Haku and Karin in their sparring and training.
As time passed, Mifune's face grew increasingly tense. It wasn't because of anything Kimimaro did, but because the samurai named Okisuke hadn't returned on time.
It wasn't until noon, upon receiving a samurai's report that Okisuke had finally returned, that Mifune breathed a sigh of relief.
Masahiko was also very curious about this matter. He let the three children practice on their own and followed Mifune to see the samurai named Okisuke.
"General Mifune, this is Shu, the young lord of the Land of That. He was previously a hostage in the Land of This, and thus escaped the disaster." Okisuke explained the reason for his delay. He also shot a couple of curious glances at Masahiko but didn't ask questions on his own initiative.
Masahiko, on the other hand, sized up the young lord of the Land of That that the samurai Okisuke spoke of. It was a beautiful... little boy, around six or seven years old, with his hair tied in two small braids, crying a river of tears.
Masahiko immediately wanted to call Haku over to compare who was prettier, but regardless, he felt Haku was slightly superior.
While thinking about these random things, Mifune began asking about the situation in the Land of That.
He listened as the samurai Okisuke shook his head and spoke, "There are no survivors. The Land of That doesn't look like it was destroyed by multiple ninjutsu; it's more like it was instantly turned into ruins by a super large-scale ninjutsu. The civilians had absolutely no chance to escape. It doesn't even look like ninjutsu; it's simply like a natural disaster."
Mifune looked grim and turned to Masahiko.
Masahiko nodded thoughtfully. "Take me to see it. There aren't more than five ninjas in the current ninja world who can annihilate a country with a single ninjutsu. I... roughly know who it is."
☆☆☆
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