The next day, Mishu continued trailing behind Kuriarare Kushimaru on their bloody journey.
Meanwhile, far away from the frontlines, Kiichiro was holding a secret meeting with two major local grain merchants: Ise Matsuzakato and Tsuchimitsu Toshio. He confidently finalized the purchase of a massive quantity of grain at a staggering twenty percent above the current market rate.
Ise Matsuzakato, his plump face gleaming with oily sweat, raised his teacup in a toast. "Young people these days are truly remarkable! So driven, so ambitious. Your future is undoubtedly bright, Young Master!"
Tsuchimitsu Toshio stroked his thin, weasel-like mustache and nodded in eager agreement. "Yes, yes, indeed! When you reach the peak of success in the future, you absolutely mustn't forget us two old brothers!"
These two veteran merchants genuinely believed they had encountered a massive fool with too much money. Naturally, they smiled amiably, secretly hoping this prodigal son would go bankrupt soon so they could swoop in and reap another windfall from his assets.
Under his butler Mikuri Tomokazu's deeply worried gaze, Kiichiro casually paid the full amount in cash, carefully stored the contract, and beamed with absolute delight.
"I'll have to trouble you two elder brothers to let the grain sit in your warehouses for a little while," Kiichiro said warmly. "I will arrange for its transport as soon as possible."
Ise Matsuzakato waved a pudgy hand magnanimously. "No trouble at all! Keep it there as long as you like. You've essentially bought up all the loose grain in the Land of the Moon. Our granaries belong to you now!"
Tsuchimitsu Toshio's eyes shifted craftily as he leaned closer to Kiichiro. "Little brother, this unusually large purchase of grain... do you have some inside information? If there's a highly profitable opportunity on the horizon, you must tell your elder brothers."
Two old, paranoid foxes, Kiichiro thought, having fully anticipated this exact question.
He deliberately put on an air of smug, youthful arrogance. "The Ninja World is highly unstable right now. War is bound to break out, and grain prices will surely skyrocket. I'm simply a visionary buying in advance!"
Hearing Kiichiro's grand explanation, Ise Matsuzakato and Tsuchimitsu Toshio exchanged a quick glance, both fighting to hide the scornful smiles tugging at the corners of their mouths.
He really is just a foolish prodigal son, they thought.
Which of these major merchants didn't know a war was brewing? Yet absolutely no one dared to hoard grain on this scale for one simple reason: no one knew exactly when the war would erupt. It could be this year, next year, or five years from now. Hoarding perishable grain would tie up massive amounts of vital capital flow. Only an idiot would take such a gamble.
Thus, both sides walked away from the transaction considering themselves the ultimate victor. It was a true win-win situation.
Afterward, Mikuri Tomokazu immediately went to hire horses, carts, and laborers. Kiichiro, meanwhile, slipped away to the border of the Land of Lightning.
Using the Transformation Jutsu, he morphed flawlessly into the lanky, masked likeness of Kuriarare Kushimaru and prepared to ambush the Cloud Ninja.
"Captain, after this patrol rotation is complete and we return to the village, you'll be getting married, right?"
"Haha, congratulations, Captain!"
"So that's how it is! No wonder the Captain has been smiling so much these past few days."
On a quiet forest path, four Cloud Ninja were chatting and laughing as they traveled. Hidden in the dense canopy above, Kiichiro observed them coldly.
A standard four-man squad. The captain is a Chunin, and the remaining three are Genin. Their overall strength is just right.
Having formulated his script, Kiichiro leaped out from the foliage, landing heavily on a thick tree branch directly in their path.
"Who goes there?!"
Seeing the suddenly appearing ninja, the four Cloud shinobi instantly drew their weapons. The Chunin captain studied Kiichiro's masked face and lanky frame. It only took a second for his expression to change drastically.
"One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist! The Hidden Mist assassin, Kuriarare Kushimaru! What do you want here?!"
To avoid any slip-ups with his disguise, Kiichiro didn't utter a single word. He launched his attack directly.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A ferocious, roaring dragon made of pressurized water surged forth, charging straight at the Cloud patrol. The three Genin were instantly petrified with fear, their legs going weak, entirely unable to dodge the incoming devastation.
"Ninja Taijutsu: Lightning Plow Blade!"
The Cloud captain's body violently flashed with crackling lightning. Moving at an incredible speed, he rushed directly in front of the water dragon and shattered its jaws with a single, desperate punch.
"This is not a fight you can survive! Run, now!" the captain roared.
Although the captain had destroyed the water dragon, the sheer kinetic force had injured him. Combined with the severe physical strain of using his high-level Ninja Taijutsu, he knew he couldn't hold out for long.
"Captain... come back alive!"
The three Genin finally snapped out of their paralyzing fear. With tears in their eyes, they took one last look at their brave captain before turning and fleeing into the woods.
Seeing this, Kiichiro acted his part perfectly. He feigned an attempt to bypass the captain, acting as if he intended to ruthlessly pursue the Genin and wipe out the entire squad to leave no witnesses.
"Don't even think about getting past me!"
Stimulated by the Lightning Release Chakra coursing through his muscles, the Cloud captain intercepted him, throwing a massive, crackling punch.
According to Kiichiro's master plan, he needed the Genin to escape and report back to their superiors. Chasing them was just a theatrical performance. Seeing the captain intercept him, Kiichiro simply "went with the flow" and engaged him in close combat.
The two traded blows. After a grueling minute, the Cloud captain's speed and strength dropped significantly as his injuries worsened.
Time to end this, Kiichiro thought. Given the real Kushimaru's elite strength, killing a mere Chunin shouldn't take this long. He rapidly formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Wave!"
A powerful torrent of water swept the captain off his feet. As the man stumbled, Kiichiro seized the opening to blur behind him, delivering a precise, brutal chop to the back of his neck that knocked him unconscious.
Kiichiro then took out a spool of prepared steel wire. Mimicking Kushimaru's gruesome signature style, he killed the unconscious man and strung him up.
Afterward, Kiichiro leisurely gave chase in the direction the three Genin had fled. Unexpectedly, the kids were clever; they had split up and were fleeing in three entirely different directions.
Seeing this, Kiichiro felt quite pleased.
Based on my reconnaissance, this specific area is heavily patrolled by Cloud forces. You'd better try hard to escape. At least one of you needs to make it out alive to tell the tale.
After spending some time hunting, Kiichiro caught up with and killed two of the Genin. He soon cornered the third. Just as he raised his blade to strike, over a dozen shuriken suddenly shot out from the tree line ahead, forcing Kiichiro to backflip away.
Cloud Ninja reinforcements? Kiichiro looked up with eager anticipation and, sure enough, saw a fully armed squad of Cloud Ninja emerging from the foliage.
"He... he... he murdered the Captain!" the panicked Genin sobbed, stumbling toward the newly arrived squad.
"Hmph! How dare a Kirigakure dog be so brazen on our borders!" the reinforcement leader snarled. "Fire the signal flare! We'll kill him right here!"
Seeing everything proceed flawlessly according to his script, Kiichiro was in exceptionally high spirits. He formed a quick string of seals.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A massive, crashing tidal wave—tall as a city wall—swept directly toward the Cloud squad. The shinobi had no choice but to brace themselves and take cover, and Kiichiro seized the perfect moment to slip away into the shadows.
"Damn it! After him!"
This new Cloud squad's captain was a Jonin. Confident in his strength, he wasn't overly afraid of the legendary swordsman and immediately led his men in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile, at this very moment, the real Kuriarare Kushimaru had just finished burning down the final Cloud Ninja target in the Land of the Moon.
"All known Cloud strongholds in this region have been eradicated," Kushimaru rasped, wiping blood from his mask. "Their pursuit squads should arrive soon. Stay alert."
Having completed his bloody mission, Kushimaru planned to return to the Hidden Mist with Mishu the next morning. Before leaving, he summoned Kuroda Hiroki, sternly warning the rebel leader to prepare for massive Cloud retaliation.
During this period, seeing the arrogant Cloud Ninja meet gruesome ends one by one, Kuroda Hiroki was in excellent spirits. He appeared overwhelmingly confident.
"Don't worry about me," Hiroki laughed darkly. "I've been opposing the Cloud Ninja for years and haven't been killed yet. I have my own methods of survival!"