At five meters, Yang Jiu stopped in front of that shivering thicket.
He didn't speak, just watched quietly.
Watching those figures hidden behind the leaves, listening to those breaths that were pressed extremely low yet couldn't stop trembling.
Interesting.
Even though they've clearly been discovered, they're still comforting themselves that they 'can negotiate'?
The corners of Yang Jiu's mouth curled slightly.
He raised his front paw and gave it a gentle wave.
"Crash—"
A small arc of electricity shot from his claw tip, precisely hitting several thick branches above the thicket; the branches snapped and crashed down, revealing over a dozen pale faces hidden behind them.
Kawajūrō's whole body stiffened.
The sunlight shone directly onto them, with no cover left.
He looked up and met those golden eyes.
There was no anger or killing intent in those eyes, only a faint, playful curiosity, as if looking at something interesting.
"Negotiate?"
Yang Jiu spoke.
His voice wasn't loud, but it exploded in everyone's ears like a clap of thunder.
"You want to negotiate with me?"
Kawajūrō's Adam's apple bobbed.
He opened his mouth to speak, but found his throat as dry as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.
But he still spoke.
"Y-Yes."
His voice was raspy, but he tried his best to remain calm.
"We... we are people from the Western Mountain Stronghold. We didn't peek on purpose, we just... just heard a commotion and came over to check the situation."
He paused and added:
"We mean no ill will."
"Tsk, whether you have ill will or not isn't for you to say."
Yang Jiu narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly.
"Then, Wolf King, I wonder what it is you want?" Kawajūrō asked cautiously, feeling a sigh of relief in his heart.
It seemed there was room for negotiation.
The other bandits watched nervously, not daring to move an inch.
"What do I want?"
Yang Jiu arched an eyebrow.
He looked at Kawajūrō, at this Boss who was feigning composure, and at the dozen or so bandits behind him who were shaking like leaves.
Kill them?
There was no benefit, at most it would just complete the King of the Forest mission.
But what if he incorporated them?
On Konoha's side, a grudge had already been formed.
He had killed three Ninjas, one of whom was an Elite Chunin—Konoha couldn't just treat this account as if it never happened; once they realized the patrol team was missing and sent people to investigate, they would eventually track it back to the wolf clan.
When that time came, it would be either fight or hide.
As for fighting, he wasn't afraid with his current strength, but the wolf clan couldn't withstand a full-scale suppression by Konoha.
As for hiding, should they give up this forest? It was territory he had fought hard to win; he couldn't just throw it away.
So hiding was out of the question.
But if he incorporated this stronghold...
What if he supported a subordinate force of his own?
A human force!
Yang Jiu's gaze fell upon Kawajūrō.
The Western Mountain Stronghold, three Wandering Samurai, and over fifty bandits.
They were a bit weak.
But they had the advantage of having human identities, a base, and a foundation. If he could incorporate them and have them operate in the name of humans, helping the wolf clan handle matters that were inconvenient to deal with directly—
For example, trading with the outside world.
For example, gathering intelligence.
Or even—establishing a new Ninja Village?
Thinking of this, Yang Jiu's eyes narrowed slightly, a shrewd glint flickering through the slits.
It was feasible.
Kawajūrō felt unnerved by his gaze, cold sweat breaking out in layer after layer on his back.
What is this wolf thinking? Why isn't he saying anything?
Just when he was about to break—
"What is your name?"
Yang Jiu spoke.
Kawajūrō was startled and quickly nodded: "W-Wolf King, my name is Kawajūrō."
Yang Jiu nodded:
"Kawajūrō, how many people are in the stronghold?"
"F-Fifty or so."
"Three Wandering Ninja, including yourself?"
Kawajūrō's pupils shrank: "H-How did you know?"
Yang Jiu didn't answer.
He simply withdrew his gaze and said flatly:
"You don't have to die anymore."
Kawajūrō was stunned.
The dozen or so bandits behind him were also stunned.
"W-What?"
Yang Jiu looked at him, his golden eyes devoid of any emotion.
"I said, you don't have to die anymore."
"And—"
He paused.
"From now on, your stronghold belongs to me."
Kawajūrō's mouth hung open, unable to react for a moment.
"What?"
"I mean, you shall submit to me!!"
"Is there a problem?"
Kawajūrō's mind was a mess.
A wolf actually wanted a group of mountain bandits like them to submit; he wanted to take them in as subordinates.
What kind of play was this?
But he quickly realized—
No matter what the play was, as long as he could live, it was fine!
"N-No problem!" He nodded hurriedly. "It is our blessing to follow a powerhouse like you!"
The corners of Yang Jiu's mouth curled slightly.
A smart man.
"Very good."
"Let's go, let's take a look at the stronghold!"
"O-Okay, Wolf King."
Kawajūrō replied with an expression full of bitterness.
He never thought that after one trip out, even the stronghold would be gone.
—
Half an hour later.
A wooden mountain stronghold built halfway up a mountain appeared.
High fences stood around the stronghold, figures could be seen faintly moving on several watchtowers, and the gate was tightly shut.
Kawajūrō quickened his pace and shouted toward the gate tower:
"Open the gate! It's me!"
Several heads popped out from the gate tower. Seeing it was their Boss, they quickly shouted for the gate to be opened.
"The Boss is back!"
"Quick, open—"
The shouting bandit's voice suddenly got stuck in his throat.
Because he saw that behind The Boss, a wolf was following.
A massive gray wolf.
A giant wolf that was a size larger than an ordinary wolf, with fur flickering with electric currents and eyes faintly glowing with lightning.
Then, he saw the dozens of emerald-green eyes behind the giant wolf.
"W-Wolf... A wolf—!!!"
A terrified scream pierced the sky.
The entire stronghold instantly became a chaotic mess.
Bandits on the watchtowers almost fell off, those on patrol grabbed their weapons but didn't dare step forward, and those sleeping were woken by the noise and rushed out of their rooms, only to freeze in place.
Kawajūrō's mouth twitched, and he hurriedly waved his hands and shouted:
"Don't panic! Everyone, don't panic! This is... this is our new..."
He got halfway through and suddenly got stuck.
New what?
New leader?
New master?
He turned to look at Yang Jiu and found the wolf was sizing up the stronghold with interest, seemingly evaluating something.
"Have everyone come out."
Yang Jiu spoke.
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every bandit.
This gave all the bandits a huge fright, and they looked at Yang Jiu as if looking at a monster.
This giant wolf actually spoke.
"Okay."
Kawajūrō hurriedly complied.
A moment later, on the open ground in the center of the stronghold, over fifty people stood in a dense crowd.
There were old ones, young ones, fierce-looking ones, and those whose legs were weak with fear.
Among them, two Wandering Ninja who looked like leaders stood at the very front, clutching their blades and staring warily at Yang Jiu.
"Big Brother, what's the situation?"
One of them asked Kawajūrō in a low voice.
Kawajūrō smiled bitterly: "Don't ask, just listen to the Wolf King."
"Wolf King?"
Yang Jiu stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over these people one by one.
There were many elderly, weak, women, and children; those who could truly fight were only those three Wandering Ninja and about twenty young, strong bandits.
The foundation was thin.
But it could be cultivated.
He withdrew his gaze and said flatly:
"From today on, this stronghold belongs to me."
"You, too, belong to me."
A commotion broke out in the crowd.
Someone wanted to speak, but meeting those lightning-flickering eyes, they swallowed their words back down.
Yang Jiu slowly raised his front paw and pointed lightly at the nearby empty ground.
"Boom!"
A bolt of lightning shot out, blasting a large pit two meters in diameter into the ground. Soil splattered, rocks flew, and wisps of green smoke still rose from the pit.
Everyone froze, and some were so frightened they collapsed to the ground, shivering.
The blades in the hands of those two Wandering Ninja almost fell to the ground.
"Rest assured, I'm not taking you in to use you as emergency rations."
"However, if you're thinking of running away, that's another story."
Yang Jiu withdrew his paw, his tone returning to calm.
"Do you understand?"
"U-Understand!"
"We understand!"
A chorus of hurried responses rang out.
Yang Jiu nodded with satisfaction.
Just then, a cold notification tone sounded.
[Ding—mission Completed: King of the Forest]