Fujin's clones entered the basement and killed the last two Suna ninjas in the city. The people who were disguising themselves as Toshio's family were horrified. They immediately began screaming and begged, "Please let us live! I promise we won't tell anyone what happened here!"
Despite the fear, they didn't expose that they weren't related to Toshio. They knew that if they did, their families would suffer for generations and Toshio would kill them even if the assassin didn't.
Fujin's clones ignored their screams. One clone weaved a few hand seals.
'Boufura no Ekirei jutsu'
Terror could be seen on their faces. However, nothing happened. The look of terror faded away and instead, they became confused. Some wondered, 'Did his jutsu fail?'
Suddenly, they got a weird feeling. They felt a slight squirming in their stomach. In an instant, that squirming turned into a sharp pain. They felt as if their stomach was infested by hundreds of maggots. The maggots began eating their way from inside their bodies. The sharp pain soon turned into agony as they felt every mouth ripping and eating the skin, tissue and tendons.
Everyone held their stomach while screaming in pain and horror as the two clones watched. One person couldn't take it anymore and yelled at the top of his lungs. The people around him looked at him. Their eyes widened in horror as his stomach was torn open and hundreds of maggots spilled out and began writhing on the ground. Soon, they too faced similar fates.
Fujin's clones watched as every one of them fell unconscious. However, there were no maggots on the ground, no blood and no torn stomachs. The attack was just a Genjutsu.
Boufura no Ekirei jutsu was one of the Genjutsus Fujin learnt during his time in the Anbu. It was a very disgusting jutsu. However, against a ninja, its usage was limited. Any experienced ninja would know that they are in a Genjutsu and disrupt their chakra.
So its main usage was to disturb the enemy by causing a weird feeling and pain in their stomachs and use that disruption to attack them. Of course, there was one exception. This Genjutsu was disgustingly effective when used by the Aburame clan ninjas!
Fujin's clone thought, 'Now they won't wake up for a while. Though I could have used a different Genjutsu, this one ensures that they won't wake up for at least half a day. In addition, the horror they experienced will force their brains to forget about this event and the events before they went unconscious. This will make it very difficult for Suna to get the exact information from them.'
Fujin could have just killed them. But he had killed too many innocent people during this mission. If he could avoid killing more, he would take that option.
The clones transformed into the two Suna ninjas they killed, stored their bodies and returned to Fujin. Fujin had finished completing his plan.
16 Shadow Clones popped around him. However, one immediately dispersed. The plan immediately was transmitted to all the remaining Shadow Clones. The 15 new clones immediately transformed into random people Fujin came across and flickered out.
8 clones rushed out of the City. They spread away at equal distances and formed a perimeter. All of them activated their chakra field simultaneously, monitoring the city from all sides. If reinforcements from Suna arrive, they would send the message back to Fujin, who would withdraw immediately. The remaining 7 clones mixed with the common people in the city.
Inside the mansion, Fujin and his clones, disguised as Suna ninjas, left the room. The servants in the mansion were all hiding in fear after the sounds of the fighting spread throughout the mansion. Though the sounds had stopped, they weren't sure who won. Seeing the Suna ninjas walk around the mansion relieved them.
Fujin's clones looked at them and said, "The assassin is killed. You can relax."
The servants all smiled. One said loudly, "I knew that any assassin couldn't kill Sunagakure ninjas! We are the strongest ninja village!"
Fujin's clone chuckled and asked, "Is that so? Then why were you hiding?"
The servant immediately became nervous. He thought, 'Shit, I was just trying to get in their good books. Why is he making it difficult for me?'
The servants around him also stared at him. They were quite sick of his bootlicking ability.
The servant said while stuttering. "I… I… I was…"
Fujin's clone chuckled again and said, "It's fine. I have a job for you guys. Leave the mansion and spread the message. The Assassin who kept killing the Nobles is dead. There will be a huge announcement made. So everyone, who can, should arrive around the mansion."
The servant immediately said, "I will immediately inform everybody."
The others also nodded. Fujin's clone added, "If you find others hiding, inform them as well."
They agreed and left. Fujin's clones found the others who were hiding and gave them the same job.
Meanwhile, Fujin began going through items in the mansion. After searching for a bit, he found a photo album. Looking at he muttered, "So this is how this Noble called Toshio looks. And this is his family. Though, trying to look for him actively will be pointless as he should be wearing a disguise to hide from civilians."
Fujin created another Shadow clone and dispelled it. The memories transferred to all his clones. The 7 clones that had mixed among the civilians began to keep an eye out in case they saw someone who looked familiar.
The news spread through the city quickly. The news that an assassin was killing the Nobles was already well known. To know that the assassin was killed in their city was a matter of joy and pride! Within minutes, thousands of people crowded around the mansion. Fujin watched it and wondered, 'Will this be sufficient to make the noble crawl out of his hiding spot?'
Fujin and his clones scanned the crowd for two minutes. Unfortunately, they couldn't spot him. Fujin, who had transformed into Kazuo, stepped forward. He said in a loud voice, "Quiet Down."
Kazuo was well-known in the city. The crowd went silent.
Fujin continued saying, "An hour ago, Toshio-sama was attacked by that scum assassin. Unfortunately, he encountered me."
The crowd listened in anticipation as Fujin looked at them. He shouted, "I KILLED THAT COWARD!"
The crowd instantly erupted in joy. The entire mansion was drowned in roars. The cheers were heard throughout the city. The ones who couldn't make it regretted not being there. However, they were cheerful as well.
Fujin waited for the noise to lower and said loudly, "Tonight, the entire city will celebrate! So come to the mansion in the evening. We will have the largest buffet ever! When the fireworks go off, drop everything you are doing and come here to celebrate!"
The crowd cheered even louder.
"Long Live Toshio-sama"
"Kazuo-sama is Mighty"
Such slogans were shouted continuously. Fujin looked around with a smile on his face and slowly retreated into the mansion. The crowd lingered for a while before leaving.
The news of a buffet spread through the city. Everyone was happy, except one person. Toshio was sitting in a restaurant. A lot of makeup was applied to his face. The people in the restaurant couldn't recognize him. A frown formed on his face as he cursed, 'Why is Kazuo spending my money?'
His face became ugly at the thought of his money being wasted on commoners. He wondered, 'Should I return to the mansion? That bastard has already killed the assassin. So why didn't he call me back?'
He thought for a bit and decided, 'No. I have cooperated with Kazuo for a long time. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. As for the money, I can earn it back in no time.'
He got up and began leaving the restaurant.
As soon as he did, he heard two people speaking.
One guy said, "Hey, did you hear? Toshio-sama hid in the city while a decoy took his place. I didn't expect Toshio-sama to be so cowardly."
His friend replied, "Yes. I was very disappointed. I had higher expectations from Toshio-sama."
The first guy said, "Yeah, everyone is disappointed. I heard that Lord Daimyo is upset with Toshio-sama. And a new Noble would be elected."
His friend nodded and said, "Yes. I hope Kazuo-sama becomes our new Noble. Under him, we might become the strongest City in the West."
The first guy chuckled and said, "I say the decoy should become the new Noble. After all, he has the guts and the will to sacrifice himself for us. That's how a Noble should be!"
The two continued talking while moving away. Toshio's face became very ugly. He almost lashed out at the two but controlled himself. He thought in rage, 'I should have known! That bastard tricked me! He is using this opportunity to usurp my power!'
