Mount Muteki -
Fujin rested the entire day and left Mount Muteki the next day on Kaito's back. While flying high in the sky, Kaito asked, "Have you ever toured outside the continent you live on?"
Fujin replied, "Nope. I haven't even visited my continent entirely."
Though his time in the Anbu had him make several trips, they were mostly within the Land of Fire and the weaker countries surrounding it. He hadn't visited the Land of Water, Earth and Lightning much. And there were still some countries beyond them.
Kaito replied, "Then you will be in for a hell of a ride. Enjoy the scenery. I'll explain some important locations to you."
Fujin replied, "Cool. I always wondered how the world outside the elemental nations is."
He thought, 'I wonder how it will compare to my previous world. And whether there are other civilizations in this world.'
Kaito flew the entire day without needing to rest. As someone who was addicted to roaming around the world, Kaito could fly for over 3 days without rest.
Fujin rested his body while watching below. Most of what he observed was just a never-ending ocean. But, there were many islands that were full of life. However, Fujin didn't notice a single human living there.
He asked, "Kaito, do no humans live outside the continent I live on?"
Kaito replied, "I don't recall seeing any. But I have barely seen around 15 to 20% of the world. So there might be some in other places. But the chances are low."
Fujin was puzzled. He asked, "Why is the chance low?"
Kaito smirked and answered, "You will understand it soon."
Fujin sighed. He recalled that Kaito loved showing rather than telling. The two continued their journey. It was his way of making others accompany him rather than losing interest after hearing the answer. Though Fujin was stuck with him regardless, his habit couldn't be changed so easily.
Land of Grass, Mizukoshi Town -
Ide Tomoki was sitting in his office. It was already late in the evening. He had two letters in front of him. One was from Onoki while the other was from Hiroshi. And his expression was very ugly.
He thought, 'These guys! Hiroshi has left me with no choice. Though he hasn't asked me to admit that I colluded with Iwa, the price he is asking me to pay is unreasonable. My family will have no chance of rising any further for decades. Instead, we may have difficulty maintaining power here as well.
But, Tsuchikage's proposal is too drastic. He said that Iwa won't be able to support me any longer. So he is recommending breaking off from the Land of Grass and becoming a part of the Land of Earth. If I do that, I will be able to maintain all my current territory. In addition, I can also get more lands in the future if Iwagakure is successful in war.'
He fell into a thought. After a long time, his expression hardened. He muttered, "Kusagakure is leaving me with no future. But Iwagakure has not only promised me a better future, but they aren't even trying to force me to make a decision. Though I don't want to betray my birthplace, the choice I have to make is obvious!"
He immediately called 3 of the 5 most influential Nobles in the city. They were the closest to him and his family. Half an hour later, Tomoki, all his family members and 3 Nobles gathered in the meeting room. Tomoki explained to them the contents of the two letters and informed them about his decision to join the Land of Earth.
His declaration shocked everyone in the room. No one even considered such a drastic step. But after thinking for a bit, his family members agreed with his decision. Just the Nobles hadn't said anything.
A couple of them were extremely opposed to the idea. Hiroshi's restrictions would restrict the Ide Family and not them. However, the third Noble got up and walked to Tomoki. He bowed and said, "Tomoki-sama, no matter what you decide, my Sato family will always support your decision."
A smile appeared on Tomoki's face. He said, "I am honored to have a loyal friend like you, Sato Seiya."
He looked towards the remaining 2 Nobles. They immediately cursed in their mind, 'This fucking bootlicker!'
They were heavily outnumbered by the Ide Family in that small room. Both knew that they wouldn't leave alive if they didn't agree. Just when they were about to speak, their eyes widened in shock.
Ide Tomoki had a look of disbelief on his face as his eyes moved and landed on Sato Seiya. Seiya had stabbed a knife in his chest when he was looking at the other two Nobles. He asked in disbelief, "Why?"
Seiya looked into his eyes and said, "Hiroshi-sama instructed me to pass a message. These are the consequences of betraying the village."
Those were the last words Ide Tomoki heard before closing his eyes forever. His family finally snapped out of shock. 2 teenagers shouted in grief with tears running down their cheeks, "Father!"
At the same time, more than a dozen ninjas rushed at Seiya with killing intent. However, Seiya was unmoved. 6 ninjas appeared next to him. They were elites from Kusagakure that were sent by Hiroshi. Within minutes, every member of the Ide Family, no matter if they were old or young, male or female, guilty or innocent, were all killed!
Sato Seiya watched the slaughter without a trace of pity in his eyes. He looked at the two Nobles and said, "By the command of Kusagakure and Daimyo, the Sato family will be in charge of Mizukoshi from now. Do you have any objections?"
Both immediately shook their heads. They were still in shock at how swiftly and brutally the Ide family was eliminated. Seiya said, "Good. Spread the word around the town. The Ide Family betrayed Kusagakure by colluding with Iwagakure and killing Kagawa Noriyuki. As a result, they were eliminated. I will be the new Lord of the city."
Both nodded and immediately left the slaughterhouse. After leaving, one said, "I never thought that Seiya would betray Tomoki for power."
The other shook his head and replied, "From the performance, it might be more appropriate to say that he was a pawn Kusagakure planted next to Tomoki long ago. It's scary to think about. I'm glad that neither of us decided to betray our country. We need to check the backgrounds of our subordinates once again. I don't want to die as miserably as the Ide family."
The news of Tomoki's betrayal spread like wildfire in Mizukoshi and then throughout the Land of Grass. His death directly crushed Onoki's plans. The citizens of the Land of Grass also began hating Iwagakure for pulling such a stunt in their country.
However, Onoki wasn't bothered much. After all, Iwagakure's reputation in the Land of Grass was already very bad. It didn't have any effect on him if it worsened any further. After all, why would it matter if an ant hated you a little or a lot? Both situations were the same in Onoki's eyes.
Around the time Tomoki was killed, Yugao, Fumito and Bunjiro finally reached Konoha. They reported to Hiruzen and informed him about how the mission went. Hiruzen had already received a letter from Daimyo. So he had some ideas, but their report cleared the picture for him.
His expression became grim as he analyzed, 'Why did Onoki send Roshi on such a simple mission? Was he aiming for something else? And, where is Fujin?'
He looked at the trio and asked, "Which seal did Turtle give you?"
Yugao replied, "Captain said that it was a simple seal he created himself. If he crushed the seal that was with him, it would cause our tags to vibrate and burn."
Hiruzen asked, "What if it was destroyed?"
Yugao replied, "In that case, our tags wouldn't activate."
Hiruzen eased a bit and thought, 'This means that he shouldn't have died. I was worried. Roshi is very strong. He can pose a danger to me as well. As for those seals… I recall a couple of simpler seals. I guess he combined two to create this effect. It is very convenient to pass simple instructions.'
He said, "Alright, you can leave. Until Turtle returns, take a break."
The group nodded and left. They returned to their Anbu room and changed into their usual attire. Bunjiro asked, "Is there anything we should do?"
He was worried. It was the first time that he returned from a mission with one person short.
Fumito shook his head and asked, "What can we do in this situation?"
Yugao added, "We can't help Captain. The only thing we can do is train harder so that the next time we can help the Captain instead of just escaping."
Fumito nodded. Bunjiro decided, 'I thought that I already trained hard. I will need to train harder. Otherwise, I might never be able to catch up to him.'
Determined, all three dispersed. Unknowingly, Fujin added fuel to the fire burning in the hearts of his three subordinates. If Hiruzen knew it, he would be extremely pleased with his decision to assign them under Fujin.
