The land of the Land of Fang slopes gently downward from the northwestern mountains, stretching all the way to the southeast.
To the north, green mountains cradle narrow, elongated river valleys; to the northeast lie vast, flat plateaus dotted with scattered low hills, with rivers winding across the wilderness. In the center, the landscape abruptly transforms into an endless alluvial plain, where river silt has built up fertile soil, crisscrossed by a web of rivers and streams.
On that plain flanking the river, continuous patches of flower fields stretch as far as the eye can see. Dense stems and branches crowd closely together, green leaves supporting plump buds, with thousands of crimson petals held within, waiting only for a warm breeze to burst into bloom.
However, the farmers who plant, tend, and care for these brilliant, magnificent flowers do not show a trace of joy on their faces; sorrow surges between their brows.
Even when their own children run over, bounding like bouncing candies, it is hard to elicit a sparing smile from them.
Uchiha Sasuke had witnessed a scene just like this in the Land of Waves.
That was after he became a Genin, during Team 7 and their commanding teacher Kakashi’s very first mission outside the village—escorting an outstanding bridge builder back to the Land of Waves to construct a great bridge.
At that time, the Land of Waves was controlled by a vicious and cunning merchant who had choked off its economic lifeline. One can imagine what kind of miserable lives the citizens were living.
The streets were filled with beggars and starving people, numb and pathetic, huddled together like skeletons wearing human skin. They were piled together in clusters, gray and heavy, carrying a particularly oppressive weight.
The Land of Fang is slightly better off, but the spirit they are displaying right now is extremely similar to the civilians of the Land of Waves back then.
Along the way, Sasuke’s expressionless look changed; the tips of his brows had already begun to knit together, his lips pressed tight, his entire body tensed into a straight line.
“There’s an inn ahead. Let’s rest there for a bit, Lord Sasuke,” Amanojaku suddenly proposed, breaking the silence.
Sasuke shook his head: “I want to get the mission done quickly.”
He lowered his dark eyes, where restlessness settled in his black pupils, not very willing to linger in the Land of Fang any longer.
Amanojaku, however, said: “We need to restock our supplies. It will take at least two days of travel from the Land of Fang to the Land of Water. We won’t be staying overnight in any towns along the way, so it’s best to replenish our water and food right at the start.”
The reasoning was sound, so Sasuke silently accepted the proposal.
21.
The food was served, and the two of them ate quietly and gracefully, their movements and deportment completely out of place with everyone else around them.
At the beginning, Sasuke was not as particular about dining as Amanojaku. Perhaps before he was seven years old, as the son of the clan head, he had indeed received a good upbringing.
But starting from that single night, all the beauty of the past was shattered, and those elite family teachings were utterly destroyed. Every matter unrelated to cultivation and deemed useless was discarded by him.
As a result, Sasuke simply favored rice balls that saved the most time, and his table manners were no longer criticized or corrected by anyone, growing wildly like weeds found everywhere.
Until he crossed paths with Amanojaku.
This boy who called himself an Otsutsuki, even if not an aristocrat, must be related to them in some way; his words and actions carried a troublesome yet pleasing leisurely elegance.
And at some point, his Sharingan had copied the other’s movements—perhaps unintentionally, after getting along for a long time, he noticed it, and yet he subconsciously began to keep himself proper and polite as well.
Without wasting time on cultivation, this slight change was of little consequence.
After the meal, holding a cup of tea and sipping it to aid digestion, Sasuke heard Amanojaku speak: “I’ll go replenish our supplies right away. Please wait for me a moment, Lord Sasuke.”
Sasuke said: “Alright.”
He stared at the boy’s retreating figure until his peripheral vision could no longer catch a shred of the other.
Sasuke discovered that most of the time, it was Amanojaku accommodating him. Clothing, food, housing, and transportation were all arranged according to his preferences, and his opinions were deeply respected.
He really didn’t understand that guy at all. Why would he go to such lengths for him?
(Note: Numbering repeats in original text)
Uchiha Sasuke put down his teacup, placing both hands under the table.
Adoring gazes drifted over from all directions, red hearts hurling at him one after another. If they could turn into physical objects, he would likely be easily drowned by them.
The young man was completely oblivious to his own ability to attract admirers, his cold black pupils warming up only when he saw the blindfolded boy.
Amanojaku hurried over and sat down: “Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Sasuke.”
Sasuke pushed the teacup on the table a bit closer to him and nodded: “Hard work.”
Amanojaku was flattered, holding the teacup with both hands and draining it in one gulp. He still felt as light as if he were stepping on a cloud.
He paused for a moment before saying: “I picked up a bit of information…”
This S-rank mission was not as simple and easy as the chief retainer made it sound. He had just learned a shocking piece of news from a farmer: the newly appointed Daimyo had ordered the cultivation of a special plant in the Land of Fang—opium poppies.
Sasuke also caught a hint of a conspiracy and asked with puzzlement: “Is there anything special about opium poppies?”
The Ninja Academy doesn’t teach these things, and a ninja’s physical constitution is also different from ordinary people; even the medicinal herbs they use are worlds apart. Unless one is a medical ninja, ordinary ninjas generally don’t know everything.
Amanojaku explained: “This plant can be used as medicine in small amounts, but causes addiction in large amounts. Once you grow a lot of it and sell it to get people hooked, it’s very hard for them to quit. There will be a continuous, endless demand, which is basically like holding a goose that lays golden eggs.”
Therefore, figures from the upper echelons of the Land of Water must be intervening here to reap profits. And interests are interlocked, tightening like a dense net over countless ordinary people, while the nobles transform into ferocious, terrifying spiders, sucking the blood of ordinary people to endlessly feed their greed.
“With land used to grow opium poppies, food has to rely on imports, allowing other countries to control their lifeline. It was precisely seeing this point that the officials of the chief retainer’s faction tried to find a way to drive the Daimyo from power.”
Such annoying, twisted circles…
Sasuke felt a trace of annoyance. He would rather neatly draw his sword and hack people, beating those nobles into the hospital until they couldn’t crawl out, so they would never be able to cast their vicious, poisonous plots onto ordinary people again.
He spoke with great dissatisfaction: “Why didn’t that old man just tell us everything straight instead of taking such a huge detour?”
Amanojaku folded his arms and guessed: “Perhaps he wanted to test our investigative ability and see if we actually have the capability to complete the mission.”
If they couldn’t figure out the essence and rashly went to the Land of Water to court death, well, that would just mean the ninjas taking the mission were incompetent—what did that have to do with their employer?
Sasuke turned cold: “Whatever. As long as we complete the investigation mission, all the backstabbing can stay with those nobles.”
Amanojaku cupped his chin, but with his Byakugan, he saw Sasuke’s chakra burning like a flame through his limbs and bones. This meant that upon hearing about nobles harming the people, he was shocked and angry, far from as calm as he looked on the surface.
Trapped in the muddy quagmire of his own pain, locked down by the hatred and hostility driven by his deep affection for his clan members, he was still capable of feeling compassion for the general public?
22.
The entire Land of Water is scattered across the open ocean, woven together by thousands of large and small islands into an archipelago, far removed from the mainland countries, shrouded year-round by ocean tides and rolling dense mists.
Cold, damp sea breezes churn day and night, and white mists linger mournfully among the dark gray mountains.
The capital of the Land of Water, Shiomi-kyo, is situated on the main island. It is carved into scattered island ports by bays and crisscrossing artificial canals, where waterways serve as streets.
Sasuke stood on a swaying ebony boat, his dark hair and eyelashes dampened in the cold, pale mist, the very breath in his lungs feeling damp.
It fully deserves its name featuring water, carrying moisture at all times.
They are now heading to the Daimyo’s residence, perched on the highest cliff terrace of all Shiomi-kyo, while the private residence belonging to the birth mother of the Land of Fang’s Daimyo sits quietly in the southeastern corner of the royal city—Shiotsuki Imperial Garden.
The two set up a barrier before conversing about the intelligence without any inhibitions.
Sasuke admitted that gathering information was Amanojaku’s strong suit, but this time infiltration would inevitably lead to armed conflict—at that time, the biological mother of the Land of Fang’s Daimyo would certainly be heavily guarded.
“At that time, we’ll have to rely on you, Lord Sasuke,” Amanojaku said helplessly. “You know, I’m not very skilled at using ninjutsu.”
Why do you have to refine chakra to use abilities, and why do ninjutsu still require hand seals, clearly…
Amanojaku suddenly felt a bit of a headache.
Sasuke thought he was feeling frustrated about learning ninjutsu, and said earnestly: “With your intelligence, mastering those ninjutsu is a piece of cake. Just be a little patient.”
Amanojaku snapped out of it and smiled softly: “Ah, if it’s Lord Sasuke…”
Before his sentence could finish, he was interrupted by Sasuke: “Alright, Amanojaku, make your own decisions according to your own will. Why on earth am I your faith? Entrusting all your will to someone else will sooner or later come at a price.”
Amanojaku pondered for a moment and nodded: “Alright, I understand.”
23.
In the Board of Ceremonies within the Ministry of the Imperial Household, which exclusively manages the entire imperial family’s lineage, births, education, marriages, and resume archives, anyone who joins the staff can freely access the princess’s past resume.
However, the records收录 (included) here are quite official. Secrets concerning the royal family are naturally hidden tightly, refusing to let anyone catch even a glimpse.
Yet as long as records exist, they corroborate one another, and even when conflicting with other accounts, doubts can still be found within them for deeper investigation.
This file was no match for Sasuke and Amanojaku. One disguised himself as a library clerk while the other kept watch, and they quickly flipped to the biographical data of the princess, efficiently copying it down.
After that came the details regarding her private resume, which had to be found in the records kept by the imperial residence’s dedicated physicians, tutors, and court ladies who attended to the princess’s daily life up close.
The difficulty of plotting against the living is far higher than against dead objects.
Naturally, because physicians involve the secrets and safety of the royal family and even the Daimyo, they would logically be arranged with ninjas protecting them and monitoring them from time to time. Court ladies were even trickier; they practically lived inside the imperial garden and rarely left the palace, and the mission wouldn’t wait until that time.
The Daimyo’s palace had guard shinobi, and that princess’s residence might look remote, but under the entanglements of interests, it was mostly heavily guarded.
Sasuke and Amanojaku exchanged glances and said flatly: “I’ll handle scouting out the court ladies.”
Amanojaku wanted to speak but stopped, stopped and wanted to speak again.
Sasuke didn’t indulge him: “If you have something to say, say it.”
Amanojaku bit the bullet and spoke: “Lord Sasuke, our actions need to be carried out secretly, so if we want to enter the palace and get in touch with the court ladies, we’ll have no choice but to disguise ourselves as women.”
Sasuke: “…”