Uchiha Sasuke used genjutsu to overwrite the memories of the Mist ninja.
He wasn’t actually all that good at using his Sharingan yet, and there were still so many traces left at the scene that hadn’t been cleaned up. The moment the other party woke up, they would probably realize right away that something was amiss.
However, it didn’t matter anymore. As long as things didn’t cause a massive uproar, this reconnaissance mission for intelligence was already close enough to a complete success.
He and Amanojaku would be leaving the Land of Water right away.
Sasuke cast his gaze toward Fujiya Ko. She truly lived up to being a lady-in-waiting who had seen great storms in the imperial court; even upon seeing a scene like this, she remained unfazed.
“What is your purpose, this shinobi-sama?” Fujiya Ko asked with self-possession and calm.
Sasuke answered quite directly: “I want to know the private life records of Princess Zhenming since her return from the Land of Fang. As her personal lady-in-waiting, you should have recorded them very clearly.”
With just those few words, Fujiya Ko knew why the ninja before her had come. She said, “I can tell you everything.”
Sasuke was taken aback for a moment.
Fujiya Ko twitched the corner of her mouth, and the strict, bookish woman said something akin to a joke—a rare occurrence: “Did you think I would have unyielding integrity and refuse to yield even if beaten to death?”
Her expression grew melancholic. Once the fierce demeanor that acted like armor dissipated, only fragility and exhaustion remained.
“Half a year ago, I might have been like that. But the Princess Zhenming of today is not worth my doing so.”
In the blink of an eye, she recovered her usual composure and resilience, armoring herself once more with deep-rooted dignity: “For the sake of her appearance, the Princess has driven herself mad, exchanging the secret of youthful beauty with profit-seekers, and even trying to reach her hands out toward the common people of our own country, attempting to sell addictive drugs to them! Regardless of whether you came for her life or to wreck this aristocratic feast of gluttony, please, do as you like!”
Sasuke was silent for a good while before finding his voice: “What you thought is right. I am indeed here for this matter.”
He paused, then added: “If you can trust me, I won’t let those evil, toxic substances flood the streets.”
A genuine and relieved smile swept across Fujiya Ko’s face: “Ah, of course I trust you.”
When you haven’t driven a lethal blade into an enemy’s chest, nor directly used genjutsu to interrogate them for the whereabouts of the intelligence.
When she saw those steadfast yet gentle black eyes and touched a soft, lucid soul, she had already trusted him.
Sasuke asked, “If the intelligence leaks out, will you be punished?”
Fujiya Ko: “Who can say for sure?”
Sasuke didn’t wear much of an expression, yet his delicate brow ridges furrowed with a touch of melancholy.
“To achieve one’s heart’s desire, how could it be possible not to pay a price?” Fujiya Ko smiled softly.
Her expression was open and calm: “In any case, thank you very much.”
Dense fog shrouded the capital of the Land of Water, and a fine drizzle fell unannounced from the sky. The raindrops lightly tapped against the eaves of the palaces, the wooden corridors, and the bluestone pavement, their ding-dong sounds rippling along the intersecting waterways.
With the heavens damp and the earth soaked, Chōmikyō felt even more desolate and cold, entirely immersed in a bone-chilling moisture.
Quietly leaning against the window of the inn with one leg bent, Sasuke turned his head to gaze at this aggressive, fine, slanting rain.
Amanojaku was organizing the corroborating materials to ensure the precision and accuracy of the intelligence in their hands.
Within a mere half-hour, he gave his answer: “That’s right. These materials are enough to prove that the current Daimyo of the Land of Fang is not the biological child of the previous Daimyo. We can use this to make trouble for the elders and other nobles of the Land of Fang.”
Sasuke’s distracted gaze finally pulled back, and he slowly turned his face: “Then we can leave right now.”
Amanojaku: “Are we going to hurry on our way through the rain?”
Sasuke let out an “en.”
Amanojaku nodded in agreement: “That’s right, finishing the mission earlier is better. The Mist ninja should be taking action in the shadows as well.”
Fortunately, he was always well-prepared; the combat uniform meant for rainy weather had also been properly readied.
Sasuke had already changed into a deep-black, high-collared uniform, over which he wore a waterproof cloak. The brim of his hat was pulled down over his sharp, handsome brow bone, revealing only the lower half of his cold, pale, and delicate face.
Amanojaku wore a similar yet distinct outfit, with only a few strands of snow-shimmering hair poking out from his hat.
The grey clouds hung extremely low, and the cold rain drove down mercilessly from a slanting angle.
Even though he wore rain gear, Sasuke’s dark hair was still soaked by the rain as they traveled, clinging to his pale cheeks and the side of his neck.
Their ninja footwear stepped across the accumulated water on the tree branches, splashing fine, glittering, cold droplets of water.
The return journey was dead quiet.
Amanojaku had a gut feeling that Sasuke had something on his mind, but he didn’t speak up right away.
If Sasuke wanted to, if Sasuke truly couldn’t make sense of it, he would surely pour his heart out to him immediately.
The elder expressed endless praise for the efficiency with which they completed the mission. The brow ridges that were usually tightly knitted smoothed out as well, no longer maintaining his previous unreadable composure as he swiftly handed over the remaining reward and even wanted to prepare a celebratory banquet for them.
Regrettably, neither of them was in that kind of mood, so Amanojaku politely declined.
When Sasuke was certain that the results satisfied both parties, he no longer intended to stay silent. After their conversation ended, he called out to stop the elder: “Wait.”
The elder looked at him appraisingly: “What is it? Is there something else you need?”
Amanojaku did not interrupt; the curve of the smile hanging on his lips didn’t even shift by a fraction.
Sasuke asked straightforwardly and bluntly: “Those poppy fields—how are you going to deal with them?”
The elder did not fly into a rage because of his near-rude presumption, but instead said calmly: “That has nothing to do with you ninja.”
“No,” Sasuke said earnestly, “I promised someone that I wouldn’t let toxic things like poppies flow into the Land of Water.”
The elder’s face showed a trace of surprise, and he said playfully, “It seems we aren’t the only ones in the Land of Fang who detest those things.”
Amanojaku’s eyes were covered with a white cloth, so outsiders couldn’t see his expression. However, he had always acted in subordination to Sasuke, so no one paid it much extra mind.
The elder inquired: “Then, what do you want to do?”
Sasuke stated flatly: “I am going to burn the poppy fields with fire.”
The elder kept tapping his fingers on the table, no longer even using the cypress folding fan he had brought along just to put up appearances.
“We have no intention of continuing to keep those toxic items, but acting rashly right now would draw the Daimyo’s attention; we still need to wait a little longer,” the elder’s fingers paused as he leisurely uttered these words. “However, you two, having delivered the mission, should be leaving now.”
Sasuke didn’t trust the words of these aristocrats; they were honey-mouthed and sword-hearted, double-faced and lawless in every evil way.
Watching Sasuke refuse to yield by even an inch, the elder’s expression likewise turned gloomy and icy: “This matter is the internal affair of the Land of Fang. You ninjas from the Sound Village are sticking your hands out a bit too far.”
Sasuke looked at the elder, unruffled and calm: “What you said is right; the internal affairs of the Land of Fang have nothing to do with me. Therefore, what I am about to do next is not asking for your consent.”
The elder’s gaze turned sharp: “You—”
Amanojaku knew Sasuke had said enough. He didn’t plan to continue arguing and intended to strike directly.
Sure enough, the hand seals for the shadow clone were completed in less than half a second, and a figure identical to Sasuke instantly surfaced beside him, giving the elder a fright.
Only then did Amanojaku finally speak, his tone still carrying a smile: “When Sasuke-sama uses Fire Style to burn down the poppy fields in succession, he can combine it with Lightning Style.”
Sa-shadow clone-suke looked over: “Why go to such trouble?”
Amanojaku: “To give it a justified name, of course.”
The elder sat back down, recovering his aristocratic, poised, and dignified posture.
Sasuke couldn’t grasp the profound meaning hidden in those words for a moment, and the shadow clone exchanged a look with the original body, deciding to follow through anyway.
The overwhelming anger that the elder felt toward these two who didn’t take him seriously instantly cooled down in his flushed brain when he caught sight of the intelligence scroll resting on the small side table.
——Ninjas who could freely enter and leave the palace of the Land of Water’s Daimyo could also take his head from his shoulders with effortless ease.
He prudently offered a pragmatic compliment: “Amanojaku-kun’s idea really suits the aristocracy surprisingly well. That way, the common folk of the Land of Fang will only think that planting poppy fields brought down the wrath of Takemikazuchi-no-Kami, causing heavenly fire to descend and burn them away. The suspicion of arson by human hands will also be much smaller.”
In this world, not everyone knew the might of ninja. In ignorant and unenlightened places, there were still many pitiful souls who thought ninjas who could summon wind and rain were gods and ghosts, getting casually deceived, toyed with, and played for fools by ninja who had defected from their villages.
The subjects ruled by the Land of Fang could not escape this convention either.
Amanojaku nodded toward Sasuke, who was looking over, and said gently: “That’s right.”
The elder couldn’t help sighing: “Amanojaku-kun really doesn’t look like a ninja; his methods of toying with politics aren’t bad either.”
“You flatter me, I still have plenty to learn,” Amanojaku said with great modesty. “Besides, for you people, isn’t it better to burn the poppies dry a few days earlier? It even fertilizes the soil.”
“Once the newly appointed Daimyo steps down, the Land of Water won’t have a legitimate reason to intervene in the internal affairs of the Land of Fang anymore. Afterward, you can purchase food seeds from the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice. At least don’t let the common people truly starve. People have legs, after all, and they will migrate.”
The elder’s expression turned as gloomy as could be.
Ah, humans—once they hear the truth, their defenses are easily broken.
Sasuke, however, understood right away. No wonder the Land of Fang had resolved itself to cut away the rotting flesh and sever ties with the Land of Water; this was both establishing political connections with a new major nation and protecting a small nation so it wouldn’t completely become a puppet.
Amidst the crushing pressure between major nations, a small nation drifted like a delicate flower battered by howling winds and torrential rain. Yet when suffering persecution from a certain major nation, it could still leverage this pattern to use strength against strength, just like an attached dodder vine…
The Land of Fang actually possessed a rare backbone.
The return journey wasn’t rushed. Sasuke even had the leisure to do maintenance on the Kusanagi sword in his hand, saying with amusement: “Amanojaku, do you think he dislikes it more when I act on my own accord to burn the poppies, or when you speak the truth that’s harder for him to accept?”
Would they get bad reviews? Would the mission orders for the Sound Village decrease as a result?
He really wanted to go back and see Orochimaru’s expression.
Amanojaku still wore a gentle face, uttering ruthless words with a deadpan expression: “It should be the latter. Being provoked in an area where one excels brings a higher level of embarrassment.”
He had been watching Sasuke’s every move all along, discovering that after spending a long time together, the youth would also shed a bit of his hard, icy outer shell, revealing a soft and somewhat mischievous inner self.
Well, he wasn’t all that old to begin with, so being like this was only normal.
Sasuke freshly maintained the Kusanagi sword in his hand—a blade capable of accepting lightning chakra—then stood up, leaped from the steps in front of the shrine, and landed beneath the torii gate.
Just then, a few birds were perched on the somewhat faded red torii gate grooming each other’s feathers, emitting soft chirping sounds before being startled away by his movement.
“You promised me, Amanojaku.” Sasuke’s tone rose, and the long sword was spun in a semicircle within his palm, the snow-white blade casting a blinding glare under the sunlight.
“Take off the white gauze over your eyes, and fight me in taijutsu in an upright, straightforward manner.”
The wind whipped up, and both the black and white hair fluttered lightly.
Amanojaku revealed a soft, gentle smile.
And he did as he was asked.