Shimoku didn't know much about the Land of Grass or Hidden Grass Village as a whole.
Based on publicly available intelligence, he had learned this:
The Hidden Grass Village is located in the southern part of the Land of Grass. It maintains fairly decent diplomatic relations with Konoha, occasionally sending ninja to participate in Konoha's joint Chunin Exams.
While its overall strength was merely acceptable—never matching the Five Great Hidden Villages—it still ranked among the top when compared to other smaller ninja villages.
As for the Land of Grass itself, although internally plagued by political corruption, it excelled at using diplomatic strategies to maneuver between powerful nations, frequently shifting allegiances to protect its own interests.
Still, despite that...
The Hidden Grass Village refused to remain peaceful and harbored great ambitions.
Even after the conclusion of the Third Great Ninja World War,
it continued engaging in frequent military actions over the years, repeatedly invading small countries like the Land of Birds and the Land of Rivers, attempting to strengthen itself through war and plunder.
In short, it resembled certain aggressive island nations from Shimoku's past world centuries ago—small, weak, yet always eager to provoke others.
The moment they saw something desirable in another nation, they would recklessly attempt to seize it for themselves...
Of course, beyond these publicly known facts,
through Lady Serpent's comprehensive intelligence network, Shimoku had also learned a great deal about internal affairs within the Land of Grass.
Currently, the Hidden Grass Village was mainly divided into three factions.
First faction: The uncompromising Hawks.
This group holds control over the core structure of the Hidden Grass Village, commanding nearly half its ninja forces; determined to elevate their hidden village by currying favor with powerful nations while pillaging weaker ones. The recent wars against minor countries such as the Land of Birds were all led by them.
Second faction: The outdated Conservatives.
They were few in number, primarily serving and relying upon the decadent nobility of the Land of Grass; indulging in pleasure and music day and night without any ambition; concerned only with protecting the borders of the Land of Grass so they could continue living luxuriously.
The final faction: The concealed Hawks.
Mainly represented by Mui, Lord of Hozuki Castle, and several elders of the Hidden Grass Village.
Outwardly, they did not engage in domestic power struggles, officially only responsible for guarding prisoners. Yet in truth, they were full of ambition, secretly plotting year after year, aiming to revitalize the entire Hidden Grass Village and ultimately dominate the entire Ninja World.
...
As Shimoku traveled, he briefly skimmed through some of the intelligence reports.
Then he simply put them aside.
No matter how many factions existed or how grand their ambitions might be—they required actual strength to back them up.
Across the entire Land of Grass, they couldn't even muster a single Kage-level warrior.
And they still dare to dream of conquering the world?
Just keep dreaming!
Thus, after entering the Land of Grass,
he wasted no time lingering but followed the map directly toward the Hidden Grass Village.
After all, according to his memory,
Karin and her mother should be living inside the Hidden Grass Village right now;
and judging from the timeline, her mother might very likely already be suffering torment, possibly even having her chakra drained until death—her life hanging by a thread...
Therefore, while the treasures and jutsu were tempting,
they weren't going anywhere.
It was wiser to rescue this mother-daughter pair first.
After all, aside from Naruto,
they were perhaps the last remaining remnants of the Uzumaki Clan.
If taken back to his hidden village, it would still hold considerable research and utilization value.
...
Rushing at full speed, within half an hour, Shimoku had already crossed hundreds of miles.
He reached the outskirts of the [Hidden Grass Village].
At a glance,
Though classified among the smaller ninja villages, the [Hidden Grass Village] was surprisingly expansive in total area.
It was even larger than his own [Homuragakure], nearly reaching half the size of the [Rain Hidden Village].
Moreover, numerous concrete structures stood within, indicating its technological level wasn't low either.
Judging by the land area and number of dwellings,
the entire village's population must be no less than five thousand—
that alone was already quite significant.
Of course, among them, actual combat-capable ninja could only amount to a few hundred.
Nowhere near matching the Five Great Hidden Villages...
However, Shimoku wasn't here to evaluate the Grass Village's development. His mission this time was to rescue a specific person.
Therefore, to save time,
the moment he arrived, Shimoku wasted no time resorting to violent means.
"Hu—"
A sea-like surge of chakra erupted outward, flooding the area with oppressive force.
In an instant,
everyone inside the Hidden Grass Village involuntarily shivered, their bodies stiffening, almost paralyzed.
As if a great terror had fallen from the sky,
pressing down on them so heavily that even breathing became nearly impossible.
A few shinobi with relatively strong cultivation managed to suppress their panic and slowly turned their heads.
Only then did they suddenly notice—
at the village's edge, a crimson demonic god over hundreds of meters tall had abruptly appeared.
With a pair of blood-red eyes like sinister moons, it glared fiercely at all of them.
A demon god!
An actual demon god!
Witnessing this scene,
dozens of genin immediately fainted outright, collapsing onto the ground.
While the remaining jonin and chunin stood frozen in place, hair standing on end, filled with terror.
Not every hidden village possessed the deep heritage of the Five Great Hidden Villages, allowing immediate recognition of the [Susanoo].
To these minor villages,
a towering, gigantic, terrifying existence like this...
Could never be achieved through any ordinary ninjutsu!
This must be a legendary demon god!
...
"Hidden Grass Village! Whoever speaks for this place, come out now!"
A thunderous roar boomed from within that monstrous figure.
The sound shook all the villagers from the Hidden Grass Village, causing them to tremble in fear, unsure of what to do.
So much so, not a single soul dared move.
"Don't make me say this twice!"
"Shua—"
Shimoku controlled his Susanoo, drew its sword, and slashed toward the right side of the village.
"Boom!—"
The earth roared, soil and stones rolling violently.
The terrifying force, combined with the surging [Blade Aura], mercilessly carved into the ground, instantly slashing a deep, elongated trench stretching hundreds of meters.
The people of the Hidden Grass Village were terrified further, faces ashen, souls seemingly flying away!
Soon after, four figures emerged
from the center of the village and hurriedly jumped forward, arriving before the Susanoo.
Seeing that the ones in charge of the Hidden Grass Village had finally arrived,
Shimoku also faintly smiled, then withdrew his Susanoo and landed in front of those four individuals.
As expected, intimidation got straight to the point!
Saving him the trouble of capturing and interrogating them one by one.
Why use Susano'o directly?
Of course, it's because Susano'o is simply majestic and intimidating enough!
Certainly, other ninjutsu could work too—if Shimoku wanted, he could unleash a couple of [Great Fireball Jutsu] and burn down the entire Hidden Grass Village.
But that's unnecessary.
After all, he came to save people, not destroy a village.
If he accidentally roasted his targets alive, the whole trip would've been for nothing.
Though,
It might be overkill—like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
But what's wrong with pulling out the big guns now and then, just to scare off those "monkeys"?
Besides, he was already famous across the Ninja World.
He no longer gave a damn about staying under the radar...
As they watched him land gracefully, seeing nothing more than a teenage boy before them, the four elders of the Hidden Grass Village still gasped inwardly, their pupils constricting with alarm.
Yet, despite this, all four remained respectfully subdued, unwilling to act rashly.
That Susano'o Demigod from earlier was simply too terrifying!
No matter who he was—or how young he looked—so long as he struck the village a few more times with such force, the entire village would surely fall!
They had no right to underestimate him at all!
In fact, they should do everything they could to flatter and appease him,
To prevent total annihilation of their home…
"Greetings, honored sir!" spoke one of the Hidden Grass Village elders, bowing respectfully.
"We don't know what business you have here, or what your demands may be?"
"We will certainly do our best to satisfy you!"
One elderly man hurriedly asked, trying hard to remain polite,
Not daring to relax even slightly.
Seeing this, Shimoku didn't bother wasting words:
"You sheltered two remnants of the Uzumaki Clan, right? Hand them over."
All four Hidden Grass elders changed expressions immediately.
This was supposed to be a top secret known only within their village—it had practically never been disclosed to outsiders!
How could this young man possibly know?
"No way! How could we ever harbor any remnants of the [Land of Whirlpools]? We… we…"
The leftmost elder quickly thought on his feet, putting on an air of righteousness in an attempt to bluff his way through.
Obviously, after experiencing the usefulness of the Uzumaki bloodline over the years, there was no way they'd hand them over so easily.
"Shhh——"
Another slicing sound rang out.
Shimoku slowly slid his Divine Sword back into its sheath.
No one saw exactly how he had drawn it.
But the leftmost elder of the Hidden Grass Village had already collapsed to the ground, head cleanly severed—dead before he hit the floor.
"Glug-glug——"
His head rolled away, blood spewing out, eyes still wide in shock.
The remaining three elders stood frozen stiff, hair standing on end, hearts pounding wildly.
Right after that,
The middle elder quickly stepped forward, trembling slightly as he forced a smile:
"Y-yes… yes, please come this way, honored sir!"
"W-we'll take you to see them right away…"
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