After some thought, Gengetsu conceded that his brother was right. These two attacks couldn't have been mere coincidence. It was evident that a group of highly skilled shinobi had infiltrated.
The Kaguya clan wasn't to be trifled with, especially their clan head, who was a battle maniac and a lunatic himself. Yet, he was eliminated less than two kilometers from his home, and the scene was cleaned up so thoroughly. They must have encountered an elite force; otherwise, he wouldn't have even had a chance to escape!
This immediately ruled out missing-nin from within Kirigakure or the Land of Water. While these missing-nin might be strong, they mostly operated alone and couldn't achieve such a feat. Therefore, it had to be shinobi from another country, and the Land of Earth was currently the most suspect.
With this in mind, Gengetsu stopped pondering the matter and said in a deep voice, "Send a message to the Daimyō's Manor. Tell them that Iwagakure shinobi from the Land of Earth are planning a secret infiltration into the capital to assassinate an unknown target. We hope they will be vigilant and instruct their Guardian Ninja to be on high alert!"
Reigetsu nodded swiftly upon hearing this. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Anija, shouldn't we send people to reinforce or investigate?"
Gengetsu shook his head. "For this matter, first ask the Daimyō's Manor if they require our help. If they do, we'll send people. If not, then there's no need. However, we can't just stand by. Deploy Anbu members to search the entire Land of Water for these Iwagakure bastards, focusing on the vicinity of the capital!"
"Yes, Mizukage-sama!" Reigetsu immediately replied.
This world's technological tree is quite erratic. You'd think it's technologically backward, yet it can produce things like radios, surveillance systems, telephones, and trains. Then you'd think it's not backward, yet there's nothing overly impressive. In short, it's truly chaotic.
In this era, those 'black technologies' hadn't been developed yet, but telephones did exist, though they were rare and not everyone had access to them. The entire Kirigakure currently had only one telephone, exclusively for contacting the Daimyō's Manor.
Thus, they quickly contacted the Daimyō's Manor and reported the news of Iwagakure shinobi infiltrating the Land of Water.
Upon receiving this news, the Daimyō's Manor immediately went on high alert. They dispatched some of their own personnel to search for suspicious individuals in the capital and also intensified screenings near the city gates.
Because Gengetsu's side conveyed the information that 'Iwagakure shinobi from the Land of Earth had infiltrated,' their investigation, though swift, was somewhat biased. They focused on scrutinizing those who looked like people from the Land of Earth and those with similar accents. Therefore, this screening did not significantly impact Hibari and his group.
But that's not to say it had no impact...
Currently, in a small inn, Hibari and his team were discussing the situation in the Land of Water's capital.
"Our first plan must have succeeded. Starting this afternoon, the entire capital has noticeably become more serious. People are constantly being screened, and those who look like they're from the Land of Earth are being arrested..." Hibari said with a smile, sitting at a small table.
Kagami pondered for a moment before replying, "In that case, while we've achieved our first objective, it will affect our subsequent actions. I imagine the Daimyō's Manor is already on higher alert. Although I haven't fought the Land of Water's Guardian Ninja, since they hold that position, they must be very strong. Trying to infiltrate and secretly assassinate the Daimyō... the difficulty will likely increase significantly."
Hitenn added, "Indeed. I already confirmed with my Byakugan that many more shinobi are present within the Daimyō's Manor. Those must be their Guardian Ninja, right? What should we do?"
After a brief silence, Hibari spoke, "I recall Hiruzen had a master from the Gekkō clan under his command, didn't he? That guy could use a Transparency Jutsu kekkei genkai, achieving invisibility. If only I had brought him along, infiltrating invisibly and taking care of that guy would have been easy, wouldn't it?"
"There is such a person, but don't dwell on it. We don't have that kind of time now. We can't just report the situation and wait for him to arrive here, can we? By then, the opportunity would be long gone, and we don't have the time, do we?" Kagami shook his head.
Hibari rubbed his chin, then said, "It's better to rely on ourselves than on others. I refuse to believe it; how fortified can one Daimyō's Manor be? We must complete this mission within two days. From now on, fully investigate the Daimyō's Manor's internal intelligence. Let's get moving!"
Since there was no better immediate solution, they decided to first investigate the specifics before making further arrangements. What if they actually found a loophole?
Over the next two days, Hibari and his team played a game of cat and mouse with the search parties in the capital, while also diligently gathering intelligence and information about the Daimyō's Manor.
However, the more they investigated, the more they realized the difficulty of the task. They had underestimated the assassination of the Daimyō.
After all, this hadn't happened in over a hundred years, so there was no experience to draw upon. In short, the 'security system' within the Daimyō's Manor was very formidable. Ten shinobi would work in two shifts, guarding the Daimyō's Manor day and night. Unlike ordinary shinobi, these ten were the elite of the elite – the Land of Water's Guardian Ninja!
Therefore, if Hibari's group were to expose their presence during the infiltration of the Daimyō's Manor, they would inevitably face at least five masters directly, and very likely attract five more. There was also the possibility of additional reinforcements from the Kirigakure in the capital.
Should such an incident occur, the chances of not exposing their identities would be slim. At that point, the entire secret operation to frame the Land of Earth and instigate war between the Land of Water and Land of Earth would inevitably collapse entirely, possibly even backfiring on them. This was something Hibari and his team absolutely could not accept.
"Trying to assassinate the Daimyō inside the Daimyō's Manor seems unlikely to succeed. So, let's consider another approach: Is there any possibility of luring the Daimyō out of his residence?" Hibari asked softly, looking at some intelligence in his hand.
"We've already investigated the Daimyō's recent movements; there are no scheduled trips that would take him out of his residence. So, waiting for him to leave his residence voluntarily is unlikely; we shouldn't hold out hope for that," Kagami said softly.
Hitenn added, "Alternatively, we could change our target. The Daimyō's wife and daughter traveled to another city for leisure before we arrived in the capital, so..."
Hibari's eyes lit up upon hearing this, then he said, "Wait, never mind that for a moment. Let me ask you: Does that mean there are no Daimyō family members currently within the Daimyō's Manor?"
Hitenn nodded. "Indeed, there are none. However, there are still many personnel inside the Daimyō's Manor. Why?"
"Are there times, roughly within a two or three hundred meter radius, when he doesn't have many people around him?" Hibari asked.
"Based on my observations over the past two days, when the Daimyō retires for the night, he sleeps in his private chambers. The palace is quite large, including the courtyard, covering an area of about five hundred meters. This is the time with the fewest people present. Besides a few guards, there are two Guardian Ninja secretly monitoring him, and no other personnel. The total number of people is no more than twenty..." Hitenn said in detail, thoughtfully after hearing Hibari's words.
"How luxurious, needing a five-hundred-meter-long building just to sleep..." Hibari grumbled with a click of his tongue.
The Daimyō's Manor, though called a manor, could truly be considered a city within a city. It occupied a vast area, being the residence of the Land of Water's ruler, after all. It had everything imaginable, which was why the Daimyō rarely left it. So, it was perfectly normal for him to have a five-hundred-meter-long building as his private chambers for sleeping.
"What exactly are you thinking, asking so many questions, Hibari?" Kagami asked, puzzled.
"It seems we've all been thinking a bit off-kilter. Things like secretly assassinating the Daimyō... That's habitual thinking. Originally, I wanted to resort to such methods only if there were no other options, as it would harm many 'innocent' people. But since the Daimyō doesn't have many people around when he sleeps at night, it's quite simple. We just use a powerful ninjutsu and send him, along with his entire chambers, straight to the heavens. Wouldn't that resolve everything?" Hibari said bluntly and simply.
Hearing Hibari's words, everyone else was stunned. After a moment's thought, they realized it made sense. They had always felt that killing the Daimyō had to be done meticulously, trying to be as stealthy and untraceable as possible. But upon closer reflection, it wasn't necessary at all.
It's still killing, and if they didn't mind adding a few more lives to the count, then it might as well be cruder: just unleash a powerful ninjutsu and obliterate everything within that five-hundred-meter radius.
"You're right! We don't need to be constrained by 'assassination.' We can just use brute force, can't we?" Kagami slapped his hand and said.
Then Hitenn also nodded, asking, "So, Deputy Commander, does anyone among us possess a ninjutsu capable of obliterating everything within a five-hundred-meter radius in a short amount of time? Unfortunately, our Hyuga clan doesn't have such methods..."
Kagami also shook his head, saying, "Perhaps my clan has one, but I don't..."
Sakumo also chuckled awkwardly, saying, "Our Hatake clan isn't some prestigious noble clan. I can barely use a powerful kenjutsu... You don't think my one slash can wipe out everything within five hundred meters, leaving no living thing, do you?"
The other Anbu squad members were even less capable. So, after saying this, the three of them all turned their gaze to Hibari. Then Kagami spoke, "Since it was your idea, you must have such a technique, right?"
Hibari looked at the three of them, then very pretentiously shook his head, sighing, "I wanted to give you all a chance to shine, but who would have thought you guys would be so disappointing? You don't even have a ninjutsu that can erase everything within a five-hundred-meter range. You're really embarrassing our Anbu. Next time, make sure to master more of these professional skills, alright? Be more professional!"
Kagami quickly interjected, "Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense. Just tell us if you can do it!"
"Sigh, originally I wanted to keep a low profile, but alas, my strength won't allow it. Fine, I'll show you the S-rank Collaboration Kinjutsu I personally created! Forget a five-hundred-meter range, even a thousand-meter range, as long as I don't care about my life, I can achieve it with my chakra reserves!" Hibari said boastfully.
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