The next day, they arrived at the northernmost city of the Land of Hot Water—Freljord City!
Due to its northern location, the temperature here was extremely cold year-round, which meant it was sparsely populated. But the last remaining stronghold of the Cult of Jashin in the country, which could also be called its headquarters, was hidden in this city.
"Captain Watanabe, have all the residents of this city already fled?" Shangguan Mo asked, standing on the Windhawk's back and looking down at the empty streets, a puzzled look on his face.
Watanabe's face twitched, and his expression darkened. He remained silent. The atmosphere became oppressive. Li, sitting beside him, even found it a little hard to breathe. She stole a glance at his grim face, confused. "Captain Watanabe has a stern face, but he's actually a very kind uncle. Why is he suddenly so scary...?"
From his silence, Shangguan Mo seemed to understand something. The nonchalant expression on his face also froze slightly. He looked down at the lifeless city below, his fists clenched so tightly they made a cracking sound.
"Wh-what's wrong? Big Brother Mo?" Li, unable to bear the almost solidified atmosphere, asked in a trembling voice.
"All the residents of this city... are probably dead..." he said faintly, his tone as casual as if he were discussing what to have for dinner.
"Th-that... how is that possible!" Li's eyes widened, her chestnut-colored pupils trembling uncontrollably.
"Nothing is impossible. You've experienced the inhumanity of the Cult of Jashin before..." his voice was as cold as ice. He suddenly realized he shouldn't be extending his anger to a child. Taking a deep breath, he soothed the blockage in his chest caused by his killing intent, patted her head, and looked at her, who was only up to his shoulder. A hint of apology appeared in his eyes as he said warmly, "Sorry, my attitude just now might have scared you. Don't mind it."
Her face was a little pale. Hearing his words, she forced a smile. "It's okay, Big Brother Mo..."
"Mhm," he nodded, then turned to the equally grim-faced Inoshita Rino, his eyes darkening, then to the silent Watanabe Mousse. "Captain Watanabe, what should we do next?"
"The village's ninja will all gather here. What we need to do now is wait," he said faintly.
"Understood!" Shangguan Mo nodded in understanding. "In other words, the final battle between Yugakure and the Cult of Jashin is next!" A thought flashed through his mind, and his expression became a little complex. In other words, after this battle, either the Cult of Jashin would be completely crippled and disappear from the Land of Hot Water, or Yugakure would suffer a major defeat and could only retreat to their village, watching helplessly as the cult slaughtered their way through the country.
Shangguan Mo's squad was the first to arrive. On the third day, squads of Yugakure ninja began to arrive one after another and rendezvous with them outside the city. It was the first time he had seen so many of them. Some of them still had blood-soaked bandages on, which made him frown.
In a grove, including his squad of eight, there were now over thirty Yugakure ninja. Li, the medical ninja, was treating one of them. Watanabe stood with a few squad leaders, who were respectfully reporting to him. Shangguan Mo was too far away to hear what they were saying, and his thoughts were elsewhere.
"The reason Yugakure can't develop is because it has no economic foundation. And to vigorously develop its ninja, the expansion of the Ninja Academy is a must. More students mean more teachers, which is another great pressure on the village's economy. No wonder the entire academy only has six teachers, and the other ninja have to do missions every day just to make ends meet... You can't train a ninja just by giving them a chakra molding scroll and a few ninjutsu scrolls. Shuriken, kunai, exploding tags—anything related to ninja is ridiculously expensive. Not to mention the ninja from the great clans, who are cultivated with the best resources from a young age, and are even provided with pills and herbs to speed up their chakra cultivation. In comparison, we commoner ninja have no such resources... Although becoming a ninja allows you to earn money by taking missions, with a completely unremarkable and un-prestigious village like Yugakure, it's probably difficult to get a few high-level commissions a year... Even the merchants and nobles of our own country, when they need to issue a mission, will always go to a big village like Konoha!"
With a sigh, a cold glint flashed in his dazed eyes. "If I were the leader of Yugakure, the first thing I would do is break the Daimyo's economic blockade. With money, many difficulties would no longer be difficulties. The second thing would be to break the great villages' monopoly on missions in the country and establish the village's prestige. If all the commissions and even the ninja of our own country flow to other villages, we can't develop even if we have money."
"Although I think so, I'm not the leader of Yugakure in the end. I don't have the strength right now. It's just a thought. If you really asked me to do it, I don't have the motivation yet..."
Smiling faintly, he shook his head and stopped his wild thoughts. At that moment, Li had finished her treatment and was walking towards him. Little Yellow was perched on top of her head. Under his orders, when they were outside the village, Little Yellow would always be by her side to protect her.
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