Hearing Lord Fox asked if the Kumo-nin had assassinated the Daimyō, Nara Kyoichi shook his head and said:
"I haven't found any direct evidence. What should we do, Lord Fox? I'm afraid the Daimyō isn't just missing, but has already been killed."
"What do we need evidence for? Even if we presented evidence, would the Kumo-nin admit it?" Yōkō said:
"Kyoichi, be more flexible. Make bold assumptions, bravely frame others—that's the consistent working principle of our Anbu."
"No evidence is needed. As long as the Kumo-nin have the motive, they must be the ones who did it."
"It must be the Kumo-nin taking advantage of the situation, harming the Daimyō."
"Kyoichi, you return to the capital first. Use your intelligence and wisdom to pin the blame squarely on the Kumo-nin."
Nara Kyoichi felt miserable inside.
Although it could be arranged this way, he didn't know if others would believe it.
Yōkō said, "The key point of the propaganda is that Konoha has the least reason to harm the Daimyō. It's the Kumo-nin, refusing to give up, attempting to deal a heavy blow to our Konoha using underhanded methods outside the battlefield."
Nara Kyoichi nodded. Logically, that made sense. The Land of Hot Water was back in Konoha's hands; Konoha truly had no motive to assassinate the Daimyō.
Nara Kyoichi added, "Lord Fox, I found out that the Daimyō of the Land of Hot Water had bribed many rogue ninja, attempting to establish Takigakure."
"Those rogue ninja fled the capital in panic after hearing the Daimyō had been killed."
Yōkō remembered. In the original story, Hidan had a forehead protector; he was a nukenin from Takigakure.
So Takigakure was formed by this Daimyō.
Yōkō said, "Don't worry about those rogue ninja. They can't shoulder the blame for assassinating the Daimyō."
"Focus the investigation direction entirely on the Kumo-nin. You must find a few Kumo-nin spies."
"Additionally, have the royal nobles of the Land of Hot Water quickly decide on the next Daimyō candidate. The Land of Hot Water cannot fall into chaos."
"Understood, Lord Fox."
Nara Kyoichi left with a heavy heart. It was truly a turbulent time for Konoha.
Lord Shinnosuke was killed, Lord Fox avenged him, severely damaging the Kumo-nin and boosting morale, only for the Daimyō to go missing.
Lord Fox's meaning was clear: no need to look for the Daimyō; just have the Land of Hot Water select the next Daimyō directly.
A few days later, Yōkō's heart stirred.
Someone was chanting the Evil God's name... Was Hidan this efficient already?
He slightly closed his eyes and responded to Hidan's prayer.
In a certain town in the Land of Hot Water, Hidan, wearing servant's clothes, his body covered in black and white curse patterns, stood over the body of a young noble.
Disguised as a servant, Hidan had obtained the noble youth's blood and was now performing a grand sacrificial ritual in the deep night.
Hidan thrust a sharp spike fiercely into his own heart.
Blood splattered, his pain reaching its extreme.
"All who commit evil must confess..."
"Use pain to cleanse sins!"
"Use blood to please the gods!"
Yōkō's consciousness arrived in the Blood Mastery Divine Realm. There was one more drop of blood in the realm.
The second drop of blood after the Daimyō's.
Excellent. Yōkō's immortal body could now rapidly heal wounds that lost two drops of blood, equivalent to being pricked by a toothpick twice.
Although progress was slow, any progress was good.
Unfortunately, after Hidan stabbed through his heart, he fell unconscious and only regained consciousness several hours later.
With too few blood drops in the pool, the recovery ability was too poor.
"Hidan! My follower! Continue sacrificing evildoers!"
Hidan, suddenly hearing the divine revelation, wept excitedly on the ground.
"Great Evil God! I am your loyal servant! I will continue to seek out evildoers..."
Yōkō was very satisfied with Hidan's piety.
Hidan's strength was too weak; he could only rely on sneak attacks to complete sacrifices.
He suddenly had an idea.
Hidan's strength lay in his immortal body. He could design a set of enhancements around the immortal body.
Yōkō immediately thought of the Eight Gates.
As long as the training doesn't kill him, train until he's dead. The injuries from the Eight Gates shouldn't mean much to an immortal body... right?
Hidan stabs his own heart for fun anyway; opening the gates causes the heart to rupture—isn't that perfect?
Immortal body plus the Eight Gates might be a perfect match.
He didn't know the effect, so let Hidan try it first.
Hidan was now Yōkō's most perfect lab rat.
If Hidan succeeded, then Yōkō could also use this ability combination with peace of mind.
Although the Ōtsutsuki clan's power was great, physical strikes were the most practical against them.
In any world, physics is the ultimate truth.
Yōkō thought to himself, after returning to the village, he must find a way to obtain the Eight Gates.
Or, directly plot to get the Scroll of Seals and obtain all the forbidden techniques.
Yōkō summoned Hippo:
"Hippo, we can't delay any longer. For just one Dodai, we've been chasing for so long. We must finish him off quickly."
Hippo hurriedly said, "Lord Fox, four groups of Kumo-nin have been wiped out. Only the last group remains, the one fleeing west towards the Land of Iron!"
"Let's go. Let's see how strong Dodai's Lava Release defense really is."
Yōkō led his men to the western border of the Land of Hot Water. Soon, the Konoha ninja found the Kumo-nin's trail.
Jōnin Mokumen Kōtō reminded, "Lord Fox, the Kumo-nin might have set traps."
"Traps? Such as?"
"Such as explosive tag traps, wire traps, ambush traps, etc."
Yōkō nodded, understanding Mokumen Kōtō's thinking.
The vast majority of ninja didn't possess special abilities and fought in a steady, methodical manner.
Yōkō formed hand seals and created four Wood Clones.
Among all clone techniques, Wood Clones were in a league of their own, much stronger than Shadow Clones because Wood Clones contained the unique vitality of Wood Release.
Whether in reaction or durability, they were stronger than Shadow Clones.
Mokumen Kōtō, seeing five identical Lord Foxes, felt his heart tighten.
As a ninja of the same generation as Jiraiya and others, Mokumen Kōtō had witnessed the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's prowess towards the end of the First Great Shinobi War.
Coupled with being tormented by Sarutobi Kanenosuke over the past two years, the first thing Mokumen Kōtō thought of upon seeing five clones was the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack.
He immediately shook his head. He was overthinking it; it couldn't be the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack.
What connection could Lord Fox possibly have with the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack?
Lord Fox was initially proficient in the two elemental jutsu, Earth-Style Rising Spears and Water Cutting Wave, then shifted to defensive secret techniques in the mid-term, and now specializes in Wood Release.
His growth path was extremely clear and had no connection whatsoever with the mastery of all five natures required for the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack.
The four Wood Clones charged towards the Kumo-nin and indeed triggered wire traps and explosive tag traps.
Unlike Shadow Clones, the explosive tags and wire traps failed to destroy the Wood Clones.
After clearing the traps, Yōkō said, "Go. I'll provide backup."
Mokumen Kōtō was astonished, then led over 50 ninja to charge the Kumo-nin.
Mokumen Kōtō moved quickly, soon forcing Dodai out.
Separated by a small river, the Konoha and Kumo-nin forces faced each other.
Dodai and the other Kumo-nin looked as if facing a great enemy, each face filled with despair, as if they would die the next moment.
In fact, they really would die the next moment.
Yōkō suddenly felt an itch in his throat.
Damn Uchiha bloodline... he felt like spouting trash talk again. What to do?
***
Next Bonus Chapter goal=500 Powerstones
Dive deeper into the story with 50+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!
(End of Chapter)