Uchiha's opinion

Chapter 409 Cold hands and feet
Konoha's standing ninja army and reserve columns continue to take shape, while Yunyin and Yanyin's army preparations are also accelerating.

However, due to the limitation of national power, Yanyin and Yunyin, which are only supported by the Land of Earth and most of the Land of Thunder, cannot compete with the three major power camps of the shogunate in terms of manpower or financial resources.

Onoki and the Third Raikage actually knew this.

No matter how arrogant and arrogant the daimyo nobles are, as ninjas, if they cannot even grasp the most basic comparison of strength, they are probably not far from death.

According to Kumogakure's intelligence, although Kirigakure suffered heavy losses after the Meiryo Sea Battle after being annexed by the shogunate, it began to gain new vitality after receiving massive resource investment from the shogunate.

After the blood mist policy that pursued "short, flat, quick" was completely abolished, although the new generation of Kirigakure ninjas were relatively less ferocious, their numbers and discipline were greatly improved, and they were organized into various organizations under the unified planning of the shogunate. Supporting the Ninja Army greatly strengthened the power of the Tokumitsu Shogunate.

Moreover, according to the judgment of the Kumogakure intelligence system, Kirigakure may have a greater role in the shogunate system than Konoha - because Uchiha Tokumitsu has completely unrestricted supreme power in Kirigakure, coupled with his With the assistance of the three major ninja clans of the eagle and dog minions, it is even possible to put all the ninjas into the battlefield!
Yunyin originally planned to send people to do something in Kirigakure according to the past practice, such as assassinating the outstanding new generation or snatching the blood succession ninjas, etc., but all the shogunate ships and powerful iron-clad ships patrolling the ocean, Yunyin The Hidden Ninjas simply cannot lurk in the Kingdom of Water on a large scale, so they can only watch the Kirigakure information sent back by the intelligence personnel with anxiety.

According to Uchiha Tokumitsu's secret instructions, Kirigakure, under the auspices of Minazuki Chino, began to form a semi-full-time ninja army with a planned number of about 3000 people as a reserve force for the shogunate.

The reason why a larger ninja army has not been formed is mainly because most of the Kirigakure ninjas have accepted the employment of the United Company to serve abroad and will not be able to come back for a while.

Therefore, the tension between Kumogakure and Iwagakure is actually understandable.

However, after the mysterious man known as "Asura", the so-called envoy of the two holy places from Mt. Myoboku and Ryuji Cave recommended by the Daimyo of Earth Country, appeared in front of everyone, Ohnoki's inner tension eased a little.

Although he also tested whether he could obtain the Holy Land Immortal Art afterwards, he was declined by Asura because of his lack of qualifications, but then the contract scrolls of psychic beasts from the Holy Land began to be distributed in unlimited quantities, although the person who signed the psychic contract was not The so-called psychic beasts with holy land magic, but even the ordinary Ninja Frog and Ninja Snake, are a great addition to Yun Yin and Yan Yin's combat power.

Asura, who successfully opened up the situation in the two major ninja villages, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the ninjas who signed the Holy Land Psychic Beast Contract were ordered by Ohnoki and the Third Raikage not to summon them privately in order to conceal information so that they could catch the shogunate off guard in the future, for Mt. Myoboku, this is also a milestone achievement. .

However, Asura has been thinking about one thing since the secret meeting.

That was the "Iwagakure ninja collective voyeurism and defecation" incident that the unlucky Earth Country noble official called at that time.

Perhaps due to some errors in his memory after reincarnation, Asura felt that there might be something fishy behind this incident, but he did not recall the relevant deeds or people. However, prompted by instinct, he still proposed to Ohnoki to follow Iwagakure as a special agent. The military disciplinary investigation team went south to investigate the matter.

Seeing that Asura had brought the psychic contract between the two holy places, Onoki readily agreed to him, so Asura disguised himself as an Iwagakure ANBU and went south with the team.

……

The economic situation of the Earth Kingdom is very bad.

Although he was in a hurry, Asura still paid attention to the customs and customs of the Earth Kingdom.

But even compared with the small countries under the rule of the shogunate, the counties and towns Asura saw along the way seemed depressed and dilapidated, exuding an indescribable air of twilight. The civilians were also "simple in their clothing and quite ancient" and had a smug look on their faces. Dishes.

Except for a few towns that are chartered and engaged in trade by joint companies, most of the towns in the Earth Kingdom appear lifeless and have no vitality at all.

However, the Iwagakure ninjas who went south seemed to have long been accustomed to it and didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.

After testing, Asura discovered that compared with Uchiha Josuke, who was once captured by him, the Iwagakure ninjas did not seem to take civilians and the economy seriously at all. All they cared about was whether the monthly military allowances were paid in a timely manner, and whether the armed forces were paid in time. Whether the quality of the equipment is up to standard, and they also like to compare how luxurious their newly built mansions at the headquarters of Iwagakure Ninja Village are. When chatting, they even brag about how they will kill seven in and seven out of the Konoha Ninja Army in the future war. Big words, as for everything outside the Ninja Village, they don't care at all.

It seems... apart from missions and killing, these ninjas have nothing else in their hearts.

Oh... no, there is reproduction...

During the break, Asura, wearing the Iwakaku Anbe mask, always felt a little uncomfortable when he heard the group of ninjas brag about how "good" the wives and concubines he captured back were.

What exactly is going on……

Asura once again had a big question mark in his heart.

Is this justice?

Shinobu, which had begun to waver since the Battle of Toba Fushimi, was once again hit.

"What is Mr. Daluo thinking?"

Akazuchi, the leader of the Iwagakure Investigation Team, came up and said.

Daluo is a temporary nickname that Asura gave himself according to ANBU rules, and Chitu is the only one among the group of Iwagakure ninjas who knows the identity of the messenger of Asura's Holy Land.

"I remember that Iwagakure should be the most united ninja village group in the ninja world, right?"

Ashura asked.

"Indeed!"

Speaking of this, Akatsuchi said with pride: "Under the teaching and guidance of the Will of Stone, the tenacious Iwagakure ninjas fought in the war..."

"So, what happened in the south, the local garrison commander didn't take it seriously and directly covered it up, right?"

Asura hit the nail on the head and pointed out an embarrassing question: "If there is no joint report from the nobles, then what Iwagakure did will remain unknown, right?"

"So the existence of nobles is very necessary. They will also restrain some prohibited ninjas from the side."

Although Chitu's face was a little red, he didn't defend himself.

Because this kind of thing will come to light only through investigation, and covering it up will only show that you are not good enough: "Of course, even in Iwagakure, some scum are inevitable. After all, after the expansion of the Ninja Army, some aspects of education are somewhat lagging behind. Already..."

"Is that all?"

Ashura asked rhetorically.

"if not?!"

Chitu was a little unhappy, but considering Asura's identity, he still continued to talk patiently.

"It seems that the Ninja Village has shown a special magnanimity towards robbing civilians?"

Asura pointed out a problem mentioned in the report of Ohnoki and the nobles during the meeting in the secret room.

It seems that both the local nobles of the Earth Kingdom, the central noble officials and the high-level officials of the Ninja Village have shown a high level of tolerance for the ninjas' robbery of money, but they have a high tolerance for the "ninja voyeurism and defecation" that offended the nobles' face. It has extremely stringent requirements.

"How can that be called robbery..."

Akatsuchi couldn't help but frowned when he heard this, "As the defenders of the Earth Kingdom, we will not cause these troubles in the country, and the Iwagakure ninja..."

Asura did not speak, but pointed at the two Iwagakure ninjas who were jumping back in the stone forest.

That's the people who go out to collect food.

Chi Tu looked intently and found that the two Yanyin were just carrying a goat and carrying a sack, and there was nothing special about it.

"The blood stains on their bodies..." Akatsuki was indifferent, but Asura became more and more displeased, "That's not the smell of the blood of wild beasts. I don't think Captain Akatsuki can't even tell the difference, right?"

"The smell of blood?"

Chitu was a little confused.

How can you tell the taste and species of blood from such a distance?

Suddenly, he became interested.

I wanted to take the opportunity to ask for advice on how to do this, but Asura stood up and disappeared without a trace, leaving only one sentence, "I will be back in an hour..."

One hour was also the original departure time.

Chitu frowned, feeling a little baffled.

But then he just shook his head and shouted at the two Iwagakure ninjas who had just landed: "You two bastards! Why did you waste so much time!"

The scheduled rest time was running out, and they had to collect live sheep to eat. Naturally, Akatsuchi and the Iwagakure ninjas under his command were not very happy.

"This ghost place is too remote..."

One of the Iwagakure ninja complained as he dropped the goat on his shoulder and the sack in his hand.

Some pots and pans stained with blood rolled out of the sack.

"You don't even know how to clean it up! It's so dirty and disgusting!"

Akatsuchi continued to curse.

The other Iwagakure ninjas who were resting also got up and began to prepare to kill the sheep for cooking.

"Hey! Just be content, Captain~ We ran a long way before we found the settlement!"

Another Iwagakure ninja said with a smile: "Fortunately, we met a group of nomadic savages, otherwise we would probably have to go to the county to find those nobles again."

"Don't keep running to the county town in the future!"

Akatsuchi frowned and reprimanded: "Ninjas should be separated from the world. It is not a good thing to get involved too much!"

"I know, I know……"

The two Iwagakure ninjas who were out "collecting food" waved their hands indifferently.

To them, these are commonplace topics that make their ears grow calluses.

"By the way, where is that Jonin-sama from ANBU?"

An Iwagakure ninja who killed the goat neatly asked casually.

"do not know!"

Chitu felt a little irritated, "He doesn't want to eat!"

……

Under the guidance of the secret technique, Asura detoured from the other side and followed the aura left by the two food-collecting Iwagakure ninjas.

However, as the source gets closer and closer, the face hidden under the mask becomes more and more ugly.

Bloody smell...

The extremely strong smell of blood...

Asura only felt his temples beating violently.

In the end, he saw a scene of tragedy.

In the valley, an open space that should be a temporary habitat for mountain herders was filled with bloody corpses...

The vultures, hyenas and mountain wolves all over the ground had no intention of fighting with each other, they were just enjoying this "gift from heaven" meal.

In addition to the corpses of mountain people, there were also many corpses of goats, black cattle, ponies and other domestic animals lying dead on the ground, and they also looked like they had been shot with ninja tools.

Asura couldn't help but feel that his hands and feet were cold.

Slaughtered a gathering place just for two sheep?
Even if it was looting, wouldn't it be enough to leave with two sheep and the desired harvest?Could it be that these extremely poor mountain people can still pose any threat to Yan Yin, who is high above?
Is this something humans can do?
Asura's inner belief was deeply shaken.

"It's a ninja!"

A few mountain people with iron spears in their hands appeared between the stone forests in the distance. They seemed to be watching this tragic place, and they didn't seem to be surprised.

However, after one of them noticed Asura standing on the stone forest, he immediately let out a shrill scream of panic, dropped the iron spear in his hand, turned around and ran away.

The mountain people who originally came with him to try to pick up a bargain immediately dispersed as if they were encountering evil spirits.

Asura, who had personally witnessed all this, stood frozen on the spot and made no attempt to ask what happened.

Even the beasts and raptors that were "feasting" were not affected at all and continued to feast.

What did I do?
What kind of people did I help?

What kind of people are the so-called ninjas?

What exactly does "justice and destiny" in Toad Immortal's prophecy represent?
Asura only felt very desperate in his heart.

"Fire Escape·The Art of Brilliant Flame!"

After a long time, Asura slowly closed his eyes, and then spewed out a fierce fireball from his mouth, submerging all the beasts and the remains of the dead into the fire.

The fierce chakra flames continued to burn, and the engulfed beasts and raptors screamed shrilly.

Under the light of the fire, Asura's face looked uncertain.

But inside, he only felt cold...

　Update today (2/2)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)