The night was as black as ink.
Daimyo Manor, a secluded courtyard.
No one usually set foot here. There were only rockeries, flowing water, and a dead plum tree.
Yet tonight, a lone lamp had been lit in the courtyard.
Juzo Biwa stood beneath it, his shadow stretched long.
He wore Kirigakure's standard uniform, and the massive Kubikiribōchō on his back shattered the courtyard's tranquility.
A faint killing intent lingered in the air.
He had come here because of an unsigned note inviting him.
The note had appeared beside his pillow without warning, yet no one else had noticed.
Whoever had done it could come and go freely beneath his very nose, even within the heavily guarded envoy residence.
That alone was a form of provocation.
Juzo Biwa's eyes darkened, and the veins on the hand gripping the Kubikiribōchō's hilt bulged.
He was not afraid of death.
Which of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had not crawled out from heaps of corpses?
But he hated being toyed with like this.
Whether it was that tyrant in the village or this coward hiding in the shadows.
Creak.
The moon gate was pushed open.
A man walked in, carrying a teapot and two teacups.
The newcomer wore black, with handsome features and no flow of Chakra around him.
Yet Juzo Biwa's muscles tensed in an instant.
The man was Chiba Ran, the new Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
Juzo Biwa had considered countless possibilities, but he had never expected the one meeting him in secret late at night to be the new ruler of the Land of Fire.
A daimyo, coming alone to meet a Jonin from an enemy nation?
Was he seeking death?
Ignoring the killing intent radiating from him, Chiba Ran walked straight to the stone table, sat down, and poured two cups of tea.
Then he said, "Sit."
His voice was calm.
Juzo Biwa did not move. He stared coldly at Chiba Ran and rasped, "Daimyo of the Land of Fire, you've got some nerve!"
Chiba Ran lifted his teacup, blew on the steam, and glanced sideways at him. "What right does someone who doesn't even dare draw his sword have to judge my courage?"
Juzo Biwa's face darkened at those words.
His hand had been gripping the hilt ever since.
But his instincts were screaming warnings.
The man before him was dangerous.
More dangerous than any enemy he had ever encountered.
Juzo Biwa gave up probing him and asked directly, "What do you want from me?"
Chiba Ran was equally direct. "I think you're quite capable, so I'm giving you an opportunity to pledge loyalty to me."
As though he had heard a hilarious joke, Juzo Biwa laughed, baring his stark white teeth.
"Pledge loyalty? Me, Juzo Biwa of Kirigakure, swear allegiance to you, the daimyo of the Land of Fire?"
"You haven't woken up yet, have you?"
Chiba Ran was not angered. He merely asked, "If you won't pledge loyalty to me, then who will you serve? Kirigakure? Or the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura? Are you truly loyal?"
Juzo Biwa's smile froze instantly.
Seeing his reaction, Chiba Ran thought of this man's future fate.
Juzo Biwa—a tragic yet admirable man.
Because he had become dissatisfied with Kirigakure's Blood Mist tyranny, he would eventually defect and join the Akatsuki Organization.
His future partner would be that beast, Itachi Uchiha.
And his end would come during a mission, when he used the Kubikiribōchō to block a Tailed Beast Bomb in order to protect Itachi Uchiha.
In the end, the blade would pierce through his abdomen, and he would die of his severe injuries.
A man who died beneath his own weapon.
A man willing to give his life to protect a companion, even if that companion was an Uchiha from an enemy village.
Chiba Ran gave him his assessment inwardly.
A villain with principles, a Rogue Ninja who valued loyalty.
Deep down, he was stubbornly devoted to his convictions.
Once someone like that gave his loyalty, he would be far more reliable than a fence-sitter.
Those thoughts flashed through his mind.
The way he looked at Juzo Biwa gained a hint of appreciation.
"You're like me. You're both weary of this twisted world."
"Ninjas have been reduced to tools in the struggles between great nations, dying meaninglessly on the battlefield."
"Civilians are displaced by war, unable even to guarantee their most basic survival."
"Villages are controlled by ambitious men and madmen, who use their comrades' blood to build their own power."
"Don't you think a world like this should have been destroyed long ago, then rebuilt?"
Juzo Biwa frowned deeply and stared fixedly at Chiba Ran, his tone full of impatience.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Chiba Ran leaned back in his chair. "I want to end all of this."
"I want to establish a new order. A truly peaceful world without war or prejudice, where ninjas and civilians alike can live and work in peace."
Juzo Biwa fell silent.
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After a long while, he laughed, his smile exaggerated.
"Peace? What a grand ideal."
"Then tell me, Lord Daimyo, what gives you the right?"
"Your mouth?"
He stepped forward, and terrifying killing intent swept up the fallen leaves on the ground.
The candle flame began to sway violently, nearly going out.
Yet Chiba Ran remained seated.
He did not even frown.
"What gives me the right?"
He repeated softly, as though he found the question amusing.
He did not answer. He merely raised a hand.
One finger reached toward the empty stone table.
The next moment—
Juzo Biwa's worldview collapsed.
No hand seals.
No violent surge of Chakra.
Points of faint light gathered from nothing at Chiba Ran's fingertip.
The motes condensed and began to take shape.
First came the antennae.
Then the wings.
Finally, the complete body.
A butterfly.
A living butterfly was born from the void.
The butterfly fluttered its wings and rose from Chiba Ran's fingertip.
It traced an arc through the air.
At last, it landed on a branch of the dead plum tree.
This was not ninjutsu!
Juzo Biwa's mind went blank.
Ninjutsu was the manipulation of Chakra.
Whether it was shape transformation or nature transformation.
At its core, it was the use of existing energy.
But what was this before him?
Something from nothing!
This was creating life out of thin air!
What kind of power was this?
The hand clutching Juzo Biwa's sword trembled violently.
A bead of cold sweat seeped from his temple and slid down.
Then it struck the stone slab and shattered.
His killing intent collapsed in an instant as well.
"Now, what do you think gives me the right?"
Chiba Ran's voice rang out again, still calm.
Juzo Biwa stared at the man before him as fear and reverence swirled in his mind.
If...
If it was power like this...
Then perhaps he really could change that damned place.
His throat tightened, and he forced out in a hoarse voice, "I... I can serve you!"
"As long as you help me kill Karatachi Yagura! End Kirigakure's tyranny!"
When he spoke that name, his teeth ground together.
Chiba Ran smiled and shook his head.
"I can, but not yet..."
"Because what I intend to end is not the change of a single village, but the entire world."
Juzo Biwa clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh.
Chiba Ran glanced at him and continued, "You can remain by my side and watch."
"The day you believe I have betrayed the promise I made today, you may leave whenever you wish. Your sword, your life—I will never stop you."
"But if you choose to stay..."
Chiba Ran rose to his feet and walked before him.
His shadow completely covered Juzo Biwa.
"You and your sword will help me forge an era with my own hands—a unified world."
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen? That title is worthless to me."
"What I offer you is the right to personally create a new world."
As his words fell—
Juzo Biwa cast aside all struggle.
He no longer resisted.
He dropped to one knee, raised the Kubikiribōchō with both hands, and held it horizontally before himself.
Then he lowered his proud head.
"Juzo Biwa is willing to die in your service, my lord!"
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