Juzo Biwa? I Can Collect, So Can You!

The night was as black as ink.

Within the Daimyo Manor, a secluded, quiet courtyard.

On ordinary days, no one set foot here—only rockeries, flowing water, and a withered plum tree.

Tonight, however, a single lantern was lit in the yard.

Juzo Biwa stood beneath the light, his shadow stretched long.

He wore the standard uniform of Kirigakure, the massive Kubikiribōchō on his back shattering the courtyard's tranquility.

The air carried a faint, elusive killing intent.

He had come here because of an unsigned note inviting him.

That slip of paper had appeared abruptly at his bedside, unnoticed by anyone else.

To move freely in and out of a heavily guarded envoy compound right under his nose—

That in itself was a show of force.

Juzo Biwa's eyes were dark and vicious; the veins on his hand gripping the Kubikiribōchō's handle bulged.

He wasn't afraid of death.

Which of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen hadn't crawled out of a pile of corpses?

But he hated this feeling of being toyed with.

Whether it was the tyrant in his village or this skulking bastard.

Creak.

The moon gate swung open.

A man walked in, carrying a pot of tea and two cups in his hands!

The newcomer was dressed in black, his features handsome, with no trace of Chakra flowing from him.

Yet Juzo Biwa's muscles tensed in an instant.

The newcomer was none other than the new Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Chiba Ran.

Juzo Biwa had imagined countless possibilities, but the last thing he expected was that the one summoning him in the dead of night would be this new master of the Land of Fire.

A Daimyo, coming alone to meet an enemy nation's Jonin?

Courting death?

Ignoring the killing intent radiating from him, Chiba Ran walked straight to the stone table, sat down, and casually poured two cups of tea.

Then he said, "Sit."

His voice was very calm.

Juzo Biwa didn't move. He stared coldly at Chiba Ran, his voice hoarse. "The Daimyo of the Land of Fire has quite the nerve!"

Chiba Ran picked up the teacup, blew on the steam, and shot him a sidelong glance. "A man who doesn't even dare to draw his blade has no right to judge my nerve."

Those words darkened Juzo Biwa's face.

His hand had been gripping the sword handle since a moment ago.

But his instincts were screaming a frantic warning.

This man before him was dangerous.

More dangerous than any enemy he had ever faced.

Juzo Biwa abandoned the probing and asked directly, "What do you want by calling me here?"

Chiba Ran was equally direct. "I think you're quite capable, so I'm giving you a chance—swear allegiance to me."

As if hearing a hilarious joke, Juzo Biwa laughed, baring his stark white teeth.

"Allegiance? Me, Juzo Biwa of Kirigakure, swear allegiance to you, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire?"

"Are you still asleep?"

Chiba Ran wasn't angered. He asked calmly, "If not to me, then to whom do you swear allegiance? Kirigakure? Or the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura? Are you truly loyal?"

Juzo Biwa's smile froze instantly.

Watching his reaction, Chiba Ran's mind surfaced the future fate of this man.

Juzo Biwa—a pitiable yet admirable man.

Dissatisfied with Kirigakure's Bloody Mist tyranny, he ultimately chose to defect and joined the Akatsuki Organization.

His future partner would be that bastard Itachi Uchiha.

And his end would come during a mission, when he used the Kubikiribōchō to block a Tailed Beast Bomb to protect Itachi Uchiha.

He would die from the blade piercing through his abdomen, gravely wounded.

A man killed by his own weapon.

A man willing to give his life to protect a comrade, even if that comrade was an Uchiha from an enemy village.

Chiba Ran gave his assessment internally.

A scoundrel with a bottom line, a rogue ninja who valued bonds.

Stubborn to the core in his principles.

Someone like this, once you earned his loyalty, was far more reliable than a weathervane.

These thoughts flickered past in an instant.

The look in his eyes toward Juzo Biwa gained a trace of appreciation.

"You and I are the same—both weary of this twisted world."

"Ninjas become tools in the games of great nations, dying meaninglessly on battlefields."

"Civilians are displaced in the flames of war, unable to secure even the basics of survival."

"Villages are controlled by ambitious men and madmen, stacking their power with the blood of comrades."

"Don't you think a world like this has long deserved to be destroyed and then rebuilt?"

Juzo Biwa's brow furrowed deeply, his eyes locked onto Chiba Ran, his tone dripping with 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 world without war, without prejudice, where ninjas and civilians alike can live and work in peace—a truly peaceful world."

Juzo Biwa fell silent.

After a long moment, he laughed, a laugh that was exaggerated.

"Peace? What a noble ideal."

"Then, Daimyo-sama, what gives you the right?"

"Just that mouth of yours?"

He took a step forward, his terrifying killing intent sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground.

The candle flames began to flicker violently, nearly extinguishing.

Yet, Chiba Ran remained seated steady.

He didn't even frown.

"What gives me the right?"

He repeated softly, as if he found the question amusing.

He didn't answer. He simply raised a hand.

One finger, reaching toward the empty stone table.

The next moment.

Juzo Biwa's worldview collapsed.

No hand seals.

No violent fluctuation of Chakra.

All he saw was Chiba Ran's fingertip gathering faint specks of light from nothingness.

The specks coalesced, beginning to take shape.

First, antennae.

Then, wings.

Finally, a complete body.

A butterfly.

A living butterfly, born from the void.

The butterfly flapped its wings, lifting off from Chiba Ran's fingertip.

It traced an arc through the air.

Finally, it landed on the withered branch of a plum tree.

This wasn't 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 application of existing energy.

But what was this before him?

Creation from nothing!

This was conjuring life out of thin air!

What... what kind of power was this?

Juzo Biwa's hand, gripping his sword, trembled violently.

A bead of cold sweat seeped from his brow, slid down.

Then it struck the stone slab and shattered.

His killing intent dissolved in an instant.

"Now, what do you think I'm relying on?"

Chiba Ran's voice rang out again, still calm and flat.

Juzo Biwa stared at the man before him, fear and reverence swirling in his mind.

If...

If a power like this existed...

Maybe it really could change that hellhole.

His throat tightened, and he forced out a hoarse voice, "I... I can serve you!"

"Just help me kill Karatachi Yagura! End the tyranny of the Mist!"

When he spoke that name, his teeth ground audibly.

Chiba Ran smiled and shook his head.

"I can, but not now..."

"Because what I aim to end isn't just a single village's transformation—it's the entire world."

Juzo Biwa clenched his fists, nails digging into his flesh.

Chiba Ran glanced at him and continued, "You can stay by my side and watch."

"If one day you feel I've betrayed today's promise, you're free to leave at any time. Your sword, your life—I won't stop you."

"But if you choose to stay..."

Chiba Ran stood up and walked before him.

His shadow completely engulfed Juzo Biwa.

"You, and your blade, will personally forge an era for me—a unified world."

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen? That title is worthless here."

"What I give you is the right to build a new world with your own hands."

The words fell.

Juzo Biwa shed all his resistance.

He struggled no more.

He dropped to one knee, raised the Kubikiribōchō with both hands, and laid it horizontally before him.

Then, he lowered that proud head.

"Juzo Biwa is willing to die for you, my lord!"