Coup

Land of Waterfalls, Daimyo Palace.

"What? Takigakure has gone completely silent?" Kakuzu looked at the woman sitting at the head of the table, his voice filled with disbelief.

"It must be those people causing trouble after we left; what else could it be?" Ruri replied. There was no need to overthink it; if something happened in the village, it could only be the work of Kubi Ichiro and his ilk.

"Hmm, the people I sent out haven't returned yet. That must be it."

"Should we rush back now?" Kakuzu asked urgently. Sitting in front of this woman put him under immense pressure.

The alluring woman was none other than Linglong, the Daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls and the only female Daimyo among the current nations.

"Lord Kakuzu, known as the Ninjutsu Ghost of the Land of Waterfalls, are you really such a coward?" Linglong teased. Her relationship with Ruri and Kakuzu was far from ordinary; after all, she had only succeeded in becoming Daimyo thanks to the full support of these two.

"Alright, stop bullying Kakuzu. It's just that his ninjutsu had a slight mishap back in the day. We were planning to catch up, but I didn't expect something like this to happen. It's a pity. Once we handle the situation in Takigakure, we'll come back." Ruri clapped his hands and stood up.

"Come back again? Big Brother, can I stay in the village to guard it? What if something like this happens again while you're away..." Kakuzu's expression shifted as he spoke.

"...Why are you so afraid of her?" Ruri was deeply puzzled. Linglong was clearly a very easygoing person, and she was dedicated to the development of the Land of Waterfalls; one could hear the residents praising her on the streets every day.

"Such confidence. It seems you've grown stronger. A powerful man, indeed..." Linglong licked her lips as she spoke, causing Ruri to involuntarily turn his head away. "By the way, a little girl claimed to have escaped from Takigakure to deliver a message, but I've never seen her before."

"You haven't seen her? That sounds problematic." Ruri and Kakuzu walked out of the room. He knew Linglong's abilities well; aside from the ninjas, every resident of Takigakure had been relocated from various parts of the Land of Waterfalls. Linglong had handled this personally and had memorized the faces of every villager, including the children.

"I'll go see that child. The matter in Takigakure will be resolved soon."

After Ruri and Kakuzu left the Daimyo Palace, they followed Linglong's instructions to an inn.

"Who is it?"

The inn room had sliding doors that opened in both directions and no lock. Just as Ruri slid the door open, he heard a crisp female voice. The little girl didn't sound very old.

"Takikage." Ruri frowned as he approached. Something was definitely wrong; he had deliberately suppressed his footsteps, and his movements were light, yet a child had still detected him.

"Is... is it Lord Takikage?!"

The girl's voice sounded incredibly excited, and a moment later, she appeared before Ruri.

The girl wore an expression of someone who had narrowly escaped death, leaving Ruri unable to spot a single flaw.

"Big Brother..." Kakuzu whispered beside Ruri. Although he couldn't put his finger on what was wrong, he felt this girl was unusual.

"I... I finally found you..." As she spoke, the girl began to cry, as if she had suffered some great tragedy.

"Don't cry just yet. Tell me about the situation in the village." Despite his suspicions, Ruri took some tissues from the table and handed them to her.

After wiping her nose and tears, the girl calmed down and began to speak: "On the night you left, there was a coup in the village. It seems the Hagane Clan led it. They were dissatisfied that you had crippled the clan head's arm. To seize power, they joined forces with the Fuma Clan from outside the village to launch a rebellion..."

A coup? Seizing power? Would a little girl use such terms? And how would she know that Hagane Maomori's arm had been crippled by him? Only a few days had passed; if the reason for the coup was known even to ordinary children, the security of such a plot would be far too poor to succeed!

"What is your name?" Ruri asked in a low voice.

"I..." The little girl seemed a bit frightened. "My name is Do... Doma Chie."

Doma? There were no ninjas in the village with the surname Doma. If her name really was Doma Chie, she was just an ordinary civilian and could never have come into contact with such matters.

Although Ruri couldn't memorize the names of every resident in Takigakure like Linglong could, he could certainly remember the names of the few ninjas.

Everything Chie said had to be questioned. The only certainty was that a coup had occurred in the village. Ruri felt it was unlikely that the Hagane Clan was the protagonist of the rebellion; as the only bloodline clan in Takigakure, they wouldn't lose their status regardless of who held power, so there was no need to take such a huge risk.

Instead, the other clan that Chie hadn't mentioned, the Kubi Clan, was suspicious. During the previous meeting, Kubi Ichiro had been the one to lead the dissent, and he had been the example Ruri made by crippling his leg. It was normal for him to harbor resentment and collude with outsiders.

[Name: Tsuchigumo Chie]
[Overall Strength: Genin]
[Talent: Elite Jonin]
[Attributes: Wind, Fire, Lightning]
[Special Ability: None]
[Evaluation: The eldest daughter of the Tsuchigumo Clan. She possesses brilliant chakra of three attributes but is not valued by her clan.]

Well, that settled it. Chie was definitely lying, and it wasn't the Fuma Clan that had invaded Takigakure—it seemed to be the Tsuchigumo Clan!

Ruri didn't expose Chie's lie on the spot; instead, he comforted her and took her back to the inn with Kakuzu, thinking she might be useful later.

Masashige at the inn had also finished washing up and put on the mask Ruri had bought for him. He believed he wouldn't have to wear the mask forever; his teacher would surely find a way to resolve the poison in his body, allowing him to breathe like a normal person.

Masashige was only slightly surprised by Chie's appearance. Mature for his age, he didn't ask questions, instead keeping his distance from the girl due to the poison in his body. Ruri and Kakuzu were powerful ninjas, but this ordinary little girl certainly couldn't resist his toxic aura.

Soon, Ruri and Kakuzu brought the two children back to Takigakure. Aside from the guards at the gate being absent, the entire village seemed unchanged.

"Lord Takikage has returned!" As Ruri walked toward the office building, Kubi Ichiro hurried over, followed by two Chunin-level clansmen.

"Where are the guards at the gate?" Ruri asked with a frown. The further he walked, the stronger the thick scent of blood became. Moreover, there wasn't a single villager on the streets; the entire Takigakure exuded a desolate feeling.

"It's like this: while you were away, Hagane Maomori joined forces with the Fuma Clan to launch a rebellion. We were caught off guard, and many people died. Fortunately, under my leadership, everyone fought to the death, and we have now imprisoned those people." Kubi Ichiro wore a look of self-importance, as if boasting about what a remarkable deed he had done. It must be said that if Ruri hadn't used the system to see Chie's identity, he likely would have been fooled.

"What about the villagers?" Ruri ignored Kubi Ichiro's nonsense and asked anxiously.

"Some died during the fighting. As for the rest, I issued a ban: they are not allowed to leave until you return. Anyone who came out was killed as a rebel."

Kubi Ichiro's indifferent tone nearly made Ruri explode. Did he treat the villagers like livestock? Even in the Warring States period, ninjas wouldn't lay hands on civilians. If Ruri had returned a few days later, these grounded villagers would likely have died from a lack of food and water!

Ruri suppressed his anger; the priority was to rescue the Hagane Clan. He said, "Take me to see those imprisoned rebels."

"Yes, Lord Takikage."

Let's see how much longer you can strut around. Takikage? Go be your Takikage in hell! Kubi Ichiro walked to the front to lead the way for Ruri with a respectful air, but he was secretly gloating, feeling that the day he became the leader of Takigakure was not far off.

Unfortunately, news of Ruri's battle with Hashirama had traveled too slowly; otherwise, Kubi Ichiro wouldn't have dared to launch a coup even if he had ten times the courage. Truly, ignorance is fearless!