Crossing the Bridge

A week later, Shizuka had become the leader of Takumigakure, with Mitsunosuke serving as her bodyguard. Ruri had eliminated all voices of dissent; aside from Mitsunosuke, no one in the village possessed the strength of a Jonin, posing no threat to Shizuka's position. Various clans and scattered artisans within the Land of Artisans had all relocated into Takumigakure.

After receiving a message from Ruri, Sanjo Munetachi personally returned to the Land of Artisans and successfully persuaded the Sanjo Clan to migrate to Takigakure. The Sanjo Clan officially became a part of Takigakure.

Two weeks later, Shizuka's rule had become increasingly stable, and she had established a cooperative relationship with the Black Market Exchange. All ninja tools produced in Takumigakure were sold to the Black Market Exchange at a discounted price, and the exchange would then sell these tools to Takigakure. Of course, Shizuka and her group would never know the final destination of these tools. From then on, Takigakure had an ample supply of ninja tools, and the Takigakure Ninja could purchase their desired equipment at much cheaper prices.

As for the direct sales prices for the other five major ninja villages, Ruri had increased them by thirty percent. Since the losses were coming from Takigakure, they had to be recouped elsewhere; in any case, Takumigakure was now considered one of his own forces, so he couldn't afford to be at a disadvantage.

Furthermore, under Ruri's instigation, Shizuka successfully persuaded the Daimyo of the Land of Artisans to purchase several of the country's main roads and establish checkpoints, collecting taxes from passing merchants under the guise of road maintenance.

After the village was established, the only way for merchants to purchase large quantities of ninja tools was through Takumigakure. The tax revenue generated by this measure was substantial. Those merchants had grievances they couldn't voice, yet they dared not oppose it, as the profits from ninja tools were immense.

Everything in Takumigakure had settled down. During this time, Senju Hashirama had visited once, but he did not discover Ruri's presence. The bridges he had promised the Mizukage to build, connecting the Land of Water to other nations, were now fully completed.

Ruri stayed in Takumigakure for a full month before leaving. Once he departed, he immediately returned to the lake where he had fought Seimei.

"Sage Mode!" During this month, Ruri had not only been handling the trivial matters of Takumigakure but also continuing his cultivation. Although he was still unable to combine the Seven-Tails Chakra Mode with Sage Mode, his understanding of Sage Mode had grown increasingly profound. The most obvious sign was the massive improvement in his sensory perception while in Sage Mode, which could easily cover the entire lake!

Within his Sage Mode perception, there was a point of green light in the calm lake—the exact reaction of senjutsu chakra.

"Found you." With chakra clinging to the soles of his feet, Ruri arrived at the center of the lake in the next instant and dove straight in.

A few minutes later, Ruri returned to the lakeshore, dragging a half-dead, white-haired young man.

A month ago, when Seimei was punched into the bottom of the lake, Ruri had injected some senjutsu chakra into his body. This served both to track Seimei's location and to prevent him from dying at the bottom of the lake.

Ruri had gone through so much trouble simply to ensure Seimei's survival. He still needed to rely on Shizuka and Mitsunosuke to control Takumigakure, but those two held a clan-extermination grudge against Seimei. To prevent any friction, he had no choice but to keep Seimei alive in secret.

Seimei could not die; his value while alive was far greater than dead. Being able to develop so many advanced ninja tools, Takigakure's ability to light up its technological tree depended entirely on him. Ruri had many concepts, but his practical ability was zero; he needed professional talent. If he wanted to develop Takigakure beyond the major ninja villages, he had to rely on this technology. If nothing else, the jet engine Seimei had researched on his own was enough to prove his worth.

As long as there was senjutsu chakra in his body, Seimei would not wake up. Ruri felt at ease, covering him with the three-piece black outfit he had re-purchased from Takumigakure, and dragged him toward the next town.

Upon arriving at the town, Ruri bought a carriage and stuffed Seimei inside, while he used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a coachman. Shizuka and Mitsunosuke still did not know his true identity; no one would ever guess that the First Takikage had personally come to the Land of Artisans and even beaten the former leader of Takumigakure half to death.

Walking and stopping along the way, there were quite a few novel things to hear.

"Did you hear? Ninjas from Konoha attacked Takumigakure?"

"That's right, these big-nation ninjas only know how to bully us. Our lives are so bitter..."

"They say the one who came was the First Hokage's younger brother, Senju Tobirama..."

"Shh... don't talk nonsense. That ninja lord killed the former leader of Takumigakure directly. His methods were extremely bloody, and his power was so great he split the lake in two..."

"I heard there were four mummified corpses by the lake. Could it be he uses evil arts...?"

"Stop talking. Trouble comes from the mouth. I'm afraid we'll have to be more cautious when doing business in Konoha from now on. The Land of Artisans never causes trouble, yet we still suffered such a horrific event. Sigh..."

Listening to the passersby, Ruri couldn't help but laugh. Aside from Takumigakure fanning the flames, Fujiwara Shizume had also played a significant role in spreading these rumors so quickly.

Fujiwara Shizume hadn't died. After the battle with Seimei, Ruri had taken the Cursed Blade Muramasa and deliberately let him go. The initial rumors had indeed started from him. As for him wanting revenge, that was no longer possible; he had lost a leg, and after witnessing that level of combat, his spirit as a warrior had likely crumbled. He couldn't stir up any trouble; aside from his refined swordsmanship, he was at most at the level of an elite Chunin.

Come to think of it, Tobirama was truly pitiful. Not only did he lose an arm, but he also bore such a notorious reputation, which would significantly affect the relationship between the Land of Artisans and the Land of Fire. It was hard to say if he would still successfully ascend to the position of the Second Hokage of Konoha.

Thinking about it, Ruri felt a little excited. There was nothing more enjoyable than changing the original story. If Tobirama couldn't become the Second Hokage, who would? Madara's brother? The fact that the Uchiha Clan had never produced a Hokage was a significant regret. It was just unclear if Madara had other brothers besides Izuna, though since Hashirama had three brothers, Madara shouldn't have only had one.

As he walked, Ruri reached the shore. Although Hashirama could use Wood Style to create cross-sea bridges, he couldn't build a bridge directly from the Land of Fire to the Land of Water. He had to connect other islands as transit points along the way, just as the bridge from the Land of Water to the Land of Lightning passed through the Land of Hot Water, and the bridge from the Land of Water to the Land of Fire passed through the Land of Artisans.

Perhaps Hashirama's naming talent wasn't great; he had simply named this bridge the Senju Bridge, while the other was named Senju Bridge No. 2...

Driving the carriage across the Senju Bridge, Ruri felt indescribably good. The bridge was very sturdy, the pillars were solid, and it would last for decades without any problems. The productivity of ninjas was truly incomparable to that of ordinary people. In the original story, who would have thought to ask the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, to build bridges? Not many people could use Wood Style!

Ruri was leisurely heading toward Takigakure, but a major event had occurred within Konoha.

The acting head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Sendai, arrived at the Hokage's office, accompanied by the head of the Shimura Clan, Shimura Seigen, and the head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Tenin.