A week later, Shizuka had become the leader of Takumigakure, while Mitsunosuke had become her guard. Ruri silenced every voice of opposition. Other than Mitsunosuke, no one in the village possessed Jonin-level strength, so no one could threaten Shizuka's position as leader. The various clans and independent artisans throughout the Land of Artisans also relocated to Takumigakure.
After receiving Ruri's message, Sanjo Munetachi personally returned to the Land of Artisans and successfully persuaded the Sanjo Clan to move to Takigakure. The Sanjo Clan officially became part of Takigakure.
Two weeks later, Shizuka's rule had grown increasingly secure. She had already established a partnership with the Black Market Exchange. All ninja tools produced in Takumigakure would be sold to the Black Market Exchange at discounted prices, while the Black Market Exchange would sell those tools in Takigakure. Naturally, Shizuka and the others would not know where the tools were going. From then on, Takigakure had an ample supply of ninja tools, and its ninja could buy the tools they wanted at cheaper prices.
As for the direct-sale prices of ninja tools to the other five great ninja villages, Ruri raised them by thirty percent. Naturally, what Takigakure lost had to be made up elsewhere. Now that Takumigakure counted as one of his own forces, he could not possibly take a loss.
Furthermore, under Ruri's instigation, Shizuka successfully persuaded the Daimyo of the Land of Artisans to purchase several major roads within the country, set up checkpoints, and levy taxes on passing merchants under the pretense of renovating trade routes.
After the village was established, the only way for merchants to purchase ninja tools in bulk was to go to Takumigakure. The tax revenue generated by this measure was considerable. The merchants suffered in silence, yet could not bring themselves to object. The profits from ninja tools were simply too immense.
Everything in Takumigakure had settled down. During that time, Hashirama came by once, but he did not discover Ruri's presence. He had completed all the bridges he promised the Mizukage to build for the Land of Water, connecting it to other countries.
Ruri stayed in Takumigakure for a full month before leaving. As soon as he departed, he returned to the lake where he had fought Seimei.
"Sage Mode!" Over the past month, Ruri had not only handled Takumigakure's trivial affairs, but also continued training. Although he had never managed to combine Seven-Tails Chakra Mode with Sage Mode, his understanding of Sage Mode had deepened steadily. Most noticeably, his perception in Sage Mode had improved enormously, easily covering the entire lake!
Within the perception of Sage Mode, a faint green glow shone beneath the tranquil lake. It was the response of Sage Chakra.
"There you are." Chakra gathered beneath his feet, and in the next instant, Ruri arrived at the center of the lake and plunged straight in.
Several minutes later, Ruri returned to the shore carrying a half-dead white-haired young man.
A month earlier, when Seimei had been punched into the bottom of the lake, Ruri had injected some Sage Chakra into his body. It could both pinpoint Seimei's location and keep him from dying at the bottom of the lake.
Ruri had gone through all this trouble for no other reason than to ensure Seimei's survival. He still needed Shizuka and Mitsunosuke to control Takumigakure, but the two of them bore the hatred of clan extermination toward Seimei. To prevent a rift from forming, he could only secretly spare Seimei's life.
Seimei could not die. His value alive far exceeded his value dead. He had developed so many advanced ninja tools, and Takigakure's technological development depended entirely on him. Ruri had plenty of ideas, but no practical ability whatsoever. He needed professionals. If Takigakure wanted to develop beyond the major ninja villages, it had to rely on such technology. Setting everything else aside, the jet engine Seimei had developed on his own was enough to prove his worth.
As long as Sage Chakra remained in his body, Seimei would not awaken. Ruri was relieved, so he draped the three-piece black-clad outfit he had repurchased from Takumigakure over him and dragged him toward the next town.
After arriving in town, Ruri bought a carriage and stuffed Seimei inside. He then used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as a coachman. Shizuka and Mitsunosuke still did not know his true identity. No one would have guessed that the First Takikage had personally come to the Land of Artisans and even beaten Takumigakure's former leader half to death.
They traveled at an unhurried pace, stopping and starting along the way, and encountered quite a few interesting things.
"I heard Konoha's ninja attacked Takumigakure?"
"That's right. Those ninja from great nations only know how to bully us. We have it hard..."
"They say the one who came was the First Hokage's younger brother, Senju Tobirama..."
"Shh... Don't talk carelessly. That ninja lord directly killed Takumigakure's former leader. His methods were exceedingly bloody, and he was so powerful that he split the lake in two..."
"I heard there were four dried corpses beside the lake. Could he know some evil technique...?"
"Stop talking. Disaster comes from the mouth. We'll probably have to be more careful when doing business in Konoha from now on. The Land of Artisans has never provoked trouble, yet it still suffered something so horrific. Sigh..."
Listening to the passersby's conversation, Ruri could not hold back his laughter. These rumors had spread so quickly not only because Takumigakure was fanning the flames, but also because Fujiwara Shizume had played no small part.
Fujiwara Shizume had not died. After the battle with Seimei, Ruri took the Cursed Blade Muramasa and deliberately let him go. The earliest rumors had come from his mouth. As for any revenge he might seek, that was no longer likely. Shizume had lost a leg, and after witnessing a battle of that level, even his warrior's will had probably collapsed. He could not stir up any trouble. Aside from his exquisite Kenjutsu, he was at most an Elite Chunin.
Speaking of which, Tobirama was truly pitiful. Not only had he lost an arm, but he had also been burdened with such infamy, severely damaging relations between the Land of Artisans and the Land of Fire. Who knew whether he could still successfully become Konoha's Second Hokage?
The thought made Ruri a little excited. Nothing was more enjoyable than changing the original story. If Tobirama could not become the Second Hokage, then who would? Madara's younger brother? The Uchiha Clan had never produced a Hokage, which was quite a regret. He just did not know whether Madara had any other younger brothers besides Izuna. Hashirama had three younger brothers, so there was no way Madara had only one.
As he traveled, Ruri reached the shore. Although Hashirama could use Wood Style to build bridges across the sea, he could not directly build one from the Land of Fire to the Land of Water. He needed to connect islands along the way as transfer points, just as the bridge from the Land of Water to the Land of Lightning passed through the Land of Hot Water, while the bridge from the Land of Water to the Land of Fire passed through the Land of Artisans.
Perhaps Hashirama lacked talent for naming things, so he simply named this bridge Senju Bridge. The other one was named Senju Bridge No. 2...
Driving the carriage across Senju Bridge, Ruri was in an indescribably good mood. The bridge was extremely sturdy, its pillars solid enough that it would not have any problems for decades. Ninja productivity truly could not be compared with that of ordinary people. Who in the original story would have thought to make Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, build bridges? There were not many people capable of Wood Style!
Ruri leisurely headed toward Takigakure, but a major event had occurred within Konoha.
Uchiha Sendai, the acting head of the Uchiha Clan, arrived at the Hokage Office with Shimura Seigen, head of the Shimura Clan, and Hyuga Tenin, head of the Hyuga Clan.
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