"Just obey my orders?" Uchiha Tenshu shook his head. "You're already a trusted shinobi raised by Elder Raimon, and you're loyal to Lingyue. I'm Elder Raimon's successor and the fiancé chosen for Lingyue, so obeying my orders is only right. That can't be the wager. We need to bet on something else!"
"What do you want, then?" Uchiha Sakurako asked, puzzled. She couldn't think of anything else she had to offer.
Could it be...
Whatever she thought of, Uchiha Sakurako's expression changed in an instant. Her face flushed, and her eyes wavered.
"What on earth are you thinking?" Uchiha Tenshu's mind went blank. Was this big-breasted woman always thinking about things like that because all her nutrition had gone to her chest?
Though it really was quite large.
And she was beautiful, too.
But this time, he was genuinely discussing serious matters, not thinking about anything improper.
Well! She was Lingyue's shinobi, after all.
There was no chance she could get away from him in the future.
So there was no need to rush.
Thinking this, Uchiha Tenshu continued, "Don't worry. The wager is that if these things really happen, you'll trust me wholeheartedly. A lot of what I do may be hard for you to understand, but I hope you'll follow my arrangements and trust me completely!"
"After all, I have a broader perspective than most. You may not understand the purpose behind what I do, but you must support me wholeheartedly."
"So what I need is your complete trust!"
"Fine! Th-then it's settled!" Uchiha Sakurako hurriedly replied, as though she were trying to hide something.
After that,
the two ended their conversation inside the Genjutsu.
Half an hour later,
a black speck appeared at the edge of their vision. That was their destination for the day:
the Otomo Clan's territory.
Harvest City.
Harvest City was the largest and finest town on the vast plain in the far northwest of the Land of Fire. Every year, nearby farmers came here to celebrate the harvest, while people from all over the region visited for festivals and to pay their grain taxes. It was a well-known grain hub.
As a result, a great many people passed through the city. With peace returning to the Land of Fire in recent years, that traffic had increased many times over. Trade was brisk, and the city was home to countless hotels, inns, casinos, and moneylenders. The Otomo Clan had its hands on all these lucrative businesses, growing ever more powerful until it even had shinobi under its command.
"Especially after the grain storage techniques developed by Hashirama Senju of Konoha spread here, the Otomo Clan learned them and apparently made quite a few improvements. They can store grain for at least twenty years now! Even grain merchants from farther away bring their goods here to sell. The Otomo Clan buys it all up without limit, supposedly to use as raw material for brewing alcohol. It's all confidential, though. I only happened to learn about it when I was tallying grain for the Otomo Clan before!"
Outside the city gates,
Nakayama Hiroshi and Uchiha Tenshu, both disguised as men of noble birth, spoke in low voices.
At Nakayama Hiroshi's words, Uchiha Tenshu's eyes took on a peculiar look. He glanced at Nakayama Hiroshi and used Genjutsu to speak to him in secret. Is the Senju Clan really shameless enough to take your work and spread it around?
"Don't worry. Stick with me, and you'll see the Senju faction in Konoha pull off even more outrageous stunts!"
Uchiha Tenshu gave him a knowing look, then surveyed the surroundings, scrutinizing the Otomo Clan's city.
In Uchiha Tenshu's eyes, this was one of the finest cities in the Land of Fire. At least, none of the cities along the way from Konoha had compared to it.
"Looks like the Otomo Clan here may be rotten, robbing merchants from outside the region, but they're not stupid. They've made their territory thrive. It's full of life," Uchiha Tenshu remarked. Just from the crowds and the occasional smiles on the faces of ordinary folk, it was clear that the people here weren't on the verge of starvation.
Uchiha Tenshu began questioning random people along the road outside the city.
His Transformation Technique made it easy.
He took on different identities and questioned people from different walks of life. When wealthy merchants and nobles questioned commoners, the latter answered honestly, not daring to lie.
After doing this for a while,
Uchiha Tenshu had finally gained a clear understanding of the city and the surrounding area.
In Nakayama Hiroshi's eyes, the Otomo Clan was thoroughly evil, rotten to the core. They took advantage of people in need, bullied the weak, and reveled in burning, killing, and looting. They were demons without a shred of humanity.
Yet, unexpectedly, things were different in the territory under the Otomo Clan's rule. They were still far from benevolent, but they had their own "rules" and maintained order.
For ordinary farmers, the Otomo Clan's taxes were one-tenth lower than those of other lords: they paid only half their harvest in grain taxes, with no extra levies. Of course, that was mainly because farmers had no way to pay any other taxes besides the grain they grew.
The Otomo Clan also managed the city quite well. They kept commerce running smoothly, and businesses of all kinds were able to develop and operate in an orderly fashion.
In particular, the Otomo Clan didn't rob merchants who were on their way to the city. They only targeted travelers passing through. And the goods in the shops the Otomo Clan operated were renowned for being both high-quality and affordable.
Hearing all this only deepened Uchiha Tenshu's murderous intent. The Otomo Clan managed its territory so well, but he had already made enemies of them behind the scenes. He would have to strike first, wipe them out, and eradicate their roots.
Besides, one man's hero was another man's enemy.
One man's honey was another man's poison.
No matter how well the other side behaved,
they still had to know who was friend and who was foe.
So what if the Otomo Clan treated the people here well?
Could they send refugees to help him build his future power base?
Of course not.
Their actions only gave the people of this land a slim chance to survive, keeping commoners confined here. That made them a major obstacle to his advancement!
So what if the Otomo Clan managed the merchants so well?
Could they provide him with supplies to trade?
No, they couldn't!
They robbed merchants passing through on a large scale, severely obstructing trade between the small countries and the Land of Fire. And he intended to leave the Land of Fire. Most likely, he would have to make his home in one of the small countries to the west.
What's more, all these actions of theirs had unintentionally blocked his path.
So no matter how he looked at it,
the Otomo Clan had to disappear.
In contrast, killing them and seizing all their wealth, money, beauties, and the like
would not only help him amass a fortune from scratch once more,
but also win the loyalty of a talent like Nakayama Hiroshi and bring him fully under his command.
That was what he needed to do.
As time passed, dusk fell.
After entering the city, Nakayama Hiroshi led them to the edge of Harvest City's outer district, where they found an ordinary inn.
The area was bustling with people, but their target was the Otomo Clan in the inner district. The outer district offered more cover.
They left Nakayama Hiroshi behind.
Uchiha Tenshu and Uchiha Sakurako began their operation. Taking advantage of the night, they carefully avoided the crowds and made their way toward the inner district. Its defenses were clearly tighter than those of the outer district. Armed guards patrolled the streets, their murderous expressions marking them as elite fighters.
But to shinobi,
ordinary warriors were on a completely different level. There was no way they could detect the pair's movements.
Still, Uchiha Tenshu signaled for her to stay hidden.
He studied the guards' patrol patterns. There were clearly shinobi acting as hidden sentries. Given that the Otomo Clan had dozens of shinobi, there was no way they wouldn't have set up defenses at their own home.
Before you continue