The Land of Fire's Civil War (3)

"Those despicable, shameless, utterly vile Kirigakure ninja! Just as expected, they have no loyalty whatsoever! You damned bastards who deserve heavenly punishment!"

"Bastards, bastards..." The Daimyo of the Land of Water was so furious that his hair stood on end and his whole body trembled. His eyes were wide as he stared into the distance, as though those ninja who had disappointed him beyond measure stood right before him. He silently cursed, Hmph! If I hadn't anticipated this long ago and known that these Kirigakure ninja were utterly unreliable, why would I have recruited so many capable ninja clans in advance to serve as my personal guards? Otherwise, I'd probably be at the mercy of these mongrels today!

Recalling his wise and decisive move of bringing several ninja clans that had migrated overseas from the Land of Fire years ago under his command and carefully cultivating them into a special elite guard, the Daimyo of the Land of Water finally relaxed a little. He thought to himself, Now that Kirigakure's ninja have privately joined forces with that Aso Clan from the Land of Fire without my orders, they are rebels and have no loyalty to me whatsoever. It seems I must prepare in advance! If the Aso Clan wins, Kirigakure's ninja will at most seize some benefits from the Land of Fire.

But if the Aso Clan loses, and Kirigakure joins forces with them to seize my Land of Water, the consequences would be unthinkable! the Daimyo of the Land of Water thought anxiously.

The Aso Clan was not only related by marriage to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, but also shared blood ties with him.

That was the norm throughout the Ninja World. Marriages between the foremost daimyo families were commonplace. Ordinary ninja and minor nobles struggled