Blood Pool's Qian Hong

Blood Pool's Qian Hong

"Miss, we failed. Your father has also died. The Chinoike Clan must now be led by you."

"Karui, do you know? From the very beginning, I thought it was impossible to succeed. I said so, I tried to persuade him, I even threatened him with my life. But in my father's eyes, my life was worthless—not even as valuable as a rice ball."

"Miss, the enemy is about to break in. We need to leave immediately!"

"Yes, we should leave. It's a pity Father refused to listen. He believed I had no value, so he wanted to sacrifice me alone in exchange for the Chinoike Clan's complete transformation. But... it failed."

"Miss! We need to go!"

Chinoike Qian Hong said calmly, "All right. Let's go."

As she turned around, she cast another genjutsu on the Land of Lightning's daimyo. This time, Qian Hong wanted the daimyo to kill himself.

The genjutsu made the daimyo believe, the moment the enemy broke in, that someone had rebelled. To avoid disgracing his noble bloodline, he would choose to end his life by suicide. That way, he would not be killed by the enemy.

Karui remained indifferent, unconcerned with whether the Land of Lightning's daimyo would die.

To Karui, the world only had color because of the figure walking slowly ahead of her.

Qian Hong stepped outside and lightly clapped her hands. Dozens of figures instantly emerged from the surrounding corners. Every one of them was a Chinoike Clan ninja, their crimson Blood Dragon Eyes open like ghostly deities opening their eyes in the darkness, utterly terrifying.

"Everyone, my father's plan has failed. The Chinoike Clan's ninja will completely disappear from the Ninja World. We must now leave the Land of Lightning and head to a place where we can..."

"You're not going anywhere! Every last one of you must die!"

An elegant, luxurious-looking woman, protected by guard ninja, pushed open the gates of the daimyo's residence. Pointing at Qian Hong above, she shouted angrily, "A mere ninja dares to dream of becoming the Land of Lightning's new daimyo? You disgusting creatures have angered me. All of you will die here!"

Qian Hong said calmly, "Elder Sister, I did not devise the plan. It was my father, who has already been killed. Half of the Chinoike Clan's ninja also died on the battlefield. We have paid more than enough, so, Elder Sister, if possible, could you grant us a way to live?"

The Shinteng Family daughter who had married the Land of Lightning's daimyo as his principal wife said, "Wishful thinking! You cannot leave. The outside is already filled with ninja hired by me. The Chinoike ninja fighting to the death at the capital gates will also be eliminated by the Uchiha hired by my younger brother. Your Chinoike Clan is doomed!"

"Then there's no other way. We can only fight with our lives. Everyone, you heard her."

"Yes, Lady Qian Hong!"

Qian Hong's expression remained calm, as though she did not care whether she lived or died.

Karui said, "Miss, we can leave through the secret passage. There's still a chance."

Qian Hong shook her head. "You don't understand. This is no longer about whether I can leave. It is about whether the Chinoike Clan can survive. I can only hope that my elder sister will show some mercy and grant us a way to live."

More than thirty Chinoike ninja began slaughtering one another with the ninja brought by the Land of Lightning daimyo's principal wife, as all manner of ninjutsu burst forth in dazzling splendor.

"Lightning Release! Lightning Light Cannon!"

"Lightning Release! Lightning Light Pillar!"

"Earth Release! Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Water Release! Water Iron Cannon!"

Most ninja in the Land of Lightning specialized in Lightning Release and taijutsu. The occasional exception used either Earth Release or Water Release.

If there had been Uchiha ninja here, Fire Release could have been seen as well. Unfortunately, there were none.

This was a massacre, a revenge, and a moment for the Land of Lightning's nobles to display their power.

Qian Hong understood very clearly that even if she managed to leave alive, the Chinoike Clan would still be exterminated. From then on, there would not be a single Chinoike Clan ninja left in the Ninja World.

But if she did not leave, then perhaps, for the sake of their former relationship, she might receive a shred of pity and gain a chance for the Chinoike Clan's ninja to survive.

Of course, it was only a possibility.

But even one possibility was already the best outcome for Qian Hong.

Was there any meaning in abandoning her clan and escaping alone? No.

During the Warring States Era, ninja lived by clans. They lived for their clans; without a clan, there was no future.

Perhaps she truly had softened, or perhaps she simply did not want to see too many corpses lying in the Land of Lightning daimyo's residence. The daimyo's principal wife frowned and said, "Stop fighting. Capture all surviving Chinoike ninja and lock them up for now."

"Yes, my lady!"

"Elder Sister, thank you for your mercy and kindness."

"Thank me? Hmph. If your Chinoike Clan's ambitions had not been so great, you would not have ended up like this, nor would so many Chinoike ninja have died."

"But I tried to persuade him. It was simply that my father believed this was the only opportunity for the Chinoike Clan to have a future. So when I heard that he had died, I was happy."

After a moment of silence, the Land of Lightning daimyo's principal wife said, "Enough. Go wait in prison. Once this is over, I will consider how to deal with your Chinoike Clan."

Qian Hong nodded. "All right."

She neither resisted nor showed any reluctance. Following behind the cold-faced ninja, she willingly went to the prison built by the Land of Lightning, awaiting the Land of Lightning's upper nobles' decision regarding the Chinoike Clan.

However, the moment the Land of Lightning daimyo's principal wife entered the daimyo's residence and saw the daimyo, her face filled with shock. She could not believe that a daimyo so afraid of death had slashed open his own abdomen with a blade and committed suicide.

An experienced ninja saw the problem at once and whispered, "My lady, this was genjutsu. Lord Daimyo was controlled by genjutsu and died at the enemy's hands!"

Even though she was not a ninja, the Land of Lightning daimyo's principal wife knew what genjutsu was. Much of her fury instantly subsided, only to surge back even more violently. She roared, "Damn it! That woman—I want her dead! Immediately, at once! Go kill her now!"

With the Land of Lightning's daimyo dead, the question became who would become the next daimyo. Could they possibly wait for the child in Chinoike Qian Hong's womb to be born and become the Land of Lightning's new daimyo?

No!

A thought flashed through the Land of Lightning daimyo's principal wife's mind. She absolutely could not give Chinoike Qian Hong a chance. Now that the daimyo was dead and the Land of Lightning needed a new daimyo, why not make someone from her own family the daimyo?

Shinteng Zoi!

The Land of Lightning daimyo's principal wife immediately thought of her younger brother, and a plan gradually formed in her heart. If the Shinteng Family could produce a daimyo, then the Land of Lightning would forever be the Shinteng Family's plaything. From then on, they could rise to become the highest-ranking nobles and wield even greater power.