Night fell.
In the Inner Court of the General's Residence, inside the master bedroom.
The candlelight on the stand flickered dimly, its brightness akin to the twilight before nightfall. Only the area around the bedding could barely be called well-lit.
And on that brighter patch of bedding, kneeling and waiting for him, was not Kicho, his flower-like beautiful wife, but two lovely young girls only slightly less beautiful than her.
The girl on the left had long black hair tied into charming twin tails with blue ribbons.
The girl on the right wore neat, smooth shoulder-length hair.
These two beautiful girls brimming with youthful charm were Kicho's dowry maids—Hyuga Aoi and Hyuga Rinko.
The two of them knelt tensely and uneasily on the soft, comfortable white bedding.
Rather than their usual kimono-style maid outfits, they wore kimonos with hems cut so short they barely covered their thighs.
Their arms seemed to have no wide sleeves at all—or perhaps the sleeves were as transparent as gauze, clearly revealing their snowy-white, delicate arms.
Other than that, there were only the white tabi socks on the girls' feet.
The difference was that Aoi wore a blue kimono, while Rinko wore a pink one.
They clearly looked so pure and innocent, yet they were wearing kimonos resembling miniskirts...
As they knelt there, both girls' delicate bodies swayed faintly. Innocent as they were, their minds were probably about to burn out from embarrassment.
And the one responsible for this scene... Yayoi tilted his head slightly.
Soft, fragrant arms reached around from behind and gently wrapped around his neck. A sweet, tender voice whispered into his ear with a smile.
"What do you think, dear husband? Aren't Aoi and Rinko adorable like this?"
"Adorable."
Yayoi stroked his chin and gave the answer in his heart with a smile, almost without thinking.
When it came to facing his own desires, he was not the sort of person to hide them.
Whether it was Kicho, Aoi, or Rinko, they were all rare beauties. To say he did not like or appreciate them would have been deeply dishonest.
Upon hearing such an appraisal, the two innocent girls from the branch family did not know whether what welled up inside them was shame or something else.
Both lowered their heads even further.
"Gen... dear husband, please be gentle..."
With their little heads lowered, their voices trembled, unable to conceal the shyness and anticipation within them.
Clearly, they had prepared themselves to become the General's concubines.
Rather, ever since they had entered the General's Residence half a year ago, they had been waiting for this day.
"Go on, dear husband. Show them the spirit you bring to battle and make them wholly yours, body and heart."
Kicho's laughter came from behind him, encouraging him.
Yayoi did not stand on ceremony any longer. His somewhat dry throat bobbed.
He stepped forward, approaching the two shy girls waiting to bloom.
The weather in March was still chilly, but the room was warm.
In the past, Yayoi had felt that he carried a heavy burden on his shoulders.
But now, Yayoi felt that the burden on his broad shoulders was not merely heavy—it was also the future of two girls, along with the grave responsibility of being the General.
Sigh. It was hard work, but who told him to be the General?
I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment last night... but...
Burying her head in the warm, comfortable bedding, after waking up, Aoi felt not only tired and sore but also an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
That satisfaction from the depths of her heart quickly washed away the fatigue in her body.
Unconsciously, she thought again of the wondrous pleasure from last night, as though she had ascended into the heavens, making her heart race wildly.
She did not even know how long it had lasted. In a daze, she had fallen into a sweet sleep.
She could somewhat understand why Kicho was so fond of "singing" every night.
Carefully poking her head out from beneath the covers, Aoi immediately met another pair of pure white eyes carrying a trace of bashfulness.
Rinko beside her had also woken up.
The instant their shy white gazes met, they immediately looked away guiltily.
After all, last night, they had both witnessed the other in a dazed and embarrassing state.
Now, suddenly looking at each other face-to-face was practically like exposing their most shameful moments for the other to see.
Though they had already seen them, it still felt embarrassing.
"Rinko..."
"Mm?"
Rinko's muffled voice sounded from within the warm bedding.
"You're awake?"
Aoi felt she had asked an incredibly foolish question. Had her brain broken?
The moment she said it, she regretted it a little and shifted her gaze away.
"...I'm awake. Are you feeling all right?"
Rinko took the initiative to break the silence.
"Other than being a little tired, I'm fine."
Though she was not a powerful ninja, Aoi believed her physical condition was still quite good.
Not to mention that the Hyuga Clan trained in Taijutsu from a young age. Their foundation was there.
The same went for Rinko. Other than being a little tired, she had no other adverse reaction.
"As expected..."
"What?"
Hearing Aoi mutter to herself, Rinko raised her head slightly.
"The Gen... dear husband's constitution is very strong. When he got up this morning, I saw him in my daze, and he did not look tired at all."
Aoi quietly told Rinko, as though cautiously discussing some secret.
Rinko blushed faintly.
"Why are you talking about that? It's too embarrassing."
"It's fine. We're real adults now, and we'll probably be working together often in the future."
After composing herself, Aoi immediately calmed the chaotic emotions in her heart.
Even her embarrassment faded considerably.
"Adults, and all that..."
"It's the truth. All right, let's get up quickly. It's almost nine."
Aoi climbed out of bed, walked to the side, and picked up a brand-new set of normal clothes to put on.
Rinko got up and dressed afterward as well, but judging from her flushed face, she was probably still embarrassed.
After getting dressed, the two of them tidied up the mess in the room.
Because last night's battle had been rather intense, cleaning up took them more time than usual.
When they emerged from the bedroom, they did not see Kicho in the courtyard. She was most likely at the training ground.
Over the past two or three months, Kicho had long shed the dejection and laziness she had shown when she first arrived. She trained her Byakugan and Gentle Fist almost every day.
Sometimes, after Yayoi finished handling official business—or tossed it to Irori to handle—he would also come to the Inner Court training ground and cultivate alongside Kicho.
By comparison, Aoi and Rinko did not possess any particularly strong desire to become stronger.
Perhaps their life in the General's Residence had been too comfortable, causing them to forget the brutal, survival-of-the-fittest world outside.
Even so, Aoi and Rinko still hoped to contribute something.
They might not be able to help Yayoi and Kicho in terms of strength, but they could make up for it in other ways.
Though their personalities differed, neither of them was the sort of girl who wanted to enjoy the fruits of others' labor. Nor did they like always having nothing to do; it felt like wasting their time.
Deep down, they were still diligent women in line with traditional values, hoping to find something to do.
Early April, Year One of Konoha. (This story would use the Konoha calendar. Every country had its own calendar, but the Konoha calendar was mainly used to make the timeline easier to determine.)
Nightview City, Inner Court of the General's Residence.
Today, Yayoi was not handling official business in the Tenshu Tower as usual.
After getting up in the morning, he left the Inner Court and went to the Outer Court of the General's Residence, apparently to deal with some matters.
It was nearly eleven by the time he returned to the Inner Court. He had several additional items in his hands, along with three stamped sheets of paper.
"Dear husband, what are these?"
A gentle breeze drifted through the corridor outside the bedroom.
April still carried a trace of chill, but the weather was gradually warming.
Yayoi called Kicho, Aoi, and Rinko over. Looking at the three girls' beautiful faces, each with her own charms, his already good mood improved even further.
"These are ninja forehead protectors, as well as your ninja registration documents."
Yayoi handed the three forehead protectors and three documents to their respective owners.
The three girls accepted their own forehead protectors and registration papers, turning them over curiously in their hands as though they found them quite interesting.
Only after Yayoi explained did they understand that forehead protectors were identifying symbols similar to a ninja clan's crest, important marks used to distinguish the ninjas of each country.
Ninja registration documents, meanwhile, were used to record a ninja's information. They also recorded each ninja's rank, and missions would then be assigned according to that ninja's level.
"This system has already been officially implemented in the Hidden Leaf Village. Next, I intend to implement it in the Land of Night as well, so we can manage the country's ninjas and samurai more precisely."
Yayoi took out his own ninja forehead protector.
The cloth band was black, while the steel plate was silver-gray. An abbreviated pattern of a red spider lily had been engraved upon it with exceptional craftsmanship.
Naturally, there were corresponding forehead protectors for samurai as well.
The emblem on a samurai's forehead protector was the same as that on a ninja's, except the band was white.
After all, the Land of Night was a country with both ninjas and samurai. Its forehead protectors needed to be localized to distinguish ninjas from samurai.
There were also samurai ranks corresponding to Jonin, Chunin, and Genin, though compared to ninja ranks, samurai rank classifications were relatively more complicated.
The reason was that in this era, samurai were no longer mainstream. There were already signs that they were gradually being eliminated by ninjas.
The situation was somewhat better in the Land of Night. In many countries of the Ninja World, samurai had become almost legendary figures, gradually vanishing into history and losing their influence to compete on the same stage as ninjas.
"So that means I'm a Jonin?"
Kicho quickly understood what Yayoi meant and noticed the corresponding title of "Jonin" on her ninja registration document.
Then she saw the ninja identification number section: Ninja ID S-000003.
"Does this number mean that I am the third ninja registered in the Land of Night?"
Kicho tilted her head, slightly puzzled.
Based on what the ninja identification number implied, Kicho's understanding was not wrong. The first and second ninjas of the Land of Night were naturally Yayoi, the General, and Irori, someone close to him.
However, although she was the General's wife, she had joined the Land of Night only recently. By comparison, she felt that Kakuzu, one of Yayoi's trusted subordinates, was more qualified to receive the third ninja identification number.
"Then I'm fourth, and Rinko is fifth?"
Aoi also glanced at her ninja identification number. Hers was S-000004, while Rinko's was S-000005.
"Dear husband, even though we all share your bed, there's no need to use privilege in a place like this, right?"
Kicho teased Yayoi.
In terms of who came first, she, Aoi, and Rinko should never have received numbers so close to the top. Since this had actually happened, it was obvious that Yayoi had favored them and pulled some strings in secret.
"Oh, that..." Yayoi paused before continuing, "Numbers beginning with S are for family members centered around me. They were never meant for outsiders. Numbers beginning with other letters are for the ninjas and samurai below us."
"Oh, so that's how it is?"
After Yayoi explained, Kicho finally understood.
At the same time, she understood why Yayoi had made such a distinction. Unlike the leader election system of ninja villages, the Land of Night was a monarchy.
The General was both the leader of the state and the representative of its strongest military force.
As a result, the position of "General" naturally carried strong hierarchical implications and had to be distinguished from others.
As Yayoi's principal wife and concubines, regardless of their strength, Kicho and the other two were naturally the people closest to the General himself in status. They likewise needed to be set apart from everyone else.
Unlike Kicho, who looked relaxed, Aoi and Rinko suddenly felt the pressure on their shoulders grow.
That was right. They were already Yayoi's women, no longer maids here.
In other words, as Yayoi's concubines, they had the responsibility and obligation to develop the Land of Night alongside their husband, Yayoi.
But... could the two of them really do that?
Whether in strength or intellect, neither of them was especially outstanding. Their hearts were full of uncertainty.
"Dear husband, isn't this Chunin rating a little too high for Rinko and me?"
Aoi pointed at the certification document, which listed both her and Rinko as Chunin of the Land of Night.
This was the backbone rank second only to Jonin. Were they really qualified to hold such a position?
"Hehe, it seems Aoi and Rinko, neither of you knows anything at all."
Kicho laughed at that moment.
Aoi and Rinko looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she meant. Had they misunderstood something?
Yayoi shook his head helplessly and stepped forward to pat Rinko's little head. She shyly lowered her head, barely able to see the tips of her shoes.
"Don't belittle yourselves. In terms of ninja ability, there's no problem with Aoi and Rinko serving as Chunin. Rather, most of the ninjas in the Land of Night are actually very weak. Seventy percent of them can only be rated as Genin. The two of you, as long as you get serious, can defeat any one of that seventy percent."
"Huh?"
Upon hearing Yayoi's explanation, Aoi and Rinko's eyes widened in disbelief.
Were the Land of Night's ninjas... really that weak?
As far as they knew, their dear husband was powerful enough to capture Tailed Beasts.
When he was young, he had even destroyed the governments of two countries and built his own nation atop their ruins.
And Sister Irori, who followed their dear husband, could freeze an entire sea in an instant with her Ice Release Ninjutsu.
Such strength might not be enough to intimidate great nations, but to small countries, it was an insurmountable chasm.
"Though ninja villages have begun to appear, the era of ninja clans... has not completely passed. The ninjas under dear husband include some who are very strong and others who are exceptionally weak. That is the flaw of having no systematic teaching methods. After the Chakra Refinement Technique spread, most ninjas in the Land of Night relied on their individual talent to grow."
As Kicho spoke with a smile, she struck directly at the greatest weakness of the Land of Night.
That was right. Although Yayoi had generously shared chakra refinement techniques with those below him, there was ultimately no systematic teaching method, and materials on all kinds of Ninjutsu were severely lacking.
That meant anyone who wanted to become a truly powerful ninja could only rely on talent.
Take Kakuzu, for example. With the same chakra refinement, an ordinary person needed several days or even longer, while he only needed half a day—or even less—to finish. He could also infer many things from a single example and cultivate on his own entirely.
Then there was Kurobei. Though he could not use Ninjutsu, he had honed his swordsmanship to the extreme through powerful chakra control and projection techniques. What he relied on was likewise swordsmanship talent and tangible chakra control far beyond ordinary people.
Even Yayoi was a genius like that.
After all, the wandering ninja who had taken him in was only at the Chunin level. Once he mastered the basic chakra refinement techniques, he could quickly grow stronger with that first pot of gold.
As for those with average talent... it was not that Yayoi did not want them to become stronger. It was simply impossible for now.
Without systematic teaching materials or methods, lacking top-tier instructors, and with various other objective and subjective factors at play, nearly seventy percent of the Land of Night's ninja forces were cannon fodder meant to hold the line.
Chunin were also exceedingly rare. Like Jonin, the Chunin who formed the backbone of the Land of Night were still largely from ninja clans.
"Is... is that so?"
Aoi and Rinko looked at each other. So the two of us were actually this strong?
They could surpass seventy percent of the Land of Night's ninjas?
"That's right. The two of you have awakened the Byakugan, and your Gentle Fist fundamentals are fairly solid. To ordinary Genin, you already possess combat power beyond the standard."
Yayoi sighed with a smile. That was the strength of a Kekkei Genkai.
Whether in terms of upper or lower limits, unless someone was a genius, it was difficult to compare.
The reason Kekkei Genkai were so powerful in the ninja world was that once they formed a certain scale, barring major mistakes, that clan's future was destined to remain prosperous and strong for years on end.
Within the Hyuga Clan, Aoi and Rinko were insignificant cannon fodder meant to hold the line. But after leaving the Hyuga Clan and coming to the Land of Night, with the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, they were honored Chunin!
"So, Aoi, Rinko, the two of you can be a little more confident here."
Yayoi could tell that, more than issues with their abilities, what these two girls needed now was sufficient confidence.
As for ability, as long as it was not wildly inadequate, there would always be a suitable place for it.
But once someone lost confidence, no matter how strong they appeared on the outside, they were just paper tigers that would collapse at a single poke.
"Ah, yes, Husband."
As Aoi and Rinko listened to Yayoi's gentle encouragement, they froze for a moment. Their fair faces heated up, while determination slowly appeared in their eyes.
Before meeting Yayoi, when they had still been in the clan, they had been restrained by rigid clan rules and limited by their talent. Neither their parents nor the other elders in the clan had ever spoken such warm, heartening words to affirm their character and abilities.
They understood a little why Kicho was always so inseparably attached to Yayoi.
"Not just that. In bed, you should also be as confident and uninhibited as I am."
Out of nowhere, Kicho let out a teasing laugh from the side.
"Waaah! Lady Kicho, what are you suddenly saying?! Stop making such filthy jokes all the time!"
Aoi and Rinko immediately flushed crimson and cried out in panic. Then they hurried forward to cover Kicho's mouth, preventing her from saying any more embarrassing, indecent jokes.
Damn it, give them back the dignified and beautiful Lady Kicho from the clan!
Ever since coming to the Land of Night, this young Lady Kicho had completely let herself go.
In the end, Aoi and Rinko even put on stern faces and relentlessly lectured Kicho, their "Clan Head."
Things like, "Girls should manage the household diligently and frugally," "As the general's wife, you should be dignified and elegant," and "Ninjas who indulge in pleasure will fall into depravity; you must learn to grow through hardship"—a whole series of baffling remarks.
The courtyard was instantly filled with cheerful laughter.
(The review took a bit of time...)
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