Those in Power Were Fools

Three Konoha ninjas had attacked. In the blink of an eye, two were dead, and the last was bound tight as a dumpling in thorny vines.

Lu Zeming made a vine pull off the female ninja's mask. Beneath it was a bright, innocent-looking face, no older than seventeen or eighteen.

"Do you belong to the Anbu or Root?"

The female ninja was stunned. How did this child know Konoha's secrets?

Her years of training told her exactly what to do!

"Ninjutsu: Jade Shattering Scatter Blossom!"

It was a Ninjutsu designed for captured operatives to kill themselves before they could reveal information!

But in front of Lu Zeming, even suicide was beyond her reach.

Lu Zeming struck her abdomen with his palm. Spiritual Power surged in and scattered her Chakra.

The female ninja glared at Lu Zeming with naked hatred.

"Don't think you'll get anything out of me. The Will of Fire will never die!"

"Yes, that fits everything I'd expect from a Konoha ninja! But I don't have time to debate the Will of Fire with you. I just want to know where Shinbu Kosuke is!"

"What do you think happens to enemy ninjas who fall into our hands? We killed him. Angry? Furious? Then kill me if you can. Someone will avenge me!"

"In that case, I'll respect your choice. But before you die, I need to know what I came for!"

The female ninja sneered. "Going to torture me? Go ahead. I'll show you how tough a Konoha ninja is, and how strong our will can be!"

Lu Zeming spread his hands, looking relaxed.

"Torture? You underestimate me. I haven't tried Soul Search yet. You'll make good practice."

Lu Zeming gathered his Divine Sense and drove it into her brain through the crown of her head.

The female ninja screamed. Her whole body convulsed, her eyes rolled white, and she looked as though she were being electrocuted.

Lu Zeming had no intention of going easy on her. His Divine Sense pushed deeper and began reading her memories.

Half an hour later, Lu Zeming withdrew his Divine Sense and rubbed his throbbing temples.

"So she was Anbu. That complicates things."

He looked at the female ninja again. She had been reduced to a mindless shell. A blade flashed, and she became a corpse.

After searching the three ninjas for equipment, Lu Zeming burned their bodies and left the hidden passage.

Fifteen li from Kusagakure stood a small town.

War had left it desolate, though people still lived there. Everyone hurried through the streets and stayed indoors unless they had to go out.

There was a Safe House in the town.

The room was small, with torture implements hanging along both walls. Shinbu Kosuke was tied to a post in the center, his body covered in wounds and blood still seeping from his mouth.

Two Grass Ninja were adding charcoal to a brazier to heat a branding iron until it glowed brighter.

"You Shinbu bastard, still won't talk? Then I'll brand your face next. Such a handsome face, too. Once I ruin it, you'll never dare show it again! Hahaha!"

Shinbu Kosuke spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. "Cut the crap. If I tell you a single word, I'm not your dad!"

"Fine, fine. Keep acting tough. I've changed my mind. I'll brand your little brother instead, so you'll never be a man again!"

One of the Grass Ninja picked up the red-hot iron and moved it toward Shinbu Kosuke's crotch.

This time, Shinbu Kosuke was truly afraid. But he still could not bring himself to betray his friend.

For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to die. But even that was beyond him now.

Just as Kosuke sank into despair, a knock sounded at the door.

The two Grass Ninja instantly went on alert and pressed themselves against the walls.

"Who is it?"

"Hello, your food delivery is here!"

Food delivery? What the hell?

The two ninjas exchanged baffled looks.

At that moment, two Kunai punched through the door. As if they had eyes, they curved gracefully to either side and buried themselves in the ninjas' throats.

The Kunai were too fast and came too suddenly. Neither ninja had imagined they could change direction on their own.

Unable to breathe, the two clutched their throats and slid down against the walls.

The door opened, and a short figure walked into the room.

Shinbu Kosuke squinted for a long while before recognizing Lu Zeming. Then he burst into tears.

"Zeming, it's you! Is it really you? I thought I was going to die. Waaaaah..."

Lu Zeming circled Kosuke twice, taking in the sight before teasing him.

"Well, well. That moved you already? How about you take me as your sworn father?"

Shinbu Kosuke laughed through his tears, then winced as the movement pulled at his wounds.

"Ah... Pah! Who'd take a little brat like you as a sworn father? Hurry up and untie me."

Lu Zeming stopped joking. He freed Kosuke, then sent Spiritual Power into his body to help heal his wounds.

Once his injuries hurt less, Shinbu Kosuke grew talkative.

After receiving orders to meet Lu Zeming, Shinbu Kosuke had reached the designated place the previous night.

But instead of Lu Zeming, the enemy had arrived. Everyone with Kosuke had been killed. As a core member of the Shinbu family, he had some value in the enemy's eyes, which was the only reason he was still alive.

After hearing Kosuke's account, Lu Zeming began to see the picture.

"If the leak didn't come from your end, it came from your family. Someone sold you out before you even left!"

Kosuke showed no surprise. He had thought the same thing.

Something else occurred to Lu Zeming, and he asked, "By the way, when I met the man impersonating you, he mentioned the Grass Flower Faction. What did he mean?"

Kosuke's face filled with bitterness, and all the energy seemed to drain out of him.

"Ever since that night of chaos in Kusagakure, the situation has spun out of control. Neither the Shinbu family nor the Shinomiya family can command the whole village, and things have only gotten worse!"

"In fact, the Land of Grass has split into two factions. One is Grass Fruit, represented by the Shinbu family. The other is Grass Flower, represented by the Shinomiya family."

Lu Zeming immediately seized on the crucial question.

"What about the Daimyo? Which side does he support?"

The Daimyo was the country's ruler by law and the ninjas' biggest source of funding. Whichever side won his support would gain a huge advantage. The conflict would not have reached a stalemate.

A stalemate was the worst thing that could happen in a civil war. It did the most damage to the country and its ordinary people.

If the Daimyo had any sense, he should have been trying to end the fighting as quickly as possible.

But Kosuke's next words destroyed the last shred of goodwill Lu Zeming had toward the ruler.

"I heard the Daimyo accepted gifts from both the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. He intends to remain neutral!"

Lu Zeming could not even decide how to curse him. In the end, he managed, "The people in power are fucking idiots!"

After a long silence, Lu Zeming looked at Shinbu Kosuke again and said with utter seriousness, "This can't go on. They'll destroy the Land of Grass sooner or later. Will you help me end this civil war?"

How could Shinbu Kosuke fail to understand what Lu Zeming meant?

Back at the Chunin Ninja Exams in Kusagakure, he had known Lu Zeming had great ambitions. Even his uncle had said privately that Lu Zeming was young but fiercely ambitious. If he kept growing, he would become either a demon who destroyed the world or a hero who saved it.

Shinbu Kosuke looked torn.

"Zeming, you know I want to say yes. But everything I have came from my family. I can't abandon them when they're in danger. I'm sorry!"

Lu Zeming wanted to tell him that those very families he spoke of were responsible for the Land of Grass's present state!

In the end, Lu Zeming said nothing. After nine years of compulsory education, he knew all too well the harm powerful clans could do to a country.

When a clan's interests aligned with the country's, it could be a formidable force. But when those interests diverged, the clan would not hesitate to sell the country out.

There was no point telling Shinbu Kosuke any of that now. He had made his choice.