The Folly of Those in Power

Of the three Konoha ninja, two were dead in the blink of an eye. Thorny vines had bound the last one hand and foot.

Lu Zeming used the vines to pull off the female ninja's mask. Beneath it was a bright, fresh-faced beauty who looked no older than seventeen or eighteen.

"Are you with the Anbu or the Root?"

The female ninja was shocked. She had no idea how the child before her knew Konoha's secrets.

But her long training had taught her what to do now.

"Ninjutsu: Jade Shattering Scatter Blossom!"

It was a Ninjutsu meant for captives to kill themselves before they could divulge intelligence.

Unfortunately for her, even suicide was a luxury she could not afford in front of Lu Zeming.

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

The female ninja glared viciously at Lu Zeming.

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

"Mm, that fits my impression of Konoha ninja perfectly! But I don't have time to debate the nature of the Will of Fire with you. I just want to know where Shinbu Kosuke is!"

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

"If that's your choice, I'll respect it. But before you die, I need to know what I came for."

The female ninja gave a scornful smile. "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're underestimating me. I haven't tried Soul Search before. You'll make good practice today."

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

The female ninja screamed. Then her whole body trembled and her eyes rolled back. She looked as if she were being electrocuted, and the pain was plain to see.

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

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

"So it's the Anbu. That makes things troublesome."

The female ninja had been reduced to an empty-headed wreck. A blade flashed, and she became a corpse.

After gathering the three ninja's equipment and burning their bodies, Lu Zeming left the hidden passage.

A small town stood fifteen li from Kusagakure.

War had left it somewhat desolate, but people still lived there. Everyone hurried about, though, and few went outside unless they had to.

There was a Safe House in the town.

The room was small, with torture implements covering the walls on both sides. Shinbu Kosuke was tied to a wooden post in the middle. His body was covered in wounds, and blood was still seeping from his mouth.

Two Grass Ninja were adding charcoal to a brazier, heating an iron until it glowed brighter red.

"You Shinbu bastard, still won't talk? I'll burn your face next. Tsk, tsk, such a handsome little face. Once it's scorched, you won't dare show it to anyone! Hahaha!"

Shinbu Kosuke spat out a mouthful of bloody foam and said weakly, "Cut the crap. If I say a word, I'm not your father!"

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

With that, one Grass Ninja picked up the red-hot iron and moved it toward Shinbu Kosuke's crotch.

Shinbu Kosuke was truly afraid now, but he still could not bring himself to betray his friend.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to die. But he could not even do that.

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 takeout is here!"

Takeout? What the hell?

The two ninja looked at each other, equally bewildered.

Just then, two Kunai pierced the door. As if they had eyes, they curved gracefully to either side and buried themselves in the ninja's necks.

The Kunai came too fast and too suddenly. Neither ninja had imagined that Kunai could turn on their own.

Choking, they clutched their necks and slumped against the walls.

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

Shinbu Kosuke squinted for a long moment before recognizing Lu Zeming. Then he could not help bursting into tears.

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

Lu Zeming circled Kosuke twice, taking in the sight as he teased him.

"Tsk, tsk. Moved already? How about you take me as your sworn father?"

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

"Hiss... Pah! Why would I take a little brat like you as my sworn father? Hurry up and untie me."

Lu Zeming stopped joking. He took Kosuke down, then poured Spiritual Power into his body to help heal his wounds.

Once the pain eased, Shinbu Kosuke became much more talkative.

It turned out that after receiving the order to meet Lu Zeming, Shinbu Kosuke had reached the rendezvous point the previous night.

But instead of Lu Zeming, the enemy had arrived. Everyone accompanying Kosuke had been killed. As a core member of the Shinbu family, he had some value in the enemy's eyes, and that was the only reason he had survived until now.

After hearing Kosuke's account, Lu Zeming had an idea of what had happened.

"If the problem wasn't on your end, it was in your family. Someone may have sold you out before you even left!"

Kosuke showed no surprise. He had been thinking the same thing.

Something occurred to Lu Zeming, and he asked, "Right, when I met the man impersonating you, he said something about the Grass Flower Faction. What did he mean?"

Kosuke's face turned bitter, and the last of his energy seemed to drain away.

"Ever since the night Kusagakure fell into chaos, the situation has been out of control. Neither the Shinbu family nor the Shinomiya family could keep a grip on everything, and it's only gotten worse!"

"In fact, the Land of Grass has split into two factions. There's the Grass Fruit Faction, led by the Shinbu family, and the Grass Flower Faction, led 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 in law and the ninja's greatest source of funding. If either side won his support, it would gain a huge advantage, and the conflict would not have reached a stalemate.

A stalemate was the worst thing that could happen in a civil war. It inflicted the greatest damage on a country's strength and its ordinary people.

If the Daimyo had any sense, he would be trying to end the turmoil as soon as possible.

But Kosuke's next words wiped out what little regard Lu Zeming had left for those in power.

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

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

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

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

Back during the Chunin Ninja Exams in Kusagakure, he had known Lu Zeming had Ambition to Soar. Even his uncle had said in private that Lu Zeming was young but fiercely ambitious. If allowed to grow, he would become either a demon who destroyed the world or a hero who saved it.

Conflict showed on Shinbu Kosuke's face.

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

Lu Zeming wanted to say that those very families Kosuke spoke of were the reason the Land of Grass had come to this.

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

When their interests aligned with the country's, those families could indeed be a force to be reckoned with. But when their interests diverged, they would sell out the country without hesitation.

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