"Commander Rich, come look! I brought a bunch of adorable little fellows!"
Rich put down his documents and looked at his flustered subordinate. "Anting, what kind of behavior is all this shouting?"
"No, Commander, look! They're really adorable!" Anting's eyes filled with hearts as she kept rubbing her cheek against a tiny Light Spirit.
"Enough! Woman, I can barely breathe!"
"Anting, put down that Light Spirit! Don't be so rude!" Rich shouted helplessly, his face stern.
"But I just can't resist! So adorable!" With that, Anting puckered her lips and leaned in to kiss the Light Spirit.
"Hey, hey! No! My first kiss!"
Watching his subordinate grow increasingly creepy, Rich finally lost patience and punched Anting on the head.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Commander, that's too much! I just couldn't help myself! Why did you have to hit me?" Anting shouted, clutching her head as stars swam before her eyes.
"How did I ever end up with a chief secretary like you? Can't you learn from your predecessor, Mina, and act a little more mature and composed?"
"What? I've always worked hard! They're just so cute I can't stand it. Come give your big sister a kiss!" Anting, who had looked aggrieved a moment before, immediately turned toward the Light Spirits with shining eyes.
The group of Light Spirits following behind hurriedly dodged the crazed woman and hid behind Rich.
"This woman is terrifying!"
"It feels like she's going to eat us."
"We must never partner with her. Little spirits have to stay safe when they're out in the world."
Looking at the frightened little fellows, Rich's forehead twitched with anger. "Enough, Anting! They're your fallen comrades!"
"Ah! Wh-what's going on?" Anting asked, looking somewhat confused.
"Bishop Ria just called. These Light Spirits are our fallen comrades, granted new life through the mighty power of Holy Light! So show them some respect! They still don't understand anything about their new lives!" Rich said sternly.
"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was far too disrespectful!" Anting bowed repeatedly in apology.
"All right, all right, junior. Just don't go around kissing spirits from now on. It's really rude!" One spirit stepped forward to forgive her.
"Yes, yes, senior, I understand!" Anting flushed with embarrassment. After finishing her work that day, she had been about to join her teammates in searching for civilians when a Holy Light Cleric suddenly arrived with a large group of tiny figures flying overhead. The cleric told her that these were Light Spirits who had yet to find their teammates and asked her to take them to Commander Rich so he could arrange for them to go home.
But the moment she saw those adorable little beings, they captured all her attention. She barely heard anything afterward, only registering that she had to see Commander Rich.
Now I've done it. This is so embarrassing! Anting felt so ashamed she wanted to die of embarrassment.
"Commander, we found an altar underground. Our preliminary assessment suggests it was used for a ritual to summon the Evil God! The ritual was exceptionally cruel, too. We found the remains of numerous children around the altar!"
Rich frowned. "Did you find anything else?"
"Based on our deductions, this may involve the local nobles. Only nobles could carry out human sacrifices on such a massive scale."
"Then investigate! No more courtesy. Arrest every noble still here and interrogate them one by one. I want to know what happened!" Rich said, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Yes, sir!"
"Who are you? What right do you have to take us away?" The Holy Light Clerics kicked down doors and began arresting people in the city's noble estates without wasting words.
Seeing a noble still struggling, a nearby Holy Light Cleric slapped him without a second thought.
The blow left the noble stunned. "You lowborn scum! Just wait! One day, I'll kill you all!" he snarled through gritted teeth.
"Hmph. Take them all away!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Having learned the truth, the Holy Light Clerics no longer showed these nobles any courtesy.
"You're all scum who deserve to die! We've uncovered what you've done. Just wait for your judgment!"
"Daimyo, terrible news! Terrible news! The cultists have arrested all the nobles in the east!" a noble shouted in panic.
"What? Are those cultists really rebelling?" The Daimyo immediately panicked. "Quick! Someone, go to Amegakure and tell Hanzō about this!"
Sitting in the Rain Shadow's office, Hanzō watched the light rain pattering outside. Over the past two years, the reports his subordinates had submitted on the Holy Church's growth had extinguished any desire to oppose it. Now, all he wanted was to run Amegakure properly. He would leave everything else to the young.
"Lord Hanzō, this is a letter from the Daimyo!"
"Oh? What's his problem this time?" Hanzō coldly took the envelope and began reading.
"Oh, this is... Is the Holy Church preparing to seize the east?" Hanzō said calmly. He was not surprised, though he thought it was a little early. He had expected at least another year to pass before the Holy Church made a major move.
"Lord Hanzō, what should we do?" Qingyu asked with his head lowered.
"Do we have any ninja carrying out missions in the east?" Hanzō asked with a slight frown.
"Yes, Lord Hanzō. The three ninja who have become particularly famous in the village lately-Yahiko, Nagato, and their companion!"
"Those three naive brats? Going around preaching mutual understanding and even founding some organization called Akatsuki? I hear they have quite a few supporters." A cold glint flashed in Hanzō's eyes.
"Yes, Lord Hanzō!" Qingyu lowered his head further, for he was one of those supporters.
"Go summon them!" Hanzō said with a wave.
"Yes, sir!" With that, Qingyu went to find Yahiko and his two companions.
"Hakai!"
"Lord Hanzō!" Hakai leaped out of the shadows and dropped to one knee, his head bowed.
"Send people to keep a close eye on everyone in the Akatsuki. The Land of Rain is already divided. I absolutely will not allow Amegakure to end up the same way!"
"Yes, Lord Hanzō."
Watching Hakai disappear, Hanzō looked through the window at the people hurrying to and fro outside. "Not one of these brats knows how to behave!"
Knock, knock!
"Come in!"
"Lord Hanzō, I finally get to meet you!" Yahiko said excitedly.
Looking at the excited Yahiko, Hanzō gave a cold nod. "You went to the east on a mission this time. Do you know why the Holy Church is arresting the local nobles on such a large scale?"
"To be honest, we're not quite sure. We only know that there was something strange about this Rat Plague, and that the Holy Church lost many people during its relief efforts!" Yahiko said, clenching his fists.
"Oh? You've had contact with the Holy Light Clerics?" Hanzō asked, suddenly interested.
"Yes, Lord Hanzō!"
"Then what kind of people do you think they are?" Hanzō asked unhurriedly.
"Them? They're unlike anyone who has ever appeared in the Shinobi World. Their convictions inspire admiration. Sometimes, when I'm with them, I even question whether the ninja way I believe in is right. But they're also extremists. When dealing with people whose ideals clash with theirs, they never deign to communicate through words!"
"It seems you think rather highly of them!" Hanzō said with a faint nod.
"Haha, that's simply what I've seen with my own eyes. When it comes to their convictions and honor, they never care about their own lives. For ordinary people they don't even know, for a single promise, they'll stand by them to the death. Who could see people like that and remain unmoved? But I've always felt they're too harsh toward the nobles. And I will continue to believe that violence cannot solve every problem. Only by establishing peaceful channels of communication without resorting to force can we ultimately achieve peace!" Yahiko said firmly.
Before you continue