Izuna brought Setsuna and the Old Clan Leader together in the Hagoromo Conference Room. A Hand-Drawn War Zone Map lay spread across the low table before them.
Setsuna studied the neighbors marked around the Hagoromo territory on the map.
The Fuma Clan and the Blood Horse Clan-two mid-sized shinobi clans whose territories lay to the west and north of the Hagoromo, interlocking with the Senju sphere of influence.
Setsuna rubbed his chin, his eyes half narrowed in thought. I can admit I can't match Tobirama Senju in a battle of wits. All those endless tricks, those schemes that look ten moves ahead-I'm not playing that game with him.
He raised his head and suggested, "But we can use an open conspiracy."
Izuna snorted. "You were just talking about taking Tobirama Senju's head. Where did all that bravado go?"
"Being cocky and throwing my life away are two different things." Setsuna rolled his eyes and moved his finger toward the Fuma and Blood Horse markings on the map.
"We can absolutely stir up the Fuma and Blood Horse against the Senju. They aren't exactly friendly neighbors to begin with. They just can't beat the Senju head-on. But what if we stirred things up between them?"
Izuna's eyes narrowed slightly.
"We use a grain wagon. Let the Fuma or Blood Horse seize it right in front of a Senju Clan squad, then have our people retreat immediately."
Setsuna traced a circle on the table with his finger.
"Not every member of those squads is as levelheaded as Tobirama Senju. We're talking about a whole wagon of grain. Taking on the Fuma or Blood Horse wouldn't be hard for a squad. They could get a wagon of grain and earn battle honors-they wouldn't even need to consider reporting to their superiors. Seizing it would be a gain, and bringing it back to the clan would be a major achievement."
The Old Clan Leader frowned and was about to speak, but Setsuna had already turned to him.
"What the Hagoromo lack right now isn't grain. It's people who can fight the Senju. Whether we trap them into it or trick them into it, they still count."
"Besides...!" Setsuna's gaze turned cold. "If the Fuma and Blood Horse get caught up in turmoil themselves, they won't keep watching the Hagoromo like venomous snakes, waiting to strike the moment we weaken."
Izuna folded his arms. "If the Senju kill members of the Fuma and Blood Horse, especially anyone important, they'll make enemies of them."
"Exactly. The Senju will have to fight on multiple fronts, and that will wear them down," Setsuna picked up where he left off.
"With Tobirama Senju's brains, he'll definitely see that it's a scheme. But he won't be able to stop it. He can't stop the people under him from craving grain."
The Old Clan Leader fell silent for a moment, then asked the most crucial question. "How can you guarantee the Fuma and Blood Horse will seize the grain?"
Setsuna proudly laid out his reasoning. "Even the Uchiha are eating grain mixed with sand. Those small shinobi clans whose lands can't even grow grain must have it worse."
"Do you think the Senju aren't short on grain?"
The room went quiet for a moment.
Setsuna continued, "The only rice balls I've eaten without sand in them were here at the Hagoromo settlement. If the Senju weren't short on grain, why would they keep targeting the Hagoromo at a time like this, waiting for them to surrender?"
The Old Clan Leader's expression changed.
Setsuna pressed on. "Besides, this is only the first step. Once they're in turmoil, we can fish in troubled waters and lure the Senju's key fighters to their deaths."
Setsuna looked at Izuna with a meaningful smile. "That's your specialty. Otherwise, you wouldn't be the one sent here."
Izuna stared at him for a long moment. "Where did you learn this kind of scheming?"
Setsuna said, "Tobirama Senju taught me."
That was exactly how Tobirama Senju had driven a wedge between the Uchiha and Konoha's villagers.
He had pushed the Uchiha to Konoha's outskirts, then established the police force and let the Uchiha govern themselves. Most police work involved maintaining order and issuing fines. Thirty percent of the fines went to Konoha, while the police force kept seventy percent. That made everyone believe the police only wanted to squeeze extra income out of them, stirring up a fundamental conflict between the villagers and the Uchiha.
Since that tactic of setting one enemy against another and sowing division was so ruthless, he, Uchiha Setsuna, would now give Tobirama a taste of his own medicine-using the same methods to make the Senju experience fighting enemies on multiple fronts, their hands tied by an open conspiracy.
Izuna snorted. "You certainly picked up some of that second Senju brother's cunning."
He pointed at a narrow path on the map. "Through here, there's an abandoned trade route. Dense forest on both sides makes it ideal for an ambush. If the grain wagon passes through here, the Fuma and Blood Horse patrols will both see it, and so will the Senju scouts."
"I'll arrange for people to spread the word. We'll say the Uchiha are supporting the Hagoromo, and the Hagoromo are giving them grain in gratitude. The wagon will pass through here."
The Old Clan Leader studied the map in silence for a long time, then said slowly, "The Hagoromo will cooperate. Our people will drive the wagon and withdraw the moment they encounter anyone."
Just as the plan was settled, a sentry rushed into the room:
"Clan Leader! We've spotted members of the Fuma Clan on the cliffs to the southwest!"
Izuna's hand was already on his sword hilt the instant the words fell. "How many?"
"At least twenty, fully equipped. Their objective is unclear, but-but they've already reached a position overlooking the clan territory."
Everyone in the room understood what those words implied.
Twenty people, fully equipped, holding the high ground.
That was an elite squad capable of launching a surprise attack.
And the fact that they had reached that position meant the Fuma already knew the exact location of the Hagoromo Clan Territory.
In other words, the Sixth Settlement behind the clan territory had been breached!
But the Hagoromo Clan was locked in battle with the Senju Clan. It would be difficult to muster another elite squad to defend against the Fuma Clan's stab in the back.
The Old Clan Leader rose from the low table and commanded sharply:
"Gather the Council of Elders and activate the Clan Territory Genjutsu Barrier. All women and elderly members are to carry the wounded and withdraw to the Second Settlement. Move now."
The sentry froze for a moment. "But the front line-"
"Tell the front line there's no need to return," the Old Clan Leader interrupted. "Coming back would play right into the enemy's hands. They are to hold their positions at all costs. Not one step back."
He raised his head, a cold, hard light gleaming in his eyes.
"If the Fuma dare attack our territory, we old men will lure them to their deaths right here."
The Old Clan Leader spoke even faster.
"Also inform the front line that, starting today, the clan territory can no longer provide logistical support. The First Settlement will take over as the command center. Hagoromo Shogatsu will serve as acting clan leader, with full authority over operations at the front."
The sentry's brows drew tightly together. "Clan Leader, Lord Shogatsu... he hasn't awakened the Heavenly Eye yet."
The Old Clan Leader cut him off. "But that doesn't change the fact that Shogatsu is the strongest and most far-sighted of our younger members."
"The Third Settlement and Fourth Settlement will continue supplying the front line. The Fifth Settlement will work with the Uchiha to carry out the Division Plan."
He paused and turned to Izuna.
"Izuna, can I trust you?"
Izuna nodded.
"Good." The Old Clan Leader looked away. "I'm entrusting the Hagoromo Clan's fate to you."
Then Setsuna saw the tattoo on the Old Clan Leader's forehead twist.
The Hagoromo Clan Crest Pattern seemed to come alive. Its lines writhed and spun, then a red eye opened at the very center of the tattoo.
Fuck, Setsuna thought, startled.
What kind of kekkei genkai was this so-called Heavenly Eye?
He had always thought the crest on the Hagoromo Clan's foreheads was merely a tattoo, a symbol like the fan on the Uchiha's backs or the Senju Clan's diamond mark-a totem the shinobi clans of the Warring States era used to distinguish friend from foe.
He had never imagined it was more than a tattoo.
Judging by how the Old Clan Leader used it to activate the territory's barrier, was this ability related to genjutsu? Or was it a Sealing Formation Technique? Surely it couldn't be Space-Time Ninjutsu?
But he had no idea how it actually worked, how much ground it could cover, or how long it could last.
There had been no Hagoromo characters in the game, no skill data whatsoever. The designers had never created any combat system for this clan.
In other words, what he had witnessed today was an ability that wasn't even recorded in the Development Team Database.
"Let's go."
Izuna's voice broke into Setsuna's thoughts.
Someone yanked his collar, and Izuna lifted Setsuna off the ground like a kitten.
His toes barely brushed the floor as his body dangled in midair.
"Let go of me!"
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