Winning the People's Hearts Starts with Becoming the Village's Hero

Yue and Ryoma weren't seriously fighting the other two.

They fought while retreating, constantly stalling for time and deliberately luring them.

"These guys from the Land of Rain are like this because of their unique environment; they've always been lawless and have a heavy, violent aura..." Yue saw that their retreat position was about right. Dodging an attack from the rogue ninja in front of him, he accelerated and immediately dashed towards the direction of the stronghold.

The ninjas from Grass Village really had no presence.

"Still trying to run?"

The rogue ninja who was harassing him said in exasperation.

He originally thought this brat would be easy to deal with, but he didn't expect to be dodged by him again and again.

This made the rogue ninja lose face a bit.

However, his intention to catch up to Yue also failed.

Because the sudden burst of speed from this brat was too astonishing; he had only followed for a short distance before the figure ahead disappeared.

Soon, Yue returned to the stronghold and reported the attack to those who were staying behind.

This caused the expressions of the team members to change drastically.

Although the task of patrolling the border seemed more dangerous, due to Grass Village's foreign policy, it was actually a relatively leisurely job.

Even if there were some dangers, they were not frequent.

If there was any trouble they couldn't handle, they could also prioritize retreating and leaving it to the village to deal with.

"Rogue ninja?"

Hearing that there were rogue ninjas among the enemies made the few of them realize the seriousness of the problem.

Those ninjas who betrayed the village were all ruthless individuals.

But with things having come to this point, they had no reason not to provide support.

One person went to notify their patrolling partners in other areas, while the other two followed Yue to the scene of the incident.

However, a sudden change occurred.

While on their way, Yue suddenly fired a cold arrow.

He killed a completely unprepared Grass Village ninja... This scene immediately scared the other person stiff.

"You."

This person stared at the youth who had cut his companion in half at the waist, his skin trembling.

He didn't understand why Yue suddenly resorted to killing.

Meeting this person's confused gaze, Yue's expression was blank. He stomped on a tree branch for leverage and instantly lunged forward.

A moment later, after cleanly and swiftly killing the two, Yue held his sword in one hand and looked in a certain direction.

"Judging by the location and route, the fastest to arrive should be those two... Captain Takahashi will be a bit slower."

As he spoke, he headed towards a pre-calculated interception point.

As expected, in less than fifteen minutes.

The other two from the stronghold rushed over, a man and a woman.

The woman was a Medical Ninja.

It was very necessary to have a Medical Ninja in the team for tasks like patrolling the border; it was a form of security.

But unless they were extremely outstanding Medical Ninjas, for ordinary Medical Ninjas, their strength and skill level were still a bit lacking.

"Yue, why are you here?"

Both of them were surprised to see Yue.

The youth was stained with blood, lying under a tree trunk, with a clear cut on his arm.

"The enemy... they attacked, Uncle Sakata and the other two..." Yue said weakly.

The two immediately moved closer, wanting to understand the situation.

Upon hearing that the enemy had penetrated the vicinity of the stronghold, the man and woman exchanged glances. Yue saw a 'clear' intention to retreat in their eyes.

"It seems the situation is tricky. It's best to have someone else go contact the people from another stronghold... and then notify the village." The man said.

"I'll go!"

The woman immediately responded.

"No, your speed is too slow, I'll go... Time is of the essence now." The man retorted righteously.

"Aren't you going to treat me first?"

Yue asked.

"..."

The woman lowered her head to look at him, somewhat absentmindedly.

"Forget it."

Suddenly, Yue's feigned weakness vanished.

While the woman was stunned, a thread of red appeared around her neck.

Yue lowered his long sword, ignoring the blood splattered on his cheek, and shifted his gaze.

He fixed his eyes on the dumbfounded man.

"This way, neither you nor she will have to go..."

Yue said coldly.

"..."

Just like that, less than half an hour later, Yue, familiar with the routes, repeated his actions and killed the other reinforcements who had arrived.

Now, only Captain Takahashi and the messenger remained.

Then, he retraced his steps and found Fuma Ryoma, who was already injured and struggling to hold on.

According to the plan, Fuma Ryoma only needed to stall for time, not fight to the death.

So, even though his opponent was significantly stronger, as long as he could survive until Yue finished his task within the time limit, he would be considered successful.

Yue was actually very worried about him, but seeing that his father's injuries were not severe, he felt relieved.

Without a word, he joined the battle.

He no longer held back, displaying astonishing strength and killing all those who had followed them deep into the Land of Grass.

The ruthlessness of his methods made Fuma Ryoma, who had barely been able to help, unable to hide his excitement.

However, Yue deliberately let one person escape.

"The rest is much easier; Akatsuki was just a catalyst," Yue said, sitting on a corpse and wiping his blade with a strip of cloth torn from it. "In the Land of Rain, the organizational interests of these people were thwarted again. The boss behind them could hardly stand it, and this debt was transferred to Grass Village. Besides, they aren't forces from Rain Village. With so many casualties, even those old dogs would have to give an explanation to the fallen... otherwise, if the news spreads, their prestige within the village will be affected."

"As long as it doesn't involve Rain Village or Hanzo of the Salamander, I believe... they can still put on a show of strength."

"But if Akatsuki is mentioned, then you..."

Ryoma said.

"They trespassed on our territory first, and we acted legally. These people are in the wrong, and with Akatsuki involved, they wouldn't dare to escalate things... because Akatsuki is at the height of its power right now. If they were truly targeted by the Akatsuki Organization, it would be very disadvantageous for them."

"Will these people really come again?"

Ryoma asked again.

"They definitely will... The internal forces of the Land of Rain are a mixed bag, mostly hired and paid for by the people behind them. There are many ambitious individuals. Relying solely on the 'cake' of 'war' can support more people than imaginable."

"In the end, they are all imitating Hanzo of the Salamander back then, but they lack the strength themselves, and their subordinates are ultimately not 'their own people'... If they want to gain respect, they must show something. The Land of Rain is not short of business now. If this matter is just let go like this, then some members of this organization will likely jump ship elsewhere. Moreover, Grass Village has always been weak... just killing people to vent anger, given the times in the Land of Rain and the personalities of those cultivated people, is something they would absolutely do."

"What's more, they aren't afraid of causing trouble at all."

Fortunately, he had stayed in the Land of Rain for quite some time and learned a lot about its national conditions through Akatsuki; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to make such a firm assertion.

"Akatsuki has been around for a while. With their capabilities, it's so difficult to implement peace plans in the Land of Rain... it shows what kind of people those who wreak havoc are."

Yue sheathed his gleaming sword and slowly stood up. "Regardless of the scale, for Grass Village, what lies ahead is a war."

"This matter will definitely be reported back to the village and spark discussions."

"For ordinary people to rise to power without influence or connections, the best way is to rely on 'public support'."

"As long as the 'public support' is significant enough, even those old dogs who want to pretend to turn a blind eye won't be able to completely ignore it."

Watching Yue calmly expound and analyze, Fuma Ryoma suddenly felt a pang, as if he had grown old.

He felt as if Yue was radiating light...

And the person who displayed such astonishing brilliance was his own son.

It was like a dream.