Yamakawa Castle - Daimyofu Council Hall
The leaders of ten organizations and families sat around the map, with fully armed guards on the outermost layer. The number of guards had quietly increased from ten to twenty, making the council hall somewhat crowded.
Seeing that all the factions had been marked, Ishidate Yasuki nodded. "Alright, then I'll share my thoughts."
Everyone was anticipating what Ishidate Yasuki was going to say and didn't notice the increased number of guards, but Kyōai did.
Meanwhile, Kyōai finally discovered something unusual about Ishidate Yasuki.
In my perception, Ishidate Yasuki was indeed an ordinary person, but I couldn't sense his Chakra, nor even his heartbeat. "He's dead."
Choji and Kankuro were shocked. "What?"
Ishidate Yasuki's expression suddenly changed as he stared at Kyōai, his voice becoming hoarse. "Oh? Kyōai- kun, you finally figured it out, but you're a little too late."
The leaders were shocked and immediately stood up, drawing their weapons. "Who goes there!"
They naturally knew the daimyo of the Land of Rivers, and their relationship was very close before the arrival of the Nuclear Ninja Village. Although the person in front of them was the real person, the voice was definitely not the same.
Ishidate Yasuki slowly stood up. "Don't rush, I haven't announced my decision yet. My decision is that from now on, all forces in the Land of Rivers will be under my control."
The surrounding guards also assumed fighting stances, but did not make a move. Even the four high-ranking officials stood up, standing in strange postures.
"My head is spinning... What's wrong?"
However, at this moment, all the leaders suddenly felt paralyzed and knelt down again.
Ishidate Yasuki chuckled, "Leaders, this map contains my specially made paralyzing poison, so don't touch it."
Having said that, he waved his right hand, and the armor of all the surrounding warriors shattered, revealing their true forms.
They were beastmen after their Beast Seal Transformation, and this time the Beast Seal Transformation was more refined, with almost all of them looking the same. Their bodies were black, covered with Chuanshan scales, and had sharp claws that emitted a cold light on their hands and feet. They also had two fangs in their mouths, making them look extremely ugly.
With lightning speed, he flashed and, before anyone could react, subdued everyone except for Crow Kuroha.
Only then did Crow Kuroha stand up and walk to Ishidate Yasuki's side. "Lord Mizuki."
Suddenly, Ishidate Yasuki's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground. From where he had been standing, a figure wearing a large black cloak slowly rose from the ground—it was Suigetsu.
It turns out that Ishidate Yasuki was controlled by Mizuki, and all the guards were beastmen who had Beast Seal Transformation. Kyōai had never fought against beastmen before, so she didn't realize it at first.
Akatetsu Hoshi roared, " Kuroha Clan Chief! What's going on here!"
Crow Kuroha laughed, "From this moment on, your fate is sealed. From now on, the Land of Rivers will be my domain!"
"You're dreaming! Mysterious Peacock Method: Beast!"
Akashi Tessho was originally a Jonin of Hoshigakure, and was very strong. He was a ninja of the same era as Akashi. He defected because he was dissatisfied with the policies of Hoshigakure and came to the Land of Rivers. With his versatile Peacock Technique, he carved out a place for himself. Even when his whole body was paralyzed, he could still use the Peacock Technique to attack.
A purple Chakra beast suddenly appeared, but its target wasn't the Crow Kuroha beside it, but Mizuki in front of it.
Mizuki remained calm and watched the Chakra beast rushing towards him at breakneck speed. Suddenly, his figure blurred into afterimages and vanished from the spot.
"Boom!"
The Chakra beast shattered the tatami mat beneath its feet, sending debris flying everywhere.
Seeing that his attack had missed, Akatetsu Hoshi hurriedly searched for Mizuki's figure, but suddenly felt a chill in his back as a snow-white bone spur with bright red flesh protruded from his chest.
Mizuki stood behind him, the bone spurs extending from his hand. "Heh, I've long heard of the power of the Mysterious Peacock Method. It is indeed an excellent technique, but it's a pity."
"Puha!"
Akatetsu Hoshi coughed up a mouthful of blood. The stab had shattered his heart. He fell to the ground, lifeless.
Seeing this, the crowd immediately begged for mercy, "Lord Mizuki! Whatever you want, I'll give you! Please don't kill us!"
Mizuki retracted the bone spur, licking the blood off it. "The blood of the strong tastes best. As for you, you're the ones I want. You are the best experimental subjects."
Having said that, more than twenty small red snakes flew out from Mizuki's sleeves and, in the blink of an eye, flew towards everyone around them and rushed into his mouth.
A flash of light appeared before Kyōai's eyes; the katana was already drawn, and the flying red snake was sliced in two.
"One shot!"
Kankuro quickly summoned the Black Ant and pulled Choji into his belly to protect him before the red snake could reach him. However, he was unable to dodge in time and was swallowed by the snake.
Crow Kuroha sneered, "Oh? When did the Sand Ninja become so humane?"
Everyone who was swallowed by the small snake began to tremble violently a few seconds later, as if they were enduring immense pain. At the same time, they underwent a visible transformation, most notably with red hair growing on their heads, and they were about to evolve into red-haired beastmen.
Kyōai never expected Mizuki to be so insane. "You bastard! What do you think human lives are!"
Mizuki's eyes gleamed with madness. "Heh, great achievements always require sacrifices. Ten thousand test subjects were used to cultivate thirty little red snakes. They should feel honored to become my first batch of powerful subordinates."
Under Zetsu's influence, Mizuki had already lost his mind and displayed a mentality even more insane than Orochimaru. In order to complete his research on Beast Seal Transformation, after leaving Purple Gold Mountain, he went directly to Yamakawa Castle, assassinated the daimyo Ishidate Yasuki, and controlled his corpse to issue orders. All the residents of the castle became his test subjects.
He then allied with Crow Kuroha, turning everyone under his command into beastmen, and promised to leave the Land of Rivers Land of Rivers hand it over to him once he had enough beastmen.
Looking at the struggling leader and guards around him, Crow Kuroha pointed at Kyōai: "I'll take care of that guy!"
Kyōai grew increasingly enraged, pressing her left hand to her chest. "You bastard, what do you think human life is! I will represent the Land of Rivers and destroy you!"
Mizuki chuckled, "A friend of mine told me that the Nuclear Ninja Village is much stronger than I imagined. I'd like to see just how powerful it is. I wonder what kind of expressions those three will have when they see you under my control."
Crow Kuroha pushed off with his feet and charged towards Kyōai, slashing horizontally with his broadsword to snatch her head.
Kyōai didn't intend to delay any longer. After analyzing the red-haired beastmen, Kendon realized that this type of beastman had extremely tenacious vitality. The best opportunity to kill them was during their metamorphosis; otherwise, they would be very difficult to deal with. " Kankuro! Take Choji and leave! Send the signal!"
Kankuro flicked his Chakra Threads and charged towards the council hall entrance with Black Ant Choji carrying Choji.
At this moment, the Crow Kuroha had already reached Kyōai, and Kyōai's sword had transformed into the shape of Katen Kyōkotsu.
However, Kyōai didn't take the Crow Kuroha seriously at all. Her sword was instantly enveloped in a black and red Chakra, causing the air to vibrate.
"Bite!"
" Limiter Release! Secret Sword of Nuclear Ninja: Hakoku!"