Chapter 199: The Turmoil of Kyoto

"Sss— as expected of the daimyo's guardian ninja, such terrifying power. Let's go, Lord Hokage has already sent reinforcements; we'll temporarily lie in wait around the area. We can't go to Kyoto—after all, Lord Hokage's order is the capital region, just stay without leaving."

Inside a straw stack in a field outside Kyoto, a snake and a monkey hid there, watching the hundreds of samurai disappear down the road, the ninja, gritting his shoulder in agony, whispered softly.

The capital region does not refer only to Kyoto; it also includes many surrounding areas where towns and villages are everywhere, the economy is prosperous, and the population is dense.

"The daimyo really… we only raided one household, yet he directly sent his guardian ninja and these samurai. Has Kyoto's defense been abandoned? A few thousand samurai, say adjust and it's adjusted!"

Given the daimyo's status and power, countless ninjas at home and abroad are willing to serve him; he is never short of guards and samurai.

Add the nobles' support, and after a single raid they are pursued by hordes of ninjas and samurai; even some wandering ninjas drawn to the gambling arena were caught up.

The two made a snide remark as the samurai army receded, then left the straw stack heading opposite Kyoto. Yet shortly after they left, several ninjas gave chase; the leader, a woman with short purple hair, wore a fire‑emblem waist cloth signifying her rank.

She bent down, touching the bloodstain left in the stack, and said, "Even the blood hasn't been cleaned up; they haven't gone far yet. Pursue!"

"Yes, Lord Dongmao!"

Thousands of samurai on warhorses thundered along the road, dust billowing, and the bustle could be felt from a great distance.

Hundreds of ninjas scoured both inside and outside the city; countless wandering ninjas were caught up and forced to leave Kyoto, some hot‑tempered ones immediately clashed with city ninjas, making Kyoto rather chaotic.

But as the daimyo and nobles kept pressing, the rogue ninjas inside the city were quickly dealt with, and the remaining onlookers, seeing the corpses hanging on the walls, behaved much more obediently.

"Hahaha, they actually dare cause trouble here—what a bunch of delusional guys. What do you think, Lord Shiliuye?"

In a simple manor covering thirty acres with three entrances and exits, Finance Minister Song Heqingzhi listened to his subordinates' reports, chuckling as he spoke to the invited Shiliuye.

Wearing a half‑face mask, Shiliuye heard the words, paid no mind to Song Heqingzhi's hint, simply nodded calmly; he had already received Shisui's letter, and the one who arrived was merely a Shadow Clone Jutsu.

In fact, if Yan Shifan hadn't frequently written to keep in touch with Song Ye Qingzhi, he wouldn't bother sending a clone.

As for the rest, Yan Shifan said that once the time comes the other side will come forward on its own, so he was too lazy to exert extra effort.

"Although they're just low‑born, their appearance has already affected the underground gambling arena. What do you plan to do, Lord Shiliuye?"

Song Ye Qingzhi also took part in the gambling arena; although he was wary of Shiliuye, money is money, no need to be picky.

"With the daimyo's guardian ninja present, we can surely deal with those guys quickly. Lord Song Heqingzhi need not worry."

"Hehehe"

Song Ye Qingzhi forced a laugh; clearly these sudden bandits affected him greatly, having grown up in a safe environment, and the nobles of Kyoto were encountering ninja who dared assault them so brazenly for the first time.

"Lord Shiliuye is right, but I invited you today, Lord Shiliuye, actually to introduce someone to you. I believe you'll be interested."

"Oh?"

Shiliuye felt a stir, thinking Song Ye Qingzhi finally understood and was ready to recommend him to Erlang and Qilang.

But unexpectedly, Song Ye Qingzhi clapped his hands, and a hunched, ugly old man slowly entered the hall.

Shiliuye's eyes beneath the mask flickered; he recognized the man as Xie, who recently rose to fame in the gambling arena, calling himself the Eternal Artist.

Under the Copy Wheel Eye, Shiliuye clearly knew the opponent's body was merely a corpse—a puppet—with the true self inside.

Just a puppet, a trivial trick; Shiliuye's expression remained calm, his head slightly lifted, paying no heed to the opponent.

"No wonder we haven't seen him at the gambling arena lately; turns out Lord Song Ye recruited him."

"I greatly admire Lord Xie's art; I originally only wanted to support his artistic research, but recent bandit trouble is severe, so I asked Lord Xie for help."

Song Ye Qingzhi smiled, then invited Xie to sit.

"Your gaze is truly repulsive."

A hoarse voice came from Fei Liu Hunei, causing Song Ye Qingzhi's smile to freeze.

"Oh?"

Shiliuye crossed his arms, showing interest.

"You, are you talking to me?"

Three tomoe appeared; Shiliuye crossed his legs, propped his face with a hand, and smiled at Xie.

The two locked eyes, murderous intent spreading through the hall; hidden ninjas around instantly emerged, shielding Song Ye Qingzhi behind them.

Song Ye Qingzhi's complexion changed; if the two fought and the daimyo learned he had contact with a Uchiha, it would be troublesome.

"Ehh—hahaha, please give me some face. I invited you today just to have everyone meet; no need to get angry."

Lord Xie still felt a slight fondness for this minister who admired his art; moreover, the minister had invested heavily, giving him enough funds to repair the puppet, and the ninjas who died in the gambling arena saved him the trouble of sourcing materials.

Shiliuye also didn't want to draw attention, so the two dropped the matter; the subsequent negotiations centered on anti‑bandit measures, rather dull, and neither Shiliuye nor Xie was interested, but they stayed because of Yan Shifan's orders.

Meanwhile, the monkey and snake that fled Kyoto found the rabbit and dog that had also escaped.

The four met, exchanged no pleasantries, only a sincere "Run!"

The four had already sensed they were being watched, fled in a scramble, but wherever crowds gathered, many samurai blocked them, forcing them to flee toward a rural path.

"That's it. Confess honestly—whose orders are you following to cause trouble in Kyoto?"

After passing through a dense forest, a kunai fell from the sky, blocking the four's path.

Dongmao descended, hand on his hip, standing casually before the four; dozens of ninjas and samurai around quickly surrounded them.

"Only one."

The four exchanged glances; although many surrounded them, if only Dongmao led, they still had a chance to escape.

"Not just one, you know~"

Dongmao saw their intent, sneered, then a short‑haired burly man rushed from the rear forest—it was Beizi, who stood behind, staring blankly at them.

"Trouble..."

With Dongmao and Beizi nearby, they couldn't escape in a short time; once entangled, the number of attackers would only increase.

"Attack!"

They hadn't figured out a plan yet, but Dongmao had already summoned allies, so no time was wasted; at his command, the surrounding ninjas and samurai surged forward.

The samurai Dongmao brought could also use chakra; though called samurai, they were no different from ninjas.

The crowd slaughtered the four, the clanging of metal never ceased, yet the two Dongmao did not advance, instead flanked from the side.

Moments later, the four, having fled all this way, saw both stamina and chakra noticeably wane; repelling the onslaught grew increasingly difficult, and with Dongmao's two still watching, their pressure doubled.

The four knew they were unlikely to escape, but it was just a death anyway; they each bore a seal, so even if captured the opponent couldn't extract anything. Moreover, after killing nobles for months and seeing so much, even though they were numbed by war they felt anger at the nobles' actions.

Without seeing it with their own eyes, they couldn't imagine how outrageous these guys were; the Root, compared to them, seemed benevolent.

Puff— their stamina kept draining, and with one slip the long sword plunged into the monkey's shoulder; under the helpless and sorrowful gazes of the three, Dongmao and Beizi seemed to receive a signal and rushed toward the monkey.

"Everyone, the memorial stone appears."

Puff— the kunai pierced the flesh, yet the imagined pain didn't manifest; the monkey's masked expression was stunned, and he looked in shock at the strange scene before him.

It wasn't just him; everyone present was shocked by the sudden turn of events.

"Beizi."

Blood spilled from Dongmao's mouth; she looked at the former teammates around her, a deep confusion welling up in her eyes, but the pierced heart made her rapidly lose strength.

Beizi's expression remained calm; with a forceful twist of his hand, Dongmao's heart was completely destroyed, and she, unable to struggle, fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Lord Beizi, what are you doing? Without Lady Dongmao, how can we encircle and slaughter the mountain bandits!"

"Damned it, Beizi betrayed the daimyo, killed him!"

Although the others didn't understand why Beizi did this, it was clear that the person before them had already taken the opposing side.

Their strength was no match for Beizi's, yet they didn't believe those five could kill them all before reinforcements arrived.

However, ten minutes later, when the last three ninja were cut off and killed in an encirclement, the reinforcements they longed for still hadn't arrived.

The four were exhausted beyond measure and kept a wary eye on Beizi; they couldn't quite understand why Beizi chose to help them.

"Could you be the one sent from above to support us?"

The monkey kept a trick up its sleeve and didn't mention the Hokage.

But Beizi simply stood still, expressionless, ignoring the monkey.

"Sir?"

"No need to call out, he's not; I am the reinforcements."

Amidst the confusion, a voice came from the forest; a figure clad in a black feathered robe, wearing a half‑face mask, walked slowly— it was Shiliuye.

The four passed Beizi and looked behind him; the first thing that caught their eyes was the pair of scarlet three‑tomoe Copy Wheel Eyes.

"Copy Wheel Eye, and they're from the Uchiha!"

The few were shocked, but then suddenly sensed something amiss; Beizi never showed any reaction, unlike a normal person.

"Could it—"

She spoke first, her voice trembling.

Shiliuye moved to Beizi's side and, with a casual swipe, drove a blade into his heart.

Beizi finally broke free from the illusion's control; at the last moment of his life, he opened his mouth, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Uchiha!"

That blade fully liberated him; Shiliuye then used a scroll to carry away Dongmao's and Beizi's bodies, and said, "Deal with the other corpses; we'll leave first."

"Yes!"

The four immediately complied; after gathering the corpses for a collective burning, they followed Shiliuye toward the distance.

After reaching a hidden underground cave, the four finally discovered that, of the twelve who fled Kyoto, ten had already arrived, including themselves.

"What about the Rat and the Boar?"

"Those two," someone sighed heavily.

"Those two were surrounded in the city, couldn't escape from the horseman's hands, and now they're hanging on the city gate."

Long gritted his teeth and said, "If they're dead, so be it; even using their bodies for intelligence is acceptable, but now they're hanging on the wall like cured meat—infuriating!" Shiliuye shook his head, drawing everyone's attention, and then said, "I'll take the bodies away; you needn't worry about them. From now on, contact the surrounding chunins and eliminate the nobles scattered outside the city one by one. Move slowly, but make a big spectacle! I'll aid you from the shadows, so don't worry."

"As for matters inside the city, you don't need to attend to them for now."

"Understood!"

The group breathed a sigh of relief; the major figures in Kyoto were indeed heavily guarded, and with their strength it would be hard to silently eliminate a household.

The group took the orders, rested briefly, and that night split up and left.

Because the chunins received the orders much slower than they did, even after Kyoto's martial law, few of them entered the capital.

Thus they quickly found some chunins outside the city and coordinated their actions.

Meanwhile, Shiliuye employed the intelligence agents left by Yan Shifan inside the city to monitor activity outside the daimyo's mansion; once the ninja battalion near the daimyo set out, they would immediately send word to Shiliuye.

In just three days, three noble families outside Kyoto were wiped out, yet the city's army could find no trace of the mountain bandits.

Moreover, three days later the daimyo finally received concrete news: Beizi and Dongmao, who had left the city to pursue the enemy, had completely lost contact; their unit had turned to ash at the edge of a dense forest outside the city, and barring any mishap they were presumed dead.

In an instant, the daimyo raged, and Kyoto trembled.

The nobles inside and outside the capital had differing hearts.

On the fourth day, nobles from outside the city streamed into the capital.

On the seventh day, the previously relatively safe capital suffered a tragedy: some wandering ninja in the city learned that most of a noble family's guards had been sent outside to hunt the mountain bandits, leaving the mansion undefended; seizing the chance, they stormed the mansion, slaughtered everyone inside, and looted years of wealth.

Their success incited other wandering ninja in the city, and suddenly the entire Kyoto atmosphere became exceedingly oppressive and bloody.

Someone even broke into the Matsuhaku mansion, only to be turned into a wasp nest by a barrage of a thousand arrows.

The daimyo also decisively ordered a bloody suppression of the rogue ninja, which finally restored calm to the capital.

However, the number of ninja sent out to hunt the mountain bandits dropped sharply; each household grew anxious, fearing insufficient defenses, and some took the opportunity to strike.

The nobles now only wished to guard the capital, no longer willing to leave the city to hunt; the daimyo's pool of ninja and samurai suddenly seemed paltry.

In an instant, sighs continuously echoed within the daimyo's mansion.

"Who can relieve my worries?"

(End of chapter)