Konoha: Uchiha Shisui's Strategist Alliance

Chapter 196 The Chaos in Kyoto

"Hiss~ As expected of the Daimyo's guardian ninja, his strength is truly terrifying. Let's go, the Hokage has already sent reinforcements, let's lie low in the surrounding area for now. We can't go to Kyoto, anyway, the Hokage's orders are for the Kyoto region, as long as we don't leave."

Inside a haystack in a farmland outside Kyoto, a snake and a monkey, hiding in the haystack, watched the hundreds of samurai walking away on the road and whispered to each other, enduring the sharp pain in their shoulders.

The Kinai region does not refer only to Kyoto, but also includes many areas around Kyoto, where small towns and villages are everywhere, the economy is prosperous, and the population is large.

"That daimyo is really something! We only raided one house, and he immediately dispatched his personal guard ninja and all those samurai. Doesn't he care about Kyoto's defenses? He can just mobilize thousands of samurai like that!"

With his status as a daimyo and the power he wields, he has a large number of ninjas both domestically and internationally willing to serve him, and he is never short of guards and samurai.

With the support of nobles, they succeeded only once before being hunted down by a large number of ninjas and samurai. Even some wandering ninjas attracted by the gambling arena were affected.

The two made a comment and watched the samurai army disappear into the distance before leaving the haystack and heading in the opposite direction from Kyoto. However, not long after they left, several ninjas caught up with them. The leader was a woman with short purple hair and a fire-shaped waistband that symbolized her status and position.

She bent down and dabbed at the bloodstains left in the haystack, saying, "They didn't even have time to clean up the bloodstains. It seems they haven't gone far. Let's chase them!"

"Yes, Lord Dongmao!"

Thousands of warriors and their warhorses galloped along the road, raising clouds of dust, and the bustling atmosphere could be felt from afar.

Hundreds of ninjas searched inside and outside the city, and countless wandering ninjas were affected and forced to leave Kyoto. Some hot-tempered ninjas immediately started fighting with the ninjas in the city, and the whole city was in a state of chaos.

However, as the daimyo and nobles continued to exert their influence, the ninjas causing trouble in the city were quickly dealt with, and the remaining ones became much more obedient when they saw the corpses hanging on the city walls.

"Hahaha, they actually dare to cause trouble here. What a bunch of clueless bastards! What do you say, Izayoi-kun?"

Inside a quaint, three-courtyard house covering thirty acres, Finance Minister Matsutsuru Yoshiyuki listened to his samurai's report and cheerfully addressed Izayoi, whom he had invited.

Wearing a half-face mask, Izayoi ignored Matsutsuru Yoshiyuki's implication and simply nodded calmly. He had already received Shisui's letter and that what had come here was merely a shadow clone.

In fact, if Yan Shifan hadn't frequently written to keep in touch with Matsuno Yoshiyuki, he wouldn't have bothered sending his clone.

As for the rest, Yan Shifan said that as long as the time is right, the other party will take the initiative to come to him, so he was too lazy to put in any more effort.

"Although they are just commoners, their presence has already affected the underground gambling arena. What does Izayoi-kun intend to do?"

Yoshiyuki Matsuno also participated in the gambling arena. Although he was wary of Izayoi, making money is never shameful.

"With the daimyo's guardian ninja here, I believe these guys will be dealt with quickly, so Lord Matsutsuru need not worry."

"Hehehe"

Matsuno Yoshiyuki chuckled. Clearly, the sudden influx of bandits had a significant impact on him. After all, he had grown up in a safe environment, and this was the first time that the nobles of Kyoto had encountered ninjas who dared to attack them so brazenly.

"What Izayoi-kun says is true, but the reason I invited you here today is actually to introduce you to someone. I believe you will be interested."

"Oh?"

Izayoi's heart stirred, thinking that Matsuno Yoshiyuki had finally come to his senses and was preparing to introduce him to Jiro and Shichiro.

Unexpectedly, Matsuno Yoshiyuki clapped his hands, and an ugly old man with a hunched back slowly walked into the hall.

Izayoi's eyes flickered beneath his mask, and he recognized the man as Sasori, who had recently risen to fame in the gambling arena and called himself Eternal Art.

Under the Sharingan, Izayoi clearly knew that the other's body was nothing but an inanimate object, a puppet, and that the true body was inside the puppet.

"A mere puppet, a trivial skill," Izayoi said calmly, her head slightly raised, completely disregarding her opponent.

"No wonder I haven't seen him at the gambling arena lately; it turns out he was recruited by Lord Matsuno."

"I admire Scorpion's art and originally just wanted to support his art research, but recently there have been serious bandit incidents, so I wanted to ask Scorpion for help."

Matsuno Yoshiyuki smiled and then invited Sasori to sit down.

"Your eyes are disgusting."

A hoarse voice came from inside Hiruko, causing Matsuno Yoshiyuki's smile to come to an abrupt end.

"Oh?"

Izayoi crossed her arms and became interested.

Are you talking to me?

With the three tomoe appearing, Izayoi crossed her legs, propped her face up with her hand, and looked at Sasori with a smile.

The two locked eyes, and killing intent filled the hall. The hidden ninjas immediately appeared and protected Matsuno Yoshiyuki behind them.

Matsuno Yoshiyuki's expression changed. If the two of them got into a fight and the daimyo found out that he had been in contact with the Uchiha, it would be troublesome.

"Haha, please give me some face. I invited you two here today simply to let us get to know each other. Why get angry?"

Sasori had a slight liking for the minister who appreciated his art, and the minister had invested a lot, giving him enough funds to repair the puppets. The ninjas who died in the arena also saved him time in finding materials.

Izayoi didn't want to attract attention, so the two stopped there. The subsequent discussion revolved around bandit suppression, which was quite boring. Neither Izayoi nor Sasori were interested, but they didn't leave because of Yan Shifan's orders.

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

The four met, and without exchanging pleasantries, only one heartfelt exclamation: "Run!"

The four realized they were being watched and fled in a disheveled state, but large numbers of warriors blocked their way in places with many people, so they had no choice but to flee towards country lanes.

"That's enough. Tell me honestly, who ordered you to cause trouble in Kyoto?"

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

Dong Mao landed, one hand on his hip, and stood casually in front of the four people. Dozens of ninjas and samurai quickly surrounded them.

There's only one.

The four exchanged a glance. Although there were many people around, they still had a chance to escape if only Dong Mao led them.

"There's more than one!"

Dongmao saw through their intentions and sneered. Then, a short-haired, burly man came running from the woods behind them. It was Beizi. Beizi stood behind them, staring blankly at them.

"This is troublesome."

With Dongmao and Beizi by their side, they have no chance of escaping in a short time. Once they are entangled, the number of people coming to kill them will only increase.

"Let's do it!"

They hadn't figured out a solution yet, but Dongmao had already received his teammates, so he naturally wouldn't waste any more time. At his command, the surrounding ninjas and samurai immediately charged forward.

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

The crowd surrounded and killed the four men, the sound of clashing metal echoing incessantly. However, Dong Mao and his companion did not advance but instead stood by and watched from the sidelines.

A moment later, the four people who had been fleeing all the way had clearly lost both their physical strength and chakra, making it increasingly difficult for them to deal with the encirclement of the crowd. Moreover, with Dong Mao and the other two watching them, the pressure on them increased even more.

The four knew they were unlikely to escape, but it would only mean certain death. They all had seals on them, so even if they were captured, the other side wouldn't be able to get anything out of them.

Moreover, after killing nobles for several months and seeing so much of it, even those who had become numb from the war felt angry at the nobles' actions.

Without seeing it with my own eyes, I would never have imagined how outrageous these guys are. Even the Roots seem kind compared to them.

puff~

As their strength dwindled, Dongmao and Beizi, in a moment of carelessness, plunged their longsword into the monkey's shoulder. Amidst the helpless and sorrowful gazes of the three, Dongmao and Beizi seemed to receive a signal and simultaneously charged towards the monkey.

See you at the memorial.

With a soft "plop," the kunai pierced the flesh, but the expected pain did not occur. The monkey mask revealed a bewildered expression as he stared in shock at the strange scene before him.

Not only him, but everyone in the room was shocked by the sudden turn of events.

"Beizi."

Blood trickled from Dongmao's mouth. She looked at her former teammates around her, her eyes filled with deep confusion, but the piercing of her heart caused her to rapidly lose strength.

With a calm expression, Bei Zi twisted his hand forcefully, completely destroying Dong Mao's heart. Unable to struggle any longer, Dong Mao quickly collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"Lord Beizi, what are you doing? How can we surround and kill the bandits without Lord Dongmao!"

"Damn it, Kitako betrayed the Daimyo! Kill him!"

Although no one knew why Bei Zi was doing this, it was clear that the person in front of them had already stood on the opposite side.

Although they were no match for Beizi, they did not believe that these five men could kill them all before reinforcements arrived.

However, ten minutes later, after the last three ninjas were cut off from their retreat and surrounded and killed, the reinforcements they longed for still did not arrive.

All four of them were exhausted, and they also looked at Beizi warily, not quite understanding why Beizi would choose to help them.

"Are you the one sent to support us from above?"

The monkey was careful and didn't mention Naruto.

But Bei Zi just stood there, expressionless, ignoring the monkey.

"Your Mightiness?"

"No need to shout, he's not the one, I'm the reinforcement."

Amidst the confusion, a voice came from the forest, and a person dressed in a black haori and wearing a half-face mask slowly walked over. It was none other than Izayoi.

The four of them looked past Kitako and behind him. What first caught their attention was his pair of scarlet Sharingan eyes with three tomoe.

"Sharingan! He's from the Uchiha clan!"

The group was shocked, but then suddenly realized something was wrong. Bei Zi didn't react at all, which was completely unlike a normal person.

"Could it be?!"

The snake spoke first, its voice trembling slightly.

Izayoi came to Kitako's side and casually stabbed him in the heart with a knife.

Bei Zi finally broke free from the illusion's control. In his last moments, he opened his mouth, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Uchiha!"

This slash finally freed him. Izayoi then used a scroll to take away Higashima and Kitako's bodies, and then said, "Dispose of the other corpses, and let's leave here first."

"yes!"

The four immediately agreed, and after collecting and burning the bodies, they followed Izayoi into the distance.

Upon arriving at a secluded underground cave, the four discovered that ten of the twelve who had escaped from Kyoto had arrived, including themselves.

"What about rats and pigs?"

"The two of them," someone sighed, their tone heavy.

"They were surrounded in the city and couldn't escape from the horses. They're now hanging on the city gate."

Long gritted his teeth and said, "Killing them is fine, even if we use their corpses to obtain information, we can accept it. But now they're being hung on the wall like dried meat. It's outrageous!"

Izayoi shook her head to draw everyone's attention, then said, "I'll take the bodies away, you don't need to worry about them. From now on, contact the Chunin around you and deal with the nobles scattered outside the city one by one. Be slow, but make a big show of it! I will help you in secret, don't worry."

"As for what happens inside the city, you don't need to worry about it for now."

"yes!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The powerful figures in Kyoto were indeed heavily guarded, and it would be difficult for them to eliminate a family silently with their strength.

After receiving the order, the group rested briefly and then departed separately that night.

Because the Chunin received orders much slower than they did, few of them entered the capital even after martial law was declared in Kyoto.

They quickly found some Chunin outside the city and joined forces.

Meanwhile, Izayoi used the intelligence agents Yan Shifan had left in the city to monitor the movements outside the daimyo's residence. As soon as the ninja squad around the daimyo set off, they would immediately send a message to Izayoi.

In just three days, three noble families outside the capital perished, while the army in the city could not find a trace of the bandits.

Not only that, three days later, the daimyo finally received definite news: Kitako and Higashima, who had gone out of the city to pursue the enemy, had completely lost contact, and their troops had turned to ashes in a dense forest outside the city. If nothing unexpected happened, they should be dead.

In an instant, the daimyo was furious, and Kyoto was shaken.

The nobles, both inside and outside the capital, held differing opinions.

On the fourth day, nobles from outside the city began to pour into the capital.

On the seventh day, a tragedy occurred in the capital city, which was originally relatively safe. Some wandering ninjas learned that most of the guards of a noble family had been sent outside the city to investigate bandits. Taking advantage of the weak defenses in the mansion, they stormed in, killed all the people in the mansion, and looted the mansion's wealth accumulated over many years.

Their success spurred some wandering ninjas in the city, and for a time the atmosphere in Kyoto became incredibly oppressive and bloody.

Some even broke into Songhe's residence, only to be riddled with bullets by a barrage of arrows.

The daimyo decisively ordered a bloody crackdown on the rebellious ninjas, which restored peace to the capital.

However, the number of ninjas who went out of the city to search for bandits decreased significantly, and families were filled with anxiety, fearing that their homes were not adequately protected and that someone might take the opportunity to attack.

The nobles were only willing to guard the capital and no longer willing to go out of the city to search for and capture, so the number of ninjas and samurai under the command of the daimyo suddenly paled in comparison.

For a time, sighs echoed throughout Daming Prefecture.

Who can ease my sorrow?