In Konoha: I will spread the will of conquest throughout the ninja world.

The capital of the Land of Fire.

Fujiwara Osamu knelt in the tranquil courtyard, a small table before him bearing a few small dishes and a pot of sake. He listened quietly to the gentle voice and melodious music of the geisha.

Just then, a guard rushed in, disrupting the music. Fujiwara Osamu frowned but did not reprimand him.

After all, there must be a reason why they would risk offending him to break in.

If this reasoning is not enough to satisfy him, then we can discuss punishment.

A letter was handed to me.

His calm eyes, tinged with displeasure, quickly scanned the words on the letter. A moment later...

Fujiwara Osamu stared blankly at the letter in his hand, as if it were a clay sculpture.

Seeing this, the guards, standing at a distance, cautiously called out, "My lord?"

This call pulled Fujiwara Osamu out of his daze.

call out!

Snapped!

He stood up, gripping the table tightly with both hands, his pupils trembling violently, his heart filled with anguish.

I'm so excited!

What are you doing?!

Even if you're not willing to risk your lives, this is not how you should act! And if you're so desperate, can't you at least take this off your plate?

Fujiwara Osamu's heart pounded with joy, as if it had been violated by a hundred or so burly men from Kumogakure.

As a noble family with a long-standing tradition, one naturally needs exclusive intelligence channels.

He already knew what had happened through his own channels.

A group of disgruntled nobles are plotting something that no one wants to see.

That's not all, they even want to team up with outsiders!

Fujiwara Osamu's entire body turned red from his neck down to his forehead.

To be honest, if these stupid things were just messing around in their own circle, they could keep it a secret, but of all things, they had to contact the outside world.

That would be disastrous.

The channels of the nobility were interconnected to some extent.

Even if they weren't directly subordinates, they would still have a general understanding of the relationships between nobles.

In this respect, because it is necessary to separate it from the ninja's intelligence channels, they are two different intelligence channels.

But for the former, given some time, digging deep into the ground is by no means a problem.

One of the essential tasks of a ninja is gathering intelligence.

Playing intelligence warfare with others? Isn't that just ridiculous?

The most crucial one is still Cloud Hidden.

There is always room for maneuver if the contact is made with the Sunagakure.

As is well known, Kumogakure has always been a major ninja village that relentlessly pursues and attacks Konoha.

Konoha had always been wary of this powerful ninja village and had never relaxed its intelligence work.

He was certain that this intelligence was on its way to Konoha.

By the time Konoha realized what was happening—no, it wasn't Konoha who realized it, it was that person—that the situation changed.

The person who thinks nobles are like Pokémon that spit out money with a single hit knows that a storm is brewing.

The target could be specific individuals, or it could be an indiscriminate attack.

Depend on!

Why are you arguing with a mentally ill person?

Even if we're going to fight, can't you at least write a statement first to clear my name and remove me from the picture so I can land safely?

Unlike fools who can't see the situation and think they are superior and that their noble bloodline will last forever, Fujiwara Osamu is very aware of the crisis.

Turning the family tree back further, the Fujiwara family was equally illustrious, yet it was not without its dead.

The chaos of war didn't just affect ninjas and civilians; many nobles also perished in that era, some even losing their entire clans.

In his view, nobles are like porcelain.

Noble and elegant, hidden away in secluded rooms, not easily shown to the public.

Commoners are like roof tiles, ninjas are like swords.

It's foolish to bump porcelain against tile, or to try and fight a knife.

That was a foolish thing that even the poor, pathetic people who ruined their ancestors' legacy would find absurd.

He could roughly guess why those people would suddenly do something so stupid.

Standing too high can make one lose sight of their true self.

The extravagance of the nobility far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.

He was surrounded by sycophants.

One day, the ninjas who were treated as tools suddenly slashed them.

In his initial shock and anger, his survival instinct kicked in, and having already investigated the background, he chose to swallow his anger.

The anger didn't disappear; it kept building up until it finally exploded not long ago.

Tolerable or unbearable!

Raise an army!

He didn't know what their reliance was. He only knew that if their reliance was really that strong, then Hashirama Senju used it when he suppressed the ninja world, making everyone breathless.

After all, Hashirama Senju was a kind-hearted man, while his younger brother Tobirama Senju was the kind of person that even nobles dared not raise their voices.

Upon returning to the capital, he dared not slacken his efforts and ordered his intelligence organization to gather information about Fifty Strings, so that he could roughly determine Fifty Strings' rank.

That's something no ordinary person can defeat.

Assuming they actually managed to kill Yuka Fifty, how would the noblewoman who had lived in Konoha for a long time, rarely went out, and whose legend still circulates in the ninja world, having lost too many loved ones and only having these people around her, react?

Should we continue to safeguard the foundation we all built together?

Or will they return with overwhelming power, boldly rewriting the legend?

Want to gamble?

The stakes are your own life.

Fujiwara Osamu paced back and forth.

He knew perfectly well that the Fifty Strings were not easy to appease, and given that the other party had provoked him first, indiscriminate attacks were almost inevitable for him.

It's not that he's a coward.

The fact that the Fujiwara family was able to survive the turbulent times and now occupy a crucial position in the court of the Land of Fire is a testament to their wisdom.

After thinking it over and over, I suddenly slapped my forehead.

Indeed, we still have to trust the wisdom of our ancestors this time.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Hatake Sakumo's day was chaotic.

The initial agreement was that I would only be a guest examiner and then call it a day.

Why am I on a carriage heading to the capital of the Land of Fire?

as well as……

"Why are we traveling by carriage?" Hatake Sakumo asked, looking at Igarashi Yoka lying leisurely on the cushions.

"If the goal is to cause trouble for the mastermind, shouldn't we be moving at top speed?"

A carriage is no match for a ninja's legs.

While sipping a bottle of yogurt, Isogen raised his head slightly upon hearing his question: "Why the rush? Slow and steady wins the race. People shouldn't be too hasty. Take your time to appreciate the scenery along the way and be kinder to your soul."

If someone else had told me this, I might have believed it, but it sounds a bit strange coming from you.

Shouldn't you lead your team to strike the mansion of the first victim with the force of a meteorite impact, achieving your goal in the swiftest way possible?

Have you cultivated your character and temperament?

That's terrifying.

It's not that complicated. Wuxian just wanted to know who delivered the letter to him.

There are many capable people in the ninja world who know the schemes of nobles, but to have a list of them is something that not everyone can do.

Even the roots at their peak couldn't do that.

The search scope has been narrowed down considerably.

Regardless of who it is, since the other party has sent over this list, they will definitely send someone to keep an eye on it. Wuxian is very curious about who sent this big gift.

As for the messenger, he had ill intentions and wanted to achieve some purpose through this.

The fifty strings remained unmoved by this.

Looking at the current ninja world, unless Madara Uchiha reaches his ultimate level, Hashirama Senju is fully resurrected, Ashura and Indra are resurrected together, or the Sage of Six Paths personally intervenes, or the Otsutsuki clan arrives ahead of schedule, or even the beautiful woman on the moon breaks free from her restraints and descends.

Oh, and there's Mito Uzumaki, but she's not an enemy.

In the event of the above extreme circumstances, all other potential enemies would be trash to him.

As for those nobles who dare to provoke the tiger, the news will arrive even faster than the carriage, letting them slowly succumb to fear.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.