Uchiha's personal opinion

Considering the presence of the "Anbu Ninja" Da Luo in the central command tent, Mo Zhi simply gave his trusted subordinates a wink before striding away.

Ashura stood frozen in the corner of the central command tent for a long time before slowly walking out.

He understood the leech's intentions, but he simply couldn't be bothered to pay any more attention to it.

After being repeatedly and profoundly impacted, Ashura not only became more flexible in his approach, but even questioned the long-held belief that "the Child of Prophecy will reshape the order of the ninja world."

"Mount Myoboku is ultimately a secluded place; there are some things you have to observe and think about for yourself..."

Even though his heart wavered, Ashura convinced himself and decided to continue traveling around the ninja world and observe more.

"It's impossible that there are no good people in Iwagakure... just like it's impossible that the Shogunate and the Uchiha clan are all bad people..."

With a slight sigh, Ashura stopped and instantly flew towards the Bird Kingdom.

……

"Captain! There's an Iwagakure ANBU member spying on us!"

A Konoha ninja said to Kisame Hoshigaki, who was watching with amusement as the disaster victims from the Land of Birds received relief supplies.

"Ignore him."

Kisame Hoshigaki had already noticed, but he was too lazy to cause any more trouble.

"Yes!"

The subordinates immediately fell silent.

Although Kisame Hoshigaki and his chief of staff Hizashi Hyuga were eager to create some big news, he kept the shogunate's discipline firmly in mind.

For example, Kisame Hoshigaki intends to stick to the requirement that "the first kunai cannot be thrown."

and……

Looking at this group of poorly clothed, emaciated refugees from the Land of Birds, even the heartless Kisame Hoshigaki felt a pang of pity.

I really don't know how those fat, big-eared nobles and Iwagakure ninja could be so heartless as to let these people starve to death.

"One bowl of thick porridge and two bushels of coarse rice for everyone. Don't rush or push! Line up so everyone gets a share!"

Kisame Hoshigaki glanced at the "Iwagakure ninja" standing on a treetop not far away and deliberately raised his voice to shout.

"...Why did you put those rotten fish and shrimp in the porridge? And why did you mix sand and sawdust into the coarse rice!"

With the fluctuations from the Body Flicker Technique, the "Iwagakure Anbu" members, who were not far away, arrived beside Kisame Hoshigaki.

The Konoha ninjas intended to intercept him, but Kisame Hoshigaki waved his hand, signaling them to continue with their own business.

"No basins or pots allowed! We'll provide bowls of equal portion size. You must finish the thick porridge on the spot, and you can take the bowls with you!"

Kisame Hoshigaki ignored the uninvited guest and continued shouting with his hands on his hips.

The "Iwagakure Dark Division" member who had made a fool of himself was none other than Ashura. After being rebuffed, he was not surprised and simply stood aside, silently watching the scene of relief food being distributed.

The Bird Country refugees, who were originally crowding at the front—what the Iwagakure ninjas called "savages"—stirred up a bit when they saw the Iwagakure ninjas with headbands appear. However, seeing that Ashura didn't seem to have any ill intentions and that the Konoha ninjas were still guarding the area with their blades, they calmed down and continued queuing.

Asura became even more anxious upon seeing this.

The Land of Birds is a small vassal state of the Land of Earth, Iwagakure... yet these forgotten savages seem to be more affectionate and trusting of the Konoha ninja from the opposing camp...

Ashura was filled with mixed feelings and didn't know what to say.

As the huge pot steamed, the thick porridge made of coarse rice mixed with some low-quality dried salted fish emitted a salty and rotten smell. The disaster victims waiting for the shogunate ninjas to distribute food were all swallowing hard, but they still maintained the most basic discipline. No one made a fuss or tried to rush forward to grab the food.

Even though Ashura saw several disaster victims collapse and die on the spot, the long line of disaster victims remained "unmoved," silently waiting for the ninja masters' blessings.

These "wild children" are so sensible it's heartbreaking...

Why haven't you started distributing porridge yet?

Ashura couldn't help but question it.

Kisame Hoshigaki merely glanced back at him, but said nothing.

As the steam from the pots and pans continued to rise, the aroma of the grains filled the air. Only then did Kisame Hoshigaki leisurely announce, "Distribute the porridge and grain!"

Immediately, the disaster victims cheered and roared!

"why?"

Ashura asked again.

However, this time the volume and tone were much lower.

"Ok?"

Kisame Hoshigaki snorted.

Why put those...fish and shrimp in the porridge?

Upon receiving the response, Ashura immediately perked up and slightly altered his description of those "rotten fish and shrimp".

"That's dried seafood! It's salty! So when you cook it with coarse rice, it becomes salted fish porridge!"

Kisame Hoshigaki looked at Ashura as if he were an idiot.

"Try not eating salt for a few months and see what happens!"

"Then why would you publicly mix sand, wood chips, or other impurities into the coarse rice?"

Ashura asked again.

"As a result, the nobles no longer valued this inferior rice."

Kisame Hoshigaki said casually.

"...But isn't two dou of rice per person too little?"

“Some things always need to be done by someone; if you don’t do them, we will.”

Kisame Hoshigaki, his shark-like face very serious, stared at Ashura, who was wearing a mask, and said, "But! We don't need you to tell us how to do things!"

"Besides, compared to those utterly corrupt nobles, we've already done enough! So there's no need for you to stand on your moral high ground and make unfounded accusations against us, otherwise the shogunate's ninja swords will show you what true justice is!"

"All the shogunate can offer is a chance for these common people, who are like leeks, to survive! That's all!"

Asura remained silent.

Chapter 413 Rice Riot

Ashura, who shamelessly lingered at the disaster relief site of the United Company's charity action team, finally understood why they were only given two bushels of coarse rice.

After the first round of porridge distribution, a Byakugan ninja named Hyuga Hizashi arrived at the charity action team. In front of the disaster victims, he announced the "work relief" policy and planned a large construction area.

Although Ashura couldn't see the specific blueprints, just from the functional distribution of the construction area, including accommodation, processing, and dining areas, as revealed in the presentation, it was clear that this was a huge camp.

The shogunate is actually planning to stay and not leave!

Ashura hesitated for a long time, but still did not take out the scroll to inform Rock Village.

Although he didn't know why these Shogunate ninjas allowed him, an openly known "Iwagakure ANBU," to linger in their camp, Ashura decided to take a closer look at how the Shogunate operated.

However, perhaps due to the overwhelming "shock" brought by Iwagakure in a short period of time, Ashura did not realize that his mindset and stance had actually undergone a significant change.

As the shogunate ninjas unsealed a large amount of building materials from the sealed scroll, the disaster victims obediently followed the ninjas' instructions to complete the work in groups and began distributing tools like ants carrying food.

Soon after, he saw about a dozen descendant ninjas, whose clothes had the words "Senju House" written on the back, arrive in a dusty state. After using ninjutsu to level the ground, they began to take over the management and command of the project.

Out of a sense of kinship, Ashura couldn't help but take a few more glances.

However... these descendants seem to have an unusually thin bloodline.

Considering the changing times, Ashura didn't think too much about it and continued to observe the bustling construction site.

Compared to ninjas, ordinary people are surprisingly inefficient.

However, the shogunate ninjas were not in a hurry. They simply dispatched a portion of their men to carry some relief supplies and move on, leaving behind only a group of ninjas who were clearly dedicated to combat.

This included the "shark-faced" guy who had chatted with Ashura a few times.

Ashura had many questions about this, but after the previous communication, he also learned to control his thirst for knowledge so as not to appear too ignorant and arouse suspicion.

"Speaking of which, this should be considered an invasion, right..."

Ashura thought to himself, "Even if the country is powerless, it's a bit unreasonable that the noble daimyo of the Bird Country hasn't shown up at all..."

At that moment, Ashura thought of many things.

"Is it alright for this strange guy to stay here all this time?"

Hyuga Hizashi, who was in the distance, pulled Kisame Hoshigaki aside and asked in a low voice.

"It's alright~ With me here, he can't cause any trouble by himself!"

Kisame Hoshigaki confidently patted his greatsword Samehada, "Besides, if he dares to cause trouble, my subordinates and my ninja swords won't let him get away with it!"

"That's okay..."

Hyuga Hizashi thought about it and decided not to interfere with Kisame Hoshigaki's decision.

He also tried to observe the true face of this Iwagakure ANBU member with his Byakugan, but whether it was due to the special material of his mask or the concealing effect of his chakra, Hyuga Hizashi was unable to see through Ashura's true face beneath the mask.

Therefore, considering that this member of the Iwagakure ANBU showed no hostile aura, Hyuga Hizashi chose to respect Kisame Hoshigaki's opinion.

After all, since an Iwagakure ANBU member stood by and did nothing, the shogunate's actions could only be described as Iwagakure's tacit approval, and had nothing to do with aggression.

"Oh, right."

Hyuga Hizashi added, "If you think it's necessary, have the people from the Senju House help build a camp. Fugaku's western border defense forces are ready to move north."

"Then I'll also notify Commander Shiina to prepare to assemble the counter-terrorism forces!"

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, forcing out a creepy smile.

Behind the Land of Birds, a temporary ninja army, designated the "Peacekeeping Force" by Uchiha Tokumitsu, is assembling and preparing for a major battle.

……

"The Demon Leech commands!"

After leading his troops across the border to establish a defensive line in the area north of Daimyofu in the Land of Birds, Hiru, who had finally breathed a sigh of relief, once again experienced a surge in blood pressure.

"A large-scale riot has broken out in the south. Lord Akatsuchi has ordered you to lead your troops back to quell the unrest!"

The messenger ninja's words filled the demon leech with deep despair.