I stood at the edge of my training ground, my arms crossed, watching the scene unfold before me with a mixture of confusion and something that might have been amusement.
'Hiruzen and Danzo must be freaking out right now.' I thought.
Four hundred samurai knelt in perfect rows, their heads bowed, their hands resting on their knees. Their armor gleamed in the fading light, polished to a mirror shine.
They had arrived a hour ago, marching through the gates of my compound without announcement and permission.
'How did they enter the Konoha gates? Was Hiruzen really that scared to deal with my shit anymore?' I thought with a hand on my chin.
This didn't make sense.
The scene before me was so absurd that I could hear and see Gintoki far from here wide eyed behind the house's window as he stared at the large number of Samurais kneeling while muttering about some hypnosis genjutsu Garou was using to brainwash innocent people.
And not gonna lie, Gintoki is right to be suspicious. This shit is weird.
At their head knelt a man I had never met before.
Shigekuni Yamamoto, that was his name.
He was slightly older than the others, his hair streaked with gray, his face weathered by years of battle. His armor was simple compared to the ornate gear of some of the younger samurai, but there was a weight to him, a presence that spoke of experience.
And he was the strongest of them, a peak or maybe low jonin by my estimation, though his power felt different from a ninja's. It felt focused and grounded but I doubted he could beat a Ninja close to his level since not every ninja were the same even if they were of the same level.
A Samurai fighting a Ninja would be tricky for them and very harh.
'What the hell is going on?' I thought, staring at the kneeling army.
Things like this had been happening more and more often lately. It was as if the universe had decided to throw every possible advantage at me, one after another, without any effort on my part.
It was weird and too easy. And I didn't trust easy.
Nothing in this world is free, not even luck.
*step step step.*
I walked toward them slowly, my footsteps echoing in the quiet clearing.
None of the samurai looked up or moved.
I stopped in front of Yamamoto and looked down at him. "Shigekuni Yamamoto as you told me, right?"
'By the way, the name and even appearance looks like that old man from Bleach. What in the AU is this? Is this world a mix of anime worlds?' I thought doubtfully because if that were the case then I would have known sooner.
Sure there were some differences in this world regarding the original timeline, but almost everything is still the same.
So it must be a coincidence.
The old man lifted his head, and his eyes met mine. They were filled with something that looked almost like... reverence? Weird.
"I am. I have come to pledge my loyalty to you, Hatake Garou-sama." He said in a rough voice.
I stared at him for a long moment, then looked at the Samurais behind him, then back at him.
"Huh? Why?"
As if expecting me asking that, he quickly reached into his robes and pulled out two books.
I recognized them immediately. The Art of War and The Book of Five Rings.
The shit I wrote.
"I have read your words Garou-sama, and I have been studying them for a long time. And in doing so, I have come to understand something that I had forgotten long ago."
"..." I stayed silent.
"A true lord is one who earns loyalty through wisdom, through strength, and through virtue. You, Garou-sama, are such a lord." He said with a fervent expression.
Hmmm, am I though?
I motioned for him to continue.
"You are a true pioneer, and a strategist. A man who understands the nature of power and the responsibilities that come with it. You have earned the loyalty of clans and merchants and even the Daimyo himself. And you have done it all without sacrificing your principles."
[50+]
If I had a system, that would be the reaction of my ego going up by 50 points.
"Before this, I served a lord who did not deserve my loyalty in one of the cities in the land of fire. That lord broke many principles that I knew were wrong. I watched as my comrades committed atrocities in the name of honor, but I couldn't do the same and break my Bushido that easily, so I broke my oath to that family lord and came here with some of my comrades and other Ronins that had the same idea as us."
There was shame in his eyes as he said that. Breaking an oath to a lord is a very big sin to Samurais, but in his case, he didn't have a choice since his morals won over an Oath.
"Your books showed me that honor is not about blind obedience. It is about doing what is right, even when it is difficult. It is about protecting the innocent, even when it is dangerous. And about choosing your own path even when the world tells you to follow!"
I was quiet for a moment, thinking about what he had said. I had written those books as a way to make money, to spread some of my ideas, and to build my reputation.
I had not expected them to actually change people that deeply.
'Maybe I should write more books,' I thought dryly.
"Yeah I get that but why are there so many of you? How did you even get pass the Konoha gates with these many armed people?" I said with slight suspicion because these guys are ronin at the end of the day and they may as well be people sent by someone to get something from me.
Usually, ronins start becoming mercenaries and low life criminals with no Bushido. And almost not a single person is willing to pick them up since no one trusted a ronin who have broken their oaths to their previous masters.
"They are ronin like me. I know it is a disgrace and a sin against the Bushido code, but they had no choice. Their lords were corrupt, or dead, or unworthy of their loyalty. They wandered the land searching for a purpose or maybe a lord who deserved their service. So I have searched and picked them up along the way and brought them to serve a worthy master."
He looked at me, and there was something almost like hope in his eyes.
"As for how we came inside, they just let us come after mentioning your name." He added.
He looked genuine. I could feel his heart with my senses and it didn't waver except for showing normal nervousness, so he wasn't lying.
And it seems Hiruzen and Danzo are freaking out. Or just planning to fuck up the world for sure so they don't care anymore.
"Most of them have heard of you through your books and charities you hold across the fire country. And now they realized that they had found what they were looking for."
Four hundred samurai.
And here I thought it would be troublesome finding people to become Heroes.
But I was still suspicious, and I have been suspicious for a long time because things go my way so easily without facing much challenge.
'Hmmm, they are not under Genjutsu too.' I thought as I felt the chakra going through these people.
Seeing my hesitation, Yamamato spoke again, "We have come to you, Garou-sama, because we believe that you are worthy of our loyalty. We have come to pledge our swords, our lives, and our honor to your service. Please accept us!" He hit his forehead on the ground and the other samurais followed him.
"Please accept us!!!" They shouted. The shout vibrating the ground and making some birds fly away from the distance.
I stared at them for a long moment.
I looked at Yamamoto then nodded slowly.
"Stand up," I said.
He rose to his feet immediately, and the four hundred samurai behind him rose as one.
"I think there is some kind of ritual in a form of document for the pledge of loyalty that essentially makes your whole bloodline and future generations my subordinates or something similar. I also need to bother with the housing and places of rest with food and stuff. We will do that later." I said while rubbing my chin, and all the Samurais started beaming as I said that.
It would be a bother taking care of these many people, but I was filthy rich so it didn't matter.
Not like I won't make these people work to the bone for me. Even if I was rich, the money wasn't infinite. And I hate lazy and useless people.
Taking care of them for free for some days? Sure. But long term? No.
"Thank you my lord!!!!!" They shouted and were about to bow and kneel but I shut them up and continued to speak.
"For now though, I think you guys are so greeen and need learn some advanced stuff. There will be lessons to make you guys proper warriors. And today's subject is... how to become a Hero." I said with a grin much to the confusion of the crowd.
"What do you mean Garou-sama?" Yamamato asked.
"Follow me. We have a show to watch." I replied as I stepped towards the building I designed for fundamental Hero training.
And the small army moved behind me. All the Samurais wearing bright expressions as they followed me.
'Hmmmmmm, I guess Ken, Ryo, and Yuji need to up their game in teaching these rough men become softies and goody two shoes.' I thought. Though for later, he also need Katsuyu to create clones and use transformation justsu then using those clones to take care of these Samurais and teach them what I want Katsuyu to teach.
Meanwhile, Gintoki was already outside his house and rested on a tree as he looked at this spectacle a little far away with wide eyes.
"What in the stupidity am I looking at?" He muttered.
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____________________
Katsuyu's POV/
I had spent the morning examining the failed transformations, the grotesque monsters that had been restrained and isolated. It was really fascinating because some of the monsters could still talk like normal people, but they were just too stupid to be used and benefit from them in the long term. And Garou made it sure that they can't show those monsters to the world... yet.
And now it was time to assess the successful ones.
Two hundred and fifty assassins waited in silence, their heads bowed.
Former criminals, murderers, and slavers.
Garou did not want innocents to suffer the burden of transformation. I understood his logic, though I did not particularly care one way or the other.
Humans were humans, whether they were saints or sinners, and they all died the same way in the end. What mattered to me was whether these new creatures could be useful, controlled or learn.
So I took my time as I approached the weakest one.
The "Assassin." As Garou was hell bent on calling them with that label for some reason he was too lazy to tell me, was a scrawny man with hollow cheeks and vacant eyes, a civilian level thug before his transformation who had barely been capable of fighting according to what I remember when I captured him.
Now he knelt before me, his body radiating a faint aura of Nature Energy with not a speck of chakra in his body at all.
I placed my hand gently on his head and closed my eyes, allowing my senses to delve into his being.
"Peak chunin with potential to become much better." I murmured to myself, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Can you speak?" I asked the blank faced assassin who raised his head slowly for a moment and then shake his head.
"Pity." I moved on, and the pattern repeated itself with little variation.
The civilian-level thugs and low-level criminals had become blank soldiers, strong enough to be useful in a fight but lacking the initiative to be anything more than tools.
They would follow orders, fight, and they would die for Garou if commanded, but that was all they were good for.
The hours passed as I worked my way through the ranks, and my clones assisted with the note taking while I focused on the deeper assessments.
The jonins were different.
There were fifty of them, men and women who had been shinobi of significant skill before their transformation, and as I examined them one by one, I found that their minds had survived the process far better than the weaker subjects.
"This one retains combat instincts and tactical knowledge. But personal memories? None." I said, examining a former jonin from the Land of Lightning whose eyes were sharp and aware, though there was a blankness to them that spoke of overwritten memories.
The man did not react to my words and didn't care that maybe before transforming, he was someone with a name. He exists only to serve the monster king according to his own words.
I moved to the next jonin level energy individual, a woman with dark hair and a scar across her cheek who was different from the others. Her eyes tracked my movements with genuine awareness.
"So? Say something." I said as I curiously looked at her, and she actually responded properly.
"I can understand you and speak," she said, her voice rough and hesitant, as if her voice is deciding weather it should be feminine or masculine.
"Mhmm. So you remember who you were?" I asked.
"I remember things... some fragments." She replied.
I nodded slowly, "What do you remember?"
"Pain! I was in so much pain and begged someone to help me, and then a man with red hair saved me and gave me purpose." She said as she talked with a dreamy face.
I looked at her changing expression.
There you have it. It seems Garou's blood has overwritten her memories, but not completely.
Interesting.
"And before that? Do you remember your name?" I asked.
She was silent for a long moment, then shook her head. "No." She looked downcast.
"Well, maybe choose a name for yourself then." I said as I moved on, cataloging each jonin as I went.
Some could speak fluently, some could only understand, and a few retained much of their original memories, though those memories had been twisted to serve Garou's purposes.
They were loyal now, not because they chose to be, but because their very beings had been rewritten.
It was a little creepy if I were to be honest but it made me more intrigued too.
I may not be a mad scientist, but this was a total and biological nonsense happening right before her eyes.
Being genetically modified to this absurd level was a little scary.
She has seen her fair share of weird things but this one was still sitting among the top.
.
By the time I reached the final group, the three strongest, the sun had dipped below the treeline and the clearing was bathed in the soft glow of twilight.
'These three are the most interesting. All this time, they were as silent as a corpse. If not for my superior senses and how I could feel the emotional fluctuations of people coming from their very beings, I would have missed how these guys were actively gathering information frantically.' I thought with a small smile.
"You three. Stand up and come here." I didn't approach and just called to them.
Then slowly, without being told twice or wasting time, they stood up. Except for Ezio being a little hesitant since it was clear that he was struggling with understanding me unlike the two others.
Sensing two other assasins stand up behind him, Ezio didn't look awkward and did the same and then came closer.
Light tan skin, dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders. A thin scar ran across his upper lip, and when he lifted his head to meet my gaze, his eyes were very expressive, filled with an awareness that was unusual compared to what I have seen till now.
I ignored the other two standing a little away from Ezio's sides and came closer.
I placed my hand gently on his chin, lifting his head a little more and removed his hood.
His eyes met mine.
"Fufu~ what a handsome man." I chuckled playfully as I looked as this man who was pretty handsome by human standards.
Though, by my standards, only Garou exists since the concept of beauty is irrelevant to me.
I am more interested in the persons themselves than what their shell looks like.
"The question is whether you can speak now because I already know that your brain is okay. Maybe the rewritten memories hit you hard and you forgot the language entirely?" I said.
He did not answer, keeping his expression neutral.
I tilted my head, studying him. "You are a weird one. There is too much awareness in your gaze, and something else I can't exactly put my finger on."
I released his chin, pacing slowly around him as he remained perfectly still.
I stopped in front of him again and clasped my hands behind my back, "Let's do it this way. If you can understand me, no matter how much, nod your head." I gestured in away he could at least understand what I mean.
But he did not move.
I sighed softly.
It seems he understands a tiny bit, but too wary to do anything.
These little tricks of gathering info and acting skills by this and the other two assassins was easy for me to catch on. It would have been embarrassing if I couldn't.
Though, they might have been able to fool pretty much anyone else, even Garou, which they already did once since Garou himself didn't notice the anomaly of these three, especially Ezio.
"Very well. If that's how you are going to play, then we will do this the slow way. I have all the patience in the world young man." I said as I gestured to one of my clones, which then approached with a scroll and a brush, placing the items on the ground in front of Ezio.
I have predicted this scenario happening so I was prepared.
Meanwhile, the other two assasins blinked twice more as they heard the young beautiful girl calling the clearly middle aged man a "Young man." As if she was much older or something.
"Since you have lost the language, then we will have to teach you again. You are clearly intelligent, so I am sure you will learn quickly."
I made Ezio sit as my clone started to speak beside him.
'Fufu, he is trying really hard to not be fascinated by how there are many of me in this place.'I thought with amusement as I watched how the brainwaves and heart of Ezio fluctuate very subtly from now and then.
"We will start with simple words. I will point to a picture on this book and say the word, and you will repeat it as best you can. Are you ready?"
He didn't reply but it seemed that he was ready.
I pointed to a picture of an apple, "Apple. A-pple."
Ezio then looked at picture of an apple and then turned towards the clone, "A... pple," he repeated, his voice rough and hesitant.
I nodded encouragingly as I heard that weird accent of his, "See? You can speak just fine. Very good, let's do it again. Say Apple."
We continued like this for some time, and he learned quickly, much faster than I had expected.
But there was something in the way he hesitated before each word, as if he was translating from another language in his mind.
'Heh, Interesting,' I thought.
After a while, I closed the book.
"You are learning quickly. After the transformation, your brain has essentially gone through an evolution too and now is much superior to what you had before." I explained, and how much Ezio understood? I don't know.
It was cute looking at his confused face.
'Is this what having a pet looks like?' I thought as I was growing fond of this man a little.
Ezio just nodded as he understood a tiny bit.
I studied him for a long moment.
He met my gaze steadily, and for a moment I saw something flicker in his eyes, something that looked almost like amusement. Eyes that looked like an old person would give a young one, which was funny and ironic to me.
But it also made me suspicious and create my own theories about him and the other two.
Now that I mentioned the other two, I turned to them.
They were looking at my interaction with Ezio without saying anything. Their hoods covering much of their faces.
I approached the older looking one and removed his hood to reveal a weathered man with short, messy blonde hair and light stubble, and his eyes a distinctive bright blue.
[Picture]
'He smells like the sea. So weird. Did he get some powers related to water release or water nature?' I thought. He had the look of a man who had spent his life on the sea.
Then one of my clones removed the hood from the younger looking one.
Skin was copper colored, and his dark brown hair was worn medium long and loose around his shoulders. He had dark brown eyes, a strong jawline, and a prominent chin, and his build was tall and muscular. Not as big as Garou, but it showed that he was a heavy hitter.
[Picture]
"You are the other two assumed Kage level assassins. By your expressions, unlike Ezio here, it is evident that you can clearly understand what I am saying, right?" I rhetorically asked.
And much to my slight surprise, the blonde one broke into a playful grin almost instantly, "Can't say I feel much like a Kage lass or whateva that word means. More like a fish out of water, if I'm being honest. I feel weird all over me body."
I raised an eyebrow, "Much more expressive than I thought."
"Aye," he said, his voice carrying a rough, with an accent mostly belonging to people from the land of water and around that area. "Always could, far as I remember. Which, between ye and me, ain't saying much." He shrugged, the movement casual and easy.
"..."
"By the way, got any rum or ale for drinkin, little lass? Ye may not believe it, but I feel like I've been through some rough seas. Some rum would be nice to calm that itch." The blonde said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head while looking at me expectantly.
I watched him carefully.
His words were light and playful, but his eyes were too focused and his body was a moment away from attacking.
"Is that look a no? Blimey, what a letdown." He said with fake disappointment as he looked at my unchanging expression.
He was watching me even as I watched him. He was cautious beneath the charm, and he was hiding it well.
I ignored him and turned to the younger one, "And you?"
He was silent for a long moment, and when he spoke, his voice came out deep and his accent was normal, "I can." He said briefly.
I nodded slowly.
It seems this one is much more reserved unlike this blonde who is looking at my body without holding back his gaze as he whistled.
The younger was hiding his cautiousness behind a stoic mask, and the blonde was much more outgoing while doing it.
'These three. They are not the same person as they were before entirely.' I thought as my suspicions grew with each passing second.
I examined them both, placing my hands gently on their chests to feel their auras.
"Your auras are powerful. Comparable and above some S-ranks." I said.
The blonde one's grin widened for some reason, "Aye, I've always been told I cut a powerful figure. Though usually it's the menfolk sayin it, not a fine lass such as yerself." He winked, and there was a roguish charm to the gesture that was almost disarming.
"Fufu~ you are such a flirt. You don't even know me or what I am." I said with amusement.
He tilted his head, still grinning. "That be true. I don't know who ye are or what ye are, nor where I be and how I got here. I don't know why I'm wearin me work clothes or why I feel so strong. I don't know much of anythin, truth be told. But since ye be such a fine lass, I'll play along fer now."
*wink wink.*
He winked at me.
I studied him for a long moment again. It seems he couldn't hold back his curiosity and just revealed somethings like work clothes? What does he mean by that? Or why he talks like before waking up, he was somewhere else that wasn't the Shikkotsu Forest?
Questions for later.
"This one who can't speak is called Ezio as Garou called him. Do you guys have names?" I asked.
The blonde then shook his head while putting a finger inside his ear, "I don't rememberin much."
And the younger assassin just stayed quite.
And guess what? Both of them are lying.
"Fufu~" I just laughed a little without commenting.
I turned back to Ezio and addressed all three, "For now, know that you three will lead the others. Ezio will be the overall commander, and you two will serve as his lieutenants. Since you two can speak unlike him, you will teach him and prepare for the missions Garou will assign to you soon."
"..."×3
"How much do you know about this world?" I asked with a slight smirk.
"As much as I don't know about me name." The blonde one said while Ezio and the young assassin stayed still as if confirming they also didn't know much.
"Sighh, well it seems alongside hundreds of people, I have to re-educate you three about this world again. I hoped I could avoid this." I said while assigning some clones to come up with the best plan to go through this.
The blonde shrugged and then turned his attention to Ezio and said with a smirk, "Ye hear that, mate? Yer in charge. Congratulations! I always wanted to serve under a man who can't talk back."
Ezio's lips twitched slightly. He may have not understood much but he recognized the sarcastic tone.
"For now, you will be on your own. My clone will accommodate your stay here until Garou comes back. If you need anything, just ask one of the clones." I said as I turned around.
"As long as ye get me some rum then I won't care." The blondy said as I left.
After I left the Assassins be, I could finally assess what I have found.
First of all, before the transformation, the personality of those guys weren't like that at all. One gives of a strong leadership aura, one smells like sea and freedom, and the other gives that bloody and violent feeling surrounding him hiding behind that mask of calmness.
So now, where did they come from?
Garou talked about his plan to form an organization called the Assassin's Creed, but only I knew of that.
How come Ezio had known the Creed?
Do you think I didn't leave a clone to stay discreetly and look after the assasins when I said I will leave for a moment?
I deliberately did that so I could gauge the reaction of the hundreds or so assasins when they were not supervised for some moments.
And then my clone that stayed felt a weird sensory energy wash over her body, which couldn't detect her.
And that energy came from Ezio.
Then Ezio whispered something about everything being true and nothing is permitted first in a broken English and then in some different tounges I did not recognize or understand, but then the two others had responded afterwards.
That was not a coincidence.
'Is it the rewriting mechanism of Garou's blood messing with their heads and planting ideas in them?' I thought but shook my head a moment later because the case for this one was different to be a simple identity overwritting.
That was a clear connection.
'Those three share something. A very deep bond.' I thought.
Is it possible that something wrong is going on with their souls?
Maybe I will check their souls and affinities later to see what's going on like I did with Garou.
The End.
[5000 words.]