[Night]
The darkness deepened, and the time had already reached late night.
Yet inside the City of Fire, the lights were still blazing brightly.
Of course, this wasn't because the City of Fire was lively.
It was because it was truly on fire.
In just a single day, the intensity of the fighting inside the City of Fire had already risen to the level of a small-scale war.
Streets that were once prosperous were now battered and broken. Many corpses hadn't even had time to be dealt with, casually tossed onto the streets and then buried beneath heavy snow.
Using the daimyo as a hostage, Kazuma forced the soldiers and samurai of the Land of Fire to carry out a purge against the City of Fire's nobles.
Meanwhile, the nobles gathered together, rallying their private troops and ninja to resist.
Logically speaking, the Land of Fire's army shouldn't have launched such large-scale fighting just because of the orders of a villain who had taken the daimyo hostage.
But the problem was that someone had keenly seen a new opportunity arise from this turmoil.
The low-ranking soldiers and samurai fought out of loyalty to the daimyo, but the generals who actually held control of the troops had their own little schemes.
They say chaos is a ladder for advancement.
The noble system of the Land of Fire had been fixed for several hundred years. The nobles of today were still the same families from centuries ago.
Some generals who relied on their own ability and were stuck in that awkward middle ground now had troops under their command, yet no room left to rise higher. Naturally, they wanted to gamble on this opportunity.
As long as there were fewer noble lords above them, the interests would naturally need to be redistributed.
And this was also an excellent chance to line their pockets.
They had seen it with their own eyes during the day. Quite a few samurai walked out of those noble mansions draped in gold and silver.
As for what those Guardian Ninja actually wanted to do, that had nothing to do with them.
After all, what they were doing was also "for the safety of the daimyo."
So when it came to participating in the purge of the nobles, these soldiers and samurai could be said to be extremely enthusiastic.
Even deep into the night, the fighting still hadn't ended.
Nights that were once quiet and deserted were now unbelievably lively, with shouts of killing shaking the sky.
Countless figures darted through the streets. The sounds of metal clashing and flesh being torn rang out alternately.
A samurai would kill an enemy samurai, only to be immediately killed in turn by several more enemy samurai working together.
This cycle played out again and again on the streets of the City of Fire.
Until, at some unknown moment, a massive shadow stretched across above their heads.
"Everyone, this meaningless war should come to an end!"
A calm voice echoed across the sky above the City of Fire. Yet when it spread through the strange fluctuations of chakra into every street and alley, it carried an added sense of solemn, bell-like authority.
The sudden voice instantly drew the attention of both sides in the battle. Almost everyone subconsciously looked up into the sky, then froze in place.
For a long time, unable to come back to their senses.
At some point, an enormous dragon over a thousand meters long was coiling above their heads. A gigantic dragon head slowly pierced through the clouds, descending toward the ground.
Those massive dragon eyes made the night seem as if two new moons had been added to the sky.
Both sides that had been fighting were so shocked by this sudden change that they didn't dare move for the moment.
Only when the huge dragon head was just dozens of meters away from the center of the fighting did the people below finally see several figures standing atop its head.
Before they could make out who they were, that calm voice rang out once more.
"I am the Hokage of Konoha. Having heard that His Excellency the Daimyo has been trapped by traitors, I have specially led Konoha's ninja here to provide assistance."
In just a few short sentences, Aoba introduced his identity and purpose.
For a moment, whether it was soldiers from either side, or civilians who had been hiding in their homes cautiously checking the situation outside, after hearing his words, all felt a bit more at ease.
After all, everything that had happened began because the daimyo had been taken hostage.
As long as the daimyo was rescued, that would be enough.
And with that dragon spanning the sky, the Hokage of Konoha instantly became the pillar of support for nearly half of the City of Fire's civilians.
But at this moment, the ground began to tremble slightly, and dense hoofbeats rang out in the quiet night.
After a brief bout of chaos, the soldiers on the ground quickly made way, opening up a path. Several samurai whose attire clearly marked them as high-ranking rode in at full speed and stopped at the closest point to Aoba and the others.
"Hokage of Konoha, I am a general of the Land of Fire. At present, the daimyo is imprisoned in the daimyo's residence by treacherous villains. In order to ensure the daimyo's safety, we must swiftly purge the nobles of the City of Fire. Since you have come for the sake of the daimyo, I ask that you lend us a hand."
This reaction could be considered normal. After all, the previous Hokage had all shown great respect toward the daimyo.
The Hokage was a subordinate of the daimyo, so following the daimyo's commands was only natural.
It was just that Aoba's oppressive presence was too strong. Otherwise, his attitude probably wouldn't have been this polite.
But Aoba naturally knew what this guy was really thinking.
The reason he only showed up now was entirely because he had just been looting a noble's estate.
Most nobles weren't good people, but this guy's mindset was just as irritating.
Aoba didn't pay him any attention and simply gave Yakumo a look.
Yakumo immediately understood. She took out her brush and casually drew a stroke on the prepared drawing board beside her.
The next moment, thunder suddenly roared through the once-calm night sky.
A pillar of lightning slammed down violently, and the man who had just called himself a general of the Land of Fire was reduced to ashes within the thunder.
The scene, like divine punishment, made all the soldiers shudder, growing even more fearful and silent.
"This war has no meaning. Continuing it will only add pointless casualties. Once the daimyo is safe, everything will naturally be resolved."
Aoba spoke calmly, then turned to another accompanying person, also dressed in distinguished attire, and said, "Have them lay down their weapons, then take us to the daimyo."
"U-understood! Everyone, put away your weapons! I'll lead the Hokage!"
That general swallowed hard before shouting loudly to everyone, then spurred his horse and rushed toward the direction of the daimyo's residence.
The surrounding soldiers all breathed a sigh of relief. Especially the samurai from the nobles' alliance, who hurriedly threw down their weapons, afraid of being suspected of harboring any thoughts of resistance.
'Fight that monster?'
'What a joke.'
Aoba and the others remained standing atop the dragon's head as they advanced toward the daimyo's residence.
———
Only upon reaching the entrance of the residence did they step down from the dragon.
The samurai guards who had previously surrounded the daimyo's residence so tightly that not even water could pass all consciously made way, opening up a path.
They had all heard Aoba's words just now.
"Are the former high-ranking officials of the Land of Fire still in the City of Fire?"
Aoba didn't rush to enter the daimyo's residence. Instead, he asked the general who had been leading the way.
"They… they are."
That general didn't dare delay and quickly replied, "Most of those officials are from noble families, so they're being well protected by the nobles' forces."
"Good."
Aoba nodded slightly and said, "The daimyo will be rescued very soon, but the reconstruction of the City of Fire still needs to be discussed. Go notify them immediately and have them come to the daimyo's residence for a meeting."
"Sasuke, you go with him."
"Understood!"
"O-okay."
The two of them left.
Aoba, meanwhile, looked at the still fairly magnificent main gate of the daimyo's residence before him with a complicated expression.
Once he stepped through this gate, those carefree days of slacking off would be gone forever.
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