Old Tang collapsed. Kneeling, he muttered, "S-since you already know everything… I have nothing more to say."
"Good. Since you're useless, go die." Shigeo's eyes went cold. His fingers flashed through seals. Hyōton (Ice Release) spears erupted and pierced him before he could beg again, turning his body into a spiked hedgehog. Blood sprayed like a burst chrysanthemum.
No chance for regret.
Foxes like him, Shigeo had seen too many.
Lute was frozen stiff. He really was Shigeo. He had come, to East Secret Island, to settle the score.
Everyone below dropped to their knees.
Shigeo turned to the fat man hanging in the air, stripped away the Mokuton (Wood Release) branches gagging him, and asked, "You heard my question earlier. Speak."
"Yes, yes!" Lute bawled. He confessed everything. His forces outside were only Shigeo's so-called "fans." In the Land of Lightning's daimyō mansion, a few ministers backed him. Around East Secret Island, he ran one ironworks and one tools factory. Nothing else.
Shigeo examined the ledgers passed to him. The man spoke truth.
"Little brother Shigeo—no, ancestor! Ancestor, I did all this for you. Your fame today is thanks to Blue-Gate. Think about it! With this status, anywhere you go people will pay you. With money, you can do anything! Ancestor, please, for my loyalty, spare me."
Shigeo's voice dropped. "Not for me. For yourself. And didn't you just say, if your coup in the Land of Lightning failed, I'd take the blame? Forgotten so soon?"
"N-no, that was only if the plan failed. But with you helping me it won't. Ancestor, think! If I become daimyō, then you—you'll be the supreme shinobi, standing above the Five Great Villages. I'll package you as the strongest legend! This benefits us both!"
Shigeo laughed. He turned and asked, "You think I need your packaging? You think I'm an actor? A star?"
His eyes iced over. Mokuton branches crawled into Lute's fat body.
"Aaah! No—so painful!"
It was unforgettable. Old Tang had died clean. Lute's end was torture, flesh shredded slowly by wood.
"Ancestor! I was wrong! Spare me!" he wailed.
"You used my name for profit, for mockery, for scapegoat. Killing you is mercy." Shigeo stood, brows tight, eyes sweeping the hall.
"From now on—recall all products sold under my name. End every false commission. Destroy every item with my name or likeness. Anyone who dares act in my name again—his whole family will pay."
His hand clenched. The branches pierced Lute through. His body vanished into Mokuton.
East Secret Island, along with two nearby islets, fell under Shigeo's control.
For the next weeks he cleared every product bearing his name. Blue-Gate's people spread out to recall all items. Those impostors who had not attended the "celebration" but continued their frauds were hunted.
A purge in Shigeo's name swept the shadows.
A month later, the noise faded.
Some daimyō were alarmed. Investigations reported only commercial rivalries and backstabbing.
East Secret Island became a true industrial island, renamed "Xiangyang" (Facing Sun). Cheng Da became leader. His sister, taken years ago, had been rescued during the upheaval.
Blue-Gate's shinobi chose: follow Shigeo to Minami no Kuni's ninja village, or remain as guards on the island.
Rumors of Shigeo's return spread across the ninja world. But none knew his location. Kū no Kuni's (Sky Country's) exact place remained a mystery.
…
South Sea, Minami no Kuni. Far to the south, ten days' voyage from the Land of Rivers. Humid, warm. A great island the size of the lost Land of Whirlpools, with a dozen smaller islets. Population, one hundred thousand.
On a smaller isle northeast, along the current, stood Minami no Mura, the country's ninja village.
There, Shigeo arrived with thirty-six people. Villagers peeked curiously.
"Village chief, are these the shinobi you brought back?"
Shigeo nodded. "Yes. From now on they are of this village."
"Yes, yes!"
He led them through. On the main street, a slender figure ran toward him—a girl with long golden hair, a blue dress, and misty eyes. Blushing as she reached him, she threw herself into his arms.
"You're back!" Her tears brimmed.
The thirty-six men staggered with their bundles of gifts. Their jaws nearly dropped—not at her embrace, but at her beauty.
Eyes that spoke, lips like ripe peaches, her presence left them stunned.
(End of Chapter)
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