Yūshin had obtained new Earth Grudge Fear "specimens," planning to cultivate them generation after generation, hoping to gradually "detoxify" the specimens through layers of filtering by "lucky ninja," making them harmless and easy to control.
While Gorō Fūma was busy conducting brutal human experiments, Yūshin wasn't idle either.
After recovering from his injuries, through repeated chakra extraction, guidance, and control training, his mastery over his own body increased once again.
During this process, he discovered other changes in his body after absorbing the new batch of White Zetsu—the benefits weren't just further self-enhancement.
Perhaps thanks to that "distributed command-level" White Zetsu capable of long-distance information transmission, Yūshin found he now had some unilateral advantages over other White Zetsu.
First, he could suppress his own signal. Even while maintaining "White Zetsu transformation," as long as he wished, he could still block his "White Zetsu characteristics." This allowed him to sense other White Zetsu while preventing them from sensing him.
Second, Yūshin gained slight dominance over ordinary White Zetsu—if another White Zetsu possessed a ninja, he could easily expel it.
The second point was temporarily useless, but the first was a tremendous enhancement for Yūshin. Previously he could only sneak attack ninja; now he could even sneak attack White Zetsu.
In a sense, he could be called "White Zetsu among White Zetsu"—the ultimate Zetsu.
Just as Yūshin brought the staged results of Earth Grudge Fear back to Kikyō Castle, before he could cultivate it anew, two people hurriedly approached him.
Only a few people in the organization knew about Yūshin's "secret technique transplant experiments." Upon hearing the experiment had achieved staged success, some became quite impatient.
"Clan leader, we heard the experiment has succeeded."
The visitors were Kansen Morinaga and Ryūnosuke Hayasaka. Their change in how they addressed Yūshin showed they were playing the emotional card from the start.
"It can't be called success—only some progress."
Yūshin corrected their statement while lowering their expectations.
But both men were quite excited and completely missed Yūshin's implication. Kansen Morinaga immediately said:
"Since there's a successful case, can we also get that secret technique transplanted?"
Honestly, these two men's desire for new power wasn't to showcase personal ambition—quite the opposite, their urgency came from public spirit, not private desire.
The organization, or rather the Hagūgen forces under the organization's banner, was currently developing and growing stronger, and clan leader Yūshin's strength was visibly increasing. However, during this process, Kansen Morinaga and Ryūnosuke Hayasaka felt increasingly powerless.
Limited by their abilities, they often couldn't contribute at all.
On one hand, the organization kept developing; on the other, their position became more like spectators. This reality and sense of disparity was hard to accept... People always yearn for self-worth realization, and this thinking wasn't wrong.
Previously they lived day to day, only seeking survival—any thoughts beyond staying alive seemed superfluous. But now that everyone had settled down, their pursued goals naturally became more ambitious.
Kansen Morinaga and Ryūnosuke Hayasaka were definitely willing to contribute to the organization's development, even sacrifice themselves if necessary.
Yūshin understood their feelings, but that didn't mean he approved of their suicidal behavior.
"It's not possible yet, because the transplant success rate is only about one percent. If you want transplants now, the outcome is predictable... most likely meaningless and ugly death."
To dispel their urgent and irrational thoughts, Yūshin added:
"For us, ensuring transplant safety is most important. Don't rush—once technical conditions mature, we'll experience a collective strength leap."
This was half-true, half-false. Even if the secret technique development achieved complete success, Yūshin wouldn't let all clan members become tentacle monsters.
Ryūnosuke Hayasaka suppressed his urgent feelings, knowing Yūshin's reasoning was correct. Honestly, they weren't afraid of becoming test subjects—as long as there were gains, as long as they could contribute to the clan, what did personal life and death matter?
They just feared dying meaninglessly.
"Clan leader, how long will it take for the transplant success rate to reach usable levels?"
Yūshin counted on his fingers: "In the most ideal situation, maybe seven or eight more iterations."
This was indeed the "ideal situation"—if iterations couldn't improve success rates, then all future transplant procedures would depend purely on luck.
"Then... let's wait a bit longer."
Yūshin finally persuaded the two enthusiastic clan members, while considering when the next batch of unlucky subjects would appear, and whether the previous batch of distinguished customers and rare test subjects had developed in more dramatic directions...
Some things were predictable: for small and medium ninja clans, even if they possessed some revolutionary power, it was difficult to grasp it firmly.
Never mind the problem of "an innocent man becomes guilty when he possesses a treasure"—could such ninja clans really control a ninja who mastered Earth Grudge Fear secret technique?
Taking the previous customers as an example, that successful test subject obviously wasn't their clan member. After undergoing harsh experiments, was there any way to tame him and make him offer loyalty?
Cough, the invention and application of new technology would naturally intensify unrest in certain regions of the shinobi world.
Yūshin thought he understood the regional instability level quite well, but actually he overestimated himself. Rather than worry about strangers' situations, he should look at his own surroundings.
He hadn't been healthy long and was actively developing internally while working hard on strength training, trying to master his Kekkei Genkai to perfection. However, he hadn't expected this brief peace to be broken so soon.
The reason chaotic times are chaotic is that even if you just stay put honestly and cause no trouble, it's still impossible.
What, everyone else is fighting bloody battles while you stand on dry shore watching the show? Is your shore really that dry?
It must be splashed wet.
...
"Yūshin, these past few days we've continuously discovered strange ninja scouting around Kikyō Castle, and some have even infiltrated the city for detailed observation..."
Hagūgen Chihori promptly shared intelligence she'd just compiled with Yūshin.
Since they lacked sensory ninja, the organization temporarily had no dedicated intelligence department, but ninja naturally collected surrounding intelligence while protecting the lord's safety and maintaining city stability.
They couldn't detect every little movement, but their intelligence gathering efficiency, while not high, wasn't nonexistent—they could always discover suspicious ninja activity traces.
This news stunned Yūshin.
The pirated Earth Grudge Fear intelligence had no reason to spread so quickly, so who would be interested in this godforsaken place?
"Confirmed? Couldn't they be Fūma Clan ninja tool buyers?"
Chihori shook her head—even if their skills were lacking, they were qualified ninja. How could they mistake something like this?
"Impossible, definitely hostile forces."
"Hostile forces... surrounding hostile forces?" Yūshin thought briefly, and an answer automatically appeared in his mind. "Could it be Reitō Castle?"
Among surrounding hostile forces, only Reitō Castle remained.
During these days, news of Kikyō Castle's upheaval should have spread to neighboring regions.
Leadership changes and ninja power reshuffling made Kikyō Castle look like it was in precarious turmoil.
Undoubtedly, internal instability was external opportunity.
Plus, when the unlucky previous lord was alive, he'd spread false news that Reitō Castle's lord died at the hands of wandering ninja in his own territory—this could very likely cause Reitō Castle's displeasure and become a reason for conflict.
The previous lord was indeed "quick-witted"—clearly he "slept forever" that very night, yet still managed to cause trouble before closing his eyes. What kind of spirit was this?
Obviously a spirit of "even in death, make others clean up your mess." One could only say lords were indeed lords, different from ordinary people.
Although the next day Kikyō Castle spread news with greater intensity, more explosive content, and more eye-catching manner about "internal ninja rebellion, lord's death," there was no guarantee the previous message wasn't collected by Reitō Castle.
Regardless, perhaps Kikyō Castle's crisis made the other side see an opportunity to unify the "Land of the River Source."
The so-called "opportunities from heaven, if not taken, bring punishment instead"—when certain conditions appeared, war would erupt in ways beyond human subjective control.
"Our counter-tracking ninja didn't dare follow too far. When hostile ninja retreated, they kept changing directions, so we temporarily can't confirm their origin," Chihori said.
After all, their own shortcomings were too obvious...
Yūshin had to change his question: "Reitō Castle's ninja—how strong are they?"
"Very strong. Perhaps their individual peak combat power doesn't match the Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear you defeated, but Reitō Castle's ninja follow an elite few route... Therefore, limited by their special circumstances, they often have more than enough for defense but insufficient for offense."
"Defense?"
Yūshin thought, there are actually such ninja? Ninja who don't attack but focus on defense—what achievements could they have?
He decided to personally scout the enemy's situation.
However, when Yūshin witnessed the so-called "elite few," his expression immediately became strange.
Simultaneously, he overturned his recent judgment—even ninja focused on defense could be very accomplished ninja.
The upcoming conflict might not be a bad thing after all.
After confirming those ninja's origins, Yūshin understood why his side's ninja could quickly detect hostile forces infiltrating Kikyō Castle...
Although The Fireflies organization's ninja had mediocre intelligence gathering abilities, the enemy's infiltration capabilities were disaster-level.
Those ninja were burly, looking less like ninja and more like sumo practitioners.
Their physiques were very distinctive, causing Yūshin to make certain associations. More importantly, the infiltrating ninja made no attempt at disguise—their chest armor often bore a circle with the character "food" written inside.
Honestly, although Yūshin had the original work as an "intelligence source," he couldn't directly recognize many ninja clan crests or symbols. But because this symbol was so distinctive, he had no reason not to recognize it—it belonged to the Akimichi Clan.
Reitō Castle's ninja force was actually the Akimichi Clan?
Damn, was this clan a bit naive? No wonder they were "few."
Never mind why the Akimichi Clan "occupied the strategic position" of Reitō Castle—this clan's individual ninja strength was naturally very strong, but not unbeatable, because their fighting methods were relatively simple... The current question was whether the Ino-Shika-Chō system had formed.
Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi—if these three ninja clans mixed together, their squad strength would be extremely exaggerated. But if this combination hadn't formed yet, things would be relatively simple.
Ino-Shika-Chō was very strong, but a bunch of Akimichi combined together in "shadows of the butterfly" wasn't hard to deal with.
Yūshin had originally wanted to fight an annihilation battle, using a bloody battlefield to entertain the invading enemies, but now he quickly changed his mind.
Ninja clans like Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi were the most core forces of the Hokage faction in the later Konoha era. It could be said that precisely because of these ninja clans' support, the Hokage could become Hokage.
So the question arose: if Akimichi could become the Hokage faction's core, couldn't they become The Fireflies faction's core? There was no reason they couldn't.
Yūshin thought, surely I'm not inferior to Hashirama Senju... cough, anyway, the "great reconciliation" between Senju and Uchiha was still nowhere in sight, and Konoha's formation was still far off. So Yūshin definitely wasn't stealing anyone's thunder, much less being a third party interfering.
Rather, the Akimichi Clan should timely demonstrate what it meant for "good birds to choose suitable trees to perch on."
Compared to Akimichi Clan ninja, Yūshin's stealth and tracking abilities were ancestral level. He followed behind an Akimichi ninja who came to gather intelligence, and no matter how the other party detoured, he ultimately discovered that person indeed returned to Reitō Castle.
Right, this was correct.
Yūshin didn't make any extra moves, but on his return journey from Reitō Castle, he'd already figured out how to fight the upcoming battle.
Simply put, there definitely wouldn't be rivers of blood—he had to find a way to turn this brutal war into a friendly match.
He couldn't rush; maybe he'd need to pull a "seven captures and seven releases."
Additionally, he had to consider political factors...
When Yūshin returned to Kikyō Castle, he found the organization's ninja were all very serious. Even Kansen Morinaga and Ryūnosuke Hayasaka, whose personalities were somewhat aggressive, were already planning to forcibly transplant Earth Grudge Fear tendrils, preparing for battlefield mutation.
"What happened?" Seeing this situation, he immediately asked.
"Reitō Castle's lord sent a formal declaration of war," Shichimi Uchiha explained to Yūshin.
"Declaration of war?"
This incomprehensible term floated into Yūshin's mind. Because the situation was too bizarre, he was stunned.
Everyone else sneaks around maliciously—why are you being so open and aboveboard?
Reitō Castle's style was off—something was wrong somewhere.
"So honorable?"
Shichimi shook her head with some confusion—she'd never seen such a thing either.
Yūshin took the declaration of war. This should have been delivered directly to the acting lord, but since he was just a figurehead, it naturally ended up in Yūshin's hands.
It contained nothing more than reasons like Reitō's lord's honor being damaged, Kikyō's lord dying under mysterious circumstances, the Land of the River Source having only one legitimate ruler, etc. In short, to maintain their legitimate interests, they were declaring war on Kikyō Castle, telling them to wash their necks and wait.
Of course, they weren't naive enough to specify which day and location for the decisive battle—that would seem too brain-dead... cough, specifying battle locations and even participating personnel was what Yūshin was about to do.
"Leader, should we begin war mobilization? The enemy could attack at any time. Fortunately, we've stored enough weapons..."
Even Gorō Fūma was full of fighting spirit because he didn't want to lose the shelter he'd just obtained.
Yūshin pressed his hands down, signaling everyone to stay calm:
"Everyone, don't get excited. This battle is different from previous ones—we don't need everyone to go to the battlefield. In fact, everyone just needs to stay alert to prevent enemy sneak attacks."
Speaking thus, Yūshin looked at Shichimi Uchiha. He needed to fight externally, so the important task of protecting their base would need to be entrusted to Shichimi... As everyone knew, because Yūshin was good at raiding homes, he feared being raided himself.
Shichimi understood his meaning and silently nodded.
"As for seeking enemy weaknesses and striking at opportunities, I'll handle that alone... If operations go well, this could actually be a good opportunity for us to expand our strength."
Everyone was puzzled, but only Gorō Fūma somehow felt a chill down his spine.
"Leader, according to our intelligence, this time's enemies have strong overall strength—they're elite ninja. If you go alone..."
"No problem, I specialize in fighting elites."
In fact, few people questioned Yūshin's battle plans, because this combat method of large forces standing by while he personally acted or led very few people was Yūshin's consistent style. Everyone was basically used to it.
Yūshin chose to act alone—on one hand, his battle plan was like this; on the other hand, it was to avoid deaths.
Because his goal was to smoothly annex and merge the Akimichi Clan.
Regardless of which side, if even one person died next, the operational difficulty of this matter would increase dramatically.
However, Yūshin wasn't arrogant enough to treat the Akimichi Clan as fools, thinking they were puppets for his manipulation. Before launching external operations, he worked with Shichimi, Gorō Fūma, and others to establish very detailed and strict internal defense plans.
So much so that by nighttime, The Fireflies organization's residential area still seemed unusually noisy.
Kikyō Castle's supreme ruler Date Kameya sat by the window on the highest floor of the mostly repaired keep, letting the night wind blow while fully enjoying the good life.
The commotion below the castle distracted him. He showed a puzzled expression, wondering what on earth was happening.
He could never have imagined that his side's armed forces were about to undergo total mobilization for total war, yet he, the acting lord, knew absolutely nothing.
🔥 Want to read the next 50+ chapters RIGHT NOW?
💎 Patreon members get instant access!
⚡ Limited-time offer currently running...
👉 [Join on - patreon.com/GoldenLong]