Chapter 273: Annexation of Lands
In the heart of the Land of Wind, the scorching sun blazed upon the vast desert. Amidst the golden flames of the mountains, a small oasis stood in the center.
At the edge of the oasis, two dusty Suna shinobi were slowly approaching. They wore standard uniforms, their forehead protectors gleaming coldly in the sun. The leader had a stern face, with a scar on his cheek; the other was taciturn, with a short sword at his waist. These two men were none other than Sasuke and Sakumo.
"Stop! Who are you?", several guards shouted.
"Sunagakure ninjas on patrol. We need provisions and rest," Sasuke, disguised, said, pulling out a mission scroll and waving it in his hand with an arrogant demeanor.
The guards, upon seeing him, changed their attitude. One of them rushed toward the luxurious tent in the center. Soon, a corpulent middle-aged man, Habebi, the head of the oasis, trotted out. "Ah, welcome, my dear lords of the Sand Village!", he said with a fawning smile. "Please, come in. Prepare the best wine and roasted lamb legs."
The tent was covered with exquisite rugs from the Land of Lightning. Gold and silver vessels shimmered in the candlelight.
"You two have worked hard," Habebi said. "Lately, those damn sand bandits are getting more and more rampant."
"Sand bandits?", Sasuke asked, feigning indifference.
"Alas!", Habebi sighed. "They're just a bunch of ungrateful outcasts. We give them work, food, and even drinking water, but they repay kindness with hatred. Especially those blacksmiths, who stole the technology and fled. Now, there's a group of bandits who have created a small oasis to the northwest. They're simply disobedient!"
Sasuke nodded. "True. Scoundrels should behave like scoundrels."
"Hey... you understand this principle! Cheers!", Habebi said, drunk.
Sasuke exchanged a glance with Sakumo and then, under the pretext of going on patrol, left the tent. But the sight before them only horrified them. Next to a dry ditch, emaciated civilians lined up, waiting to receive what looked like wastewater. Under a tree, armed guards watched workers harvesting fruit. At the entrance to the mining area, pale miners coughed non-stop.
"This is what they call a gift?", Sakumo said in a low voice, his knuckles white as he gripped his dagger.
"Look at it this way," Sasuke reassured him. "The situation is the same everywhere."
In the dead of night, they infiltrated a tent. The old man inside, seeing them, trembled with fear. "Sir, we really didn't hide the water..."
Under Sasuke's illusion, the old man revealed everything. It turned out that the water source and the trees were controlled by the chiefs. If ordinary people wanted to live, they had to dedicate themselves to deadly jobs. The people who escaped because they couldn't stand the oppression miraculously found a new water source in the desert and survived, but they were slandered as bandits.
"It seems that those so-called bandits are actually a group of free men."
"Damn the nobles' tricks!", a cold glint flashed in Sakumo's eyes.
"It's just a common land appropriation tactic. You'll get used to it," Sasuke laughed. "These new oases are not officially registered and do not pay taxes, so they do not receive protection. What if the nobles colluded with Sunagakure and seized them under the pretext of suppressing bandits? The nobles kept the oases and Sunagakure got the rewards. It's a win-win situation."
"Sasuke! Watch what you say!", Sakumo reminded him.
After a period of gathering information, and with the help of Aoi's database, they finally located a puppet production base in Sunagakure.
"First, destroy this base and then we'll cut off the supply line," Sasuke said, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
In less than a day, they arrived at their destination, a tectonic pit far from the main oasis. The air was heavy with the smell of motor oil, rust, and an indescribable stench of formaldehyde mixed with rotten flesh. The sight before them made their pupils shrink. Almost a hundred humanoid puppets worked mechanically on an assembly line. Green chakra pulsed in their eye sockets, and the exposed joints revealed incomplete human muscle tissue.
"Undead? Human puppets?", Sasuke's face darkened.
Just as he was about to explore further, a repressed argument erupted from inside.
"Arashi, stop! Look at what you've done!", Ruriyu's voice was brimming with anger. "Those are living people, and you have practiced forbidden techniques to transform them into puppets!"
"Forbidden techniques? Ruriyu, how pedantic you are!", Arashi's previously handsome features now had a perverse intensity. "Look at this power!"
His gaze became dangerous. "Ruriyu, you should also transform. Then you will understand the fragility of flesh. The Kazekage's position will be within our reach!"
"Arashi, stop!", Ebizō shouted. "We seek power to avenge the White-Haired Demon, not to become monsters."
Just as this family drama was stopping, Sasuke gestured to Sakumo, and both erupted simultaneously.
"Water Style: Cutting Wave!"
Sasuke's target was Ebizō. A high-pressure jet of water silently cut his nape. Sakumo, for his part, transformed into a silver-white flash, charging directly against Arashi. The moment he unsheathed his short sword, its cold light seemed to freeze the air as it pierced his opponent's modified central energy source.
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