"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 159: Not Killing
Tobirama Senju's script was "either don't act, or go all the way," while in contrast, Yūshin's script was much more righteous—it could be called a "benevolent invincibility" script.
Of course, this stylistic difference was partly due to their personalities, but the main factor was that they faced different enemies.
Yūshin's side was near the border—what could only be called a flanking battlefield—while the Senju and Uchiha battlefield was naturally the main theater.
"Lord Yūshin, there's someone calling himself a plenipotentiary envoy of the Moriyasu Clan, named 'Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear,' who wants to meet with you. He says he has important matters to discuss."
Shortly after the "Uchiha Izuna assassination incident," on the northwest border, a Fireflies ninja brought this message to Yūshin's tent.
"Earth Grudge Fear?"
Yūshin was a bit puzzled—these people actually weren't all dead yet. Seems Hashirama Senju's slap still wasn't hard enough.
Little did he know, this surviving Earth Grudge Fear ninja hadn't participated in the assassination mission at all—he was a survival expert who was very sensitive to death.
"Probably related to the conflicts among small and medium ninja clans in the western region we observed earlier... Moriyasu Clan, huh? Bring this plenipotentiary envoy over."
Earlier, reconnaissance ninja from the front-line camp had discovered that some small and medium ninja clans in the west had suddenly started passionate mutual slaughter for unknown reasons. Now it seemed this might be related to the enormous external pressure brought by the Fireflies.
As for the Moriyasu Clan...
This ninja clan was indeed on Yūshin's mission list—the type where those who understand the times are heroes, and those who don't can try being heroes in their next life.
Soon, Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear was brought to Yūshin's tent.
This Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear dressed very much like an "Earth Grudge Fear" ninja, with a half-grown boy following behind him.
This boy actually looked completely calm even in the enemy camp.
Wait, Yūshin suddenly felt this scene was familiar—could this boy be following the Qin Wuyang script?
"You're an Earth Grudge Fear ninja. Can you represent the Moriyasu Clan's will?"
After seeing the two, Yūshin asked directly.
"Of course I can. Lord Yūshin need not doubt this," Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear said.
If Gorō Fūma or Nara Hideyuki were present, they would definitely recognize Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear, since this person was a high-quality customer. Unfortunately, the latter had gone to coordinate supply logistics for other camps, and as for the former—forget being present here, he couldn't even be present in the Shinobi World.
Yūshin nodded. This ninja's attitude didn't seem fake and appeared open to negotiation... The Earth Grudge Fear could represent Moriyasu simply because Moriyasu's high-ranking ninja lacked the courage to enter enemy territory directly.
It was normal for Moriyasu people not to particularly trust Yūshin and not want their lives directly controlled by him.
"Both of you, please sit."
Yūshin gestured for the two ninja to sit on simple chairs, then continued asking:
"There have been several battles in the Moriyasu Clan's activity area recently?"
"Yes, Lord Yūshin. We are purging disobedient voices in the Land of Waterfalls. Only after achieving unity over the armed forces within a country's range can we be qualified to negotiate with you... or rather, only then will our negotiations have guaranteed implementation, making our discussions meaningful."
Land of Waterfalls? Indeed, small boats are easier to turn around—in such matters, these small and medium ninja clans reacted much faster than the great ninja clans.
Land of Waterfalls? Where did this Land of Waterfalls come from? This country must still only exist on paper.
So in the previous battles, the Moriyasu Clan absorbed many forces willing to submit while eliminating regional powers unwilling to submit?
Their actions were indeed decisive.
"Exactly. After all, I don't want to see policies changing overnight... So what does your side mean?"
"We understand the Fireflies' intentions in moving north. The Fireflies are good, but not our homeland... We neither wish to join the Fireflies nor want to be enemies with you. Therefore, we want to independently establish a ninja alliance organization to control the not-so-vast Land of Waterfalls."
Yūshin thought to himself: nice words, but how is this different from my previous rejection of the Ancient Well Clan?
One says "homeland is hard to leave," the other says "Fireflies are good but not our homeland."
"We're not making enemies of the entire world either. If your side can clearly define the border with the Land of Fire and maintain long-term friendship, I personally, as well as my organization and the future dominant force of the Land of Fire, are all willing to support you in establishing a new country."
Supporting friendly forces in establishing new countries—Yūshin was willing to do such things. Although the validity period of a written agreement might not be that long, at least while Hashirama Senju was alive, the agreement's enforceability could definitely be guaranteed.
"We are naturally willing to maintain friendship with the Fireflies." Obviously, Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear had a clear understanding of their own strength.
If powerful forces are willing to be reasonable, then small countries' survival strategy is to not violate promises—otherwise, wouldn't that be seeking death?
Don't underestimate the cognitive level of survival-focused ninja!
With that, Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear handed over a map with the approximate territorial range of the Land of Waterfalls marked on it.
"The border division between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Fire basically follows the separation between the Moriyasu Clan and various ninja clans represented by the Inuzuka Clan that joined the Fireflies. I wonder if Lord Yūshin sees any problems with this border demarcation."
Yūshin glanced at this map and said:
"That's fine, but the specific border will need to be surveyed and determined by specialized ninja to ensure fairness."
"Of course, no problem."
Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Yūshin could support the establishment of the Land of Waterfalls, minor gains or losses in border areas weren't worth attention... His previous guess was correct—the Fireflies organization's northern campaign was indeed to end the chaos.
If the Moriyasu Clan could stabilize a region and guarantee not to be enemies with the Fireflies, they could receive support.
"After you determine the border between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Fire, if you still have expansion ambitions, you must not cross the Land of Iron border to the north. To the south, you may border the Land of Wind. As for the west... you decide for yourselves, just remember to act within your capabilities."
Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear was stunned—he hadn't expected this unexpected gain. The Fireflies organization could actually support the Land of Waterfalls' expansion.
However, "act within your capabilities" was indeed very important. If they provoked some force they shouldn't because of aggressive nature, that would be a catastrophic disaster.
Therefore, expanding south and north was most suitable—it was best not to provoke the great ninja clans on the western plateau.
The two sides then exchanged some details, and after reaching preliminary cooperation intentions, Ryo of the Earth Grudge Fear left satisfied.
In the following days, the Moriyasu Clan prepared to establish the so-called "Land of Waterfalls" while actively sending ninja to contact the Fireflies, beginning rapid demarcation of both sides' territories.
Several days later, the matter was settled.
During this period, Yūshin received a war briefing from the Senju Clan and learned of Uchiha Izuna's death.
"Actually killed directly on the battlefield? Looks like after fighting for so many years, Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna still had some feelings... This is not wanting to see the other person tossing and turning on a sickbed."
"Show weakness to the enemy, lure them deep, then deliver a fatal blow? Tobirama is still Tobirama, getting more and more devious... If this person gets any worse, he'll almost reach Danzō Shimura's level."
Speak of the devil—the intelligence actually contained such "getting worse" content.
"But why is Sasuke involved here too? He faced Tobirama again?"
According to the intelligence description, Sasuke had another great battle with Tobirama and seemed to have lost his Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power.
As for the so-called "Nameless," Yūshin could naturally see through this as Sasuke's disguise.
"If there hadn't been Sasuke, wouldn't Tobirama have been able to get Izuna's Sharingan... Wait, no, Tobirama wouldn't be so lacking in character as to dig out someone's eyes after they're dead, would he?"
Someone of Yūshin's high moral character still somewhat overestimated Tobirama's moral standards.
Think about it—Tobirama could develop the Impure World Reincarnation technique that digs dead people out of the ground to make them continue working overtime. Compared to that, digging out eyes is nothing...
Tobirama's moral standards simply have no standards—he's the moral lowland of the Shinobi World.
"Taking the opportunity to make the 'Senju Alliance' public? That's good timing. The Uchiha are almost like rats crossing the street now. Other ninja should also think about where their future lies."
Yūshin continued reading and discovered the immediate effects of the Senju Alliance's enormous deterrent power:
The quite powerful Shimura Clan chose to surrender to the alliance, hoping to become a member of this powerful collective.
"Uh... this Shimura Clan, is it Danzō Shimura's Shimura Clan? Worthy of you—your ability to seize opportunities is quite strong."
Considering that Danzō Shimura was the same age as Hiruzen Sarutobi, this "Kunai Sage" should theoretically have been born by now.
Yūshin just sighed casually and set this matter aside.
The Shimura Clan's choice was like Italy in the middle game of a world war—correct is correct, but the treatment they could receive definitely couldn't compare to "original shareholders" like the Sarutobi Clan.
Now the key question was: what actions would Madara Uchiha take next? As expected, Madara should still be able to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
After obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō, he could further decipher that stone tablet that had been tampered with by Black Zetsu.
Then he could understand what "the power of all creation" meant and learn about the so-called Rinnegan with titles like "Eye of Creation" and "Six Paths Eye" and its "standard synthesis path."
Madara would think he understood the Shinobi World's ultimate secret, and then his intelligence and behavior would start sliding downhill.
"However..."
To obtain the "Power of Asura," there was no need for such trouble—no need to control the Nine-Tails or counterattack Konoha...
Yūshin could actually provide help. Isn't it just cutting a piece of flesh from Hashirama? There's no need to stage a life-and-death melodrama.
Such things—benevolent deception is always much simpler than forceful robbery.
It's just that evolving from the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to the Rinnegan seems to require considerable time. Madara only awakened it in his old age, which is why he could only temporarily entrust his grand ambitions to Obito Uchiha, hoping the other could revive him at the crucial moment.
"So can Madara's actions be faster?"
Retrieving the Rinnegan doesn't require much strength, since it could be taken from young Nagato... Wait, could there still be Nagato?
Nagato seemed to be a mixed-blood Uzumaki, similar to Naruto. The question is, which of his parents carried Uzumaki blood, and when did they end up living outside?
The future was gradually becoming full of uncertainty, and Yūshin was starting to feel a headache.
...
Yūshin led the Fireflies organization north in battle, but after consecutively subduing several ninja clans, he actually hadn't caused any large-scale slaughter.
Or rather, up to now, Yūshin had never engaged in killing—either stealing people's bodies, or stealing people's dogs, or directly negotiating with people... Honestly, this style was too unconventional.
If one's side possessed absolutely overwhelming strength, shouldn't the approach to enemies be to steamroll and crush them all the way?
However, Yūshin was actually crushing them, just in a way different from what ordinary ninja understood.
Therefore, the reputation of "Yūshin the Non-Killer" began spreading throughout the Shinobi World.
Whether such a title was praise or mockery, Yūshin couldn't really distinguish, but he always felt someone was morally blackmailing him. Not killing? What ninja doesn't kill?
If your hands aren't stained with blood, are you still a ninja?
After handling the Land of Waterfalls matter in the north, Yūshin led his team back south, preparing to deal with the "Land of Rain" situation.
Although the Land of Rain hadn't been established yet, Yūshin still felt the ninja clan forces within this range were the most complex and difficult to handle.
A place that could be chosen by Black Zetsu and White Zetsu as their lair, where they had entrenched themselves for a thousand years—could it be an ordinary "blessed sanctuary"?
So this time he followed the principle of starting with the easy and moving to the difficult.
Given the Land of Rain and Amegakure's later performance, Yūshin felt it was better not to get involved with the ninja clans here. So this time he didn't plan to subdue any ninja clans, but hoped to drive them all westward for some distance.
The resulting power vacuum, Yūshin also didn't want filled by the Land of Fire... Weren't there the Land of Wind to the south and the Land of Waterfalls to the north? They would definitely want territorial expansion.
At this time, within the "Land of Rain" territory, two ninja clan leaders were meeting.
These two ninja were respectively from the Rkawa Clan and the Uotani Clan—the two strongest ninja clans in the "Land of Rain." For many years they had been at war, but now under pressure from circumstances, they had to unite.
"That Yūshin has finally come to our side. What should we do?" the Rkawa clan leader asked with furrowed brows.
"What do you mean what should we do? Heh heh, of course we find a way to kill him... For us, this kind of thing isn't hard to accomplish, right?" the Uotani clan leader said.
"Indeed not hard. I've studied his consistent behavior—always leading from the front, full of benevolence and righteousness. That's undoubtedly a sanctimonious ninja. Such ninja generally don't live long."
"Isn't he known as some 'Non-Killer'? Pretend to agree to his conditions and lure him over... He'll definitely be willing to come."
"And then?"
"Heh, you're playing dumb when you understand perfectly well."
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