Chapter 35 — Don't Think Hiding Behind the Door Will Save You
"Today, the damn Sound Village of the Land of Rice Fields must give us an explanation!"
"That's right! Every major nation can't stand their actions anymore!"
"Look—Cloud Village has already stepped up to uphold justice on our behalf!"
"Exactly! With the Cloud ninja supporting us, Grass Village will surely get the justice we deserve!"
Outside the daimyo's residence in Azuchi Castle—the capital of the Land of Rice Fields—
a noisy crowd of Grass shinobi were shouting themselves hoarse, waving banners, pounding drums, and pretending to be the righteous victims of an unspeakable injustice.
Ever since Oda Nobunaga carried away their "public blood bank,"
the Grass ninja had torn apart their entire country searching for him—
but found nothing.
Unable to swallow the humiliation—
for Grass shinobi were accustomed to robbing others, not being robbed—
they reached a collective decision:
If you can't find the enemy… manufacture a narrative.
And so Grass Village publicly declared to the entire ninja world that:
Oda Nobunaga had violated all morals and decency.
He had "ambushed" their humble village,
and "abducted" a pair of poor, helpless Uzumaki survivors whom Grass Village had benevolently "taken in."
At first, Grass Village's demands weren't high.
Mess up Nobunaga's reputation a little,
tarnish the recently resurgent prestige of the Land of Rice Fields—
that would've been enough.
But…
When the rumors of the Uzumaki mother and daughter spread like wildfire,
and Sound Village still offered no response—
not a denial, not a counter-statement—
the ambitious hardliners within Grass Village, the faction known as "Seed of Grass,"
began to grow suspicious.
To them, the answer was obvious:
Nobunaga must still be hiding somewhere inside Grass Country, trembling in fear.
If Grass shinobi were sweeping the nation room-by-room,
of course Sound Village wouldn't dare reveal his location or speak recklessly.
Under that assumption…
With the daimyo dead and the old nobility of Rice Country wiped out,
the newly elevated peasants and inexperienced Sound ninja would never dare to act decisively.
So the Grass shinobi convinced themselves that their guess was fact.
They doubled the intensity of their internal search for the nonexistent Nobunaga—
and simultaneously increased diplomatic pressure on Rice Country.
If they could extort some benefits while Rice Country was "leaderless," why not?
Other nations watched and chuckled at the spectacle.
And then—
the Land of Lightning's Cloud Village suddenly "stepped forward."
With saintly righteousness on their lips, they loudly condemned Sound Village for:
"The despicable kidnapping of another nation's bloodline-limit shinobi."
Cloud Village even declared they would gather an envoy team
to travel to Sound Village for a thorough investigation.
They invited the "victims"—the Grass shinobi—
to join them on this grand journey to the Land of Rice Fields.
The ninja world roared with excitement.
The Grass ninja roared even louder.
But inside Azuchi Castle…
Someone behind a door clenched their fists.
Because once Cloud Village got involved—
this stopped being a joke.
With Cloud Village stepping in, the Grass ninja were ecstatic.
Both Grass and Cloud were knee-deep in filth, but that never stopped villains from cooperating when their goals aligned.
Thus, the two villages formed a joint envoy group and marched into the Land of Rice Fields—
leading to the very scene now unfolding outside Oda Nobunaga's residence.
The Grass shinobi were so desperate for backing that they practically worshipped the Cloud shinobi at their side.
"Rest assured," the Cloud envoy said smugly, pounding his chest,
"we of Cloud Village despise Sound Village's vile practice of stealing bloodline-limit ninja."
"If a village lacks something, they should earn it—
not kidnap and rob others! What kind of barbaric conduct is that?"
"If crimes like this aren't punished, won't the ninja world's moral order collapse?"
The leader of the envoy—Jōnin Yuki Iori—had been shouting this speech almost every day for the past three days.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with the Grass delegation, screaming at the daimyo residence gate like a well-trained actor.
Of course, he carefully ignored the fact that Cloud Village itself was notorious for committing these exact crimes.
But Cloud ninja rarely cared about such inconvenient details.
If someone pointed out their hypocrisy?
Yuki Iori had already prepared his counterattack:
"So what? We Cloud ninja are barbarians. Who's going to do anything about it?"
Had everyone forgotten?
Cloud once openly attempted to kidnap the Byakugan from the strongest village in the world, Konohagakure.
Their agent died on the spot—
and Cloud still forced Konoha to hand over compensation.
Even now, the corpse of Konoha's Hyūga clan head's younger brother lay inside Cloud Village's laboratories as a "research sample."
After exchanging a few flattering remarks with the Grass envoy,
Yuki Iori stepped back to join the true decision-maker of the Cloud delegation—a woman in disguise, Mabui, the Raikage's trusted aide.
Mabui, with her bronzed skin and impressive curves, stood quietly in her altered uniform.
Yuki cast a not-so-subtle glance at her and forced a smile.
"Lady Mabui, tasks like this could've been left to us.
Why would a high-ranking aide of the Raikage lower herself to accompany this mission?"
Mabui gave him a brief, cold look—
very clearly unimpressed.
As a woman in the macho, muscle-worshiping Cloud Village,
she had zero patience for this kind of weaselly man.
But she answered anyway, her voice soft:
"This is Lord Raikage's direct order.
And you must've noticed it, haven't you?"
"The daimyo of the Land of Lightning—who has always supported Cloud Village unconditionally—has recently… changed his attitude."
"All because of this Oda Nobunaga."
"Ah… so that's it."
Understanding dawned on Yuki Iori.
The Land of Rice Fields was attempting to merge the roles of daimyo and village leader into one position.
Oda Nobunaga was both daimyo and head of Sound Village.
If that worked…
other nations might attempt the same.
And if daimyo started consolidating their power—
Cloud Village's authority could be challenged.
Yuki's eyes drifted toward the sealed doors of the daimyo's residence.
They had already stayed in the Land of Rice Fields for several days.
But something bothered him:
Where is Sound Village?
And why has no one found it?
Even Mabui, ever calm and calculating, felt increasingly irritated.
Before the mission, the Raikage had personally instructed her:
"Use this opportunity to uncover everything about Sound Village.
Even its location."
But after days of searching…
not even a trace of the village had been discovered.
Mabui's gaze hardened as she stared at the unmoving gates.
If things continued like this, she would get nothing.
Perhaps…
she needed to stir things up.
Why not push the Grass nin into attacking the daimyo's residence directly?
If Sound ninja were hiding behind the doors, they'd have to appear.
Once they appeared, Mabui could trace their trails back to Sound Village.
Better an aggressive investigation than standing around doing nothing.
"Go tell the Grass ninjas to escalate," she murmured to Yuki.
"If necessary… have them break down the gate."
Yuki stiffened.
"Break down the daimyo's residence?"
That was… bold.
Breaking into a village's gate was one thing.
Breaking into a daimyo's residence was another completely.
The former would cause anger.
The latter could spark inter-country conflict.
"This isn't a village," Yuki reminded her.
"This is a daimyo's estate. Other lords might react."
"Oda Nobunaga isn't here."
Mabui's voice was firm.
"If the daimyo were home, do you think he'd hide for three days while we shout at his doorstep?"
"…Fair point."
Yuki hesitated—
then his excitement grew.
Breaking down a daimyo's gate wasn't just aggressive.
It was… intoxicating.
Soon enough he found the Grass delegation leader and whispered Mabui's plan into his ear.
Despite the Grass ninja paling at the idea,
Yuki grinned and clapped his hands loudly:
"Go on!
Even if the sky falls, Cloud Village will protect you!"