Chapter 267: The Assimilation of the Land of Rivers
Land of Rivers (川の国, Kawa no Kuni).
The plains of this small country, strategically positioned between the Great Nations, were currently hosting a sight rarely seen in times of peace.
A force of 1,200 soldiers—shinobi and samurai—like a massive steel dragon, snaked its way across the landscape, moving with disciplined speed towards the Land of Wind.
At the forefront of the procession were 200 Konoha shinobi.
Uchiha Shunichi, leading them, wore a fox mask, revealing only a pair of cold, indifferent eyes. He was the Supreme Commander of this particular, highly sensitive operation.
Behind him were 1,000 samurai dispatched by the Fire Daimyō, Chiba, all clad in new, brightly polished armor.
The procession reached the heart of the Land of Rivers, near its small, central administrative capital.
An Anbu shinobi, moving with Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), appeared silently beside Shunichi.
"Shunichi-sama, Hokage-sama has sent the latest orders."
Uchiha Shunichi's footsteps did not falter in the slightest. He merely tilted his masked head, indicating he was listening.
"Speak."
"Hokage-sama orders: Before proceeding to the Land of Wind, first subdue the Hot Springs Village (Yugakure) and incorporate the entire Land of Rivers into the Land of Fire's territory. Any official, ninja, or lord who resists shall be killed without mercy. The annexation must be swift."
[Inorin's Note: Hot Springs Village (Yugakure—not to be confused with the Hidden Village of the same name) is used here to represent the local ninja force of the Land of Rivers. The Land of Rivers itself is the political state that must be annexed.]
Beneath Shunichi's mask, there was no emotional fluctuation. It was just another strategic layer.
"Understood."
He raised his hand and made a single, simple, decisive gesture.
"All forces, turn around! Immediate change of direction!"
"Target: Hot Springs Village and the Daimyō's capital!"
Hot Springs Village (Yugakure).
On the watchtower at the Village entrance, a local shinobi sentry, scanning the horizon, suddenly saw a massive, ominous dust cloud rising against the sky.
The sight, the sheer size of the approaching force, was enough to scare him out of his wits.
"ENEMY ATTACK!!!"
The shrill, terrified alarm instantly resounded throughout the entire Village.
The heavy Village gate immediately closed with a deafening CRANG! Hundreds of Hot Springs Village shinobi, holding rusty kunai, gathered nervously at the Village entrance.
The Leader of Hot Springs Village, Harada Masao, a slightly corpulent, middle-aged man, now stood on the wall. His forehead was soaked in cold sweat.
He looked at the approaching army with its distinct banners, and his heart turned to ice.
The Konoha banner! And the banner of the Land of Fire Daimyō! They had been warned by rumors from the Land of Wind.
"Leader! What should we do?!" his subordinate asked tremblingly. "Should we fight? Should we engage?"
Fight?
Harada Masao's lips trembled.
With what would they fight?
Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, was razed to the ground by Konoha overnight, according to the panicked messengers who had passed through days ago!
Their small Hot Springs Village—their entire military force—wasn't even enough to get stuck in the teeth of this massive, bloodthirsty Konoha army!
"Open... open the gate..." Harada Masao ordered, his voice a dry, trembling whisper.
"What?!" The subordinate thought he had misheard.
"I told you to open the gate!" Harada Masao suddenly roared, grabbing the subordinate's collar with a desperate grip. "Do you want all of us—our families, our children—to end up like Sunagakure?! Do you want a crater where our home stood?!"
The subordinate was startled into compliance. He scrambled to relay the order.
The heavy Village gate slowly, creakingly, opened just before the Konoha army arrived at the walls.
Harada Masao straightened his clothes, which were already soaked with cold sweat, and, bringing several high-ranking officials, quickly rushed out to meet the invading force.
The Konoha army, moving at a disciplined military trot, halted just outside the gates.
Uchiha Shunichi, atop his warhorse, looked down at the short, corpulent Leader of Hot Springs Village, who had voluntarily stepped out. Harada Masao wore a terrified, fawning smile plastered on his face.
Harada Masao bowed deeply, adopting the lowest possible posture, his hands pressed to the ground.
"Welcome, Konoha-sama! We were unaware of your glorious arrival and failed to greet you properly! Please forgive us!"
Shunichi did not speak. He merely looked down at the man, his eyes, visible above the mask, cold and assessing.
Each of the 200 Konoha shinobi behind him exuded a chilling, unwavering killing intent. Especially the dozens of Uchiha Clan members at the very front, their chakra presence terrifying beyond measure.
Harada Masao's back bent even lower.
This is... Konoha, who annexed Sunagakure?
Just standing here... is enough to make one breathless. This is not the Konoha of old.
After a long, agonizing silence.
Shunichi's clear, cold voice finally sounded, echoing in the open space.
"You are very smart, Leader Harada."
Harada Masao felt as if he had been granted a great pardon. His body went limp, and he almost collapsed to his knees in relief.
"From today onwards, Hot Springs Village and the entire Land of Rivers will be under Konoha's jurisdiction."
Uchiha Shunichi's voice, amplified, echoed in Harada Masao's ears.
"All shinobi in the Village are to be registered and await further orders. All strategic supplies and arms are to be immediately handed over to the Fire Daimyō's forces."
"Once the Land of Wind stabilizes, everyone from Hot Springs Village will follow me back to Konoha. From now on, you will be Konoha Ninja! You will serve the Hokage!"
"Do you understand the terms of your surrender?"
"Yes! Yes! We will fully comply! Absolutely!" Harada Masao nodded frantically, bobbing his head like a captured puppet.
"In which direction is the Land of Rivers Daimyō's Residence?" Shunichi asked, his tone shifting back to logistics.
Harada Masao pointed eastward immediately.
"It's… it's over there, Commander! About half a day's journey from here! A walled city, not far!"
"Very good."
Shunichi turned his horse around and ordered an Uchiha Clan member beside him.
"You take a squad of five and fifty samurai to stay behind. Establish command, take over Hot Springs Village, and begin the inventory process."
"Yes, Shunichi-sama!"
"The rest of the army! Follow me! No rest! We march!"
The army set off again, galloping towards the capital of the Land of Rivers Daimyō, leaving behind a completely dazed, yet alive, Harada Masao.
Half a day later.
Land of Rivers, Daimyō's Residence Capital.
When Shunichi arrived with his army at the city gates, this peaceful small city—focused on trade and luxury, not war—could barely put up any decent resistance. The guards, hearing the rumors of Suna, melted away.
Shunichi wasted no time on negotiation.
He rode straight into the Daimyō's private court.
Pfft.
A cold, lightning-fast flash of steel.
The Daimyō of the Land of Rivers, an elderly, confused man, clutched the fountain of blood gushing from his neck. He looked incredulously at the masked man before him, then crashed to the ground, dead.
Shunichi flicked the blood from his katana and turned to leave the silent bedchamber.
He spoke to the Land of Fire official—one of Chiba's bureaucrats—who was waiting outside with a scroll.
"The Land of Rivers Daimyō stubbornly resisted and has been killed on the spot. From today onwards, the Land of Rivers is officially incorporated into the Land of Fire's territory."
"All political and financial affairs here are to be fully taken over by you. Leave a portion of the samurai to maintain order and authority."
"Yes! Sir!" The official's face was flushed with terrified excitement. He had just witnessed history.
"All forces! Continue forward!" Shunichi ordered, mounting his horse.
"Target: Land of Wind! The capital awaits!"
One week later.
Land of Wind, Capital City.
The city remained blissfully ignorant of the devastation their Hidden Village had suffered. They were only aware that the Daimyō had been killed and the new Fire Daimyō was taking over the government.
A lone Anbu ninja appeared, Shunshin-ing behind Uchiha Shunichi, who was waiting in the shadows of a wind-battered sand dune outside the capital walls.
"Shunichi-sama, Kenji-sama has already sent the signal; everything is ready internally."
"Pass down the final order." Shunichi's voice was cold, professional.
"Proceed according to the two-phase plan."
Shunichi delivered his final command, a grim warning.
"Remember, Hokage-sama wants a complete capital—a city that can immediately be put into production and governance. He does not want a ruin."
"Yes!"
In the deep night, over a hundred dark figures—Konoha and Uchiha elites—like ghosts, silently infiltrated the sleeping city, guided by Kenji's internal network.
The operation had begun.
Above the city gate.
Uchiha Kenji stood in the shadow of the massive city wall, his face hard, his mission clear. He looked down at the unsuspecting samurai guarding the city below.
He nodded once to his Clan members beside him.
The next second, a dozen pairs of blood-red, three-tomoe Sharingan lit up in the darkness.
Genjutsu.
The defending samurai stiffened, their minds instantly caught in the Uchiha illusion. Their eyes became vacant. Like controlled puppets, they walked silently to the massive winch and slowly opened the heavy city gate.
The waiting forces outside—thousands of samurai who had marched from the Land of Rivers and Konoha, led by Shunichi—streamed in, silently fanning out to the various critical departments within the city.
Following that, the final, brutal phase began.
Throughout the city, isolated cries of battle, quickly silenced, erupted.
In every corner of the capital, the most brutal purge was underway.
According to the specific, detailed list provided by Uchiha Kenji, those ministers and generals loyal to the old regime—those who might cause future resistance—were targeted.
Samurai and Uchiha forces broke down their doors while they slept. Any slight resistance was met with a cold kunai, unhesitatingly slitting their throats.
At dawn.
When the first ray of sunlight illuminated the Land of Wind capital, everything had settled.
All resistance forces were uprooted. The Land of Fire's annexation was complete.
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