Ruling by the Book
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters in the story are consenting adults over
18 years of age.
Chapter 17: Incoming Storm
_
- Kazuya -
Waking up to two beautiful girls clinging to one's side does wonders to the mood.
If only I didn't have to wake up to an emergency message.
I looked at Sera who had entered the room to inform me about the urgent message.
She stared at the naked figures of Kasumi and Kanae stuck on my side and then at me,
her usual blank faced expression not giving me the slightest of hints about her mood.
They had been surprised and actually stuck to me to hide their bodies before realising
who had entered the room.
"What urgent message did you have, Sera?"
"Kuroka has sent a message. We have the locations where Iwagakure is planning to
attack." She replied, making all my sleep fade away in an instant.
My eyes narrowed. "I see. Very well, let's go."
I kissed the foreheads of the two girls. From the corner of my eyes I could see Sera
eying us quietly. Was she feeling left out? Thinking of this, I got up before realising that I
wasn't wearing anything either.
Afraid of Sera's reaction, I looked at her to see her eyes stuck on my morning wood.
I quickly picked up a towel nearby and wrapped it around my waist and her trance was
broken. She turned and was about to leave in a hurry but I held her hand and pulled her
in a light hug.
To my surprise, she didn't push back although she looked in my eyes with her usual
cold face.
"What?"
I didn't say anything and just kissed her forehead, just like I had done to Kasumi and
Kanae and saw her eyes widen in surprise. I cupped her face and smiled. "Nothing."
We were in a hurry so I didn't fool around with Sera much. I couldn't push too fast. As
much as she kept up that cold and no nonsense facade, she was probably one of the
most vulnerable ones among all the girls I knew. I had to get her to slowly open up to
me.
In the meeting room, everyone was gathered. Kuroka, who had gone out to spy on the
enemies, had returned.
"How long do you have? You could have sent a shadow clone." I asked the first thing
after seeing her there.
"Fifteen more minutes. I left a shadow clone there but I wouldn't risk staying out for
longer than that. This was far too important to delay."
I nodded. "What's the news?"
She put forward several scrolls.
I took the scrolls while she continued on with her report.
"The Tsuchikage is pissed at the loss against the Uzumaki. There are rumours that they
might be planning for a full scale raid and take over of the Land of Flowers to make up
for their losses. It was their plan all along. In the time that Kumogakure ignores them,
they were going to sneakily gather their forces in the Land of Flowers and take it in one
fell swoop."
"That would lead to a war with Kumogakure." I countered. I had received this piece of
knowledge from the third Raikage that Kumogakure wouldn't allow a full-on invasion of
the Land of Flowers and let it fall in the hands of the Land of Earth.
"Also, such a move would make them the public enemies of all smaller nations. Even
the other four won't support them with this." Saitō added too. "Isn't there going to be a
meeting of the five Daimyo and the Kage? What are they thinking?"
"He knows that. That's why he wants to launch an assault while the meeting is going on.
It's an agreement between the Tsuchikage and the Earth Daimyo. Kumogakure had
internal disputes due to the candidacy of the fourth Raikage. Some want Blue B to take
on the position as the only Kage level shinobi in Kumogakure right now while most
others are wary of a jinchuriki getting such a position. That's why they are stuck without
any suitable commander. Onoki and the Earth Daimyo know this and want to use this
opportunity to quickly take over the Land of Flowers, both for the fertile lands and…"
"To shut anyone up by making an example of us…" I finished, gritting my teeth.
I didn't know what the Uzumaki had planned but I couldn't wait and rely on that. I
couldn't even contact their main group as they had broken all contacts before going for
the mission.
I would need my Grimoire to find them and right now my Grimoire could be used for
many other more useful things.
"How many are they sending?" I asked.
"Two thousand… and both their jinchuriki."'
The last bit of information changed the entire atmosphere in the room. Even I felt like I
had skipped a heartbeat.
Everyone has become aware of the power of Tailed Beasts after the Uzumaki incident
and understood the seriousness of the situation much better.
"When is the meeting?" I asked.
"Two weeks. The scrolls have the possible areas where they can enter from."
Sigh…
Two weeks. That's all the time I had to face this challenge, perhaps the biggest
challenge I had faced till now.
"Start preparing. Saitō. Send a message to Kumogakure informing them of this. Be fast.
Toji, Sera. Take the students and rig the areas in the scrolls with traps. Stussy, Princia,
Kanae, Rose, Kuina, start preparing supplies for a war."
The atmosphere in the room became tense in a moment but they nodded nonetheless.
"What should I do, Kazuya-sama?" Kuroka asked.
"You…" I closed my eyes thinking of a plan.
x_
"A war?" Grandpa said, his expressions severe. "Are you sure about it?"
"Yes."
"Inform Kumogakure about it." He ordered.
"I have already sent someone to do so but I am not sure about their response. You
remember that they said they wouldn't interfere for a month against Iwagakure's
pillage."
His frown deepened. "What are your plans?"
"Send the samurai under you to certain places under my people. Leave the rest to me. I
will try my best to not let this come to a war but if it does… I will not lose."
A look of pain came on his face. "Kazu-kun… the last war took my son from me. I don't
want to lose my grandson in this war too."
"I will not die, Grandpa. I promise you that." I said with utmost seriousness. "If Iwa does
invade, their bodies will serve as nourishment for the Flowers from the Land of
Flowers."
- Blue B -
"Please don't take their words to heart, Blue B-sama. They are cowards who do not
want to risk their lives on the battlefield and yet want the power tightly in their hands.
Right now Kumogakure needs you. Please don't feel down from this. I truly believe that
you can be the next Raikage. You should have been the one who went for the meeting."
He shook his head, smiling at the words of Dodai. The man had been a close
subordinate of the third Raikage and also someone who had worked alongside him
despite his status as a jinchuriki. Although he was pleased at the man's words, he knew
very well that they would never accept a jinchuriki as a Raikage. The beast inside him
had lost control in more than one instance and wreaked havoc in Kumo. Those events
are not easy to forget.
As they were walking towards his quarters, they saw two people being escorted by
Yorai, Dodai's brother.
"Blue B-sama, brother." Yorai nodded towards them.
He returned the nod and enquired about the two people following him. "Who are they?"
"They are from the Land of Flowers. Apparently, someone informed the Flowers Daimyo
that Iwagakure is planning an invasion of the Land of Flowers in a few days."
Land of Flowers… he quickly exchanged a look with Dodai. He already knew about the
deal between the third Raikage and the Tsuchikage.
They wouldn't intervene for a month and Onoki would take that time to make up for the
losses they had suffered by sending the most amount of foot soldiers.
Were they here for that?
"You do not need to worry. Iwagakure will not make any moves like that. Right now
everyone is tense due to the…" he stopped himself from speaking about the Uzumaki
incident, something which had become a taboo among the ninjas of Kumogakure.
"Anyways, you don't need to worry. Kumogakure is still standing. We will not let the
Land of Flowers fall to Iwagakure. You can go and reassure the Daimyo of this. If he is
still not reassured then tell him that we will send people there in a month at best."
The two men looked doubtful but nodded nonetheless and Yorai escorted them while
Dodai and he headed towards his quarters.
On the way Dodai separated to go to his own place.
"It's the full moon night again." he looked at the sky.
The beast inside him always grew restless during nights of the full moon. That's why he
used medications to keep himself in control on such nights.
His doctor was waiting for him at his residence with this month's batch of medicines.
Anything which could affect a tailed beast was extremely rare and hard to make. His
doctor made a few of these pills for him every month which could help him sleep
through the full moon nights.
"B-kun. Here are your pills for this month." The doctor handed the pills to him.
"Thank you, doctor."
"Don't mind. You look like you need it more than usual… with everything that has been
going on. Take a good nap. You need it."
"Would you like to have a cup of tea?" He offered.
"No… I am afraid I am a bit busy today. I will have to take you up on that offer some
other day."
He nodded and waited till the doctor left. He was about to activate the fuinjutsu around
his house when he heard Dodai's voice. "Blue B-sama."
"Yes?" he replied turning back but suddenly froze as a massive suction appeared
around him. Behind him, Dodai was standing and beside him was… the Kohaku no
Jōhei.
He wanted to attack but suddenly found a sword thrusting out of his chest from behind
him. He was only about to look back for a last look and saw Yorai stabbing him with a
sword from behind.
Even till his last moment, he never understood why such a thing happened and then he
was sucked into the Kohaku no Jōhei.
- Kuroka -
She closed the lid on the pot and breathed out a sigh of relief.
This mission was the most nerve wracking one she had done in both her worlds.
However desperate times call for desperate measures.
Kazuya-sama's plan had seemed crazy to her when he had first told her about it. The
plan formed due to the information he had obtained from the third Raikage before his
death. It contained information about the security measures for the most important
places in Kumogakure like the armoury, jutsu library, etc. One of these places was the
location of Kohaku no Jōhei, one of the treasured tools of the Sage of Six Paths.
According to Kazuya-sama, it was a trump card which could turn the tides of a war if
used properly.
It's just that the difficulty of the mission was so difficult that even Kazuya-sama was not
sure if they could do it. He had even given her a choice and Kuroka had accepted it.
They had helped her and Shirone when they needed it the most. Now that they needed
help, she wasn't going to back down either.
It's just that neither Kazuya-sama nor she were expecting this mission to be… so easy.
Just her disguised as Dodai and her shadow clone as her brother was enough to take
down the guy.
She patted her pot beside her and was about to seal it in another dimension but
grabbed it and jumped to the side, right on time to dodge a shower of kunai.
Behind her stood the doctor whom she had seen leaving a while ago.
Why did he come back?
She spread her senses, getting ready for a fight when she suddenly discovered
something surprising.
"What is the meaning of this, Dodai-kun?" The doctor asked her, using the name of the
guy she was impersonating. "Or are you even Dodai?"
"This is the order from the council. Blue B is to remain sealed until the next Raikage is
selected." She quickly made up a lie.
"And why haven't I heard about such a thing?" The doctor said, narrowing an eye.
"Oh, since when were you informed about every decision the council made? Blue B is a
dangerous individual. He is suspected of planning a coup and thus had to be subdued
in the most secure way we had. This is more than enough for you." She replied as she
picked up the jar.
The doctor relaxed but Kuroka didn't. She picked up the pot and started to leave. Sure
enough, just as she had made some distance from the doctor and her back was turned
to him, he attacked again.
She jumped out of the range of the attack but sensed that the attacks had followed her.
The clone beside her turned and parried the attack, creating an opening for her.
The clone was thrown back and dispelled but she was able to get a look at the attack.
Snakes.
"Hmm… Shadow Clones… how does a Kumogakure ninja know a Konoha ninjutsu?"
the doctor licked his lips with a tongue that wouldn't look odd on any snake. "But I guess
it proves my doubts."
"Snakes… you are…."
"Ah… was I found out?" The guy smiled. "In any case, I cannot allow you to take away
Blue B. I require him…"
"You are the Konoha idiot who got his ass kicked by that salamander guy." She pointed
out.
The man's words got stuck in his mouth.
"Really, you use snakes and you were defeated by poison… just how much do you have
to suck for something like that?" She taunted, while preparing for her spells.
As expected the man's eyes narrowed but he calmed down.
"Are you sure you are in any position to be arguing here with me? If we fight, you will
not be able to leave here either." He reasoned.
She made a handsign and five shadow clones appeared around her and she smiled
remembering something.
"We will have to see about that." She took a deep breath and… shouted with a chakra
enhanced voice. "Intruders! Orochimaru of Konoha has stolen the Kohaku no Jōhei and
sealed Blue B. Konoha is attacking!"
The man's eyes widened as he looked at her with shock in his eyes.
"You fool! Do you think you can get out of this if you oust me?" He shouted at her. In
return, she just smiled, using her magic to store the pot in her pocket dimension.
As expected, his eyes widened at the scene and she smiled before activating her
teleportation magic.
Just before leaving, she thought of something and left him with a few words. "Getting
the Eight Tails and even removing one of the biggest obstacles in his path to become
the Hokage… Danzo-sama would be pleased. I might even get promoted. I give you his
thanks in advance."
With that, she disappeared from the place but not before throwing the body of the man
she was impersonating back there.
Her clones stayed back to keep him engaged till the Kumogakure ninjas arrived.
She arrived at a mountain top a little distance from the place they had been and used
her Yojutsu spells to hide.
From this place, she could see dozens of Kumogakure ninjas rushing in the direction of
the residence of Blue B.
Sure enough, a big fight started there as giant serpents were summoned in the centre of
the village.
Kuroka waited there for a while before leaving for another place.
The Armoury.
Slipping through the place's defences during such a disturbance was easy for someone
like her who could use space magic. What laid before her were tons of weapons,
armour, equipment and every possible ninja tool she could think of.
Kuroka didn't hesitate either and stored everything inside her pocket dimension and
simply teleported away. Since these people didn't protect the Land of Flowers despite
taking the tributes, it's better if they pay up.
The extra supplies for the war would help the Land of Flowers a lot, that's why she had
infiltrated this place despite Kazuya-sama not asking her, and while she could have
raided the jutsu library too, she didn't want to take any extra risks.
When her last clone dispelled, she saw the scene of Orochimaru being surrounded by
hundreds of Kumogakure ninjas.
- Kazuya -
While everyone was busy with their work, I was doing my part too.
In the ritual room, I was ready to do a new round of rituals.
I would have preferred to wait for another month or two for the next round of
regeneration and chakra affinity rituals but as the saying goes, beggars can't be
choosers.
The chakra beasts had already been prepared for the rituals and I started with the
chakra affinity ritual first.
The twelve chakra beasts were secured by seals in the magic circles and I stood in the
middle. I summoned the Grimoire to start the ritual and my chakra ran through the
magic circles lighting up the whole setup.
The beasts struggled for a bit before being reduced to a red coloured liquid and being
absorbed by the circle. The colour of the lights changed from blue to white and I felt a
refreshing feeling surge through my body. It was comfortable enough to make me moan.
The pleasure made me feel sleepy and I willingly embraced it.
I was awakened an hour later by Kasumi who had been on the watch.
"One hour? That was lower than I was imagining. I guess I have become stronger since
the last time."
The changes were astonishing, almost incomparable to the last time.
The most obvious changes were my chakra control. I could form a Rasengan with a
single thought and control the size too. Other changes were my Chakra Sensing range
which now covered almost three kilometres radius around me from its previous 500
metres. I could even identify the flavours of chakra much better now. It was almost as
clear as seeing things myself.
The third round of Chakra Affinity rituals required the same animals but with the
capability to use Senjutsu Chakra.
I can't even imagine how I am going to teach these animals senjutsu…
Kasumi had prepared lunch for me and we ate together before I got ready for the
regeneration ritual.
It wasn't much different from the previous one, requiring chakra beasts again.
This time however, I felt intense pain run through my body.
It started in my bones as I felt them heat up from inside. The blood in my veins felt like
magma running through my body as my skin became red due to the heat. Steam rose
from my body as the blood ran everywhere and my body felt like it was being boiled
from the inside.
I gritted my teeth and endured the pain which got worse every moment. I could totally
use this memory to create a genjutsu to subdue even jōnin.
Now I understood why this was the second round of the regeneration ritual.
If someone had tried this directly, they would just die. The first round of ritual actually
prepared the individual for the second round. I was only able to bear it due to the Senju
and Uzumaki blood in my veins.
Blisters and burn marks formed at several places on my skin and I groaned in pain. I
didn't want to shout because Kasumi was there and she might get even more worried
than she already looked..
Thankfully the pain got lesser as time passed and slowly faded away. What remained
was a refreshing feeling after that. I could see my skin healing at a visible rate as burn
marks and blisters faded away in less than a minute, leaving healthy and unharmed skin
in its place.
I kneeled on the ground, breathing heavily. The strain from the two rituals coming down
on me together. However, before I could fall unconscious, I felt my body being caught by
Kasumi. With that, darkness overtook me.
When I woke up, I was back in my room again.
This feeling never gets old.
I looked around and this time, the room was empty. I closed my eyes and sensed
Kasumi coming.
Did she sense me waking up?
Kasumi had awakened chakra sensing and had some talent with it, although not to the
extent of the Uzumaki sisters. She did have better chakra control than both the sisters
though.
Before she arrived here, I tried to check the changes in my body. The first thing I noticed
was the sharp rise in chakra. The Regeneration Ritual increased my vitality even further,
matching my extremely high spiritual energy to some extent. This increase meant that
my chakra reserves had risen again. It was good that I had done the Chakra Affinity
ritual before this and had improved my chakra control or any competent sensor in a
dozen kilometres radius could have felt my chakra.
Like holy crap, I was sure that I had as much chakra as freaking Rōen right now. This is
already Tailed Beast territory.
I clenched my fist and felt power surging through my muscles. Thinking of something, I
brought out a dagger from my Grimoire and stabbed my thigh. Blood spilled out but then
the wound dulled visibly before it started healing. The skin was stitched back and within
a minute, the wound had disappeared. The only proof of their being a cut in that place
before was the blood.
I cleaned the blood and Kasumi entered right at that time with a glass of juice and food.
She looked at the blood covered towel with worried eyes.
"It's nothing. I was just testing the results of the last ritual. I am completely healed."
She still looked worried but nodded and came over by my side and placed the tray on
the table. She had indeed grown a lot, both in terms of strength and mentality compared
to just a year ago.
The training the Uzumaki had been putting her through was working. Before she would
have been worried sick at the slightest sight of a wound on me. Now she was able to
keep those worries in check and continue on.
She served me the next meal and sat beside me while I ate to replenish my energy.
"How long was I out for?" I asked, as I took the first bite of my food.
"Five hours. I am sorry I didn't wake you up before. You looked… very tired."
"Hmm." I put a hand on hers. "Sorry for making you see that. It's just that Rose was
busy and I didn't trust anyone else."
"Mhh, I don't mind. The reason I learned medical ninjutsu in the first place was to help
you." She replied.
"Thank you." I took another bite of the food. "This is delicious. Did you make it yourself?"
"Hmm." She nodded but she still looked like she had something on her mind.
"You look like you have a lot on your mind. Wanna share it with me? Might help reduce
your burdens. I did promise to share your burdens with you, didn't I?" I asked between
my bites.
"I…" She hesitated.
"What is it, Kasumi-chan?" I stopped eating and looked at her.
She hesitated once more but on my urging, she steeled herself and looked at me.
"Would you grant me a wish, Kazuya-sama?" She asked.
"Hmm? What do you need?"
"Before this war… please marry Kanae-sama, Mina-sama and Rina-sama."
"Huh?" I was genuinely taken aback by her strange request. In fact, it was so strange
that it took me a couple of seconds to process the request. "Come again?"
She took a deep breath and continued. "Umm… you know how you became stronger
after… consummating marriage with me? We both got stronger."
I nodded, suddenly having an idea about where she was going with this.
"You are going to get married to them either way, so… Kanae-sama and I thought it
would be better if you did it before the war. That way, all of you can get stronger and be
safer in the war."
….yeah, called it.
"Kasumi-chan… you know why I don't want to marry them yet. I want to spend some
more time with you and Kanae before I bring anyone new into the relationship. It
wouldn't be fair to you…"
"I don't care." She interrupted me.
"Hah." I was taken aback by her protest. This was the first time she had spoken against
me but before I could say anything else, I felt her hands shivering a bit.
"I don't care… as long as it means you are safer, I don't care about anything else. I have
heard what kind of people jinchuriki are… how strong they can be… you are going up
against one of them… I… every time I close my eyes, I see nightmares that something
has happened to you and I feel terrible because I cannot be of any help to you. I am still
so… weak."
"You are not weak, Kasumi. You just need some time. You will get there soon." I held
her hand in my own and said reassuringly. "Also don't worry about me. I will be safe,
Kasumi. Nothing is going to happen to me. Moreover, it wouldn't be fair to them… Just
marrying them to get stronger… imagine how they would feel. I could never do such a
thing to them."
"Kazuya-sama… what would be even more unfair is if something were to happen to you
due to lacking strength. Neither I nor they would ever be able to forgive ourselves if
such a thing happened."
…
"At least… at least talk to them. You don't even know if that's what they want. So before
rejecting this, at least ask them of their choice first. Please… I beg you." She had tears
in her eyes as she said that.
"I… I will." I agreed and pulled her into my arms.
We stayed like that for a while. No more words were said but we didn't need those
words either.
A while later, I went ahead and did some other rituals I had been holding back on.
Elemental Affinity Ritual.
I had only trained the Water Style Elemental chakra properly due to having the most
affinity with it. Now I wanted to strengthen it more as Water Style does make Water
Breathing stronger. In fact, it became a completely new style when mixed with Water
Chakra…
The first stage Water Affinity Ritual required the water of seven different rivers. The
second one required seven aquatic plants and the third required seven aquatic animals.
All three were already collected for me.
For the Earth Affinity Ritual, the first one required the soil of seven different mountain
ranges, the second one required seven different types of rocks while the third one
required seven different animals which lived underground. Also easily collected.
For the Wind Affinity Ritual, the first one required seven different gases, the second one
required the seven plants from seven mountain peaks, and the third one required seven
birds.
For the Lightning Affinity Ritual, the first one required seven electricity conducting
materials, the second one required seven animals which can use electricity. It was the
third one which was tricky. It required seven things struck by natural lightning.
For the Fire Affinity Ritual, the first one required seven things which are used as fuel for
fire, the second one required the lava from seven volcanoes and the third required
seven different coloured flames.
In all this, I had collected everything apart from the natural substances struck by
lightning. I only had three of those till now. Just waiting for a lightning storm to get the
last four.
The rituals went on without a hitch although preparing the rituals needed time and thus
all this took me another sixteen hours.
The Grimoire and Shadow Clones could be one hell of a cheat but I had my fingers
dipped in too many pies and even with the Shadow Clones, I still needed more time to
master everything.
x_
I sat in a room with Kasumi and Kanae on either side of me and the Uzumaki group in
front of me.
Only Mina, Rina and Hiromi-san were present. The three men were helping with setting
the traps.
The atmosphere felt awkward.
I for one wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
"So… you want to get married… before the war…" Hiromi-san asked. "Why kid, are you
not feeling confident? Want to leave some kids around in case something happened to
you?" She asked in a half joking half serious tone.
"It's not like that!" Kasumi spoke up, defending me, surprising everyone with her protest.
Yeah, I am both proud and embarrassed at the same time.
"Oh, so what's it like?" Hiromi-san asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's…" Kasumi looked at me and I let out a sigh and nodded before explaining the
situation to them.
By the end of the explanation, they were looking at me oddly.
"You do hear yourself, don't you? I mean sure, I can understand if you want to marry
these two early. Some ninjas often like to sleep around before a big battle. It's not
something new… but this… this is just absurd."
"It's true." Kasumi argued. "I… have experienced it." She said shyly.
"Huh? Are you serious?" She asked in a deadpan expression.
"I… yes."
Hiromi-san looked at Kanae who was blushing madly right now but still nodded.
"So you just need to sleep around to get stronger?" She asked, looking at me,
astonished.
"It's not that simple..." I replied, pushing down my embarrassment.
"Is that why you are so absurdly strong at this age? You slept around?" She asked.
"What? No… I haven't… with anyone other than Kasumi…"
I was contemplating searching for the Headhunter Jutsu so that I could dig a hole and
disappear under the earth. It's like having the birds and bees talk with Grandpa all over
again… just a lot worse.
"And the girls get stronger too?"
"Yes."
"Can this be done by others?" She asked.
"No." I hadn't developed the ritual for others. All rituals were designed with me in mind.
"So why aren't you fucking around already? You could become invincible like that."
"Hah… it's not that simple. There are many restrictions. And I would never do such a
thing. That's unacceptable."
"Oh… so you want to get to know them, get closer to them and court them properly. Not
treat them like an object. Is that right?" She asked.
I nodded.
"Oh my what a gentleman." She smiled. "Now tell me something… are you dumb?!"
"Huh?"
"You have a chance to grow strong, protect everyone and you are being a dumb kid
playing romance. Grow up! You don't have that privilege. You are the next Lord of this
Land, someone who carries the responsibility for the safety and well being of every
single one of your citizens and you are rejecting all this… for such a reason? Someone
in your current position should be doing whatever they can to get stronger, not hesitate
like this."
"I… understand that. Believe me, I am doing whatever I can to get stronger and protect
my people. I have done bad things… and will probably do more in the future. It's just
that… all those have been directed towards my enemies. I have never even thought of
treating my own people like objects. If I do that, what will be the difference between me
and the monsters I am trying to fight here?"
- Hiromi Uzumaki -
She looked at the earnest expression of the boy and was reminded of the naive look on
Hashirama's face back in the day. In some regards, the boy was extremely similar to
Hashirama Senju and she respected that a lot… but there was a difference between
them. He was still not as strong as Hashirama… and if anyone knew of his potential,
they would make sure he never reaches that potential of his.
She didn't want that to happen.
This world needed another God of Shinobi.
As long as Hashirama Senju had been alive, there had been no wars. She knew that
Kazuya Katsuyoshi could do something similar… and perhaps even greater.
He had the will, he had the motivation. It was just his occasional naivety that was pulling
him back.
But she will not let his talent be buried. That's why, even if she had to be cruel, she had
to do this…
"Difference? You want to know the difference? I will tell you. The difference is that the
stronger monster decides who gets to live. Do you understand what would happen if
you were to lose this battle? You dying would be the easiest part. But what do you think
happens after that? Your people will be killed or enslaved. Your family and subordinates
would be killed or made an example of. And what do you think would happen if they
were to find out about Kasumi-chan's lineage? Do you understand what they would do
to anyone with Senju blood? She would be taken to become a breeding stock for…"
Her words were swallowed in her mouth as a monstrous pressure descended on the
room. Her eyes widened as she looked at the boy who was looking at the ground, his
hands clenched and bleeding. The sheer chakra he was radiating… it was like facing a
Tailed Beast rather than a human… almost like… almost like Hashirama…
The chakra disappeared a moment later almost as if it had been a genjutsu.
He still didn't look up into her eyes but took a deep breath and bowed deeply before
speaking. "I apologise for losing control. It was out of line for me."
"N-no… it's fine." She sighed. "I understand how you feel about all this but… have you
even tried asking the girls what they think? You are deciding everything on your own? At
least talk to them once, see what they think about the whole thing and what they want to
do. They are going to become the wife of the ruler of this country. They will have
responsibility towards this land as well. This whole matter… it's bigger than just the
wishes of a few individuals, Kazuya-kun. Too many lives are at stake. If you truly value
your relationships that much… then make it up to the girls after the war is over."
He looked to be in thought for a while and then looked at Mina and Rina.
"Mina-san, Rina-san… do you both want to get married like this?" He asked in a serious
tone.
The girls looked at each other and then nodded at him.
Her lips twitched. "I can see why you want to get to know them better. You can't even
tell which twin is who."
She let out a sigh as the boy looked at her confused. "Twins are absolutely the same in
appearance. Due to this, their parents often make something to tell them apart. We
didn't create any physical marks because as shinobi, their looks can actually assist
them in missions someday. Due to this they have been trained to perfectly mimic each
other. They have pranked many with this and it's not easy for even veteran shinobi to
tell them apart. But we do have an easy way you can tell them apart by their looks. Rina
wears her bangs on the left side of her face while Mina on the right side of her face. On
their hands, their rings are also on the same sides. They always do this when not on a
mission by the order of the Uzukage." She informed the guy who looked at her oddly.
"What?
"No they don't." The boy replied, looking oddly at her.
"Huh?"
"They don't do that. They wear their bangs and rings randomly. I have already observed
this. In fact, they can even exactly mimic each other's personalities. Right now, they are
wearing their rings and bangs opposite to what you have said."
She looked at the girls who were looking at him in shock. "You girls…" She then looked
at him. "How did you tell them apart?"
"Umm… I have been spending time with them since we got engaged. In that time I have
noticed some particularities about them. Sure they can mimic each other exactly… but
there are still differences. For example, their heart beats a different way when they see
or hear something they like… even if they are pretending. Their chakra also moves
slightly differently. I memorised these things and I know who is who now. For example,
Rina-san likes dango more than ramen while Mina-san's favourite flavour of ramen is
miso soup flavoured."
She felt her lips twitch at his answer. "You… memorised the way… their hearts beat to
know who is who?"
"Hmm. I mean I can understand their thoughts. Who would want to marry someone who
can't even tell them apart? Isn't that the most basic courtesy someone can expect from
their life partner?"
It's not basic at all… How does someone even do that?
The boy was however not looking at her and turned towards the girls. "What do you two
want?" He asked once more.
Both the girls looked at each other and then at him. "Yes. We do."
He nodded. "In that case, I will talk to Grandpa then." He bowed again. "Thank you."
- Kazuya -
"Are you serious?" Grandpa gave me the same look.
"Yes."
"Alright, I believe you."
My lips twitched at the ease with which he agreed.
"What? Why are you surprised?" He asked. "Knowing how you treat marriages and
relationships, I doubt you would come up with something like this… at least not on your
own. As your grandfather, I want you to be happy but as your Daimyo, I totally agree
with Hiromi-san. You have to prioritise the safety and well being of the country over your
own feelings. It's the duty of anyone who sits in that position. In fact, if I had known
about this earlier, I would be playing with a dozen great grandchildren by now."
Yeah… thought so…
"I have talked to all three girls. But since you are getting married to them, do not forget
your first wife. Have you consummated your marriage?"
….
I don't want to talk about this with my grandfather dammit.
"I will talk to her."
"Then do so and be quick. I will prepare for the private ceremony tomorrow. Gather
everyone by tonight."
"I don't want all the ceremonies to be at once. A large change in power also means it
will take me a longer time to get my control back. I cannot step onto the battlefield with
shoddy control or no amount of power will be able to save me."
"I see. So, who do you wish to marry first?"
"Kanae. I have been with her the longest. I think it's time we made things formal."
"It is. I still don't understand why you didn't do so earlier. She is a bright and kind girl,
beautiful, strong and well liked by the people in the capital. I think some other nobles
have also tried to propose to her but were rejected. Are you two trying to enjoy the thrill
because that's very unlike either of you?"
My lips twitched at his words. "No. I don't have that kind of fetish. Kanae got separated
from her sisters when I found her. We wanted to wait till they were found before we tied
the knot."
"Only that? Then sent our people to find them. It can't be that hard." He asked,
confused.
I shook my head. "It's not that easy."
"Well, whatever you say. Either way, it's your and her decision."
I talked a bit with Grandpa and then left.
Sera was back from her mission and I needed to talk to her first.
x_
"I don't see why any of this is a problem." Sera replied, still in her no nonsense stoic
form. "This is something every married couple does. Gaining benefits from this is just a
bonus. I am surprised you didn't do this earlier when you were weaker. Why didn't you?"
…
"I wanted to get to know you better." and I didn't even know that I was married to her
before that.
"Hmm… I appreciate the concern but holding back such a thing when you are in such a
dire need of strength is stupid. You do understand that there will be no getting to know
each other if you die, right?" She replied.
My lips twitched at her words… but I couldn't find anything to refute it.
Finally, I just let out a sigh. "I am sorry for being stupid." I rolled my eyes internally.
"Hmm. Good that you understand." She nodded in agreement.
…
…
…
…
Seriously, this girl…
The case with Sera's ritual was a bit different.
She was not a human so that makes things a bit complicated. Although, she wasn't like
normal vampires.
Her powers come from Eucliwood Hellscythe's blood which contains the power to
bestow Ageless Immortality.
That's how all the first generation Vampire Ninjas gained their powers. They however
couldn't turn others into vampires. Their blood didn't have that much power.
They did however have impressive regeneration. Her normal regeneration was as good
as my current one and she could reattach a severed limb by just pressing the two
pieces together for a while, something I couldn't.
As for drinking blood, that was only needed for her to replenish her magic powers.
She could live just fine on normal food.
In her case, I had to alter the ritual a bit to exclude that part. This required more
stringent conditions one of which was a total lunar eclipse which wasn't till seven
months later.
We had to hold back till then.
But this also gives me time to ease her into all this.
Sera had no experience and just treated it as something to get over with and I am going
to change that.
We left the room and I went to the meeting room to check the preparations while Sera
went to oversee her own group in setting the traps.
The main problem was the equipment.
I had, overtime, gathered swords and basic armour but they were not enough.
We were not going to be sending the newest batch of students to the battlefield at all
while the previous batch will be staying in the cities to protect the people. They were not
battle ready and sending them would just get them killed for no reason.
The ones going on the battlefield will be the older samurai who worked under Grandpa
and my main team.
This battle is going to reveal my power to the whole world… and probably make us a
target of many others. Only a few more years… I just needed five more years to make a
decent army…
Sigh… as the saying goes, the plans of men and mice…
I closed my eyes and massaged my head when I sensed another presence approaching
the room.
The room's door opened and I looked back to see a smiling Kuroka. "You look happy.
Was the mission a success?"
"Oh it was more than just success." She laughed. "Can we go to the ritual room first? I
have something I need to show you."
"Hmm. Let's go." I left a shadow clone to complete the work while I followed her to the
ritual room.
If she really got the eight tails then things can be different.
We reached the ritual room which was empty right now.
She summoned the Kohaku no Jōhei first and I looked at the pot in wonder.
I summoned my Grimoire and stored it inside the Grimoire and sure enough all the
information about the pot appeared on the Grimoire. It had the eight tails and its
jinchuriki stored in it.
"Was there any complication?" I asked.
"Oh, the stealing and sealing part went easy. It's just that before I could escape, I
encountered someone else. Someone who was there for the same thing."
"Who?"
"The snake guy from Konoha." She smirked as I was taken aback by the information.
"What! He didn't find out who you were, did he?" I asked.
"Oh no. He wasn't even able to touch me and I was in a disguise. And…" She went on
to tell me what exactly she had done to Orochimaru and the parting words she had left
for him.
I had my mouth open wide at the story and when I finally came to myself I went ahead
and hugged the girl.
"Seriously Kuroka, you are the best."
"Nyahahaha I am, aren't I?"
"Yes yes, you are. Orochimaru in Kumo covering for the stolen eight tails could help us
a lot. Especially with the blame put on Danzo, Hiruzen and Danzo could be at odds."
Suddenly, several avenues were opened in front of me.
"That's not all boss. When they were attacking Orochimaru, I took advantage of the
situation and did something else."
"What?"
She turned around and waved her hand, summoning a magic circle as mountains of
weapons, armour and other equipment filled the whole room. She turned back towards
me with a smile. "I robbed them clean."
…
…
…
…
What… the… fuck!
This changes a lot of things.
With this, I can totally equip my soldiers and even stand a chance to win this
comfortably.
We will obviously have to change the equipment to not make it obvious that we stole
from Kumo but that's still doable.
A while later, everyone was gathered.
They were already coming since I had called them for the wedding ceremony of Kanae
and me.
"You are getting married, boss?" Kuroka asked, surprised.
"Ah… well, things happened…" I sighed as I explained the situation to everyone.
"I don't see anything wrong with this." Saitō was the first one to speak. "We all make
sacrifices for our people. You as the ruler should always be prepared to make
sacrifices… even more unique ones like this."
"Seriously, I don't understand why you are brooding around either. You are sleeping
around and getting strong. If I didn't know better, I would think you are bragging to us."
Toji added.
"Eh, isn't it normal for nobles to have multiple wives?" Stussy also seemed unbothered.
Then again, she ran the biggest chain of brothels in the One Piece world so I don't think
she would mind this.
"You were already going to marry them. This is only bringing forward the date. I
understand your thoughts but what you need to understand is that you are the king in
this whole thing… the moment you are gone, we lose." Surprisingly it was Kuina who
added the last statement. "And it's not like you mind more wives you pervert."
…
"That last part was unneeded. Anyways, we are having the ceremony tomorrow. It's
going to be a small ceremony and I wanted you all to attend."
I invited them before we began discussion about the war.
By the end of it, the girls left together with Kanae while I went to accompany Kasumi.
x_
x_
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Author's Note:
I am back with another chapter of 'Ruling by the Book'.
The Uzumaki really pulled one over the five major nations and now the entire
world is in chaos.
But even then some people just don't learn.
The Earth Daimyo and Onoki are back to their bullshit.
Due to this, Kazuya is going to have to show himself earlier than expected.
But is the revenge of the Uzumaki complete yet?
Also, Kuroka is back to her continent wide heists again only this time she went
one step further.
Finally, Kazuya opened up a bit about his abilities and got a reality check.
What is going to happen in the future?
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.