Red Riot - Chapter 55 - Red city (Patreon)

Matsu Uzumaki:- Elite Jonin. Chief Medical Officer of the Kiri. Commander of the northeastern Front.

Sayuki:- Second in command of the Civilian Nin, Chunin.

Jonin Akiko - Matsu’s former sensei and exasperated mentor of other children, Matsu returned her beauty to her with the first plastic surgery no jutsu! Has taken on other students but still considers Matsu her best student.

Juzo Biwa:- One of the Seven Swordsmen and wielder of Kubikiribocho blade.

Kori Yuki:- Clan leader of the Yuki clan and the shinobi angling to step up as Mizukage when Gengetsu dies! Was gifted a Byakugan by Gengetsu to embolden him. Due to failing his attempt to have Gengetsu killed fighting Mu he was traumatised when Gengetsu ordered Matsu to extract the eye only to stop partway through the process.

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I have to admit that I was actually surprised by the amount of resistance I faced. 

Shinobi throwing off the mass genjutsu was one thing. Albeit the ones who did quickly turned out to be foreign shinobi and not locals.

Samurai, who typically focus on developing their physical bodies along with some version of weapons arts, escaping the illusion had been a surprise.

But then again, it was shown in the anime and manga that samurai could become skilled enough to threaten shinobi. Not that there weren’t outliers.

It hadn’t happened yet, but at some point in the coming war, Mifune from Iron would face Hanzo, and as the Sannin before him, Hanzo would recognise him by sparing his life.

Truly, I was glad that Hanzo had no desires beyond his absolute control of the Land of Rain.

Sadly, his death would only come about thanks to Nagato Uzumaki wielding the Rinnengan and the promotion of the Akatsuki into global threat.

Which would be just another thing to thank Danzo for.

If I ever had the chance, I was going to make the world a better place by killing that man.

Still, Samurai breaking through my illusion wasn’t an insurmountable issue. 

On closer inspection, it appeared to be thanks to their armour or a weapon they carried that triggered in response to the genjutsu, making them passingly rare.

I made a note to loot the items in question for later perusal. I doubted it would impact a specialised illusion like something the mangekyo could produce, but benefits could stack rather nicely.

What truly became annoying to deal with were monks.

Unlike samurai and shinobi, they didn’t seek me out to fight. 

Instead, they sat, allowing the illusion to wash over them, analysing it with a patience born of years of sitting and meditating.

Then they began to unravel the jutsu, making me cut the connection to them.

I had to admit a small part of me was impressed by their skill. I’d never encountered someone using the small connection like that. 

Not once had Gengetsu ever spoken of the skills of monks.

But then again, he might have just killed them traditionally.

Regardless, while my clones and I fought the other two categories of chakra wielders, monks would do the opposite.

They’d begin to unravel my jutsu and cause people who entered a small area around them to likewise be freed.

This sadly made them become target number one.

I was already taking away people’s freedom. To have to reapply the jutsu was an unnecessary cruelty.

In every case, the monks didn’t even try to fight me when I confronted them.

Which… caused me quite a few moral dilemmas.

Rather than slaying the monks, I ended up knocking them out to stop them from interfering with my plans.

Another task that proved harder to do.

Each time I confronted them, they simply sat down when I approached them and began to fortify their bodies with their chakra.

Which made it all the harder to knock them out cold with my coma jutsu or with specialised poisons that I’d prepared in advance.

In the first city I raided with my Kinjutsu, there were ten monks who ‘fought back’.

Each of them did this, making me think they were reading from the same playbook, as it were, and I was forced to approach each of them with my true body. 

Something that set me on edge, as getting within striking distance of them, screamed of being a bad idea.

Monk’s skills weren’t widely understood. It was well known that they were expert taijutsu users, barrier experts, and could even, on rare occasions, summon large chakra spirits much like a Susanoo to fight and defend them.

None of the monks I encountered did this. Instead, they almost universally tried to slow me down or free others.

When I reached the final group of monks, I found myself approaching a small shrine. 

Within, three men sat meditating, radiating chakra outward and cleansing anyone who came close.

“You monks are rather annoying,” I said by way of greeting. The monks all stopped radiating chakra and turned to me.

Each of them was bald, but one on the left had extremely thick eyebrows and a glare that promised violence if I got too close.

On the right side, a tall, thin man sat placidly, observing me and making no sign of what he thought of my sudden appearance.

The one in the middle was old and serene with eyes that sagged and wrinkle lines that spoke of a man who had seen hard times but still managed to smile.

He looked up at me from his seated position. 

“So, you have come, shonobi of mist. Tell me, what is the purpose of stealing away these people?” he said, his voice rising firmly despite the weakness of his body.

“How do you know that’s what I intend?” I asked.

“You’re not killing them, and we’re talking right now. You’re rather different for a shinobi of mist, you know?”

“I try,” I replied, staring into his thoughtful eyes, while not answering the other question he’d asked.

“Hmm… you want me to stop, yes?” he asked.

“I’d appreciate it. You’re making this much harder than it needs to be.”

The man nodded while the bushy-browed monk gained a slight smirk. “That is our intention, yes. So I will bargain with you; you tell me why you do this, and I will see if it is worth stopping my interference,” he remarked.

I exhaled through my nose.

“I could just kill you,” I pointed out.

That got a twitch from the two younger men, while the old man just shook his head. “No, you won’t. You haven’t slain any of my fellow monks. Thank you for that, by the way.”

Snorting, I shook my head, wondering if I shouldn’t just turn away. He seemed like a different sort of trouble than I was used to dealing with.

“Young man, you must believe what you do is right, yes?” the old monk asked.

“Of course, or else I wouldn’t do what I do.”

“Hmmmm, so this—” he waved a hand vaguely around, indicating the city at large. “—is all part of your plan? I ask again, what do you intend? Why are you doing this?”

Perhaps it was due to this being the third time he’d asked me.

Perhaps it was some niggling instinct that I shouldn’t dismiss an old man in a world where many died young.

Or perhaps it was something else.

Annoyed at myself and the situation in general, I ran a hand through my long hair. “I’m doing this to save them,” I remarked.

The monks blinked slowly at me. “Save them?”

“Yes. I need to disrupt the Land of Hot Water and send a message to many different people, you could say. So I am relocating them and causing a rather large… splash.”

The bushy-browed monk snorted loudly. “Which you do by stealing away people’s freedom!”

“Yes, but I am also gifting them a chance at tomorrow. I will reimburse them, in a manner of speaking, but I cannot allow them their freedom for the moment. The world would otherwise see them ground to dust!”

“Some would prefer death over this… form of servitude that you have cast upon them,” remarked the other monk with a challenging lift of his jaw, which was a terrible move to make against a shinobi as it just made targeting his neck easier.

I didn’t stab him, despite the taunt.

“It is not ideal, but so often the best solution is not realistic. Perfect solutions often only exist as thought exercises. Right now this is the best course of action available to me.”

“Asura,” the old monk remarked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “You are walking the path of the Asura. It is destructive and prideful to a fault. You are seeking power, are you not?”

“Yes,” I said, and I almost thought to add that I was doing it to protect those close to me, but in the end, I wasn’t here to justify myself to these men.

“Might I ask you to step back? Change your ways. The Path of the Deva is kinder, to others and yourself.”

A chuckle escaped me as I cycled some yin chakra through my mind, searching for why that stirred my mind.

Asura, Deva, Preta, Animal, Human, and Naraka. 

The six paths of pain.

How amusing that I’d just been thinking of Nagato.

“Deva is the path of spiritual awakening, divine harmony, and inner peace. The pursuit of wisdom,” I remarked idly.

The monks once again blinked in surprise. “You know the paths of the sage?” queried the elder monk as he peered at me like I was an interesting insect.

“In a manner of speaking,” I replied with a smirk, while noting the term he used. Path of the Sage? “I could argue that I am, in a way, walking both Asura and Deva right now.”

That made the monks’ brows furrow.

“Both, you say? How intriguing… I think I would like to witness what you intend, with these people and yourself,” declared the elder Monk.

“Lord Gyatso! You can’t be serious!” roared the bushy-brows monk.

“I can,” replied Gyatso as he continued to peer at me. “I am curious, and… I think some good can be made of this. If he is truly walking even slightly on the Deva path, perhaps he can be directed further upon it?”

That left the angry monk looking shellshocked, with the other monk blinking along in confusion.

“Yeaaaaaaah, pass,” I cut in, crossing my arms over my chest to form an X of denial.

The trio of monks blinked and looked at me in surprise.

“You realise I don’t have to let you come?” I said, cutting through his plan with a dry look. “I can knock you out right now,” I pointed out.

“And I could rip this illusion away from all if I truly desired, but doing so would kill me,” remarked Gyatso.

Shit, that made me straighten and get serious. “The gates?” I asked after considering him for a moment.

Rather than reply, he gave an enigmatic smile.

I scoffed. “Fine, come play observer to what is happening!” I declared, feeling more than done with this conversation.

“Hmmm, I think I will, thank you!” he said with a chipper tone as he rose and patted both of the other monks on the shoulder.

“Tao, you’re in charge of the others; keep the shrine clean!”

“Elder!” the two men protested, only for the man to wave them off and begin marching out and down to the docks, where I had people boarding ships in orderly lines.

Surprisingly, one or two ships contained sailors capable of wielding chakra who’d escaped the jutsu. 

Only a few sailors had freed themselves, only to take in the situation and sit firm without causing any issues. Which was rather refreshing, if I was honest.

When I marched people and resources onto their ships, they watched in silent awe.

One such ship was a rather large vessel, and I marched up the gangplank with Gyatso following along after me, his head swivelling around as he took everything in. 

I suspected he was also a chakra sensor, as he had to have known I hadn’t slain his fellow monks; otherwise, I doubted he would have met me with words and wisdom at his shrine.

“You him then? The one causing all this…” A sailor waved a hand about at the people who had boarded his ship, only to sit out of the way.

“Yes,” I replied. “I am commandeering this ship in the name of Kirigakure temporarily. Will that be an issue?” I asked.

“Nope!” the man replied, eyes still darting around and over to other ships that had more and more people boarding. “Where are we going?” he asked.

Humming, I moved to the fore of the ship. “The Isle of Octopus,” I ordered.

“There’s nothing there though” the sailor asked with a tilted head.

“Not for the moment, no,” I replied, watching more resources being loaded up. 

I’d entered this city on the back of an orca, and now I was about to set sail with a veritable armada.

Despite that, there were still people waiting on the docks, however.

“No one left behind,” I murmured, ignoring how I very much had done that with the monks as I moulded my chakra and drew some blood.

This was going to take a lot out of me.

I jumped out into the bay and with a flex of my chakra and will, I called forth my summons.

“Summoning Jutsu!”

Two huge blooms of chakra emerged underneath me, and waves surged outwards as two huge bodies displaced the water.

The emergence of two giant orca sadly had to take a backseat of my focus as the twisting of chakra within my coils caused a fluctuation in the Pied Piper Jutsu. 

I mentally snagged onto it and retained control, but I felt more than a few threads flicker in the brief instance I’d need to redirect my chakra. Shit, alright, lesson learned, no using other large-scale jutsu while wielding the Pied Piper.

I drew in a breath as beneath me the Orca rose and looked around.

Shimosuki and her twin, Kurosuki, were the largest Orca I could summon.

Both female orca bobbed in the water and glanced at the other. “Hoh? You’ve summoned us? What is your desire?” Clicks began as the pair mapped out the area around us.

“We’re abducting these people from the Land of Hot Water and we’re going to build something never before seen!” I declared grandly

The orca under me rolled slightly so that one of their eyes could observe me. “How interesting~,” crooned Shimosuki.

“Neh, Matsu, what are you doing with the peeping people on the hill?” Kurosuki asked, turning her head slightly towards the hill that had a group of shinobi observing us from what they must consider long range.

Rather than answer her, I flexed my chakra, mindful that it was merely a spike and not an actual jutsu. 

The hill in question vanished in a sudden boom. 

“Heh, always thinking a few steps ahead!” cheered Shirosuki as people were marched onto her back. With the people who had observed my summons now dead, I finished the loading and then made for the Isle of Octopus.

I didn’t get to sleep like I wanted; however, instead I sat atop Shirosuki and meditated as I maintained the kinjutsu along with that of my summons.

It was too much.

I could feel my chakra draining more than I ever had before.

“H-how long?” I rasped after a few hours.

“Not long, we’ve got a few minutes at most to reach the island. Can you hold out?” Kurosuki called.

“Of course,” I replied, swallowing down a flinch as I knew what was to come was going to hurt.

My chakra continued to dwindle down further and further. By the time we reached the island, I had to repress my body from shuddering as I dredged the bottom of my reserves to make this work.

When we reached the island, the orcas were quick to land their passengers and dismiss themselves, casting only worried looks at me even as they vanished.

I might have held it in, but I doubted I’d tricked them with how I hadn’t responded to their clicks of communication in the last few hours.

I drew in a shuddering breath as finally the drain lessened. 

Like a man in a desert, I took in a deep breath of air and felt the chakra begin to trickle back into my reserves.

When the ships landed a minute after I did, shinobi began to pour out of the caves and hidden alcoves. They watched as more and more people disembarked. 

All of them were carrying something, either food, supplies, or children too young to understand what was going on.

Then, under their watchful gazes, they marched to the ground that I’d had my shinobi prepare.

Akiko appeared next to me, her eyes sweeping up and down my form before her expression shifted from concern to anger. “Matsu! What are you doing?”

“What I do best. Cause chaos,” I replied evenly. Right, just like I’d practised with my clones… time to try it with someone else. In theory this should work. “Here, hold these people’s leash for me,” I remarked as I tapped her and portioned off part of the population to her. 

When the strain on me dropped again I took another breath, enjoying the feel of chakra returning to my aching coils.

“What the?” Akiko gasped as a new feeling invaded her senses.

Instead of explaining myself I unsealed a scroll that I handed to her.

“See to this list. I’ve got a schedule for you to follow.”

Akiko gaped. “Matsu… what is this? What… How long have you been planning something like this?”

“Jonin Akiko", I rebuked her, making my tone steely as I locked eyes with her. “See to the list.” 

I began moving, calling out various shinobi that I knew I could trust, portioning off more and more people to take over the people.

Shock was constant as I shifted the chakra link from myself.

When I finally reached Sayuki I handed a group of administrative and managerial staff over to her.

“You never did this in those war games we played,” she murmured, eyeing me thoughtfully.

“Hmmm,” I replied eloquently. In truth, this was something I’d developed more as a thought exercise and a ‘nuclear option’ as it were.

To see it going off with only a few hitches… Well, I won’t lie to myself. I was somewhat satisfied.

While I’d never used this scenario in my games. I had done things like build cities from scratch with my friends. I had a touch of experience with this due to the blacksite hospital in the Land of Honey; this was similar, just greatly expanded. 

To further prepare myself, I had debated the needs of new cities with builders and scholars. Never with my actual face, though, I’d kept it and a few other tricks up my sleeve.

So many people saw me building arts and crafts centres without bothering to understand what it meant when combined.

Sayuki took the scroll from me and nodded slowly. “This is why we have so many out looking for fishing grounds, isn’t it? And why you have Juzo and Kori away right now… usually you’d keep them close.”

“See to the list,” I ordered as I turned and began marching back to the ships.

Sayuki stiffened. “Matsu! Which city was this?”

“The first!” I replied obliquely, and I grinned as she began cursing me out. 

“Matsu! No! Tell me you’re fucking joking! Right? Right!?”

Instead of answering her, I just kept walking. Sayuki hurried after me.

“Matsu! Be serious! What do you think people are going to do when they learn of this?”

“That’s just the thing, they won’t know what to do. This?” I waved a hand. “This will cause thinkers all over the world to stop and reassess.”

Sayuki gaped at me. “What?” 

“It’s a stalling tactic. This gives us more time. The bigger I make this incident, the more people will reel back from it.” I waved a hand. “This is barely a few thousand people. I need more,” I proclaimed as I walked towards the small armada.

The shinobi I commanded watched me go; whispers broke out in my wake.

“Is he for real?” 

“Heard he was driven, but this is nuts? What’s he doing with this many people?”

“Must be for hostages, right?”

“No way, for that many people? A labour force, maybe?” 

“A warning,” growled an older shinobi, and for a moment I felt like looking back and acknowledging the old man.

Instead, I walked back onto the same ship I’d met with the captain previously before setting out. “Ready to set sail again?”

The ship’s captain stared at me. “What are you planning?” he wondered fearfully.

“More than you know,” I replied as I drew out a map and tapped a city further north along the eastern seaboard of Hot Water. “Lead the fleet to this city next.”

The captain swallowed, eyes darting from me to the Elder Monk, who rather than disembarking, was standing by the railing.

“Thought you were going to stay with the people?” I asked as I settled atop an empty crate.

Gyatso stared out at the milling hive of activity. “I thought you were content with merely a city,” he replied.

That made me nod, conceding the point. 

He turned slightly and considered me. “Self-inflicted harm is not penance, but merely another step taken upon the path of the Asura,” he announced firmly.

“Penance implies I want forgiveness,” I remarked.

“... what do you want?” he asked.

“A nap." I pointedly shut my eyes, and he had the good manners not to ask any more questions.

Or try to kill me while I ‘lowered’ my guard.

Good thing I had given Kori and Juzo tasks to see to before performing this trick.

They wouldn’t hesitate to try something while I slept.

When the ships reached the entrance of the port, I ‘awoke’ and rose, having recovered the majority of my chakra. I was seriously relieved to find more ships within the port, even if there was a bell ringing as the town guard was summoned due to the size of the fleet approaching the city.

Huh, would that actually work in my favour?

Crouching low, I began to warm up even as I unsealed a wrap of food I’d prepared earlier.

Gyatso watched me quietly. “You will repeat your earlier acts?” he called as I finished stretching.

“It’s required for my plan to work,” I replied. I didn’t wait around and instead vanished in a burst of speed that saw me rocketing across the water, my mind already mapping the various chakra signatures and potential threats I might face.

Before I hit the docks, I dove under the water to evade any visual tracking methods and entered underneath the wharves. 

Then I slipped once more to the highest point while clones spread out.

People at the docks who were chakra-sensitive once more turned, catching the large usage of chakra when I created my clones.

They were too late, however.

Once more, my jutsu rang out over the “city”.

“Forbidden Jutsu! Pied Piper!” I shouted in unison with my clones.

Once more, a few thousand people’s minds came under my control while others resisted. Notably, less than last time.

Which… was that a sign that I’d grown more competent with the jutsu? That the people I was about to face were of lower calibre, both? Or something else entirely?

I straightened, letting my hair catch in the wind like a red flag.

The sky overhead was just starting to rumble when I felt chakra spike upwards into it.

Then a huge thunderclap rang out as one of the chakra signatures I’d made note of shot to a rooftop across from me. 

“Ha! Found you!” declared a powerful voice as a black man wearing Kumo's headband rose to his full height.

I stared back impassively.

The man cracked his neck from side to side. “You’re not going to hurt these people!” he growled, raising his fists even as other shinobi moved around behind him, no doubt into supporting positions.

“Ah… you’re going to rescue them then?” I asked him.

The man nodded and raised his fists. “I am!” he said, then he rocketed forward with his fist swinging.

I dropped low to the ground, evading the blow even as I flipped a kunai around and slashed it through his femoral artery.

“Urk!” he grunted as he hit the ground and rolled. 

“Sensei!” screamed a trio of voices as three young shinobi flickered out. Two landed upon the roofs directly on either side of me, while another tried to get in close only for me to bat them away.

I straightened up easily and gave the now-dying man a thoughtful look. “You should tell them to—”

Rather than listen, he kicked off the ground and tried to kick my head off, his hands coming around with a blade that I was forced to intercept with my staff. His blood splashed over my clothes but I had more important things to worry about.

Locking eyes with him, I spoke. “You’re dying if you keep that up. Retreat, live another day.”

“That’s quitter talk!” he barked back, only to pulse his chakra into the roof beneath us and cause it to break underfoot. “Now!” he shouted with a wide, if bloody, grin.

The two students who had lingered launched kunai and lightning ninjutsu at me.

I sighed, eyes still locked with that of the jonin sensei, right before I replaced myself with a nearby stool. The Pied Piper jutsu flickered and I grit my teeth as I was once more forced to retake control over the errant threads.

The Kumo copied me by replacing himself, only to fall to the ground straight away.

I gave the pool of blood under him a thoughtful look.

“Last chance to say something meaningful to your students. Perhaps even spare their lives?” I suggested.

Instead of doing that, he threw himself back into the fight. “I ain’t giving up now!” he roared as he launched a powerful slash in my direction.

Sighing, I decided to stop holding back.

Wrapping a stream of chakra thread around it, I flicked my staff into him and sent him soaring back, only to slam into a nearby wall, where he slid down and coughed up more blood.

His students landed, and their faces took on fearful looks, but they still turned towards me.

I observed each of them.

Green, blue, and blond-haired. Genin by their attire, chakra sources, and basic tactics. 

If I had triggered their jutsu attacks earlier and leapt for one of them, I might have been able to make them hit each other. The fact that they still hit their own sensei as he tried to drag me down with him…

They were rather weak.

“You should run home. Report this to your Village,” I suggested.

Rather than doing that, they threw themselves at me. For half a moment, I considered sparing them. Then I hardened my resolve and struck them each down.

A kunai to the throat, a punch to the chest, and the last of the trio – I caught their hand as they tried to lunge behind me in an overly complicated manoeuvre

Instead, they hit the wall and slumped, never to rise again.

Their sensei glared at me even as his chakra flickered and began to fade.

I considered the downed bodies. I could have spared them. Right now, they were no threat to me.

However, in the war to come, there was no guarantee that they would face me again or that my circumstances would be the same.

Swallowing, I turned away and set about whittling down the rest of the resistance. The mere handful of samurai practically threw themselves at my clones, and I easily tripped them up or led them by the nose into traps and ambushes.

This city, unlike the last, had a noble’s residence actually within the city limits.

Rather than take them with me, I secluded them and their guard, but still had the noble’s residence stripped of resources as I once more marched the population onto ships.

Unlike the last city, the monks didn’t cause me any troubles, which I attributed to the odd chakra pulses Gyatso was giving off from the ship that had just come into port.

Returning to the port, I gave him a curious look.

“What are you doing old monk?” I asked.

“Hmmm, making things a little smoother,” he replied with an enigmatic smile. “This new city you’re building, you did plan for monks and the spiritual needs of its residents, didn’t you?”

I gave him a long, flat stare.

He held my stare, completely unaffected by the blood dripping from my clothes.

Our stare continued for a long minute, and he nodded before breaking off contact by bowing his head to me. “May I please have a residence to tend to the people’s needs?” he begged, without a hint of shame or anger colouring his tone.

Huh, Monks. If that had been Gengetsu he’d have…

I felt various nearby monks’ chakra signatures flicker, and some people called out.

“Lord Gyatso! Don’t bow to him!”

“Damn shinobi!” roared another.

Gyatso held a hand out, however, and they fell silent.

Considering him, I clicked my tongue. Monks. Another part of the world that I had little knowledge of.

Then again, who in Kiri could claim they understood monks?

We rather avoided interacting with them most of the time. If monks and shinobi were placed on a spectrum, we’d occupy different ends, I should imagine.

Perhaps I should rectify my deficiency in knowledge… They could also serve as useful guardians to the population if another group decided to attack the city. And even potentially more…

“Is anyone else joining you in tending to the new city’s spiritual needs?” I asked, turning my head to the small group of monks. 

Gyatso straightened. “How many can come?”

I pondered him. He hadn’t asked about the other two that had accompanied him, but he was willing to take on this group? What game was he playing?

“If they’re not afraid of being put to work and are polite, then as many as can come,” I replied.

Rather than be daunted by this, Gyatso looked pleased. 

Ah, he had some goal in mind, didn’t he? Perhaps to become a rising power within a new city? If he were a gambling man, he might even be putting his bets on me. Although I doubted that as a gambling monk seemed incongruous.

Tough to say, considering I knew little about this man.

Gyatso gave a signal, and the group split in two, with the larger group boarding the ship with me.

Was this where he ambushed me with some esoteric chakra application? A seal or a barrier perhaps?

I once more adopted a relaxed pose atop a crate, one that was full this time.

The captain stared at the port that was slowly emptying of practically everything and everyone. 

“Captain!” I called, and he turned to watch me. “The currents won’t be as kind this time around. How long till we make it to Octopus?”

“Two days, considering we’ve taken on so many ships… We’ll need to be careful through a few passages. You’ll be wanting to keep the ships somewhat close together, I take it?” 

Nodding, I turned away. It would seem that my success was causing some delays.

That should be enough time to give my forces time to process the previous intake of people for what I had planned. Then I could deliver this group before heading off to the final city.

Another round of population theft and I should be back by three or so days.

Total time invested in stripping the eastern coastline of Hot water?

A week.

The time it would take my rivals and enemies to react to my actions?

The thinkers would be assailed by the lack of information; the idiots would charge in, and the nobles would choke and splutter, hopefully clogging things up with their own demands as they asked for assurances and more guards to stop this from happening again.

So, roughly another week to a month before I saw a proper response.

Impact upon the world?

Well, if I pulled this off? I would have changed the course of history.

The captain shuddered for some reason and scurried away, causing me to realise that my self-control had slipped, and I’d started grinning delightedly.

Damn, I’d relaxed a little too much around Rei and then again around Himeko and Sumire. I needed better control going forwards if I was to lead Kiri.

Gyatso chuckled but when I opened an eye to glance at him, he had the same enigmatic smile on his face.

He radiated an air of warmth and kindliness, but my instincts were screaming at me to be wary of him.

How could I find out what his intentions were while also getting a valid read on the man?

There were a lot of obscure ways to approach this, and if I had time, I could perhaps implement them, drawing out snippets of truth and cross-examining them.

Actually, I could still do that, but first, or rather, secondary impressions could be just as useful to have as a comparison.

“What are you hoping to achieve from this? You said you yourself could interfere at any time,” I asked.

He hummed. “I said I could tear away your illusion, not that I would survive it. It would instead be better to observe and offer a more desirable path forward.” 

He stroked his chin. “I’m also curious about you. You’re a young, powerful shinobi, of that there can be no doubt." His eyes flickered to my navel, all but confirming my suspicions that he was a chakra sensor. “What has caught my attention is that you are doing something radically different. I’m curious what will happen!” he admitted with a wide smile.

“You know curiosity can be a terrible thing,” I alluded.

“Call it my curse then!” he chuckled.

“What role do monks fulfil?" I asked. “I can’t say I’ve encountered many monks. Shrine maidens, yes, but that is hardly a fair comparison.”

“Shrine maidens, priests, monks, shaman, and guru,” Gyatso rattled off with a shrug. “There are many who see to the needs of the world. Some simply do it in different ways.”

He gestured at his own stomach with a circling motion. “Sometimes chakra can manifest in wonderful gifts, and other times—” He clenched his hand into a fist, “—in terrible curses. When this occurs, it is typically monks that the people turn to.”

Huh, that actually made a good deal of sense. There were such things as chakra-empowered animals, but why not other things as well? Plants, rocks, or even natural phenomena such as waves, mists, or more.

The Land of Demons had statues that could rise and fight with the right situation, and more than a few people often had horrific bloodlines.

“Monks treat people?” I asked.

“Or shelter them when they require it,” Gyatso replied smoothly. “Sometimes they require lessons to help them, and we impart what we can. Understanding is often the best treatment we can offer.”

In another setting that might be taken as pseudo-healing but with chakra, it was possible that correcting any imbalances might just help treat some people.

“What of barriers?” I asked as I began to slot monks into place with the plan that I’d been toying with.

“Our chants and sermons can bless people or raise defences. I personally know some seals to make the barriers long-lasting, but like any wall, they can be overcome. Still, if required, we can form barriers to protect people, especially from warring parties,” he remarked with a pointed look at me.

Rather than take umbrage, I merely nodded. “Could you create barriers around the city that I will be building?” Chants? Was that their version of handseals or was it something more like a clan jutsu where you needed years of specialised training and some secrets to pull off the jutsu?

“We could, yes. It would require a place within your city, of course,” Gyatso suggested. 

Grunting, I nodded and drew out another scroll with a barebones city plan that I tossed to him. “There are several areas that I had set aside for parks and green spaces. Pick one, and I will adjust my plans for your temple,” I stated.

For several minutes, Gyatso didn’t speak and the only noise was the shifting sounds of the ship along with people moving around me.

“...how long have you been planning this?” he questioned quietly.

“Oh, I’ve suspected what my Kage would ask from me for quite some time,” I replied. “I didn’t commit anything to writing until a day or so ago, however,” I said, which was stretching the truth, but Gyatso didn’t need to know that.

Shadow Clones truly were the most broken power within the Elemental Nations, and few jutsu could even hold a candle to their sheer versatility. 

One of the big regrets I had about this plan was that I wouldn’t get to see Sayuki’s face when she unsealed the prebuilt concrete walls that I’d created with clone power and sealed away over the last few years. 

When the Kiri hospital had been constructed, I’d rather amused myself by ordering far more nails, timber, steel and other construction supplies than I’d needed to actually construct it in bits and pieces.

Something that I’d rather handily gotten away with, I might add. I’d then pulled a trick by buying a warehouse that I converted into a simple factory that’s sole purpose was building prefabricated walls made of concrete with rebar within.

Sayuki was going to be stunned, I had no doubt. She was about to learn the joys of Ikea, only on a much larger scale.

Honestly, the more I thought about it, I was starting to feel a bit like meme batman. 

I had plans in case of a lot of scenarios. I liked to think I’d considered almost everything, at least for the start of the war.

Sadly, I had yet to have anything for dealing with Minato when he got the Flying Thunder God technique working. No doubt there would be other surprises as well.

Like monks…

Gyatso nodded, considering the plans that I’d developed. “It’s like the pokes on a wheel,” he commented, running a finger across the city plans. 

“It allows for division of sections, along with ringed paths that will facilitate ease of transport. I’ve included a few canals for that purpose as well,” I commented from where I lounged, feeling safer the longer this discussion continued. 

There were also going to be tunnels, oh so many tunnels, but a monk didn’t need to worry about that.

He took the scroll away to his fellow monks and conferred with them for the rest of the trip, allowing me to actually catch up on some sleep before we reached the isle of Octopus once again.

While I didn’t get to see Sayuki’s expression, it was extremely gratifying to see Gyatso and the monks’ stunned expressions when they saw the various buildings that had shot up literally overnight since they’d last been here.

I made a show of considering the city with a thoughtful expression before nodding. “It’s progress, I suppose.”

Gyatso and the monks stared in awe, unable to speak, and just from that, I knew I’d done well.

I wanted to smirk, or even chuckle with how pleased I was, but refrained. 

That was far too much like Gengetsu for my liking.

Instead, I happily handed off the new population for processing and split the armada in two. 

Sayuki saw the ships coming in, and as people and resources were disgorged in a new wave, she appeared next to me with a shunshin, a furious expression set in place.

“Matsu! Stop! This… this is too much!”

“I think it is rather too little,” I replied. 

Sayuki put her head in her hands and groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re going back for more!” she wailed.

“Alright, I won—” she tried to stab me for my glib response, and she glared. 

“Be serious!” she demanded.

Sighing, I rubbed at my forehead. “This is me being serious Sayuki. I am threading the line of my orders by crippling the Land of Hot Water, demonstrating to their Village what a mistake it was to side with Konoha, while causing chaos. This will delay most people’s reactions, buying us time to bunker down. The longer we get, the better off we’re going to be.”

Sayuki held her finger in the air and pouted as she failed to formulate a response.

I patted her on the shoulder. “I apologise if this has caught you by surprise. But this is going to plan.” I swept my eyes and chakra senses about. “It looks like you’ve done excellently in my absence.”

Sayuki sighed and rubbed her face. “Matsu… how long have you been preparing for this war?” she asked.

Instead of responding right away, I took a long breath and truly considered it. The truth was I’d been preparing for this war for my entire life. But that wasn’t something you could just blurt out.

So I settled for something more understandable. “Pretty much the moment it looked like the second war was going to end. I started making moves back then,” I lied easily.

Sayuki gaped at me. “That long?”

Nodding, I signalled for a group of shinobi to approach. “Here, you’ve got enough chakra to control this group,” I ordered, handing over the chakra threads only to shudder when I finally handed off the last of them.

Rubbing my forehead I tried to work away the headache that I’d been getting at controlling so many people at once. 

“Surprised you’ve been able to get away with this. Shouldn’t Hot water have more shinobi in their cities?” Sayuki murmured.

“Oh, they do, it’s just that none of them have been up to par. I’ve been able to deal with them easily enough.” Unlike the team of Kumo nin I’d encountered, I hadn’t held back or given warnings before slaying any Hot Water nin as yet. It helped that none of them were children at least.

Sayuki gave me an assessing look. “Of course you have," she huffed. “That actually makes a lot of sense. Not sure how I expected a second-rate Village like them to deal with you.”

“Eh, there have been some surprises,” I remarked, gesturing towards Gyatso and his crew. “Keep an eye on them. They’re a threat but they’ve also got a lot of potential for what I plan to do with this place.”

Sayuki opened her mouth only to shake her head. "I don't think I want to know!” she remarked, throwing her hands up.

“Have any of the scouts come back yet?” I asked.

“Some have. So far, it’s just us out here in the islands. Juzo is still off trapping Haran island, and Kori is sweeping the islands to the west…” Sayuki narrowed her eyes. “Was that to waste his time?”

“Yes,” I answered shamelessly. “He’d get in the way of what I’m doing and is no doubt trying to be clever. Ignore him for the moment. Best he do something vaguely important and then come back once I have this new city established.”

“How are you going to feed the people?” 

Waving a hand at the armada behind me.

Sayuki narrowed her eyes. “How are you going to keep them from running off with the boats?”

“Oh, I’m relying on greed for that.”

Sayuki once again gave me a curious look with pursed lips. “Alright, this I want to know.”

“I looted two entire cities of their resources, Sayuki, you don’t think I left behind the precious metals and money, did you?”

Sayuki blinked. “Oh.”

“Yes, it’s not just going to be the people or the resources, but the flow on effect hitting Hot Water. Trust me. They’re going to be crippled in a way no one can truly fathom.”

“How do you even think up this shit?” she asked.

“I spend too much time around Gengetsu, and otherwise I have a lot of time on my hands,” I stated. “Now, I’m going to go raid Hot Water’s last city. Can I trust you to hold down the fort?”

Sayuki nodded. “Yeah… yeah, you can. Just… no more surprises for at least… a week.”

“No promises!” I declared right before she departed.

Turning back to the captain, I began splitting the armada in half, leaving half of the ships to fish and establishing supply lines and trade routes with the eastern continent and the Land of Water.

“Is what you said true?” asked the captain of the ship I’d claimed as my personal taxi. 

“Hmmm? Which part?” I asked.

“About paying us?”

“Oh yeah, I want you motivated and hungry for more, Captain.” I drew out a scroll and unsealed a stack of cash. "Consider this the first payment.”

The flicker of greed told me I’d chosen the right man for this job, just cowardly enough not to want to screw me over but just greedy enough to want more.

Our arrival in the last city was much like the last, with alarms blaring at the armada’s arrival, only for there to be a much larger shinobi presence.

Sadly for the people of this city, they were all Hot Water shinobi.

For all that they’d assembled some ‘Jonin’, they really didn’t compare to a major village’s standards. 

Instead of slipping right into the Pied Piper Jutsu once more, I instead began ghosting around the city, dragging the various shinobi I had detected into hidden alleyways and dark corners, only to end their lives as quickly and quietly as I could.

When the shinobi refused to leave public spaces, I merely walked up, clapped them on the shoulder and let them settle on the ground like they were sitting down.

Usually, it wouldn’t take long for people to catch on that they were dead, but this city didn’t have that long.

Within half an hour, I’d hunted their defenders down and once more cast my forbidden jutsu to begin stripping the city of its lifeblood.

Within a few hours I set sail, leaving a ghost town in my wake.

That would perhaps be the most disturbing aspect of all this. The empty cities, stripped and barren.

If Hot Water didn’t move people in quickly, they’d become haunts for lowlifes, bandits, pirates, or invasion points, once again tying up much of the nation’s resources.

It had taken a week of sailing back and forth, but by the end of it all I had a population of roughly twenty thousand civilians under my control and a city sprinting ahead in growth. With so many people helping out, I was able to return to find vast towers rising into the air while community centres were full to the brim.

As the last people disembarked, Akiko approached me. She looked exhausted, but she still spared me a concerned look. ‘You look dead on your feet.”

“I wouldn’t advise repeating this,” I replied, rubbing at my left eye, which was now pulsing in pain from the headache that had formed. “Still. The results speak for themselves, no?”

Akiko turned back to the towering buildings taking shape along with the clearly marked-out roads and ditches with irrigation and more pipes being laid. 

“This is… something else. When I set out for the Third Shinobi War, I thought I would be doing the exact opposite of building a city.”

“I do try to—” A wave of pain made me stop talking, and instantly Akiko was at my side.

“Matsu?” she asked, putting her hands to my shoulder.

“I need to get these people processed. We’ve started offloading some of the people, yeah?” I asked.

“We have… the explanation that they were the survivors of a large scale tsunami has kept them rather off balance with the camps still not interacting with each other. How long do you expect that lie to last?”

“Long enough,” I muttered. “We can’t keep them under our control forever.”

“They’re going to hate us when they learn of what we did.”

“As they should; by then, however, they will either leave or stick around, having learned what this place will offer them.”

Akiko nodded. “Some of the shinobi are calling this the city of tomorrow.”

Rubbing at my temples, my headache eased a little. “Heh, Metropolis,” I muttered more to myself than to Akiko.

She frowned. “Metropolis?” she repeated.

“Nothing, a joke I made to a friend once,” I said, waving her off. “We’ll keep the majority under rotation for building purposes but within a week I think we’ll have enough to let them go. Those that wish to leave can be transported off the island while everyone else can be granted certain privileges.”

“You’ll lose all of them,” she muttered. 

“Nah, I won’t. Not after I tell them about the no-taxes law this city will be founded upon.”

Akiko blinked. “Taxes? You think they’ll stick around because of taxes?” 

“Amoung other things,” I said only to grimace as the headache returned. Free healthcare should be another big selling point, as would education, but that wouldn’t have an impact for years to come, while the other two would have quick results.

Akiko began leading me to a large tent with a prepared bedroll. “Here, rest for now. You’ve been at sea for long enough. Sayuki and I have patrols and guards on rotation. I’ll sit over here for you as well.”

I lay down, letting the exhaustion take hold. “If any trees or their roots move, burn the forest,” I muttered to her as I shut my eyes and let sleep claim me.

________________________

Kori Yuki couldn’t believe what his byakugan was showing him.

He’d been gone for barely two weeks, scouting the eastern islands with his single aide. They’d picked up a full team in the east at a prearranged point. It would be easy enough to wave off the ‘windfall’ of more Yuki shinobi joining their forces with a return from missions.

He’d stayed away longer than required to give Matsu a scare. The young commander should have sent a shinobi at least to check on them.

Considering Matsu’s force composition, Kori had plans to slay them and report them as having fallen in combat.

It would be a small bite out of Matus’s loyalists, but one that was required.

Annoyingly, Matsu hadn’t assigned any of his men to Kori, something that Kori couldn’t take umbrage with, but he’d bide his time and make the most of what was to come.

He’d returned, mentally preparing himself to goad Matsu, only to return to the Isle of Octopus to find it transformed and with clear signs that whatever had begun was far from done.

Five mighty towers of metal and concrete rose with red banners and bright streamers running down their length. There were signs that these towers weren’t going to be the only large buildings either.

A flowing tent city encircled the towers with foundations being obvious from far away.

The port was full of vessels, so much so that it reminded Kori more of the capital of the Land of Water rather than some small island that had nothing to it but a name mere weeks ago.

“They’re digging canals… and they’ve got a channel to move the water uphill to feed into the towers,” he muttered, taking it all in. 

He walked into the city, noticing how some of the people had glassy-eyed looks and vapid smiles as they went about their work, while others flitted with terrified gazes. Others walked with upbeat attitudes and oddly full purses.

Without turning his head, Kori took in the city at large and noted the various districts that were forming. 

There was an obvious area for craftsmen, forges and other means of production. Kori could begrudgingly applaud the set up as Shinobi would need their arms and armour repaired as the war dragged on. 

There was housing units being built that were shaping up to be four storeys tall, with what looked like internal piping and other amenities that had only just started to filter into Kiri, such as electricity. 

Kori narrowed his eye when he spotted that the red light district was well established with flowing colourful tents with thin partitions of silk and whores plying their trade.

Despite it being the middle of the day there were dozens if not hundreds, already rolling in the sheets. Some of them shinobi. Kori shook his head. Trust Matsu, the boy raised from a whorehouse to establish that district so speedily.

In other areas food stalls were serving people in quick efficient lines. There were several fighting rings, gambling pits and other dubious activities with people handing out bread, pizza and other treats that had begun appearing throughout Kiri.

Kori snorted, new-fangled trends that would fade soon enough!

He began sweeping the city for his target. He quickly found matching chakra signatures that indicated Matsu was using Shadow clones.

There were… thirty of them flitting around at the moment, which caused Kori to swallow. That was far more than he’d ever demonstrated before. It caused the estimate for Matus’s chakra pool to shoot upwards.

The boy was becoming a true threat. With that much chakra, he was surely approaching the lesser Bijuu in capacity! Licking his lips, Kori was forced to make a guess at where the ‘true’ Matsu would be.

Kori led his team of shinobi into one of the central towers, only to find more people milling about or sitting in a large waiting area while others moved about.

Kori’s lips thinned. Another hospital. Matsu had made another hospital, this one apparently open to civilians.

It was here that most of Matsu’s clones were employed while Matsu himself stood within a large room surrounded by shinobi as they consulted a map of the surrounding regions.

That wasn't the only oddity. There were monks in another room arguing with each other over what appeared to be a small library's worth of scrolls while the eldest sat to the side contentedly reading a book about something called a ‘Republic’.

Kori had no idea what that was, but dismissed it as unimportant, like all monks were.

“Ah, Kori, I see you’ve finally returned. Did you encounter anything of note?” Matsu called as soon as Kori entered the room, cutting off any chance Kori had to seize the initiative of the conversation.

“We encountered some shinobi but drove them off,” he lied easily. 

“I’ll want ranks, markings, and facial features for all of them… as well as chakra signatures as best as you can describe them, considering your advantage,” Matsu ordered, his brow furrowing as he leaned down to write a note and shade off a section of the map.

Apparently, Matsu was going to create a harbour opera house? Next to it there was a note demanding additional pylons! It even had a small symbol like that of a cutesy winky face!

Was Matsu allowing his aides such lax attitudes?

And city planning? Now?

The boy was playing at such things with the war on? What idiocy!

“Kori,” Matsu’s voice cut through Kori’s internal thoughts.

Kori grimaced only for Matsu to pause in his writing. "Did you actually encounter any shinobi?” he asked flatly. 

Kori narrowed his eye at the disrespectful tone, he had half a mind to freeze the little—.

Matsu's fingers curled towards a bowl of fruit, and he plucked a berry idly, only to roll the small orb around in his grasp. 

Kori shivered. “I will have a report for your perusal within the hour,” he offered quickly.

Matsu nodded. “Your men can find their lodging in the base we’ve established. I’ll have someone show them the way to access the tower’s foundations; you stick around for now Kori. We’re about to receive guests.”

“Enemy shinobi?” Kori asked, his chakra shifting to his eye once more.

Matsu smirked. “No. It would seem the Suna forces that will be operating underneath our banner was more eager than Gengetsu expected. They’re set to arrive soon.”

Kori shifted. “They will leak intel. We should extract what intel we can and then let them loose.”

“No… I prefer to keep them close,” Matsu replied, his gaze still fixed on the map only for him to tilt his head and begin writing something on the map.

Or rather the glass overlaying the map.

Kori stayed where he was, watching as Matsu noted the forces moving with the land of Hot Water. The crosses through the three cities on the coastline indicated Matsu had struck them as ordered, but it was easy enough to understand that while he had fulfilled the letter of the orders, he had not held to the spirit that Gengetsu had given them.

The boy was too impertinent!

Or was this yet another sign of Gengetsu’s favour?

Reports continued to trickle in, with the other shinobi in the room adjusting the map with forces within the Land of Lightning. Matsu loomed over the map and room, his gaze shifting about, seeming to linger upon Sky and Hot Water in telling pauses.

Was there something in those nations Matsu wanted to be more aware of? Enemy forces? Kori racked his mind for any advantage he could conjure, only to find nothing.

Nothing but a ship with sand coloured sails pulling into port. “The Suna ANBU are here,” he stated.

Matsu looked up for the first time. “Describe them to me,” he said, his gaze tracking to the south, where the ANBU were standing on the deck of their ship, taking in the growing city much like Kori had hours ago.

“There are five male shinobi of standard height, and three kunoichi. They mostly have dark hair but there is one who has red.” The last gave Kori pause. It was a similar shade of red as Matsu’s but duller… Had Suna sent an Uzumaki here?

Was Suna playing deeper games?

“The red-haired nin, describe him for me. What tools does he have about his person?” Matsu asked thoughtfully. 

Kori focused, knowing it would be important.

“He... appears to have several scrolls about his person but little else. His chakra is not significant, and his mask is hiding his facial features. He doesn’t even appear to have any weapons, kunai, senbon, or otherwise.”

“Hmmmm, interesting, very interesting,” Matsu murmured.

When the ANBU arrived, Kori blinked and had to reactivate his byakugan as they had gained another member to th— no. It was a puppet wearing shinobi attire with an ANBU mask that had joined them. Kori traced the chakra strings back to the red-haired nin Matsu had shown interest in.

Glancing at Matsu he gave a short warning as was expected of him, only to find Matsu openly smiling at the Suna nin.

What was going on here?

Not for the first time, Kori was feeling like he was swimming in dark waters with sharks and shadows circling him.

He was supposed to be beyond this with his byakugan. 

Matsu nodded to the Suna ANBU. “Welcome, thank you for your timely arrival. I can’t say we were expecting you for a while longer yet.”

The puppet stepped forward. “We were eager to see combat.”

Matsu gave the puppet a thoughtful look. “Good, there is much work ahead, and I have little doubt that we will be seeing combat soon enough.”

Matsu glanced towards his aide, who nodded and moved to hand out scrolls. “This is the intel we have on shinobi movements around us, along with samurai shifting about. There have been some rather significant events in the area that you will need to be made aware of, but for now, I want to highlight the possible responses that I expect to see, starting with Konoha.”

That had everyone leaning in as Matsu’s hand tracked to the Land of Fire.

Kori listened intently, knowing that what Matsu was revealing could be used to his benefit in the days to come.

For now, he would bide his time.

_____________________

A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support. 

Not sure how much it will fly over people’s heads, but I can’t recall the elemental nations ever having anything like a democratic state. 

It’s all very feudal, with lords and military dictatorships with the Villages. Which makes sense for the manga and the time period.

Thanks also go to Twmmy for proofreading!

Next chapter will be a reaction interlude along with a look into the surrounding nations responses.