Chapter 272: Chapter 269 : A Dying City...
Everyone's eyes widened. A few who were well-learned and were close to Toshio wondered, 'Wait, Lord Kazekage has no authority to punish Nobles. Only Lord Daimyo has. What is going on?'
They wanted to voice their opinion. But the bloodlust made them terrified to even open their mouths. A sword appeared in Fujin's hands. His clone held Toshio properly and offered Fujin his neck. Fujin swung his sword. With one swing of his blade, Toshio was beheaded!
The crowd watched with complex expressions. They didn't know what to feel. On one hand, they were happy that a traitor had been killed. Perhaps if they weren't suppressed by the bloodlust, they would have even cheered.
On the other hand, though Toshio wasn't a good person, he had properly propagated himself to be one. So the number of people aware of his real face was very low. Only the recent rumors tarnished his reputation considerably.
They stayed silent and hoped that this nightmare would be over. However, Fujin's next words destroyed all their hopes!
Fujin said, "Lord Kazekage is very upset over how the Noble of Shunkuto has caused the deaths of tens of Sunagakure ninjas. As a punishment, all the ninjas deployed to protect the city will be withdrawn. From this moment onwards, this city won't have any protection from us!"
The civilians were terrified. Their city was deep in the desert. The climate here was very harsh. So they didn't suffer from any bandit attacks as no bandit group would operate here. However, the city frequently had to face deadly sandstorms. The help of ninjas during this time was indispensable. Without their aid to activate the seals and warn everyone in time, many people would die. The ninjas would also aid a lot after the storm had passed the city in order to restore the city and ensure that it functioned properly.
Fujin withdrew his bloodlust and said with a sigh, "Though I don't want to leave here by yourself, I can't disobey my leader. I wish you well.'
The people shouted, "No! Please don't leave us he..."
However, their words were stuck in their mouths as Fujin and his clone disappeared. Only Toshio's headless body was left on the stone platform. They looked around and the remaining 'Suna' ninjas had disappeared as well.
Immediately, terror invaded the minds of everyone present. Chaos spread as everyone discussed what to do without any proper plan. Many began talking about leaving the city.
A few rushed into the mansion and began stealing expensive items and money. While the rest rushed to their families.
After leaving the city, Fujin dispelled all of his clones except one. Memories entered his brain. He analyzed them all and frowned. He thought, 'What the hell? None of my clones detected any Suna ninja moving towards this city. Where are Sunagakure ninjas? Did Rasa decide to abandon the West thinking that they have no choice but to obey him? But that doesn't make any sense. He should have been sending ninjas here desperately.'
Fujin looked towards the East and wondered, 'Did Shikaku or some other village stir up huge trouble? Only that would explain such a reaction. But what sort of trouble would they have to stir to make Rasa incapable of sending ninjas here?'
Fujin began analyzing. However, he couldn't come up with any explanation other than war. He wondered, 'Is there a war happening? But I don't recall any major wars happening at this time other than the civil war in Kiri. Should I withdraw and check out the circumstances there?'
Fujin analyzed more before deciding, 'No. I'll head over to the next city. If there is no one protecting it, I'll withdraw and check out the circumstances around Suna and Wind Capital. Else I'll decide after seeing what sort of arrangements Rasa has made for the West.'
Fujin rested for some time to recover his chakra and moved towards the city of Mizunashi.
Back in Shunkuto, the news spread throughout the city. The entire city was in a panic. The news also reached Toshio's family. They were immediately engulfed by grief and rage. His wife cursed loudly, "Kazuo, Rasa! I will never let this go! Did you forget that my family is related to Daimyo as well!"
Her sons calmed her down saying, "Softly mother. It will be troublesome if someone hears us. They might take out the hate of Father on us!"
She controlled herself. With tears running down her cheeks, she said, "We will leave this city under this disguise and travel to Wind Capital however we can. Only then we can get your father justice!"
Her sons nodded. They immediately began making preparations.
A few influential people stepped forward to control the panic and instilled some sense of discipline and control in the city. The city calmed down a bit. After discussing and making proper arrangements, most of the city decided to leave the city the next day.
The next morning, over 80% of the citizens decided to leave the city. Toshio's family also mixed with them. They began travelling across the treacherous deserts and moved towards the nearby cities, towns and villages.
Around the same time, Fujin reached Mizunashi city. Suddenly, his last clone dispelled himself and he received his memories. A smile formed on his face as he thought, 'As I expected. A vast number of people there will begin migrating. After all, who would want to stay in a dying city?
Now, when they enter nearby cities, they will spread the events that happened in their city. Soon, the news will spread like Wildfire throughout the Land of Wind. The news that Rasa ordered the execution of a Noble and left a city with tens of thousands of people to fend for themselves.
Even though the cities in the East have no option but to stay subservient to Suna, they will become very suspicious of Rasa's intention. And irrespective of what deal the Wind Daimyo and Rasa made, they will enter into conflict once again. After all, that Noble's family is still alive. As long as they reach the Daimyo, another round of hostilities will begin. Even if they don't manage to, the news alone will make the other Nobles pressurize the Daimyo.
Eventually, some of the people that migrated will migrate to the cities in the East. When they do, Rasa's reputation will be hit even further. He will have to take a hell lot of effort to be able to recover his lost reputation. However, the bad will among the ones who suffered will last for decades.
If Shikaku and Hiruzen don't promote me after this and give me access to that Section A of the library, I'll make them experience a similar hell! Though I guess they are too smart to make such a silly mistake.'
Fujin turned his thoughts towards the city in front of him. His eyes were glowing. He muttered, "Another city without any active seals protecting them. That said, the last assassination was fun. I wonder if this city will make it interesting for me as well."
He took a step forward as wind covered his entire body. Before he could land his step, he disappeared from his spot and entered the city. He began walking casually towards the center of the city as usual. As expected, it also had a mansion at the center of the city.
Fujin stood in a secluded corner and wondered, 'What should I do if this Noble is also hiding while a decoy is taking his spot? Doing the same trick twice won't be feasible. After all, many would be suspicious of what I pulled in Shunkuto. The same thing happening in two cities will reduce the suspicion on Rasa and people will suspect foul play. So it will be counter-productive.'
Fujin thought for a bit and gave up, 'Leave it. I'll just kill whoever is acting to be the Noble and the Suna ninjas protecting him. Though I should be careful. Kazuo was willing to blow himself up. However, if he had used something original or unpredictable, then I could have had some trouble.'
As he was deciding, he felt eyes on himself. He turned his head and saw a man approaching him. He laughed awkwardly and asked, "Young man, can you tell me where the flower shop is? I lost my way around here, hahaha."
Fujin nodded and said, "Sure. Travel three streets down this road. Then take a right and then the second left. You'll find the most famous flower shop in this city."
The man quickly said, "Thank you, young man. You saved me."
He quickly left. Fujin watched his back. But this time, he didn't dare to use his chakra. He thought, 'Suspicious. I didn't sense any chakra from him, but something about him feels off. He approached me right after I used some chakra.'
Fujin turned around and left in the opposite direction. The man didn't look back at Fujin and continued walking while thinking, 'I didn't expect him to know where the flower shop is. Did he just luckily come across the flower shop? Or is he an old spy? But why would someone place a spy in this remote city? Unless...'
[A/N : Bonus chapter on next Sunday if the fic gets 1000 Power Stones. Bonus chapter on next week's Saturday if the fic gets 2000 Power Stones.]
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