The Submission of Two Nations

Tap, tap, tap.

The Hell Hound Summoning Beast’s paws struck the ground, making soft sounds.

Everyone around watched the three Hell Hounds approaching beneath the moonlight, along with the people seated atop them, their gazes mixed with fear and disgust.

Especially the one at the front. His build was like that of a giant; one glance was enough to imagine just how terrifying his strength must be.

This guy… might even be stronger than Kumogakure’s previous Raikage.

Horikawa Takuya, a noble standing at the outer edge of the crowd, thought so. He was not among the Land of Lightning’s highest-ranking nobles; the private soldiers and industries under his control could only be considered second-rate.

But precisely because his status was not high enough, he had not been summoned to the Daimyo’s Estate today to discuss dividing up the Land of Fire’s interests. Intelligence had arrived that Konoha Hidden Village had suffered a devastating blow, with its upper ranks, including the Third Hokage, all killed within half a day.

Thus, the Land of Lightning’s upper echelon had already expected this war to end in victory. What remained was naturally how to divide the Land of Fire and how far the war should be fought.

Such matters were not something those ninja understood. The greatest benefit of ninja wars was that they would not drastically reduce the number of farmers in each nation.

The Land of Lightning’s daimyo did not intend to carry out any massacre either. He planned to seize the Land of Fire’s vast plains for growing grain.

Tap.

The vicious dog suddenly stopped. Horikawa Takuya raised his head and saw that giant-like figure halt before him, looking down at him with purple light radiating from his pupils.

Just being watched by that gaze made Horikawa Takuya’s hair stand on end. A faint scent of blood seeped into his nostrils, making him nearly vomit.

He had once met the Third Raikage, a brutal man who had killed countless people. But compared to the aura of the person before him, even the Third Raikage might be considered gentle.

At the very least, he had been a citizen of the Land of Lightning.

"Are you a noble here?"

Bai Cangshu looked at the man whose robes were more luxurious than those of the others, and who was faintly surrounded by the crowd. He appeared to be in his forties. The luster of his skin had long since dimmed, and his vitality was beginning to decline. Neither his heartbeat nor pulse was particularly strong.

Horikawa Takuya had wanted to maintain the bearing of a Land of Lightning noble before everyone, but merely being watched by the other man gave him such a chilling feeling down his back that he could not resist. His waist bent slightly as he stammered, "Y-yes… I am, I am of the Horikawa clan…"

"Gather all the survivors. I want you to submit to me. If you can do that, you’ll be the daimyo here from now on. If you can’t, heh…"

Bai Cangshu waved a hand, too lazy to listen to his introduction.

He was merely a reincarnator, not someone intending to truly establish long-term, stable rule over this world.

Reincarnators had never been Saviors. Reincarnators were dimensional mercenaries, a band of robbers.

Bai Cangshu was fully aware of that. Then, from the main road running through the crowd, he headed into the royal capital. With the Daimyo’s Estate at the highest point in the center as its axis, the Land of Lightning’s entire royal capital followed its unique terrain from top to bottom. Its architecture was highly distinctive, completely unlike the orderly urban planning pursued by ordinary towns.

Moreover, perhaps because mountain winds blew fiercely through the ravines and thunder often rumbled, nearly every building here was fitted with lightning-rod-like devices. They were also built extensively with special stone, making the city far sturdier than the wooden houses of the Land of Fire.

Unfortunately, even buildings of such strength were destroyed by a single throw from Bai Cangshu in his current state.

Uchiha Itachi sat atop the Summoning Beast, his Sharingan clearly taking in every emotion within the eyes of the onlookers.

This was the fear brought by war. The panic of no longer having any confidence in whether they could survive had drained all light from everyone’s eyes.

Suddenly, a woman rushed out from the crowd. She wore a flamboyant red gown, unlike the ordinary people around her, who generally wore dark robes, and unlike the nobles, whose robes came in dignified bright colors such as white and blue.

The woman exposed a large expanse of skin across her chest. Her figure was voluptuous and her waist slender. Though her skin was somewhat dark, she still held considerable appeal for everyone.

That much was apparent from the fact that, as she stumbled out, quite a few people’s gazes were unconsciously drawn to her despite their fear.

The woman jogged toward Mercenary Tao, a flush on her face as though she was unaccustomed to exercise.

"My lord, my lord… I admire you. Would you allow me to introduce you to the local situation?"

Hearing her words, many people showed anger. Uchiha Itachi, however, lowered his eyelids. In an instant, he understood the woman’s purpose.

To be honest, ninja had long since discarded seduction tactics like this.

Bai Cangshu looked at the woman with amusement, then reached out. She cried out as he lifted her with one hand and placed her in his lap.

Whoosh.

At that moment, several figures leaped from the crowd. Several ninja hidden among the people sprang into action at the same time, taking advantage of Bai Cangshu reaching out to seize the woman.

These people were far weaker than the Jonin who had rushed out earlier, and weaker than the ninja who had formed a defensive formation. But they had nowhere left to retreat. The royal capital had fallen, the Daimyo’s Estate had collapsed, and the daimyo was dead.

They only wanted the murderer to pay the price.

Uchiha Itachi did not dislike such actions, but he still instantly threw Shuriken, shooting down the people who had just leaped up.

Only one person, deliberately allowed through by Uchiha Itachi, successfully reached Bai Cangshu.

The ninja watched this enormous monster pull the beautiful woman into his arms, his massive hand already roughly roaming over her body.

He knew he was not strong enough, but this was already his best chance. Without hesitation, he stabbed his kunai toward the giant’s neck.

The woman in Bai Cangshu’s arms looked up and saw the kunai descending, her heartbeat quickening.

Clang!

In the next instant, to her utter disbelief, the kunai snapped directly against the giant’s neck.

The attacking ninja’s palm split open, blood pouring from it. Yet the massive figure seemed to feel nothing. He neither killed the attacker nor cast her aside.

He continued kneading her body with that excessively large hand.

The motion was like playing with some toy, utterly devoid of any sensuality.

She raised her head and met the monster’s gaze. His expression was indifferent, without lust or anger.

"What is it? Weren’t you going to introduce this city to me?"

"Why don’t you start with the fellow behind me…"

The ninja standing behind Bai Cangshu turned pale. His hands formed seals, and lightning began to appear.

"People of the Land of Fire, hate…"

"Fear…"

"Then suffer, and think…"

Deva Path Pain floated in the air. Below him lay the Daimyo’s Estate, reduced completely to ruins, while a large number of nobles and samurai surrounded Pain and Konan, with terrified residents of the royal capital standing even farther away.

Pain watched the fear in everyone’s eyes, as well as the nobles closest to him who wielded power yet put on fierce fronts while trembling within. He could already hear some of them discussing how to surrender.

Some even wanted to recruit him as the new Naruto, or establish a new ninja village.

Clatter, clatter…

The blades in the hands of the nobles and samurai fell one after another. They knew Konoha Hidden Village could no longer send reinforcements, so after the Twelve Guardian Ninja had died and the Daimyo’s Estate had been blasted apart, they had lost all fighting spirit.

Through Deva Path Pain’s eyes, Nagato saw this scene and was consumed by rage.

These people, who hid behind the scenes and freely decided when to start and end wars, had actually chosen to surrender the moment they realized there were no ninja left to die for them?!

People without even the resolve to give up their own lives had been brazenly directing wars and harvesting lives all this time…

Konan’s expression was as dark as water. Never before had she been so furious.

Previously deeply dissatisfied with Mercenary Tao’s plan, she suddenly thought that perhaps only a disgusting monster like Mercenary Tao could deal with these disgusting people.

Ninja like Nagato and herself, who still pursued justice and humanity, ultimately could not speak to these politicians on the same level.

Even killing these people would not ease the pain and suffocation in their hearts.

White sheets of paper fell one by one from Konan’s hands, yet the people below knelt one after another. They wanted to submit.

Nagato kept taking deep breaths before finally stopping Konan.

"Since we’ve come this far, we might as well see whether the great empire Mercenary Tao spoke of, one that sweeps across all lands, can end this war that has continued for a thousand years…"