Chapter 212: You Bastard, You’re Really Vicious!
Winter sunlight streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, sprinkling onto the mirror-smooth corridor floor of the Star Capital’s administration building.
Menma walked steadily ahead, his black hair framing a pair of deep blue eyes as calm as the sea.
At his side followed Uzumaki Kushina, her brows furrowed tightly.
Half a step behind was Uzumaki Kushina, her expression carrying a mix of novelty and emotion; her pallid skin and the fine black cracks on her face were especially prominent in the sunlight.
Beside Kushina, Uzumaki Kushina’s usual gentle expression was replaced by a trace of solemnity, occasionally glancing at Kushina nearby.
‘That head of red hair, could it be…’
“Kushina,” Menma’s voice broke the corridor’s silence as he slightly turned his head, gesturing toward Kushina behind him: “This is my mother, Uzumaki Kushina.”
His tone was calm and natural, as if introducing an ordinary friend reunited after a long separation.
Uzumaki Kushina’s steps paused slightly, her brown eyes that always carried a gentle smile widening instantly, filled with undisguised surprise and curiosity.
She quickly performed a formal bow, her voice laced with incredulous excitement and respect: “Lady Kushina! Hello!”
“Nice to meet you, I am Uzumaki Kushina, a branch member of the Uzumaki Clan. Thanks to Lord Shura’s rescue, I was able to escape the misery of Kusanagi Village and settle here.”
Her gaze lingered for a moment on Kushina’s pallid complexion and cracks, then fell on the other’s equally brilliant red hair, her tone carrying sincere warmth and a hint of bewilderment: “I never imagined that besides Karin and me, there were other surviving Uzumaki Clan members! I wonder where Lady was before…?”
Kushina had been nothing more than the lowest “blood bag” in Kusanagi Village, with almost no access to external information, let alone knowledge of someone as mysterious even within Konohagakure as Kushina.
Kushina returned a friendly smile, though the cracks made it appear somewhat peculiar: “Hello, Kushina. It’s a long story… I was living in Konoha before.”
She glossed over it simply, without delving into her “condition” or past.
“Konoha?!” Kushina was even more surprised.
As a Uzumaki Clan member who had experienced Uzu Village’s destruction and endured endless suffering in Kusanagi Village, her feelings toward Konoha were extremely complex.
She hadn’t expected Menma’s mother to come from Konoha, and judging by Menma’s attitude, their mother-son relationship seemed… quite special?
She suppressed her inner questions and nodded politely: “I see. It’s wonderful to meet a clan member in the Land of Stars.”
Kushina’s tone was sincere, but the alienation toward Konoha deep in her eyes had not fully dissipated.
The three continued forward, the brief warmth quickly replaced by the affairs they were about to face.
Pushing open the door to the top-floor office, a heavy aura hit them head-on.
The spacious, simple office was filled with a tense atmosphere.
Uchiha Hikari stood with arms crossed, leaning against the massive floor-to-ceiling window; her dark blue high-collared clan robes accentuated her upright posture, her ink-black long hair cascading down, her aloof profile somewhat blurred in the winter sunlight streaming from outside the window.
Upon seeing Kushina behind Menma, Uchiha Hikari’s imposing aura shifted, and she slightly lowered her head.
Miyashiro En stood by the desk, his diamond-shaped sunglasses concealing his eyes.
There was also the miko Miroku sitting on the sofa in the reception area, dressed in solemn miko robes, her demeanor serene, her brows carrying compassionate worry.
The three almost simultaneously turned their gazes over the instant the door opened.
“Lord Shura!” Miyashiro En and Miroku both rose to bow.
“Those nobles! How dare they betray us like this!” Uchiha Hikari’s cold voice carried undisguised killing intent: “Let me go slaughter those ignorant ants!”
Her words made the air in the room seem to congeal with the scent of blood.
Miyashiro En adjusted the sunglasses on his nose bridge, his voice low and calm: “Lord, Kushina Lord must have already reported the situation. Their actions demand thunderous retribution to deter the petty villains.”
Miroku said nothing, merely tightening her hands slightly, her purple eyes looking toward Menma with a trace of worry and inquiry.
She abhorred slaughter, but also deeply despised the actions of the nobles from the Land of Shadows and the Land of Swamps.
Menma calmly walked behind the large desk, gesturing for Kushina to rest on the nearby sofa.
His gaze swept over the murderous Uchiha Hikari, the calmly advising Miyashiro En, and the silent Miroku, finally landing on the following Uzumaki Kushina.
“Hikari, calm down.” Menma’s voice was not loud, yet it instantly suppressed the killing intent permeating the room.
“It’s just two small countries without their own ninja villages, rotten to the core internally. This minor issue isn’t worth your personal involvement.”
Uchiha Hikari’s brows furrowed tightly, her black pupils flickering uncertainly, clearly not entirely convinced: “Are we just going to let them bully our ninjas?”
“Of course not.” A faint arc lifted at the corner of Menma’s mouth, carrying the confidence of controlling everything.
He straightened up, his tone steady: “This is a good chance to give the subordinates some training.”
Then he looked toward Uzumaki Kushina: “I remember Jonin Gōta is leading the team for technical guidance on the agricultural cooperation project?”
Uzumaki Kushina nodded immediately: “Yes, Lord. Jonin Gōta is experienced, highly skilled in Earth Style and Water Style; he’s participated in many domestic transformation projects. For this operation, he’s leading the Earth Style and Water Style specialist teams there overseeing land transformation work. After being surrounded, Jonin Gōta remained very steady and restrained, without initiating any slaughter.”
“Mm.” Menma’s finger tapped lightly on the smooth desktop.
He pondered candidates in his mind: “Have Hotaru lead the team, taking Kimimaro, Yukimi, and Haku; depart immediately to rendezvous with Gōta in the Land of Shadows.”
He looked at Uchiha Hikari: “With Hotaru Jonin’s strength and steadiness, plus Kimimaro with Corpse Bone Pulse, Haku proficient in Ice Release, and Yukimi, along with Gōta and the existing technical support squad. This lineup is more than enough to easily suppress any armed resistance within a small or medium-sized country.”
Menma’s gaze carried absolute trust in his subordinates’ strength.
Though Uchiha Hikari was still eager to act, hearing the names Menma selected—especially Kimimaro and Haku being included—she knew it was already a formidable combination.
She let out a light hum: “Then leave it to them. I hope these kids don’t disappoint me.”
The “kids” in her mouth clearly referred to Kimimaro and Haku.
“So, what are the specific action orders?” Uchiha Hikari asked again, so she could relay commands directly to Hotaru, Kimimaro, and others via engraving, as well as Gōta in the Land of Shadows border.
“Support Gōta, ensure the safety of all our personnel. Control the situation, do not proactively expand the conflict for now, but if the enemy attacks—” Menma’s voice turned cold.
“Permit use of all necessary means for self-defense and counterattack until the enemy loses its threat capability. Primary objective: protect our personnel and the newly transformed land from destruction.”
“Understood.” Uchiha Hikari nodded, beginning to formulate the message transmission.
Menma then turned his gaze to Miyashiro En.
This former wandering ninja had now succeeded Kado as the Land of Stars’ influential finance minister, overseeing the nation’s economy and commerce development, with exceptional means and abilities.
“En,” Menma asked: “In what specific areas does the Land of Stars still have economic ties with the Land of Shadows and the Land of Swamps?”
Miyashiro En immediately shifted into gear, as if opening a ledger, his voice clear and organized: “Lord, thanks to your ‘agricultural grand development’ strategy, and massive investments in special resources for farmland irrigation construction, high-yield rice breeding, and large-scale fertilizer production, though our Land of Stars occupies only about a quarter of the Ghost River Plains’ mid-to-downstream plains land, the developed high-quality arable land area already far exceeds the combined total of the Land of Shadows and the Land of Swamps.”
He produced a scroll report, displaying it for everyone: “Our country’s current annual grain output is enough to feed over ten million people; more than triple that of three years ago! Stocks are ample, with large surpluses sold to neighboring countries. Moreover, with the promotion of new farming techniques and deepening chakra applications in breeding and yield enhancement, this figure continues to grow steadily.”
Miyashiro En shifted tone, pointing to the Land of Shadows and Land of Swamps on the map: “In contrast, the Land of Shadows and Land of Swamps have suffered major floods since summer this year, followed by rare locust plagues after autumn, sharply reducing grain output, surging refugee numbers, and intensifying social unrest. To address immediate crises, they’ve recently purchased large quantities of affordable grain from our country through official and private grain merchant channels for disaster relief.”
He paused, a arc lifting at his mouth: “At the same time, over seventy percent of their main export specialties—like the Land of Swamps’ rare aquatic products, the Land of Shadows’ special timber and herbs—are circulated and settled through the international market we’ve established in the Land of Stars. One could say a large part of their economic lifeline is in our hands.”
Miyashiro En’s voice lowered slightly, carrying an offhand smirk: “Lord, shall we impose severe economic sanctions on them?”
“For example, have our close allied major grain merchants ‘appropriately’ raise prices on grain supplied to the two countries and control shipment volumes.”
As Miyashiro En’s words fell, the office fell silent, the temperature seemingly dropping abruptly.
Uzumaki Kushina’s brows locked tightly, her face showing clear disapproval and worry.
Miko Miroku even murmured a prayer, shaking her head compassionately.
Miyashiro En’s scheme was simple: manipulate grain prices!
The Land of Stars was now the Ninja World’s western region’s largest grain exporter and international trade hub.
If done as Miyashiro En proposed, within a month, rice prices in the Land of Shadows and Land of Swamps would inevitably soar.
Those nobles and daimyo would even fan the flames, inflating prices for huge profits.
The common folk, already on the edge of famine, would soon fall into despair from unaffordable rice, leading to massive unrest or even riots.
Given those nobles and daimyo’s consistent cruelty and shortsightedness, facing angry masses, they would never open granaries or lower prices; instead, they’d dispatch armies of ordinary people, hire wandering samurai, wandering ninjas, and scattered minor ninjas domestically to bloody suppress and slaughter the rioting populace.
By then, with public resentment boiling over and social order collapsing completely, the Land of Stars could raise the banner of ‘upholding humanity’ and ‘protecting civilians,’ justly intervene in both countries, eliminate the rotten noble ruling class, and fully incorporate these lands into the Land of Stars’ territory!
“You bastard, that’s vicious!” Uzumaki Kushina couldn’t help speaking up: “That would kill many innocent civilians! They’re just pitiful people exploited by the nobles!”
Even battle-hungry Uchiha Hikari frowned slightly at this toxic plot using famine and civilian suffering as a weapon to subvert nations.
Miroku shook her head slightly, murmuring softly: “Hatred only breeds new hatred… This is not justice.”
Menma quietly listened to Miyashiro En’s analysis and suggestion, his face showing no expression.
He walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the prosperous, orderly, vibrant Star Capital below.
Sunlight bathed the densely packed buildings, streets teeming with pedestrians, children playing in the park.
This prosperity and stability made it hard to imagine that three years ago, it had been filled with poverty, famine, and chaos, no different from other Ninja World countries.
Moments later, Menma turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone, finally landing on Miyashiro En, slowly shaking his head: “En, your strategy is indeed efficient, highly feasible. But…”
His gaze deepened, slowly shaking his head again: “Too vicious.”
“Those who would ultimately lose their lives to hunger, riots, and noble blades are not cold numbers, but living, unarmed ordinary people. They are victims of this chaotic era, just like the citizens of our Land of Stars.”
“Our goal is to end the chaos, create a peaceful world—not to achieve ends by any means, even using famine as a weapon to manufacture greater tragedy. How is that essentially different from those rotten nobles?”
His gaze sharpened, looking at Miyashiro En: “I understand your considerations from our side’s standpoint, but remember, the foundation of the Land of Stars is the hearts of the people, not fear and conspiratorial scheming.”
Menma’s words relieved Kushina and Miroku; Kushina, who had been silently observing, also showed approval in her eyes.
Miyashiro En was silent for a moment, then lowered his head: “Lord is truly benevolent.”
“It was this subordinate’s oversight, too eager for quick results.” He slightly bowed: “Everything as Lord decides.”
Though he bowed in acknowledgment, the eyes behind his sunglasses flickered, clearly not fully abandoning his train of thought, just knowing it wasn’t the moment to argue further.
Menma knew Miyashiro En was just such a scheming figure; in the original story, he could deal equally with Orochimaru, use Sasuke to resolve his daughter’s hatred, and even ultimately exploit Cloud Village and the Fourth Raikage A to take down that den of vice.
Menma also knew an adult’s mindset and values were hard to change, so he didn’t forcibly correct Miyashiro En’s thinking; instead, he walked to the massive strategic sand table, his finger pointing to the Ghost River downstream area marked as “transformation zone,” then tracing over the territories of the Land of Shadows and Land of Swamps.
“Sanctions yes, but not harming the innocent.”
He decisively ordered: “Immediately, on grounds of ‘force majeure deteriorating trade environment,’ fully halt all official and large-scale private commercial dealings between the Land of Stars and the Land of Shadows, Land of Swamps! Including grain trade, mineral transactions, specialty export settlement channels! But retain minimal, strictly reviewed humanitarian supplies channels. At the same time, En, have your commerce intelligence department cooperate with Kushina’s administration intelligence department to conduct large-scale propaganda in both countries, especially disaster areas and major cities!”
“Propaganda focus: expose those nobles’ despicable acts of tearing agreements, seizing land, driving out poor farmers, besieging Star Ninjas! Emphasize that Star Ninjas transformed the land to help the two countries’ poor gain livelihoods! Clearly state that their greed and breach of faith forced the Land of Stars to suspend all aid and trade! Precisely direct public resentment toward those nobles and daimyo!”
“Miroku,” Menma looked to this miko lord: “I need to borrow you and the shrine mikos and priests’ power and prestige. Immediately organize personnel, carrying grain provided by our Land of Stars, to the disaster areas of the Land of Shadows and Land of Swamps—especially refugee gathering spots—under the name of ‘Star Capital Shrine,’ widely distribute charitable porridge and aid disaster victims! At the same time, convey the Land of Stars’ goodwill and the true reason we were forced to halt aid. Act fast, on a large scale, as high-profile as possible!”
Miroku’s eyes flashed with worry, but she nodded firmly: “Protecting all beings and guiding good thoughts is the miko’s duty. I will arrange their departure immediately.”
“Finally,” he looked to Uzumaki Kushina: “Notify Hotaru and Gōta: after reinforcements arrive, hold defensive posture at the outpost, relying on fortifications, no proactive strikes! But if enemy armies dare attack, counterattack with full force, rout the invaders! But for now, do not pursue deep into the heartlands. Wait for… a more suitable timing.”
“Timing?” Uchiha Hikari keenly caught the word.
Just then, the office door was knocked.
Anbu Commander Kisame Hoshigaki’s tall figure appeared at the door, his shark-like face expressionless, followed by the gentle yet capable Mei Terumi.
Kisame said gravely: “Lord, Anbu Intelligence Division has urgent intelligence.”
Mei Terumi stepped forward, bowing to Menma and the others, her voice crisp and urgent: “Lord! Spies from the intelligence division embedded in the capitals of the Land of Shadows and Land of Swamps have sent the latest secret report!”
“Speak.” Menma’s gaze sharpened.
Mei Terumi raised her head, expression grave: “Land of Snow daimyo Fukazake Nutou’s chief strategist Shogetsu Ryunosuke, under escort by Snow Ninja elite jonin Rōga Yukinami and his elite squad, secretly arrived at the Land of Shadows capital yesterday! This morning, they entered the Land of Shadows daimyo’s palace for a closed-door talk exceeding two hours. Subsequently, Shogetsu Ryunosuke’s group hurried nonstop to the Land of Swamps capital, the itinerary extremely secretive but purpose clear!”
“Intelligence division analysis: the Land of Snow is highly likely negotiating military employment with the two countries, intending to intervene in this dispute!”
“Land of Snow? Rōga Yukinami?” A trace of disdain flashed in Uchiha Hikari’s eyes, quickly turning to cold battle intent.
Hearing this, not only was there no anger on Menma’s face, but a meaningful arc lifted at his mouth, as if everything was under control: “Heh… looks like someone couldn’t hold back any longer, eagerly jumping into this vortex.”
“Hikari, looks like your itchy hands have a place to go.” His gaze turned to Uchiha Hikari.
“Original plan unchanged. Immediately select two of the most elite ninja squads from the Star Ninja Army’s standing troops, personally lead them yourself, secretly assemble at our border areas with the Land of Shadows and Land of Swamps! Conduct pre-war preparations, stand by at any time!”
Excitement flickered in Uchiha Hikari’s eyes, her cold face lifting slightly, voice carrying chilling killing intent: “Leave it to me!”
