Chapter 197: The Mastermind Is Danzo!
The biting autumn wind swept across the desolate southeastern coastline of the Land of Lightning, whipping up salty, cold sea waves that crashed against the jagged reefs.
The air was thick with the lingering scent of gunpowder smoke and blood, as if the earth-shattering battle from Hell Valley had carried its aura across vast distances to this place.
On the coastline, a group of figures huddled in the cold wind.
They were the last embers of the Blood Pond Clan, men, women, and children totaling no more than twenty people.
Many still bore abrasions and bloodstains from their hasty escape, their faces etched with the terror of survival, exhaustion, and profound grief over lost loved ones and homes.
Silence weighed like a massive stone on everyone’s heart.
Several young children clung tightly to their mothers, their wide eyes shadowed by lingering fear.
Miyashiro En held his still-dazed daughter Chiyo, who reacted sluggishly to the world around her, his broad brown coat enveloping his wife and daughter to shield them from the sea wind.
Beside him, clan head Miyoshi Jin was hunched over, the authority he once commanded before his clansmen utterly gone, leaving only dull gray defeat and confusion in his eyes.
Kakuzu’s face, stitched with seams, bore its usual indifference as he toyed with the heart of a Cloud Village jonin in his hand, planning to replace his own with this new one once matters here were settled.
Kisame Hoshigaki expressionlessly wiped the blood from the ordinary ninja sword in his hand.
Not far behind them, nine masked summoned beasts stood like loyal guards, keeping the Blood Pond Clan—regarded by Menma as his private property—at the center, deterring any potential trackers.
Suddenly!
A blinding white light, distinct from sunlight, shot skyward from the direction of Hell Valley!
Even from afar, the glow pierced the thin mist between sea and sky, clearly entering the eyes of everyone on the coast!
Following it came a muffled roar like rolling thunder, faintly audible, like a pained groan from deep within the earth.
“That… what is that light?” a Blood Pond clansman cried out in alarm, his voice trembling.
“Such terrifying power… even stronger than the previous explosion…” another covered their mouth, eyes filled with horror.
Miyoshi Jin jerked his head up, staring toward the white light, his hunched body shaking violently, lips quivering, but no words came.
That light…
Miyashiro En’s arms tightened instinctively around Chiyo, his eyes behind the diamond-shaped sunglasses gravely intense.
Kakuzu and Kisame Hoshigaki were seeing this explosion—stronger than the earlier Tailed Beast Bomb—for the first time, though they guessed Lord Shura had unleashed even more horrifying power, signaling the battle’s end.
As the group stood stunned by the soaring white light, a figure appeared silently in the sky above the coast.
His black robe billowed, the White Three-Eyed Fox Mask gleaming coldly under the overcast sky.
It was Menma.
Like a descending deity, he slowly landed on the ground, his dark red chakra cloak quietly fading away.
“Lord!” Kakuzu and Kisame immediately bowed in salute.
Miyashiro En did not hesitate, holding his daughter and pulling his wife along as he was the first to drop to one knee before Menma, lowering his head deeply.
Miyoshi Jin froze for a moment, glancing at Miyashiro En’s action and the fearful, confused eyes of the clansmen around, until all his struggle and reluctance turned into a heavy sigh.
Trembling, he too led the remaining twenty-plus Blood Pond clansmen in a heavy kneel before the black-robed figure.
“The Blood Pond Clan… thanks Lord for saving our lives! We… we vow to follow Lord forever!” Miyoshi Jin’s voice was hoarse, carrying the resignation after humiliation, along with a faint hope for the future.
“We vow to follow Lord!” Miyashiro En’s voice was even more resolute.
“We vow to follow Lord…” Scattered echoes, laced with fear and confusion, rose from the clansmen.
Menma’s gaze swept over the kneeling Blood Pond clansmen, finally resting on Miyoshi Jin and Miyashiro En, nodding slightly.
He raised his hand, forming a simple seal.
With a humming sound, the nine summoned beasts phased and dissipated.
Then, Menma instructed Kakuzu: “Contact Kado. The fleet will rendezvous along the predetermined route.”
“Yes.” Kakuzu immediately began transmitting via the engraving on the back of his hand.
“Miyoshi Jin, Miyashiro En.” Menma turned to the two: “Take your clansmen and head southeast over the sea. About thirty nautical miles out, there’s an uninhabited island. Go there first to take shelter and await the fleet.”
Though grief-stricken and exhausted, the Blood Pond clansmen retained the basic discipline of a ninja family.
Aside from a few young children needing to be carried, the rest—including women with chunin-level strength—immediately sprang into action.
They channeled chakra to their feet, carefully stepping onto the sea surface, advancing with difficulty over the undulating waves in the direction Menma indicated.
Kakuzu and Kisame followed closely, handling rear guard and alert duties.
Soon, a sparsely vegetated island dotted with strange rocks came into view.
The group landed on the island, finally gaining a moment to breathe.
Menma did not linger. He raised his hand, and several sealing scrolls materialized in his grasp.
With a few soft “pops,” large quantities of tents, food, fresh water, medicine, and basic living supplies were released, piling up in the open space.
“Wait here. The fleet will take you to your new home once it arrives.” Menma’s voice remained flat, yet it brought a sense of stability to the anxious Blood Pond clansmen.
“Kakuzu, Kisame Hoshigaki, you two are responsible for their protection until the fleet arrives.”
“Understood.” Kakuzu eyed the supplies, his gaze flickering as if appraising their value.
“Yes.” Kisame responded curtly, his shark-like face betraying no emotion.
Menma said no more, his figure turning into a streak of dark red light that shot skyward and vanished into the horizon.
Half a month later, under the covert transport of Kado Group’s massive fleet—after days of sea voyage and cautious overland transfers—the twenty-plus surviving Blood Pond clansmen finally arrived at the capital city of the Land of Stars.
As the outline of Star Capital appeared on the plains, every Blood Pond clansman held their breath.
Towering, exotic buildings crowded together, gleaming with metal and glass; broad, pristine streets teemed with diverse crowds—ninja, merchants, commoners—living in harmony; massive iron rail trains shuttled like steel dragons between cities across the Land of Stars.
The city buzzed with orderly activity, merchants from across the Ninja World hawking their wares, loading machinery rumbling lowly…
Though Menma had seized this nation only three years prior, it had become the most stable country on the western Ninja Continent.
Ninjutsu bolstered infrastructure and agriculture, turning the Land of Stars’ plains into a land of plenty; the stable environment drew merchants from all nations, risks notwithstanding.
Non-chakra civilian technology on the Ninja Continent flourished in the Land of Stars, rail lines linking major cities and fueling transportation and commerce…
The Blood Pond clansmen stared at it all, a world apart from the barren Hell Valley where their generations had been imprisoned, or the traditional towns of the Land of Lightning they knew.
A prosperous, advanced, vibrant modern city!
“This… this is Star Capital?”
“So… so huge! Bigger than the capital of the Land of Lightning I read about in books!”
“What are those things running on the ground? Spewing thick smoke!”
The clansmen let out uncontrollable gasps of awe, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
Chiyo poked her head out from her father Miyashiro En’s arms, curiously surveying the city.
Miyashiro En and the complex-faced Miyoshi Jin were deeply struck by the sight.
They had thought “Shura” merely a terrifyingly powerful rogue ninja leader, his base perhaps secretive and strong—but they never imagined he ruled such a vast, prosperous, and orderly nation!
After all, since the Land of Bears coup and the founding of the Land of Stars, Menma had remained behind the scenes, his nationwide shadow clones identified only by numbers.
Aside from core personnel in the Land of Stars and the organization, only Konoha—after Uchiha Hikari’s last visit to Uchiha Fugaku—knew Shura was the man behind the Land of Stars.
After all, in this ninja world, gathering and transmitting intelligence was exceedingly difficult.
For instance, those hiring the Akatsuki weren’t just Onoki; other nations had employed the Akatsuki for inconvenient tasks, even wiping out small countries.
But before the five kage summit, Onoki and the others likely only knew of Konan; the Akatsuki’s true masterminds—whether the mysterious masked man（ Obito） or Nagato—remained unknown to them.
“Land of Stars… so it’s Lord Shura’s domain…” Miyashiro En murmured. As a merchant, he knew all too well how unique this recently risen western Ninja Continent nation was.
The last traces of reluctance and humiliation in Miyoshi Jin’s heart quietly transformed under the impact of this grand city.
He looked around at his surviving clansmen, seeing curiosity sparkle in the children’s eyes for the first time, and a long-dormant fighting spirit reignited like a spark in ashes.
“A prosperous, powerful nation, a terrifyingly strong leader, countless ninja clans pledging allegiance… In the next Ninja World War, the Land of Stars will surely rise! Becoming the sixth great nation! My Blood Pond Clan… will revive its glory on this new land!” He clenched his fist, his back straightening slightly.
Soon, they were led to the futuristic alloy gates of Star Capital’s military zone.
Three figures emerged slowly.
Besides the familiar lord, there were two women.
The woman on the right wore the Star Ninja’s distinctive dark uniform, with flowing red hair and gentle, refined features: Uzumaki Kushina.
The woman on the left had a cool demeanor, black hair and black eyes, dressed in a blue high-collared clan robe with a faintly visible ping-pong paddle-shaped clan crest on the collar: Uchiha Hikari.
“Welcome to the Land of Stars, Kisame Hoshigaki, and everyone from the Blood Pond Clan.” Uzumaki Kushina smiled warmly, her voice like a spring breeze, instantly easing the newcomers’ tension.
“You’ve had a hard journey. I am Uzumaki Kushina, in charge of your subsequent settlement.”
Uchiha Hikari, beside Kushina, merely nodded slightly, calmly scanning the group, her gaze lingering briefly on Miyashiro En and the little girl Chiyo in his arms.
Menma wasted no time on pleasantries, addressing Miyoshi Jin and Miyashiro En directly: “Kushina will register your information and take you to your designated clan territory. It has basic housing and facilities. Future construction and development are yours to decide. The Land of Stars will provide necessary resources and support, but the Blood Pond Clan must contribute five ninja to the Star Ninja Army, and your children will enter the ninja academy for training.”
“Thank you, Lord!” Miyoshi Jin and Miyashiro En hurriedly bowed in gratitude.
Menma’s gaze turned to Kakuzu and Kisame Hoshigaki.
“Kakuzu.”
“Here, Lord.” Kakuzu stepped forward.
“I know you dislike the Anbu environment, so from today, you are detached from Anbu sequence. Follow Kado and manage the organization’s commercial networks and funds across the ninja world.”
Kakuzu’s ink-green pupils lit up instantly!
For the first time, his stitched face broke into a genuine, unmasked smile of satisfaction.
Making money!
This was the pursuit he excelled at and loved most!
Far better than training greenhorns in Anbu—he preferred scheming in Kado’s vast commercial empire, amassing staggering wealth to his taste!
“As you command! Lord!” His voice carried excitement.
“Kisame Hoshigaki.” Menma’s gaze fell on the shark-faced ninja.
“Yes.” Kisame responded deeply.
“The Land of Stars Anbu is yours to command.” Menma’s words were concise and forceful: “Integrate existing forces, build a more efficient intelligence network and action system. Your experience and abilities suit this role perfectly.”
Kisame Hoshigaki was slightly taken aback.
He hadn’t expected that he—a “newcomer” recently joined to the organization, and a Kirigakure rogue ninja—would be entrusted with such a vital duty.
Commanding a ninja village’s Anbu!
The weight of this trust touched his heart, long hardened by betrayal, for the first time.
A sharp glint flashed in Kisame Hoshigaki’s shark eyes, and though not one for words, he said solemnly: “Leave it to me!”
At that moment, a familiar figure emerged from the military zone, jogging toward Menma.
She wore a Star Ninja uniform, with flowing brown hair, a pretty face, and a gentle yet resilient demeanor.
It was Mei Terumi!
She hurried to Menma, bowing respectfully first: “Lord Shura.”
Then, her gaze turned to Kisame Hoshigaki beside Menma, a warm, sincere smile lighting her face.
“Senior Kisame,” Mei Terumi’s voice flowed like clear spring water: “Remember our promise? I said last time I’d treat you to a meal. Star Capital has a new good restaurant—want to try it together?”
Kisame Hoshigaki looked at this woman who had once rippled his cold heart, now standing safe and radiant with a bright smile.
The usual harsh lines on his shark face softened slightly. After a silent moment, he nodded: “Mm.”
————————
Land of Fire, Konohagakure.
In the top-floor reception room of the Hokage Building, the atmosphere was as heavy as frozen ice.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the main seat, brows furrowed, his pipe long extinguished, its faint blue smoke long dissipated.
Beside him, advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado wore equally grave expressions, while Shimura Danzō meditated with eyes closed.
Seated opposite was the delegation from Cloud Village, led by veteran Cloud Village jonin Dōtai, known as the “strategist.”
At this moment, Dōtai’s face lacked its usual composure, his single eye brimming with uncontainable anger and sorrow.
Flanking Dōtai, one glared sharply at Konoha’s high council, while the other two Cloud Village ninja radiated undisguised hostility.
“Third Hokage, Your Excellency!” Dōtai’s voice shattered the suffocating silence, laced with sharp accusation: “You must give Cloud Village an explanation!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s aged face under the Hokage hat creased further.
An explanation again!
You Cloud Village folk sure know how to stir trouble!
Dōtai slammed his hands on the table, his gaze stabbing like knives at Hiruzen Sarutobi: “After Cloud Village’s exhaustive investigation at great cost, we have irrefutable evidence! That Shura’s true identity is your Konoha’s Nine-Tails jinchūriki!”
“And the mastermind manipulating it all is your Konoha’s Shimura Danzō!”
