Facing Uchiha Tenxiu's question, Zhongshan Haoze gave a bitter smile and said, "Ōtomo is a local noble family, a great Daimyo with vast lands. They have hundreds of elite samurai and dozens of Ninja, making them the overlords of this area. Furthermore, they operate money lenders and numerous black market casinos, wielding immense power."
"As for the basis of their audacity in doing this, it's because they have the official protection of the Land of Fire. The current head of the Ōtomo family is the brother of the Land of Fire Daimyo's concubine, so even if they rob merchant caravans from the Land of Rain, no one cares."
Zhongshan Haoze paused again at this point.
He looked at Uchiha Tenxiu and the other person before continuing: "Moreover, before each of their operations, they have Ninja investigate for detailed intelligence. They don't touch anyone with a background, but any merchant without a background who passes through the Ōtomo family's sphere of influence is completely plundered. Occasionally, people who escape are also eliminated by Ninja. Even if there are a few who slip through and post missions in Konoha, their intelligence will be sold out. This intelligence comes from Konoha Ninja Village, and they don't worry that Konoha will accept missions to retaliate against them. There must be some secret collusion between the two sides."
"What? From Konoha Ninja Village! How could the Village betray the intelligence of mission posters! This is simply..."
Uchiha Sakurako exclaimed in disbelief. As an Uchiha member who had joined Konoha, even if her affection for Konoha Village was not as important as her own clan on a daily basis, it was still nominally a home.
Uchiha Sakurako, in front of outsiders, was quite protective of this home. Yet, now the other party dared to say that her home, Konoha Village, would do such despicable things.
Uchiha Tenxiu couldn't help but sneer, "You wouldn't think that being a Ninja is some kind of proud profession, would you? Murder, arson, stealing intelligence, hiring others to commit evil deeds—isn't all of that perfectly normal?"
"Even our Uchiha Clan, during the Sengoku period, didn't we plunder madly for resources and supplies?"
"This is inherently the rule of survival in this society. It's just the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest!"
"So-called fairness, justice, peace, and beauty are just about eating people more elegantly, putting on a disguise!"
"And now, powerful figures like the Ōtomo family are the bread and butter of Konoha Ninja Village. Those who luckily escaped, without a background, what do they amount to for Konoha?"
Facing Uchiha Tenxiu's words, Uchiha Sakurako was instantly speechless, unable to find any reason to refute.
Instead, she glared fiercely at Zhongshan Haoze.
Seeing the angry Uchiha Sakurako, Zhongshan Haoze quickly explained, "'This is true. The Ōtomo family has been doing this for several years. I was also worried before that if we did this kind of roadside robbery, would anyone come after them? But the leader of this mountain stronghold said that Konoha's Ninja would not accept their missions, and foreign Ninja, even if they accepted missions within the Land of Fire, couldn't come here!"
"With the God of Shinobi stationed in the Land of Fire, foreign Ninja do not dare to undertake missions within the Land of Fire."
"According to you, do you mean they should be protected?" Uchiha Sakurako said testily.
This time, Zhongshan Haoze, however, bit the bullet and stubbornly insisted, "Hard to say!"
Clearly, having come from Snow Country to the Land of Fire to purchase supplies, only to be taken advantage of by these powerful figures in the Land of Fire and exploited as captives, he had suffered quite a bit of grievance in his heart.
When it came to the Land of Fire and Konoha, Zhongshan Haoze had nothing good to say in his heart.
Uchiha Tenxiu listened, thinking that he had already offended the Ōtomo family and was preparing to eliminate them, but he hadn't expected them to have the official backing of the Land of Fire. However, this not only didn't deter Uchiha Tenxiu's idea but rather strengthened his resolve.
"However, before that!"
Uchiha Tenxiu's gaze sharpened as he looked at Zhongshan Haoze in front of him and asked, "I understand the situation now. You are indeed not with these people, but you should also know that among Ninja, eliminating bystanders to protect one's own intelligence is a necessary duty."
Just as Zhongshan Haoze smiled bitterly, thinking he was doomed.
Uchiha Tenxiu's tone suddenly shifted, and he said, "I can spare your life, but from now on, you will work for me. As compensation, I will help you get revenge and eliminate the Ōtomo family. How about it? If you don't agree, then I can only..."
"Agree, agree, I agree!"
Facing Uchiha's unfinished words, Zhongshan Haoze quickly nodded in a panic, saying he clearly understood the implication.
It was nothing more than changing to a new master.
If he didn't agree again.
Wouldn't that mean certain death?
Not to mention, what the other party said about being able to destroy the Ōtomo family for him and avenge him. Recalling the time he was plundered, Zhongshan Haoze felt a surge of hatred.
"Very good!" Uchiha Tenxiu nodded, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Follow me, and you won't regret it. I will lead you to a new height, where both power and wealth are things you've never seen before!"
Then, Uchiha Tenxiu quickly made hand seals. As he moved, black talismans emerged from his hands like ghosts. These talismans seemed alive, trembling slightly in the air, exuding a mysterious and dangerous aura that left Zhongshan Haoze stunned.
Just then.
Uchiha Tenxiu's finger suddenly moved, striking Zhongshan Haoze's body with lightning speed.
At that instant, Zhongshan Haoze felt a chill rise from the bottom of his heart. He didn't even have time to react before he felt an invisible control over him. He quickly pulled open his upper garment to check and immediately saw a black sun symbol appear on his lower chest.
This black sun symbol was like a curse, deeply imprinted on Zhongshan Haoze's body, emitting a terrifying black light. Although Zhongshan Haoze had agreed to Uchiha Tenxiu's request, Uchiha Tenxiu was clearly not entirely at ease; he remained highly vigilant.
And this curse mark technique was the insurance.
It turned out that this was a curse mark technique Uchiha Tenxiu had obtained from his clan before. After two years of research and development, he had transformed this curse mark technique into a unique control talisman. This talisman could not only take the opponent's life at any time through his manipulation, but it also had an extremely dangerous characteristic—it had to be adjusted every three years, otherwise it would immediately erupt, causing the heart of the person afflicted with the curse mark to burst, resulting in instant death. With this curse mark in place, whether he was sincere or not, he would have no choice but to take things seriously.
After all, the two had only met by chance, and the other party was his captive, so such action was naturally necessary.
He wasn't some chosen one of destiny, where everyone humored him, and with a display of kingly aura, others would immediately bow down.
"This curse mark will serve as the basis of trust between us. With this, I can trust you, and you don't have to worry about me abandoning or silencing you," Uchiha Tenxiu said, explaining the function of the curse mark.
To this.
Zhongshan Haoze didn't feel anything was wrong.
Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief.
This way, he wouldn't have to worry about the other party deceiving him and then silencing him after eliminating the Ōtomo family.
Having traveled north and south for so many years and experienced countless dangers, Zhongshan Haoze had a clear understanding.
Zhongshan Haoze immediately knelt down and said, "From today onwards, I will pledge my loyalty to you, Lord!"
His words were full of reverence.
There was absolutely no hint of disdain due to Uchiha Tenxiu's age, or treating him as someone to be deceived.
After all, the Uchiha Tenxiu before him clearly came from a noble family, and the woman beside him was obviously a guard specifically sent to protect Uchiha Tenxiu. Thus, even pledging loyalty to the other party might be a good choice for himself.
Next, Uchiha Tenxiu meticulously inquired about all intelligence concerning the Ōtomo family.
Although he couldn't fully grasp the complete picture from Zhongshan Haoze's words, he did gain a certain understanding.