“Just like that, you’ll obey my orders?” Uchiha Tenxiu merely shook his head. “You were originally a trusted Ninja cultivated by Elder Leimen, and even more, a loyal subordinate of Lingyue. As Elder Leimen’s heir and Lingyue’s designated fiancé, your obedience is only natural! This cannot be a wager; we must change the stakes!”
“Then what do you want?!” Uchiha Sakurako was full of doubt. Besides this, she had nothing else to offer.
Could it be…
Who knew what she was thinking? Uchiha Sakurako’s face instantly changed, turning rosy, and her eyes showed hesitation.
“What are you thinking?!” Uchiha Tenxiu’s forehead was lined with black. This large-chested woman, could it be that all her nutrition went to her chest, making her constantly think of such things?!
Although she was indeed well-endowed.
And very beautiful.
But at this moment, he was truly discussing serious matters, not focusing on inappropriate things.
Hmm! In any case, the other party was Lingyue’s Ninja.
She wouldn’t be able to escape later.
Naturally, there was no need to be too hasty.
Uchiha Tenxiu thought this and then said, “Don’t worry! My wager with you is that if these things truly happen, then you must trust me wholeheartedly. After all, many things I do, you might not be able to understand. But I hope you can completely follow my arrangements and trust me completely!”
“After all, from a perspective of foresight, I possess a vision beyond ordinary people. You might not understand the meaning of the things I do, but you must support me wholeheartedly.”
“Therefore, complete trust is what I need!”
“Okay! Th-that’s settled then!” Uchiha Sakurako quickly said, as if trying to hide something.
Next.
The two of them ended their communication within the genjutsu.
After a half-hour journey.
A black dot at the end of the three people’s current sight was their target for today.
The territory of Ōtomo.
Harvest City.
Harvest City is the best and largest town in the great plains of the Land of Fire’s northwestern direction. Farmers from nearby areas celebrate their harvest here every year, and people from all over also like to come here for festivals and to pay grain taxes, making it a well-known grain collection point in the vicinity.
Therefore, there is a large flow of people coming and going. Coupled with the internal peace in the Land of Fire in recent years, this human traffic has doubled again. The internal consumption frequency is extremely high, with a large number of hotels, inns, casinos, and money changers, allowing Ōtomo to hold these treasure-pot-like businesses, expanding their power even further, and even gaining control over their own Ninja.
“Especially the grain storage technology passed down from Konoha’s Senju Hashirama was learned by Ōtomo. I heard they even improved it quite a bit; at least it can store grain for twenty years! Therefore, even grain merchants from further away transport their goods here to sell, and Ōtomo does not restrict purchasing. I heard it’s to use them as raw materials for brewing alcohol! However, all of this is confidential. I only accidentally learned these things when I was previously tallying grain for Ōtomo!”
Outside the city gate.
Zhongshan Haoze and Uchiha Tenxiu, disguised as noblemen, conversed in low voices.
Hearing what Zhongshan Haoze said, Uchiha Sakurako’s eyes showed a strange expression. She couldn’t help but glance at Uchiha Tenxiu and secretly conveyed through genjutsu, “Is the Senju Clan so shameless? They used your achievements and spread them outside.”
“Don’t worry! Follow me, and you’ll see even more outrageous operations from the Senju faction in Konoha in the future!”
Uchiha Tenxiu hinted, then began to survey everything around him, scrutinizing Ōtomo’s city.
In Uchiha Tenxiu’s eyes, this place was one of the best cities in the Land of Fire. At least, on the way from Konoha to here, no city could compare to this one.
“It seems that although Ōtomo here is bad, robbing merchants from outside, they are not stupid. They have developed their territory vibrantly and quite energetically,” Uchiha Tenxiu commented. Just by looking at the flow of people outside and the occasional smiles on the faces of the common people, it was clear that at least they were not half-dead.
Uchiha Tenxiu then began to randomly select a few people on the road outside the city to inquire about the situation.
Relying on the Transformation Jutsu.
He used people of different identities to question people of different social classes, such as wealthy nobles questioning common civilians. The latter were honest and dared not utter any falsehoods.
After a series of operations.
After a period of observation and understanding, Uchiha Tenxiu finally had a clear understanding of the city and its surrounding areas.
In Zhongshan Haoze’s eyes, Ōtomo was simply a wicked, rotten-to-the-core existence. They not only took advantage of others’ misfortunes and bullied the weak but also enjoyed burning, killing, and looting, truly a group of inhumane devils.
However, unexpectedly, within the territory governed by the Ōtomo, the situation was somewhat different. Although they still couldn't be considered benevolent, they had their own set of “rules” that maintained order.
For the common farming class, the taxes collected by Ōtomo were one-tenth less than other lords, only fifty percent agricultural tax, and they would not add any other tax items. Of course, this was mainly because farmers had no ability to pay other taxes besides cultivating their fields.
In addition, Ōtomo performed exceptionally well in management. They operated the entire city’s commercial activities in an orderly manner, and various industries received reasonable development and standardization.
Especially, Ōtomo itself did not rob merchants who were going to their city; only those passing through were targeted. Furthermore, the goods in Ōtomo’s own shops were renowned for being excellent quality and reasonably priced.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Tenxiu’s killing intent grew even stronger. After all, Ōtomo’s management was so outstanding, and he had already secretly offended them, so it was natural to strike first, annihilate the enemy, and uproot their foundation.
Moreover, their hero is my enemy.
Their honey is my poison.
No matter how well the other party performs.
One must distinguish between friend and foe.
What good is Ōtomo being kind to these people?!
Can they bring vagrants for his future power?
Of course not.
Their actions would only give these people a glimmer of hope, keeping them strictly confined to this land, thus becoming a great enemy to his progress!
What good is Ōtomo’s management of these merchants?!
Can they bring him trading goods?
No!
Their large-scale looting of traveling merchants passing through here severely hindered trade communication between smaller nations and the Land of Fire. He was going to leave the Land of Fire, and there was a high probability that the small nations to the west would be his refuge.
Furthermore, all of their actions inadvertently blocked his path.
So, no matter what.
The other party must have a reason to disappear.
On the contrary, killing them and plundering all their wealth, money, and beauties.
Not only could it help him complete his initial accumulation again.
It could also win over talents like Zhongshan Haoze, completely absorbing him into his subordinates and making him loyal.
This is what he needed to do.
…
As time passed, dusk fell.
After entering the city, Zhongshan Haoze led them to the edge of Harvest City’s outer district and found a random guesthouse.
The place was bustling with people, but their target was Ōtomo in the main district, and the outskirts were more discreet.
Leaving Zhongshan Haoze behind.
Uchiha Tenxiu and Uchiha Sakurako began their operation. Under the cover of night, they carefully avoided the crowds and moved towards the inner district. The inner district’s guards were noticeably stricter than the outer district’s, with patrolling samurai constantly passing by. The murderous aura on their faces indicated that they were undoubtedly elites.
But for Ninja.
The two were completely on different levels; these ordinary samurai had no way of perceiving their movements.
But Uchiha Tenxiu signaled for concealment.
He observed the guards’ patrol patterns, clearly indicating the presence of Ninja sentries. Given Ōtomo’s dozens of Ninja, it was impossible for them not to have set up defenses in their own home base.