Necessary Corruption 23 (Patreon)

Necessary Corruption
Chapter 23

-VB-

I actually had a reason to travel to Konohagakure beyond visiting the hidden village for the spectacles of a Chunin Exam.

See, my wife, Tsunami, was now pregnant. I wanted to give her the best care she should receive, but the medical industry was not something that was strong in the Land of Rivers. The best we had was a visiting doctor from Konohagakure’s industrial cities, and they only came because they wanted to see what kind of local herbs could give them the product they needed for their own practice back home.

To that end, visiting Konohagakure was not just for diplomatic but also medical pilgrimage.

That said, nothing said I couldn’t do both or even more.

I was very tempted to expand my business ventures into Konohagakure, but knew better than to try. A Konohagakure ninja may not be individually “strong” as my retinues, but they made up for it, I’ve learned, by being rounded fighters capable of “gen,” “nin,” “ken,” “tai,” and “iryo” techniques. On the other hand, my greatest combatant, Yin, could “only” absolutely control all shadows around her. She was not as well versed in hand-to-hand combat or discerning illusions as the chunins of hidden ninja villages.

I was also treating this event as a way for select members of my retinue to compare themselves to the ninjas and figure out strategies and tactics to counter them.

“I’m a little excited,” Tsunami smiled from my side in the horse drawn carriage. Dressed in the finest embroidered silk dress I could find her, she was beautiful. “I never thought I would get to see a hidden ninja village!”

I hummed. “I guess it is a big deal,” I replied. “I mean, even I haven’t seen it.”

“Takanori-sama.”

I paused and looked out of the veiled windows of the carriage. “What is it, Tomotaka?” I asked.

While my main head servant Washimoto remained behind in the Takanori Lands to manage my holdings, I took Tomotaka and many others with me. He was someone I picked up in the Land of Waves, and when I gave him one of my gifts, he gained the ability to make wondrous things with just wood.

Initially, I thought that he was limited to logs and simple tools, but that turned out to be shortsightedness on my part, because Tomotaka went on to become like the famous God of Shinobi.

He could bend the wood to his whims like how a potter molds clay.

Among my retinue, he became Tomotaka the Giant, because he created a living suit of wooden armor that he was fully encased in. He could breath and see through the “eyes” of the living armor. Against regular attacks, he was invincible, because as long as there was plant life around him, he could repair his armor just by touching them. He was, however, still not my strongest retinue.

Still, I awared his ability and loyalty - proven through multiple means - with allowing him to become a samurai. Normally, this was not something that was allowed. A farmer remained a farmer. A samurai remained a samurai. A noble remained a noble. However, I circumvented the common laws of the lands by having my bastard half-brother adopt him.

As such, he was Takanori Tomotaka. Of course, he had to learn the courtly manners as he was now a member of a noble clan, but he took to it with determination to not fail my expectation in him.

“We have fast bandits closing in our location,” he reported.

Part of his ability gave him the sight of the forest. Though he couldn’t control wood beyond his line of sight, the very trees would report to him about irregularities and anomalies. “Fast bandit” was code phrase for ninja.

“I see,” I hummed before turning to the woman on his left. Next to him was my legitimized bastard brother and adoptive father of Tomotaka. “What do you see, brother?”

He looked out and frowned. “Hostile.”

“I see,” I hummed again. “Men … and women.” I paused. “Deal with them as you wish. Determine, if possible, who sent them.”

“Hai!” the two dozen empowered retinues and another one hundred guards around me saluted.

I turned back to my dear.

“So what were we talking about?”

-VB-

I glared at the campfire on the ground before me while I sat on a “foldable” chair - a wonderful and marketable invention of Tomotaka’s - as I considered the information derived from the tortured survivors of the attempted assassination.

Next to me, my brother Hisou stood waiting for me to speak to him.

“I did not expect for Land of Wind to get involved in the affairs of the Land of Rivers, not when they have so much to manage within their own lands,” I spoke up.

“Konohagakure has been taking jobs from them, brother. I suspect Sunagakure is taking any kind of jobs desperately to keep their village afloat.”

I scoffed. “Then they should have done their scouting correctly. As powerful as a five chunins may be, they should also know that my retinue is on par if not more individually.” Despite this, I still lost two guards. Their bodies needed to be wrapped and sent home, families would need to be compensated, and lands would be given out.

Why would the Land of Wind get involved in the affairs of Land of Rivers after abstaining from doing so for so long? In fact, I had to wonder if he ninjas that attacked me were from Sunagakure at all! Or was this a retaliation for killing one of their own trying to infiltrate my retinue back in the Land of Wind?

“... You are thinking something, brother,” he spoke up.

I paused and nodded. “I am. How do we know if the ninjas we killed are truly from Sunagakure?”

He frowned. “... You mean it may be a diversion?”

I nodded. “Yes. While Sunagakure might have reason to be upset with me, I am not a merchant. Being found out, whether they are successful or not, would mean that the world would know of Sunagakure’s involvement in the death of a courtly noble.”

“Which would result in the Daimyo of Wind having to step in,” he grunted. “As long as you live, I don’t see why that’s a problem.”

“Because they are in an undeclared civil war,” I sighed.

“... What does this have to do with us?”

“Why does Suna have men out here in the Land of Fire?” I asked. “When Sunagakure should be unable to get decent jobs elsewhere? How did they even manage to grab assassination jobs that would have them go deep into their nominal ally’s territory?” I paused. “And that reminds me. Did you not see the attire?”

“What about the attire of assassins?”

“What assassin proudly declares their allegiance?”

“... You have a point.”

Something was brewing in the background that I had no knowledge of.

“Yina.”

From my shadow, my mistress of information and strongest retinue rose up. Cloaked in the very shadows that she controlled, she came around and knelt by my side.

“Your will, Takanori-sama?”

“Look into the shadows to find clues as to how this latest mystery came about to be. I am sure your shadows in Konohagakure will be able to find something.”

She bowed deeply. “Your trust honors me.” And then she sank into her own shadow and disappeared.