Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 98
🕑 Added 2024-12-26 15:20:50 +0000 UTCAccompanied by his two subordinates, Masashi strolled into a town near Kusa.
"Captain, where are we headed?" Keita asked.
"You talk too much," Yumi glared at him. "Just keep moving!"
"Oh." Keita was merely asking out of habit and promptly went silent.
Masashi didn't answer either.
In fact, he was pondering how far he should take this.
Historically, any powerful nation undergoing turmoil or a change of leadership often faced probes—not from enemies but from its vassal states.
Vassal states would try to test the new ruler's abilities, hoping to improve their standing or, if possible, grab some benefits in the process.
The relationships between ninja villages were not all that different.
He didn't know how Konoha's allies had tested them since the manga never covered it.
But in this timeline, Kusa's probing had already begun.
Kusa had the audacity to declare neutrality in the war between Konoha and Iwa, citing their recent recovery from the Third Great Ninja War as a valid reason.
They even politely requested material support from Konoha—a request that sounded gentle yet servile.
But to Masashi, who judged things solely by their outcomes, this was nothing less than baring their fangs.
Once they entered the town, he led his two subordinates to a restaurant.
After being out for so long, they deserved a hot meal.
The sight of three ninja dressed in Konoha uniforms immediately drew all eyes in the town.
The townspeople avoided eye contact, their gazes filled with fear.
Kusa ninjas may be the odd ones out in the ninja world, but the citizens of the town, like those of other smaller countries, feared war.
Currently, with the Konoha and Iwa forces clashing in the Land of Rain, the citizens were terrified that the conflict might spill into their territory—just like a few years ago.
To them, the sight of Masashi and his group felt like the precursor to war. But he felt no sympathy.
Some nations were weak and deserving of sympathy; others did not deserve any.
Kusa fell into the latter category. Masashi had witnessed too much of their peculiar behavior during his first go-around.
A nation's general attitude often reflected the spirit of its people.
Kusa was peculiar indeed, but its people were no more likable than its ninja.
Masashi actually held a better impression of the Land of Rain and Taki.
Both were small nations, yet Taki had never been invaded since its founding. As for the Land of Rain, while it was in its current sorry state, that was mainly due to its harsh geographical environment—they had at least put up a fight.
Picking a restaurant, he entered.
The moment he walked into the dining hall, the noise inside quieted down, and all eyes turned to him.
Yumi and Keita felt uncomfortable, but Masashi remained composed.
He chose a seat he liked and sat down, deliberately facing the kitchen entrance.
"What are you two standing around for? Come, sit down." he said to his subordinates.
Yumi and Keita reluctantly took their seats, though the intense gazes from around the room made them feel utterly out of place.
"Captain…" Keita timidly voiced his concern, leaning in slightly. "Eating out like this… isn't it a bit risky?"
"No worries, Yumi is here," Masashi replied.
Yumi's Byakugan, while having an effective range of half a kilometer, was also well-trained for detail within that range.
Any attempt to tamper with their food would be caught by her immediately. Even if, by some miracle, Kusa had advanced its techniques, it wouldn't escape Masashi's eyes.
Though he didn't have a Mangekyō Sharingan, his Sharingan could already outperform most clan members'.
The poisons of Kusa were no match for the nano-level poisonous insects of the Aburame clan.
"Excuse me," Masashi called out with a pleasant smile. "Could we get some service?"
"Yes, yes! Right away." The restaurant owner hurried over, bowing slightly. Despite his deferential manner, there was a slight tremor in his movements.
"Do you have menus we could look at?"
"Ah, my sincerest apologies." The owner's smile wavered for just a moment. His hands fidgeted with his apron as he struggled to maintain his composure under Masashi's gentle gaze.
"That's quite alright. Please bring us your house specialties then."
The owner bowed again and retreated quickly to the kitchen.
As the man disappeared through the kitchen doors, Masashi noted how little had changed in this country.
Kusa ninjas were merely a distilled version of all the negative traits of Kusa.
Paranoid to the point of xenophobia, impulsive and erratic, they acted inconsistently, prone to picking fights yet crumbled at the first sign of resistance.
In the face of the strong, they lacked the spirit to resist. Among themselves, scheming and infighting were seen as a virtue.
In Konoha, Masashi wasn't alone in his dislike of Kusa ninjas. Many shared his annoyance with this village.
After a while, the restaurant owner returned with staff, smiling as they brought dishes to the table.
He inspected them briefly. Everything seemed fine.
The dishes were prepared with care—after all, they were still running a business, and money was money.
Masashi handed the owner a wad of cash.
"Eat up," he said, picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat.
Although Yumi and Keita were still uncomfortable, hunger eventually won, and they began to eat as well.
However, it felt like the most unpleasant meal they'd ever had.
"You two are supposed to be jonin, right?" Masashi said, noticing his subordinates' unease. "Are you really this shaken by some stares?"
"No, it's just… you know, Captain," Keita tried to explain, his chopsticks trembling slightly.
"There's nothing to feel awkward about. Being a ninja from a great village means being looked at like this is normal," Masashi said. "If this already gets to you, how will you handle Kusa ninjas later? Throw up on the spot?"
"Captain, it seems you really don't like Kusa ninjas." Yumi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Wait until you meet them; you'll dislike them more than I do."
Masashi chuckled.
Back in the day, Konoha had two open secrets.
One was the constant clash between the Uchiha clan and the Hokage's office, always at each other's throats and nearly coming to blows.
The other?
The Inuzuka clan—while they were known for their ninja dogs and tracking abilities, what most outsiders didn't realize was that they were the backbone of Konoha's militant faction. When it came to dealing with "problematic" allies like Kusa, the Inuzuka were usually the ones sent to handle things.
The three of them continued eating, and soon the table was cleared.
But no one came to clean up.
The restaurant owner, along with his staff, had disappeared.
Footsteps echoed from the entrance.
The trio turned to see a ninja from Kusa standing at the door.
Seeing them look his way, the Kusa ninja forced a seemingly friendly smile onto his face. "Are the three of you passing through here for a mission?"
---
Keita had a feeling— His captain really understood him.
He had never seen Kusa ninjas before. Now that he had, he realized he really didn't like them.
"Yes, indeed. Kusa has beautiful scenery, so I stopped by for a look," Masashi said with a smile. "And of course, I'm here to visit an ally."
"Oh? Could it be that you're carrying a confidential message from Hokage-sama? But showing up like this seems a bit informal, doesn't it?"
"Why so formal? We're allies, no need to make things so distant," Masashi said heartily with a wave of his hand. "Why bother with all the pomp?"
Yumi, who was sitting to the side, almost couldn't hold in her laughter.
Keita, on the other hand, turned bright red. He had just taken a sip of water and ended up choking on it.
Luckily, the Kusa ninja's face turned even redder than his, so at least he didn't stand out too much.
"You must be joking," the Kusa ninja forced a smile, though it was clearly strained.
"Hmm? Are you implying I'm not welcome here?"
"No! Of course not! You're free to go wherever you like!" the Kusa ninja quickly replied, taking a half-step back.
"Well then, that settles it. So why are you still blabbering?" Masashi gave him a reproachful look.
The Kusa ninja mustered an awkward yet polite smile, his hands trembling slightly at his sides.
"Masashi-sama, please understand. A powerful ninja like you requires proper preparation for your visit. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful of us."
"No worries, I don't mind," Masashi replied.
"No, no, it's necessary! As a village under Konoha's protection, Kusa must show proper hospitality. Please allow us to do so," the Kusa ninja said, gritting his teeth.
He was starting to regret taking on this job. The more he spoke, the more likely he was to get himself beaten. And if the White Ghost hit him even once, it'd be over for him.
The people back in the village would just say, "Thank you for ridding us of a pest."
"Alright, how long will it take?"
"We won't keep you waiting for long—three days at most!"
"Good. Three days from now, I'll visit Kusa."
"Understood! I'll start the preparations right away!"
With that, the Kusa ninja hurriedly left without daring to stay for even a moment. As soon as he was out of sight, Yumi let out a long sigh of relief.
Keita, on the other hand, coughed loudly and finally managed to recover from choking.
Choking on water was the worst.
"You two are so weak…" Masashi remarked. "It's fair to say you're a perfect match."
"Really, Captain?" Keita stopped coughing.
Yumi rolled her eyes. But for someone from the Hyūga clan, that particular gesture didn't work very well.
"Alright, enough fooling around. You heard what he said. The Kusa ninjas need three days, so you'll be busy until then."
"Captain, what are we supposed to do?" Keita asked, straightening up at the change in atmosphere.
"Complete the mission, of course. Did you really think following me out here was just about patrolling?" Masashi said.
"Our mission isn't to deal with Iwa ninjas?"
"That's only part of it. If we don't encounter any Iwa ninjas, then it's just a patrol. But now that we've run into them, we can execute the plan."
Seeing that Keita had more questions, Masashi waved him off.
"Stop asking. If you have questions, ask Yumi later. She's sharper than you. For now, come with me."
With that, he stood up, leading the two out of the restaurant and away from the town.
After that, they resumed moving at a speed more fitting for ninjas, passing through town after town.
At each stop, Yumi and Keita gathered intelligence about the area, mapping out defensive positions, noting troop movements, and gauging the local ninja population.
Three days had passed.
The Kusa ninjas reappeared before Masashi and his two companions.
This time, however, the ninja who came was a jonin from Kusa.
"Masashi-sama," the jonin greeted. Compared to the previous ninja, he had a more dignified demeanor.
But to Masashi, it was like putting lipstick on a pig—it didn't fit at all.
Kusa was originally formed by a group of peripheral clans with incomplete ninjutsu systems. Their survival depended on appeasing larger powers, and they were highly sensitive to geopolitical shifts.
When the era of "One Village-One Nation" took shape, they quickly realized the role of satellite nations and established Kusa by securing the support of surrounding major powers.
Due to their incomplete ninjutsu system, the Kusa ninjas had to resort to underhanded tactics, like "stealing" techniques from their neighbors.
While they couldn't touch the core techniques of the major ninja villages, they managed to cobble together their own patchwork system.
But their skill level was what it was. Even a jonin from Kusa might not be a match for a special jonin from one of the major villages.
Take the jonin before them, for instance. Despite his pretentious air, if Keita were to fight him to the death, the Kusa jonin would definitely lose.
"Is everything ready?" Masashi glanced at him before turning to Yumi and Keita. "Have you gathered all the intel on this town?"
"Yes, Captain," the two replied, their expressions professionally blank.
"Good. Let's go." Masashi didn't pay any more attention to the Kusa jonin, signaling for the other two to follow as they headed straight toward Kusa.
The Kusa jonin watched their backs.
He couldn't afford to provoke the White Ghost.
Kusa couldn't afford to provoke this man.
And if he was really carrying a confidential message from the Hokage, they had to be even more cautious.
Kusa had never publicly shown hostility to any ninja from a major village. Even when forced into conflict, it was out of necessity.
This was the survival strategy Kusa had built for itself—a neutral image in the ninja world.
He followed behind them.
Masashi didn't pay any attention to the tailing ninja. He was busy considering how best to complete this mission.
Of course, there was no actual "confidential message" from the Hokage. That was just the Kusa ninja's own assumption, and it had nothing to do with him.
The mission itself couldn't be stated outright either.
This was actually a "request" from Konoha's pro-war faction, not an official mission.
To be fair, Konoha had always had a pro-war faction, but it had never gained significant influence. From the First Hokage to the Fourth, every Hokage had been cautious about war, treating it as a means of protecting interests rather than gaining them.
Danzō was the first high-ranking figure to openly advocate for solving problems through war. For a brief moment, the pro-war faction, centered around Danzō, gained some momentum. But it didn't last long.
Because everyone realized he wasn't a true pro-war advocate.
After Fugaku became a Hokage Advisor, the pro-war faction began aligning themselves with the Uchiha, though his stance was difficult for them to navigate. After falling into Danzō's pitfalls, the faction had also grown more cautious.
This led them to notice Masashi.
Among the ninja clans, the Inuzuka were the most pro-war—almost all of them.
During the Third Hokage's tenure, the Inuzuka clan wasn't explicitly targeted by the Hokage's administration, yet they ended up at the bottom of the clan hierarchy due to their incompatibility with Konoha's mainstream political ecosystem.
By contrast, pacifist clans like the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi thrived.
But even within the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans, there were pro-war advocates. Previously, they were scattered and lacked cohesion.
This time, the pro-war faction, led by the Inuzuka clan, approached Masashi, hoping he could use this opportunity to gauge the true strength of Kusa.
If Kusa was found to be shirking its obligations as an ally, the pro-war faction planned to unite and petition the Fourth Hokage to forcibly drag Kusa into the war.
These individuals hoped that, under the Fourth Hokage's leadership, they could finally make their voices heard in the village.
