The first thing I felt was pain.
Not the sharp, sudden kind that warns of new injuries—but the heavy, numbing ache of a body dragged past its limits and stitched back together by sheer will and chakra. Every nerve under my skin felt like it was conducting lightning. A thousand needles prickling all at once. Chakra exhaustion. No, deep chakra exhaustion.
I blinked.
The ceiling above was unfamiliar—dim, slightly cracked stone. Not wood. Not a cell either, not quite. I spotted the faint traces of a healing seal etched into the frame above me. Still in Lord Koza's compound. Good.
My arm itched.
I turned my head, barely. My right hand was tightly wrapped in herb paste-soaked bandages—the kind Karui and I designed for limb preservation under trauma. The wraps were clean, freshly changed. But I didn't need to see underneath. I already knew: mangled muscle, half-digested by Kikachu venom and burned clean by chakra-based cauterization. Necessary. Still, a heavy cost.
Momosuke sat on a wooden chair by the wall, arms crossed, head bowed. As if on cue, he looked up the moment I stirred.
"You're awake," he said. Voice heavy. "Three days."
"Long nap," I rasped, nodding inwardly at how concisely he said it. No fluff. Just information.
He didn't smile.
He stood and gave me the rundown. Battle aftermath. Town security. The imprisonment. The conversations with Lord Koza. The poisoned samurai. The antidote. The eerie quiet since. No retaliation from the Land of Rice. No diplomacy either. Tension, like the moment just before lightning strikes.
He even told me about the offer—Koza's pitch—with a conflicted look in his eyes.
I didn't interrupt.
By the time he finished, I'd caught up. Pieced together what I'd missed.
Footsteps echoed beyond the door. Two guards appeared, one fully armored in Toka colors. The lead bowed stiffly.
"Kyudo Kirito. His Lordship Koza Kubasaki requests your presence."
No 'escort.' No 'supervision.' No strings.
He wanted to see me. Alone.
Interesting.
I turned to Momosuke. "Looks like the gamble worked."
He frowned. "You sure you're fit to stand?"
"No."
Still, I pushed myself upright. My body protested with every nerve and chakra pathway, but I moved. That was enough.
"I'll walk," I said to the guard. "Lead the way."
The corridor was cool, stone underfoot, silence stretching between each step. Neither guard spoke. But their posture gave away what their words didn't.
Lord Koza had taken the bait.
Three days ago, I dragged him into a battle he never intended to fight. Risked his life. Forced his hand. And now? Now, he wanted to meet me alone.
Either he planned to kill me quietly…
Or trust me in full.
I was leaning toward the latter. That kind of meeting—private, immediate—meant something. It meant he saw potential in me. Dangerous potential. Or useful. Hopefully both.
Initially, my plan had been simpler—establish a trade network through the Land of Hot Springs, then move toward the Land of Waterfalls. That's where I wanted to build my Hidden Village. Takigakure.
Why?
Simple. It had a strategic terrain. A natural fortress hidden behind an ancient tree and its waterfalls. Resources. Isolation. Even a local relic—Hero Water, could be used to amplify chakra. Canon had placed the Seven-Tails there. And the whispers of a hundred-foot insect flying through the branches? Promising.
Kakuzu came from there too. And with him, the forbidden jutsu that kept him alive and terrifying.
But life had other plans.
The ambush from the Daimyo of Grass. The bastard even hired the Aburame, Fuma and Shiin clans. Three clans that were used to each other for years and from the same country. A good tatic to shift blame if the assassination mission failed. Of all things, the same twisted logic that nearly killed us was the thing that gave me a window to turn the situation around.
Now, I had dragged a powerful noble who had the potential to become the Daimyo of Hot water into the conflict, to survive. Having one Daimyo as an opponent was terrifying. Getting two was a death threat to me. Hence, the first thing I needed to do was improve my relationship with Koza to avoid that situation.
However, I planned to take this further in my new plan.
Now, I would establish the Hidden Village here, in the Land of Hot Springs—with Koza's support. It was cleaner and easier. Less opposition, considering there were no established like Kakuzu's clan in land of waterfalls.
My job was to make him Daimyo. My real job and dream was to build the village, behind his back.
No Daimyo would tolerate a Hidden Village growing under their nose. Not yet. That kind of tolerance? That would come from dealing with someone like Hashirama or Madara. The monsters would be the ones to force that kind of tolerance on the current ruling structure.
Then, tolerant Koza would agree and support the establishment of a Hidden Village, one whose framework I planned to build by then.
And with the recent rumours of Izuna Uchiha's, I knew we were close to the turning point of times. It wouldn't be long before Hashirama and Madara hit the peak of their strength—and the first big shift in the shinobi world began.
I needed to be ready before that.
SMACK.
I clapped my cheeks, hard. Focus. I was getting ahead of myself. I didn't even have a proper relationship with Koza yet. No alliance. No trust. I needed to secure that first.
Then, I could start the scheming for power.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
I drew in a breath, steadying myself. But, the chakra exhaustion and lingering damage weren't making it easy.
Hence, with a grimace of pain, I stepped into the quarters of Koza Kubasaki.
The room wasn't particularly large, but the pressure inside made it feel like a stone vault. Heavy air filled it, along with that came Heavy gazes.
Koza sat in the center like a true lord, half-armored, one elbow on the low table, his fingers drumming the lacquered surface in impatience. To his right, the ever-watchful Kurabo—silent, sword still at his waist, eyes like a hawk ready to draw the moment my words crossed some invisible line.
But it wasn't them that intrested me.
It was the man to Koza's left—Natsume-san.
A man with hair like falling snow, face etched with enough wrinkles to shame ancient scrolls. In an era where most didn't make it past forty, this man had a reputation that told that –"He clearly elbowed his way past the Reaper and then made tea with him."
He wasn't a warrior, wasn't even a chakra user. But he was something rarer: A fossil who managed to live till old age and well versed in politics. If Koza managed to get the throne, this old man was capable of helping him hold it.
Quite the trio inside the room. And yet none of them spoke when I entered.
Koza didn't even motion for me to sit.
So, we sat there in silence—me standing, swaying slightly from chakra exhaustion, the trio staring at me like I was a firework that hadn't exploded yet.
The silence was like a noise in its right.
Or it was my chakra exhaustion messing with my sense of perception.
And seeing as no blade pierced me yet, I figured Koza needed me alive.
Which meant his pride wouldn't let him speak first.
So, I took a deep breath and took the first step, "Lord Koza. General Kurabo. Advisor Natsume-san. Apologies for my condition. The assassination attempt didn't come with a warning label that stated how difficult my recovery would be."
That got a twitch from Kurabo. Koza's fingers stopped drumming.
It was Natsume-san who spoke first. Of course it was the old man.
"I heard," the old man said with a voice dry as rice paper, "that you mentioned quite the interesting ideas to our Lord. Do you mind elaborating?"
I did mention many things. Medical support, fuin jutsu support in defence and traps, even direct combat power.
I studied the old man's face. I didn't gleam much info from it. Now, that was surprising. Ever since I could remember, I trained my face reading skill using the AI and personal experience. Having the AI correct my guesses with clear explanations, helped me master the skill quite easily.
I didn't respond immediately. Instead, my eyes drifted to Koza, whose scowl deepened just enough for me to catch it.
He wanted the war.
That much was clear now. Meaning, he needed me. Good!
The game had changed. I could afford to speak plainly, "I suppose it depends on what exactly you want me to elaborate on."
Koza, just like I predicted, lacked the patience for verbal fencing.
"The war," he snapped. "The testimony. You said you had a plan. You advised I spare the captured shinobi—those same men who tried to kill me. Elaborate on it."
"What plan? I am sorry but we seem to have a misunderstanding here. I don't have any such plans."
"THEN! Why did you request me to capture them? I definitely remember you saying- Please, my lord. They are better useful when captured."
I didn't flinch at that. I just rolled my eyes.
"Because they're useful. You can't see it from a lord's lens but look deeper. Those shinobi? They're the keystones of their clans. The center of their tactical strength. You might think the few shinobi don't mean much in the big picture—but to their clans? That's leverage. That's family. That's power."
Kurabo's face didn't move, but I saw the faintest twitch in Natsume-san's brow.
"Even the Aburame," I added, "the biggest of three clans, would feel the loss of the shinobi imprisoned in the cells. You've got one of their kikachu users, the black coated kid, in your cells. That alone changes the balance in negotiations."
Kurabo grunted out, "We know that young man. What we want to know was how to turn them traitor? At least that was what we assumed."
"What?"
My surprise was genuine. They'd overestimated me. I don't know if I should laugh or look smug. Because it meant that performance impressed them so much that they expected even miracle bullshit from me.
They'd expected me to wave some political strategy and make the prisoners testify falsely—that their own Daimyo sent them. Treason of the highest order. That's what Koza wanted: a clean pretext for war handed to him on a silver platter. And three shinobi clans that would become enemy to his own enemy, Daimyo of rice in this context.
But I wasn't a miracle worker.
" Sorry, my lord. I don't have some grand, ridiculous plan to make them betray their own lord," I said plainly. "If that's what you were expecting, I suggest you revise your expectations."
Koza narrowed his eyes and said irritatingly, "Then what can you do? I heard you say quite many things in return for my cooperation."
Instead of answering him, I asked back, "Just what do you expect from this war?"
Lord Koza instead slammed the table and asked me with his chakra blazing, "Answer me! What can you do for me? I am the one to ask the questions here."
The old man Natsume-san put a hand on Koza and patted him down into calmness, "Now, Now Koza. Let's humor him for now."
It was at this point that I realized that I underestimated Koza. This byplay was clearly scripted. It seemed the impatience form Koza while real, was also a clear tactic for him to gain information. Rather than let his impatience in wordplay become a weakness, he turned it into a strength. Impressive.
Taking the bone given to me, I gnawed on it.
"I need the answer to the questions, to give a clear answer on how much service I can provide to you in the war, my lord."
Fearing that the previous question was not elaborate enough, I asked again, "What is the current situation of your war preparation? How much territory do you plan to gain? How much time do you need the war to continue to win over the nobles of this land? How long do you expect to have before your cousin Daimyo intervened to stop your power rise and forced you to end the war?"
They didn't expect someone like me to ask those questions—not in this way. But if I was going to involve myself in a war, even one that served my interests, I had to know the shape of the battlefield.
Koza let out a long breath, then finally answered.
"We would be ready for war within 6 months, both the men and supplies would be gathered by then." he said, voice quiet but steady. "I control two major regions in this land—the North Basin and the White River Valley. Ten noble families support me openly. Five more are neutral, watching but they will participate in an foreign war, for profits. I only need a victory in this war, no matter how small, to convince them to join my cause."
The cause to put you on the Daimyo throne.
"The others…" He gave a grim smile. "Fair-weather rats that would eat my corpse the moment they see it."
Well, he had some issues with them.
"And the Daimyo? How much his interference will be? When and how he would interfere?" I asked.
Natsume-san, the most experienced in this issue, was the one who replied this time, tapping a thin finger on the table. "He's observant but idle. As long as war can turn either way, he will keep the borders and supply routes undisturbed. But make no mistake—he's watching."
If Koza lost, Daimyo would lose his biggest opponent. If Koza was about to win, well, the supply routes from the land of hot water would have problems.
Meaning, the victory should be decisive and fast. Or the Daimyo of hot water would ensure that it would become a loss. And there would be an instant peace agreement with Daimyo of rice. I wouldn't be surprised if the cost of the peace would be foisted on Koza, considering that he was the one who ruled the border lands.
"And what's the goal?" I pushed. "Land? Winning over the neutrals? Wealth?"
"All of it," Koza said simply. "But if I can get the central pass and the salt mines at Kaerima, the nobles in between them and the border will fold. That's where the region's gold flows from. Take that, and they will fall in line. By then, I expect the Land of rice to prepare their own forces for a decisive battle, which decides if the conquest would be successful or not."
"So, you want the mines," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. His plan, quite standard to this era, was actually quite sound. It would increase the territory of Toka by ¼. Quite the respectable amount. And allow him to fulfil all the political and economical objectives.
"A clear objective. That makes things easier."
Natsume-san raised a brow. "You sound like a man who already has a plan."
"I always have a plan," I said. I was not joking at this point. Considering the era, my own experiences while growing up and the ridiculous bullshit I know of this world, I was paranoid to a fault.
I looked Koza in the eye and decided to tell my own plans.
"I instead propose for you to strike the earliest you can and conquer the Heibi fort, which lies past the Kaerima, lies past the mountain ranges."
Kurabo snorted in disdain at that proposal, "War is not that simple. By the time, we even reach the Heibi fort, the rice Daimyo army would be fortified, well fed and ready for the decisive battle against our exhausted force. Do you want to know how such a decisive battle would turn out?"
I shook my head and said, "What if I could allow your force to occupy Heibi fort before the Rice Daimyo's army arrives? Not just that, your force would be well fed, fortified and ready for the decisive battle."
Kurabo sarcastically said, "Oh! How do you plan to do that? Giving the entire army wings?"
"Exactly!"
My reply stunned him into silence.
I summoned a scroll and gave it to Natsume-san.
The moment the old man looked through it, he exclaimed, "Are you serious?!"
Lord Koza asked the old man in surprise, "What's wrong old man?"
Natsume-san instead asked me, "Is this true?"
I rolled my eyes at the excited old man and said, "I could summon them right now."
Time in Land of whirlpools allowed me the learn the cool posture of summoning my things. That includes storage scrolls. Of course, this process needed the crafting of an inanimate summon contract, but I had too much time and resources in the 5 years stay in Uzumaki to accomplish that.
Natsume-san took a deep breath to calm himself and asked me with weariness, "By chance, did you orchestrate the entire situation? Including the fight three days back?"
I looked at old man blankly and lifted my mangled hand. He looked chastised at least.
It didn't long for me to hear Natsume-san explaining to Koza and Kurabo, "According to him, he has enough stock of grains, medicine and weapons that we could cut the time of war preparation in half. We just need to gather the men and march. This might as well be wings considering how rapid our first strike in the war would be."
His words ended in a complicated look directed at me.
I was keeping stock of the war materials knowing that the trade from land of fire would destabilize from the fierce war between senju and Uchiha.
In fact, I kept gathering the materials in preparation of the future. I was sure that I would be involved in some war or another. Either for building up wealth reserves for the hidden village or fighting directly for the establishment of Hidden village.
Rather than explaining that I continued explaining the services I could provide, "When this war begins, my people aren't on the front lines. We're medics, barrier specialists, saboteurs. My men would ensure the healing of injured and protection of your camp during the decisive battle. In the duration of rest of the war, they could ensure stability of an alternative supply route from the land of fire. Considering how fragile our main supply route from this land is, I am sure we need an alternative supply route. Also, I am sure that Lord Koza's father-in-law would not mind helping provide the materials."
Natsume-san shook his head and said, "It won't do. The fire Daimyo won't tolerate his border nobles waging war or supporting war without his permission."
I eagerly said, "We would just do it in the guise of merchant trade. There would be no problem for your father-in-law to deal with his Daimyo with that. I tell you this, my merchant group, Kon's merchant association is quite experienced in the trade of war materials. Considering the profits involved for my clan, you can rest assured in our protection of this supply route."
Oh! the profits would be huge. His father-in-law from the land of fire, would definitely sell the war materials in ultra-low price. Sure, Koza would buy them back in low price but the difference in cost might be nothing when counted in the scale of a war but huge for the success of my plans.
My excitement aside I found that once more their eyes gathered on the logistics scroll I gave them, and they grimly nodded in response to my proposal. It seems that my stock of war materials shaken them much more than I thought.
It was frustrating in a way because I at least wanted to run the merchant group for some time and gather the funds required to establish a Hidden village. But, this world fucked that up.
It was this point I realized that I might inwardly ranting too much about this fucked world. I thought I had outgrown this habit but who knew?
Shaking these thoughts, I said to the trio who grimace once more at my next words, "Now, Let's settle on the missions that you want to hire us for. Just so you know this would be different from Merchant trade. You would be directly hiring us for these missions. Hence, let's settle on the rewards."
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----Later that night-----
It didn't take long for a separate quarters to be arranged for me and my clan. Looking at the current condition of everyone, I found that the combat power had been cut in half.
Me, Kyu, Ryu and kenta need one more week to even move around. That was already fast in this era due to our medical skills.
Momosuke and Karui looked troubled in the prospect of war. Unlike the other kids, they remembered the times in which the original Kyudo clan had participated in the wars of grass Daimyo. Unlike the shinobi clan wars, these wars had people dying in bulk and entire clans disappearing. The biggest example was Momosuke's mother and her clan, well, they died out.
It told much about the relation I had with the entire clan that Koza dared to offer Momosuke to usurp the leadership from me. Even now, despite the various news I gave them, the rest of them looked silent and ready to receive instructions.
In my mind, I always knew that I was preparing them as soldiers, but seeing it become a reality was hard to digest.
Momosuke as if sensing the clear turmoil in the room, changed the focus towards important things, "So, do we prepare to leave for the land of fire for the war trade? Considering that would be the mission until the decisive battle."
I shook my head in return and said, "No. It would be better said that you would be the one to prepare to leave."
Momsuke took the answer as anyone could expect. With shock , "WHAT?"
Before he could start an emotional rant, I explained to him, "We are in the unique situation in which we hold the direct line of connection to an prospective Daimyo who is about to wage war. Concentrating all our efforts and focus on a single S-rank mission would be stupid. Rather than that, I plan to involve other shinobi clans into the mission and free ourselves to take individual missions."
It was something the trio of Toka agreed upon once I pitched the idea. For better or worse, a dozen medic/fuin-nin were better utilized efficiently if they were hired individually.
"However, the big missions are also needed to bolster our own pockets and influence. Just this war trade alone would ensure that Kon's merchant group to become a major trade group post war. Hence, we would need to do both."
Of course, Momosuke understood my hidden thoughts better. The shinobi we bought in could be influenced through profit and shared combat, to lay the foundation for an allaiance and recrutiement into Hidden village.
I felt like laughing aloud when I saw that one more Kyudo seemed realize the same thing somewhat, considering his expression.
Hence, I gave the mission scroll to Momosuke. The moment he read the client details as Kon's merchant group, he asked me like a idiot, "Why did you bother writing it in the name of the merchant group?"
I was sure that in his mind, the merchant group and the kyudo clan were one and the same. Foolish.
Thankfully, Hiro explained to Momosuke considering I trained him in such dealings, "Kon's merchant group had numerous investors from land of whirlpool, fire and many other minor countries. They were brought into the group initially for having a stable supply of materials and political protection until we established a foothold in the mainland. Thanks to Kirito-nii's stupid gamble, they are no longer needed. So, with some financial manoeuvres like employing our shinobi at higher rate, we will slowly drain the merchant group's cash reserves into our pockets. Then, on the name of expanding the merchant group, we will invest our newfound wealth to dilute their shares."
Momosuke clearly put the legal fraud in perspective by saying, "So, we are stealing from the merchant group."
"Legally," I added. To soothe his nerves, I said, "Just think of it this way, When the merchant group grows post war, the small shares they hold would be much more. Besides, the merchant group is our blood and tears. Even the opportunity now came from our gamble, I don't want the nobles who rest in their castle to enjoy the fruits of labour so easily."
Rathe than allow him to process more finance matters, I decided to shift the focus on to the mission itself. As much as I hated to say this, Momosuke was a financial idiot.
Hence, Hiro was needed to aid him.
"Momosuke, you will lead Yoshime, Hiro, Jin, Ichi and Ren to Land of fire. There you would hire more shinobi clans based on the need to protect the trade route. Of course, you know the reason why I am sending you."
Momosuke grunted out with visible pain in his words, "Recruit the Hatake clan."
"Yes, time to revive our old friendship, with a dash of marriage alliance. Oh! Also recruit the Kurama clan, their clan estate is on the route, and they can fill our lack of Genjutsu options."
"Sure, I might as well recruit the Senju fuckers on the way."
If that was his idea of sarcasm, he need to improve.
----------------------War mission no-1--------------
Rank: S
Client: Kon's merchant group
Type : Protection
Details : Ensure the safety and continuous supply of war materials from the Yano region of Land of fire.
Acceptance: Kyudo clan, ??????, ?????, ????
Rewards : 30 million ryo
----------------------War mission no-2-----------
Rank B
Client : Kon's merchant group
Type : Diplomacy
Details: Recruit Hatake clan for the protection of Supply route.
Acceptance: Kyudo Momosuke
Rewards : 200,000 Ryo
-----------------------War mission-3 -------------
Rank B
Client : Kon's merchant group
Type : Diplomacy
Details: Recruit Kurama clan for the protection of Supply route.
Acceptance: Kyudo Momosuke
Rewards : 200,000 Ryo
--------------------War Mission-4-------------------
Rank B
Client : Kon's merchant group
Type : Continuous
Details: Recruit any shinobi clan or individual shinobi willing, for the protection of Supply route.
Acceptance: Kyudo Momosuke
Rewards : Based on the result.
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