Ikenokuni, a port city.

It was the political and cultural center of Ikeno Kuni, and the aristocratic group of Ikeno Kuni, led by the daimyos, lived.

Since it is the capital of the country and a port city, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the most prosperous city not only in Ikenokuni, but also among the surrounding small countries.

At the hot spring inn, Tenzo took the three of Naruto to pass by this port city, intending to stay in the inn for one night, soak in the famous hot springs of Ikenokuni at night, and then set off from here early the next morning to return to Konoha.

Sleeping out for days on end, despite the strong willpower of ninjas, it is inevitable that such days will be a bit boring, and they need to enjoy themselves in time to add some spice to their lives.

"Speaking of which, Captain Yamato, what the hell is going on in this country, when I passed by here before, it wasn't like this."

In a lounge near the courtyard, the group gathered after placing their salutes.

Naruto was the first to speak, asking the doubts in his heart.

Obviously, he was still haunted by the battle he had encountered in the wild forest.

Seeing so many people dying in front of him, and those who didn't die, let out a miserable wail, it made people feel heartbroken, and it made Naruto's heart feel an indescribable annoyance.

Sakura's expression was also a little gloomy, as a medical ninja, her compassion was not inferior to Naruto's, those samurai should belong to the Daimyo of Ikeno Country, and they were the armed group that protected the country, just like Konoha meant to the Land of Fire.

And now they are dying in front of them one by one, and the samurai who did not die have also been taken away, and I don't know where they were taken, and I am extremely disappointed.

In response to Naruto's inquiry, Tenzo shook his head as he had been in the forest before, and said, "No, I don't know what's going on, and the soldiers who attacked the samurai of the Daimyo Mansion in Ikeno Kuni don't know what the situation is. ”

Then, he glanced at Naruto and Sakura and continued, "However, these things are not our business. As ninjas of Konoha, if we venture to intervene in the battles of other countries, we will have a great negative impact on the village. ”

It's not the time of the Great Ninja War, and the village has very strict restrictions on ninjas who go out on missions, and they can't act cheaply like they did during wartime.

Although there are also ninja villages that behave domineeringly, whether in time of war or peacetime, such as Yunyin, but in comparison, Konoha is relatively a relatively well-behaved ninja village.

If the reputation of Konoha Village is damaged because of this kind of thing, Class 7 will definitely get into trouble and will continue to be in trouble after that.

"But ......"

"Naruto, we are ninjas, not philanthropists. It is our duty to take people's money and eliminate disasters with others, and don't meddle in things other than tasks. Especially in the previous battle, it seems that it also involves the change of high-level power in the country of Ike, and it will be even more troublesome to get involved casually. ”

Tenzo said to Naruto solemnly.

Kindness is not a defect of a ninja, on the contrary, it is a very good character, but a ninja must know when to give his kindness and when to restrain his kindness.

It means that giving one's own kindness may end up with an immensely large evil result, rather than a good one.

"It's really bad to want to help people, but end up putting yourself in it. In such a foreign country, it is better for us to keep a low profile. ”

Zuo Jing also said with a smile.

As a member of Root, he had long been accustomed to such things as fighting, and perhaps the previous battles were a little too cruel in Naruto and Sakura's eyes...... But this is indeed a real thing in the ninja world.

Perhaps, the truth of the matter is more cruel and violent than they imagined.

Every minute and every second of this world is indispensable for the struggle between human beings.

The conflict I encountered by chance in the forest before was just the tip of the iceberg of this ninja world.

"Got it, you don't need Zuo Jing to explain it, hum!"

Naruto turned his head and snorted softly, seeming a little impatient with Sakai's words.

Always preaching to himself as if he had seen the world, but he couldn't refute it, which made Naruto extremely depressed.

He naturally knew that ninjas were not philanthropists, but it was a little unbearable to suddenly see so many lives passing away in front of his eyes.

Zuo Jing smiled slightly, he was already familiar with Naruto's nature, and he only thought that the other party was pretending to be relaxed.

Just as Naruto couldn't comprehend his reality, and he couldn't comprehend the kindness in Naruto's heart.

In this ninja world, he never believed that kindness and love were needed, and there was just pure violence and cold-blooded fighting.

The colors in his inner world are so monotonous and indifferent.

This may be the ambiguity they are currently generating.

But I don't hate this kind of life. Zuo Jing asked himself in his heart.

But the warm colors are too extravagant for him now......

"Then, the next is free time, in short, the matter of soaking in the hot springs will be discussed in the evening, and the afternoon time will be at your own disposal."

Tenzo stood up from the floor and smiled at the three Naruto.

In short, carrying out the mission will also put a lot of physical and psychological pressure on the ninja, so he decided to let the three of Naruto relax here at such a time.

Because of the enhanced protection of the secret department, even if there is an emergency, his side can catch up with the support.

In addition, Naruto is not the same as half a year ago, even if a ninja of the upper ninja level wants to sneak attack Naruto, under the protection of the dark department, it is impossible to do it.

"You too, Zuojing, it's hard to come out for a trip, let's relax too."

Walked up to Sakai and crouched down, patted him on the shoulder, and left a sentence in his ear without a trace, 'Naruto will ask you for the time being', and disappeared from the room.

Sakai stared thoughtfully in the direction of Tenzo's departure.

Is there something you are going to do?

It seems that the captain is still quite concerned about the things in the forest on the surface, and he is not as indifferent as he seems. Zuo Jing said secretly in his heart.

"If only it were me and Sakura......"

On the other side, Naruto began to think about it.

Zuo Jing turned his head again and smiled: "That's really embarrassing, it looks like I'm going to disturb your date this time." ”

If it is in Konoha, the vigilance can be appropriately relaxed, but not outside Konoha Village, it must be strictly precautionary and follow Naruto inseparably.

"Sakai, don't listen to Naruto's nonsense, dating or something, I'm not interested at all."

Sakura didn't hesitate to veto.

However, the capital of Ikenokuni is also a well-known prosperous city in the ninja world, and due to the prosperity of commerce, the variety and quality of goods are not worse than Konoha's, and even more complete in terms of types, so she does have a great interest in shopping.

After a while, the three of them left the hot spring inn and walked out into the street.

Next, I plan to spend half a day in this port city.

"I didn't expect there to be a ninja shop here, but it looks like there's a lot of variety. I just don't know how the price is? ”

The first to enter is a ninja shop, and the owner of the ninja shop is a middle-aged man with a Mediterranean hairstyle, sitting at the door of the store, shining in the sun, looking drowsy.

There was only a young female clerk in the shop, and when she saw the three of Naruto come in, she smiled at them with a friendly and friendly smile, which was very friendly.

"It's also a port city where sea and land merchants gather, and it's normal to open a ninja shop in this city."

Sakura disagreed.

Ikenokuni is a country with a large number of ports and a well-developed hot spring industry, so merchants passing by and ninjas passing by on a mission can't help but stop here and take in the country's scenery.

In this kind of city, it is normal to lay a large number of ninja shops.

Naruto's side had already begun to pick up the ninja equipment on the store's shelf and began to ponder, and Sakai couldn't help but walk to the shelf where the ninja knife was placed, staring carefully at the fine ninja knife on the shelf.

Although the area of the store is not large, the ninja equipment in the store can be called high-quality, and there are even many ninja tools, all of which are made of precious chakra metal, and have a strong chakra nature. This kind of forbearance has a very obvious effect on the increase of ninjas in actual combat.

The efficiency of conducting chakra is very low, which also weakens the adhesion effect of chakra, resulting in a great reduction in power.

Therefore, the ninja made of chakra metal is definitely a type of ninja that is in short supply and favored by many ninjas.

Compared with Naruto's random look, Sakai chose the posture of the ninja knife, more like a professional connoisseur, who can quickly judge the advantages and disadvantages of a ninja tool, and his eyes are also extremely serious, so that people can know at a glance that they have learned similar tasting knowledge, and they are not just making appearances for outsiders.

"Zuojing, have you chosen the ninja knife?"

Sakura came up to Sakai and asked softly.

Sakai turned his head to look at Sakura, then turned his gaze back to the two light ninja knives of similar standard in his hand.

"No, I'm considering which ninja knife to choose. This ninja knife is the standard ninja knife of the military ninja of the Oni Country, and this is a ninja knife created by the elite blacksmiths of the Iron Country, and the quality of the blade, including the ability to conduct chakra, seems to be about the same. ”

Zuo Jing frowned in embarrassment.

Thanks to its incomparably strong industrial capacity, the quality of the ninja equipment it manufactures is improving year by year.

The Land of Iron benefits from the accumulation of its own country, especially in the smelting of weapons, which is unique in the ninja world.

After all, the samurai culture in this country is extremely prosperous, and the requirements for the quality of the blade itself are also more stringent.

It can be said that the cold weapon forbearance in the international arms market today is basically dominated by the forbearance produced by these two countries.

The forbearance tools forged by other countries are slightly inferior in comparison.

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be okay to buy them all?"

Sakura suggested.

"No, if I buy them all, I won't have any money left to buy painting tools."

Compared with the requirements for forbearance, Zuojing's requirements for painting tools are also not lower than those of forbearance, and even more picky, which makes the purchase of painting tools a large expense in his daily expenses.

Moreover, the ninja sword forged from chakra metal is extremely expensive in itself, and it cannot be compared to the kunai and shuriken and other ninja tools.

"That's right."

Sakura nodded and didn't say anything more.

On the other side, seeing Sakura, who was quietly talking to Sakai, Naruto's eyes suddenly erupted with jealousy.

Just as he was about to step forward and interrupt their exchange, a figure suddenly rushed in from outside, grabbed Naruto's shoulders, and shouted with joy:

"You're a ninja of Konoha right! Great, you're finally here, and the Daimyo-sama has been waiting for you for a long time! ”

This sudden scene made Naruto directly stunned in place.

"Hey, wait, old man, who are you? You don't recognize the wrong person, do you? ”

The man who ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder, about fifty years old, had gray hair, and his face looked like he was crying with joy.

But Naruto was sure that he didn't know the old man in front of him, and for a moment his mind was confused.

"I didn't recognize the wrong person, I was looking for you Konoha ninjas! Come with me and meet the Daimyo-sama! ”

With that, the old man was about to pull Naruto out of the ninja shop.

"Wait!"

Sakura and Sakai walked over and stopped the old man from making any further moves.

Sakura looked at the old man with a wary gaze and said, "We are indeed the ninjas of Konoha, but who are you and why did you come to us?" ”

When the old man saw Sakura and Sakai, he also knew that his actions were too rude, so he let go of Naruto, coughed, and replied solemnly: "I am a retainer who serves the daimyo of the land of Ike, and now the daimyo has important matters and urgently needs to see you Konoha ninjas, please follow me." ”

"Daimyo-sama?"

Sakura and Sakai glanced at each other and saw the look of surprise in each other's eyes.

I don't understand what this is going on at all.,Why it suddenly got to the daimyo of Ikenokuni.。

The shopkeeper, who was drowsy at the entrance of the ninja shop, heard the conversation of several people, opened his eyes slightly, and then closed his eyes as if he was nothing, and continued to take a nap on the old chair.

◎

Daimyo's house.

The Daimyo of Ikenokuni is a man in his thirties who is quite wealthy, and his gorgeous clothes are worn on his body, giving people a bloated feeling.

On either side of his body, there was a beautiful girl with a charming expression, with charming eyes and an extremely well-behaved attitude, serving the daimyo very well.

When Naruto and Sakura saw this scene, their expressions were slightly unnatural.

I always feel that the current picture gives them a sense of inappropriateness, and it is a bit exciting.

The impression of the Daimyo of Ikenokuni was directly reduced by three points.

Only Zuo Jing seemed to be accustomed to this, and the expression on his face did not change in the slightest.

"You Konoha ninjas have finally arrived, and now I have an important task for you to do. That is, hurry up and help me to suppress all the rebellious people in the country! ”

The daimyo of Ikenokuni ate the fruit sent by the maid, and while holding a folding fan, he gave orders to the three Naruto as the superiors.

Although the power of Konoha Village is strong, as an employer, the Daimyo of Ikenokuni does not have any reverence for the ninjas of Konoha Village, and he commands as he usually gives orders to his subordinate samurai.

"That, Your Excellency Daimyo...... Are you getting something wrong? We didn't receive a mission about Ikenokuni, and besides, we're just passing through Ikenokuni and will be returning to the village soon. ”

Although the attitude of the Daimyo of Ikenokuni was a little bad, considering that this was the lord of a country, it was easy to leave a bad impression on the other party if he spoke ill of him, so Sakura had to try to calm his tone as much as possible, and at the same time signaled to Sakai with his eyes, asking him to hold down Naruto and not let Naruto come up and make trouble.

"Are you kidding me? The power of attorney was sent to your Konoha Village three days ago, but now that you're telling me this, are you trying to ruin the Hokage's reputation? ”

The daimyo of Ikenokuni frowned, pushed away the maids who served him on both sides, and glanced at Sakura with some displeasure, thinking that the other party was playing tricks on him.

"We didn't mean that, but we really didn't receive a mission about the country of Ikenoku...... I think that the Konoha ninja who took on the mission entrusted by His Excellency the Daimyo should be someone else, not our team. ”

Sakura patiently explained.

This kind of misfortune happens occasionally.

For example, when a ninja is completing a mission and returning to the village, he passes through a certain country and meets a client who happens to entrust the Konoha ninja to do something, and mistakenly thinks that the team that is rushing back to Konoha is the ninja team that took over their task.

The situation is similar now, the Konoha ninjas who took over the mission of the country of Ikeno are not their seventh squad, but another unit.

In this case, it is generally enough to simply ignore it.

But not right now, although the rules are true, but if you really follow the rules and leave directly, it is likely to hurt the daimyo of Ikenokuni.

As the monarch of a country, it can be said that he holds the power of life and death of a country, and it seems more sincere to explain it in person.

After all, with the different identities of the principals, there are occasional pros and cons to be weighed, and it is not possible to generalize.

Rules are dead, and problems encountered in reality often need to be adapted to effectively solve.

Sakura's meaning made the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni's brows gradually relaxed, and he seemed to be a little uncertain.

"You're really not a Konoha ninja who came to help me?"

"Yes, our team is on their way back to Konoha and is just passing through here. The Konoha ninja who took over the Daimyo's mission should be on his way here. ”

Sakura couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when she saw that the daimyo of Ikeno Kuni had finally listened to the words.

The Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni glanced at the retainer standing next to him, who led the three of Naruto over, and glanced at each other fiercely, as if he was blaming the other party for finding the wrong person.

The old man of the retainer lowered his head in embarrassment, not daring to look at the daimyo of Ikenokuni, and also realized his mistake.

The three of Naruto are not the Konoha ninja they are looking for.

Just then, a samurai walked in from outside the temple.

Walk to the center of the main hall and kneel down in front of the Ikenokuni list.

"Daimyo-sama, a Konoha ninja named Yamato is out there asking to see you."

"Yamato?"

The Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni swept his gaze towards the three Naruto.

"He's the leader of our squad."

Sakura replied.

The daimyo of Ikeno Kuni took the folding fan and tapped his head lightly, as if he was seriously considering something.

"Bring him in."

"Yes."

The samurai was ordered to go down.

After a while, the samurai led Tenzo into the main hall.

Seeing that the three of Naruto were fine, Tenzo nodded lightly at them, and then his eyes fell on the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni, and he stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency. ”

"You're Konoha's Shinobi?"

The daimyo of Ikenokuni didn't care about Tenzo's salute, but asked the question.

"Yes."

Tianzang is neither humble nor arrogant in response.

The well-informed Tenzo naturally understands what the current situation is all about, it is nothing more than that the retainers of the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni have found the wrong person and mistakenly regarded the seventh class as the Konoha ninja who took over the task. And the Konoha ninja they were really looking for was still on the way to arrive, and had not yet arrived in the country of Ike.

"Do you understand the current situation?"

"I can guess a little. So please forgive me, Your Excellency Daimyo, the Konoha team I want to take over the mission will arrive soon. ”

The implication is that the task of the country of Chi, they will not be involved in the seventh class.

First, it doesn't conform to the rules and disrupts the task system, and secondly, it will cause some disagreement among colleagues.

For Tianzang, such troubles naturally have to be thrown off as soon as possible.

"But the current situation is critical, and some unexpected situations may happen here in the castle at any time......," the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni hesitated, "It's better to do this, I'll pay you double the reward, which is a temporary contract." Your team is also involved in this mission. ”

Double remuneration is provided, that is, the remuneration allocated to the original squad is not reduced, so that disagreements between colleagues are avoided.

After all, this so-called disagreement, in most cases, is based on the unreasonable distribution of remuneration, and there is a major problem.

For most Konoha ninjas, the mission is the job of raising a family in the lake, and they don't want to lose any of their own mission rewards.

"Your Excellency, this is really ......"

"Needless to say, Yamato Kamishinobi. Regarding the current situation, I will personally write to your Hokage-sama to explain that the reward that belongs to you Konoha will not be less. In this way, you will have no worries, and you can also gain the friendship of the country of Ike. ”

Seeing Tenzo's refusal, the Daimyo of Ikenokuni blurted out first, blocking Tenzo's words, and by the way, he talked about the friendship between Konoha and Ikenokuni.

If you don't agree, it is likely to affect the diplomacy of the two sides, and this responsibility is too heavy for a shinobi.

Tianzang smiled helplessly in his heart, what is the matter, I would have known that I wouldn't come here to soak in any hot springs.

He had just gone out to investigate, and had received some extremely shocking news from the people of Ikeno - that is, the country was in a civil war.

The militia organized by the people, and the aristocratic group led by the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni, are engaged in an extremely fierce fire collision and openly declare war.

Many parts of the country were occupied by militia groups, and only a few important cities remained, which were still in the hands of the nobility of Ikenokuni, but according to the trend of fighting, it was widely believed that the nobles had a greater chance of losing.

His instincts told him that getting involved in something like this would make a mess of it.

But the words of the daimyo of Ikeno Kuni had to be carefully considered.

If because of his refusal, the relationship between Ikenokuni and Konoha is not harmonious...... It gives me a headache just thinking about it.

"How's it being considered, Yamato Kamishinobi?"

Daimyo of Ikenokuni asked.

"Well, then. However, we will stay here for one night at most, and tomorrow morning our team will leave here and return to the village to resume their lives. ”

Tenzo thought about it again and again, and decided to agree to come down and talk about it.

But the bottom line is that they can only stay here for one night, and no matter what happens the next day, their seventh class will leave here and will not get involved in the strife of the country of Ike.

"One night...... Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni frowned in contemplation, then opened his brows and said, "Okay, one night, one night." Well, the safety of the castle tonight is up to you, well, now you can finally sleep peacefully. ”

Considering that three days have passed since the letter he sent to Konoha asking for help, the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni has calculated the time, and the Konoha team that really took over his mission will arrive tomorrow at the latest, just in time to complete the handover of the work.

The name of Konoha Shinobi still has a very high gold content in the ninja world.

Compared with the upper ninja of small countries, the upper ninja of large countries is not only strong in business ability, but also very good in strength.

Although the cost of hiring is a bit higher, it is definitely worth the money.

As long as he can protect his own safety, the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni is not stingy with money.

◎

Night.

The air in the port city is much colder than during the day.

The castle-style mansions of the daimyo and all the important checkpoints are full of patrolling samurai and government soldiers, armed with katanas and spears, vigilantly guarding their posts under the moonlit night.

And located in the interior of the castle, is the room prepared by Naruto and his party in the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni, not far from the courtyard where the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni is located.

If something really happens, you can also provide support in time.

"I said I was going to soak in the hot springs at night, but I turned out to go out on patrol, and that daimyo really made people ......"

Naruto said in a complaining tone.

Not only him, but Sakura also had some complaints on her face, and being forced to take on a task that was not inferior to the trouble of her own team, no matter what she said, it would affect her mood.

It's just that unlike Naruto, she doesn't say it verbally, but mutters in her heart, cursing the daimyo of Ikeno Kuni in a whisper.

Unlike when they came out to patrol in the cold at night, the daimyo of Ikeno Country might be holding his concubine in his arms at this time, enjoying the wind and snow in the warm room.

The first impression I had from the daytime was that this Daimyo of Ikenokuni was very good at pleasure, and it was fundamentally different from the image of the monarch in his fantasy.

Can such a monarch who only knows how to eat, drink and be merry really manage the country well?

She knows how hard the Hokage of her village is, and in order to improve the living standard of the village, it can be said that she stays up late every day. It is precisely because of this example that Konoha was able to quickly turn around from the previous year's downturn and grow further.

Sakura couldn't understand.

Sure enough, there is a gap between fantasy and reality.

"Don't complain, it seems that you can only go back and talk about the hot springs."

Tenzo comforted.

"Got it, then, let's get moving."

Naruto slapped his cheek hard in order to cheer himself up and not get sleepy at this time, and was about to act.

Suddenly, a sound of Hugh sounded loudly in the night sky.

Bang!

Something exploded in the dark night sky - it was a brilliant firework.

With this as a signal, countless sounds of rest rose into the sky, coming from all sides of the castle, and the loud sound was endless.

I saw that the originally dark and monotonous night sky was instantly dyed with colorful light, and then these gorgeous petals that exploded fell like rain, like a dream.

The lonely and cold night suddenly had a lively atmosphere.

Seeing this, Naruto's face was stunned.

"Huh? Is there any holiday celebration tonight? ”

Not only Naruto, but Tenzo, Sakura, and Sakai were also frowning, puzzled by this.

They had never heard of any festival celebrations in the country of Ikenoki tonight.

In order to find out the situation, Tenzo jumped to the high building of the castle and looked into the distance.

The three Naruto jumped up as well, patrolling the surroundings.

That's when Naruto noticed something, pointing his finger to the sea at the back of the castle.

"Look, what's that!"

In the darkness of the night, the sea is dyed black, like a terrible mire with no bottom, producing a terrifying aura.

And in that dark realm, there was only a light source, and the hideous outline of a huge steel monster loomed.

"That's ......"

Yamato's heart was shocked when he saw the steel beast looming on the surface of the sea.

Before he could speak, the steel monster instantly burst into a flash of light, illuminating the sea.

Rumble!

The explosion was deafening, and in the wide eyes of the four people, the castle tower, which was located at the highest point of the castle, turned into a ruin in an instant, a large amount of rubble flew away, and the flames generated by the explosion surged in the dark night with a brutal tongue of fire, plunging the castle tower into a sea of fire.

All this happened without warning, and people were caught off guard, and the castle thousands of meters away from the steel giant beast was bombarded.

"W-What's going on?"

Naruto stammered, the scene beyond his imagination.

Tenzo was not in the mood to respond to Naruto, but instead swept condescendingly to the outside of the castle, a chill welling up behind him.

The sound of the explosion was muffled by the sound of fireworks, and under the light emitted by the fireworks, countless black shadows flickered in the light, rushing like lightning like locusts crossing the border, and in the blink of an eye, it spread across the mountain road and approached the castle of the Daimyo.

The silent repression and horror are reminiscent of suffocating death.

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