'Help who?'
With Ryosuke's battle record of cutting and killing all the way until now, what help could she possibly give?
However, Konan was clear, what Nagato asked was not this.
He asked about "stance."
Konan seriously said, "Nagato, you will always be my family."
Nagato slightly nodded.
"Then in this world, there is nothing for me to be afraid of anymore. As for your question..."
"I have no intention of being enemies with Ryosuke. We are both people walking on our own paths, trying to change this world."
"I respect his philosophy."
"It's just that Ryosuke holds an optimistic attitude toward the world. He believes that, pushed forward, the world will become better and better."
"Whereas I remain pessimistic, thinking that only enough pain and oppression can make people have another kind of 'awakening.'"
"But…"
Konan said, "As long as you two keep walking along your own roads, one day you will meet standing face to face."
One wants to overturn the world, to create a brand new world as beautiful as a dream.
One wants to make the world fear, to use the deterrence of force against the evil in the world, so that the existing order can operate better.
As both grow, conflict will be inevitable.
"If it really comes to that step…"
Nagato said, "I can only kill him."
Konan opened her mouth, but held back what she wanted to say.
"I know what you're thinking. A body strong to the point of near immortality, many bizarre abilities, and many powerful people standing at his side… you think I can't do it."
Nagato shook his head, "But Konan, don't forget, killing someone is another matter."
"For the simplest example, I once heard Orochimaru say, Konoha has a jutsu called 'Reaper Death Seal,' which can drag the enemy down together in death."
"Getting the 'Reaper Death Seal,' not hard, right?"
Konan thought for a while, then nodded.
Whether by exchanging money with the Land of Fire, or bribing some Konoha ninja to steal it, with Nagato's means, there would always be a way to get it.
"You plan to use Reaper Death Seal for a one-for-one with Ryosuke?"
"Not me, but a big nation."
Nagato raised his hand, and in his palm appeared a very tiny black sphere of gravity.
"I just need to find a big nation, ask for forty jōnin-level ninjas, spend three to four months to learn Reaper Death Seal, afterward even if only a few dozen master it, it's enough."
Nagato's Chibaku Tensei can trap Ryosuke, but lacks lethal power.
Reaper Death Seal can bypass Ryosuke's hard body, sealing his soul, but requires the target fixed in place.
Combining the two, it really could be strong control + sealing.
"Of course, this is in theory."
Nagato said, "But as long as the theory exists, there's the possibility of realizing it."
"If I learned anything from Ryosuke, it's that humanity has limits. No matter how strong, no person can wear the title of 'invincible.'"
"Only hope, this day comes later rather than sooner."
———
After the Water Garden Festival ended, Oda Ieyasu and his samurai troops were practically running twenty-four hours nonstop.
Ryosuke had told Oda Ieyasu not to do assassinations.
But this didn't mean no one would die. Just that the way and reason for killing became open and aboveboard.
Someone had to take responsibility for the chaos at the Water Garden Festival.
Relying on just one life of Saito Ayame was not enough.
Ryosuke did not take part in the settling of accounts.
He did not like death, even if the other side were enemies.
When the handover with the Kirigakure officials was completed, Ryosuke bid farewell to Oda Ieyasu and little Hideyoshi, and the group set off on the return journey.
It was still the same group of people, still the same caravan, but their moods were completely different from when they came.
Ryosuke, sitting on horseback, turned his head for one last look at the city walls of Kyoto.
"Let's go."
He swung the reins, and the horse slowly moved forward.
The road back was peaceful. Passing once more through Yoma County, the county head of Shirakawa was still standing at the roadside with a big smile, holding a freshly baked dorayaki, with his round belly, if you painted his skin blue, he'd be a living Doraemon.
"Lord Ryosuke, you've taught me a lesson." the county head said.
"What do you mean?" Ryosuke asked.
The county head said, "I kept thinking, between you and the daimyo, who will win this world. But no matter how I calculated, I never calculated it would be the two of you winning together."
Ryosuke recalled the twists of that night at the Water Garden Festival. Then, looking at the admiration mixed with sly calculation in the county head's eyes, he felt this man misunderstood, thinking all of it had been Ryosuke's scheme.
But the matters in between were too complicated. Ryosuke had no intention of explaining. Looking back at the fairly prosperous Yoma County, then recalling how the man cared for his subordinates, Ryosuke pondered for a moment and asked,
"County Head Shirakawa, do you want to..."
"Don't!"
The county head raised a hand, as if frightened, clasped both hands together, and said, "Spare me, I'm already forty-five. My greatest dream is to live as a small county head, eat and drink every day, peacefully waiting for death."
The hidden meaning, he did not want to get involved in Ryosuke's "big affairs."
Ryosuke nodded, then smiled.
"That's fine too."
In the distance, Zabuza made a hand gesture to Ryosuke, signaling the caravan had finished repairs and could depart.
Ryosuke stood up and extended his hand to the county head.
"Farewell."
The county head wiped oil stains off on his clothes, then held Ryosuke's hand with both of his, bowing deeply, "Safe travels, come often when you have time."
After Ryosuke left, the county head sat on the roadside, carefully finishing the dorayaki in his hands, not wasting even a crumb, licking each finger clean.
His wife walked over and saw this scene, asking, "Didn't you eat enough? I'll fry two more?"
The county head waved his hand.
He was full.
He just felt, in the future there wouldn't be many opportunities to enjoy food like this.
"Pass down the word. Throughout the county, every household must stockpile as much grain as possible. If merchants from outside come, buy as much grain as they have. Also, hire some more wandering samurai."
The county head narrowed his eyes, watching the direction Ryosuke had left, sighed, and said, "Land of Water… chaos will soon begin."
The county head's political instincts were sharp.
The plan Oda Ieyasu and Ryosuke settled on, once implemented, would inevitably harm the interests of the corporations, and provoke backlash.
First, at the corporate level.
They feared Ryosuke would use decapitation tactics, splitting them apart into nothing, breaking power and capital into the tiniest fragments, all hidden in corners.
They even wished Ryosuke would do nothing else, just chase and kill them endlessly across the land. Possibly Ryosuke's killing speed wouldn't even match the speed at which they picked heirs.
Next, the middle-tier enterprises, factories spread across the country.
They felt the daimyo's policies damaged their interests, leading to conflicts with local officials.
Corporations outside the Land of Water feared Ryosuke might really succeed. Once a breakthrough from zero to one happened, things would become troublesome.
So, secretly they provided funds, ninjutsu, and equipment to opposition groups inside the Land of Water, to stir up war and chaos, to let the people of the Land of Water see, it's all because of Ryosuke.
Not long after the Water Garden Festival, unrest spread everywhere in the Land of Water.
Corporation agents, bandits taking advantage of the chaos, swordsmen wanting to make a name, rogue ninja from other villages… the Land of Water seemed to have returned to the days of the Bloody Mist.
For this, when Ryosuke and Oda Ieyasu discussed, they had already anticipated.
The growing pains were unavoidable.
And this was already under Oda Ieyasu's maneuvering, suppressing the vast majority of resistance.
Up till today, Oda Ieyasu was still scheming and negotiating day and night. In less than a month, white hairs appeared at his temples, his whole figure thinner by a circle, though his eyes still shone brightly.
Of course, Ryosuke was not idle either. He walked on the front lines with Kirigakure's ninja, suppressing riots, reducing civilian casualties.
So much so that later on, whenever golden flames blazed across the sky and rolling thunder roared in the ears, enemies would throw away weapons in fear, kneeling and begging for mercy.
Another day, Ryosuke crushed an armed assault and returned to the Kirigakure office, notebook in hand, all current events proceeding exactly as they had predicted.
The enemy's counterattacks would grow fiercer. Once reaching the critical point, when they realized they couldn't stop the progress of revolution, the corporations of other nations naturally wouldn't waste money on useless things anymore.
And corporations were not a single monolith.
When some stand at the top, naturally some are crushed below. For those below, the simplest way to escape oppression is to board Ryosuke's icebreaking ship.
Small middle-tier cliques and little warlords, one after another, leaned into the camp.
As for whether sincere or scheming… once everything settled, Ryosuke would visit them one by one with White Snake.
"As one rises, the other falls. There's still about a month to the critical point we estimated, but this month will be tough for ordinary people living in the Land of Water."
Ryosuke let out a soft sigh, closing the notebook.
Knock! Knock!
A knock came at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and in walked Takeshi.
"Lord Ryosuke, I want to request something."
"Speak."
"I want… to form a legion."
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