Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

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[Start of the chapter]

Konoha Year 33.

The Second Great Ninja War was raging at full intensity. And just recently, a terrifying piece of news swept across the entire ninja world.

The Land of Fire's Konoha Village's staunch ally—the strongest sealing-technique clan in the ninja world—the Uzushio Village Uzumaki clan… had been annihilated.

Konoha from top to bottom was shaken. The war had only just begun, and yet an allied village—especially one tied to Konoha as a "strongest ninja village" ally—had been wiped out. The most critical part was that Konoha hadn't even managed to dispatch援 troops in time.

A shadow fell over every Konoha ninja's heart.

"Clatter-clatter…"

The sound of wagon wheels twisting and rattling came from the village gates.

Unlike the usual arrivals—fallen ninja bodies and their personal effects—this time the sizeable convoy was full of unfamiliar faces. And the way these people were dressed didn't quite fit in with Konoha at all.

Civilians. Craftsmen. Merchants. And a whole lot of samurai.

If they shared anything in common, it was that none of them looked particularly easy to deal with.

"Captain, the Hokage-sama wants you at the Hokage Building. Report the full details of this escort mission as soon as possible!"

An ANBU flickered into existence beside a silver-haired man. This man was none other than the future infamous Konoha killing god—"Konoha's White Fang," Hatake Sakumo.

Right now, Hatake Sakumo was still just an unassuming ANBU captain, with little fame across the ninja world.

Hearing this, Sakumo—who had led ANBU forces the entire way, using all sorts of strategies like secretly rerouting supplies and feinting to lure enemies away, to successfully escort this Land of Iron group into Konoha—finally let out a long breath.

The journey had been brutal. His ANBU unit's losses were far from small.

But…

Sakumo turned his head slightly, looking at the craftsmen in the convoy who were being guarded under tight protection, and silently comforted himself.

At least those sacrifices had been worth it.

With these high-level Land of Iron craftsmen joining, Konoha's strength in the coming war would rise by more than a little.

And it would also, to some degree, soften the shockwave left by the destruction of the Uzumaki clan.

When Sakumo arrived at the Hokage's office, while he was still at the door, he heard a voice—somewhat young, but hitting the ground like iron.

The voice was familiar.

The tone, however, was utterly unfamiliar.

"Hokage! I may be young, but don't forget—my Ryuuto clan is a great family passed down since the era of samurai. Even if I'm young, the retainers, the samurai vassals, and the craftsmen you need right now—all of them take orders from me!"

"If anything happens to me here today, not only will you get nothing out of this, I can also guarantee that within three days, the chakra-weapon forging techniques you're drooling over will be sitting in another village's Kage office!"

"And you few pieces of crap advisers—little bastard dogs! What right do you have to yip at me here!? Believe it or not, if you dare say one more word today, tomorrow your black-market bounties will double!?"

Sakumo froze at the doorway, his brain failing to catch up for a moment.

That voice, without question, belonged to the person he had just brought back—the new head of the Ryuuto clan, a top-tier forging aristocratic house from the Land of Iron, and also a samurai family with several hundred years of heritage.

Ryuuto Kari.

But the voice inside right now clearly didn't match the adorable little kid he'd seen on the road at all.

In the short time he stood outside, he'd already heard "little bastard dog," "I'll have someone kill you," "I'll wipe your whole family," and other delightful nightmares.

"Ahem, ahem… that's Sakumo outside, right? Come in…"

A light cough sounded from the office. Sakumo hurriedly pushed the door open and entered.

The moment he stepped in, he saw a boy standing on a chair, dressed in a pitch-black samurai uniform, along with a gloomy-faced Koharu and Homura.

"Uh, Hokage-sama!"

Sakumo bowed to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. And without waiting for the Hokage to ask, he immediately reported on the escort mission.

There had been casualties, yes—but thankfully, within an acceptable range.

Only then did Hiruzen turn his gaze back to the boy in front of him—Ryuuto Kari.

Sakumo couldn't help looking too. The boy's face was like a porcelain doll, a perfect definition of "cute."

And yet, right now he had one foot planted on the chair, the other on the Hokage's desk, one hand resting on the hilt of a small samurai sword at his waist.

That kind of insulting behavior should've gotten him cut down on the spot by ANBU at the Hokage's side. But due to Konoha's current predicament—and the boy's status—no one intervened.

Hiruzen picked up the contract on the desk, a secret agreement that the previous Ryuuto clan head had signed with Konoha.

The Ryuuto clan, entire household included—along with all retainers, assets, and several vassal samurai families—would relocate to Konoha, forging ninja tools and weapons for the village.

In exchange, Konoha would allocate a vast tract of land—almost half of the Forest of Death—to the Ryuuto clan and the other relocating families, to serve as clan territory and samurai dōjō grounds.

At the same time, senior management of Konoha's ninja tool department would be required to include Ryuuto clan members, with decision-making authority.

Hiruzen glanced at his old partners. The Ryuuto clan head was already dead—and as for the cause, everyone understood perfectly well.

But now, looking at things… this heir to a century-old samurai house might be young, but he was not someone you could fool.

More importantly, Hiruzen sharply caught that look in the boy's eyes—an edge of ruthlessness that said he was ready to go down together if pushed.

These samurai-house types… even their kids treat their own lives like spare change…

After thinking for a long moment, Hiruzen chose to nod.

"Although, as Hokage, I'm not fully aware of all the details, this contract does appear valid…"

"Hiruzen!" Koharu started to speak, but Hiruzen shut her down with a single look.

The current "Professor" had nothing to do with the title of strongest Hokage, but as Hokage, his authority was still very real.

Hiruzen turned back to Ryuuto Kari and smiled slightly.

"We will honor what's written. From today onward, a portion of the Forest of Death will be assigned to you as your clan territory. Settle down as quickly as you can. You understand Konoha's situation—we need a large quantity of ninja tools…"

Hearing that, the wolfish ferocity on the boy's cute face withdrew. The foot that had been on the Hokage's desk came down—and he even used his sleeve to wipe the dust off the spot he'd stepped on.

Then he gave the Hokage a standard samurai bow, hands together in a formal salute.

Ryuuto Kari: "Thank you for understanding, Hokage-sama. I was rude just now… As for forging ninja tools, once I've gotten my people settled, I'll immediately have them report to the ninja tool forging division."

(End of Chapter)

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