章 34: Chapter 33 - Uncharted territory

Time flew and before anyone knew it three years had went by. The land of earth went through great change as the Kizamaru clan was in the heat of battle with the Maru clan and Kamizuru clan.

The Itaku clan was fully absorbed by the Kamizuru clan due to numerous marriage ties between the two clans. With the aided help for a few Senju ninja they were showing their dominance.

Although they were powerful, the Maru clan still held greater numbers and strong shinobi to help keep the Kamizuru clan at bay. As for the Kizamaru clan, they were very arrogant causing the Maru and Kamizuru clan to form an alliance to fight against them.

With the constant war going on, families were broken apart and evicted from their homes, causing a wave of new clans to emerged in the south.

These smaller clans were fighting amongst themselves each one hoping to become a viable power in the region. As the feuds between all the clans continued, only more blood was shed.

As more people started to seek peace in this chaotic world, they started to learn of a village which lived in harmony. The village did not interact with the other clans and stayed to themselves away from all the conflicts. This greatly interested some people, thus they went to find this village.

The village shrouded in ice grew in numbers at a steady pace, with every week passing more people took refuge here. Sometimes families of two, other times entire clans that wanted protection.

After three years of development the village no longer looked the same as it was before. Buildings were more organized, there were districts for food, clothing, weapons, information, missions and more.

The village did not go unnoticed, but the other clans assumed that this village was weak due to them taking in all those who fled from the battlefield. It was a village filled with cowards, one that they could take anytime they wanted to.

Little did they know that the village was protected by numerous strong shinobi.

During these three years Ernie has grown taller, a bit wiser and stronger. He kept his long silver hair at a decent length, but his clothing changed to wearing white and light blue.

Sadly, after he parted with Hina and Hiamri he hasn't seen a glimpse of them during these three years. Nija was worried about them and said she would go search for them, but that was two years ago. She hasn't returned, but he knew she wasn't dead as she formed a bond with a little piglet. The pig came back to the village with a note attached to its collar telling Ernie that she met with Hina and Himari. It also stated she wanted to try learning from Bashira even if she had no talent.

Ernie didn't know what changed her mind, but he didn't mind her leaving to train. She did tell him that both the girls were doing well and they missed him.

That was all, as the note was relatively small so not a lot of words could be put on it.

Ernie sat at a roundtable, which was held in the village center, the main building where the highest ranking members met to discuss certain topics. Today things were a bit special as guest made an appearance in their village.

He was a tall man with a black goatee, wearing a long grey robe with a dark blue hat on his head.

"I see that you have built yourself a nice little home here…"

The man said as he looked around the room.

Ernie nodded.

"I have, but it wasn't just my effort alone it was everyone working together. May I ask what brings you to our village?"

Ernie asked the man.

"I'm sure you've heard of me, but i'll introduce myself. I am the daimyo of the land of earth, and while I do not mind small clans here residing in my land I have never agreed to a village of this size being built. You are of unknown origin and your power is growing, yet I cannot see if you are a threat or not."

The daimyo said as he interlocked his fingers.

"You need not worry, we have not caused you any trouble have we?"

"Maybe not now, but there is no telling what you'll do in the future. But fear not, I do have a proposition for you."

"I'm all ears."

Ernie told him.

He was being respectful to the man as he knew that he held great influence with all the clans in his land. Not to mention he had ties in all the other lands as well, Ernie couldn't disrespect him or else he'd have the entire world coming for him.

"I would like for you to hand over the reins to a more established family, one that I know well and has been around for generations. You are pretty young yourself so you might not understand the aspect of relations and networks. It'll be in our best interest to have someone who understands this to lead this village."

He spoke very bluntly not hiding the meaning behind his words at all.

Ernie was stunned for a moment as it definitely did not play out like this in his head, but he did not let it show on his face.

"The people of this village will not accept that as they have come to see me as their leader."

"They'll accept it if it's their only option. Just tell them Ishikawa is the leader as you've come to accept his wisdom and tutelage. I assure you that it's in all our best interest to make this happen."

"The Kamizuru clan's leader? He'll just drag everyone in this village into war, is that what you want?"

Ernie asked the man with a cold gaze.

"Ishikawa is wise, he knows what he is doing. If there is to ever be true peace in this land then all the clans need to come under one ruler. The Kamizuru clan has been around for generations and have a long history here, people respect them and their power. Even if it's not them, there are still other options but someone like yourself cannot be the leader."

Ernie rubbed his temple as he calmed himself.

"I will give you my answer in a week."

Ernie told him, and the daimyo got up and left the room with a smile on his face. Shortly after Aito came in.

"How'd it go? I saw the pleasing look on his face, so the talk must have went well."

Ernie sighed and shook his head.

"Far from it, we've tried to reach out to him two years ago but he ignored us for the most part. Now he shows up here after we have made so much progress, and he tells us we are to pass leadership over to the Kamizuru clan."

Aito sighed along with Ernie, if the talk went in that direction then they only had two options, pass the village over or leave. They would never pass over what they have worked on to someone else, only for them to destroy it in the process. If they left, they would lose everything and restart from scratch. It was a lose-lose situation.

"The worst part is we cannot even go against him. He has a decent friendship with the fire daimyo and the wind daimyo, if they agree with him we'll have clans from those lands causing us trouble as well. If he wanted to, he could have the Kizamaru clan and Kamizuru clan have a ceasefire for a while until we are dealt with. That is how much power he has, all he needs to do is snap his finger."

Aito spoke out in frustration.

"Is there anyone else we could have an audience with?"

Ernie asked Aito.

"Well, there are other lands we could go to but there is a more viable option were there is no daimyo. The land itself is full of life and we'd be able to expand out village to even greater heights…"

Aito paused.

"But?"

Ernie asked.

"Why do you think there is something after?"

"There is always something after!"

Aito laughed a little and nodded.

"The land is uncharted territory and even our shinobi had to turn back after they encountered a giant beast. It wasn't just one, the entire land is filled with those things making it nearly impossible for a person to live there. However, it also has no one to govern the land hence no daimyo."

Ernie looked at Aito as he thought about it.

"In your eyes, how long do you think it would take us to get everything set up? Nothing special, but basic homes."

"Traveling time would take us a month, due to the sheer size of our village but once we are there it would only take us a day or two to have homes for everyone. The only downside are the giant beast, there are only a few of us capable of handling these creatures on our own."

Ernie grinned.

"Leave it to me. Spread the word and in return, anyone who goes with us will be heavily compensated for losing what they've built."

Aito nodded.

"Ah, how is Satomi by the way?"

Ernie asked before Aito left.

"I never knew having a kid would be so tedious, she just started walking and now she's wandering all over the place. Truly just like her mother."

Aito said with a laugh.

"Oh, Yui is doing well too."

Aito nodded.

"Yes, but regrettably she is pregnant once more. I only wanted one child but it doesn't seem like she wants to stop."

'It takes more than one to make a baby…' Ernie said in his head. Yui just didn't magically impregnate herself, Aito had to put in some work as well to make it happen.

"Give her my regards!"

Ernie told him as Aito went out.

Ernie sat there staring blankly at the desk, he was growing accustomed to this land and the clans constant feuds. A part of him would miss it when he learned about the crushing defeat of one of the clans. Still, being the leader of the land and the village would mean he wouldn't need to seek approval from anyone. Nor would he need to worry about something pushing something on him he did not want.

Ernie got up and looked back before shaking his head once. Opening the door he saw two women staring at him.

Both of them blinked and Ernie did the same.

Smiling, he hugged them both.