บท 149: Ch149. Harima Village 2
Tsunade, wearing a blank white mask, suddenly appeared behind Kazuto who suddenly found something grabbing his shoulder and pressing him down with massive force, causing him to fall on his knees.
With an abrupt twist of her fingers, Tsunade snapped his collar bone, making him scream and attempt to trash but her grip was too strong for Kazuto to break free. She saw the silent and verbal interaction between him and the barely fifteen-year-old frightened and underfed Uzumaki girl and she didn't like the conclusion of her findings at all.
Tsunade expected the Uzumaki family not to have a very easy or nice life since Rei chose the village for recruitment, which meant the living conditions must be frankly a wholesale shit but to think the entire village would be abused by ninjas of their own country? That was unthinkable.
Not even one of the big five would dare to do a stunt like this openly. Sure, they do a lot of nasty business, sometimes even massacre is involved but ongoing abuse against civilians is something that would make their clientele drop faster than a meteorite if it was known. Poverty was widespread... but bullying of the populace was something only bandits did. Not to mention the shitstorm the Daimyo would cause if it reached his ears. There would simply be a hell to pay.
"Treating an Uzumaki like shit in front of me... you must have balls of steel!" Tsunade quietly said in a dark tone, causing the people around to get chills. "Let's put them to a test, then."
Kazuto suddenly found his field of vision shifting into the blue sky as he was flipped back. Brief pain impacted his senses when his back roughly met the ground before he was even capable to register what was happening. And then... white searing hot pain overwhelmed him, causing his vision to go blur. He wanted to scream, thrash around, curse, but his mind was completely numb from pain, unable to think about anything else, and his body was paralyzed.
Tsunade gritted her teeth as she noticed Kazuto fainting and lifted her foot from the bloody fleshy bony mush that was previously Kazuto's crotch. "Looks like your balls were not made of steel, after all." She derisively snorted and every man in the vicinity, even Rei, suddenly had an overwhelming urge to ascertain their important bits are alright and as far away from Tsunade as possible.
"You know... not even steel could withstand your stomp." Konan's voice snapped many Kusa ninjas out of their reverie but it was too late. Every single one of them who were close to the kneeling villagers found their heads took a short trip towards the ground as Konan's razor-sharp spinning paper disks cleaved through their necks so fast, they didn't even notice when they died.
Tsunade just rolled her eyes and turned towards the ninjas further away from the villagers but Rei had it already solved. He didn't use anything extraordinary. Just hundreds of ten-centimeter long water needles skewing the twenty or so remaining Kusa ninjas and the job was done.
In the end, the ninjas stationed in the Harima Village were at best high genins ability-wise. The so-called failures who were unfit to do anything else due to their bad personality and low talent. It would be an embarrassment if Rei, Konan, and Tsunade couldn't finish them in under five seconds.
Rei steadily walked towards the crowd of kneeling, and now scared, villagers, stopping only when he was five meters away from them. Every single pair of eyes were on him, showing fear and anxiety. After all, they did just see him and his companions slaughter their 'protectors'.
'Fear? That's fine. Anxiety? Also understandable... But it is that small hope in their gazes that makes me assured we won't have to do much work to persuade them.' Rei thought as a satisfied smirk appeared on his face.
"Hello everyone, we came with an offer you just can't turn down..."
...
The talks were finally finished.
The villagers jumped at the offer of relocation and a chance at a new and better life almost instantly, only a few older ones had a few questions that Rei readily answered to ease their worries.
Needless to say, he also explained what exactly he wanted in return, and that was for them to learn and improve before entering his service. After all, this was a business deal, not a charity and he made sure they understood that part.
Rei was willing to provide better life and education but the villagers would be expected to join Uzushio Trading Company, UTC in short, and strive to make the company and the Uzushio better.
"Well then, time to go." Rei clapped his hands and activated a seal he left on the edge of the square. Instantly, an oval-like portal appeared in the air a bit above the seals. "This is a portal that will get you to Uzushio and apply the Secrecy Seal we talked about before." Rei gestured towards it.
The secrecy seal was what Rei decided to use as a security measure. It was placed via chakra on the heart of the recipient, meaning removing it with any currently available means would be impossible to survive.
The seal basically prevented the recipient from disclosing vital information about Uzushio and not to be so totally totalitarian, Rei even added a function that would improve physical health, fitness, and even brain a bit through circulating their latent chakra. With that, no common bandit would be able to pose a threat to his new workforce after their bodies get a bit of time to adjust and they pass some rudimentary training!
The villagers started going through the portal under Konan's supervision and Rei walked towards the corner of the square where Tsunade was talking with the Uzumaki family.
"How is the family meeting going?" Rei asked jovially, causing all four of them to turn towards him.
"Fine," Tsunade smiled, no longer wearing her mask, "Uzushiogakure apparently started evacuating civilians the second they heard about the invasion. Kara and Kentaro were members of one of the groups that succeeded to run away." She offhandedly pointed towards the two older people.
"Hello," Kentaro sheepishly smiled, not knowing how to act towards Rei who nodded at him.
"I gather you heard my offer." Rei stated, crossing his arms under his chest.
"Yes. We would like to join." Kara started after pinching her husband silent. The poor man looked like a kicked puppy. "I must admit, we ended up here because we were afraid of being discovered. When we came, this was just a quiet rural village far away in the countryside and it was only ten years ago it all changed and nobody was allowed to leave anymore." She sighed but her eyes were warily looking at Rei.
"You will be allowed to leave from Uzushio but the seal will prevent you from talking about it. After all, I plan to make it a merchant town so being isolated is a big no-no." Rei explained with a smile.
"Fine... It will be better for our daughter and grandchild anyway," Kara sullenly relented. She knew their chances to survive would be nil if she refused. "Not like we could get an education and a good earning job offer for us anywhere else."
Rei could see both Kara and Kentaro were hanging on the last thread of hope. If the new Uzushio treated them badly, it would probably crush their spirit. He chose to give them one last reassurance.
"Ah, don't worry. Tsunade is somewhat of a family with you and she would beat me up if I didn't treat you well." Rei laughed, gesturing to the woman who was chattering the time away with Kaya a bit away from them while also giving the young pregnant girl a quick medical check-up.
It didn't take long for the Uzumaki family alongside the other villagers to leave through the portal and Tsunade rejoined Konan and Rei.
"So... portal? That's the first time I am seeing it." She hummed.
"Well, dear," Rei snaked his hand around her waist and pulled her closer, "You are not the only one who improved. My clones are non-stop researching new seals. This one will be a good way for our future most trusted merchants and ninjas to go around the Elemental Nations without anyone being able to intercept them. The problem is only the means to keep it all secret for a long period of time."
"Hence, the Secrecy Seal." Konan added.
"Hence, the Secrecy Seal." Rei nodded, his cocky smile getting wider and wider. "Don't worry, for our future ninjas I have a better version in the process of making. No matter what, I will make the first really hidden village in the Elemental Nations."
"So? What about him?" Konan pointed at the only alive resident of the village except for them.
"Ah?" Tsunade turned her head towards the fainted form of Kazuto, her lips twisting into a scowl, "Just leave him there. If he survives, living with such an injury will be hell and if he dies, it would take a few days of hell anyway."
Both Rei and Konan nodded, turning back towards the portal and walking through it.
The second the portal closed… the fields of poisonous plants suddenly flared up in fire… there was no need for Rei to leave the last batch of them available for Kusagakure, now, was there?
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