บท 19: Small army

The next day Mizuna decided to call all the mercenaries and the Hyugas to his residence

The group of shinobi, dressed in their traditional attire, stood quietly in the training ground, their eyes fixed on Mizuna as they awaited his next order. The air was thick with tension and anticipation

As Mizuna gazed out at the sea of focused faces, his sense of pride and accomplishment swelled within him. He had spent countless hours enslaving them, and now, as he stood before the gathered shinobi, he felt a deep sense of fulfilment wash over him.

'although they are still small in numbers, I now have an army'

"Haha! Hey little twerp, why are you smiling like an Idiot?"

Hiyori, Kimi, the Hyugas, the Senjus, and Pakura laughed at Kimi's remark after seeing Mizuna's expression

"come on Aunt Kimi aren't you feeling a bit proud yourself? You, along with the others also helped me gather them all" Mizuna said with a teasing smile

"Y-yeah I guess I'm feeling a bit proud of our accomplishment" she said while blushing and averting his haze. He then looked at Miss Jonin and asked

"did you succeed at buying the houses around us?" She nodded and said "Yes lord, However, we are now lacking in Ryo to pay them their salaries"

Mizuna's bright smile suddenly froze on his face as he listened to the words Miss Jonin said, his eyes widening in shock as the reality of their financial situation sunk in.

He had been so focused on increasing the number of his slaves he had completely forgotten about the group's dwindling funds, and now it seemed that they were left with nothing. The usually stoic Shinobi's face fell, his mind racing with the implications of their sudden financial crisis.

"Hahaha!" Kimi laughed out loud while the other shinobis beside him tried to hold back their laughter including Hiyori

"I don't want to be you, little twerp, you now have so many mouths to feed"

"You can ask your Grandparents and uncle for some Ryo son"

"Why don't we go to the Noble's villa and get the Ryo we need from him"

Mizuna shook his head and said "That's not a long-term solution Mother, the Hyugas might become suspicious and investigate where we are spending the money"

He then looked at Hirabi and said "As for the noble, it's not a bad idea but it's also not a long-term plan, he'll run out of Ryo soon if we keep on depending on him" He then teased her a little by putting his hand on her cheeks. She became as red as a tomato and lowered her head "Y-you're r-right"

Hiyori who saw what he did to Hirabi thought that it was about time she looked for someone Mizuna would marry

"We also need to build an orphanage that the Senjus will manage"

The Senju looked at each other with confusion on their faces, Toka Senju then spoke "That is an excellent idea young lord of the Hyuga" with a warm smile "There a lot of orphans in this town alone, I'm sure some of them will be excellent shinobis in the future"

"eldest young lord, regarding the Ryo, I know the shinobis guarding the treasury of the village Hidden by the Sands, we can capture them and let them steal it for us"

"I agree with Pakiras plan young lord" Toka spoke up

Mizuna remained silent and then said with a faint smile "We will have a lot of things to do at the Land of Wind"

"I agree with both of you, we shall do that to raise the funds we need"

"Lady Toka, we shall take our leave, I'll leave the mercenaries under your care, use half of them to protect this residence and haft to gather the Senjus". Toka Senju nodded and smiled at him

"We will await your return young lord" The twin Senjus bowed they then looked at Hiyori and the others and said "Please return safely"

"Hyugas, return to Konohagakure and bring your families back here"

"Yes eldest young lord"

"Let's head out"

Their swift and silent movement left behind only a whisper of leaves rustling as if they had vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a lingering sense of their presence and the unspoken promise that they would reappear when least expected.

"come back soon"

Sometime later, Inside an office in the village of Kohonogakure

A girl sitting at her desk, surrounded by piles of paperwork, carefully filling out the forms with precision and attention to detail. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she worked through the complex documents, her pen moving steadily across the pages

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"Come in," She said

"It's been a while Koharu, I missed you," Mizuna said while smiling. The young Koharu was surprised to see Mizuna and blushed because of what he said then replied "Welcome back Mizuna" She then looked at his group and said "I'm glad you all made it back safely"

"let me prepare you some tea"

Koharu stood up and prepared tea for them. "it's bad out there". Koharu looked at Mizuna and asked, "What do you mean? The land of Rivers didn't join the war and have no conflict with other villages" then continued to prepare tea for five people

"The land of Wind shinobis are massacring the villages at the land of Rivers and using their corpses to make puppets for war"

Koharu dropped the teapot

*crack* *crack*

"Huh!? What did you say!?"

"I told you it's bad out there"

"Don't tell me you fought them?"

"I'll tell you some other time, first come closer, I have something important to ask of you"

Mizuna whispered to Koharu what his plan was, Kimi smirked at Koharu's reaction

Her eyes widened in disbelief, her face pale with shock, as she stared at the person in front of her, her mind racing with the implications of what she had just heard

"A-are you sure about it Mizuna?" Koharu asked in disbelief

"Don't worry about it, Just follow the plan"