Chapter 403: Constitutional Monarchy?
Hearing Amamiya Kenichi's words, a trace of confusion appeared in Zabuza's eyes.
His purpose in life had been to kill Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage who had started the Bloody Mist policy. Yet he had never expected that the Mizukage would already be dead by the hand of the ninja standing before him.
Not only that, but all of Hidden Mist Village had been destroyed.
Zabuza had not found a single survivor there. For some reason, merely approaching the area had made his body feel deeply uncomfortable, so he had not stayed long. He had soon left with Haku.
"Do you want to work for me?" Amamiya Kenichi asked.
For once, he extended an olive branch.
Was Zabuza strong? That was hard to say.
Although Zabuza was an S-rank rogue ninja and a Jonin, his first appearance had not conveyed an overwhelming sense of pressure. This was probably related to Kishimoto's early settings. At that time, Zabuza had only used a few Ninjutsu, and even his Water Clone had been broken by newly graduated Genin.
Although Sasuke had already begun walking the path of cheating, his strength at that point was indeed very ordinary. Naruto and Sasuke had not truly started using their cheats when they broke the Water Clone.
It was clear that Zabuza's strength then had been relatively low. He had even been hit by kunai and shuriken. However, Jonin in the later stages of Naruto had explosive combat power, which was probably why Zabuza had been strengthened after being brought back through Edo Tensei.
There was no helping it. The settings between the early and later parts of Naruto had clear inconsistencies. After too many patches, some characters naturally became clowns, such as the Third Hokage.
"...I don't seem to have the ability to refuse." Zabuza licked his lips.
Although he was a rogue ninja, the most important thing for a rogue ninja who wanted to survive in this world was knowing when to bow his head.
Zabuza did not know exactly how terrifyingly strong the man before him was.
But he only needed to know one thing.
The other party was stronger than him. Much stronger.
"Very good. You..." Amamiya Kenichi looked at Zabuza.
His strength seemed suitable only for becoming a member of the ninja forces. As for Haku, Amamiya Kenichi decided to assign him to the Medical Ninja unit.
However, that would likely make Haku uneasy, since Haku possessed deep loyalty toward Zabuza.
Amamiya Kenichi was also curious. Now that their destinies had been changed, what path would these two take? What would their final outcome become?
"You and Haku should go to this place to register. From now on, you will serve as one of the protectors," Amamiya Kenichi decided.
Medical Ninja generally had decent combat ability, since Medical Ninjutsu required precise Chakra control. Even so, he still planned to form a unit specifically responsible for protecting Medical Ninja, maximizing the safety of the injured.
"Understood." Zabuza nodded.
Amamiya Kenichi glanced at him, then took out two parasite pills he had made earlier and handed them to Zabuza and Haku.
"Eat them. Once you do, you will gain my trust," Amamiya Kenichi said in a tone that allowed no refusal.
Zabuza's expression darkened.
Was this some kind of poison? Something meant to control him and Haku?
But when under someone else's roof, one had to lower one's head.
Zabuza still swallowed the parasite egg Amamiya Kenichi had given him. Seeing Zabuza take it, Haku swallowed his own without hesitation as well.
Amamiya Kenichi smiled.
What he gave Zabuza and Haku were advanced parasite eggs. These eggs had the highest autonomy and could provide the greatest assistance to ninja, even allowing them to attempt Sage Mode to a certain extent.
However, the yield was not high. So far, he had only given them to very few people.
Giving them to Zabuza and Haku was merely a way to pay for the memories he had of them from the past.
"Don't worry. You'll like this thing," Amamiya Kenichi said with a smile.
Advanced parasite eggs could help the host greatly. Apart from ensuring one hundred percent loyalty to him, there were no drawbacks.
But in the Ninja World, loyalty was both the cheapest and most expensive commodity.
Zabuza's expression still looked unpleasant, but he said nothing.
Amamiya Kenichi had no intention of explaining. They would understand in the future.
After Amamiya Kenichi left, Zabuza's expression shifted several times.
He checked his body and found nothing abnormal. Then he glanced at Haku and gave up.
Although Haku was kind-hearted and possessed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, his strength was very ordinary, and he had not learned any Medical Ninjutsu. Naturally, he could not help Zabuza examine the problem.
"Let's go." Zabuza sighed.
He had considered escaping. What if the other party had only given him some kind of sugar pill?
But when he remembered that the other party could casually flatten the entire Hidden Mist Village, Zabuza abandoned the idea.
Amamiya Kenichi did not track Haku and Zabuza.
If those two ran away, it did not matter.
They were insignificant characters who would not affect the overall situation. They had not even reached their destined moments of glory, nor had they met Naruto, so they had no special significance for now.
"The detection device found two ore deposits? That's good news."
Amamiya Kenichi raised an eyebrow in surprise.
He had just received memories transmitted back from a Shadow Clone that had dispersed on its own. That Shadow Clone had successfully found two ore deposits while searching for uranium ore.
Both locations were in the Land of Water, and the closer one was only a short distance from the capital.
"Then the pace needs to be accelerated. I need to make the second atomic bomb as soon as possible so I'll have enough confidence to face the possible Ninja Allied Forces."
Amamiya Kenichi twisted his neck, then returned to the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Water and issued a mining order.
After the order was given, the ninja controlled by Amamiya Kenichi voluntarily set out.
Amamiya Kenichi watched these ninja affected by his parasites. Their bodies looked fine, but he knew that after prolonged uranium mining, their bodies had already undergone subtle changes.
"When I drew blood for testing earlier, these ninja had reduced white blood cell counts. Was it caused by radiation exposure? I wonder what will happen after this mining operation ends."
Amamiya Kenichi twisted his neck, then carried a tube of parasite eggs to a side room in the Daimyo's mansion.
He pushed open the door.
The Daimyo of the Land of Water appeared before Amamiya Kenichi. The man was stamping documents with a grim expression.
"It seems you're not convinced?" Amamiya Kenichi waved his hand, dismissing the two ninja who had been about to salute him. He then looked at the Daimyo before him and asked calmly.
The Daimyo said nothing.
That made Amamiya Kenichi want to laugh.
He truly did not understand where this Daimyo found the confidence to put on such an arrogant display in front of him.
The Daimyo was not a ninja.
Amamiya Kenichi had confirmed that. The Daimyo before him was just an ordinary person, one whose body was well maintained, but there was nothing special about him.
There was no need to compare him to Konoha's ninja. Even compared to Hidden Mist ninja, the Daimyo before him could only be considered a weakling.
Amamiya Kenichi casually walked over and kicked the Daimyo to the ground.
He had already held back a great deal of strength. During this period, he had been wearing heavy weights while training for the Eight Gates.
Even so, Amamiya Kenichi still underestimated the Daimyo's physical condition.
Looking at the Daimyo, whose chest had caved in and who was coughing up blood, Amamiya Kenichi's mouth twitched.
He could only helplessly use Medical Ninjutsu to treat the Daimyo's injuries.
Unfortunately, that action seemed to cause the Daimyo to misunderstand something.
"If you want to become Mizukage, you must have my support!" the Daimyo coughed. The smell of blood surged up with every cough, pungent and unpleasant.
Amamiya Kenichi looked at the Daimyo with a strange expression.
He was now a little curious whether this person had something wrong with his brain. Otherwise, how could he dare say such words?
However, considering the creative background of Naruto, Amamiya Kenichi was not too surprised.
After all, in his previous life, a certain country had implemented a constitutional monarchy, preserving the symbol of the monarch. Therefore, it was not strange for the Daimyo, an ordinary person in Naruto, to have such a status.
"It seems I'll let you sleep forever after you reveal your secrets."
Amamiya Kenichi shoved the reagent in his hand into the Daimyo's mouth.
"What did you feed me?!" The Daimyo stared at Amamiya Kenichi in horror.
He felt as though he had drunk something, but after swallowing it, there was no special sensation. That terrified him even more, because the greatest fear often came from the unknown.
Amamiya Kenichi folded his arms and looked at the Daimyo.
He was not in a hurry.
His silence made the Daimyo increasingly uneasy. The Daimyo tried to induce vomiting by clawing at his throat, but it was useless. After entering his body, the parasite eggs had already burrowed into his blood vessels.
The Daimyo also tried to call for help from his servants.
But at this moment, there were no servants left in the Daimyo's mansion.
Even the ninja responsible for protecting the Daimyo were all lying in the laboratory, receiving Amamiya Kenichi's blessing.
Amamiya Kenichi paused for a moment.
He subconsciously glanced out the window, then withdrew his gaze.
"Please, what exactly do you want to do?!" The Daimyo lost all trace of his previous arrogance.
He cried and begged, tears and snot running down his face as he clutched Amamiya Kenichi's leg.
Originally, he had thought Hidden Mist Village would learn of this and send people over. But he had never expected that even now, Hidden Mist Village still had not made any move.
Amamiya Kenichi yawned, then kicked the Daimyo away from his feet.
He propped up his chin and watched with interest as the Daimyo begged and wailed before him.
A moment later, however, he lost interest.
Because the Daimyo had become incontinent.
With a dark expression, Amamiya Kenichi had his subordinates come in to clean up the mess. Meanwhile, he patiently waited for the parasites to climb up the Daimyo's spinal cord before beginning his questioning.
"Do you have any agreements with the Daimyo of the other four Great Nations?" Amamiya Kenichi asked.
"No," the Daimyo answered blankly, shaking his head.
"Then, given the current situation in the Land of Water, what reaction do you think the Daimyo of the other countries will have?" Amamiya Kenichi asked with interest.
This was the question he was most curious about.
If the Daimyo of these countries were not fools and understood the principle of mutual dependence, then Amamiya Kenichi's next step would face certain obstacles.
"I don't know. But if another country suffered such a destructive attack, I would probably probe them first and see whether the other side had the qualifications to occupy it. If they didn't have enough strength, then we would divide it among ourselves."
The Daimyo of the Land of Water had no resistance to the parasites.
He honestly stated everything he knew.
Amamiya Kenichi stroked his chin.
The Daimyo of the other countries might not think the same way as the Daimyo of the Land of Water, but this proved that the private connections among these Daimyo were not that close.
Amamiya Kenichi believed that the Daimyo possessing such status in this superhuman world was a problem with the author's own setting.
That was why the Daimyo held such a nominally exalted position.
If that was the case, then this was much easier to handle.
However, looking at the Daimyo controlled by the parasites before him, Amamiya Kenichi hesitated for a moment before deciding not to kill him directly.
Instead, he let the man continue his daily stamping work.
"I thought you'd kill him."
Orochimaru emerged from the nearby shadows.
Amamiya Kenichi's mouth twitched.
He had already sensed his teacher's presence, and his teacher had not intended to hide it in the first place.
"This world, this country, is already sick." Amamiya Kenichi shook his head.
"Killing him now would be simple, but it wouldn't be easy for me to maintain stability in the Land of Water. I need his existence to keep the Land of Water relatively stable. Once certain policies are gradually implemented, then it will be time for a public trial."
Amamiya Kenichi glanced at the blank-faced Daimyo.
After a war, stabilization was naturally necessary.
A chaotic Land of Water would be detrimental to Amamiya Kenichi's rule. Moreover, the Daimyo's exalted status in this world meant that abolishing him at will would not be easy.
This world was not like Amamiya Kenichi's previous life.
The people in his previous life had experienced an explosion of information and held more complicated views toward monarchs. But this world was different.
To the common people of this country, the Daimyo was the absolute king.
Therefore, Amamiya Kenichi could not kill him directly.
He needed to subtly change and reverse that belief first. Only then could he hang the Daimyo from a lamppost.
The attack on Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water had gone more smoothly than he expected, so smoothly that Amamiya Kenichi had not even had time to tell Nagato.
Amamiya Kenichi had considered involving Nagato before, but ever since Nagato's last meeting, Amamiya Kenichi knew Black Zetsu was likely near Nagato during this period. Because of that, Amamiya Kenichi chose not to ask Nagato for help.
However, now that his attack on the Land of Water had been exposed, he was genuinely curious.
What would Obito and Black Zetsu think?
.....
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