Help who?
With Linto's fighting record so far, what help could she possibly offer?
However, Konan knew that wasn't what Nagato was asking.
He was asking about her "position."
Konan said seriously, "Nagato, you will always be my family."
Nagato nodded slightly.
"Then there's nothing in the world that I need to fear. As for your question..."
"I have no intention of being enemies with Linto. We are all walking our own paths, trying to change this world.
I respect his ideals."
"It's just that Linto has an optimistic view of the world, believing that it will get better and better with pushing.
I remain pessimistic, believing that only enough pain and pressure can lead people to a different level of 'awakening.'"
"But…"
Konan said, "As long as you continue down your respective paths, you will eventually meet on opposite sides."
One wants to overturn the world, creating a new world as beautiful as a dream.
One wants to make the world fear, using force to deter evil and make the existing order run better.
As the two grow, conflict is inevitable.
"If we really reach that point…"
Nagato said, "I can only kill him."
Konan opened her mouth, wanting to say something but stopping.
"I know what you're thinking. A body so strong it's almost immortal, so many strange abilities, and so many strong people standing by his side… you think I can't do it."
Nagato shook his head. "But Konan, don't forget, killing someone is another matter."
"For a simple example, I once heard Orochimaru say that Konoha has a technique called 'Dead Demon Consuming Seal' that can kill both the user and the enemy."
"Getting the 'Dead Demon Consuming Seal' isn't hard, right?"
Konan thought for a moment and nodded.
Whether it's using money to exchange with the Land of Fire or bribing Konoha ninjas to steal it, with Nagato's methods, he can always find a way to get it.
"You plan to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal for a one-for-one exchange with Linto?"
"Not me, the Five Great Nations."
Nagato raised his hand, and a tiny gravitational black ball appeared in his palm.
"I just need to ask the Five Great Nations for forty or fifty jonin-level ninjas, spend three or four months learning the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and even if only dozens of people learn it, it's enough."
Nagato's Chibaku Tensei can trap Linto, but its killing power is insufficient.
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal can bypass Linto's tough body and seal his soul, but it requires the target to be stationary.
Combining the two can indeed achieve strong control and sealing.
"Of course, this is theoretically."
Nagato said, "But as long as the theory exists, there is a possibility of it becoming real.
If I've learned anything from Linto, it's that humans have limits. Even the strongest person cannot be called 'invincible.'"
"I only hope that day comes later rather than sooner."
…
After the Water Garden Festival, Oda Ieyasu and his samurai forces were working around the clock.
Linto had told Oda Ieyasu not to do assassinations.
But that doesn't mean people won't die; it just means that the methods and reasons for killing become open and justifiable.
Someone must be held responsible for the Water Garden Festival riots.
Saito Ayame's life alone is not enough.
Linto did not participate in the reckoning.
He doesn't like death, even if the other party is the enemy.
After the handover work with the Kirigakure civil servants was completed, Linto bid farewell to Oda Ieyasu and Hideyoshi, and the group set off on their return journey.
It was still the same group of people, the same convoy, but their mood was completely different from when they came.
Linto rode on horseback, looking back at the walls of Kyoto city one last time.
"Let's go."
He waved the reins, and the horse slowly moved forward.
The return journey was peaceful. When they passed Yuma County again, County Chief Shirokawa was still smiling and standing by the roadside, holding a freshly baked dorayaki in his hand. Combined with his round belly, if his skin were painted blue, he would look exactly like Doraemon.
"Lord Linto, you taught me a lesson," said County Chief Shirokawa.
"What do you mean?" Linto asked.
County Chief Shirokawa said, "I've been wondering, who between you and the Daimyo will win this world, but I never expected that you two would win together."
Linto recalled the twists and turns of that night at the Water Garden Festival, and seeing the admiration in County Chief Shirokawa's eyes mixed with cunning and calculation, he realized that the man had misunderstood, thinking it was all a plan laid out by Linto.
However, the matter in the middle was too complicated, and Linto had no intention of explaining it to County Chief Shirokawa in detail. Looking back at the relatively prosperous Yuma County, and thinking about the other party's consideration for his subordinates, he pondered for a moment and asked:
"County Chief Shirokawa, would you like to—"
"No!"
County Chief Shirokawa raised his hand, as if frightened, and clasped his hands together, saying, "Please spare me. I'm forty-five this year, and my biggest dream is to be a small county chief, eating and drinking every day, and waiting to die in peace."
In other words, he didn't want to get involved in Linto's "great affairs."
Linto nodded and then smiled.
"Alright."
Everyone has their own ambitions, and it can't be forced.
Zabuza in the distance gave Linto a hand signal, indicating that the convoy had been inspected and repaired and was ready to depart.
Linto stood up and extended his hand to County Chief Shirokawa.
"Goodbye."
County Chief Shirokawa wiped the grease on his hands on his clothes, grasped Linto's hands with both hands, and bowed his head, saying, "Take care, come visit often if you have time."
After Linto and his party left, County Chief Shirokawa sat on the side of the street, carefully finishing the dorayaki in his hand, not wasting a single crumb, and licking every one of his fingers clean.
The county chief's wife, who came over and saw this scene, asked, "Are you not full? Shall I bake two more?"
County Chief Shirokawa waved his hand.
He was full.
He just felt that there wouldn't be many opportunities to enjoy delicious food like this in the future.
"Notify everyone in the county to store as much grain as possible. If there are merchants from other places, buy as much grain as possible. Also, hire some more wandering samurai."
County Chief Shirokawa narrowed his eyes, looking in the direction Linto left, and sighed, saying:
"The Land of Water… is about to become chaotic."
County Chief Shirokawa's political instincts were very sharp.
The plan formulated by Oda Ieyasu and Linto would inevitably harm the interests of the financial groups when implemented, and would trigger corresponding reactions.
First of all, at the financial group level.
They were worried that Linto would use decapitation tactics, breaking things up into smaller pieces, infinitely detailing power and capital, and hiding them all in nooks and crannies.
They even hoped that Linto would do nothing all day, just chase and kill them everywhere, maybe Linto's speed of killing people couldn't keep up with their speed of choosing successors.
Secondly, there were the middle and lower-level enterprises, the factories all over the country.
They felt that the Daimyo's policies damaged their interests and caused conflicts with the local officials.
The financial groups outside the Land of Water were worried that Linto would really succeed. Once there was a breakthrough from 0 to 1, things would really become troublesome.
So, they secretly gave the opposition organizations in the Land of Water funds, ninjutsu, and equipment support, to let them cause wars and riots, to let the people of the Land of Water see that everything was because of Linto.
Not long after the Water Garden Festival ended, unrest occurred in various parts of the Land of Water.
People from the financial groups, bandits trying to fish in troubled waters, swordsmen wanting to make a name for themselves, rogue ninjas from other villages… The Land of Water seemed to have returned to the era of the Bloody Mist Village.
Linto and Oda Ieyasu had anticipated this when they discussed it.
Pain was inevitable.
This was already under the circumstances that Oda Ieyasu had used his skills to suppress most of the resistance.
Even today, Oda Ieyasu was still planning and negotiating day and night. In less than a month, a lot of white hair had appeared on his temples, and he had lost a lot of weight. Fortunately, his eyes were still bright.
Of course, Linto was not idle either. He and the Kirigakure ninjas were on the front lines, suppressing the riots and reducing civilian casualties.
As a result, in the later stages, whenever they saw golden flames burning in the sky or heard the rolling thunder echoing in their ears, the enemies would be so frightened that they would drop their weapons and beg for mercy.
One day, Linto defeated an armed raid and returned to his Kirigakure office, holding a notebook in his hand. Everything that was happening was proceeding as they had predicted.
The enemies' counterattacks would become more and more fierce. After reaching the critical value and finding that they could not stop the revolution, the financial groups of other countries would naturally no longer waste money on meaningless things.
Moreover, the financial groups were not monolithic.
Where there were people at the top, there were naturally people being oppressed at the bottom. The easiest way for the people at the bottom to get rid of the oppression was to get on Linto's icebreaker ship.
Small and medium-sized financial groups and warlords joined the camp one after another.
As for whether they were sincere or just trying to play tricks… After everything settled down, Linto would visit them one by one with White Snake.
"With this ebb and flow, there is still a month until the estimated critical value, but this month will be a bit difficult for ordinary people living in the Land of Water."
Linto sighed softly and closed the notebook.
Knock knock.
A knock on the door came.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and Kohaku walked in.
"Lord Linto, I would like to request something."
"Go ahead."
"I want to… form a legion."
---
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