The familiar lottery wheel once again surfaced in his mind.
[D-rank reward 40%, C-rank reward 50%, B-rank reward 10%]
The wheel spun several rounds before slowly coming to a stop.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining a C-rank reward: C-rank Ninjutsu, Fire Release: Ash Concealment]
Everything related to this Ninjutsu—hand seals, Chakra flow, practical combat experience—flooded into Gento's memory, as if he had already mastered it for many years.
Right after, the system's voice rang out again:
[Ding! Main Quest issued: Blood for Blood]
⟩ Mission Description: The Hidden Sand Village ninjas have brought severe disaster upon the Land of Fire. It is time to make them pay; plunder five towns of the Land of Wind.
⟩ Mission Reward: Draw Chance ×1.
Gento stared at the mission description and fell into deep thought.
Logically speaking, the Hidden Sand Village's invasion had already suffered heavy losses and would be unable to attack again in the short term.
If they returned to the village now, what awaited them would be the cheers of the villagers and rewards from the Hokage-sama. Each clan would also receive generous compensation based on their war merits; everyone would benefit.
Yet, would these merits be enough to push him into the position of head of the Uchiha clan?
Probably… still a little lacking.
"Plunder the Land of Wind's towns, huh?"
He murmured.
"It's not impossible."
He stood up and walked toward the troops who were currently resting.
When the shinobi saw the Commander-in-Chief arrive, they immediately stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to him.
"The Hidden Sand Village's forces have suffered heavy casualties. There is practically no defensive strength left along the Land of Wind's border.
"Since the Land of Wind wished to bring suffering to our Land of Fire, we will return it with even greater cruelty!
"Everyone, follow me! Into the Land of Wind!"
"Kill!!!"
Amid furious roars, the troops set off in full formation, crossing the border and entering the Land of Rivers between the two nations.
This small country without a ninja village, when faced with the passing Hidden Leaf shinobi, could only bow their heads in silence and make way, just as they had done with the Hidden Sand Village in the past.
Three days later, the border of the Land of Wind was within sight.
Looking at the defenseless town ahead, Gento raised his hand expressionlessly.
"Do it. However, the Hidden Sand Village mistreated our civilians; we will treat them the same way."
The Leaf shinobi surged toward the town like wolves and tigers.
Crying and shattering sounds quickly followed.
Watching how practiced his own shinobi were, Gento did not feel surprised.
In this era, hatred and plunder had long become the norm, especially when the other side had been the one to start the war.
Thus, Gento's objective was clear: they must make the enemy feel twice the pain!
Suddenly, Gento's gaze shifted.
He saw Shisui walking toward him.
"Commander-in-Chief!"
Gento waved his hand.
"No need to be so formal. Just call me Gento."
"Yes! Commander-in-Chief!"
Gento felt somewhat speechless, so he asked directly:
"Aren't you going to take part in the plundering? This is much faster than earning money through missions."
Shisui did not answer. He looked at their comrades looting throughout the town.
After a moment of silence, he spoke:
"Letting them plunder like this… is it really appropriate?"
"Hah, what's inappropriate about it?"
Gento turned his head.
"The Hidden Sand Village struck first. We're merely returning what they've done to us."
Hearing Gento's response, Shisui did not seem satisfied and continued asking:
"But if this cycle of vengeance continues, will the war ever truly end?"
"It won't."
Gento answered without hesitation.
"But as long as Leaf remains weak, the enemy will believe that invading the Land of Fire comes without cost. In that case, the war will never end either."
Shisui revealed a thoughtful expression and said nothing more.
About an hour later, the town had been thoroughly looted.
A rough estimate placed the total wealth gained at around one hundred million Ryo.
"The Land of Wind really is poor."
Gento scoffed lightly and waved his hand.
"Next town. Continue!"
"Ohhh!"
Having tasted the benefits, the shinobi responded excitedly.
This kind of risk-free plundering was far more profitable than taking missions.
After all, the enemy nation had not formed any effective resistance.
As for those ordinary soldiers and samurai, in front of powerful shinobi, they didn't even need to use Ninjutsu!
Thereafter, it continued: The second town, third town, fourth…
---
Four towns in succession were swept clean.
The wealth carried by the troops grew more and more, and smiles filled everyone's faces.
Until the fifth target appeared before them.
What lay ahead was not a town, but a fairly large city.
"Scorpion City…"
Looking at the city ahead, Gento knew that this place would certainly have a certain level of defensive strength.
Of course, it still wouldn't pose too great a threat to his shinobi forces.
Even so, for the sake of caution, Gento still ordered everyone to rest for a while.
After all, continuous travel and plundering, even with physiques stronger than ordinary people, would still lead to fatigue.
He ordered the distribution of Special Soldier Pills and had everyone rest on the spot for two hours.
Two hours later, they would attack Scorpion City!
…
Meanwhile, inside Scorpion City.
"My lord! This is bad! A large number of Hidden Leaf shinobi have appeared outside the city!"
A Hidden Sand shinobi rushed into the hall in a panic, shouting toward the person seated above.
That person was none other than Satetsu, who had escaped back from the Land of Fire.
Over the past few days, he had barely gathered a little over two hundred remnants, yet he still did not dare return to the village.
Out of an army of a thousand, nearly eighty percent had been lost… he had no idea how to explain this to the village.
And now, he had unexpectedly received news that Hidden Leaf shinobi had invaded the Land of Wind!
"Those damn Leaf shinobi! How dare they!"
Satetsu said viciously.
In his view, it had always been the Hidden Sand Village invading other nations.
Since the Third Great Shinobi War, when had the Land of Wind ever been invaded by another country?
"This is outrageous!"
Satetsu ground his teeth in anger.
However, considering that he now only had just over two hundred shinobi under his command, he also felt a headache coming on.
"Send five envoys to negotiate with them."
Satetsu finally gave the order.
"Take a hard stance and probe their strength. The Hidden Leaf is fighting on multiple fronts; they may not dare to truly fall out with us."
---
"Gento-sama, five Hidden Sand shinobi have arrived outside!"
Gento was somewhat surprised upon hearing the report.
"Oh? Instead of hiding from us, they actually dare to come knocking?"
"Did they say what they came for?"
"No. These Hidden Sand shinobi are extremely arrogant. They insist on only speaking after meeting the Commander-in-Chief."
Gento thought briefly, then nodded.
"Bring them to see me."
Before long, five Hidden Sand shinobi were led over by the Hidden Leaf shinobi.
The one in the lead was tall and thin, with an arrogant demeanor. When his gaze swept over Gento, it even carried a trace of contempt.
"So you're the leader of the Hidden Leaf shinobi?"
Gento looked at him calmly and did not respond.
The man didn't mind and continued in a lecturing tone:
"You of the Hidden Leaf have invaded the Land of Wind without cause, plundering towns.
"By order of Commander Satetsu of the Hidden Sand, I demand that you immediately withdraw from our borders and issue a formal apology to the Land of Wind. If you do so, the Hidden Sand may consider not pursuing the matter further."
The expressions of the surrounding Hidden Leaf shinobi darkened.
Gento, on the other hand, let out a cold laugh.
"Demand? Apologize? If I remember correctly, it was the Hidden Sand who first invaded the Land of Fire and slaughtered civilians, wasn't it?"
"How can that be the same!"
The tall, thin shinobi raised his voice.
"The Hidden Sand's actions were a strategic advance targeting the Hidden Leaf's military objectives, while what you're doing now is barbaric conduct against the Land of Wind!
"The Hidden Leaf is currently dealing with the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Mist fronts simultaneously. If you add the Hidden Sand's full retaliation on top of that, can you really bear the consequences? Withdrawing now is giving you a way out!"
"I see…"
Gento nodded, as if in thought.
"So, you're here to beg our Hidden Leaf to withdraw?"
The other party frowned upon hearing this.
"What do you mean by beg? This is a negotiation!"
Gento smiled, then continued:
"Alright, alright. If you say it's a negotiation, then it's a negotiation. So what are the terms?"
The opposing shinobi rolled his eyes, then said:
"Well, the terms are simple.
"Hand over all the wealth you've plundered in the Land of Wind, and our Hidden Sand Village will not pursue the matter further!"
Gento's gaze turned cold as he nodded.
"So, this is your attitude for negotiations?"
...
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