248Honnoji IncidentAI Model: gemini-3.0-flashChapter 248: The Honno-ji Incident
The Tianming Organization discussed two matters at their first meeting.
Regarding the second matter, since they had Uzumaki Menma and Kakuzu as spies, there was no need for any preparation.
Based on Pain's invasion of Konoha in the original work, it was primarily a contest between Ninjas, not involving the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire.
The only one who might suffer is the Hidden Sand Village.
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To save the Sand Ninjas, the best way is to shift the battlefield.
The Akatsuki Organization's target is only Shukaku, not the Hidden Sand Village.
But there's no rush.
Nagato is still waiting for his tenth member to arrive.
Meanwhile, the first matter is imminent.
According to Naruto's plan, he would gather all the high nobles and great landlords of the Land of Fireand throw a "Hongmen Banquet."
Those who deserve to die will be killed.
Anyway, none of these people are innocent.
However, En Yui opposed such a radical approach.
The Metropolis of the Land of Fire.
Inside the magnificent palace.
There were only five people.
Naruto, Lord of Heavenless, En Yui, Zabuza, and Haku.
The reason there were so few people was that the others were quite busy.
Shion and Mui were managing a large group of people; the Land of Demons and the Land of Grasscouldn't do without them.
Sasori and Neji were busy researching souls.
Sasuke was among the wounded.
Hinata's personality wasn't suitable, plus she had to be assigned missions by Tsunade.
As for his own remaining "vests," there was no need to mention them.
Only Lord of Heavenless, the identity of the White Lotus Sect Leader, was specifically sent to help En Yui, so he was here.
Naruto suddenly felt that the Tianming Organization didn't have enough members.
He needed to add a few more.
"The prominent nobles in the Land of Fire have very extensive connections."
En Yui stated her reason, "The most troublesome point is the political marriages."
"Political marriages? You mean marriages with nobles outside the Land of Fire?"
Naruto understood what she was worried about as soon as he heard it.
Just like the chaotic European nobility of his past life, political marriages between each other were very common.
Kings were often relatives of other kings.
The Ninja World was similar.
The reason was simple.
Interests.
For example, if you were a Daimyo with several daughters, how would you consider their future?
It would be nothing more than two options.
Marrying them off to high-ranking ministers or to friendly nobles in neighboring countries.
This was the only way to get the maximum benefit.
To stabilize one's own position.
As for the daughters' own wishes, who cared?
"Exactly."
En Yui nodded and said, "Uprooting a major noble means being noticed by the relevant nobles of other countries. If we deal with all the nobles of the Land of Fire at once, it will inevitably trigger a massive shock in the Ninja World, and we will be surrounded by enemies on all sides."
"No one wants a massive nation that exterminates its nobility to emerge in the Ninja World."
Naruto lightly stroked his chin.
He had naturally anticipated this situation.
After receiving the Great Toad Sage's so-called prophecy, he understood.
Just like the 'Big Brother' of his past life.
Because of the completely different systems, war was inevitable in the early stages.
Unless neither side could destroy the other.
"We can only boil the frog in lukewarm water."
En Yui continued, having already formed a preliminary plan, "How about starting with the military?"
"The Oda Clan?"
Naruto remembered that the Oda Clan was the largest samurai group in the Land of Fire.
How prominent were they?
They controlled half of the six armies, which meant three of them.
Of course, there were even more private troops not included in the regular army.
They could easily pull off a 'The Emperor's seat rotates; next year it's my turn' act.
But unfortunately, Japan has its own national conditions.
Otherwise, a group of world-destroying Ninjas wouldn't obey the orders of Daimyos and nobles.
According to China's thinking, it would have long since become a free-for-all between sects, or an established Immortal Dynasty.
Mortals would only be sources of resources.
"Is there a guy named Oda Nobunaga in the Oda Clan?"
Naruto suddenly asked.
"It seems not."
En Yui recalled carefully and had no impression of him. She couldn't help but look puzzled and asked, "Why?"
"It's nothing. Go on with how you plan to deal with the Oda Clan."
Naruto waved his hand; he was just asking casually.
Mainly, mentioning the surname Oda made it impossible not to think of Oda Nobunaga.
One of the three great unifiers of Japan's Sengokuperiod.
Before ending the chaotic times and unifying the country, he died at Honno-ji.
This was the famous Honno-ji Incident.
This gave rise to the meme: 'The enemy is at Honno-ji.'
All in all, he was a quite famous figure.
Appearing in various games involving Japanese culture.
For example, FGO.
Although he lost his 'dick'.
"Wudi City was once besieged by the army, and many prisoners were converted into White Lotus Sect members after education. Later, when the White Lotus Sect disbanded, they returned to the military."
Speaking of this, En Yui couldn't help but admire the Sect Leader, Lord of Heavenless, who made this decision.
He had both courage and insight.
This was also why it was relatively easy for her to become the Daimyo later on.
It was just that Lord of Heavenless's reappearance a few days ago had given her a fright.
A literal ghost in broad daylight.
Fortunately, her teacher Merlin stepped in to explain, and since Lord of Heavenless had a precedent for returning from the dead, she eventually accepted the fact.
And after some contact, his knowledge was indeed so profound that he didn't seem like an impostor.
"In other words, there are White Lotus Sect spies within the three armies controlled by the Oda Clan; we can convert them from the inside."
En Yui looked at Lord of Heavenless, and seeing he had no objections, continued, "Most of the soldiers in the army are of commoner origin. If land is offered as the price, I imagine they will gladly accept."
In the feudal era, land was undoubtedly a ultimate weapon.
No matter who it was, everyone wanted to have their own small plot of land.
But unfortunately, land annexation was severe.
Commoners were merely laborers, and with heavy taxes, barely surviving was already a stroke of luck.
"Though it's a bit slow, it's steady and reliable."
Lord of Heavenless originally wanted to leave the stage to his main body, but as the Sect Leader and with En Yui watching him, he offered a brief comment.
Naruto fell into deep thought.
It really was too slow.
At this rate of encroachment, it would probably take a year or two.
By the time the reforms in the Land of Fire were completed, it would take even longer.
But the other nations might not wait that long before taking action.
"I have an idea. Why not have the Oda Clan start a rebellion?"
Naruto snapped his fingers; his inspiration came from Oda Nobunaga.
En Yui's eyes narrowed.
This was indeed something she hadn't considered.
"The Oda Clan possesses half of the Land of Fire's military forces; they are fully capable of changing the dynasty."
"But what's the reason?" En Yui asked. "The Oda Clan has always been the most supportive of the Daimyo; they can be described as loyal and devoted."
"Not necessarily loyal and devoted; it's more accurate to say they are smart."
Naruto smiled and shook his head.
According to the usual tropes, a family holding such heavy military power rarely survives past three generations.
Whether the Oda Clan's loyalty was real or fake, they had to follow the Daimyo to survive longer.
Unless they wanted to rebel.
But how could rebelling be so easy?
All things considered, their win rate was probably only thirty or forty percent.
Failure was more likely.
This feeling was somewhat like a novel Naruto had read in his past life.
Xu Xiao from Sword Snow Stride.
En Yui nodded slightly, accepting this reasoning.
It was hard to say if a family-based army had any real loyalty.
"As for the reason."
Naruto paused and smiled, "Then let's see if he's truly loyal. Reveal the truth about you becoming the Daimyo to him."
If the Oda Clan remains unmoved, then use the Mangekyo Sharingan.
One can only say that in a world with supernatural power, there are too many things a powerful Ninjacan do.
"If the Oda Clan rebels, with a little manipulation, we can have them deal with the most troublesome nobles for us."
Lord of Heavenless added.
But clearly, this wasn't the main body's goal.
Based on his understanding, it was probably for an achievement.
En Yui's eyes lit up; this was indeed a fast way that wouldn't arouse suspicion.
After all, the ones doing the killing would be the Oda Clan; it would have nothing to do with them.
"The only thing to be wary of is whether other countries will take advantage of the chaos."
En Yui voiced her concern.
Although the Five Great Nations had familial ties, if there was a chance to annex one another, they would absolutely not hesitate.
"As long as we're fast enough, they won't be able to react."
Naruto pondered for a few seconds and said, "Deploying an army is not a simple matter. If we can finish within a week, they won't be able to catch up in time."
To attack the Land of Fire, one of the Five Great Nations.
You'd need at least tens of thousands of troops.
Including logistics, it would probably exceed a hundred thousand people.
Being able to reach the Land of Fire within a week would mean they weren't just ordinary elites.
It might be possible for Ninjas.
"They will likely send Ninjas to scout the situation."
This was the point Naruto was least worried about. "Just deal with them. With information not being transmitted in a timely manner, they will lose the window of opportunity to act."
Of course, the premise was that the superficial strength of the Land of Fire wasn't weakened.
If three of the six armies were suddenly gone, no matter how fast they were, they couldn't stop the ambitions of other countries.
The five-person meeting ended, and En Yuiimmediately began making arrangements.
Although the Oda Clan's headquarters was in the Metropolis of the Land of Fire, their head, Oda Masao, who held the position of Great General, led troops abroad year-round.
No matter how loyal they were, the previous Daimyo, En Shū, would never allow an army that didn't belong to him to be stationed nearby.
He would surely station them as far away as possible.
To the west of the Land of Fire, bordering the Land of Grass, Land of Waterfall, and Land of Earth, there was a central city.
Named Ximei, it was the headquarters of Oda Masao's army.
Naruto entered the city silently.
Through a White Lotus Sect stronghold, he contacted a member named Fumio.
He was thirty-two years old, a skilled samurai currently serving in Oda Masao's personal guard.
His rank wasn't particularly high, but he was close to the center.
Naruto didn't have him perform a mission but instead swapped identities with him.
After sending Fumio back to the Metropolis, he disguised himself as him and returned to the General's Mansion.
Of course, he couldn't just rush in that simply.
With the cooperation of other White Lotus Sectmembers, they staged a scene where an informant in the Metropolis loyal to the Oda Clan risked everything to send back information.
And Fumio happened to be the final link.
"General! It's an extreme emergency!"
Naruto was deep in character as he rushed up with an anxious face.
Oda Masao was in his forties. Being a military man, he was far from the debauchery of the nobles, so he looked robust and full of energy.
Noticing the state of his guard, he frowned with natural authority.
"What is the cause for alarm?"
"A secret letter from the Metropolis!"
Naruto handed over the letter and said solemnly, "This was obtained at the cost of dozens of lives."
Oda Masao was slightly startled.
Dozens of lives meant that almost his entire intelligence network in the Metropolis had been wiped out.
He hurriedly opened the letter.
Despite his usual composure, his face changed drastically upon seeing the contents.
The publicly announced story regarding the change of Daimyo was as follows.
Maru Hifū rebelled out of dissatisfaction, killing the ministers and Enyoshi.
The Daimyo, En Shū, escaped to Konoha under the protection of En Yui.
After the tireless efforts of the Ninjas, the Metropolis was reclaimed.
With both sons dead and having been in exile, En Shū felt mentally exhausted and thus passed the position of Daimyo to En Yui, becoming the retired Emperor himself.
But now, this letter told Oda Masao that all of this was fake.
The mastermind behind everything was En Yui.
"Are you sure this intelligence was sent back by our people?"
Oda Masao looked at the guard before him with a heavy expression.
Mainly because the contents were too shocking.
He couldn't bring himself to believe it.
If it were true, En Yui's public persona would completely collapse.
The so-called "perfect loyalty and filial piety" were all fake; ruthlessness and unscrupulousness were the reality.
"Yes! Your subordinate would never dare to deceive you. You will know once you investigate, General!"
Naruto guaranteed loudly.
Oda Masao naturally knew his guard wouldn't dare lie to him; it was just a subconscious reaction.
He gripped the letter tightly, feeling an immense headache.
Naruto waited quietly to the side.
After a few minutes, Oda Masao waved his hand and said, "You may leave. Keep this matter secret; do not mention it to anyone."
"Is the General just going to let it go like this?"
Naruto caught his meaning and couldn't help but ask.
"This is not for you to inquire about."
Oda Masao frowned, a hint of killing intent appearing.
Naruto sighed and uttered that classic opening line.
"Please look into my eyes."
The only pity was that it was a man, not some beautiful woman.
Oda Masao instantly stood frozen on the spot, the light fading from his eyes.
Naruto looked up at the sand table in the hall.
Following the information provided by En Yui, he marked ten points and connected them into a line.
At the end of the line, he marked Honno-ji.
There was no Honno-ji in the Ninja World.
But one could be built.
Lord of Heavenless had already taken Yamatothere, preparing to create one.
After Oda Masao's unstoppable advance, he would enter Honno-ji, encounter the White Lotus Sect's betrayal, and die with regret on the spot.
In short, the rest of his life had been clearly arranged.
After Naruto left, Oda Masao immediately summoned his confidants, revealed the contents of the letter, and stated his intentions.
"Gentlemen, help me today, and you shall all be ministers of a new era!"
Thus, the army set out, seizing cities and territories. At every city, they wiped out the nobility and then redistributed the land.
As a result, they were welcomed with open arms wherever they went.
Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit amused when he heard this news in Konoha.
If Oda Masao were sincere, perhaps he truly would have had a chance to become the Daimyo.
Unfortunately, it was all fake.
With the help of the White Lotus Sect, Oda Masaowas invincible, gradually closing in on the Metropolis.
Amidst the panic, it gave En Yui a good excuse to deal with more nobles.
By now, the entire Land of Fire had essentially fallen into the hands of the Tianming Organization.
Strength truly reigns supreme.
In fact, the system Naruto brought from his past life wasn't very suitable for the Ninja World.
It was just that he was relatively laid-back.
Otherwise, he would have long since become the sole ruler.
So Naruto understood that as long as he was strong enough, the reforms could be implemented in the Land of Fire and maintained forever.
In the few days since returning, I've had two PCR tests and visited relatives twice, and I have to go again tomorrow. What's going on? It's not even Chinese New Year yet.