Chapter 246: The Capital Falls
The capital city of the Land of Wind (風の国, Kaze no Kuni).
It was a true testament to human ingenuity, built upon a massive, natural oasis, fed by a hidden underground water source.
Unlike the barrenness of the other parts of the Land of Wind—the relentless yellow desert—within the capital, luxury buildings stood in neat rows. The streets were bustling with merchants, dignitaries, and rich civilians. It was a surprising, ostentatious scene of prosperity.
At the very heart of the capital was the magnificent, sprawling Daimyō no Yashiki (Daimyō's Residence) of the Lord Daimyō of the Land of Wind.
At this very moment, in a secluded, dusty alley not far from the Residence, the air shimmered faintly.
Uchiha Kenji held a three-pronged kunai in his hand, his eyes focused.
It was the special Amenominaka teleportation kunai that Uchiha Akira had personally given him—the beacon that had guided them across the Land of Wind.
Behind him, more than ten Konoha Anbu stood silently, their black cloaks blending with the shadows.
They had set out from the ruins of Sunagakure, traveled at high speed—a full, sustained twenty-four-hour forced march—and arrived here at the capital.
Kenji took a deep breath. It was time. He slowly injected chakra into the kunai in his hand.
Buzz—!
The intricate fūinjutsu seals on the kunai instantly lit up with a golden light.
A barely perceptible spatial fluctuation, centered on the kunai, flashed violently and disappeared.
The next second.
Uchiha Akira's figure appeared in the alley, stepping out of the distorted space.
"Hokage-sama!"
Uchiha Kenji and all the Anbu behind him immediately bowed their heads. They dropped onto one knee and saluted Uchiha Akira with reverence.
Uchiha Akira scanned the silent, disciplined crowd.
"Rise."
"Yes!" Everyone stood up instantly.
Uchiha Kenji stepped forward and respectfully reported, his voice low and professional.
"Hokage-sama, we have arrived at the capital of the Land of Wind."
"This subordinate has already sent a single scout to report our presence and request an audience with the Lord Daimyō of the Land of Wind."
Akira nodded slightly. He said nothing, simply waiting for the response.
He had never had any good feelings for these so-called "Daimyō."
In his view, they were nothing more than parasites. A pampered group of nobles who had been too well protected by the ninja forces they paid, long forgetting the true cruelty of the shinobi world.
They held the nation's immense wealth, enjoyed supreme, unquestioned power, yet were simultaneously full of disdain and suspicion towards the ninja who truly protected the nation.
In their arrogant, sheltered eyes, a shinobi was nothing more than a refined tool to be summoned and dismissed at will. A disposable weapon used for their mutual aggression and to satisfy their lust for power and comfort.
Such beings should not continue to control the fate of this world, Akira thought, his eyes hard.
Just then, the Anbu member responsible for relaying the message flashed and appeared before everyone.
"Hokage-sama, Kenji-sama."
"The response from the Daimyō's Residence has arrived."
Uchiha Kenji raised a questioning eyebrow. "Speak. Give us the exact reply."
The Anbu hesitated for a moment, shifting his weight. But he reported truthfully, his voice strained with contained outrage.
"The Chief of the Daimyō's Residence guards said..."
"...that His Highness the Daimyō is busy with state affairs and feeling unwell, so he will not receive guests today."
The Anbu swallowed hard. "He asked us to return... tomorrow."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of all the Anbu present darkened. A collective, cold killing intent flared and then was immediately suppressed.
Not receiving guests?
Feeling unwell?
This excuse, a political lie so thin it couldn't even fool a three-year-old, was simply a blatant humiliation! A slap in the face!
The visitor was the Godaime Hokage of Konoha! The man who had just destroyed an entire Hidden Village single-handedly!
And a mere Lord Daimyō of the Land of Wind dared to use such a dismissive, transparent method to refuse the Hokage entry!
"Bastards!" A cold killing intent flashed in Uchiha Kenji's Sharingan eyes.
"These pampered fools!" Kenji ground out, his voice a dangerous hiss.
"They sit here in their beautiful palace, completely unaware that their very protection, their entire village, has just been wiped off the map! They don't even know what kind of existence they are rejecting!"
Uchiha Akira's face, however, showed no surprise. He had anticipated this typical aristocratic arrogance.
He even let out a soft, amused chuckle.
"As expected."
"It seems this Lord Daimyō of the Land of Wind has been in this cozy nest for too long."
"So long," Akira said, his voice cold, "that he no longer recognizes his own place in the world."
Uchiha Akira turned his head to look at Uchiha Kenji.
"Kenji."
"Since he doesn't want to see us."
Akira's eyes hardened. "Then we'll just walk in ourselves."
Uchiha Kenji's body trembled, not from fear, but from a profound, eager understanding. He instantly knew the Hokage's meaning. The time for subtlety was over.
A bloodthirsty, terrifying smile immediately appeared on Kenji's face.
"Yes! Hokage-sama!"
Uchiha Kenji swung his hand sharply, pointing towards the main road.
"Everyone! Listen to my command!"
"Target: the Daimyō's Residence! Main Gate!"
"Anyone! Anyone who dares to obstruct the path of the Hokage..."
Kenji's voice dropped to a cold, brutal command: "...Kill without mercy!"
"YES!"
More than ten elite Anbu responded in unison. Their figures instantly transformed into black afterimages, shooting out of the alley at terrifying speed, heading straight for the Daimyō's Residence...
Daimyō's Residence. Main Gate.
Dozens of samurai, dressed in magnificent, lacquered armor and with fine katanas at their waists, were standing guard. They stood idly, talking amongst themselves, bored.
They were the elite guard protecting the Daimyō. Each one possessed enough strength and training to take on ten ordinary men.
In the eyes of the ordinary capital citizens, they were indeed invincible warriors.
This comfortable, unchallenged position had bred in them a sense of superior, lazy arrogance.
They had just moments ago dismissed a Konoha ninja who had come to report that their Hokage wanted to see the Daimyō.
"Hmph. What 'Hokage'?" A large, scarred samurai curled his lip and said disdainfully. "Isn't he just a ninja leader? A hired dog?"
Another samurai echoed him with a sneer.
"This is the center of the Land of Wind! The seat of the Daimyō! This is not one of those filthy, bandit-ridden villages where ninja run wild."
Just as they were discussing the arrogance of the ninja amongst themselves...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More than a dozen dark, impossibly fast figures suddenly materialized at the end of the street. They charged straight towards the main gate of the Daimyō's Residence at terrifying speed!
"Who goes there?!"
The faces of the samurai at the gate changed. Their laziness vanished. They immediately gripped the hilts of their swords.
"Stop! This is the Daimyō's Residence! Intruders will die!" the leading samurai captain roared sternly.
However, the dark figures showed no intention of slowing down, let alone stopping.
Their speed was incredible, leaving faint trails of afterimages in the air!
"You're asking for death!"
The samurai captain roared again. He drew his polished katana with a smooth, practiced motion!
"Draw your swords! Prepare to engage the enemy!"
Dozens of samurai simultaneously drew their long swords, the steel glinting menacingly.
Good, the captain thought, we'll use these reckless intruders to stretch our muscles!
But, the next second...
Pfft!
A muffled, sickening sound of flesh being pierced.
The samurai captain, who was at the very front, suddenly stiffened.
He widened his eyes in disbelief and looked down.
A hand wearing a black, fingerless glove had already pierced clean through his ornate armor and into his chest.
Blood dripped continuously down the arm.
"So... fast..." he gargled, struggling to breathe.
His body then fell backward weakly, lifeless before it hit the ground.
This was just the beginning.
More than a dozen dark figures, Uchiha and Anbu elites, charged into the samurai's formation like tigers entering a flock of sheep.
The massacre was instant.
"Ah—!"
"No! Help..."
Screams rose and fell, high-pitched and terrified. But they quickly, abruptly ceased.
These samurai, who were incredibly powerful in the eyes of ordinary people—who believed themselves invincible—were less than children against Konoha's most elite, battle-hardened Anbu.
In less than thirty seconds.
The battle was already over.
Dozens of the Lord Daimyō of the Land of Wind's elite samurai lay in pools of their own blood, scattered around the main gate.
Uchiha Kenji flicked the blood from his short sword, his face impassive.
"Keep moving forward. Quickly."
He led his subordinates, stepping over bodies and blood, and walked directly into the Daimyō's Residence.
Along the way, more samurai and guards, who had heard the commotion and rushed over, continuously charged at them, swords flashing.
But the outcome was, without exception, exactly the same.
The slaughter had begun.
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