Who to help?
Considering Logan's record of fighting all the way to now, how else can she help?
However, Konan knew that this was not what Nagato was asking.
He asked about "position."
Konan said seriously, "Nagato, you will always be my family."
Nagato nodded slightly. "Then there is nothing in this world that I have to fear. As for your question—"
"I have no intention of being an enemy of Logan. We are both people who are walking our own paths and trying to change the world.
I respect his philosophy.
However, Logan is optimistic about the world. He believes that the world will get better and better with the right push.
I remain pessimistic and believe that only enough pain and oppression can make people 'awaken' to another level."
"But..."
Konan said, "As long as you continue along your own paths, one day you will end up on the opposite side of each other."
A person who wants to overthrow the world and create a New World that is as beautiful as a dream.
One who wants to strike fear into the world, to use force to deter evil in the world, and to make the existing order function better.
As both grow, conflicts are inevitable.
"If it really comes to that point..."
"I will have no choice but to kill him," Nagato said.
Konan opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
"I know what you're thinking. With a nearly immortal body, many strange abilities, and many strong people standing by his side... You think I can't do it."
Nagato shook his head. "But Konan, don't forget, killing is another matter."
"To give you the simplest example, I once heard Orochimaru say that Konoha has a technique called 'Shiki Fuujin' that can kill both the user and the enemy."
"It shouldn't be that difficult to get the 'Shiki Fuujin,' right?"
Konan thought about it and nodded.
Whether the Fire Nation uses money to obtain it or bribes the ninjas within Konoha to steal it, with Nagato's methods, he would always find a way to get it.
"Are you planning to trade Shiki Fuujin for Logan?"
"It's not me, it's the five great nations."
Nagato raised his hand, and an extremely tiny black ball of gravity appeared in his palm.
"I just need to go to the five great nations and ask for 40 to 50 Jōnin-level ninjas. They will spend three to four months learning the Shiki Fuujin. After that, even if only a few dozen people master it, it will be enough."
Nagato's Planetary Devastation can trap Logan, but its lethality is insufficient.
The Demonic Sealing Technique can bypass Logan's tough body and seal his soul, but it requires a fixed target.
The combination of the two can indeed provide strong control and sealing.
"That's theoretically, of course."
"But as long as the theory exists, it is possible to realize it," Nagato said.
"If there is anything I have learned from Logan, it is that humans have their limits, and no matter how strong a person is, they cannot be called 'invincible.'"
---
After the Suigen Festival ended, Oda Ieyasu and his samurai troops worked around the clock.
Logan and Oda Ieyasu had agreed that assassinations should not be carried out.
But that does not mean that no one would die—it just meant the manner and reason of killing had become legitimate.
Someone had to be held accountable for the disturbance at the Suigen Festival.
Saito Ayate's life alone wasn't enough.
Logan did not participate in the purges.
He doesn't like death, even if the person is an enemy.
After completing coordination with Kirigakure's civilian staff, Logan bid farewell to Oda Ieyasu and Hideyoshi, and the group began their return journey.
It was the same group, the same convoy, but the mood was completely different from when they had arrived.
Logan rode on horseback and looked back at the city wall of Kyoto one last time.
"Let's go."
He waved the reins, and the horse began to move slowly forward.
The journey back was peaceful. When they passed Youma County again, County Magistrate Shirakawa stood roadside with a smile, holding a freshly baked dorayaki in his hand. With his round belly, if his skin were blue, he could've passed for Doraemon.
"Lord Logan, you taught me a lesson," said County Magistrate Shirakawa.
"What do you mean?" Logan asked.
Shirakawa replied, "I always wondered who would win the world between you and the daimyo. I never expected you two would win together."
Logan thought back to the twists and turns of the Water Garden Festival and noticed the admiration and cunning calculation in Shirakawa's eyes. Clearly, Shirakawa misunderstood and believed everything had been Logan's trap.
But the situation was too complex to explain. Logan looked at Youma County's relative prosperity and Shirakawa's concern for his subordinates. After a moment of thought, he asked:
"Governor Shirakawa, do you want to—"
"Don't!"
Shirakawa raised his hands in mock horror and clasped them. "Please spare me. I'm forty-five years old, and my greatest dream is to live peacefully as a humble magistrate and eat my way to a quiet death."
The implication: he didn't want to get involved in Logan's "big affairs."
Logan chuckled and nodded.
"Okay."
Everyone has their own aspirations—they can't be forced.
Zabuza signaled from a distance that the convoy had been inspected and was ready to go.
Logan extended his hand to Shirakawa.
"Goodbye."
Shirakawa wiped the oil from his clothes, held Logan's hand with both of his, and bowed deeply. "Take care. Come visit when you can."
After Logan and his team left, Shirakawa sat by the street and finished his dorayaki carefully, savoring every crumb and licking each finger clean.
His wife came over and asked, "Still hungry? Should I make more?"
Shirakawa waved his hand. He was full.
He just knew he might not get to enjoy such peaceful days much longer.
"Notify everyone in the county to store as much food as possible. If merchants arrive from elsewhere, buy everything they have. Also, hire a few wandering samurai."
Shirakawa narrowed his eyes toward the direction Logan had departed and sighed:
"The Water Kingdom... will soon be in chaos."
Shirakawa had a keen political sense.
The plan devised by Oda Ieyasu and Logan would inevitably damage consortium interests and provoke backlash.
First would be the consortiums themselves.
They feared Logan might divide their power and funds, hiding influence across scattered corners.
In fact, they would prefer Logan simply hunt them down. At least then, they could replace leadership faster than he could kill them.
The second tier of opposition would come from mid- to low-level enterprises—factories spread across the country.
They felt the daimyo's reforms harmed their interests and clashed with local officials.
Foreign consortiums worried that Logan might succeed. If the Water Kingdom made a breakthrough from zero to one, it would set a precedent.
So they began funding opposition organizations within the Water Kingdom—providing money, equipment, and ninjutsu to fuel unrest. Their goal: convince civilians that Logan's reforms were the cause of their suffering.
Not long after the Water Garden Festival, unrest spread across the Water Kingdom.
Consortium agents, opportunistic bandits, fame-hungry swordsmen, rebel ninjas from abroad... It felt like a return to the Bloody Mist era.
Logan had anticipated this.
Labor pains were inevitable.
Even with Oda Ieyasu's political skill suppressing much of the resistance, chaos erupted.
Day and night, Oda Ieyasu negotiated and planned. Within a month, his temples grayed and his body thinned—but his eyes remained sharp.
Logan, too, wasn't idle. Alongside Kirigakure's ninjas, he fought on the frontlines, minimizing civilian casualties.
Eventually, enemy troops would see golden flames in the sky or hear thunder rumble—and surrender immediately.
One day, Logan returned from defeating another armed raid, holding a notebook as he entered his office.
Everything was unfolding as predicted.
The enemies' counterattacks would intensify until they realized reform was unstoppable. Foreign consortiums would stop wasting money on hopeless efforts.
And not all consortiums were united.
Some lower-level groups, oppressed by those at the top, saw Logan's movement as a lifeline—and joined.
Whether they were sincere or just buying time, Logan would eventually pay them a personal visit—with the White Snake.
"As one side rises, the other falls. We're one month away from reaching the critical threshold," Logan said, closing his notebook. "But that month will be hard for ordinary citizens."
Knock knock.
A knock came at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened and Amber entered.
"Master Logan, I'd like to ask a favor."
"Go ahead."
"I want to... form a legion."
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