Sasori replied to Qingshui.
It would take a ninja three days to travel from Konoha to Sand Hidden.
And the distance from Sand Village to the Land of Snow would be even greater.
The fact that Sasori and his group returned from the Land of Snow in five and a half days was already quite fast.
"Five and a half days… that should still be enough time."
Qingshui silently calculated in his mind.
The Land of Iron was closer than the Land of Snow, but still far. At a regular ninja's speed, even a Kage-level expert would need three or four days to travel there.
But Qingshui's speed was far beyond that of a regular ninja.
He possessed the Blood Demon Art Flying Thunder God, which allowed him to teleport within the maximum range of his perception, using his own blood as a coordinate.
This range was considerably larger than the Transparent World's perception range; the former offered rough perceptual positioning, while the latter was precise enough to clearly see the trajectory of a speck of dust.
Combined with his Perfect Demonization body, as long as his internal energy kept up, he could infinitely produce blood. Therefore, whenever Qingshui arrived at a new place, he would secretly leave a drop of his blood if possible, applying a simple seal to preserve it.
The last time Qingshui and his group went to the Land of Hot Water, they passed through the Land of Iron midway. Although the journey was a bit rushed, Qingshui still set up multiple blood coordinates along that route.
If he were to depart now, Qingshui estimated it would take him less than two hours to reach the Land of Iron.
"Ebizo-sensei, when did the people you dispatched set out?"
Qingshui asked Ebizo.
"Six days ago."
Ebizo replied.
"Then please tell me the contact information for these intelligence ninjas so they can coordinate with me."
"Alright, I'll have the communication team send them a message via summoning lizard shortly. This is the intelligence and Anbu's second set of communication ciphers for this month. Once you reach the Land of Iron, if you see these symbols in a heavily populated area, you can follow the instructions to find the village's intelligence personnel. They will obey all your commands unconditionally."
Ebizo took out a small booklet from his Ninja Tool Pouch and handed it to Qingshui.
After leaving the intelligence department's interrogation room, Qingshui went to the Kazekage Building to inform the Kazekage.
The Third Kazekage immediately approved an S-rank Mission for Qingshui, and Qingshui set off without delay.
He departed shortly after lunch, and by the time Qingshui arrived in the Land of Iron, it was still afternoon, with the sun shining brightly; it wasn't even dinnertime yet.
But the environment had changed from the desert oases of the Land of Wind to a snow-covered plain with falling snow.
"It's quite lively."
At the city gate of the Land of Iron's capital, he looked at the thick cotton coats worn by other pedestrians, then at his own thin long-sleeved spring shirt. He found a hidden corner, formed hand signs, and performed a Transformation Jutsu, turning into a burly middle-aged man wearing a large padded coat.
Although he didn't actually transform into a cotton coat, only his appearance changed. However, with Qingshui's robust vitality, this temperature wouldn't affect him at all.
After entering the city, although it appeared to be just an ordinary yet prosperous city, a closer look revealed samurai in iron armor with long swords at their waists standing guard and patrolling everywhere.
Clearly, the masters here had also learned about the Kusanagi Sword's appearance and had heightened their vigilance, guarding against any trouble.
After strolling around the city a few times, Qingshui spotted an inconspicuous mark on a wall along one of the streets.
Ten minutes later.
In a secret base set up in a civilian house, two ninjas, dressed identically to those on the streets, knelt on one knee before Qingshui.
"Intelligence Department's Tasu and Yura, greeting Lord Qingshui!"
Qingshui stood with his hands behind his back, examining the two intelligence ninjas before him.
They were a typical old-and-new combination; the younger one looked about Qingshui's age, while the older one was around forty.
The older one, named Tasu, was a seasoned Special Jonin in the intelligence department. His strength was mediocre, and he likely had no hope of being promoted to Jonin in this lifetime.
Yura, on the other hand, was the same age as Qingshui, fifteen, and currently a Chunin. His potential was quite good; this mission was actually his assessment for promotion to Special Jonin. There was a high probability he would be promoted to Jonin before he turned twenty, and even a possibility of progressing further.
Qingshui remembered that in the original timeline, after Rasa's death, Baki and Yura were the ones who spearheaded Gaara's ascent to the Kazekage position.
And both of them became high-ranking officials in Sand Village afterward.
However, it was later revealed that Yura had long been controlled by Sasori using the Shallow Brain Manipulation technique, becoming a spy. This was why Sand Village's defenses were practically nonexistent, allowing Sasori and Deidara to easily breach them and capture Gaara.
As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, having its Kage directly captured within the village by just two people, Sand Village at that time became the disgrace of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
If not for Chiyo and Ebizo, two old veterans who had retired years ago, making an urgent comeback afterward, it could be said that Sand Village's combat strength at that time had completely fallen out of the ranks of top-tier ninja villages.
But no matter how weak Sand Village was at that time, for Yura to climb to a high position there, he must have had the potential to reach the Elite Jonin level, and his political skills shouldn't have been too bad either.
Qingshui's Transparent World swept over the two men's brains. Aside from the memory seals necessary for intelligence ninjas to prevent enemies from invading their minds, there were no fine needles used for the Shallow Brain Manipulation technique.
Indeed, Sasori had no intention of betraying the village right now. In fact, after Qingshui, he had become a rising core genius among the younger generation of Sand Village ninjas, and his interest had shifted from pursuing eternal puppetry to researching new puppetry techniques.
By relying on Sand Village, especially his grandmother and granduncle, who were among the top three figures with real power in Sand Village, he could have unlimited resources to support his research. There was no need for him to do such things.
However, now that Yura had entered Qingshui's sight, he naturally caught his attention.
Although he encountered him a bit late, it wouldn't hurt to invest some resources in cultivating him in the future.
It just depended on whether the other party was receptive.
"Rise first, and tell me about the situation here and the information you've gathered."
Qingshui addressed Tian Si and Yura.
Tian Si gave Yura a look, signaling for him to speak.
Yura knew Tian Si was giving him a chance to show off in front of an important figure.
"Lord Qingshui, we've been in the Land of Iron for two days now. Through the underground bounty network, we've successfully located the Kusanagi Sword.
There are two Kusanagi Swords this time. They were discovered in an ancient tomb from the Warring States period, unearthed during a recent avalanche. They've since been acquired by Mizukawa, the current general of the Land of Iron, and are being kept in the samurai's castle."
Yura explained to Qingshui.
"Mizukawa, the general of the Land of Iron..."
Qingshui quickly recalled information about this current general of the Land of Iron.
The Land of Iron is a nation of samurai, with a standing army of over three thousand samurai. Its past generals have all possessed Kage-level strength. While their power isn't enough to contend with the Five Great Ninja Villages, it's like the Rain Village under Hanzo—they have the ability to influence the outcome between two ninja villages.
Furthermore, this place is a vast, desolate snowy region with little value. Therefore, it became a neutral nation during the First Great Ninja War. As such, there isn't much valuable intelligence regarding the samurai of the Land of Iron.
But there is some.
Previously, in the intelligence tower in the Land of Rain, Qingshui had investigated information about countries located close to the small nations of Grass and Hot Water, and he had also seen detailed information about this current general of the Land of Iron.
In the early stages of the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzo had led the Land of Rain to the Land of Iron and nearly conquered it.
At that time, Mizukawa encountered Salamander Hanzo, who was at the peak of his life and dared to challenge the Five Great Nations. Naturally, Mizukawa was severely beaten.
This wasn't shameful, as he at least survived Hanzo's hand.
This was a rather significant achievement, as evidenced by how the young Konoha's Sannin were bestowed the title of Sannin by Hanzo.
Though they couldn't defeat Hanzo, and the samurai suffered heavy losses, it did slow down Rain Hidden's unstoppable, overwhelming momentum, allowing Konoha and Stone Hidden to divert troops in time to counter Hanzo.
And because the Land of Rain was small and weak, and Rain Hidden's logistics couldn't support Hanzo's long expeditions, Hanzo ultimately failed.
Mizukawa, this old man, is around sixty years old this year. At his peak, he definitely had Kage-level strength, but as a samurai whose fighting style relies heavily on his physical body, his strength would surely decline with old age.
Exactly how much strength he retains would depend on his mental state and daily training.
But he shouldn't be a match for me.
Qingshui then asked:
"Is there anyone else noteworthy in the Land of Iron right now?"
"Yes."
Yura continued:
"Two days ago, the underground bounty network posted a reward for the Kusanagi Sword. The bounty was twenty million ryo per sword, and it even increased to twenty-six million ryo per sword, attracting many bounty ninjas. Intelligence indicates that someone saw traces of Kakuzu, the Ninja World's top bounty ninja, who is rumored to have fought the First Hokage.
Additionally, the appearance of this bounty has very likely drawn the attention of Konoha's secret forces. It's almost certain that Konoha will be involved, though it's unclear how much force they will commit."
Kakuzu, the legendary bounty ninja, and Konoha's secret forces—is it Root, or Anbu?
In the original timeline, these two Kusanagi Swords should have fallen into Orochimaru's hands. One could freely extend and retract in Orochimaru's hand, while the other was given to Uchiha Sasuke.
That means, besides Kakuzu, Orochimaru is also very likely to come here.
These two, plus Mizukawa, the current general of the Land of Iron, should be my main opponents in the fight for the Kusanagi Sword.
If these three were to team up, it would certainly be difficult, but they are most likely not on the same side. With my strength, I have a good chance of succeeding.
Qingshui stroked his chin and asked Yura:
"Do you have more detailed information about the samurai city? Like maps, personnel deployment, and the exact location of the Kusanagi Sword?"
The samurai city is a military fortress where the general of the Land of Iron is stationed, capable of housing two to three thousand samurai.
It could be compared to a ninja village for the samurai of the Land of Iron, though smaller in scale. Internally, it's not like a ninja village, which is a semi-militarized settlement structured like a town with many civilians living within.
Because samurai train more rigorously in the spiritual aspects of Bushido, this place is more like a completely militarized fortress.
It's somewhat like the large castles of nobles and knightly orders in medieval Europe.
Over forty years ago, the First Five Kage Summit was held there.
"My apologies, Lord Qingshui."
Tian Si interjected:
"Because the Land of Iron's samurai patrols have been quite frequent recently, and we lack the assistance of sensory-type ninjas, we only have some older intelligence records. If you still require them, Lord Qingshui..."
"No need."
Qingshui waved his hand.
He knew these two had limited capabilities, and his request just now was a bit excessive.
"You've completed this mission. You can return to the village now. I'll handle everything concerning the Kusanagi Sword from here on."
Yura and Tian Si exchanged glances, then Yura spoke again:
"Lord Qingshui, we will stay in the city for a few days to provide support and prevent any accidents. If there's anything else you need us to investigate, you can instruct us directly."
Qingshui raised an eyebrow slightly.
This was outside the scope of their mission and their responsibilities.
Although he was a Jonin and had the authority to command other ninja from the same village who were lower in rank during missions, he hadn't done so. There was no problem with these two leaving directly.
These two weren't his direct subordinates within the department, so what was the meaning behind their actions at this moment?
While he couldn't be entirely sure yet, it certainly seemed to imply something.
Yura had some potential, and Tian Si was an experienced Special Jonin; both had a certain value.
Qingshui naturally wouldn't refuse.
No matter what he did, he needed to make as many friends as possible and strengthen every bit of his own side's power.
"Alright."
...
...
Night silently descended.
Essentially, within two hours after dinner, the capital of the Land of Iron began enforcing a curfew. This was to make it easier to catch those coveting the Kusanagi Sword.
Under the moonlight, in the warrior city, a vigorous old man, dressed in black samurai armor, held a long sword with a black hilt, no guard, and a slender, straight blade.
Mizukawa looked at the Kusanagi Sword in his hand with a captivated yet regretful gaze, shaking his head.
"The Kusanagi Sword, sigh..."
Not far from the old man, a middle-aged samurai, dressed in white armor similar to the old man's, stood beside him.
In his hand was another Kusanagi Sword, which had a guard and a slightly shorter blade.
"Sensei Mizukawa."
The middle-aged samurai respectfully addressed the old man.
"Mifune, you're here..."
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