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For the Fūma Clan, Yūshin was neither a villain nor a hero—he was simply an outsider with ambitions and objectives.
Because if he wanted to establish a foothold in the Shinobi World, Yūshin felt that relying on fewer than twenty shinobi made their strength appear rather thin.
After all, in many situations, compared to individual power, the superficial yet immediately apparent "group numbers" were more persuasive.
In a sense, this was no different from street gang fights—ten people on one side, a hundred on the other; naturally the latter would be stronger.
Yūshin knew that if he wanted his side to appear more like a shinobi force rather than wandering strays, fewer than twenty members wasn't enough.
But if they had fifty people, then to those unfamiliar with them, they would at least appear "polished on the surface."
So now was precisely the time for Yūshin to spread "entrepreneurial" concepts like unity for survival, friendliness with inclusivity, equality and impartiality, "joining means becoming a founding shareholder," and so forth.
Based on this purpose, when first making contact, Yūshin had deliberately confused the opposition.
It wasn't that he necessarily wanted to establish dominance, nor was he putting on a show of strength while being weak inside—Yūshin simply wanted to seize control of the dialogue.
His words indeed made the other side fall silent, and a certain tense atmosphere began spreading.
When the opposition tensed up, feeling conflict was inevitable, Yūshin spoke again:
"Just a small joke. Your side looks very exhausted, so you can stay here without moving. We can set up camp at a slightly more distant location."
He waved for his shinobi to retreat some distance, demonstrating an attitude of mutual peace.
Seeing this, Gorō Fūma visibly relaxed—apparently the other party wasn't the type of unreasonable people who would beat fallen dogs at every opportunity.
However, Yūshin's mentioned retreat was indeed a retreat, but only a minimal one.
He led everyone to establish camp north of the Fūma Clan, merely over a hundred meters from the opposition.
For shinobi, this distance could hardly be considered safe under any circumstances.
This was the upwind position, and Yūshin's group began preparing dinner.
While they were simply eating, the Fūma Clan became visibly agitated.
As Yūshin was pretentiously arranging night watch duties, within this short time, the Fūma Clan leader approached with an embarrassed and difficult-to-voice expression.
He came alone, wishing he could raise both hands to show complete lack of hostility.
So Yūshin signaled his subordinates to clear a path, allowing the man to approach him.
"Yūshin-san, could you... share some food with us?"
Gorō Fūma was a young man whose face hadn't been hardened by experience, so when saying this, his voice was especially quiet, as if stuck in his throat.
His eyes didn't dare meet Yūshin's directly, his head practically hanging to the ground.
Needless to say, he knew this request was excessive, but his clansmen were nearly starving to death.
This type of request was quite rare, because if anyone lacked resources and wanted to obtain them, the current basic approach in the Shinobi World wasn't begging—it was taking by force.
Unfortunately, the current Fūma Clan lacked this capability.
In the Shinobi World, theoretically, things you couldn't seize were even less likely to be obtained through begging.
Yūshin showed a surprised expression, saying somewhat reluctantly:
"This... Fūma Clan Leader, I sympathize with your plight, but as you can see, our situation isn't very good either. Whether our remaining meager supplies can sustain us through the upcoming journey is still unknown."
Gorō Fūma raised his head, wanting to speak but ultimately saying nothing. He could only nod silently, then prepare to leave with heavy steps.
But before he could take two steps, Yūshin, as if unable to bear it, suddenly called out to stop him:
"Fūma Clan Leader, how about this—I'll share some grain and meat broth with you. I hope it can help you somewhat. Our situation... truly has limited capability."
Gorō Fūma abruptly stopped, turning around with surprise and joy:
"Is this true... no, I mean thank you very much, thank you all, Yūshin-san."
First refusing then agreeing—even insignificant help would seem precious.
A bit of worthless supplies was nothing, but Yūshin was using tactics... exchanging sincerity for sincerity.
He immediately arranged for someone to follow Gorō Fūma to deliver some supplies to the other camp, which immediately erupted in celebration.
After Gorō Fūma arranged the distribution of that small amount of food, he returned to Yūshin's side to express gratitude again.
Yūshin took the opportunity to invite him to share dinner, and Gorō Fūma naturally had no reason to refuse.
A heart-wrenching, tear-inducing situation—every extra bite he ate here meant one more portion for others back at the Fūma camp.
Yūshin didn't ask how these people had fallen into such dire straits; instead, he showed concern for their future:
"Fūma Clan Leader, what do you plan to do next?"
Gorō Fūma held a bowl of hot soup, his gaze somewhat confused as he shook his head.
He had no idea where the path forward lay.
"Honestly, I don't know where the clan's way out is."
His situation was somewhat similar to Yūshin's—both were newly appointed clan leaders forced into position. If asked about long-term vision and strategic capability, it was approximately equivalent to zero.
"The clan's survival rests on your shoulders. Fūma Clan Leader, every step forward must be carefully considered—the consequences of any misstep would be unthinkable."
Yūshin saw this person didn't seem capable of handling pressure well, so he quickly applied pressure.
Indeed, Gorō Fūma's expression became even more bitter.
He had absolutely no ideas about how the clan's future should proceed, so he chose to evade:
"Yūshin-san, what's your situation?"
"Us? We're just wandering shinobi now. The people here come from various backgrounds, each with different experiences yet similar circumstances, ultimately forced to band together for warmth."
This was quite vague, but Gorō Fūma could understand—essentially an alliance of the unsuccessful.
Then he secretly mocked himself—currently the Fūma Clan was even more unsuccessful than the unsuccessful.
"Currently wandering shinobi?"
Gorō Fūma asked back, sensing Yūshin's words contained other implications.
Yūshin nodded and explained:
"Previously we rested for a period, and next we plan to head west seeking suitable employers."
"Is there opportunity?"
"It depends entirely on one's own efforts."
Gorō Fūma fell silent again. This Yūshin-san before him clearly looked younger than himself, yet spoke and acted methodically, with firm opinions about the future path, displaying outstanding leadership and control abilities.
Suddenly, a certain idea sprouted in his heart.
"Our people's current situation isn't good either—we just have slightly more optimistic spirit than you.
The shinobi here—some come from obscure small shinobi clans, others from unspeakable ancient prestigious families. We have different identities, so why can we unite together in mutual support? Simply because each of us maintains a sincere heart.
The reason I'm willing to provide you some help is precisely because of this...
We're all people who've been rained on, so if possible, we're willing to hold umbrellas for others."
Yūshin's persuasion had some inspirational power, and his words had factual support... hadn't shinobi of various backgrounds genuinely gathered around him?
More crucially, Gorō Fūma's current mindset was confused and helpless, feeling empty, lonely, and cold—in this state, his resistance to motivational speeches had dropped to its lowest point.
So he almost blurted out:
"Yūshin-san, would your 'Ashes' truly be willing to accept shinobi of different origins regardless of background?"
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