Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
Looks like this fanfic is being done by another person, and it is in the 20th place in power ranking.
So I need you help, 100 ps for one bonus chapter
Also every 3 reviews will give one bonus chapter
----------
At an inn in the capital, Asuma Sarutobi leaned against the window, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He idly watched the street scene below.
"It's been almost two hours, hasn't it?" His tone was impatient. "What exactly does the daimyo mean? He calls us here, then just leaves us to wait?"
He was a young man after all. He couldn't stand still.
"Calm down, Asuma."
A peaceful voice came from the corner.
It was Chiriku, the guardian monk of the Fire Temple, who had arrived earlier. He was a monk clad in a kasaya and holding a Zen staff.
He clasped his hands together and said, "We should not presumptuously guess the mind of the monarch."
Asuma clicked his tongue. He said nothing more, but his attention was drawn to the scene outside the window.
The street was too bustling.
Merchants, artisans, and civilians with various accents mingled, each with a smile on their face.
In the shops along the road, wartime luxuries like white sugar and silk were displayed prominently like ordinary goods.
From time to time, people dressed as civilians would go in to inquire about prices and make purchases.
"This is absolutely insane," Asuma mumbled.
He remembered coming here last year with the old man. Although the capital city was prosperous, it certainly didn't have the vitality it did now.
The air was filled with a vibrant, upward-striving energy.
At the other end of the room, Kazuma and Natsukawa sat on chairs, looking at the bustling scene outside. Their eyes were filled with awe and yearning.
"Natsukawa, did you see that? That butcher shop..."
Kazuma lowered his voice. His eyes couldn't hide his shock. "I saw several civilians directly buying half a pig... My goodness, are all the people of the capital so rich?"
Hyuga Hizashi sat quietly on the tatami mat.
His eyes were closed, but the Byakugan's insight allowed him to perceive the city's changes more clearly than anyone else.
The city guards patrolling the streets had steady footsteps and strict discipline.
In the distant workshops, every worker was full of drive.
This place, compared to the lifeless Hyuga clan compound, was simply two different worlds.
Just then, the door was gently pushed open.
A figure appeared at the doorway.
It was a Shadow Guard.
Everyone in the room focused their attention on him.
"By order of the daimyo, I am to guide the Guardian Shinobi Twelve."
The Shadow Guard showed his waist tag. His voice was flat.
"Everyone, please follow me."
Asuma's spirits lifted. He quickly stepped forward. "Who are you? Are we going to see the daimyo now?"
"No." The Shadow Guard shook his head. "The daimyo is not seeing guests today."
At these words, Asuma's brow immediately furrowed.
They had traveled thousands of miles, only to not even meet the monarch?
The others also reacted differently.
Even Chiriku showed confusion in his eyes.
Only the Uchiha shinobi stood quietly, his expression unchanged.
Since the entire clan had staked everything, any order from the daimyo must have its reason. He only needed to understand and execute it.
"Then where are we going?"
Asuma voiced everyone's confusion.
The Shadow Guard's words were cold and concise. "The construction site."
The construction site?
Everyone was stunned again.
They were the Guardian Shinobi Twelve, the elite shinobi of Konoha, the daimyo's future direct armed forces.
And he wanted them to go to a construction site?
To do what?
Move bricks?
Although their hearts were full of doubts, no one raised an objection.
This was the daimyo's order.
Perhaps the daimyo was waiting for them at the construction site.
The group silently followed the Shadow Guard out of the inn and merged into the crowd.
They walked through the bustling streets, heading west.
The further west they went, the more dilapidated the scenery became.
The prosperous commercial atmosphere in the air was gradually replaced by dust and sweat.
At the end of the road was a vast open space.
Thousands of artisans were scattered around, busily working with great enthusiasm.
And on this construction site, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.
More than a dozen powerful shinobi, working in teams, rapidly formed hand seals.
"Earth release: Earth flow River!"
"Earth release: Earth flow Divide!"
"Earth release: Earth Style Rampart!"
Accompanied by low shouts, the earth beneath their feet surged and roared.
Then it was molded into wide, straight foundations.
Earth walls rose from the ground, forming the strongest load-bearing structures of the houses.
One shinobi pressed his hands to the ground. Chakra surged, and the foundations of five houses were laid in just tens of seconds.
Shocking!
Unparalleled shock!
Watching those shinobi performing B-rank, and even A-rank earth release techniques, every single Guardian Shinobi present was completely dumbfounded.
The cigarette dangling from Asuma's mouth fell to the ground with a clatter.
"Ha... haha..."
He let out two dry laughs. His voice was full of disbelief. "What kind of joke is this? Having jonin use earth release to build walls? What is this? The latest joke in the shinobi world?"
"I went through so much hardship to train in ninjutsu to achieve great deeds on the battlefield and protect the Will of Fire!"
"Not to become an advanced bricklayer!"
Asuma saw this as an insult.
The Nara clan member beside him said nothing. His mind raced.
Efficient. It was indeed unprecedentedly efficient.
But... what did this mean?
If ninjutsu could be used for large-scale infrastructure, how would the value of shinobi be redefined?
Wouldn't Konoha's existing mission system and economic model be completely overturned?
He felt a pang of trepidation.
This daimyo's actions were even more terrifying than he had imagined.
Hyuga Hizashi's expression was icy cold.
As a branch member of the Hyuga clan, he understood rules and dignity more than anyone.
In his view, ninjutsu was noble, a sharp weapon used for battle and protection, the fundamental means of maintaining the shinobi clan's status.
To use such powerful strength for the work of mere mortals was simply a blasphemy of power.
He couldn't understand.
Kazuma and Natsukawa's reactions, however, were completely different.
They looked at the bustling scene. Their bodies trembled with excitement.
Kazuma's eyes were red.
A leaky, dilapidated house. The sound of his mother coughing when she was seriously ill. The coldness of a rainy night in his childhood—scene after scene flashed through his mind.
If... if shinobi had helped them build a house back then...
He didn't understand what shinobi dignity was.
Nor did he understand what blasphemy of power meant.
He only knew that these powerful shinobi were building a home that could shelter people like him, civilians, from wind and rain.
This was an immense kindness!
That daimyo, whom he had never met, was simply a living saint!
"Amitabha."
Chiriku clasped his hands together, softly reciting a Buddhist prayer.
There was no resistance in his eyes, nor fanaticism, but only contemplation and enlightenment.
Killing to protect life, severing karma not people.
Ninjutsu was a blade, capable of both slaughter and creation.
Wasn't the scene before him precisely what the Buddhist way spoke of as the proper use of one's power?
This daimyo, who integrated the country with thunderous means, also blessed the common people with a gentle heart.
Great goodness!
Just as everyone's thoughts swirled and they each pondered their own ideas, the Shadow Guard turned to face them.
"The daimyo has an order."
"From today until the project's completion, you twelve will be responsible for supervising the project's progress."
At these words, Asuma's face froze.
Even the Uchiha shinobi's usually calm face tightened. A vein bulged on his forehead.
To have him, an elite of the Uchiha, supervise a group of bricklayers?
This was the heavy responsibility the daimyo had promised?
A surge of anger rose in his heart, only to be forcibly suppressed.
The Shadow Guard ignored their expressions and continued to relay the command.
"The daimyo also said..."
"He hopes you can understand some principles on this construction site."
"Once the houses are built, the daimyo will meet you."
With that, the Shadow Guard's figure turned into an afterimage and vanished from their sight.
The twelve Guardian Shinobi were left in the swirling dust.
Understand some principles?
Understand what?
For shinobi clan elites like Asuma, these words sounded like a warning, increasing their internal resistance.
But for Kazuma and Natsukawa, it filled them with motivation.
The wind swept across the construction site, stirring up even more dust.