800 PS
◇◇◇
The construction site was chaotic, and dust filled the air.
"Ugh!"
Asuma, who had just swallowed a mouthful of dust, spat several times in frustration.
Then, gritting his teeth, he turned and kicked the wall that had just been raised with Earth Release.
Bang!
The wall didn't even shake, but the rebound made his foot numb.
That only made him angrier.
"No! I've had enough of this!" he roared. "I'm going to see the Daimyo! I want to ask him to his face what he thinks we are! Foremen?!"
With that, Asuma turned and stormed toward the exit, his Chakra flaring violently.
"Stop."
A cold voice rang out.
Two Ninja dressed in Shadow Guard uniforms appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
"The Daimyo has ordered that you are not to leave until the project is complete," said the leading guard, his tone flat and emotionless.
Asuma's temper instantly boiled over. "Move! I'm one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, not some prisoner for you to watch!"
His Jōnin-level Chakra erupted, making the dust around him swirl and freeze midair.
Even the loud noise of construction seemed to pause for a moment.
The Kurokaze Ninja and several Shadow Guard performing Earth Release stopped briefly to glance over, then immediately turned back to their work.
It was as if the confrontation wasn't worth their attention.
That sense of being completely ignored made Asuma's fists clench tighter.
"I'll say it again—move!"
He took a step forward, hand gripping the hilt of his Chakra blade at his waist.
The air grew heavy.
The Uchiha Ninja narrowed his eyes, his body tilting slightly as if ready to act.
The Nara clansman, sensing danger, muttered inwardly, This is bad, and prepared to intervene.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Six more figures appeared around Asuma, surrounding him with the first two.
Not only that—on the rooftops and scaffolding, shadowy forms flickered one after another.
It was like a massive net closing in around the entire site.
Eight Shadow Guard surrounded Asuma at close range, with who knew how many more watching from above.
He froze.
He could feel it clearly, one wrong move, and a dozen killing strikes would descend instantly.
The eyes of these Shadow Guard were sharp and cold. They would kill him without hesitation.
Here, the title of Guardian Ninja meant nothing.
The only thing that mattered were three words: Daimyo's order.
"Asuma, stand down!" the Nara clansman called sharply, his tone warning.
Asuma's face turned pale, then red, his chest heaving as he struggled to control his anger. The hand gripping his blade trembled.
Finally, with visible effort, he released his grip.
He turned around, storming back to his place with clenched teeth.
The conflict was defused.
But a heavy silence hung in the air.
Every Ninja from a noble clan felt the same chill sink into their hearts.
They finally understood.
They weren't stationed here—they were being kept here.
Just then, a heated argument broke out on the far side of the site.
"Ninja-sama! Ninja-sama! Please stop!"
A sweating old craftsman ran over, holding a bent steel punch, shouting toward a Shadow Guard who had just completed an Earth Release technique.
The guard frowned, clearly impatient. "What are you yelling about? Can't you see I'm working?"
"You… look at this!" The old craftsman held up the twisted tool, his face anxious. "This wall you made—it's too hard! My steel punch can't even get through! How are we supposed to secure the window frames?!"
The Ninja gave it a quick glance, then replied indifferently, "Hard is good. It means it's strong. If your tools can't handle it, get better tools."
"But… the blueprints clearly require bolt holes here! Without them, we can't install the doors and windows!"
"How should I know about bolt holes? Don't bother me."
"Ninja-sama, if you do this, we can't continue our work!"
"You… fine, fine, tell me how to do it, and I'll change it."
"…"
The scene was fully visible to the Guardian Ninja.
Asuma's jaw tightened, his suppressed anger rising again.
But this time, he didn't explode. He just gave a cold snort.
The Nara clansman, however, frowned even deeper.
This was only the beginning.
Soon, more voices erupted across the site.
"Hey! Ninja-sama! The measurements are wrong!"
A middle-aged foreman ran up, holding a carpenter's ruler, gesturing angrily toward another wall.
"The blueprint says exactly three meters here! But this wall, three meters and one centimeter on one end, two meters and ninety-nine on the other! That's off by two centimeters! How am I supposed to fit the prefabricated beams?!"
The Kurokaze Ninja scratched his head, confused. "Two centimeters? That's nothing, just the width of two fingers."
"It's not nothing!" the foreman shouted, almost spitting on him. "These are houses for people to live in, not mud walls for you to play with!"
"Even a single centimeter off means the beam won't sit properly! In a storm, it'll collapse! People could die! Do you understand?!"
The Kurokaze Ninja's Chakra wavered from frustration.
Crack!
A jagged fissure split across the wall.
"Oh my god!"
The foreman let out a wail, nearly collapsing to his knees. "It's ruined!"
The Kurokaze Ninja's face turned pale, his eyes burning with barely restrained killing intent.
But he swallowed it down.
He knew what would happen if the construction fell behind schedule or if the craftsmen were driven away.
The Daimyo's punishment would be far worse.
Gritting his teeth, he forced the words out. "Tear it down. Start over."
Similar arguments flared up all across the site, like a string of firecrackers.
The power of Ninjutsu and the precision of craftsmanship clashed head-on.
Ninjutsu that could decide life and death on the battlefield couldn't even ensure proper building dimensions here.
The Ninja who could split the earth with ease were helpless before the measurements on a blueprint.
They could build walls stronger than stone,
But forgot to leave spaces for windows and doors.
They could raise a ten-meter wall in minutes,
But couldn't keep it straight—it leaned like it might collapse any moment.
The entire site descended into chaotic absurdity.
Efficiency was astonishing, but the rework rate was even higher.
Watching the scene, Asuma's face twisted with fury.
He crushed the cigarette in his hand to dust.
"This is a joke!" he roared. "We're Ninja! Konoha's elite! Not a bunch of glorified bricklayers!"
"Did the Daimyo bring us here just to make us watch this circus?!"
"This is an insult!"
His voice wasn't loud, but every Ninja nearby heard it clearly.
The Inuzuka Ninja scratched at his ninken's fur irritably, the dog whining in response.
The Uchiha's expression darkened.
Clearly, Asuma had voiced what everyone else was thinking.
Their Ninjutsu wasn't meant for this. It was meant to kill enemies, not dig dirt.
But in the heavy silence that followed, a quiet voice broke through.
"Asuma-sama… I don't think this is an insult."
The voice was faint, yet every word was crystal clear.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇◇
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)