Chapter 273: Sweeping Away Darkness (Part 1)
His mother, Satomi, and Natsu shopped with incredible enthusiasm. Behind them, Dana, transformed into an exclusive bag carrier, was running out of hands to hold things.
If even Dana, with his physique, couldn't hold it all, you can imagine how much they bought.
Satomi also picked out three sets of clothes for Natsu—one ready-made and two custom-tailored—using the finest fabrics from the most famous tailor shops. Just this activity alone took nearly three hours. By the time they came out, Dana felt completely numb.
In any world, accompanying women shopping is an extremely exhausting task for men, regardless of the man's stamina.
Especially when the women have no shortage of money.
Just like that, the two walked into a jewelry store. The owner immediately recognized them as big spenders. Having suffered poor business due to the disasters this year, he seized the opportunity to boost his sales figures.
Various jewelry pieces were served on trays like dishes for the two to examine.
The owner clearly knew Dana was just an accessory, directing all his attentiveness toward Satomi and Natsu while pretending the large man beside them didn't exist.
Dana stood in the shop like a punishment post for a while, feeling bored, so he decided to step outside for some fresh air.
After standing there for about half an hour, his keen senses picked up some commotion in a nearby alley. Having nothing else to do, he activated his "Pulse" Vision.
"Oh my, what do we have here..."
In an alley where sunlight couldn't reach, two scruffy, bearded men surrounded a little girl slumped on the ground, cursing violently with spittle flying everywhere.
"You bring in less and less money lately! Are you slacking off?!"
Saying this, one of them kicked the little girl.
The girl cried out in pain but kept her head lowered.
The other man said, "Big Brother, I told you we should break one of her legs. That makes it easier to beg for money. At the very least, cut her eyelids."
"I only kept her intact because she looks decent. We can sell her for a good price in a few years."
"Who knows what will happen later? She might die of illness in two months. Though it's true she looks good... just a bit too young... The ones back at the den are better."
"Hehehe!"
The two grown men laughed wildly.
In the next instant, they felt two large hands clamp onto their heads.
"Who is it?!"
They tried to turn their heads to look, but the hands on their heads felt like iron vices, immovable. Instead, their heads were lifted bit by bit until they were forced to stand on their tiptoes.
Their brains buzzed with pain from the immense pressure, and they couldn't help but start cursing, spewing filth endlessly.
One of them had a bit of street smarts. Knowing that someone this strong was likely a ninja, he quickly stopped cursing and changed his tune. "Is it Ninja-sama? What... what crime has this lowly one committed?... We were just disciplining our niece."
The other man quickly added, "Right, right, right! Our niece stole money from home, so we were teaching her a lesson. Even Cloud ninja can't interfere with family matters, right?! Is this how the Cloud bullies commoners?!..."
Dana smiled. "Ah... occasionally encountering such filth makes me feel that my years of training weren't in vain."
"Ninja-sama, what do you mean? We really didn't commit any crime!"
Seeing the tone wasn't right, the two decided to settle for the second-best option—trying to muddle through was better than being killed on the spot. Maybe later they could even counter-accuse this person, blow up the incident, and extort some money.
"If you don't believe us, sir, I have nothing to say. Just lock us up."
"Yeah! Are law-abiding citizens like us destined to be oppressed by the Cloud?"
Dana's smile didn't change. "Lock you up? The air in the Land of Lightning isn't abundant enough to waste on you."
With a slight exertion of force in his hands, he twisted both their necks 360 degrees. Feeling they were still somewhat connected, he twisted another 720 degrees, finally detaching them completely.
A flash of lightning cauterized the severed sections, preventing blood from spraying.
Coincidentally, the Cloud ninja summoned via Communication Snail arrived at the alley. Seeing Dana holding a head in each hand, they showed no surprise, kneeling on one knee to receive orders.
"Dana-sama."
Dana tossed the two heads to them. "Find someone to extract intel from these heads. They should have another den in the capital. Clean it all out. Rescue the trapped victims and kill the perpetrators."
He then looked at the little girl who had remained silent from start to finish, only looking up at him. "Check if that child has any family. If not, send her to the orphanage. Also, try sending her to the Ninja Academy. If she can refine chakra, take good care of her."
Dana clapped his hands, ready to leave, an idea already forming in his mind.
Previously, he had been focused on high-level planning for the Land of Lightning's future, neglecting the dark corners where ugly deeds destroyed the peaceful lives of commoners. Especially the prolonged chaos, which had bred more crime.
With the Cloud's current manpower, long-term peace and stability might be hard, but a targeted sweep was definitely feasible. For ninja skilled in reconnaissance, tracking, decoding, intelligence analysis, and assassination, guest-starring as crime-busters was no problem at all.
In his past life terms, everyone was a superhero.
This could perfectly tie into promoting the ninja profession, boosting the goodwill of ordinary people toward ninja.
Just as he was about to turn away, the little girl, who was about to be taken away by a kunoichi, broke free from her hand. She ran up to Dana and bowed solemnly.
"Grow up strong!"
That night, after arranging accommodation for his mother and escorting Natsu back to her room, Dana went to the Third Raikage's temporary office.
"Special Campaign to Sweep Away Black and Evil Forces?"
The Third Raikage felt he knew every word, but strung together, they sounded strange.
Am I becoming stupid from work stress?
Dana explained, "Yes. Over the past year, the Land of Lightning has likely bred many dark aspects—loan sharks, evil forces, human trafficking, etc. The transition of power is the perfect time to deal with these people; otherwise, the cost will be higher later. Coincidentally, the acceptance of children becoming ninja is low outside the village. We can combine the two."
"For example?"
"For example, set up a special squad in each city to crack down on evil forces, especially organized ones. Publicize this squad's deeds well, shaping them into heroes among the common people. Our Ninja Academy posters are too dull. If we replace them with familiar 'hero' figures, it will be more effective and improve people's perception of ninja."
The Third Raikage nodded. "That's a good idea. We can draw some people from the village's Police Force, but it won't be enough. We'll need to coordinate with the existing manpower in each city."
They chatted for a while longer before the Third Raikage changed the subject. "Your mother came prepared this time. You'd better be mentally prepared. She has already discussed several different wedding plans with me... How should I put it... every one of them is... a grand spectacle."
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Dana's forehead. If even his Old Man thought it was a grand spectacle, then it must truly be massive.
"Also, invitations have been sent to all nations. Whether they come or not is one thing, but whether it's a princess getting married or a Daimyo getting married, according to the rules, we must invite every nation."
Dana nodded. This wasn't unexpected; he had known this early on.
However, he imagined the expressions on the faces of the various nations when they saw his wedding invitation would be quite spectacular.