Chapter 36 — You're Stronger Than the Fourth Raikage?
"Are we really… supposed to break the gate?"
Under the threatening glare of Yuki, the Cloud envoy leader, the Grass envoy chief had no choice.
He reluctantly ordered several Grass shinobi to step forward.
But this was no simple trespass—this was defying the last sacred dignity of a daimyō's residence.
Standing before the grand doors of Oda Nobunaga's palace, the chosen Grass shinobi exchanged uneasy glances.
Breaking into another village was one thing…
Breaking into a daimyō's estate was a different beast entirely.
With pitiful eyes, they looked back toward their envoy leader for rescue—
only to receive a vicious glare, sharpened by Cloud Village's silent pressure behind him.
Realizing they had no way out, the Grass ninja grit their teeth and prepared to punch through the gate.
And then… an odd feeling washed over them.
The thought of shattering the dignity of a high-ranking lord—
of committing a taboo act that would normally doom them—
sent an inexplicable thrill up their spines.
Their faces flushed.
Their breaths grew heavy.
"Hmm?"
Yuki, standing proudly behind them, blinked in confusion.
A moment ago these Grass shinobi were trembling like quail;
now they were breathing like bulls in heat.
But Yuki was no rookie—
he understood instantly what was going on.
"Tch. Idiots."
He muttered under his breath.
These pathetic Grass shinobi…
A little forbidden excitement and they're already worked up like this.
He glanced sideways, his eyes drifting toward Mabui hidden among her guards.
Now she… she's the real 'high-level match.'
If only I could—
Before Yuki could finish fantasizing, the Grass shinobi, faces flushed and hearts pounding, lifted their feet—
—and the doors exploded open on their own.
BOOM.
Their kicks froze mid-air in a perfectly ridiculous pose.
Silence instantly blanketed the courtyard.
Several Grass shinobi stood like statues, legs raised, looking like they had been caught trying to vandalize their neighbor's house.
Everyone stared.
And then—
"...What exactly are you trying to do?"
Zōmajirō appeared in the doorway like a stone-faced gatekeeper, sweeping his cold gaze over the Grass shinobi frozen in a donkey-kick formation.
Of course he knew what they were planning.
But it was far more satisfying to force them to explain themselves.
"Haha—ha ha… this is… hah…"
The Grass envoy chief rushed forward, laughing awkwardly.
"We thought your esteemed residence's door looked… dusty!
So we—ah—were just trying to clean it for you!"
Trying to kick down the door before it opened was one thing.
Being caught in the act afterward was a humiliation no lie could fully cover.
His aura deflated instantly.
"Hmph."
Zōmajirō lifted his chin, lazily brushing aside the Grass envoy as if they weren't worth a single word.
His attention shifted—
to the real target in the back.
The Cloud ninja.
"Ahem."
The Grass envoy chief, feeling his own presence shrinking, turned to Yuki for guidance.
Yuki was quick to take the cue.
He strode forward with the swagger expected of a Cloud elite—
the kind of swagger trained over years of breaking into other nations' territory and acting like the victim afterward.
You're too soft, Yuki thought at the Grass envoy chief.
We're here to cause trouble. Do you think politeness is part of the mission objective?
With a single clearing of his throat, he conveyed all of that.
The Grass envoy chief immediately understood.
Right—why am I being polite?
We came here to MAKE TROUBLE!
With his confidence abruptly rekindled, the man puffed up his chest once more—
and prepared to deliver the next wave of "diplomatic hostility."
Anyway, even if they caused trouble, weren't the mighty Cloud shinobi backing them up?
Thinking this, the Grass envoy chief lifted his nostrils so high they nearly pointed at the ceiling. He looked down at Zōmajirō with a cold snort.
"Hand over the Uzumaki mother and daughter! Otherwise, Grass and Cloud will stomp your little Land of Fields flat!"
Not feeling fierce enough, he signaled to his Grass shinobi—
who surged forward like bandits reincarnated, clearly intending to storm Oda Nobunaga's mansion.
Whether they behaved themselves inside…
or helped themselves to whatever they fancied…
Well, that depended entirely on the whims of these so-called "guests."
But before they could take a single step—
"Lord Oda Nobunaga summons you."
Zōmajirō's calm voice stopped the charging Grass shinobi mid-stride, freezing them like puppets with cut strings.
"Your daimyō… is back?"
The Grass envoy chief blinked.
Even the Cloud shinobi—Yuki and Mabui—paused in disbelief.
Grass shinobi had sworn up and down that they had sealed every exits and entrance of their country so tightly that not even a fly could slip through unnoticed.
And for several days, the daimyō had "closed his doors," refusing all visitors.
Which made perfect sense.
Who would willingly let ninja blockade their doorway and keep face?
In other words—
Mabui squeezed to Yuki's side and tapped his palm using Cloud's covert hand-sign code:
"Play along. Pressure them harder."
Instant comprehension flashed through Yuki's eyes.
He stepped forward, voice dripping with insinuation:
"Indeed. As the aggrieved party, Grass has every right to demand justice. Lord Nobunaga has shown great discourtesy."
With Cloud backing him, the Grass envoy chief's arrogance instantly reignited.
"Hmph! Then lead the way. I'd like to see how your daimyō plans to settle this!"
Steam practically puffed from his nostrils as he waved Zōmajirō to guide them.
"This way, please."
Zōmajirō wanted nothing more than to cut down these pests on the spot—
but this was Nobunaga's front gate.
Protocol must be observed.
Swallowing his disgust, he led them inside.
Soon, the pack of Grass shinobi—followed by the scheming Cloud shinobi—arrived at the main hall.
---
"So you're Oda Nobunaga, daimyō of the Land of Fields?"
The Grass envoy leader strutted forward, glaring rudely at Nobunaga, who sat calmly at the head of the room.
"This is your final chance. Return the Uzumaki mother and daughter.
Otherwise, Grass will declare war—and wipe your country off the map!"
Backed by Cloud shinobi—and remembering the infamous incidents Cloud caused in Konoha years ago—the Grass envoy chief felt emboldened.
Eyes sweeping the hall, he suddenly spotted several elegant maidservants.
A lecherous grin twisted his lips.
Since we came all the way to Fields…
why not enjoy some compensation first?
He reached out toward a young maid—
"How dare you!"
Zōmajirō's patience snapped.
His blade flashed from its sheath, ready to split the Grass envoy chief in half.
But—
"You must be Yuki Iori, the representative of Cloud."
Nobunaga's voice drifted across the room—calm, poised, and utterly ignoring the Grass envoy who was being used as a pawn.
He directly locked onto the true power in the room.
Yuki stiffened.
As the Cloud envoy leader, refusing the daimyō's address was impossible.
He bowed stiffly.
"Y-yes. I am Yuki, envoy of Cloud Village. It is an immense honor to receive your summons, Lord Nobunaga."
Nobunaga's expression didn't soften.
He merely looked at Yuki with a faint, chilling curiosity.
"Tell me—
does the Fourth Raikage, Lord A, also neglect basic courtesy when meeting a daimyō?"
The room froze.
Yuki's face drained of all color.
His knees buckled.
THUD.
He dropped to the floor in a full kneel, forehead nearly touching the tatami.
Behind him, the Grass envoy chief—who had just been about to harass the maid—was left hanging awkwardly mid-gesture, face twisted in embarrassment.