Chapter 39 — Absurdity Dances Freely
Ever since that disastrous day—
when he and the Cloud shinobi tried to intimidate Oda Nobunaga but ended up humiliated instead,
after Nobunaga exposed them with a fabricated yet irrefutable "blackmail video"—
the Grass envoy chief's hatred had only grown deeper.
He had believed Nobunaga would keep the footage as leverage, negotiate privately,
and eventually settle the matter quietly.
After all, Grass Hidden Village, despite being infamous and nearly on par with the bandit-like Cloud shinobi in reputation,
still had thousands of years of history and some level of prestige.
But Nobunaga?
He didn't give Grass Village even half a shred of face.
Not only did he reveal the footage in public,
he actually distributed copies of the scandalous recording to every Daimyō across the nations.
And if that wasn't enough—
He manipulated public opinion,
fanning the flames until the scandal spread across the entire continent.
Soon, the uninformed masses were stirred into anger,
sympathizing with the powerless, and turning their resentment toward the lofty shinobi.
At this thought, hiding beneath the cover of night outside Nobunaga's estate,
the Grass envoy chief gritted his teeth.
Outside, public fury raged.
Inside, Daimyō—long frustrated with shinobi dominance—finally had an excuse to exert pressure on their own villages.
Even in Grass Country, the repercussions hit fast:
Next year's funding from the Daimyō's house had already been cut in half.
And politically, things got even worse.
Due to the "approved moral stance" of the era,
the Five Great Villages didn't offer solidarity or support.
Instead, they released official statements condemning Grass Village:
for mistreating their own comrades
for engaging in barbaric, inhuman behavior
and for attempting to harm the Daimyō of another nation
All of which painted Grass Village as a malignant tumor of the shinobi world.
"Bastards… all of them… bastards."
The envoy chief hissed under his breath as he slipped quietly through the shadows into Nobunaga's manor.
After the scandal broke, Grass Village was in uproar.
Based on secret correspondences from an old friend back home,
the jonin who accompanied him last time—and who was first to attack Nobunaga—
was already being prepared as the sacrificial scapegoat to appease the Daimyō.
But the envoy chief understood the truth:
He himself would not escape punishment either.
To avoid becoming the next victim in the wave of political purges,
he reluctantly accepted the proposal of that scheming Cloud shinobi—Yuki.
The plan was simple:
Sneak into Oda Nobunaga's residence and steal back the Uzumaki mother and daughter.
Once Grass Village had them in hand,
it would be easy to coerce the pair into "confessing" whatever narrative benefited Grass
and incriminated Nobunaga.
With that leverage,
they could fabricate whatever "truth" they wanted.
Moving with exaggerated caution—like performing an S-rank infiltration—
the envoy chief crept through the estate,
eyes narrowed as he searched for the mother and child who started this entire chain of disasters.
Cornered and desperate, the Grass envoy chief seemed to have tapped into some miraculous, last-ditch brilliance.
Even now, after sneaking deep into Oda Nobunaga's estate, he still hadn't been discovered by any of the Sound shinobi.
At least, outside the mansion walls, Yuki and Mabui—who had been silently watching—were both dumbfounded.
"He… might actually succeed?"
Yuki muttered, surrounded by a squad of Cloud shinobi lying in ambush.
Even he wasn't sure whether he wanted that idiot Grass ninja to succeed or not.
"He won't," Mabui replied calmly as time ticked by.
In the days she had stayed here, she had noticed something crucial.
Especially after Nobunaga's public appearance, the previously elusive Sound shinobi—
whom even she, a trusted aide of the Raikage, couldn't find—
finally revealed themselves, exposing the truth piece by piece.
The Sound Village wasn't a village at all.
They weren't like the traditional shinobi villages—
a cluster of mercenaries waiting for missions.
No.
The Sound shinobi were integrated into the military structure,
stationed across various bases and policing bureaus,
receiving direct national funding.
They were, in essence—
a fully nationalized army.
And surprisingly, they had seamless relations with civilians.
Unlike other villages where civilians only saw ninja during missions—
and even then, with a gulf of hierarchy between them—
Tanokuni's ordinary citizens could simply walk into a police bureau
and ask the shinobi stationed there for help as if requesting aid from local officials.
Even more unbelievable:
many non-ninja bureaucrats could directly command ninjas
simply because they passed certain governmental examinations.
This wasn't a village. It was a state.
"Almost time," Mabui murmured.
Her eyes were sharp.
When Yuki spotted Uzumaki Shion inside the mansion days ago,
the scene had obviously been a carefully arranged trap.
Otherwise, with the importance of that woman,
how could she possibly be spotted so easily?
"What exactly are you planning, Oda Nobunaga…?"
She lowered her gaze, deep in thought.
Nobunaga had prepared for this since the moment he took the Uzumaki mother and daughter from Grass territory.
Now, he had successfully delivered the Daimyōs of the continent a perfect excuse
to pressure and rein in their shinobi villages.
He had forced the major villages into silence—
unable to openly support Grass under the storm of public outrage.
This alone was a decisive victory.
"Unless—!"
A terrifying possibility flashed across Mabui's mind,
yet she found it hard to believe even as the thought surfaced.
Just then—
shouts erupted from deep within the mansion.
As expected, the Grass envoy chief had failed to retrieve the Uzumaki pair
and instead walked straight into Zōmajirō's trap.
"Let's move."
Grinning, Yuki waved his hand.
Everything was unfolding according to their plan—
the same trick Cloud used long ago against Konoha.
If Cloud could force Konoha to yield back then,
they could do the same to Nobunaga today.
Unless he planned to start a war with both Grass and Cloud?
He liked rules and justice so much?
Fine.
If the Uzumaki matter couldn't be used anymore—
they'd just manufacture a brand-new, irrefutable justification.
"Yuki—!"
As Yuki led the charge toward the estate entrance,
Mabui instinctively reached out to stop him.
But her hand froze midway, then slowly withdrew.
Sound's political influence was spreading.
Nobunaga's reforms were becoming a dangerous example—
a prototype other Daimyō might follow.
If they didn't crush this budding threat now…
The Two-Pillar System—the delicate balance between Daimyō and shinobi villages—
would collapse into farce.
Daimyō would become bolder and bolder,
and either the ninja villages would fall into civil war
or be reduced to the Daimyō's obedient hounds.
But would Nobunaga dare ignite a continental war?
Would other Daimyō truly stand with him?
How would the other villages react?
Under the pale moonlight, Mabui stepped forward.
She wanted to see for herself—
what kind of resolve this ten-year-old "Daimyō" truly possessed.
---
Inside the mansion—
"Lord Oda Nobunaga! How could you kill the Grass envoy chief?"
Mabui's voice rang out as she entered.
Yuki, right on cue, was dramatically cradling the "corpse" of the Grass envoy chief,
wailing in exaggerated grief.
And considering how Yuki had publicly thrown the Grass envoy under the carriage days ago…
the entire scene was an absurd performance—
a grotesque parody swirling in the night air.
Absurdity danced freely.