Taro stood in place, shell-shocked at the new information.
"But why?" Taro asked, "Hosai didn't gain anything from it, I'm sure. And I'm even more sure that Kise wouldn't—"
Ketsu stopped him with a scoff, "He's a natural-born evil. Those kinds are the most unpredictable, so I suggest you don't think of gains, because he probably did it just for the fun of it."
Taro looked at Ketsu and smiled, "Just 'cause he beat your ass doesn't mean he's that kind of person." Ketsu was about to bark back, but Taro continued, "From what I've seen, he isn't the type to just kill for no reason, let alone cause a massive warring state era."
"But he did," Kamishiro remarked, "When Shukaku was alive, peace didn't come from his strength alone. He used power to stop wars, but he kept peace with diplomacy."
Taro raised an eyebrow, "You already said that."
"Just listen." Veins popped on Kamishiro as he continued, "He built an alliance system between all clans in the Land of Wind. Large and small. Resources from the Daimyo were distributed equally, per capita. Missions, land, funding, all things were balanced."
Ketsu added bitterly, "No one had a reason to fight."
Kamishiro nodded, "Even after Shukaku died, no wars started. Everyone had finally tasted peace, and everyone wanted to keep it that way. It was an unwritten rule, and no one wanted to be the first to break it, because if they did, retaliation from all clans would occur."
"So what changed?" Taro asked.
Kamishiro stared at Taro.
"Your brother."
Ketsu clenched his fist and his jaw tightened. He remembered the days where he trained with his mother, fought alongside his elder brother in missions without worries.
"Kise gained the Daimyo's approval," Kamishiro continued, "With it, he secured more resources than any clan was supposed to have. More missions, food, money, you name it."
Taro's eyes widened, "How much more?"
Kamishiro chuckled, "It was enough to break the delicate system."
Taro began to think back to the times when he was with his brother, using his memories from the previous Taro, and his current memories. None of the Kise they mentioned was in those memories. In the memories, he saw a kind older brother, but cold toward others.
He was flawed, Taro knew that. But he wasn't the kind of guy that would spark an era of war.
Taro looked at Kamishiro and said, "Then why does the Hosai clan still exist? You said it yourself, all clans would retaliate."
Kamishiro just yawned and answered lazily, "The clans respected Shukaku, especially the strongest clan, since their patriarch is a student of Shukaku himself. They let you guys live by saving you from the wrath of all small and medium clans."
Ketsu scoffed, "That's why Hosai was in a decline. You guys stood tall, taller than anyone when Shukaku was alive."
Kamishiro yawned once again and turned around, dragging his brother and waving his hands, "Well, we'll get going now."
Watching the two leave, Taro couldn't help but sigh, "What's the point in worrying about the past? And besides, it's best to mind my own business."
When Taro was about to walk away, a sudden prompt halted his movements.
[Side Quest: The Peaceful and The Aggressor
Complete.]
[System Rewards:
2 Bronze Cards
5 Silver Cards.]
Taro raised an eyebrow and asked, "That's it?"
He quickly made his way toward his tent and began opening the cards. The first two Bronze Cards weren't anything special, just a broken kunai and glasses.
The first two Silver Cards weren't any better than the Bronze Cards. The first two consisted of grandma's really secretive forbidden recipe and a Stop Touching Me Elmo from South Park.
[Silver Card: Nature Chakra Stick
Description: A special stick that can disperse nature chakra out of a person.]
"Hmm… So it's that stick Pa used to prevent Naruto from transforming." Taro nodded and placed the item in his inventory, "That'll be useful later on, but right now, I don't need it."
[Silver Card: Light Feather Boots
Description: A pair of boots that will make your legs feel light as a feather, increasing your speed by a large margin.]
Taro's eyes lit up, "Imagine what that'll be like with the enchantments!"
[Silver Card: Chain Mail
Description: A type of armor consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It can protect the user from slashes and thrusting.]
Taro smiled, "This will be good with enchantments too, though I could've made one in Minecraft."
Taro paused, "That reminds me… I need to start using the resources in Minecraft more, like the iron ores." He sighed and said, "But that damned Daimyo won't allow anyone to have access to mines."
As Taro was organizing everything in his system inventory, a loud boom caused the ground to shake. He quickly got up and went outside the tent, where he saw massive black smoke from afar.
Dashing toward the explosion, Taro saw many ninjas also rushing toward the explosion, "Enemy attack?"
When everyone arrived, they saw three Hosai members on the floor dead. Two of them had their lower body blasted while the one in the middle was burnt till bones were peeking out of his flesh.
And the man in front of the three was none other than Kamishiro.
When all Hosai clansmen recognized their own, every single one of them turned furious. The Hosai clansmen surrounded Kamishiro and were ready to pounce at any moment. However, Kamishiro yawned, unbothered by anything.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Fuji arrived and saw the three dead Hosai. He was furious and asked for an explanation.
Kamishiro scoffed, "They started it. I was just going toward my lab, and they stopped me."
Fuji was seething with rage, "No one is allowed to step outside of the clan grounds until the Patriarch gets here. I ordered them not to."
Kamishiro answered, "Too bad. I'm going to my lab whether you like it or not."
He began walking and made it out of the encirclement, but before he could get away, Fuji stopped him with a shuriken aimed at his head.
Kamishiro stopped walking and moved his head to the side, "You really shouldn't push your luck, Hosai." He turned around, the laziness gone, "I've let you trample my clan, take everything, and let you run rampant."
The sand surrounding everyone began to move, and hundreds of tiny creatures made of wood came out.
The "creatures" opened their mouths simultaneously, with all of them having a barrel inside their mouths. Then seconds later, blue chakra began to form on the tip of the barrel, ready to be blasted at any given moment.
"Don't push your luck."
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This is unrevised because I'm tired as shit, so just let me know if theres grammatical errors, I'll fix it tmw. Also, join my clash of clan's clan you bastards.
Goodnight, I sleep now