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Title: Meeting
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"Apparently, we had a spy in our ranks. They knew we were coming before we even reached and ambushed our men enroute to the Hyuga clan." Yoruichi said as the event was brought up.
"But that's impossible, there's no way we would have a spy, right? Both the Tengoku clan and Chinioke clan are always on the look out for suspicious individuals." Fujirawa Chinioke frowned.
"Nothings is impossible, Fuji, with a little intelligence, anyone could bypass the check ups on the border." Itsu chipped in.
"Any information on who it might be?" Shun asked, his eyes were closed with his hand supporting his jaw. Everyone looked at Hinami as she was the one to go to in moments like this.
"Hai, two actually, a member from the lower class of the Tengoku clan and the Chinioke clan third young master. Apparently, they had information on the inner workings of the black numbers and hoped to deal a fatal blow to our military." Hinami answered while passing some scrolls to the captains.
"Their aim?" Shun asked while perusing the scroll.
"They think you're too weak as a leader, and with the way Hashirama and Madara's game are rising, they feel they're more worthy than a leader who rules with compassion." Hinami said cooly, causing the room to fall silent.
"Mm. I see... And your thoughts?" Shun asked not bothered with the atmosphere.
"They should be killed off immediately." Hinami answered.
"No, I know, not that, I meant what you think about their reason?" Shun waved his hand.
"Oh... I don't know about the others but I believe you're a capable leader." Hinami said and kept silent.
Shun nodded and looked at the others.
"Sonchō, I don't care about these things, I just know I'll follow you." Mikoto said. She was a Tengen and 'grew' up with Shun apparently, as she was Shun's cousin.
"Mm." Shun hummed.
"Those two don't know what we do hence their naïve thought process, as someone who has been with you since the very beginning, I believe that whatever you do is for a reason." Kazuma said devotedly.
"I believe I represent my clan when I say we believe in your cause, Sonchō, as for my nephew, I believe I'm at fault for his upbringing so I plead that his sentence may be lessened." Fujirawa said tensely.
"My clan member is also involved in this and I won't be showing mercy to him, why do you think I'll show mercy to yours?" Shun asked in bafflement.
"..." Fujirawa remained silent with his head still held low.
Shun shook his head and looked at the others. "What do you think?"
"This is treachery of the highest level, Chinioke-san, you're the chief of the police, you should know the laws and punishment surrounding that particular crime right?" Kazuma spoke with anger in his tone.
"We're here because we want to maintain this peace we've grown to love so much. Imagine if there was war on this island as there is on the outside, what do you think would become of this fine place?" Yuri who had kept silent for some time spoke in a lazy voice, but they all knew she was actually angry at the Chinioke captain.
Yuri was actually the youngest of all the captains here as well as the most playful of them all. She was an orphan who had personally been brought up and trained by Shun while they were young, so in a way, she was akin to a younger sister to him.
This was also part of the reason she could be a captain without a squad and get away with it. Others had credible reasons but her...
"Anyways, Sonchō, what should we do about the Hagoromo clan? They're the ones most involved in this." Yuri asked seriously this time.
Shun sighed and closed his eyes. 'This is the same clan bearing Pops name, they're all attuned to natural energy hence their enhanced physique and chakra. I wouldn't want to do this but alas...
"Extermination. Kill them all, the children should be allowed to escape. Everyone with chakra should be killed though, man and woman, old and young alike." Shun gave the order.
"Why spare the children? Their main force would probably be those children."Kageno who had been silent since the beginning spoke.
He was someone who lacked presence and was perfect for assassination. Infact, in the entire Zero Squad, he was the perfect assassin.
The reason why he hadn't found a special division of assassins under him yet was because his requirements were too high.
"I know, but I'm sure you'll figure it out, sometimes you just have to look into the eyes to know. Whether one is a child or not, you'll know." Shun said.
He wasn't kind by any means, no. He had killed his own fair share of people, in as much as you had shown a tiny bit of killing intent toward him, he'll kill without a second thought, but, children were and will always be innocent until they're not.
Killing an innocent, and a child at that, left a bad taste.
"You all should know Sonchō's likes by now. Just kill everyone you see and leave those who don't put up a fight, that's my memo, I don't know about you all." Toshiba spoke in a gruff voice.
This man was the only person in the Zero Squad who had no chakra and relied only on his physical strength to reach where he was now.
To top it off, he didn't train in any special technique like the eight gate or breathing technique. His strength came from nothing but raw physical conditioning.
"Hmm. First order of action, deploy all members of the Zero Squad still able to fight and kill of the Hagoromo clan. If you encounter the Senju or Uchiha clan, follow the procedure." Shun said with a tone of finality.
"The Hagoromo clan is closer to the Uchiha clan, what if they don't back off?" Toshiba asked.
"They will. Our five Ancient Clans have always maintained this rule. We don't attack any of the other four and they don't attack us, whatever they do between themselves is up to them, but in the unfortunate situation they don't back off, allow the Captain of the First Squad to handle them." Shun said, referring to Hinami.
They all nodded but Toshiba looked like he wanted to say something.
"I know Toshiba-san, if you can, give them a good fight, but don't kill anybody, Hinami would also protect you if you are put in a disadvantage position." Shun waved his hand to the man.
"Thank you, Sonchō!" Toshiba bowed in gratitude.
'Seriously, what's wrong with this guy's brain.' Shun thought as he gave the man a weird gaze.
No wonder he also didn't have anyone in his squad, there's no way anyone would bring out the time to train in nothing but their body all day long for years.
"Alright, as that is settled, we'll be holding a mass burial for our fallen comrades after your victorious return, so make sure you vent for both yourselves and our fallen comrades, hmm?"
"Hai, Sonchō!" They all saluted with their right hands on their chest.
"Good. Now anything else you'd like to report?" Shun asked, this was a meeting after all and they were meant to air all their issues of the past month.
"Hai, Shun-nii, ahem, Shun-sama, I have finally decided on a grou-, I mean Squad to create." Yuri raised her hands and said.
"Oh? Do tell." Shun smiled, totally not bothering to know why it seemed like she wanted to form a group instead of a squad.
"Mm-hmm. I plan to create a women only squad." Yuri declared while puffing her non existent chest out.
"Oh? Go on."
"This thought came to me just now as we were talking about spies, both intelligent and otherwise. What if we had a place where men go to to vent their stress and yap away at their life's trouble? A place where they could get drunk, and, indulge in whatever desires they have." Yuri continued proudly.
"So... A whore house?" Mikoto asked in mild anger. She was also one of the female captains that had known Shun since young and by extension, Yuri and Hinami. Hearing this from Yuri caused her to get angry for a moment there.
"No. No. No." Yuri waved her hand in denial. "Well, yes, but more. Think about it. A building or an entire district filled with females with charm illsuion focused on arousing both male and female customers, we could extract more information than Hinami-nee-san."
Mikoto's anger rose as Yuri spoke, then looking to Hinami for support, she saw a curious expression on her face instead of a rageful one she was expecting.
She has grown with Hinami and knows that that expression was one she had when she was seriously considering something.
"Sonchō. Nee-san, are you even considering that idea? That's bad on so many levels." Mikoto said and stood up.
"Remember where you are, Mikoto-san." Toshiba's gruff voice was heard causing her to calm down a little and sit back down.
"This idea.. is... Feasible. My people collect information by laying in plain sight, I never thought of using a pleasure house. Good idea, Yuri." Hinami have a rare smile at Yuri causing the other captains to be dazzled at her beauty only to feel a chill run down their spine for a split second.
Looking at their Sonchō, they saw his ever present smile and were reminded of whom she belonged to.
Mikoto on the other hand was livid. "Seriously?"
"Mikoto, it's a matter of perspective, you have been to the world outside these island and have seen what the normal people do to survive, in the country of wind, parents cut off their flesh just to feed their children, little girls of less than nine are raped on daily basis, not to mention that women are seen as weak. I understand your aversion to whore houses as it makes you feel women are debasing themselves, but that is a matter of perspective. A whore house and a pleasure house both mean the same thing but the way they are presented matters." Hinami advised.
"Ne. Nee-san, think of it this way, every member of my squad has chakra level as high as 30-50k unit and are versed in Genjutsu of all kinds, except for some special individuals who would notice immediately, no one would even know that the pleasure they're experiencing is all in their head. No physical harm is needed, at least, there could be physical contact when they're serving drinks to get them drunk but nothing else." Yuri said in a bid to calm everyone down.
"Plus, we could make big money off of those kind of men." Yuri finished.
Everyone kept silent for a moment while mulling over what was just said.
Meanwhile, Shun was reminded of the woman who had given him a new life when he was at deaths door many years ago at the expense of her own cultivation.
"Xin, it's been so long, I wonder how she is now." Shun thought to himself. This was one of the chapters of his life he hadn't told Hinami, only Ria knew and even she didn't mention it.
In a way, Xin was his woman, he took her virginity and although he knew she loved him, he held no romantic interest towards her at all. He already had his heart filled with Hinami, Ria and Kaguya.
"I should pay her a visit and maybe invite her to oversee Yuri's squad. The Celestial Lodge, Huh?" Shun thought.
"An interesting idea, Yuri, I approve. Meet me after you're done with the clan extermination so we would iron out the details. Hmm?" Shun said.
"Hai, Shun-nii." Yuri exclaimed excitedly.
"Hahahaha, as far as you show results then all is well. Kageno, you still haven't found anyone suitable to train?" He asked his trusted assassin.
Kageno sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry for my incompetence, Shun-sama."
"Sigh. Don't mind. But how about we add in a new curriculum to the academy, say, Assasination Classroom. You spend 1 to 2 hours a day teaching all the students all they need to know about Assasination starting from the third year till their sixth year. The ones that show more promise will then be handed over to you to train after they graduate. How's that?" Shun suggested.
Kageno looked dumbstruck at the idea as he wondered why he didn't come up with that sooner. 'As expected of Shun-sama. His wisdom knows no bound.' He thought.
Seeing the assassin keep quiet, Shun continued. "You don't even have to personally attend to teach, send a clone or something, give out tips and wait for the result."
"Understood Shun-sama. As soon as the next academic year begins, I'll begin my tutoring." Kageno said with a salute.
"Good, then I'll have the school head know to add it to their curriculum. Toshiba, how about you? Any ideas?" Shun asked.
"Umm... A dojo perhaps?" He asked back.
"Why are you asking me, you're making a request not an enquiry." Shun admonished.
"Right! A dojo would help."
"Built in the school or outside?" Shun asked.
"If possible, Both." Toshiba answered.
"I'll see to it then. The world is changing fast, I can feel it. According to the prophecy of our ancestor, this era is the repetition of the past eras. Hashirama and Madara they're destined for greatness and if we don't develop fast... Sigh. You're all dismissed." Shun spoke halfway before dismissing them with a worried expression.
This caused all the captains to remember what Hinami had said. Shun had his worries too and true to fact, despite his flexible and happy-go-lucky attitude, he was still worried about not I my his clan, but thousands of people residing on this island.
Internally and externally, he had to fight and keep fighting so as not to destroy the legacy of his ancestors.
True, there was limit to everything, and if they don't hell share his burden, Shun was sure to reach his breaking point sooner rather than later.
...
When everyone left the room, it was only Shun and Hinami that were left sitting in silence.
"So... How was my act again today?" Shun asked. His previous worried expression gone.
"You've always been a good actor but seriously, don't take it too far." Hinami smiled as she spoke.
"It's nothing, they need to know that they're the branches holding the leaves that give shade to the people and start acting like it. I won't do everything for them but some things have to be done"
"True. Very True." Hinami nodded. "So, the Hagoromo clan... We once taught someone from that clan all those years ago right?"
"Yup, that's why I told them to take all the black numbers, they're dangerous and I want to preserve our men for the rainy days." Shun said.
"Still, extermination?" Hinami questioned.
"That's the reason I said to let the children go. They're important to this world as we know it, their clan unique bloodline still needs to be preserved so..."
Hinami sighed. Shun had the answer to everything.
"We'll see then, I'll be going, I have a clan to exterminate." Hinami said. "it's been a while since this Priestess caused some bloodshed. Kukuku."
"Not that laugh, please." Shun said before she left the room only for her to laugh it off.
"Sigh, women."
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Join my Patre@n at patreon.com/JoshRichie2 for Vol 3... 100+ Chapters ahead.}