"L-Lord Mokage, you must be joking, right?"
The lord of Earthwalk City, his face pale, spoke cautiously. "According to tradition, ninja manage the villages, while the cities are governed by the nobles…"
"Whose tradition?"
Itsuki sneered, cutting him off. "Yours? You're so powerful? Why don't you fly up to the heavens then?"
"No, no, no!"
Sensing the murderous intent from Itsuki, the city lord shook his head frantically.
"I personally welcome Earthwalk City becoming part of Fire Shadow Village!"
He declared loudly, his voice booming so it could be heard outside.
This wasn't just for Itsuki's ears; it was a public declaration of Itsuki's intentions and his own commitment, sealing his fate.
He feared for his life if he didn't act.
Itsuki restrained its killing intent, watching him with a half-smile.
"I completely agree!"
The city lord dropped to his knees with a thud, shouting once more.
"Hmph!"
Itsuki snorted lightly. "Spread the word. I think merging several cities into Fire Shadow Village would be a great idea. Got it?"
"Yes!"
The city lord didn't even dare wipe his sweat, his obese body wobbling as he scrambled out.
"Hayate!"
"Lord Mokage!"
Hayate Gekkō appeared before Itsuki, kneeling on one knee.
Looking at this sickly ninja and then thinking about the beautiful Yugao, Itsuki felt a fire ignite in his chest.
*Cough cough!*
Itsuki cleared his throat. "Keep an eye on the nobles in the city. They might try to flee. Kill them. However much they take, bring back that much. Don't waste anything."
"Yes!"
Hayate hesitated, then asked, "Should we spread the word?"
"No need!"
Itsuki waved a hand, sneering. "These nobles are useless anyway."
"So, should we really kill them?"
Hayate looked uncertain. He felt Itsuki wanted blood.
*Sigh!*
Itsuki sighed in exasperation. "Fine, let them make the first move. Otherwise, chopping them up right away would feel a bit rude."
He wasn't worried about the nobles causing any trouble. They were garbage, after all!
Hayate couldn't help but ask, "Are you seriously planning to bring several cities under Fire Shadow Village's control?"
Ninja villages managing cities? That was unheard of!
Itsuki pointed to a map of the ninja world hanging on the wall.
It was a personal map, one he always carried, covered with dense markings.
"Hayate!"
Itsuki explained, "These three cities are in the way of Fire Shadow Village. Once they belong to us, it will be like gaining three fortresses."
"I don't expect them to be highly effective, just enough to act as a transfer point."
"Or…"
"At least delay the enemy, buying Fire Shadow Village some reaction time."
"Understood!"
Hayate nodded, though it was unclear if he fully grasped the plan. After bowing, he vanished.
…
*Fire Shadow Village!*
In the meeting room, Shisui was the first to speak, starting by admitting his mistake during the recent battle.
At a critical moment, he lost focus.
A grave error!
The others didn't say much. After all, it was his first time commanding thousands in a battle, and some slip-ups were inevitable.
As long as no major mistakes were made, it was fine.
Besides, he was only acting as Mokage, not the real Mokage.
Everyone knew Shisui could never become the real Mokage.
But still…
"Konoha's goal this time, the Two-Tails?"
Fugaku exclaimed, "That's something none of us anticipated."
The tailed beasts were incredibly powerful—disasters, even.
It was quite the shock that Konoha's plan from the start involved capturing a tailed beast.
"Not necessarily,"
Shisui shook his head. "They likely had multiple plans, and it just happened to involve the Two-Tails. Luckily, Itachi was there, otherwise…"
The group nodded in agreement.
Shisui glanced at Itachi and sighed again.
Fire Shadow Village had many skilled fighters, but their abilities couldn't always be used freely.
For instance, Fugaku, Shisui, and Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.
Even using Amaterasu once forced Itachi to rest for some time, and the technique also harmed his eyes.
Using it too much could cause blindness!
Susanoo, while stronger, inflicted even greater damage and was more noticeable.
In comparison, the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan had no such drawbacks, but in combat, it was far inferior to the Sharingan.
Without these powers, Fire Shadow Village didn't have a significant advantage over other ninja villages.
This is why a force of 1,000 from Fire Shadow Village could be held back by 5,000 from Konoha.
"This is my plan for a night raid!"
Shisui handed out reports to the group.
No one objected after reading it. It was a simple plan: using Byakugan and explosive tags to keep Konoha's forces from resting, not aiming for high casualties but rather to keep them constantly on edge.
Only Fire Shadow Village could pull off such a strategy, given their abundance of explosive tags.
Suddenly, Fugaku spoke up. "Can't we invite that angel lady?"
Konan alone could take down an entire village.
Hearing about her previous actions in Konoha, Fugaku nearly knelt in awe. When he and the others met her, their faces beamed like flowers in the rain.
She was truly terrifying—a force of nature!
After the meeting, Shisui rubbed his forehead, sighing deeply.
In just a few days, he felt exhausted. What would happen if Itsuki were here?
"If it were me, I'd knock them out!"
A loud voice rang out in the meeting room.
Shisui's eyes widened.
"Itsuki?"
"You're back!"
Shisui nearly rushed over to hug Itsuki and plant a kiss on him.
"Flying Thunder God technique, just a clone!"
Itsuki smirked. "You're really useless, you know that?"
Shisui wasn't angry, instead laughing like a fool. He was better suited for fighting.
"You have a plan?"
Shisui smiled, eager for a solution.
"Watch and learn!"
Itsuki said calmly, "Even just a clone can handle this."
With that, Itsuki walked out of the meeting room.
*Fire Shadow Village, back mountain!*
The massive Two-Tails was roaring.
"Little kitty, are you mad?"
Itsuki approached with a grin.
"You're back?"
The Two-Tails glanced at him.
"Just a clone!"
Itsuki replied. "Now, no more talking—I'll teach you!"
Without further ado, Itsuki got to work.
After a shadow clone is created, its chakra depletes over time, eventually disappearing when it reaches a certain point.
Although Itsuki's Mangekyo Sharingan clone also drained chakra, it consumed less, and the clone could even recover some chakra through rest.
"What are you going to teach me?"
The Two-Tails eyed him skeptically. "You know tailed beast techniques? You're so great? Show me a Tailed Beast Bomb then!"
Itsuki looked at the Two-Tails and said something that made her bristle instantly.
"First, stand up. Don't just lie there!"
(End of Chapter)