Chương 11: How Heartless

The girl who, in her illusory memories, always stayed alone in the village, introverted and withdrawn, was gone, having broken free from the prison of the Kusanagi clan.

What appears before us now is powerful and mysterious, with a restrained confidence in its eyes.

Seeing that Jieluo did not intend to answer.

"You've appeared here to seek revenge on the Kusanagi clan?" Gen asked.

"Did you come to me wanting the Hero's Water?"

"So, do you want to leave the Hero Clan with me?" Jieluo replied.

Huan slowly shook her head and said resolutely, "I will not leave the village. This is a treasure that my father protected with all his might."

"You..." Jie Luo narrowed her eyes and said dangerously, "Want to try dying once?"

"Then let's give it a try." Huan gazed at Jieluo and said slowly, "In this way, you will have no chance to obtain the Hero's Water. The method and location to open that barrier are only in the hands of my daughter and me."

That's why the problem seems so complicated.

Jieluo looked at Huan with interest and said, "Let's stop haggling here. As ninjas, let's trade like ninjas. I'll settle your grudges, and you pay me with Hero's Water."

"First, I need to confirm one thing," Huan said solemnly, "Will you harm the village?"

"Even now, you still cling to this village?" Jieluo said.

"You're not some idiot who believes in the ninja god's nonsense, are you?"

Huan shook his head and said, "I can give you the Hero's Water. It's not anything precious. Without the Divine Tree's production, it's a non-renewable resource. If you plan to leave the village, I can supply you with the Hero's Water for a long time. That's my bargaining chip."

Jieluo asked, "What does that mean?"

Huan's lips curled into a cruel and insane smile as she said, "As my father's daughter and the patriarch of the Hero Clan, dying as a hero is my birth mission and responsibility. I don't mind dying as a hero."

Jieluo nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"However, I absolutely cannot tolerate being used and fooled, and dying meaninglessly."

"The Hero Clan, in the beginning, was a clan that protected the people. We took in the orphans of the common people who were displaced during the Warring States period, taught them the skills to survive, and united with them to fight against the enemy and protect our homeland."

Huan said through gritted teeth, "With the actions of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, the Warring States period came to an end. In order to survive, our clan had no choice but to unite with three demons and monsters! They are completely different from our clan! The most terrifying thing is that our clan has gradually been corrupted by the ideologies of these three clans."

Jieluo nodded. The Kusanagi clan was a rather cold-blooded clan. If they could be easily influenced, they wouldn't have fought with the Hero clan for so long during the Warring States period.

"After experiencing the taste of power, many members of the tribe no longer agree with the ideals of the heroic tribe."

"The Hero's Water is a force to protect everyone, not a force to send you to your deaths!"

"My father's death was meaningless," Gen said.

"During the capture of the Seven-Tails, I personally witnessed him being forced by the four clans to drink the Hero's Water. In addition, the forced distribution of large quantities of Hero's Water led to the deaths of many innocent ninja in the village. If this continues, Hero's Water will become standard issue for every Takigakure ninja, a deadly poison!"

"How can I not hate this!"

Jieluo's eyes lit up, and she concluded, "So you also hate Hashirama Senju?"

Huan was taken aback, then nodded and said, "Idiot! What 'God of Ninjas'! He's a complete idiot! Otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed to the plan to assassinate the God of Ninjas!"

"So you were involved in this foolish plan too," Jieluo clapped his hands and said, "Right? Great minds think alike. But even if Hashirama dies, the ninja world won't return to the Warring States period. The moment the God of Shinobi dies will be the moment the Ninja World War begins."

Upon hearing this, Huan's breath caught in her throat.

"The village's strategy is correct; actively preparing for war and increasing strength is a consensus among the five villages."

Huan shook his head and said, "The geographical location and secluded location of Takigakure mean that as long as we hold our ground and do not provoke any forces, we can safely weather any Shinobi World War. On the contrary, actively participating in the current conflicts in the Shinobi World is the way to bring about our own destruction."

You're right. Amegakure is a prime example of overdevelopment that led to its own destruction and alerted the five major villages.

Jielu clapped his hands and said, "You are indeed clever and clear-headed, but relying on the enemy's mercy is far less important than strengthening oneself."

"Arguing about this is not important. I agree with your idea, but I absolutely disagree with the village's actions," Huan said in a deep voice.

"When my father was alive, we were still able to suppress them. But with his death, my seniority is too low to command respect. In the past year, my power has been diminished by the village, and I have lost control over the hero clan. I have begun to become powerless and can only watch helplessly as the village rushes headlong down the path we do not want. At some point, I may very well die quietly in a corner where no one knows."

Huan glanced at the corpses of his two companions and said, "If you hadn't suddenly appeared, I would have been dead on the way."

Jie Luo smiled faintly, "In other words, there are other people in the village who know where the Hero's Water is."

Realizing she had let something slip, Huan Ya gritted her teeth and insisted, "No! I'm definitely not the only one who knows!"

"Let's just pretend that only you know," Jieluo said with a faint smile.

Huan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "As a member of the village, you should have felt it too. The village is gradually turning into a monster that devours everyone's lives. In just three years, even during the Warring States period, more of my clan have died than we have today! How ridiculous!"

"No..." Jielu shook her head and said, "I can't sense it. That's something only you higher-ups know. Lower-level ninjas, like Kakuzu-senpai, would foolishly go back to the village."

If this were the case in the future, and the mission failed, the first reaction of the ninjas from the five great villages would probably be to defect on the spot.

Upon hearing Kakuzu's name, a complex expression appeared in Gensou's eyes, and he said, "I'm sorry about the mission to assassinate Hashirama Senju."

"Have you had any contact with Kakuzu-senpai?" Yura asked.

Huan shook his head and said, "No, my men haven't had time to rescue Kakuzu yet."

"So..." Yura said thoughtfully, "Wang Yuegen is also one of yours?"

Huan looked deeply at Jieluo and said, "Lord Xuan supports my approach."

Yura clapped his hands. Now the doubts he had sensed in the village recently made sense. The key to Kakuzu's ability to massacre the village's leaders lay in this.

Jieluo looked at Huan and said, "We've talked so much, let's get to the point."

After taking a deep breath, Huan said with piercing eyes, "I'm afraid you wouldn't dare to harm the village."

Jieluo nodded and smiled faintly, "It was just a small thing."

"Very well," Huan said.

"Yura-kun, I beg you, help me slaughter all those corrupt and filthy old Sengoku bastards in the village's upper echelons!"

"Enough talk, give me the Hero's Water," Jieluo said.

"In the name of the village..." Huan said in a deep voice, "I hereby issue you one last mission, S-rank, with Hero's Water as payment. From this day forward, the village will destroy all your records!"

Looking at this seemingly rustic country girl, Jieluo said, "You truly are a hero... You're quite the smooth talker. I accept."

Poor Kakuzu was still kept in the dark, being manipulated by the village. After this was over, he would inevitably be branded a rogue ninja by the village, although the village wouldn't send anyone to hunt him down.

The deal was settled, and Jie Luo loosened the shackles of illusion.

Upon regaining his freedom, Gen didn't check his injuries. Instead, he stared intently at Yura and said, "To escape from the God of Shinobi, fake your death to deceive Kakuzu, and remain hidden in the village for so long, you must be incredibly strong, Yura-kun. If it were you, you would have done even better than me."

Jielu waved her hand and laughed, "No, no, no need to be modest. A woman as terrifying as you is rare even in the ninja world."

Huan's breath hitched, then he shamelessly asked, "Yura-kun, can you stay in the village and leave me?"

Jieluo glanced at Huan sideways and gave a soft snort.

"Are we that close, Phantom Lord?"

"How heartless." Huan said, "How can I put it? I tested your chakra attribute, taught you the Three Body Technique, and even treated you to a meal. Earth Release: Earth Spear is very useful, right?"

This woman naturally clung to him.

A hint of disdain flashed in Jieluo's eyes.

"What a heartless woman..." Huan muttered to herself, pitifully gesturing for Jie Luo to look at her injuries.

"Shut up, you horrible woman," Jieluo said with a faint smile.