Chapter 21: Evolution !
Day 198
— "Take it easy !" Said a man in his forties to his subordinates.
It had been ten days since their Daimyô had ordered the name of the capital of Ta No Kuni changed to Heiwa. Many were surprised by the name change, but many approved, showing the rest of the world what their positions were.
Initially, after Madara explained the need to develop the city, the construction of new buildings and shops was started, but these were only lambda projects.
Apart from the amount of new buildings, which was surprising, the various projects were still projects that any growing city could usually undertake.
But the day after the announcement of the change of name of the city, the city became active in a completely different way.
— "One, two, three, pull !" Announced one of the workers before pulling a rope with all his strength with two other people.
Indeed, for some time now the city had been moving in a different direction, as if it was preparing for something that would change the face of the world. First of all, many jobs had been created and all of them were extremely well paid. Either the Daimyô was a very generous person, or the country was richer than one might suspect.
Then, the young Daiki Shôta had appeared one day with a large number of architects to launch a revolution in the capital. First, they put up many signs along the road and in several areas of Ta No Kuni to indicate the route to the capital. Then, plans for the construction of a wall were brought in.
— "Release !" Ordered the foreman as the huge block of stone was positioned.
This was no mere palisade to be built and the forty-year-old looked up in surprise : these plans were for a wall for a real fortress. In short, it was a project of a lifetime, in terms of funds, resources and manpower. And he, Midori, a master craftsman, was asked to take charge of such a project.
He accepted immediately because it was the chance of a lifetime, but more importantly because he was recognized as the best possible choice for the realization of this titanic project.
— "Pull !" Shouted someone again before pulling the rope that was connected to a hoist. This made it possible to lift very heavy loads with little manpower.
— "Put down a support beam !" Shouted another man and two people ran over with the requested item to put the stone block on it. "Don't let go yet... second hoist... pull !"
And a second group of people lifted a second block of stone supported by ropes to a height of over five metres. Yes, more than five metres high, because this was a colossal project and this was not the only place where such directives were heard. The construction site was in full swing for hundreds of metres around the city.
— "Put it down !" Shouted the foreman again, allowing the two stones to be called up by weight and balance. "Prepare the next ones, you'll have to consolidate this !"
— "Pass me the mortar quickly," said a dark-haired man to a young man who brought him a bucket filled with mortar and another filled with small stones to fill the gaps. Behind them were several ovens that heated the place. From these places bricks were made. Indeed, the wall was not only made of stone blocks, it was also made of stones, bricks, mortar, sand, earth, reeds and willow wood. All of these elements were used to create a sumptuous building.
If such a project were to be done on a country-wide scale over several hundred kilometres, it would take thousands of years and hundreds of thousands of arms to complete such a structure. But this project was limited to one large city.
— "Pass me a brick," said the dark-haired man to his son, who hastened to hand it to him. The wall was built every day in small pieces to give time for the fragile areas and the mortar to dry and consolidate. If everything was done at once, it would collapse. Only some areas were already five metres high : these were special and strategic locations such as towers or the main gate. The rest of the structure was not even one metre high and other parts had not even been started.
— "Caravan in sight ! Shouted a soldier posted on a makeshift watchtower. Since the work began, the vigilance of the soldiers had increased and so had their numbers. It seemed that most of the Daimyô army was present in the capital. They were either helping with the work or protecting the area.
— "Which way ?" Asked another soldier below.
— "Two directions ! One from the east and one from the south... the one from the south seems to be very big," explained the soldier in his tower.
The second soldier wasted no time and ran towards the main building of the city, the very place where the Daimyô and his council were located. The council had been living in the capital for some time and their family had also moved to Heiwa.
In a few minutes, the soldier arrived at the building and immediately went to one of the guards. He took a few seconds to catch his breath before delivering his message.
— "Two caravans approaching, one from the eastern road and one from the south. The southern one is quite large."
— "Well, put the weapon down and follow me," the guard ordered before going inside. No one challenged the orders of one of the Daimyô's personal guards. Only Suzuki and Hashuba had authority over these men. To be part of this guard you had to have proven yourself and above all have an unwavering allegiance to your Lord.
So it was in the middle of a council meeting that the guard accompanied by the soldier greeted two of his colleagues posted in front of the door. He made a military salute against his chest which the other two imitated. There was no need for words, his presence alone meant that they had a message to deliver. There were two knocks against the door.
— "Come in !"
The man opened the wooden door and stepped towards his lords. They bowed before speaking.
— "Repeat what you told me," the personal guard said to the sentry.
— "Two caravans approaching, my lords. One appears to be one of ours, and the other is unknown and unusually large," detailed the soldier, his hand resting on the hilt of his weapon.
— "Could this be our last caravan from Mizu No Kuni the land of water ?" Asked Taisho, the country's richest advisor.
— "Maybe, after all it's been a while since this one left," added Riku, stroking his goatee.
— "The caravan from the south ? What do you mean abnormally large ?" Rômaji worried.
— "At least twice as big as Suzuki-sama's when he left for Hi No Kuni, except this one seems to be poorly organized," the soldier quickly replied.
— "Estimated arrival ?" Suzuki asked.
— "Probably an hour, my lord."
— "Hashuba-sama, if I may...," Suzuki asked, having already risen to his feet ready to leave.
— "Please do, my friend," the Daimyô replied immediately, wondering what kind of caravan would come with the approach of winter. It might be possible, but it was rather rare, and this type of convoy was much better organized than what the soldier had described.
— "Follow me," Suzuki ordered the messenger. The three men-at-arms walked out, leaving the council in their thoughts.
— "Do you think this could be what Uchiha-sama and Haruno-sama told us ?" Daiki asked, for after all a few families had already come and settled in, all saying the same phrase. *We come for true peace.*
— "It's not impossible, Daiki," Rômaji agreed. "But why so soon? War hasn't technically been declared yet, so why act so quickly ?"
— "Planting the seed in people's minds," Hashuba said, staring into space. "Uchiha-sama was skilled enough to make people believe his own death. And I don't doubt for a moment that he's capable of carrying out our plan. If it really is another group sent by them... it will only accelerate our ambitions."
As he finished his sentence a bird flew into the room through a small passage in the window. It landed gracefully right in front of the Daimyô before looking in his direction. There was a scroll case around his neck.
— "Could this be from Uchiha-sama ?" Daiki asked.
— "I don't think so, Uchiha-sama uses a falcon to communicate with us," the lord replied before reaching for the scroll case. He opened it and pulled out a good quality paper : it could only be an official announcement.
Daimyô-dono Hashuba Shôta,
While stabilization is taking place throughout the elemental nations, a most disturbing event is taking place throughout the world. I hope I am wrong, but I would be foolish not to take appropriate action should the need arise.
Through our long-standing friendship, I propose an alliance between your country Ta No Kuni and my country Hi No Kuni for the prosperity and security of both our nations.
A potential war is on the horizon and it is time to put away our tools and take out the banners of war again.
Tobirama Senju, Nidaime Hokage of Hi No Kuni.
— "War is near," Hashuba said as he let the scroll rewind and put it on the table, giving the council members a chance to read it.
Hashuba closed his eyes, realizing that Madara Uchiha had not lied to him and that war was near, except this time it would be a world war.
— "Tanaka," the Daimyô began after a long moment of silence. All the members of the council had time to read the scroll. The concerned one immediately looked up at his lord upon hearing his name.
— "Hai Daimyô-sama ?"
— "Prepare an official scroll," Hashuba replied.
— "I think this letter means we won't be sending any more caravans back to Hi No Kuni until the war is over," Rômaji remarked.
— "No, I think we have enough reserves to last," Hashuba replied as Tanaka placed the scroll correctly.
— "I'm listening Daimyô-sama."
Nidaime Hokage Tobirama Senju,
As the harshness of winter begins, I hear your concerns about a possible harshness coming. However, my people, like yours, have suffered too much internally, and I do not wish to spill any more blood than has already been lost.
We are a humble country, living by the hard work of the rice which is our wealth. The path of war is not our predilection and I wish to maintain this neutrality in the eyes of the world for the sake of my people.
Moreover, due to a very bad harvest, I cannot provide you with anything. The only thing I have would be men : But what is an army against a single trained shinobi ? So I must refuse your proposal of an alliance between our two countries.
I still intend to keep our friendly agreement in place and will leave it to you to contact me when you judge that the situation is more stable.
Thereafter, I pledge not to divulge any of your concerns to any of your potential enemies.
Hashuba Shôta Daimyô of Ta No Kuni.
— "Bring me a blank pen Tanaka," Hashuba ordered after dictating his message.
— "Blood signature ?" Asked Rômaji, stroking his white beard as usual.
— "Hai, technically we're not going to tell the rest of the world that Hi No Kuni knows what's going on... and that'll leave us in the dark," Hashuba explained, taking a small blade to lightly nick his thumb. He dipped the quill in before signing his title on the parchment. He applied his ring to his thumb and placed a blood seal just below it.
— "I think Suzuki will agree with me, but with the war looming, we should consider setting up lookout posts on the hills surrounding the valley," explained Rômaji, who knew the valley and the location of the capital to be strategic. If you could get word as soon as possible that an army was approaching, you would be better prepared.
As he said this, Rômaji realised that his old friend had given way to the warrior who had long been sleeping inside him. To be a lord when your kingdom is at peace is one thing, but to be a lord when it is on the brink of war is quite another. And for some time now, the man at rest had given way to the old warrior. He was more serious, more meticulous, he left nothing to chance... because after all, their lives were clearly in his hands and in the council's. One mistake, one piece of information leaked and it could ruin all their plans and especially that of achieving true peace.
— "That's a good idea, Rômaji," Hashuba agreed, frowning. He was thinking about where to place them.
Meanwhile, Suzuki and the soldier walked briskly through the city streets towards the barracks. People moved aside as they passed, after all he was one of the most important people in the country.
— "You, ring the cavalry corps !" Suzuki ordered as he walked towards the stables to a man standing guard.
— "Yes, sir !" Replied the man before running in another direction.
— "My horse !" Suzuki ordered, raising his voice.
A man came towards him very quickly with a brown stallion. This beautiful animal was equipped with a black leather saddle, but a relatively light armor was placed over much of its body. Unlike many horses, this one did not have a blinker. It was what we call a war horse.
Trained to be dangerous in the fray, to kick and not to run away from predators. It was very difficult to train this kind of animal and very few were able to ride them. There were only two war horses in the capital and Suzuki was riding one of them.
He gave his mount a quick pat before mounting it and pulling the reindeer as a long, low horn sounded throughout the city. The sound reverberated even through part of the valley.
— "Yah !" Suzuki announced, kicking his heels lightly on either side of the animal's chest. With a low whinny, the beast took off.
As he rode through the town, the main road was cleared with the sound of the horn, signifying that the cavalry was requisitioned and on the move. It was also a warning to any outside patrols to join the main road. And that is what was happening : a gathering of fifty horsemen plus Suzuki was trotting through the main driveway of Heiwa.
Once through the main gate, the troop of riders galloped towards the main road where about twenty lone riders were joining from different directions. There was no watchtower or outpost yet, but there were already patrols to relay information or possible threats.
So no less than seventy horsemen galloped towards this strange caravan coming from the south. It was both for the protection of Heiwa, because if there was a potential threat, it would be dealt with outside the city and the civilians. But it was also a method of intimidation.
And the least one could say was that the caravan sent by Madara and Sakura was absolutely in that frame of mind : intimidated. After all, they weren't soldiers, they were just simple peasants who wanted to live their lives in peace and had to flee their homes.
The horsemen would soon be in range. The caravan stopped in its tracks and the leader of the old village stood out to be the one to speak. Hopefully they would not kill them without reason. The horses made a large circle around the caravan so that everyone could see it.
Suzuki walked with two of his men towards the one who seemed to be the leader of this... caravan ?
— "What brings you to this territory ?" Suzuki demanded forcefully.
Their lives were in his hands. This man was not joking and if his answer did not suit him, they would probably be executed. So the old man hurried to answer what the pink-haired woman had advised him to say.
— "We come for true peace !"
Hearing this sentence, which he was beginning to hear more and more, Suzuki straightened his head to look at all these people. There were many of them, much more than the usual three or four people. And seeing this Suzuki had a thought about Madara. *They hadn't lied.*
Day 205
— "Are you being formal in what you are saying ?" Asked a man with short grey hair to his subordinates. This man exuded a poise and power that few people in the elemental nations could boast. He was one of the shinobi gods who was reputed to be the greatest user of Suiton techniques.
He had made his reputation by his name, by his family, by his feats of arms, by his exploits ! He was Tobirama Senju, the current Nidaime Hokage of Hi No Kuni and he was looking on with gravity at a team of three who were reporting.
— "Hai Hokage-sama !" Confirmed one of the leaf shinobi as he stood at attention under the inquisitive gaze of the Senju. "There was no sign of any survivors, everything suggested that they had been abducted or left... unfortunately, the road was so well traveled that it was impossible to determine if they had left willingly or not."
Tobirama crossed his fingers in front of his face and frowned. This was the fourth such report he had heard in the last few days. Entire villages were deserted, crops completely looted, buildings destroyed as if there had been a battle... no... war rather. But each time, there were no corpses and that is what disturbed Tobirama the most.
There was fighting, he was sure of it, but who would take the trouble to defend Hi No Kuni without reporting to Konoha ? Moreover, the first report had been that a banner of the land of the earth was found at the scene. Had they really attacked his territory ? Or was a third party hoping to create a diplomatic incident between two great nations ?
— "It's a pity we didn't have a member of the Inuzuka clan with us," remarked one of the men on the patrol. "The sense of smell and the companions of the Inuzuka clan would have been perfect to know who was responsible for this guerrilla war. Or at least it would have told us where the people were going : prisoner or not."
After the third report of an attack on Hi No Kuni lands, Tobirama had increased patrols on the border and had begun to think that it was time to build alliances. Tobirama was far from being a stupid person. The present world was created on the blood of victims and there might be beings tempted to do the same thing as in the past... but on a global scale.
— "Dismissed," said the head of the Senju family with a wave of his hand.
— "Hai Hokage-sama !" Said the three men before exiting the office to leave the man alone in the room.
— "Humpf," sighed Tobirama who hated not having the answers to his questions.
Still, he had managed to forge an additional alliance with the land of water in addition to the one that already bound them to the land of whirlpools. This alliance was the result of the marriage between Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki. However, he had not succeeded in having an alliance with Ta No Kuni. Despite this refusal, he had still obtained confirmation that this country wished to be neutral : and this by a blood letter... a document that remained very rare in these troubled times.
— "Where are you Hashirama ?" Tobirama whispered, thinking of his brother.
To him, his disappearance was very suspicious and raised many questions : who would have been able to make him disappear or even kill him ? Unfortunately, the only person who would have been capable of such a feat was killed by his brother himself ! And in a way, it wasn't so bad that Uchiha Madara was dead, Tobirama had always hated that individual. But the current Hokage had doubts about his brother's death... yet the signs were there. But he wanted to believe it, he couldn't accept that his brother was just gone... or was he getting his hopes up ?
— "Bear," said the Nidaime and a second later a man appeared in front of him with an arm across his chest. He was dressed in the traditional attire of the Anbu of Konoha, a red tattoo was present on his left arm and a mask covered his face.
— "Hokage-sama," the soldier said humbly, waiting for orders.
— "Take two of your best men with you, plus a member of the Inuzuka clan and find out who's behind this, it's an S rank mission !" Tobirama announced, writing the mission on a scroll in front of him.
— "Restrictions ? the soldier asked before grabbing the scroll held out in his direction.
— "You have white card."
— "Hai !" The Anbu greeted before disappearing in an instant as if he had never been there.
Day 210
— "They should have been back more than a week ago, something must have happened to them," said a man in his thirties.
— "Do you doubt the skills of your student Onoki-san ?" Asked a deep-voiced man whose body was completely covered in bandages.
— "I don't doubt Fuji Mû-sama's skills, but it's enough that they have fallen on someone a little too dangerous for them to be overwhelmed," answered Onoki to his master.
He had trained his apprentice very well : Fuji. But if you were ambushed you had almost no chance of getting out alive.
— "However, from what little I heard, he would have sacrificed himself so that his comrades could return to announce the news," added Mao, scrutinizing his own apprentice.
— "It's true, either they were ambushed, or they ran into Tobirama Senju or... or Konoha has more competent ninja under him than we think," replied the little man who floated slightly above the ground thanks to his Jinton techniques.
— "There are two other people who could have handled Fuji without worry : that Sarutobi and that Danzo. Two very talented people who were taught by Tobirama himself," Mû explained before turning his gaze on the rest of the assembly.
They were in the middle of a meeting.
Because of his announcement that he would be the next Tsuchikage, Mû was taking care of the meetings concerning the security of the country while the current Tsuchikage was resting. He was getting old and had to preserve himself as much as possible. Moreover, he had blind confidence in his student.
— "Do you think Konoha is aware of our plans ?" Asked an advisor around the table. The latter immediately lowered his head as the future Tsuchikage turned his gaze towards him.
— "I don't think so, we've been very careful," the bandaged man replied.
— "Yet this isn't the only team that suddenly disappeared from circulation," the advisor added.
Indeed, several of their ninja teams in charge of guerrilla warfare in the fire territory had simply disappeared. Compared to Fuji's team, which should have been back by now, three quarters of the others had stopped writing their reports out of the blue.
— "Perhaps a third person, because if Konoha really knew about this, you can be sure that Tobirama would be at our doors with his troops," Mû reassured him, knowing that this shinobi should not be taken lightly.
— "Should we accelerate our action plans ?"
— "Yes."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone