Naruto: The Blind Swordsman

Chapter 98: Tide Breaking Move, War Council and Lurking Plot

__________ POV Narration__________

The War turned the entire world and elemental nations into a turbulent ocean.

Many waves rose and fell, breaking against each other as well as the rocks that popped up from time to time.

But the news that broke out was what completely shifted the tide of the current war.

The complete breakdown of the largest and most powerful alliance that had originally started the war.

Its circumstances were strange, a few rumours circulated said that the Raikage's son was murdered by the Tsuchikage, who colluded with the Whirlpool Kage and Mizukage.

Other rumours said that the Raikage attacked the others in a fit of rage without any proper evidence and only speculations.

To that point, only the Waterfall Kage was confirmed dead. His bisected body had been found by a few wandering shinobi that were fleeing from the scene.

Reports spoke of the man's fearful gaze even in death. They were also quickly able to speculate who the perpetrator was.

The Dark Brotherhood's involvement in the matter was a public thing already.

Although Tosho had done his best in hunting them down, there were too many Anbu to track down and kill in order to keep rumours in check.

But all was fine. To Ken, the rumours would just provide validity to the success of his mission. Although now the world believed him to be in some sort of alliance with the Raikage.

There were several rumours regarding that as well.

His involvement here, coupled with his involvement in the death of the Mist Swordsmen, led many to speculate that the Dark Brotherhood was now getting involved in the Shinobi Wars.

Some speculated that he only got involved in order to avenge the son of the Raikage, as they were rumoured to have known each other.

There was also the speculation that the Dark Brotherhood was just the Raikage's hired help, which was what had actually happened.

The Mizukage was able to confirm that eventually, clearing a few things up with his recollection of events after he finally returned to his homeland and spoke to the rulers of the Land of Water.

He wasn't able to confirm much else regarding what had occurred, only confirmed that the Raikage had accused the Tsuchikage and Waterfall Kage of killing his son.

He wasn't able to confirm who had killed the 7 Tails Jinchuriki of the Waterfall, but he did say it was most likely the Red Dot, claiming that the Raikage was injured against the Tsuchikage.

Thanks to his words, and the royalty of the Land of Water that decided to spread it, the events of that day became a lot clearer.

No one really knew what means the Red Dot was used to kill the Waterfall Kage. People that had seen the scene of the split mountain did say that it was most likely an overwhelming force.

The fact that Ken was capable of such a thing essentially cemented him as a figure on par with the God of Shinobi in the eyes of the Elemental Nations.

There was also more interesting news circulating regarding the Red Dot, things that were more personal in nature...

Rumours on the streets, among restaurants and inns all over the Elemental nations...

'The Red Dot, the world's strongest bounty hunter, is blind.'

It was a difficult pill to swallow, especially for people that had dealt with Ken before, like the Grass Village and even the Mizukage.

The rumour itself was believed to have been spread by a grieving B in a tavern in a random village within the Land of Lightning. It was spread in the form of a rap, which was typical for the Jinchuriki.

Rumours also said that B was currently still under house arrest as a punishment for spreading said information in his drunken stupor.

Two weeks was all that was needed for that much to get out in the world.

And Ken was still leisurely walking towards the Land of Fire at that time. Both unaware and unbothered by any news getting out.

It wasn't like he cared about hiding his lack of sight. He had already foreseen that his reputation would grow in the entire debacle, it was only natural.

He realized that would be the case from the moment he accepted the Raikage's request to get personally involved in the whole mess.

'More reputation, more influence, more money... More enemies. Regardless, things are looking up for the Dark Brotherhood.'

By the time the assassin was at Konoha's gates, he was already accompanied silently by a few masked anbu.

They formed a circle around him as he walked forwards. No one stopped him or questioned his presence, instead, they led him as he walked towards the Kage building.

Before actually stepping into the village, the Blind Monster formed the hand signs for a very basic transformation.

He altered his height as he allowed his back to slouch over, he immediately took the form of a wrinkly old man with a straw hat and permanently closed eyes.

He wore the clothes of a civilian and wore the large backpack of a peddler. A very basic disguise as an old travelling merchant.

The Anbu around him looked at the transformation for a second, before nodding to each other and tightening the circle around Ken, to avoid any slight possibility that he would slip through and they'd lose sight of him.

After all, the Red Dot had proven that he was a lot more dangerous than the 7 Tails, a tailed beast capable of levelling a small village in seconds. 

Sure, Konoha had its defences, but it was better to not take any chances when dealing with such a potential threat.

Anyway, having a posse of masked cloaked men was certainly catching the attention of others within the village.

Quite a lot of gazes were on Ken as he walked on the pebble streets of the Leaf. From gate guards and common shinobi to stall owners, children, and civilians.

Ken didn't pay them any mind, although he didn't exactly like the attention. He liked making sneaky entrances whenever possible, taking people by surprise was always entertaining, and it also provided him with an edge in any negotiation that would take place.

Alas, it wasn't like he could sneak into the Leaf village effectively, their detection was a lot better than that of the Land of Iron thanks to the seals they employed.

Ken was still quite far from a Fuinjutsu Master, so bypassing their seals was easier said than done.

Space-Time Ninjutsu was a way to do it though, but he needed to leave a 'Reverse Summoning' Mark somewhere in the village for that.

'... Better to try and do that later... Here's hoping I won't need it, but it's better to be safe than sorry.'

Having an easy way to reach a hidden village could come in handy. But he needed to hide the reverse summoning scroll very well.

It was also possible that the Hidden Leaf had some countermeasures against a Reverse Summoning Justu, but Ken wouldn't know it unless he tried.

His method of using the Summoning Jutsu was quite unheard of from what Kazue had claimed.

Marking others as Contracted Beasts was an extremely unusual way of going about things apparently. Figures, huh?

Shinobi were supposed to think around the rules around them, but most limited themselves to the rules of their techniques, which was why most shinobi still needed to perform all hand signs for even basic jutsu.

In truth, rules existed to be bent and changed to one's will. It was just the nature of things. At least Ken believed it to be so.

Ken and his posse of Anbu didn't take a long time to reach the Kage Building.

In there, the disguised assassin was led directly to a meeting room.

Tables and chairs all circled around an empty circle in the middle of the room. Ken could sense several figures within the room, plenty of them relatively powerful.

'If my senses don't fail me... These are likely the heads of the most prominent clans... I guess the war is really going well for them to have the time to gather like this?'

Ken mused to himself as he stepped into the middle of the room without any hesitation, much to the surprise of most of the clan heads present.

"Oh, he seems quite bold! I like him already!" A large, fat man spoke out from the side. His hairstyle was similar to Ken's as well, having long spiky hair flowing all the way to his lower back, the only difference was that his was more puffed out similar in style to an Afro on top.

"Calm down Chza, this isn't the time to make friends..." A colder, more calculating voice spoke out from the side. A slimmer man with his hair caught upward in a ponytail was the one speaking out this time.

"He does have a point, Shikaku... This may very well be a good chance to form a friendly relationship with one of the strongest men alive." Another solemn voice added from the side.

The speaker this time was also a slim man with sunken cheeks, his hair was caught in his headband, and he wore his hair spiky on top and ending in a long ponytail that reached all the way to his lower back.

"Enough, Inoichi, Shukaku, Choza..."

A colder voice from the side commanded the clan heads to be silent in a demanding and arrogant tone. Ken tilted his head as he realized the identities of some of the people in the room.

'If I'm not mistaken, the ones that spoke out first were the clan heads of the Akimichi, Nara and Yamanaka respectively... Their trio is considered to be quite deadly...

I can appreciate their honesty at least.

The one interrupting them may be the young head of the Uchiha Clan... 'Wicked Eye' Fugaku Uchiha. I heard a lot about him and his clan.

They possess what is considered the Strongest Dojutsu, huh?' 

Ken rubbed his chin as he undid his transformation, surprising absolutely none of the clan heads.

"It's been a while Lord Hokage... And it is a pleasure to meet with the various clan heads present here today..." Ken took a slight bow, showing his respect to the people present as a gesture of goodwill on his part.

That gesture was returned for the most part. Most of the people present either bowed back slightly in their chairs or nodded in appreciation to the assassin.

Ken did feel two people scoffing at his greeting, which gave him enough knowledge on who to focus on during the meeting.

'The head of the Uchiha, and... I don't actually know the other one...'

Ken felt a man that stood right by Hiruzen's side scoffing. He seemed about the same age as the Hokage, he had a shaggy hairstyle, tuffs of hair reaching eye level.

He seemed to be dressed in standard Joinin Armor, with slight variations, much like the rest of the Clan Heads present.

Ken could also feel a distinct scar on his chin when focusing hard enough on his face, which gave away his identity.

'Danzo Shimura... The Third Hokage's right-hand man...'

Ken's lips pursed as he turned his head to the Hokage.

"I think you have already heard about what happened with the alliance." Ken raised his head and angled his mask towards the Hokage.

Hiruzen took a puff from the tobacco pipe in his hand as he nodded.

"It was... Hard to believe really. I was not expecting such a performance, in all honesty." Sarutobi smiled as he looked at the assassin with an appreciative gaze.

"Oh, it was nothing... I just happened to have the right motivation..." Ken nodded back to the Hokage, who just sighed at his words.

'Oh lord... If others could accomplish that much with just motivation, this war would've ended within a few days...'

Hiruzen puffed out a cloud of smoke as he smiled and prepared to compliment the assassin's work.

But Danzo chimed in at just the right moment.

"Enough senseless posturing... You did your part of the deal, it's only natural for you to do so.

Now, although not all elders of this village agreed to make the deal with you, the Hokage gave his word before consulting with us, so we are obliged to keep it."

His rough voice did help turn the atmosphere in the room a few degrees colder. The other Elders and Clan Heads present didn't react in any meaningful way, likely already used to Danzo and his temperament.

Hiruzen frowned a bit, but he didn't dispute Danzo's words. He had taken quite the drastic decision all by himself. But he had figured it to be the best course of action for the benefit of the village.

After all, he didn't lose anything even if Ken failed. And even if he succeeded, the Hokage knew that the Assassin's request was a rather easy one to achieve.

"Glad to hear the deal is still going through... I would hate it for there to be complications at this stage." Ken nodded at Danzo as he smiled underneath his mask. His tone was cheerful, happy even.

The Hokage's Right-Hand man narrowed his eyes at the Assassin's veiled threat.

It was so vague that it couldn't even be considered a threat, so Danzo couldn't even call him out on it.

"So, how come the Toad Sage is not present in this meeting?" Ken tilted his head as he crossed his arms.

"Before that... I hope you wouldn't mind taking off your mask. It is quite rude that you're facing us while keeping your identity hidden..." Fugaku scowled at the assassin, finally speaking out, much to the displeasure of the Hokage.

'Great, we're back to senseless formalities...' Danzo also rolled his eyes at the Clan Leader's arrogance.

But Fugaku had all the reason to be arrogant, he was the Clan Head of what was most likely the strongest clan currently alive.

To everyone's surprise, Ken didn't even hesitate for one second in taking off his mask.

"I must admit, there is not much of a face there. I hope that won't be a problem, Uchiha?" Ken's voice did sound a few degrees colder, sending a shiver down the spines of some of the people present, especially when combined with what they saw.

Fugaku's scowl receded as his eyes widened.

Every Elder and Clan Head stared at the mangled face of the World's Greatest Bounty Hunter. Their reactions were different, some looked with shock and awe, some with pity, and some with disgust.

The older elders seemed to be less sympathetic, but the Clan Heads were mostly shocked.

Fugaku also seemed to scratch his head, flabbergasted in a sense, his gaze wandering off to the side, away from the assassins.

"So the rumours were true...?" Hiruzen even blurted out in shock, he hadn't quite believed them at first, but now? He had no choice but to believe them.

Same for Danzo, who immediately started thinking of ways to use the Red Dot's condition against him.

"Rumours? Well, whatever. I hope this won't be a problem, Lord Hokage?" Ken nodded once more towards the Hokage, his eyeless face turned towards him the same way as before.

It seemed a lot more creepy now that everyone realized Ken was just turning his head for show, not to look at others.

"It won't be an issue, apologies for the outburst." The Hokage slightly bowed his head, showing the assassin respect, much to the disapproval of Danzo.

"I also would like to apologize for forcing you to reveal your face... I'm sure you were wearing a mask for a reason, having your identity exposed in such a way is unfortunate." Hiruzen showcased a shocking amount of honesty, Ken was genuinely surprised.

The Clan Heads didn't seem all that Shocked, some of them even nodded in understanding.

After all, the only reason one would wear a mask was to protect their identity right? It was clearly a fixture of Ken's, he likely kept his private life separate since he was an elusive individual.

"It is fine, no one besides the Dark Brotherhood knows this face... My identity is my mask. The fixture of a Red Dot, it's become a lot more symbolic than a malformed visage."

The Clan Heads all seemed to sweat a bit at his words.

In a sense, it was to be expected from the World's Best Bounty Hunter and assassin, his identity had become so ingrained in his psyche that he didn't even think or care about having a private life.

To Danzo and Fugaku, such a thing was certainly commendable. It made the assassin seem quite a bit more impressive in their eyes... 

"W-well then... Currently, we are holding a war meeting. Your arrival was a bit of an interlude, honestly.

I will send word for Jiraya to come back urgently, but you will have to stay within the village for a few days, I hope that is not an issue?"

The Hokage quickly pulled the subject back on track, and the assassin just nodded.

"That is ok with me..." After that, the assassin nodded, putting his mask back on and turning around.

The Anbu that had led him to the Kage Building were the ones to lead him to his temporary house, a small apartment off to the side of the Kage Building, highly monitored.

'At least they have nice snacks...' Ken thought to himself as he bit into a few Dangos on a stick. He had asked the anbu for them, and they surprisingly gave him whatever he wanted.

'Hurry up and wait, huh?' In the end, the Assassin just sighed and went on with his day.

Unbeknownst to him, a plot was already unravelling in the darkness, as a few shinobi of the Sand Village had somehow managed to slip past the village's defences.

Their objective?

'The Jinchuriki of the 9 Tails...'

__________________________________________

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