Captain Edyval and his crew were now enjoying their new luxurious life on the coasts of the Land of Earth.

Drinking the highest quality of wine and delicacy that were sent as gifts by various merchants and lords who wanted to have connections with him.

It was already a few months since his ship landed on this unknown and foreign land. The land that was subject to horrifying tales of man-eating creatures and monsters not found in Tamriel had caused several failed expeditions in the past. Some tales were about man-eating snakemen, apelike men, and tiger people.

He originally never intended to be in this part of the world. The only one who took him to this land along with his crew was the famous Dragonborn. Being on the verge of bankruptcy, he accepted the dangerous task of ferrying the hero of Skyrim to his destination beyond the seas on the map of Tamriel.

When they first found out about their destination, he thought that it will be just another failed journey. But what he didn’t expect was to become one of the very first people of Tamriel to land on Akaviri once again after several hundreds of years.

Then his ship was tasked by the Dragonborn to wait for two months on the same beach while he and his small party went on an expedition inland. No news arrived after that.

He could’ve just left them behind then went back to Tamriel and profited on the discovery of the route to Akaviri, but the Dragonborn left him a little gift… or insurance that made him unable to leave the dragon spawn on this foreign land.

The payment that was promised in a full chest of gold was turned into silver. With a letter of ‘goodwill’ from the Dragonborn if they ever tried to leave without them. Along with a taunt that reminded him of the sea perils they encountered and passed safely thanks to that dragon spawn.

It was almost sent as blackmail.

No. IT WAS BLACKMAIL.

The revelation after he opened the chest where his payment was locked made him almost die in shock.

As a result, he and his crew were forced to live through this foreign beach with the catch on the sea and by foraging on the nearby forest. Days after that, the nearby local villagers gathered and took a curious look at them. At first, they were awestruck at his ship. But soon, maybe they had gotten used to them after days of being on the same beach, the local villagers lost interest in them. However, what replaces it was the essence and first step of communication between foreign cultures.

Trade.

The villagers first traded with their food and fresh water in exchange for their low-quality imperial silver coins that he had saved after his several trips between Cyrodiil and Windhelm. The silver that was transmuted was high quality. But to their wonder, those coins seemed to have gathered traders and merchants who became interested in bartering and trading with them.

What made them realize the true value of what they were trading was after a small group of peasant fishermen got extremely happy to trade their rowboat size of catch for just five low-quality silver coins which astounded him and his crew. Silver seemed to have high value in this land. This made the captain and his crew grin with greed in their eyes. This is a great chance to profit greatly.

After that merchants and trading, caravans began to bring various goods and supplies that they would try to sell to the captain and his crew. This started a real business.

From food to spices to luxury goods, then finally… technology.

Thanks to their effort in trying to understand the Akaviri language, the captain and two of his men were able to learn even a little bit of the words. A local woman who was the first to trade with them became their translator while learning more of the language.

One of the big catches he had found was the highest quality of silk he had ever encountered. A crate alone would probably be worth several crates of gold coins. Something that they could never imagine or dream to get before.

However, they cannot compare to the strange tools they found on this land. Tools that were results of an advanced technology that's almost similar to Dwemer’s technology. A thick stick that could produce light. A rectangular thing that could be used to communicate with others from a distance. A small box that could create flames. And many more. These were the real prize.

All of them became so mesmerized with the new technology they had found. All the candles they formerly used to light the night were replaced with the strange new light, brighter than the stars on the dark sky. It was explained to them that they were all somehow ran by some mysterious energy that was similar to lightning. Even some of the boats that docked on their little harbor were fully made of metal. Something that caused them confusion to no end in how such kind of thing existed and float on water.

Mages and scholars back in Tamriel would die to hear what they found on this continent.

Thanks to them, their new camp had become as bright as a day even during the darkest and stormy nights. They would not worry about their food getting spoiled as they were also given some sort of large box that could help preserve food with cold temperatures. The local lord even had his people build a small wooden dock for other ships. With only 2,000 pieces of silver coins, they had built a small trading outpost on this beach.

But the captain knew that this was still... not the most expensive product he could get from them. Because what he was going to trade with them was the most valuable thing a man could give to another man. This applies no matter which part of the world you are in.

Trust.

Inside this large tent and sitting with him on the long table along were several powerful and influential merchants in this region. It was set up by their sponsors, the lord of this country, or ‘Daimyo’ as they had called him. His power and authority seemed to be similar to a high king in Skyrim. And all of them were planning to make a contract with Edyval, in other words, orders of goods and deliveries in exchange for an advance payment. Which were actually quite cheap on the Tamriel market and Edyval kept silent about while grinning from ear to ear inwardly. These merchants wanted to monopolize every product he would bring from Tamriel. This meeting would also decide on who will get which product.

At least, all of them had no conflict in selecting the goods that they wanted as all of them were considered to be expensive and profitable if traded inland.

The products that they ordered from him were: Corundum, Malachites, Stalhrim, Quicksilver, Dwarven metal, Ebony, Moonstone ingots, mammoths tusks, frost wraith’s teeth, Tamriel’s native spices, and more. These materials became highly sought out after he displayed their uses as he, fortunately, brought stocks of these on his ship. He could have offered to sell slaves also as part of the chips on the table, but he immediately remembered that the Dragonborn proposed an imperial edict to ban it on the empire and was famous also for hating the slave trade. He definitely doesn’t want to antagonize his currently most powerful benefactor. As a result, such thoughts were erased from his mind.

There were even others who were interested in buying samples of their weapons which the captain rejected. He would rather trade his soul with a Daedric Prince than sell arms and weapons again. It was something that he swore to never enter the arms trade after he and his family got themselves involved in a political conflict on Morrowind which caused them to be targeted by Morag Tong assassins. He learned the hard way when he was still a young but brash merchant captain.

He was greedy but still knew the boundary of his greed.

One of the things he asked in exchange were high-quality spices and silk, non-perishable supplies for their journey back to Tamriel, and more tools of their strange technology with a large number of books about them. Which strangely, these Akaviri don't mind giving, as they even offered it as gifts.

The meeting was finally finished after almost five hours of nonstop business talks. One of the reasons why it took that long was their language barrier. He had to depend on their interpreter many times after his first attempts to try and talk for himself. It made clear that Edyval must learn their language fast. In the worst-case scenario, he may lose a lot of profit and cause misunderstanding on the terms of the agreement.

He was already tired with his head and mouth feeling the exhaustion. But before going straight to his room on the ship, he ordered his men and the local mercenaries they hired to increase the security in the area. He will not let another mistake happen.

Three days ago on a stormy night, his ship had intruders. Although no one died, the unknown intruders had ransacked the room where the Dragonborn and his party had slept in. Almost everything had been destroyed as if to cover what they had stolen. He knew something was stolen as the thieves took one of the obvious ebony great swords that were formerly hanging on the wooden wall of the Dragonborn's room. And probably more. He prayed that they had not stolen something 'very' important from Harissen's room.

Edyval doesn't want his reputation in his new Akaviri partners as a peaceful sailor from Tamriel to be blemished with a bad reputation of having a destructive employer. He was worried for them for possible retaliation from stealing from a dragon's hoard.

As he went back to sleep, he actually wished that the Dragonborn won't return for several months more. He and his crew still need a lot of groundwork before they could leave their potential trading outpost. The countless plans inside his head made him hit the snore valley than he had intended.

He later woke up, to find something new on his table.

"Ugh... What?" It was a scrolled letter. He looked around his room and found no traces of an intruder. He got a chilled feeling on a realization of being watched.

Then he slowly opened the letter. He sighed in relief when he found out that it was written in Tamrielic language. And was signed by someone who left them months ago. He had thought that he will be glad on hearing some news about their passenger to know when they would be leaving, but he felt a frowning feeling of not wanting to leave yet.

He sighed then read the contents of the letter. At first, his eyes were still slow to understand the message after having just woken up.

“Hmmm... They will be back in three months?" He was glad that they were given more time here in Akaviri. Another more note took his attention. A warning which confuses him about its implication.

Maybe the robbery that took place was somehow related?

Then heavy knocks on the door snapped him back.

“Captain! A daimyo sent an envoy. He requires your attendance immediately!” a voice of his crew yelled outside his room.

“I’m up! I’m up!! ” he proceeded to wash his face with a towel and change his clothes quickly. He turned off the Akaviri lamp they bought as their ship's light source, then went outside to meet the envoy outside the luxurious tent he had built for this kind of one-to-one meeting.

It was a small hooded figure that awaited him. Drinking the so-called 'tea' which his men got used to serving guests. Their interpreter was talking with this individual. The woman bowed in greeting and he nodded back.

“My apologies for being late. I am-” he wanted to depend on their female interpreter on this one to quicken things up but was interrupted by a shocking revelation.

“You already knew me, captain. Don’t you remember?” a soft voice that said in fluent tamrielic language rang out.

“Ah! You're the one who gave us those tents and supplies previously. I must thank you...wait! How did you learn our language?!” he asked in surprise. Maybe he learned how to speak their language in just a few months of their stay here?

Their interpreter was also giving a look of surprise. The hooded figure giggled only in response.

Wait, giggled? He got curious at such peculiar behavior.

“Nevermind, I will ask that later. This talk will become easier then. So how can I help one of our big sponsors?” Edyval asked.

Then the figure immediately revealed himself by dropping his hood then the cloak and displayed his full body.

It was a young girl.

Probably at the age of 18 or so. White hair tied on the back with few strands of black. Skin with ebony black color. But what caught his attention was the red eyes. Such eyes felt familiar to him somehow, but he can’t remember why and how.

"I will ask for a small favor in exchange for something that will be very very profitable for you." The girl said.

"Can I hear what is the proposition first?"

"Your venture on this land had become very advantageous for someone like you. It has become obvious in my eyes that you were not a captain that's used to big businesses like what you had received in the passing months. And... I could also see that your small ship may become inadequate in hauling all of the goods you gained in trading with the locals. However, I could help you with that." She swirled the empty cup on her index finger while her red eyes grinned at him.

Then he heard a loud sound of a horn which sounded like a whale's mating call.

“Ah, it seems that it finally arrived.” The girl said. Then turned to him. “Follow me.”

He obeyed her request then exited the tent behind her. Getting more curious as he and his interpreter followed.

And what displayed on his sight was a large ship at a short distance from the harbor. It was obviously five times bigger than his wooden ship. With no sails or oars.

The entire crew of his ship have been awakened by the loud sound and gathered to see the strange ship at the harbor. Then she looked at him with a smile.

“My name is Yuki, a small and humble explorer. I am willing to give you that ship in exchange, for permission to become one of your passengers in your return trip back to your homeland.”

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

In a dark cave with a large underground lake, the stillness of the silence was suddenly disturbed by the strange appearance of dozens of silhouettes of people. All of them materialized like dark shadows. And it seemed they had gathered for something of importance to them. The atmosphere was eerily cold, but they sort of got used to this.

Then a buzzing sound echoed, followed by words.

“Fufufu… all of us meeting together like this.”

“We haven’t done this since seven years ago when Orochimaru left the organization…” a hunchback-looking silhouette said.

“I heard that snake bastard failed miserably in his assault to Konoha and was still recuperating?”

“Heh, that's what he gets for getting over his head.”

“I don’t care. Let’s just get this over with. I need to turn over some bounties.” A tall profile with a grumpy voice said.

“Still a money-grubber eh, Kakuzu?” the one-eyed figure with ponytail hairstyle smirked.

“Money rules the world,” Kakuzu replied.

“No, it's art!” the one-eyed figure spat back.

“Ugh… not this argument again. Deidara shut up.” the hunchback scolded the latter.

However, someone noticed that there’s something wrong with the attendees.

“Wait, there’s one of us who’s missing. Itachi, where’s your partner?”

“Yeah yeah! Where is that shark maniac?”

“…” the red-eyed silhouette replied with silence.

Someone answered for him instead. Someone with eyes that looked like a whirlpool of darkness and despair. It was their leader, Pain.

“Hoshigake Kisame is currently indisposed.” He said, giving some eerie echoes to the dark caverns.

“What?”

“Oho.” The one who carried a scythe whistled.

“Did something happen?” a hunchback-looking silhouette asked with a frown.

“A setback occurred on Konoha.” Pain replied vaguely.

“Are you just going to make some fuzzy talks or was I mistaken that this was the purpose of the emergency meeting?” Deidara asked. Then leaned forward. “Or was it something far problematic than we had expected from the plan?”

Pain looked at the person beside him and nodded.

“Kisame and Itachi were sent to Konoha to retrieve the Kyuubi while its jinchuuriki and the guards around it are still lax. Its success will make it easy for us to start our agenda later.” A woman answered and explained. “However, they met a dangerous and powerful opposition. A single person was able to subdue Kisame even at his strongest, almost killing him and forced Itachi to retreat.”

"Also, this one was the same man who wiped out the entire main invasion force of Otogakure and Sunagakure, Orochimaru’s handpicked elite shinobi.” Pain added. "And heavily wounded Orochimaru."

“…”

Upon hearing what happened, all of them went silent.

Aside from Orochimaru, they all knew the capability of Kisame and Itachi. If someone was able to overpower the two, then this meant bad for them.

“Pfft! Ahahahahahahahahaha!” a cheerful laugh echoed the silence of the group.

“Shut up! And why are you laughing?!”

“Because…pffft! Hahahahahhaha! Because it reminded me of the smell when we rescued Kisame. He smelled like a barbecued fish! Hahahahahahahahahaaha!” two voices from a plant-like figure started arguing.

But that doesn't lighten up the mood for all of them. This was something worrying.

“So how was Kisame?” the hunchback asked.

"Still healing from his wounds, Sasori. Thanks to Samehada, maybe his progress will be much faster than expected. He only needed more time to regain his lost limbs." Their female member answered.

“How come that we only heard of this now?” Kakuzu asked.

“Because we never investigated until now, moreover there were no witnesses left alive when this man destroyed Orochimaru's invasion force. Making it harder for us to gather information through our spies inside Konoha after the attack.” Konan answered.

“Did both of them underestimate their opponent somehow that caused them this mistake?” Deidara smirked.

“Kisame almost died not just from the enemy’s attack but also due to chakra exhaustion. That tells us something about what happened in their battle.” Pain explained. If this opponent forced Kisame to go all out but still defeated him, then it even worsened the problem.

“True.”

“Zetsu had to intervene just to save him,” Konan said.

“This enemy suffered almost no damage from the intense fight with Kisame… and even overpowered the genjutsu of Itachi then returned it back to him.” A figure with a plant-like man-eating maw added with a raspy voice. “This is no ordinary foe.”

“Who was this opponent? If this happened on Konoha, was it one of the Legendary Sannin or their Hokage? Other than those two and Kakashi of the Sharingan, I don’t know anyone who could have bested Kisame and Itachi.” Sasori asked.

“…”

“That is the main problem.” The woman shook her head.

“What?”

“We don’t know who he is. Zetsu already checked this strange shinobi but…” The female silhouette said while glancing at the silent Itachi. "They found nothing."

"Except... that this man had the same face as the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namekaze." Itachi finally broke his silence.

"What?"

This frowned at his words. The Fourth Hokage died dealing with the Kyuubi. So either he was brought to life or-

"A clone?" Kakuzu asked.

Itachi shook his head.

"We are not sure yet on what he is. That's why this changes everything." Konan said. “Itachi and Zetsu, sensed no chakra from him. No, in fact, they never sensed him using chakra, even once.” Pain continued for her. “If this foe used Taijutsu against Kisame, then it would have explained everything. Yet, he was able to use jutsu without the use of hand seals or chakra which doesn't add up.”

“No wonder Kisame was helpless. He and his treasured blade were dependent on stealing and absorbing other’s chakra then making it as their own.” Kakuzu said. "If this man could fight without using chakra, then he is a bad match for the Mist-nin."

“You are forgetting something Konan-san.” A cheerful voice came from Zetsu.

“Yes, another problem was that…” She continued. “…the man they had faced had behaved, appeared and as powerful as fully awakened jinchuuriki.”

“Jinchuuriki? So they faced the kyuubi’s jinchuuriki?” Deidara asked.

"I thought that the demon fox’s jinchuuriki was still a child.” Kakuzu frowned and got confused.

“Yes, you are right. The vessel of the Kyuubi was still a child whom Itachi and Kisame were able to subdue with ease. But they were attacked soon after by this unknown man and were forced to fight back.” Konan explained.

“Wait, I thought there’s only one jinchuuriki in Konoha.” Deidara asked again.

“Maybe it was a jinchuuriki from other villages who visited Konoha?” Sasori spoke his thoughts aloud.

“Did you forgot what we mentioned earlier? The bijuus were creatures of immense of chakra, yet not a single chakra was used or even detected from his body.” Konan sighed.

Sasori and Deidara quietly mused.

“Did Konoha made their own man-made bijuu that’s not a living creature of chakra?” Kakuzu asked for the possibility.

“Its concept is not entirely impossible, knowing that Orochimaru had worked with Danzo and his ROOT in the past. But I don’t remember any principle where they could harness a power other than chakra. Even in the past, the Sage used chakra to create the Moon.” Konan said.

“You called him a ‘jinchuuriki’ even if you sensed no chakra from him, why?”

“Because this man was able to transform himself into something similar to a demon cloak of a Jinchuuriki. A humanoid bipedal… dragon.”

“A dragon?”

“Giant lizard with wings, a creature of myths and fairy tales. Aren’t you an enthusiast of art? Then how come you don’t know about such a creature?” the man with a scythe smirked.

“I know such being, Hidan! What confuses me is that there is no dragon on the list of nine Tailed Beasts.” Deidara clarified.

“That’s what we had thought also.” Konan nodded.

“Are you even sure that there are only nine tailed beasts? What if there are more?” Hidan snorted.

“More likely, he is not even a jinchuuriki even if he appears to be one. Like what Konan had mentioned, he never once used a jutsu that required chakra, this included the demon cloak he wore which Zetsu and Itachi sensed no chakra." Pain said. "And there were only nine tailed beasts. Although we cannot entirely say that the people who had their level of chakra were limited only to Jinchuurikis. As in the past, the Gold and Silver brothers of Kumogakure were able to harness the powers of the Kyuubi without being its Jinchuuriki."

"True." Sasori nodded.

"That is why me and Konan will be heading out and investigate.” Pain added.

“If it was just a simple jutsu, we would have just ignored it and considered that as a new type of jutsu. However, seeing its capability and prowess that could defeat one of us with ease without using chakra, made us realize that this man will probably become an obstruction later on.” Konan said. “Especially when one of our targets was on Konoha. Retaliation from them is already expected.”

“Due to our failed attempt to get the Kyuubi, we will prioritize in finding the identity of this man and what he can do. We cannot afford any hindrance in the future.” Pain added. "All of you will make this as a precedence."

“Why won’t Zetsu do that instead? They were far more skilled in information gathering than us.” Hidan complained.

Konan looked at the creature named Zetsu for the explanation.

“Konoha had become untouchable for us. It seemed that after the attack, unknown but powerful protection had been cast on the entire village. The very earth inside the place had become alien to me.” Black Zetsu snarled. “This time, if we wanted to enter the village, we would have to walk through their main gate.”

“Hahahhahaha! Knocking on their doors like a traveling salesman selling plants and flowers?” White Zetsu laughed.

“Shut up!”

“Zetsu will have their own task to be done while we are away,” Konan said.

“I want all of you to be discrete with your movements from now on. We still don’t know what will be the movements of Konoha and this man after the failed retrieval of the Kyuubi. Expect Konoha to send several parties for a manhunt.” Pain said.

“So overall, the information we got from this man was that he is as powerful as a jinchuuriki that cloaks himself as a humanoid dragon, uses no chakra with his jutsu.” Sasori made a mental note, confirming what was mentioned. "And he has the same face as the Yellow Flash."

"That will be all, we will notify you of any new information later," Konan said.

"Dismiss."

With their leader's word, all of the shadows inside the cave quickly disappeared. Making the dripping sound inside the cave, louder after the silence. What was left behind was a strange figure with a black cloak and a spiraling mask, sitting on a mound of cave soil.

"Could it really be...sensei?" He raised his head in wonder about the possibility but quickly dispelled it. "No, he sealed his soul along with the Kyuubi. Still, this is not something that I could just ignore."

"It seems that I have to reveal myself much earlier than we had planned." A red-eye with Sharingan glowed on the only hole of his mask.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

On the thick heavy mists and barren, mountainous landscape, a battalion of shinobi were trekking through the harsh terrain.

“Raikage-sama, what do you think is the reason for this summon?” a young shinobi

“That old man may be a glutton, his brain is as big as his appetite. This is probably another preparation for war.” A, the current kage of Hidden Cloud Village was summoned by the Land of Lightning’s daimyo. As the representative and overall leader of his village, he was required to answer the summons.

They arrived at the Palace of Land of Lightning, where the daimyo commanded them to gather. A large castle inside a bustling city. The capital of the Land of Lightning.

At the gate, they were inspected for their identities. The line to enter the city was already crowded with merchants with their caravans, traders that wanted to sell their goods, hunters with their pelts, people from distant villages to buy supplies before winter, and citizens who wanted to visit the city. Thankfully, the morning heat was blocked by the tall mountains that covered the entire city in its shadows.

The raikage and his party were given VIP treatment and were allowed to take another line that's intended for envoys and politicians. Although they were wearing their Kumogakure's insignia, it was part of the strict security protocols when entering the grounds where the daimyo walks.

“Raikage-sama, we apologize for the inconvenience.” the guards bowed.

“It’s fine. Just get it over with.” A waved his hand as his men handed some scrolls.

“Thank you.”

After several minutes of confirming their attendance and identities on the list, they were allowed inside. Including their weapons. Something that displays the trust that they got from the security and daimyo.

And along with him were dozens of Kumo ANBU, a few of his top shinobi advisors, and his trusted cousin that became one of his bodyguards, Yuu. He left his brother, B to guard the village in his stead. The recent attacks on Konoha had reached their country. As thus, before leaving, he increased the patrols and intensity of the inspections on the borders.

Leaping from roof to roof inside the city, they went straight to the main citadel where the meeting will take place. They cannot be delayed by the same crowded streets below. It was still early in the morning, yet the city was already noisy with people starting their daily lives.

They arrived at the gate of the castle and were immediately let inside by the guards after showing the identity cards they got from the gate sentries to the guards.

The entire Kumo ANBU stayed outside, having only one guard with him, the raikage went inside.

They were greeted by countless politicians and lords that helped in the administration of their country. There were five long tables which were almost full. It was also filled with food, drinks, and various delicacies.

A maidservant escorted them to their seats as they entered the great hall. The raikage seated with his guard, Yuu, and waited in silence till their daimyo arrives. They didn't have to wait long as not after they took their seat, their overlord entered through the wooden door behind his seat, accompanied by two masked Shinobi. He has a face of an old man in his 60s yet Raikage knew that this old feeble-looking man had an appetite of a large boar.

Then with his loud voice, he turned to his vassals who stood as he took a seat.

“Please all of you, eat first. We shall talk after we filled ourselves.”

He nodded at the maidservants that were standing on the sides of the hall, which they soon went to the tables and helped serve the food and drinks. The daimyo on the other hand was already munching on his favorite meat soup, rice, and vegetable salad, partnered with a bottle of sake.

Raikage just asked for a pitcher of fruit wine, something that will not make him drunk as it was an untold rule and manner in front of a daimyo to never get drunk. Then took a plate of leafy salad and a cup of rice. He was already full, to begin with and just ate some to not make it feel impolite to snub their Lord's effort in giving them food. While Yuu took a bottle from a maidservant, then asked for a plate of cheese and soft bread.

"What are you drinking?" The raikage asked. He would be scolding his young relative if it was wine.

"A bottle of milk," Yuu replied indifferently which raikage sighed and returned to his food, slowly eating his share to avoid becoming the first to finish early.

"Want a bottle also raikage-sama? Its actually good and sweet." Yuu asked. The Kage of Kumo shook his head in answer. Although he had to ask for another serving later as the daimyo was still eating. He has to eat three servings before their lord had finished himself. After half an hour of silence, their lord finally talked.

“Now that everyone’s stomach is full, we shall start.” The daimyo took a cup and drank, then turned to his vassals who were looking at him with full ears. “I am sure that all of you have heard about the recent incursions of the Shinobi from the Land of Rice.”

“Yes. Although they still haven’t harmed any property or person yet, their bold actions in crossing the borders were already alarming.” their lord added. "The overlords of the Land of Frost and Land of Hot Water took no responsibility for these violations by the Land of Rice to cross their borders and harass ours."

Raikage, A also heard about this. It started two years ago where several bands of shinobi from the Land of Rice started a fight on a tea shop. Then it was followed by another chaotic brawl on a gambling house which caused injuries and bruises to both sides. And after that, almost several hundred troubling counts were recorded already. Making it obvious that they were all provoking the Land of Lightning. The daimyo made a strict gag order to never answer any of these provocations and finally strengthen the borders, preparing to close it if necessary.

It seemed that their own buffer, the Land of Frost and Hot Water was becoming useless.

“I sent an emissary to the Land of Rice daimyo to ask for their side of the story. But it seemed they are planning something else.” their overlord said. “For they have turned down any entry of any envoys from our side. I already sent a warning to the Frost and Hot Water daimyos that I am willing to take necessary measures to protect my country.”

“The queer isn't even trying to hide his intention.” a tall muscular shinobi with three katanas on his right hip, hissed. He was referring to the lord of the Land of Rice who was known for his… peculiar and strange tastes or tendencies.

“Hush Tatsuya,” the daimyo waved his hand. “I shall not have my halls hear an utter of any of that word.”

“My apologies tono.” the man bowed.

“Mmm. Still, this only meant that they are not interested on explaining their reasons on why they were violating the sovereignty between our borders. Not even once did we had any case of someone on our side, trespassing theirs.”

“Orochimaru.” The kage of Hidden Cloud whispered with hostility.

“What?”

“Orochimaru. That cowardly daimyo would never do this kind of thing in the past. But after the snake of Konoha entered his domain, everything had changed. He is probably the center of these provocations.” the raikage explained.

“We knew about that. We already sent spies on the Land of Rice who told me that the Missing-nin and former Sannin of Konoha had taken asylum in that country. And he was able to rise as the right hand of the Daimyo.” the Foreign Affairs Minister said.

“Then that quickened things up from explaining further. As you must have known also, Orochimaru has established a shinobi village known as Otogakure. And how he led a secret invasion force of Sunagakure and Otogakure shinobi on Konoha which failed and they were forced to retreat.” the raikage said.

“Yes. Go on.” Their Daimyo commanded.

“Our intelligence had gained valuable information that Orochimaru was greatly wounded in that failed invasion and had to recuperate in one of his hideouts while searching for someone,” Raikage revealed.

“And that someone is?” their daimyo asked.

“We don’t know yet.” A shook his head. “But from what I could understand. This provocation was just a diversion to blind Konoha that they were the real target. And they were successful, although failed on their real goal.”

All of them became quiet with disgust in their faces after hearing such reason for the recent years of trouble.

"They used us as a tool for misdirection?!" One of the vassal clan leaders growled in anger.

"True, this only requires retaliation tono." A hot-blooded old woman said. "They must have underestimated us by predicting that we will not respond to their provocations due to the treaty."

“As such, we must strengthen our forces. We cannot rest our laurels now.” another vassal clan elder added.

“Why not just invade that wretched land? Of course, we must include the Land of Frost and Hot Water on the way to teach them not to mess with the Land of Lightning. Isn't this the quickest course to end future troubles father?” A woman with short light blue hair and blue eyes suddenly appeared on the ceiling, standing upside down. Then gave a peace sign to all people below her. “Hehe.”

The daimyo could only sigh and shake his head.

“Lady Ibuki!” all of the vassals immediately recognized her as the eldest 17 years old daughter of the daimyo. The infamous daughter went to the Land of Iron as an envoy and an exchange student.

“Ibuki, get down.” Another voice rang out.

It was Pamela, her green long-haired handmaiden that was the same age as her and was also sent to the Land of Iron.

And when both of them returned, they were already carrying the titles, Ibuki “Thousand Blade” and Pamela “Silent Thorn”, becoming two of the feared swordswoman in their land. However, due to learning the ways of the samurai, their lady had become different from the shinobi that littered their country.

“A-jiichan.” Ibuki landed in front of the Hidden Cloud’s kage and greeted with a grin. Then she asked. “Where is B-sama?”

“Lady Ibuki, it’s a pleasure to meet you again. As well as to you too, Pamela. I left my younger brother at the village. I don’t want him ruining the meeting again.” A sighed. Although she was a noble, she would always visit the Kumogakure after her return from the country of samurai and would always spar with his younger brother B.

“EEEH? That’s boring~” she pouted her lips.

“Ibuki, stop disturbing the lord. Tono, we apologize for interrupting.” her handmaiden bowed and pushed her master to the side of the hall. Then she saw another familiar face beside the Raikage.

"Ah, Yuu! It's been a long time! Let's spar later!" She yelled as she was dragged by Pamela. Yuu only smiled and waved to a friend.

This must be the bad influence of B. The raikage could only punch his forehead, it already made him feel that it's as if B was here.

The daimyo decided to ignore his daughter, just nodded in response, and continued.

“Although Ibuki’s suggestion was not bad, it was not also good for us.” The daimyo explained. “The Land of Fire and Land of Earth would be quick to respond on anything. Both of their daimyo hated anything that could tip the balance of power between the Elemental Countries. So either one of us two moves, they will become the subject of aggression by other daimyos. And even if we could take the Land of Rice, Frost, and Hot Water with ease, we don’t have the strength against a coalition of other countries.”

"Moreover, our navy could not match the Land of Earth's and Land of Rice." Another clan elder added. "We need to prepare first. Improve our forces before we could decide on anything."

Their daimyo nodded at that point.

“Then tono, what was the other purpose of this meeting? I feel that there is something else that you wanted to talk about."

"True but it is still related to our current predicament. Yatsuha, bring that here." The daimyo turned to one of his two guards behind him, who took something behind her and put it down in front where it could be seen by the entire hall. It was as long as a height of a man, yet looked light as the Shinobi showed no struggle in carrying it. It was covered by a white cloth.

“I wanted all of you to see this.” The daimyo said.

Then the masked shinobi named Yatsuha unwrapped the strange thing. This caught their entire attention and got their full interest, after seeing what was unveiled.

It was a very long blade, as dark as the night sky. Embedded with blood-colored stones on its hilt.

“…a long sword?”

“No, look at the metal. It's darker than any metal I've seen. But what was it tono?”

“It's not just any black long sword or metal." The daimyo gently shook his head. Then looked at his daughter. "Ibuki, I permit you to try this blade. As a swordsman, you are worthy of showing us the capability of this sword with your skill.”

“Yes, father!” she stood up, walked with energy, and took the blade from its cloth that covered it. She walked through the empty center of the hall and performed some testing for the blade.

Horizontal swing, slash, acts of parrying, stab, leaping strike, and cuts on empty air, all of it made it looked like she was dancing with the blade. A mesmerizing sight for such a deadly dance.

"It's big yet, it's really light!" She gleefully said while making more aggressive movements as if she had multiple enemies.

“Hmm! Impressive as expected. Now test its sharpness.” The daimyo clapped and the door on the right side of the hall opened, revealing hundred of wooden puppets, wearing full armor and weapons, gleaming with thick chakra. Something that the raikage was all too familiar with. Then he added. “Don’t use any chakra.”

Ibuki nodded and immediately rushed towards these puppets, not waiting for them to attack first. These puppets however were armed with reloading crossbows and unleashed hellfire of bolts. However, they weren't even a challenge for her. Easily parrying every bolt that came to her way without even dodging.

And with a single quick draw, she destroyed dozens of puppets. Making a blinding light as a result. Her specialty was fighting multiple opponents which was an advantageous situation for her. Destroyed wooden bodies and parts of the puppets flew. Their puppeteers had a hard time controlling their dolls even if they are serious about taking her down. It only took her several minutes to take all of them down. All of them who were not familiar with the kenjutsu of Ibuki was astounded and awestricken by such display.

But for those who knew about her skill with the sword, they were shocked in wide-open eyes with something else.

“T-the… blade was able to penetrate through?!” one of the youngest lords spoke aloud what most of them noticed. Raikage and Yuu themselves were of the same response. If it was a normal blade even under a swordmaster, it would chip from several attacks at most. No matter how skilled he was. Even Ibuki and Pamela were shocked at the capability of the sword, for it was never chipped.

"Was this blade one of the famed weapons of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" A high-ranking Shinobi asked.

"No, this seemed to be just a common blade that we found among others of the other type of weapons." Their daimyo replied. He made a gesture to Yatsuha again. The female shinobi took out another wooden box then showed three black daggers and two short black swords that were obviously made of the same metal. Which caused frowning expressions to his vassals.

“As you can see, this metal was able to cut through thick chakra defense without using chakra,” their overlord calmly explained before someone could ask. “And if this metal could penetrate through chakra defense, what do you think would be its potential as armors for our forces?"

All of them immediately thought of it. They don’t have to think much. As it was easy for all of them to know more of the possible applications for this metal.

“This would be a fine addition to our arsenal. If we could get our hands on it.” the raikage broke the silence. "Many of our shinobi would be saved and protected with this new metal."

“I-it truly would, tono! This would greatly enhance the combat capability of our shinobi.”

“Yeah!”

“You're right! We finally have the advantage to this weapon.”

“Tono! Is this a new type of steel that was recently found?”

His vassals agreed with one another and their daimyo nodded.

“But tono, where did you find this blade? And where can we-”

“The only problem is that this metal is not available in our country.” the daimyo interrupted him.

“Eh?”

“T-then where did it came from?”

“If it was on other countries, we can still use our connections to buy and monopolize this metal, before they could discover its potential. Assuming that they still haven't considered-"

But their overlord only shook his head and interrupted them once again.

“This metal cannot be found on this continent, I already searched and hired researchers, surveyors, and purveyors. Days after we found this weapon.”

“Then where did you get this tono?”

“It was first discovered on the Land of Earth. Sold by foreign sailors that got washed up on their shores. My spies first bought these three daggers after the man who sold it to them showed how sharp it was against any metal.” the daimyo said. "But after people who worked on its composition discovered the denseness of its metal not found on anything before, we sent another party immediately to buy more and take more samples. However, they were told that it was the last bunch." Their daimyo took the black dagger and studied it with interest.

"Thankfully, one of the sailors who got drunk fessed up and mentioned about a great sword that was hidden on their ship." He continued."Our spies infiltrated their ship then broke in and took the sword, along with the two short swords that were found with it."

“Wait, foreign sailor? And this metal can't be found in the continent? From which country did he come from then?” his daughter noticed the discrepancy and asked.

“These sailors were not natives of any Elemental Countries.” her father replied.

“Then?”

“They were from a distant continent. Somewhere on the western seas. Lost visitors from an undiscovered continent.” their daimyo put down the dagger back to the box and turned towards them with anticipating eyes. "Its name is Tamriel.”