Chapter 263: Gargoyle
Chapter 263 Stone Statue Soldiers
In the office, Baishi held a paper material in his hand.
This is what Ichihime saw and felt in the Land of Fire and Konoha, and everything is presented in the paper in detail.
Although in Shiraishi's view, this thesis still has many shortcomings, the more critical issues in the country of fire and Konoha were all written by Kazuhime in the paper, so Shiraishi didn't care about this small flaw.
"It can be seen that Ichihime has been carefully observing the various issues of the Nation of Fire and Konoha, from their beliefs to the institutional level, basically analyzing them seriously. To be honest, it was a bit beyond my expectations."
Baishi put down the thesis materials in his hands. For a nine-year-old child, this is enough to be called excellent.
Although it is a good thing to keep improving, Shiraishi also feels that there is no need to worry about this kind of thing, too much is too late, and it is not necessarily a good thing for a person to grow up too quickly.
"In other words, you passed the test, right?"
Ichihime raised her head and asked.
She really worked hard to make this thesis. In the past two years, she has traveled through the entire Fire Kingdom through the channel of the Ghost Kingdom. In addition, Konoha is also a key observation target.
Actually, there are many problems that she doesn't need to look for. Fire Nation and Konoha have already exposed the problems on their own initiative.
In Kazuki’s opinion, this should be due to her habit of living in the ghost country, and she suddenly entered a country with a completely different system, ideology, and culture from the ghost country, and naturally found those problems quickly.
In terms of the ninja system, in Kazuhime's view, ninjas... from the Warring States Period to the present, have not actually changed in any essential way.
In the Warring States Period in the past, the way ninjas survived was to accept the employment of daimyo from various countries and help them win the war.
Later, Senju Hashirama, the patriarch of the Senju Clan, changed the original method, advancing to the era of one country and one village, and established the first ninja village in the ninja world—Konoha.
Subsequently, it was followed by other countries, and officially entered the fierce era of the five major powers competing for hegemony.
After the death of Senshou Zhujian, this contradiction deepened day by day.
Fearing the power of Senshou Hashirama, countries dare not take action, but as long as Senshou Hashirama dies, this suppressive force will naturally cease to exist.
Behind the seemingly peaceful situation, the fundamental problem still exists.
That is the employment mode of ninjas. It is still the same as the Warring States Period, a group of mercenaries, not real soldiers belonging to a country.
It’s better in Konoha, the ninjas occasionally work for ordinary residents in the village for free, but once in addition to Konoha Village, even the nearest villages need to pay for ninjas to help.
To eradicate bandits, the residents of the Land of Fire also need to hire ninjas at their own expense. Konoha ninjas will not contribute their strength for free.
On the surface, it is a fair transaction... But this kind of transaction, in Yiji's view, seems very distorted.
Who pays for the military expenses of Ninja Village?
Aristocrat?
No, it's not.
Ninja Village’s military expenses are paid by countless low-level laborers in the Land of Fire.
These low-level workers have to pay a heavy tax every year, which is collected by the daimyo and the major nobles, and then part of it is distributed to the ninja village to serve as military expenses for the ninja village to develop its military strength.
Fundamentally speaking, it is these low-level laborers who create real wealth, not daimyo, nobles, and ninjas.
Because those ninja villages do not produce, or rarely engage in production.
They still retain the traditional bad habits of using people's money to eliminate disasters. They are essentially no different from bounty hunters in the underground black market.
In Yiji’s view, when civilians pay taxes, the state has the duty to protect them, instead of collecting additional money and increasing unnecessary burdens on the people.
Because the richer the people, the tax will increase, and the higher the tax, the better the development of the country. This is a virtuous circle.
In the country of fire and Konoha, Kazuhime did not see these phenomena.
The daimyo and nobles collected more than 90% of the country's wealth, and then distributed a small part to the ninja village to maintain the "contract" between them.
Ninja Village, which has received development funds, will naturally not have nothing to do to fight against daimyo and nobles in order to uphold justice for the bottom laborers who create real wealth.
Essentially, Ninja Village also thinks from the perspective of those with vested interests.
Taking the hard-earned money made by the bottom-level laborers, but not really serving the bottom-level personnel of the country, this is simply not like the soldiers that a country should have.
This is why Ichihime thinks that ninjas are not soldiers.
Konoha’s ninjas are essentially mercenaries, living a life of using people’s money to eliminate disasters. Ninja Village, to put it bluntly, is a symbol of a country’s military power, but to put it bluntly, it is a slightly larger training base for mercenaries.
Calling them soldiers is the greatest humiliation to soldiers.
If this malpractice is eliminated from the very beginning, the ninja world may not develop so deformedly. Unfortunately, the first Hokage Senjujuma, who established the era of one country and one village, did not realize this problem.
In other words, he simply doesn’t have enough knowledge accumulation to support his thinking about how to build a country with a benign system.
Therefore, Yi Ji felt that his old man was very powerful, and how important it is to popularize education and eradicate illiteracy.
"Of course, for you now, it is enough to be called excellent."
Baishi was not stingy with his praise.
Growth cannot be achieved overnight. Only by applying what you have learned can you better understand the pattern and see the road ahead.
In addition to these, Yi Ji also mentioned other things, but in general, other things are secondary issues.
"So, in what ways do you think this deadlock needs to be broken?"
"What way? Don't you already act on this kind of thing, old man?"
For Shiraishi's form of knowingly asking, Kazuhime is quite disdainful.
It is nothing more than to push forward the times through war, and completely destroy and ravage the inherent dross.
The structure of today's ninja world has long been solidified. The daimyo and nobles have considerable wealth, while the lower-level laborers have no wealth. However, the wealth accumulated by daimyo and nobles for generations was plundered from the bottom people. They who have plundered most of the wealth in the world just maintain their status and authority as superiors, and have not fulfilled their due responsibilities.
The same goes for ninjas. They unknowingly became tools used by daimyo and nobles to oppress the lower classes.
As vested interests, they have been enemies from the beginning.
The gap between the systems, one day, if the kingdom of ghosts does not take action against the five major countries, the five major countries will also extend their war minions to the kingdom of ghosts.
Instead of doing that, it is better to accumulate strength, preemptive strikes, and completely control the situation in your own hands.
This can not only buy time, but also destroy the connection between the five major countries. Wuyin Village is the best example.
"Really? It seems that you still remember what I told you about 'Xiao', and you didn't disappoint me."
Baishi smiled slightly.
The "Akatsuki" in his mouth is not the "Akatsuki" organization that Nagato controls now, but a patriotic organization spontaneously formed by many passionate youths from the Rain Country in order to save the Country of Rain in the past.
They have no accumulation of knowledge, no military and economic foundation, but rely on their passion to save their country and people.
From many years ago, Shiraishi predicted that this organization would end in a dismal way.
The confusion and despair experienced by this organization are also recorded in the history books of the ninja school in the land of ghosts, which can be said to be quite a powerful negative teaching material.
Yiji can give such an answer, it is obvious that she has this history in mind.
Akatsuki, led by Yahiko Amane, is not so much a product of the ninja world war, as it is that the bottom has been oppressed for a long time, and someone will naturally speak out for it.
When people cannot survive, they will naturally resist.
This is also the reason why bandits and bandits are constantly in the territory of the five major countries.
The predecessors of these bandits were low-level personnel who were squeezed to the extreme, and they could only survive in this way.
Eradication of banditry will never rely on the violence of ninjas. If there are problems in the system, using violence to solve them will only add more rebels.
In this era, there are countless people who are not afraid of death, and they will never be killed.
"Next, rest at home for a period of time. After that, I will arrange for you to study in Kirigakure Village. I have already agreed with Kirigakure's Fourth Mizukage Yakura that you can study there with peace of mind."
Shiraishi said to Kazuhime.
Ichihime nodded.
The old-fashioned Konoha and the Land of Fire have already seen it. Next, she will go to see the Wuyin Village, which is closer to the Kingdom of Ghosts. This is an opportunity for change.
Moreover, Kirigakure is the secret alliance ninja village of Oni Land. She used to strengthen the relationship between the two parties, not just as a study and research task.
Shiraishi put away Kazuhime’s thesis materials, and was about to continue to speak when the instrument on the desk suddenly started to operate.
Blank paper with words written on it came out of it.
is an urgent report.
Baishi glanced at the contents of the urgent report, his face became serious.
"I wanted to talk to you about other things, but it seems that there is no extra time now. Yiji, don't walk around here. I will go out for a few days to solve some troubles."
The content of the urgent report is very sudden, large-scale stone statue soldiers suddenly appeared in the western coastal area, central mountain area, and southern forest of the ghost country, attacking the surrounding towns from different directions.
These stone statue soldiers even launched indiscriminate attacks on the surrounding countries towards the area outside the ghost country.
We must suppress this turmoil before things become serious.
Baishi naturally knows who is the mastermind behind the manipulation of these stone statue soldiers. The monster sprites that have survived since ancient times, in the kingdom of ghosts, only sprites can do such a thing.
◎
Shrine.
Only a few maids in maiden costumes are waiting here. Maitreya, the owner of the shrine, has long since disappeared.
Shiraishi didn't know about it until he arrived at the shrine.
Entering the side hall of the shrine, the ancient stone gate in the center of the circular altar has been opened at some point.
The air in the side hall was also full of natural freshness, without the depression and dullness of the past, but Baishi was not happy about it.
This stone gate is an important tool for sealing the soul of sprites.
The stone gate is opened, which means that the soul of the sprite has broken free from its shackles.
The palm touched the open stone door.
Judging from the traces, it should be not long ago that the sprite's soul broke free from its shackles.
The floor of the side hall, as well as the walls, have serious signs of wear and tear, with many cracks.
Clearly there has been a battle here.
No accident, it should be the scene caused by Maitreya Miko and the spirit of the sprite.
Since the Maitreya Priestess and the spirits of the monsters are not here, then there is only one place Shiraishi can think of where the two of them can go—
The country of swamp.
The soul and body of sprites have always been sealed separately.
The soul is guarded by Maitreya Miko, while the body is sealed in an active volcanic shrine in the country of marshes for isolation.
If the monster wants to be resurrected in a complete way, he must obtain the physical body sealed in the volcano of the country of marshes in order to recover all his strength.
And if Maitreya Miko wants to stop the sprite, she must go to the marsh country, wait for the sprite to come, and seal it again.
After Shiraishi figured out these things, he quickly left the shrine quietly.
The order has been conveyed. In fact, in order to deal with the stone statue army that will appear sooner or later, there are actually ninja troops stationed in various urban areas.
Although these stone statue legions cannot be eliminated, there is still no problem in preventing them from entering the town and causing damage.
The only problem is with sprites.
As long as the power of sprites continues to spread, these stone statue legions will not stop attacking, and will continue to be produced to attack towns where humans gather.
◎
The sky above suddenly became gloomy.
One moment the sky was clear, but the next moment it was covered by cloudy clouds.
Mighty and majestic stone soldiers showed their figures from the mountain path, holding huge oppressive stone blades, with red eyes, and walking heavy steps. Every step they took caused earthquakes.
At a glance, it looks like thousands of troops are galloping.
In the distance, a kunai shot from a distance, with a detonating talisman tied to it, aiming at a stone soldier to attack.
Ding!
Kunai was bounced away by the iron-like body of the stone soldier, only sparks appeared, and then the detonator ignited, and the flames from the detonation instantly burst out, engulfing several stone soldiers around him.
When the flames dissipated, the surface layers of the stone statue soldiers could not be said to be unscathed, but they were only worn out with some unimpeded openings. One can imagine how strong the bodies of these stone statue soldiers are.
The body is like steel, and the strength is like a giant elephant.
Such stone soldiers are not one or two, but a legion.
The formed military, even if the ninja legion confronts it head-on, it will suffer heavy casualties.
The only good thing is that these stone statue soldiers are cumbersome and have no intelligence at all. They don't have the ability to automatically search for enemies, and they can only rely on the magician to maintain their actions.
The fundamental way to solve these stone statue soldiers is to find the magician who is manipulating them behind the scenes and unlock the control.
Ayane stood on the top of the mountain, playing with a kunai in her hand, staring thoughtfully at the army of stone statues marching towards the town of the ghost country below.
These stone statue soldiers are invulnerable to swords and guns, water and fire, even if they are detonating symbols, it is difficult to pose a fatal threat to them.
If the ninjas from the kingdom of ghosts fight these stone statue soldiers head-on, they will definitely suffer heavy casualties.
"Master Ayane, I brought the charm made by a nearby shrine."
A ninja from the ghost country rushed here.
Holding a wooden box in his arms, he put it on the ground.
A dozen or so ninjas from the Oni Nation all focused on the wooden box.
Open it, and there are stacks of neatly cut charms in the wooden box.
These charms are made by shrine maidens from various shrines in the Oni Land.
Different from explosive spells like detonating talismans, these talismans can cause strong damage to puppets like stone soldiers who are indirectly affected by monsters and sprites.
Picking up a spell, Ayane wrapped it around Kunai's handle, and fired at a stone soldier in the mountain path without hesitation.
Ayane intends to test the power of these charms for herself.
This time Kunai was not bounced away by the stone soldier, but directly submerged into the stone soldier's body.
The charm wrapped around the handle of Kunwu quickly ignited blue sparks, engulfing the entire body of the stone soldier.
Wait until the blue sparks have faded from the stone soldier, leaving only a pile of crumbling stones on the ground.
This scene surprised many ninjas from the Oni Nation. They did not expect this spell to be so powerful.
Even the detonating talisman can't break the stone soldier, and these runes, which seem to have no powerful destructive power, can disintegrate the body of the stone soldier from the inside, turning them into useless stones scattered all over the place.
Under the observation of Ayane's white eyes, he can clearly see the internal condition of the stone soldier.
The blue sparks burning on the talisman paper wiped away the purple-black Chuck in the stone soldier's body without a trace.
Those purple-black chakras are the formulas used to control the stone statue soldiers.
As long as these purple-black chakras are erased, the stone soldier will be a pile of useless stones.
Seeing the power of the talisman paper, Ayane nodded, and said to the ninja of the ghost country beside him: "I will leave this to you, and I will solve the magician."
"Look at ours, there is no problem now."
The ninjas in the kingdom of ghosts are full of confidence.
With these talisman papers, the threat of stone statue soldiers is greatly reduced.
At this moment, the blood-red sword light spread from a distant place, fell from the sky, and fell into the narrow mountain road, causing a loud bang.
A large number of stone soldiers rolled in the air, their bodies and the stone blades in their hands were torn apart, and the battle was almost a one-sided massacre.
Afterwards, a fire like a vast ocean roared past the mountain path.
Most of the stone soldiers walking forward were affected, burned red by the scorching flames, and the surface of their bodies cracked and cracked.
The ground and the mountain roads on both sides left muddy scorched black marks, braving the terrifying high temperature that made the air bend.
Hundreds of stone statue soldiers who made the ninjas of the ghost country feel troublesome were eliminated so easily.
The speed was so fast that none of them could react.
Ayane also sighed, and smiled helplessly: "It seems that you are no longer needed here, you go to other places to destroy the stone soldiers, and be careful not to damage the town, otherwise the reconstruction work will be very troublesome."
"yes."
Since the stone statue soldiers here have been resolved, there is no need for them to do it themselves.
Afterwards, they disappeared one by one from where they were, and went to other places to destroy the stone statue soldiers.
Liuli appeared here at some point, looking at the mountain road below, which turned into a hot **** with a high temperature steamer, her eyes changed into the form of Sangouyu Sharingan, her eyes were calm and indifferent.
"It's too slow. An opponent of this level has to waste so much time."
Ayane turned to look at her: "No way, unlike you, I'm not very good at dealing with a large number of enemies."
This sentence is not wrong, her soft fist is more suitable for single-point breakthroughs.
Even if it is a large-scale destructive soft fist—Shenkong strike, it is actually a dangerous move to kill the enemy.
And it will consume a lot of chakra, so it must be used with caution.
Liuli is different.
Although these stone statue soldiers are solid in body and comparable in strength to giant elephants, they move slowly and don't know how to adapt to this. Marching through the narrow mountain roads and pressing into towns is undoubtedly the best living target for Liuli, a ninja with ninjutsu suitable for large-scale cleaning.
Even if the body is as hard as steel, it can't resist the blade of Susanoo, nor can it block the high-temperature fire escape that is fused with the magic chakra and can dissolve steel.
"The borders of the country have been sealed off. Next, we just need to get rid of the monsters who control these stone soldiers behind the scenes."
"Swamp country? According to the news I received not long ago, Shiraishi-kun has already taken a step ahead, and we have to leave sooner."
These stone statue soldiers are not difficult opponents for a ninja of her strength, at most they are a little troublesome to do.
The real key lies in the monster sprites. If you can't seal the sprites, no matter how many stone soldiers you solve, it won't help.
The country of Marsh is located between the country of ghosts and the country of You.
The flesh of the monster sprites was sealed in a volcanic shrine in the country of swamp.
In order to fully revive themselves, the sprites will definitely go to the Volcanic Shrine in the Land of Swamp.
These stone statue soldiers seem to be attacking violently and with great momentum, but they are just smoke bombs thrown by sprites, used to attack east and west.
Ayane and Liuli were about to leave, when suddenly, in the mountain path that was still hot below, a scarlet evil light lit up.
A stone blade pierced through the air, without any warning, and flew towards the back of Ayane's head.
Click!
The stone blade hit the back of Ayane's head, split instantly, and shattered into pieces like a goddess scattering flowers.
Seeing this scene with scarlet and evil eyes, his faith was suddenly shaken.
Is this woman's head made of diamond?
Can't help but have such a question.
Not only did it fail to leave a wound on the back of the opponent's head, but what shattered was the hard stone blade projected.
Ayane turned around as if nothing had happened, and looked down.
A half-disabled stone soldier stood there stubbornly, with nothing in his hand.
The stone blade projected towards Ayane was its final attack.
"A sprite?"
Stone soldiers have no intelligence, only the most basic mobility, and the action module is very dull.
Sneak attack is not like the spontaneous behavior of stone statue soldiers at all.
"…interesting…"
Such words came from the mouth of the half-disabled stone soldier, and the scarlet blood in his eyes suddenly turned into blackness. The stone soldier stood there like a sculpture, motionless and let the high temperature in the mountain path bake.
"Is your head okay? It shouldn't affect the next battle."
Liuli asked.
Ayane waved her hand and replied: "It's okay, I feel like I was bitten by a mosquito. There is no need to hide from this level of attack. Let's go, we must hurry to the country of marsh to meet Shiraishi-kun. I have been staying at home for the past two years, and I can't go anywhere. Now I can do some activities."
Liuli nodded, and then disappeared in place together with Ayane using the instant body technique.
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