Chapter 426: Side Story Part 6: Redaku Arc: History of Redaku


    "The preliminary preparations areplete."


    "Very well. It''s time to execute the next step of our n." The masked leader rys his orders.


    Whoosh swoosh


    The masked figure disperses and scatters through the entire town.


    A few secondster,


    Whoosh


    Izuna appears in the warehouse.


    ''Hmm shinobis are supposed to be a rare figure in the Land of Redaku and yet on my first day in Redaku, I came across not just one but two different groups of shinobis.''


    He recognizes the chakra signature of these masked figures.


    "These people are the street performers from the day. And they seem quite skilled in ninjutsu and genjutsu. ording to shinobi standards, at least seven of them are jounins and their leader is at the level of a captain."


    Izuna recalls the events following the y early in the day.


    ''During the y, they cast a genjutsu to bewitch and indulge the spectators in their y. This could be considered a novelty in any shinobi vige since it enriches the experience of the audience. However, these people had ulterior motives.


    The genjutsu left behind a small hypnotic seal in the minds of these people. This hypnotic seal doesn''t interfere with the regr day-to-day of these people and it will wear off after some period. However, continuous exposure to this genjutsu will strengthen the seal without the notice of the victim. After a certain amount of time, the hypnotic seal will inscribe and engrave itself on the mindscape of the victim, simr to amand seal.


    Themand seal will activate upon uttering some specific set of words and turn these people into mindless puppets without their consent.''


    Fwoosh


    Izuna swipes his hand and takes out a small wisp of dark green energy.


    ''This is a very innovative method of inscribing fuinjutsu seals. At this point, it''s more like a jujutsu than a genjutsu or fuinjutsu.''


    Izuna waves his hand and disperses that wisp of curse energy from his hands.


    "I can stop their ns in its infancy, but where is the fun in that? Since I also n to leave asting influence on these people, their schemes might work in my favor. Afterall, who doesn''t like the concept of a hero during a crisis?"


    Izuna shakes his head.


    "I am not some saint, but I am also not the devil."


    He continues to wander through the streets of the town to get an idea of the situation.


    Early in the morning, the sentry outside his room leaves.


    Whoosh


    Izuna returns to his room. He dispels his clone and takes its position.


    "A two-hour sleep is more than enough for me." He closes his eyes and lies down on the bed.


    In a secret room in the inn,


    The red-haired, middle-aged inn owner is resting on a rocking chair with closed eyes.


    Whoosh


    The sentry from earlier appears beside her and bows his head.


    "How was it? Any suspicious movement from that guy?"


    The middle-ageddy questions him with closed eyes.


    "No he was sleeping like a log for the entire night. His guard was lowered. There were plenty of opportunities to assassinate him in his sleep. I don''t think he is a shinobi. We were worried for nothing."


    The sentry rys the information.


    "The information from that merchant might be a fluke. There is a possibility that he used some sort of trick to fool them." The sentry spectes.


    "Then what about the monster meat in the market? Is that also fake?" The middle-ageddy questions


    "Ermm the meat is genuine monster meat. And it''s inrge quantity at that, but that guy he was so carefree so I thought that"


    "You might be right, but you also can be wrong. Only fools and people with real skills will remain fearless, regardless of the situation. Who knows, one wrong move from your side and I might lose a trusted aide." The red-haireddyments.


    Gulp


    The sentry gulps his saliva in fear.


    ''If what the misses say is true, then I might have lost my life if I tried something funny.''


    "Th Then what should I do, Miss?" The sentry asks her.


    "Of course, continue to monitor him. Even if he has some skills, he is currently in our territory. So, he has to follow our rules. If he has a problem, then he cane and meet us anytime."


    The red-haireddy confidently voices her thoughts.


    "Even though the power of our Uzu n has declined in the previous few centuries. The legacy of our ancestors is still with us. Not just any random person cane and trample over us." She harrumphs.


    Knock knock


    Someone knocks on the door of the secret room in a specific rhythm.


    "Come in!"


    The red-haireddy swipes her fingers on the armrest of her chair. The door of the secret room opens and another person in a ck robe enters the room. She turns towards the sentry and gestures for him to leave. The sentry bows respectfully and departs the room from another entrance.


    The red-haireddy turns to the neer.


    "Lady Akai, recently a lot of suspicious people have entered the town during the Shirodo festival."


    The neer passes a report to the red-haireddy, Akai.


    "Hmm that''s not anything new. Every year there will be plenty of people with malicious intentions seeking an opportunity to fulfill their nefarious goals." Akai shakes her head.


    "It''s different this year." The ck-robed person remarks.


    "It''s indeed slightly different this year, but our people should be able to deal with any unexpected situation." Akai flips the scroll in her hands.


    "I have marked the few suspicious people entering the town on this scroll. And out of them, five people or groups stand out a lot." The ck-robed person continues.


    "That''s a lot of people." Akai frowns.


    "Yes, it indeed is. The stars in the sky are aligned in a specific pattern to create a rare celestial event that happens every fifty years. The lunar eclipse on the seventh day of the Shirodo festival also happens to be a part of this rare celestial event. So, a lot of tourists gather at this ce to witness this twice-in-a-century moment. This time, this event will mark the beginning of a new era, a new century."


    "It is also the time when the seal on the Umibozu is the weakest." The ck-robed person remarks.


    Akai''s expression turns ugly.


    "You are right!" Our n has maintained this seal for the past five centuries. Every century the seal will weaken and we have to pay a price to strengthen it.


    "There were several attempts in the past where someone will attempt to free the monster from its reins," Akai recalls the incident from the previous Lunar Eclipse.


    During the previous lunar eclipse, the offspring of one of the sea lords went berserk andunched an attack on the harbor town. Our people fought against those monsters for days and yet we couldn''t gain any advantage over them.


    When the town was on the verge of destruction, a hero appeared amidst us. He was a shinobi from the ound who washed up on the shore.


    He boldly stood before the fangs of the sea monster and valiantly fought against him.


    He summoned a wood dragon, a wood deity, and a thousand-hand buddha to fight against the sea lord''s offspring. The battlested for three days and three nights.


    "Finally, on the fourth day, the battle came to an end when the hero ys the offspring of the sea lord. This event infuriated the seal lord to the extent that their town had to suffer from continuous thunderstorms and tsunamis for the next ten years.


    The sea lords are unable to attack the maind of Redaku due to an ancient pact between the Sage, the Priest Tataru, and the seven sea lords.


    If not for the effect of that pact, those foul sea creatures might overrun thend of Redaku. The Sage lent a portion of his power to the people of Redaku in the form of a scepter called Shuigu.


    ording to the legends, the wielder of this scepter boasts authority over rain, thunderstorm, and even the vast sea itself. He can manipte and bend water ording to their desires. The wielder of the scepter can produce unlimited water and can even drown the entire Redaku if he wants to.


    The current whereabouts of this scepter are unknown, but it is believed that the royal family of the Redaku had ownership of this scepter at some point. After an internal battle for hegemony between the descendants of the royal family, the scepter went missing.


    The scepter is a symbol of authority and only the person in possession of the scepter from the royal family will be considered the true ruler of the Redaku. As such, every member of the royal family is searching for that scepter.


    Akai recalls a few pieces of history.