Ch163. The battle for the Land of Snow 2

"Well, then... it's time to go, I guess." Rei said after a while of letting Sosetsu stare at the lifeless corpse of his brother. He could at least give the man a bit of time to mourn the guy. Common courtesy or whatever they call it.

Sosetsu awkwardly grimaced but gave a short nod to Rei. On one hand, he was glad and grateful for Rei protecting him and making sure his daughter is fine. No matter his goal, without him, Doto knew he would most likely die today and Koyuki's life would be either turned upside down... if she survived, that is. On the other hand, though, Rei just killed his brother in front of him.

Hatred... no. Sosetsu didn't feel hatred.

Revenge? After seeing Rei's capabilities and knowing of his identity, that would be just a suicide. Honestly, slightly hoped Rei would show himself to the Yukikage who would recognize him and back off. Sosetsu knew this was just his wishful thinking.

Rei of Yozora had no available description at all so even if he stepped forward and introduced himself, the Yukikage would either get a bit wary or laugh him off on the spot. He would nevertheless think he is an impostor either way though. There were just so many rumors about his supposed look and Rei didn't fit even one of them. He was not a bulky three meters tall giant capable of crushing skulls with his hands nor was he an old unassuming expert with a sharp cold gaze... in short, the number of his rumored appearances was off the charts. As such, the number of impostors also grew. There were only a handful of people knowing how Rei really looked and most of these had his Secrecy Seal on them anyway.

Sosetsu was actually surprised he felt only a slight apprehension towards Rei. Two days, that's how long it took Rei to persuade Sosetsu that handing over his country is actually a very good deal for him and the people of the Land of Snow. The number of benefits Rei could provide...

'And yet, he killed my brother. So why am I not resenting him for it? Is it because Doto tried to kill me? Was I always such a cold person?'

"Oi, Sosetsu!" Rei called out again, snapping Sosetsu out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I said let's go. I still have work to do, ya know? I promised to keep you safe, after all." Rei rolled his eyes at the slowpoke.

"What do you mean... work to do? The people who wanted me dead are finished, no?" Sosetsu asked in a confused tone, making Rei laugh as his amused gaze landed on the bewildered older man.

"Do you really think they would smugly march here, attempt to assassinate the Daimyo, and take over the country with just the three of them?" Rei's eyes sparkled in an 'are you an idiot' kind of light. "I mean, sure, they were pretty stupid but... nah, they were not THAT braindead. Of that, I can assure you."

As if to prove his words, numerous huge explosions rattled the capital city of the Land of Snow, sending the entire city into chaos. Sosetsu's eyes widened in horror as he quickly jumped towards the closest window, looking outside of it. The capital... was on fire.

"What they came here to do is to overthrow you." Rei's leisure voice resounded from behind Sosetsu who was getting more and more worried about the people of the city.

"What is going on!?" He hurriedly turned towards Rei with a desperate expression, demanding answers... and Rei, happily obliged.

"This was not some pitiful assassination attempt where you are finished by getting rid of the assassin. Yukikage himself would not make his way here just to assassinate you. That kind of thinking is just silly, isn't it? No, this…" Rei smiled widely, "is the start of a bonafide civil war!"

...

Chizuru Kaguya swiped the sharpened bone that was previously her forearm through the neck of her unsuspecting victim, quietly laying his body onto the floor while making sure to keep a hand on his lips until he stopped trashing.

"This is so tedious!"

She heard a quiet whine from next to her as her partner, Kurumi Uzumaki, also laid the dead body of her target onto the ground before they continued on their way through the dark halls.

"And look! A few droplets of blood fell onto my kimono! That's just awful, don't you think, Chi-chan!?" Kurumi whisper-screamed.

'How did this woman manage to get into the Stealth Corps again?' Chizuru mentally lamented her misfortune of being partnered with the unceasing chatterbox with a mile-wide temper for this mission. Chizuru's expression soured, 'Oh, yeah... I took her in because of her superior concealment seals, silly me.'

The duo sneakily continued through the hallway, using shadows and mostly sticking to the ceiling to get past the patrols before ambushing them from behind and taking them out without setting off any alarms. Just like that, they were making a steady advance deeper into this base. It was not only them either. Ten teams of two were currently sweeping through the base.

The Stealth Corps was Chizuru's pride. When Rei started making the basic structure of his future village, she offered to lead a kind of ANBU-like organization but what she had in mind was a bit different. It took a whole lot of proving herself capable before Rei gave her the position too. There was no way she would not be proud of it and develop it the best she could.

The Stealth Corps was for ninjas who didn't put much value on flashy Jutsu. It was a place where skill with weapons and mastery at stealth was the most appreciated. That didn't mean they didn't have any flashy Jutsu of mass-destruction under their belt. On the contrary, firepower considered, each of them was required to be able to obliterate a small building. But the members of the Stealth Corps trained a lot differently than what the ninja villages generally offered their troops. This was all in order to be able to finish whatever mission in the stealthiest manner possible. After all, they were ninjas, and staying quiet was quite a valuable skill.

"Chi-chan! I found the main room!"

Chizuru almost flinched at the volume of her partner's whisper. She really had no idea how they managed to stay undiscovered with Kurumi being so loud all the time. 'It must be some kind of weird seal, I am sure of it.' She helplessly sighed.

Not many Uzumaki entered the Stealth Corps. In fact, so far, she had only two Uzumaki working under her. This was primarily because the Uzumaki clan created their own division... Chizuru called bullshit. 'They are just so damn loud there is no way for them to get into the Stealth Corps and they clearly know it so they don't even try!'

"Come on, Chi!"

'Or at least, most of them do...' Chizuru deadpanned at Kurumi who was urging her to order action. Frankly, Chizuru knew she was a bit too harsh on Kurumi. The woman was the best she had. If Kurumi didn't want to be found, nobody in the Stealth Corps would be able to notice her even if she was in plain sight. Considering the Stealth Corps were the best trackers Uzushio currently had...

And that was without Kurumi using her special concealment seals. Her hiding skills were just that absurd. Growing up as a thief on the streets in the capital city of the Land of Wind certainly had given the girl the necessary skills.

"Fine... Let's take them out." Chizuru quietly said, noticing Kurumi's eyes glint as a very thin metal wire guided by chakra started to sneakily drag itself from her sleeves. It snaked an inch above the walls, reaching the ceiling where it continued its way above the unsuspecting Yuki ninjas who were currently in the middle of coordinating the communication.

Since she was a close-range combatant, the first to attack was Chizuru. She sent five bone bullets from the tips of her fingers at the Yuki ninjas in the room, instantly killing two while three managed to lean away on sheer reflex, already swiping a kunai in preparation for a fight... and die right after that as Kurumi's razor-sharp wire came down from the ceiling and quickly enwrapped around their necks, pulling them up, separating their heads from their bodies before both parts fell onto the floor with an audible thud.

"Ahaha, aren't these Yuki ninjas a bit too easy? There was not even one jonin guarding them!" Kurumi loudly exclaimed, no longer worried about whispering which only made Chizuru groan at her as they both walked into the room and shut down all communication channels of the Yuki ninjas.

"Well, they are a small village. Their jonins are most likely fighting in the city. Also..." Chizuru looked at the corpses and her lips twitched, "Why do they wear full-body heavy armor made from metal if they leave their necks and faces mostly exposed?" She mumbled to herself before a man appeared in the middle of the door.

"Lady Chizuru" He slightly bowed, "the building is cleared. The Communication Headquarters of the Yukigakure forces is no more. We have one injured and no casualties."

Chizuru only smiled and nodded as she activated the communication seal, starting to speak the second it connected, "We are done here. Their communication is down, you can go in." She turned the scroll off, turning towards Kurumi who gave her a winning pose while happily looting the corpses. Chizuru blankly blinked before chuckling at the scene.

'Thief indeed.' She shook her head and turned towards the man.

"I guess, this is it for us. Let's go home. Give the order to retreat."