Chapter 120: The Three Ninja Retainers Of Iga Hidden Village

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As Riven took a closer look at the three remaining ninjas and recalled the one he had already killed when he first arrived here, he remembered that the dead man’s clothing had been slightly different from theirs. That likely meant the man was unrelated to their clan.

"Who was the other old guy?" he asked.

"Ahhh... he’s not related to us at all..." Kagehisa answered with a tired sigh. "An old bastard from the Kage Clan. He actually enjoyed his job... thanks for killing him, by the way. I hated him. He was always hitting on Hinata... and he didn’t care that she was only fifteen."

"Ah, then that’s a job well done," Riven nodded with mild satisfaction. "Now... You’re going to obey me from now on, alright?"

"Hah?! As if— gah?!" The only bald member of the group coughed in sudden disbelief as he felt his entire body pulsing with sharp, uncontrollable pain. "W-What the fuck did you— Agh...!"

"I injected you with a special venom," Riven explained calmly. "It only works when you’re already beaten down to a pulp like this and are weaker than me... It practically forces you to become obedient to my orders."

"?!"

"!!!"

"..."

Riven still knew full well that they were cold-blooded assassins. He was not going to take any unnecessary chances even though he felt some pity toward them because of their young ages.

"Don’t mistake kindness for weakness," he whispered coldly to all three of them. "If you ever dare do something against me or Label, you’re going to die a slow and painful death. Understood? And about you, Kagehisa..."

"Hah..." Kagehisa let out a short, bitter laugh. "Fine."

He did not even try to fight back that much!

"I see what you’re trying to do here!" Kagehisa laughed again, though there was little real humor in it. "So I’m your subordinate now? Is that it?!"

"Indeed," Riven nodded as he walked closer to him. "The poison is already circulating inside your bloodstream. The antidote I gave you earlier only made it even stronger. It’s now fully imbued with Mana and has entered your Meridians. If you try anything funny, you’ll be permanently crippled for the rest of your life. Paralyzed... from the neck down."

"...?!" Kagehisa swallowed hard. "I-I see... well, it doesn’t matter. I never cared that much about the damn poison anyway. You beat me fairly. I almost died... I would be dead right now if it weren’t for your damn mercy... My honor has been completely destroyed. And... well, I’ve never truly served any Lord before. Despite who I am, we ninjas still must serve a Lord. That’s simply how it goes. You three, from now on, you will obey him."

"What?!"

"But my lord...!"

"T-That’s..."

"..."

Riven’s insurance with the poison suddenly seemed completely unnecessary.

Kagehisa was not the type of man to back down or beg for mercy.

He had accepted his loss completely and decided to work under Riven, just as simple as that.

If anything, Riven had to admit... the young genius was kind of stupid.

The good kind of idiot, though.

"No buts!" Kagehisa ordered firmly. "You’ll do what I say, and therefore you’ll obey my orders! If I tell you to die right now, you take your own lives... and if I tell you to obey Riven... you’ll do exactly that."

"...Yes."

"U-Understood."

"...Very well."

The three ninjas were clearly shocked by the sheer weight of Kagehisa’s powerful presence. They nodded in the end and obediently bowed toward Riven, formally accepting him as their new master.

"What are your names?" Riven asked. "I already know the girl’s name is Hinata. Who are you two? Baldie?"

"I am not named Baldie!" the bald ninja snapped angrily. "And I am..."

The three retainers under Kagehisa formally introduced themselves one by one. Riven carefully analyzed them with his sharp eyes, sensing their powerful presences even though they were currently heavily weakened.

All three of them, in order to have been chosen to serve and protect someone like Kagehisa, must have been exceptional talents within their smaller branch clans.

The first was the young girl. She had pale white skin, short clear brown hair, and striking pink eyes. She was a highly expressive female ninja (Kunoichi) from a branch clan that had served under the Hattori for generations. She was fiercely loyal to Kagehisa, though she often became flustered by his immense arrogance.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Riven. My name is Hinata Sarutobi! I specialize in Summoning Jutsu."

Her Class was [Iga Summoner]. Those of her path specialized in forming contracts with Yokai and Land Spirits and then summoning their full might through Summoning Jutsu.

The second was the bold, loud-mouthed, and heavily built bald ninja. From what Kagehisa had already told him, this one loved testing his physical strength, laughed in the face of danger, and usually acted as the unbreakable shield on Kagehisa’s flank.

"Goki Mononobe... not Baldie! Okay?!"

Goki was a rare type of shinobi — someone heavily built almost like a warrior monk, trained specifically for defense and overwhelming physical strength. His Class was [Vajra Shinobi].

And lastly came the second male of the group. He was the often silent, black-haired, cold-blooded assassin of the trio. He possessed almost zero emotional output and seemed to view combat and assassination as his only true purpose in life. However, he had always been slightly more expressive when around his lord.

"Ren Shiranui."

His Class was [Phantom Reaper Shinobi]. He specialized in silent assassination techniques, the precise control of black threads, and several other lethal arts.

Riven nodded silently after hearing all three introductions. He found that this was quite a good "haul" of new recruits. He needed to gather a large group of strong people under his command, and all three of them easily passed his standards.

As for Kagehisa himself... well, the young genius did not need any formal introduction.

"They belong to three different branch families under my main clan," Kagehisa explained quietly. "I’ve known them since we were all small children, and we grew up together... I told them time and time again not to come with me when I decided to travel to America, but they never listened."

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