Chapter 1225: The Chosen Ones_2

Chapter 1225 -122: The Chosen Ones_2

“The fisherman called Kaiza?”

Kado looked sharply at the man named Kaiza and fell silent, contemplating something.

◎

Inari let out a terrified scream, awakened instantly from his slumber by the smell of fish.

The terrifying seawater had vanished, and around him, in a clearing in the woods, a man with a cross-shaped scar on his chin was sitting by a campfire roasting fish.

He was adjusting the fire while eagerly holding a book.

The book’s title was “On the Meaning of the Liberation of Thought for the Development of Individual and Collective Productivity in the Ninja Realm,” authored by Chiba Hakushi.

Seemingly noticing Inari awake, the man with the cross scar on his chin gently put down the book and turned to smile at Inari:

“Oh, you’ve woken up, kid?”

Inari seemed too stunned to return to his senses, staring blankly at the man.

“Don’t worry, that bunch of kids that played tricks on you, I’ve given them a good lesson already. They won’t dare to bully you again.”

The man smiled as he spoke.

“Was it you, Uncle, who saved me?”

Inari asked, finally reacting.

“Hmm… But you really got bullied badly. And in the end, even your pet dog found fault with you.”

The man fastened the book to his belt, handed over a grilled fish.

Inari timidly took it and nibbled on it.

“I was really scared back then, so I didn’t dare save Pocky.”

After taking a bite of the fish, Inari slowly said, his face showing remorse, tears welling up in his eyes.

Being despised and betrayed by his partner because of his own incapability was something Inari deeply regretted.

Seeing Inari on the verge of tears, the man smiled.

Patting Inari’s head, he comforted, “That’s only natural; you can’t swim, and facing death, nobody feels unafraid, including myself.”

“Eh?”

Inari looked at the man blankly; though it was their first meeting, Inari felt warmth in his heart.

“However, if you’re a man, you must choose a way of life that doesn’t leave you with regret. And that’s called courage.”

“Courage?”

“Yes, whether it’s pain or sadness, one must strive to the end. Even if it costs your life, use your hands to protect what you cherish! That’s what I believe a man’s way of living is!”

Seeing Inari’s pure eyes, the man realized he might have spoken too much and awkwardly scratched his head, laughing: “Sorry, I seemed to have said some weird things to you.”

“No, not at all, I think what you said is great, Uncle! From today on, I’ll also learn Uncle’s courage!”

Inari shook his head, seemingly inspired, trying to prove himself to the man.

“Hahaha, it seems you’ll become quite an exceptional person in the future. My name is Kaiza, what about you? Future brave man?”

Kaiza asked with interest.

“Inari, my name is Inari!”

Inari said his name.

“I see, Inari, then, we’ve made a promise that you’ll be a remarkable man in the future.”

“Yep.”

Inari nodded solemnly, quickly finishing off the grilled fish in his hand.

After finishing the grilled fish, Kaiza extinguished the campfire in the woods and stood up from the ground. Seeing that it was getting dark, he said to Inari, “Alright, that’s it for now, I’ll take you home so your family won’t worry.”

◎

“Spirit Beast Lord, these people are…”

Tazuna looked at Raidenmaru right in front of him, anxiously asking.

Beside him, his daughter Tsunami’s face was also pale. For someone like her who was ordinary, being targeted by ninjas was undoubtedly terrifying.

She couldn’t help but recall the threatening letter that had appeared in their home before.

But weren’t those troublemaking thugs already subdued?

“I told you, I’m not a demon, my name is Raidenmaru, I’m a Summoning Beast. As for these people I’ve dealt with, they’re assassins sent by rats operating from the shadows. Don’t worry, even if dozens more of this level come, I can handle them.”

Since Tazuna was just an ordinary person, the ninjas sent to assassinate him were generally weak. Raidenmaru could easily deal with these third-rate ninjas using Lightning Style Jutsu combined with his high mobility, without needing to use Immortal Techniques.

“That’s not the issue, why am I being targeted?”

Tazuna was puzzled by this.

If the threatening letter had left a trace of luck in his heart, but now with real assassination attempts in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel panic.

“Because some merchants don’t want Miss Ichihime staying in the Land of Waves. They’re planning to force her out using such despicable means.”

Raidenmaru succinctly explained the situation.

Now that Tazuna had been drawn into this, he needed to be informed of some circumstances.

“Merchants?”

“The mastermind behind the gangs in the Land of Waves is an extensive Merchant Alliance. To put it in concrete terms, the wealth accumulated by these merchants could easily buy ten Lands of Waves.”

“Ten… Lands of Waves!?”

Tazuna felt as if he could barely breathe.

Although he didn’t know how much wealth it would take to buy ten Lands of Waves, being targeted by such a terrifying Merchant Alliance was undoubtedly very frightening for Tazuna.

“That’s right.”

“Why don’t they want Miss Ichihime staying in the Land of Waves?”