Chapter 16: I Am Willing to Serve You, My Lord!

Inside the cabin, by the time Kardo regained his senses, he was drenched in cold sweat, his eyes filled with fear and awe toward the mysterious man before him.

Although the "Naraku Vision Technique" was merely a simple C-rank genjutsu, to an ordinary person like Kardo who possessed no chakra, it was nothing short of a "divine art."

"My Lord!" Immediately after emerging from the illusionary world, Kardo scrambled on all fours to prostrate himself at Menma's feet, his voice trembling.

"Kardo is willing to serve you with his life!" Kardo lifted his head, his small eyes brimming with terror and reverence.

He was terrified that if he proved to have no utility, the man would skin him alive.

The "Naraku Vision Technique" allowed the victim to see their deepest, most inner fears.

And Kardo's fear was: "To die before one has had the chance to spend their wealth."

In the world of the illusion, he had experienced countless cycles of reincarnation, watching helplessly as the Kardo Company he had painstakingly built became a world-class conglomerate, only for him to die for various reasons.

Sometimes it was an accident, sometimes he was caught in a ninja war, and sometimes he was simply assassinated by a shinobi.

These illusions occurred no fewer than a million times.

The time Kardo experienced in the illusionary world, when converted to real-world time, exceeded a year.

Of course, Menma had added some "flavor" to the illusion, allowing Kardo to witness how the high and mighty Daimyo and nobles were ruthlessly slaughtered by powerful shinobi.

Consequently, the moment Kardo emerged from the illusion, he immediately begged for mercy, pleading to serve this mysterious shinobi lord.

It effectively shattered Kardo's faith in the old order of the shinobi world.

His previous beliefs regarding the rule and worldview of the nobles and Daimyo had been completely dismantled within those illusory worlds.

Menma nodded with satisfaction and placed his hand on top of Kardo's head.

Kardo lowered his head, his expression tense.

"Blood Covenant Seal!" As Menma's dark, tyrannical chakra surged into Kardo's brain, a 'manji' symbol appeared deep within Kardo's tongue.

This was a sealing technique Menma had developed within the "Tsukuyomi Limited World."

It was similar to Root's "Tongue-Severing Seal," but while Root's seal would paralyze the body if information about Danzo was leaked, Menma's "Blood Covenant Seal" was far more cruel: if the victim revealed information about Menma to outsiders, their brain would be directly destroyed to prevent enemies from extracting more intelligence through memory reading.

However, Menma had refined the technique to allow it to store a chakra capacity equivalent to an ordinary Genin, greatly enhancing the victim's physical constitution.

"I need your ability to make money to contribute funds to the organization," Menma said, floating mid-air as he scrutinized Kardo, who remained kneeling.

Feeling the subtle surge of chakra within his body, Kardo's face lit up with joy, and he prostrated himself once more.

"Thank you for your grace, My Lord! Kardo pledges his absolute loyalty to you!"

——————

As night fell, the waves lapped against the hull of the ship with a soft rhythmic sound.

Kardo's office had been cleared out; the corpses had been tossed into the sea, and after a thorough cleaning, the room had become Menma's private lounge on the ship.

"My Lord, this is top-tier tea specifically offered to the Daimyo from the Land of Tea. Shall I brew a cup for you to taste?" Kardo served him cautiously from the side.

"Mhm." Menma remained masked, reclining lazily on the sofa.

The tiny Nine-Tails had already scurried out from Menma's fur collar and was sitting on the coffee table, devouring sweets.

Kardo hurriedly offered pastries, serving them as if they were a deity.

"Your primary task now is to manage the company's revenue and build up reserves for the organization," Menma said, his right hand propping up his cheek as he flipped through an ancient book from an unknown country that Kardo had collected.

"Yes! I shall follow your command, My Lord!"

Although handing over all his earnings to the organization made Kardo's heart ache, he had also gained power and a certain status within this lord's organization.

Perhaps in the future, he could even become a noble of the new world!

"How much longer until the fleet reaches the port of the Land of Lightning?" Menma suddenly looked up and asked.

"Replying to My Lord, approximately five to six days. It is currently the north wind season, so the fleet's speed will be much faster."

Starting from the port of the Land of Fire, they needed to bypass the Land of Hot Springs and cross a bay to reach the coastline of the Land of Lightning.

The distance wasn't actually that far, roughly equivalent to the distance from Konoha to the Land of Hot Springs.

Calculating at the speed of a Jonin traveling 300 kilometers per hour, in one day—minus rest time—the distance would be about 5,000 kilometers.

This ship was a wooden sailing vessel; with the assistance of the north wind, it should reach about 18 knots, which is 33.3 kilometers per hour, allowing for a maximum of 800 kilometers per day.

By that logic, it would indeed take five to six days to reach the coast of the Land of Lightning.

Calculating it this way, the shinobi world was actually quite large.

It was just that the speed of shinobi was too high.

Taking the speed of Naruto's group when they went to support the Hidden Sand Village—traveling from Konoha to the Sand in three days—even if we assume they had the stamina of elite Jonin and traveled at 200 kilometers per hour, sleeping only five hours a day, they would cover 3,800 kilometers a day, totaling over 11,000 kilometers in three days.

Yet the circumference of the Earth before Menma's transmigration was only about 40,000 kilometers.

It seemed the size of this planet was indeed planned according to Earth's scale; the total population of the shinobi continent should be around 300 million, with each of the Five Great Nations having between 30 and 50 million people.

Menma stroked the tiny Nine-Tails' head with one hand and added, "In addition to earning funds, your company must expand across the Five Great Nations and the surrounding small to medium-sized countries to collect intelligence from every nation."

"May I ask, what kind of intelligence specifically?" Kardo asked for clarification.

After a moment of thought, Menma spoke slowly, "The topography of each country, major cities, important passes, port conditions, population statistics, social structures, and the conflicts between nobles and commoners—all of these can be collected."

"What about the shinobi villages?" Kardo asked in a low voice.

Menma did not mention that an ordinary person like Kardo was fundamentally unsuitable for spying on shinobi villages; he simply said indifferently, "I will arrange a separate intelligence team to handle the shinobi villages."

"Yes, My Lord!" Kardo replied solemnly.

Wearing a red and white kimono like a small child, the tiny Nine-Tails sat on Menma's lap, clutching a large piece of dessert. Just as it was about to take a bite, it suddenly looked up and said to Menma

"By the way, aren't you going to deal with that Cloud ninja's corpse?"

Only then did Menma remember that in his storage scroll, the corpse of the Cloud envoy remained unprocessed.

"Where is the money exchange in the Land of Lightning?" Menma inquired of Kardo.

Since they were passing through the Land of Lightning, he might as well find an exchange to see if he could get some cash.

He could also take a stroll through the Hidden Cloud Village.

And while he was at it, bring them some local specialties from his hometown.