Chapter 414: This Is Konoha's Bonds

Chapter 414: This Is Konoha's Bonds

"Are you asking about Lord Lukke? You’ve come to the right person!"

"Who doesn’t know him? He came to the Land of Iron two years ago, apprenticed with the Munenari family, and passed down the art of forging ninja tools, making it flourish..."

"Details about the Munenari family? I’m not sure. They were obscure before, with just one sickly old master, so ordinary that no one paid attention."

"Who would have thought that the old master was a reclusive sage, indifferent to fame and fortune... After he passed away, Lord Lukke revealed all sorts of incredible skills, which he claimed were taught by the old master!"

"He set up some factories, and the mass-produced ninja tools drove other tool shops out of business. But the original workers didn’t lose their jobs; they were rehired to supervise and design blueprints..."

"Lord Lukke’s presence has quadrupled the Land of Iron’s economy, forming a complete industry chain. The tax revenue even caught the attention of the Daimyo. Lord Mifune personally invited him to the Daimyo’s Mansion. That lord often does good deeds, supporting and investing in various businesses, donating freely."

"Right, right, the science ninja tools are all the rage lately. They’re said to allow ordinary people to perform ninjutsu, and they’re quite powerful. We commoners haven’t seen much of them yet, but it’s a new technology, so it might take some time to become widespread..."

"Several major countries have sent envoys to recruit him. The latest is from the Land of Water, from Kirigakure, but Lord Lukke hasn’t left..."

Upon arriving in the Land of Iron, Kakashi, as a matter of habit, casually mentioned that he "often heard the name Qianchuan Lukke", which immediately caused a stir like a heavy stone dropped into a lake.

People on the street, whether adults or children, women or young men, warriors or courtesans, all came over with unusual enthusiasm, overwhelming Kakashi with a flood of information.

Kakashi had never imagined his friend’s influence was so terrifying. He was surrounded by civilians for the first time and had to use his Body Flicker Technique to escape the crowd.

"Too much... Are you all members of some Lukke fan club?"

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, gasping for breath. After calming down, he slowly furrowed his brow.

Gathering intelligence was just a habit as a ninja. He trusted his brother with all his heart, but the scattered information made him feel something was off.

Lukke came to the Land of Iron, apprenticed with an unknown, soon-to-die old master, and after the master’s death, developed various advanced forging techniques, claiming the old master was a reclusive sage...

It sounded very suspicious!

Could it be...

Kakashi’s frown deepened as a hypothesis formed in his mind.

Could it be that Lukke, out of gratitude for the old master’s teachings, decided to honor the master by attributing his own achievements to him?

That seemed very likely!

The leader of the hidden Lukke fan club sighed. His brother was great in every way, except for being too sincere, always thinking of others. Such a person would suffer in the outside world.

Lord Mifune, the leader of the warriors, might have invited him to the Daimyo’s Mansion to place him under house arrest. Other ninja villages had even sent envoys to recruit him?

Kakashi’s face tightened, and he pulled his mask up, his cold gaze fixed on the towering building in the center.

"They say he’s at the Daimyo’s Mansion?"

...

As the future Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi’s water jutsu was even more powerful than expected, and her taijutsu, though not her specialty, was still formidable. Every aspect of her abilities surprised Lukke.

Fortunately, Lukke was a cheat, a master of many worlds, who had soloed Konoha Village, collecting all the various bloodline limits, secret techniques, and jutsu of the village’s elite ninjas.

He first used the Transplantation Technique to immobilize Mei Terumi, then struck with the Gentle Fist, combining soft and hard force, his legwork equally swift, creating afterimages and breaking the gentle-over-hard dynamic, achieving a comprehensive invasion.

After four rounds of taijutsu, Lukke ended the battle with an overwhelming move that nearly folded Mei Terumi in half.

Exhausted, Mei Terumi struggled to stay conscious, looking at the man who was adjusting his pants with a "practice more if you’re weak" expression, and managed to speak.

"Come back to Kirigakure with me. You can be the Fifth Mizukage’s partner."

Lukke, feeling refreshed, sat at the head of the bed, glanced at the sweaty, alluring woman, lit a cigarette, and responded lightly, savoring the afterglow.

"Sorry, Lady Mei Terumi, my love is the entire ninja world."

What a shameless thing to say...

Mei Terumi closed her eyes in frustration. As a powerful ninja and the future of Kirigakure, she had lost to a mere ninja toolmaker.

She hadn’t even managed to seduce him to come with her, which was a humiliation!

Next time, next time she would definitely...

Watching Mei Terumi’s breathing steady, Lukke thought for a moment, then reached out to leave a seal on her well-developed peak, marking a point for easy access for future taijutsu sessions.

He then straightened up, stretched, and opened the door, stepping out of the room after a long absence.

Outside the room was a vast corridor, the size of which was breathtaking. All the furnishings were dignified and elegant, with soft tatami mats and exquisite carpets on the floor. Servants and guards, dressed simply and formally, moved about.

After all, this was the Daimyo’s Mansion. Even though the Land of Iron was slightly inferior to the Five Great Nations, it was still a recognized and well-known country.

"Good afternoon, Lord Lukke."

"I’m glad to see you!"

"Are you heading to Lord Mifune? He’s waiting for you on the rooftop..."

Everyone who saw Lukke on the way greeted him respectfully and warmly, and he smiled and nodded in response.

He climbed the stairs step by step, reaching the top of the Daimyo’s Mansion, standing in the center of the most magnificent place in the Land of Iron, where the light and shadows played.

"I used to think the age of the samurai was over."

A deep, steady voice echoed, tinged with a sense of regret, accompanied by a strong smell of alcohol and the crisp sound of polished armor.

With a beard and mustache, his head wrapped in bandages, and wearing green layered armor, Mifune gazed at the Land of Iron, a deep black katana at his waist.

"Compared to 'ninja,' samurai are too plain."

"Many exotic jutsu are flashy but impractical, while the useful ones are hard to replace. Samurai can do what ninjas can, but not the other way around..."

"Fortunately, you’ve given me new hope, Lukke."

"By combining technology with ninjutsu, making jutsu accessible to anyone, you’ve opened a new path, despite its limitations."

"Lukke, you are the future of the samurai!"

The old man, who seemed to have been cast aside by the times, glanced sideways at Lukke as he approached, his eyes shining as if he were looking at a seed of hope.

"That's quite an exaggeration, Mifune. It's really not that important an invention."

Lukke lazily basked in the warmth of the sunlight, his tone indifferent.

The scientific ninja tools he developed were different from the "Chakra Capacitor-Type", "Bioengineering-Type", "Amplification-Type", and "Advanced Technology-Type" tools that emerged after the exchange and collision of technologies among the various countries in the Boruto era.

The principle was to absorb natural energy from the air using the "Divine Machine Forging" technique, using this as the energy source to convert various ninja techniques into a compatible set of programs inscribed on the tools, allowing the use of any ninja technique without any prerequisites.

If one had to compare, they were similar to D&D's magic weapons with a limited number of uses, except they could be mass-produced with no requirements for raw materials and at a low cost.

Compared to the stagnant forging techniques of the ninja world, this was indeed a dimensional leap.

After all, in the entire ninja world, there were only a few decent ninja tools. Among the seven swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, only Samehada was interesting. The rest were those few divine artifacts and the Six Paths tools.

"And nothing lasts forever."

"Right now, you might think the era of the samurai is ending, but in a few years, someone will say the era of the ninja is ending, and a few years after that, the era of the Otsutsuki will end, and then there will be no more endings."

"Version updates... I mean, era transitions, have always been like this."

Lukke casually pointed out the inevitability of the times.

"Even though I don't know what the Otsutsuki are, I understand what you mean... You really know how to dampen spirits, Lukke."

Mifune's usually stern face revealed a look of helplessness. His nose twitched slightly, and his keen samurai senses picked up a new, fresh scent on Lukke.

It seemed to be the scent of the visitor from Kirigakure a few days ago...

Mifune's expression became subtle, and he coughed uncomfortably.

Good grief, he had always known that there were things samurai couldn't do that ninjas could!

Which samurai could sacrifice their dignity to sleep with someone?

Though the future of scientific ninja tools was promising, had it come to this level of competition?

"Lukke, you should take better care of yourself..."

Faced with the hope of the samurai, Mifune gently advised, then probed, "Are you considering accepting Kirigakure's recruitment and going to the Land of Water?"

"Of course not."

"So you're willing to stay in the Land of Iron?"

Mifune's eyes lit up with a hint of expectation.

"Is there a possibility that I might return to Konoha?"

Lukke looked at the over-the-hill samurai who had helped him so much over the past two years, wondering if he had forgotten where he came from.

"Konoha? Will Konoha send someone to sleep with you?"

Mifune blurted out without thinking.

Lukke: "..."

Lukke: "Mifune, have you been reading strange books?"

"Of course not! Don't slander me with baseless accusations. I, the leader of the samurai of the Land of Iron, would never do such a thing!"

Mifune's face turned bright red as he vehemently denied it.

He had only heard of the "Rainy Night: A Swordsman's Umbrella" teacher by chance, and heard about books like "A Samurai Is Not Just a Pond Fish", "The Way of the Warrior", and "A Samurai's Desires." He never read such vulgar literature and had no interest in it!

But he wondered if he would live to see the second part of "Young Jiraiya"...

Lukke gave the old samurai a skeptical look and was about to speak when he paused, his expression softening, and a smile crept onto his lips.

The next moment, Mifune suddenly drew his samurai sword, pointing it at something, his voice cold and sharp.

"Who dares to intrude on the Daimyo's Mansion?"

A figure emerged from the shadows, a white-haired man with a mask adjusting his Konoha forehead protector, his rapidly spinning Sharingan already in front of Lukke, exuding a formidable presence.

"Kakashi Hatake, Captain of the Konoha Anbu."

"Mifune, I have been ordered by the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, to bring him back to the village. I don't think you would stand in the way, would you?"

Seeing the other side's strong stance, Mifune responded with a cold face.

"Lukke is our most honored friend in the Land of Iron. His will is the key to his departure. Unless he leaves of his own accord, no one can forcibly take him away!"

Lukke walked over to Kakashi, patted his shoulder, and smiled at Mifune.

"Don't worry, Mifune. I told you I plan to return to the village."

Mifune fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting between Kakashi and Lukke, then he sheathed his sword and spoke in a grave tone.

"Lukke, are you sure you won't consider staying? With your help, the Land of Iron will eventually become the sixth great nation, and you will be one of the most revered people in the ninja world."

"Not interested. I'm not a daimyo."

Mifune immediately responded, his tone sincere, "If you want, I can lead a rebellion and make you the daimyo! Believe me, with your reputation among the people, no one would oppose it."

Lukke was the hope of the samurai!

Kakashi's face was strange as he couldn't help but look at Lukke. His friend hadn't changed much from his memories—just more handsome, with a more perfect physique and a more gentle, convincing aura.

The daimyos of the great nations didn't trust ninjas, preferring samurai for close protection due to their loyalty to Bushido. How had Lukke managed to win the loyalty of the samurai to the point where they would betray their own to follow him?

It was like something out of the perverted books he had read...

"I'm not interested in ruling a country."

Lukke smiled and shook his head, declining once more.

He was more interested in the stars and extraterrestrial life. After returning to the village and dealing with the hidden threats, he planned to start researching the Otsutsuki, this new species.

Currently, the Otsutsuki were the only ones who offered any real research value.

"Is this what you call Konoha's bonds?"

Mifune sighed, realizing he couldn't persuade Lukke. "I understand. The Land of Iron will always welcome you."

With that, he turned and left, his expression troubled.

Kakashi relaxed slightly, looking at his friend he hadn't seen in two years, his mind a whirl of thoughts.

He remembered the comfort during his lonely childhood, the companionship during solitary meals, and the scene of saying goodbye to each other with Might Guy. He spoke slowly.

"It's been a long time, Lukke."

Lukke had planned to make a joke, calling him "Five-Fifty", "Konoha Engineer", "Blue Bar Unit", or "Kamui Tool User", but seeing Kakashi's sincere gaze, he was momentarily speechless and formally greeted his old friend.

"It's been a long time, Gojo Satoru."

Kakashi: "..."

Kakashi: "Gojo Satoru?"

Lukke: "..."

Damn, he had slipped up!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end