Chapter 126: Past Events in the Iron Country
After streamlining the team, the supply team Ling was in became even faster. In less than a week, they traversed the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Sound and entered the territory of the Iron Country.
The Iron Country was different from other countries in the ninja world. This country, whose strength was second only to the Five Great Nations, didn't have a single ninja clan stationed in it. Instead, there were various samurai families.
In other words, this was a country that didn't welcome ninjas very much. Even though it was the largest exporter of ninja tools in the entire ninja world, many small clans would hide their identities when coming here for supplies.
With the strength of the Uchiha clan, there was no need to hide their identities, but they still had to abide by some rules of the Iron Country.
For example, they were not allowed to bully civilians or intimidate blacksmiths, and they were not allowed to have armed conflicts within the city. Generally speaking, these requirements were no different from those of other countries.
But from a certain perspective, having an armed conflict wasn't a big deal either. As long as you had the confidence and strength to face the pursuit of a city full of samurai and ronin, and you didn't care at all that you and your clan members would be permanently cut off from trade with the Iron Country in the future.
This was also the main reason why many small clans hid their identities, as it was okay to cause trouble but best not to be discovered. After all, the Iron Country wouldn't ask who exactly caused the conflict. It would just put both parties on the blacklist directly.
Speaking of which, it's necessary to mention the glorious feats of the Uchiha clan.
When the Uchiha clan was still living in the Land of Lightning, a samurai from the Iron Country came to provoke them. He arrogantly challenged them, killed several Uchiha clan members and then left swaggeringly. He even declared that ninjas were nothing special. At that time, this powerful samurai didn't just provoke the Uchiha clan, but many ninja clans, after learning that the samurai had returned to the Iron Country, only investigated his residence and then sent young and powerful clan members to challenge him.
But could the Uchiha clan bear this unjust grievance?
The then-Uchiha clan leader directly started from the bottom-level samurai families in the Iron Country. One by one, he went to provoke them. Defying the ban and evading the pursuit, he killed quite a few people. After the Uchiha clan was declared to be on the blacklist by the Iron Country, they even let loose and the whole clan went out, causing a complete upheaval in the entire Iron Country.
As the saying goes, "One madman is manageable, but a bunch of them together is a nightmare." Especially when these crazy people were also quite powerful.
In the end, it was the Fang Daimyō of the Iron Country who couldn't hold on anymore. He revoked the blacklist and carried out the decapitation of that samurai in public. Only then did the Uchiha clan reluctantly declare that this matter was over and continued to abide by the rules.
You know, even the Kaguya clan, which was well-known for being war-like at that time, shouted that it was really satisfying after seeing the Uchiha clan's crazy actions. It was a pity that there was no reason for them to cause a big stir in another country.
At that time, because of this incident that almost shook the ninja world, the Uchiha clan and the Kaguya clan had a rather good honeymoon period. The ninja world once again recalled the Uchiha clan's crazy reputation and tacitly avoided their teams.
Thus, even though a long time has passed since the seniors made a scene in the Iron Country, many of the old samurai families in the Iron Country still instinctively choose to avoid the Uchiha when they see them.
However, when they avoid them, they find that these Uchihas are really easy to deceive. As long as you have a good - mannered attitude and the goods meet the quality requirements, the Uchihas don't mind letting the other party take more money from their pockets.
But the most important thing is that they never engage in murder and robbery. Even after being reluctantly employed, you'll find that they're really useful - they won't abandon their employers even when their own lives are in danger! Even if they can't make any money from this mission!
So, if you can tolerate the Uchihas' occasional sarcasm when performing missions and that look as if they're looking at worthless trash no matter who they're looking at, then they're definitely the best ones to hire. After all, they're the only ninja clan in the ninja world that will mobilize the whole clan to avenge you after you die from a failed mission.
But then again, the Uchiha are quite well - behaved as a ninja clan before they're offended. At least now, Uchiha Keiyuki, one of the leading ninja of the older generation, is seriously admonishing the younger members of his clan to remember to follow the rules.
"Especially you, Eiji. Don't go to any strange places during the waiting time." Uchiha Keiyuki pointed at the young man who was walking arm - in - arm with Uchiha Masaki in the team, his face turning dark. "Last time after the mission, you went to a sake house and got drunk until you were picked up as an easy target... Aren't you ashamed to be an Uchiha?"
"Alright, alright - I remember!" Uchiha Eiji raised his hand and replied quite spiritedly. "If I go to those places this time, I'll bring Ling - kun with me! Ling - kun is always reliable when it comes to drinking!"
Uchiha Masaki looked at Uncle Kei's face as dark as the bottom of a pot, and reached out to poke his friend, whispering quietly, "Are you really okay? I think Uncle Kei is going to hit someone..."
"Don't worry. My uncle never hits me." Uchiha Eiji smiled indifferently. "At most, he'll just use illusions to interrogate me."
"That's not much better, right... It's actually scarier, isn't it?"
"Come on, don't worry about it~" Uchiha Eiji then reached out to put his arm around Ling. "How about having a drink when we're free later? The sake in the Iron Country is incomparable to that in other places - after all, these northern samurai can't tolerate mild - flavored sake."
"Sure." Ling readily agreed. "But you have to keep an eye on me this time. I really drank too much last time..."
"So what? Anyway, when you're drunk, it's others who are in danger." Uchiha Eiji smiled annoyingly. "To be honest, if Yakuki hadn't said he witnessed you drunk last time with his own eyes, I really couldn't have imagined that you, who can disguise as a geisha in a brothel, would sing off - key self - composed tunes!"
"It's not that hard to just imitate what you've heard. But then again..." Ling shook his head helplessly. "You guys really just keep harping on this one thing, don't you?"
"Well, it's rare dirt on Ling-kun," Uchiha Eiji laughed heartily. "How about it? Let me hear how Ling sings after getting drunk later. I'll find the best tavern."
Ling also let out a low laugh. "Sure, if you can get me drunk, it's okay for me to make a bit of a fool of myself."