18 Noble

The country where most bloodshed went on in the warring state period is definitely The Land of Fire. It was not yet the stable country it would become in the future. On the contrary, it was more chaotic here than any other country in the shinobi world. Of course some of its chaotic nature could also be attributed to the existence of the Uchiha and Senju clan.

Noble's of various ranks hired shinobi clans and fought each other for more territory, food and various resources. Shinobi clans were basically mercenaries and Noble's were the people who hired them. Daimyō of the nation was too weak to stop it, as he did not have any political power nor did he have any military power. He did not even have enough capital to hire a shinobi clan.

The only reason he was still sitting on the seat of Daimyō was because even though every noble was eying that position. But nobody wanted to take action before they had enough strength to defeat their competitors. Thus starting the endless war between noble's and shinobi clans, which was later known as the warring state period.

Right now, Ashiba was also heading towards a certain noble's territory.

..

One a somewhat deserted road, a carriage could be seen advancing slowly supported by two black horses. Two shinobi were lightly running and keeping up with the carriage's speed. One of them was none other than Mito Uzumaki, who's eyes still contained some hatred when she looked at the carriage and thought about the slaughter that took place earlier. But she did well to contain her anger because she knew she was not strong enough to go against that person

The other shinobi was a male shinobi with short red hair and normal brown eyes, apparently another Uzumaki shinobi. But the strange thing was that his face was white as a ghost, with despair and fear in his eyes. Looking like he has lost all hope in this world.

And the person who sat in the carriage was Ashiba himself. It's been a week since his encounter with Tobirama Senju. He had killed the other shinobi from the Senju and Uzumaki clan aside from keeping Mito and Renju Uzumaki.

The purpose for keeping Mito was obvious, to birth his children. As for why he kept Renju it was because he needs someone to take care of the former after she gets pregnant.

So he kept Renju as Mito's attendant. Though he did have him remove his manhood and testicles, so he won't be distracted by other things while doing his job. Which Ashiba thought was quite normal. Even though he resisted his order at first but at the end of the day, his life was more precious to him than other things.

Ashiba was not worried these two would escape because he left slaughter energy in both of their chakra nodes. So he can block them any moment he desires. He also didn't care about the hatred Mito felt, as she only needed to honestly birth his children.

In the past week or so, he had inquired about a noble named Osaki Ochi. He was noble with considerable territory, who's mercenary shinobi clan was destroyed recently. So he was searching for a new clan, which could give him a sense of security.

"How much more time till we arrive?" Ashiba questioned.

"Aah-according to the information we collected we should reach there after an hour or two." Renju said in a trembling voice, trying his best to sound normal. He had been traumatized about what happened earlier. It's unclear if he will ever have a normal day in his life again.

It didn't take long before they arrived at their destination. Soon the carriage arrived at a huge aristocratic house that was right next to a bustling town.

"Halt!"

The carriage driver stopped the carriage as two samurai blocked it a few distance away from the door of the house.

But they soon regretted their decision as they saw an ogre of a man getting out of the carriage.

Ashiba stepped out of the carriage and told the driver he could go back. Who speeded away his carriage like his life depended on it.

"Go call your lord." Ashiba calmly stated as he looked at these two Samurai. Who were no less faster than the carriage in speed, as they quickly went to report.

Soon a plump middle-aged person arrived surrounded by a group of samurai.

Osaki looked up to look at the person in front of him, inspecting him. He instantly knew that he was a Patriarch level shinobi. He had once seen Hyuga clan Patriarch from afar, so he knew the feeling of danger the strong give. No..he felt even more danger and fear from looking at this person's eyes than he did when saw the Hyuga Patriarch. He couldn't help but wipe his sweat on his fat face, and step forward to enquire about this sudden visit.

"May this humble noble know, the reason for visit of your excellency?" he asked in a humble voice, not putting on the arrogance of a noble. He knew that he didn't have the capital to talk on equal terms with such a strong person unlike some clans. The sole reason was that his personal guards were just a bunch of washed up samurai, not worth mentioning compared to some of the personal guards of strong noble houses.

"I want to establish my clan on this territory." Ashiba said in a tone that seemed to speak facts. Which really did as the only reason he didn't kill the other person and take over his territory was because he didn't have enough manpower yet to control this territory.

Osaki felt his ears were playing tricks on him, a Patriarch level shinobi actually wanted to stay in his territory and establish his clan. After all he was not a bigshot noble, so he stood there dumbfounded for a second before quickly replying.

"Haha, no problem. My territory is your territory. If you need anything please notify me.." He said quickly as if Ashiba would take his words back the next second. After all, a Patriarch level shinobi would be able to guarantee his safety, in these chaotic times. 

He soon realized that there were only two red-haired shinobi behind Ashiba.

"Are there only these two shinobi?"

Every noble who hired the shinobi clans, needs shinobi for certain matters that they themselves can't handle. So it was not wrong of Osaki to feel slightly dissatisfied seeing only two shinobi with Ashiba. 

But that dissatisfaction soon disappeared as he saw a slight impatience and annoyance in Ashiba's red eyes.

"Ha, lack of manpower is not a problem. I am not an ambitious noble who wants to conquer more territory. I just want to defend my territory." He said in a laughing tone trying to ease the atmosphere. Though what he said was not wrong, he doesn't have much ambition. He only wants to continue his bloodline.

Ashiba looked at this noble, satisfied with his attitude. He was a smart noble who knew his place. If not, he wouldn't care about the aftermatch and kill this bug.

He had his own plans for this territory. He just needs to wait for sometime before he has enough descendents. Who can help him manage this territory, so this noble would lose his little value he had.