Path Of War-Chapter 334: The Hidden Light Village

Diana reclined in her chair and gazed at the scenery of the Land of Birds.

She was reminded of the transience of travel after spending days in her carriage—a simple separation of distance encased in the peace of nature.

Her last few days had been spent cooped up in her office while authorities conducted an investigation on her immaculate gains.

Being the richest woman in the world often came at a hefty price. It was nice that she could take some time off.

As she reached the borders, she exited her carriage and walked toward the guards. She was honestly surprised that the country she'd invested in even had a border patrol.

And the seriousness of their security was measured high; Arthur had not overstated their significance.

The initial security check took a while. She turned over her papers, which appeared to have been examined by every eye. They carefully investigated her past before she was allowed to go to the next checkpoint: questioning.

"What's your reason for visiting?" a guard asked.

"I'm on a little vacation and am trying to pay the nation's head a visit."

While she was being honest, the guards exchanged perplexed looks. "You mean feudal lord, Toki?"

"No, not her..." she said, feeling a tad irritated. She had been at the borders for almost two hours now, and she didn't like waiting. "It's a man, for crying out loud."

She paused when asked for a name because, in actuality, Arthur had never given one. Feeling smaller than she would have liked, she argued, "How am I supposed to know? I'm just the investor!"

Whispering among themselves, the guards huddled together. They reached an agreement after what seemed like an endless discussion.

"We'll file a report on this and let you pass on account of your prestige." They then moved aside. "Please refrain from taking any pictures."

And those weren't the only rules she had to follow.

Passing through, her carriage was led further into the country. And when she arrived at the only village gates in sight, she marveled at their height.

Village guards hadn't hesitated to stop her and verify that she had legally passed through border patrol. They hadn't given her much trouble, to her surprise. However, her carriage was denied entry; it had to wait outside with her escorts.

Entering the village, she was engrossed in its development. Every resident was engaged in their everyday activities, and it was crowded.

But where was Arthur?

She looked around, trying to find a familiar face. Interestingly, despite her status and wealth, her face went unnoticed.

What surprised her the most was how filled this village was. She knew she had spent an exuberant amount of money here, but to think things were built so quickly.

There were children here, and they were having fun. Couples strolled around hand in hand, an old woman carefully arranged flowers at a stall, and there were few restaurants. In one corner, there was even a hospital, and in another was a blacksmith that looked more like a tool shop.

It was truly astounding to consider how quickly this place had been constructed. Even the ground was solidly firm underneath her soles—almost too smooth for a village that couldn't have existed for more than a month.

"What sort of material is this?" she asked, looking down.

This village was by no means like a rural neighborhood; rather, it was more like an advanced city. At least from her perspective, it was advanced.

How had Arthur done this?

Men with red and white badges stepped forward, startling her out of her reverie. She thought they were authorities because of their assured gait, and they gave the impression that there was no room for compromise.

"Identification," one of them firmly demanded.

She showed her papers, and the two nodded at one another. Then they gestured for her to follow them toward the heart of the village.

As they strolled along, she became even more astonished. She took in the exquisite choreography that was around her.

There was a school, carpenter buildings, and even more restaurants—a lot of which were open kitchens. There were also seamstresses working quickly, musicians playing gently, and craftsmen polishing stones.

This village was throbbing with the vitality of work, and the energy all around her nearly made her feel lightheaded.

But out of all these things, the biggest construction that almost made her jaw drop was this gargantuan plaza.

Her escorts finally stopped once they reached it. One said, "We can only take you this far. So please go inside and follow the signs to speak with lord Fugaku."

'Fugaku...?' she repeated in her head, mistaking him for Arthur.

Entering in and looking around, she gasped. There were scriptures etched on the clean walls, and the ground was made of something other than metal. The amount of opulence that flourished inside these walls was amazing.

And just like outside, this place was also filled with various activity. So many came and went, some rushing, some walking, but all with a sense of purpose. Hardly anyone paid attention to her as she moved forward.

She felt severely unimportant, like the time when she wasn't famous. Even if she were on the east coast, they'd still know who she was. Yet everyone here paid no mind to her.

The feeling was unfamiliar but reassuring.

Eventually, after twenty minutes of straight walking, she turned toward a large office that, from the outside, seemed to be the center of organization for this whole village.

Upon entering, she was impressed by the massive desk that took up most of the space. A man in a white robe and a characteristic purple hat atop his head sat behind it.

She instantly recognized the uniform as the cloak Kage wore.

"I assume you're the Kage of this village," she said.

"You'd be right," he answered in a neutral but cordial tone. "Since you're new here, I'll introduce myself: I'm Fugaku Uchiha, the first Torikage of the Hidden Light Village."

'Strange,' she thought to herself.

This wasn't the same man she'd had many encounters with before in the past. So she asked, "Where is the person who I invested with?"

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"The country's ruler is not here at the moment. And I'll be honest, I didn't think even our main investor would make it this far into the village."

"And why's that?"

"Because," he smiled, "it would have been impossible for anyone to travel ten miles from the location of this village."

Diana noticed that his tone had become less formal and more conversational. She smiled as well before being curious as to why that was.

"Travelers' senses are blocked and discouraged by hidden barriers," he answered. "Even if they manage to cross the borders, they would still have to deal with a number of other barriers and sealing tags."

Diana developed a fresh appreciation for the degree of security in this place as he talked. Little did she know that it was Ryugetsu and five other ninjas from the plaza who were primarily responsible for this.

Abruptly, she remembered something important. This plaza was not an ordinary one. In fact, it was famous in the Water Country because it was being built by a deceased business mogul named Xavier.

Diana recalled that uncertain period of political turmoil that had afflicted Water Country. And if her information was correct, the person who owned this plaza was very rich.

Was this also Arthur's business?

She was about to ask when someone came into the office and caught her attention. A shinobi with black blindfolds over his eyes strode in.

Her curiosity was sparked right away; the same red and white crest she had seen on the guards outside was on his back.

It was truly the shinobi's movements that caused a chill down her spine. Despite his lack of vision, he walked as if he could see.

After handing some papers to Fugaku, he turned around to exit and even looked in her direction without pausing his gait. This made her feel an unexplainable jolt.

Fugaku went on, "You'll have to excuse me," dragging her out of her reverie. "There are times when my advisor can be a little intimidating."

She paused to consider what his presence meant. There was an established Kage in this village, as well as an orderly system that seemed at peace. In an attempt to understand the dynamics at play, she asked, "What's the structure here in the village?"

"A good question," he admitted. "As you can tell, I openly run this village. You just saw my advisor, who works under me. There are seven elite guards below him. One of those elite guards is in charge of recruitment, while the others concentrate on preparing citizens with the aptitude to become shinobi."

He continued, "Even if they don't qualify to become ninjas, there's plenty of work to be done around here—all of which helps support our economy."

Her comprehension was enlightened by this new information, but it also raised more profound queries. "I take it my benefactor does things behind the scenes, or is he the feudal lord?"

Fugaku was silent as he read the documents on his desk. He then gave an earnest smile upon seeing a message from Ryugetsu.

Little did Diana know, Fugaku was told to inform Diana of everything.

"Above me are four more lords," he answered. "Although the head of this country works with us, he has a great deal of independence because of his ambitions. We make a lot of decisions, but we manage things cooperatively for the benefit of everyone."

Diana's forehead creased as she took in that information. It was clear that Fugaku was a member of a much bigger system that struck a balance between power and accountability, not just a Kage.

Caught off guard, he asked her, "Are you familiar with the Uchiha clan?"

Being part of the political world, she honestly hadn't. As such, Fugaku explained his clan's fall and even revealed, while finally giving out his name, that it was Arthur who revived them.

According to Fugaku, the Uchiha clan—more especially, the Sharingan—was once feared and revered for their power. It served as a curse and a weapon, with which they sought to rebuild their honour upon being reborn.

What astounded Diana the most was why the Sharingan was feared: it had a second stage.

Fugaku's face changed to one of solemn pride as he revealed, "So far, there are only three who've managed to awaken this stage—myself included."

"I assume you're telling me these things for a reason," she wondered.

"You're correct. Our lord Arthur found it a necessity for you to know these things, including who the three who advanced the Sharingan."

Apart from him, the other two to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan that reside in this village were Shisui and Izumi Uchiha.

Fugaku looked back into Diana's eyes and went on to say, "Izumi's love for Itachi was so great that when her memories fully resurfaced, she experienced emotional grief, and as a result awakened the next stage."

Diana's chest tightened. She had never met the girl but felt a tad sorrowful of the despair this entire clan had undergone.

"And as for your eldest son?" she asked.

"He's been isolated as a rogue ninja, and lord Arthur's prohibited us from tracking him down."

Diana was enthralled with the complex relationships in this clan. While it was pleasing to be told the truth, she still desired to know how her own country's relationship with the other nations fared.

"Yes," he obliged. "We recently forged ties with some of our neighbours. And many of our military forces have been undergoing missions to uphold alliances."

"Are you saying that the others are okay with a whole clan coming back from the dead?"

"Not everyone knows who we are," he smirked. "Since the beginning, lord Arthur's helped by hiding our true identities."

She was by no means surprised by how he has managed everything so methodically thus far. She was right to have placed all her bets on him.