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OPI Chapter 333: Rōran’s Secret War
🕑 Added 2025-04-12 19:17:39 +0000 UTCIn the heart of the Kingdom of Rōran stood the Central Tower—sixty stories tall and soaring to a height of two hundred meters.
Comparable to the height of modern-day skyscrapers, this structure was a unique marvel in the ninja world. Back when the rogue Suna shinobi, Mukade, assumed the identity of Minister Anrokuzan, he did indeed enslave the people of Rōran to manufacture puppets for him—but credit must also be given where it’s due. It was thanks to him that Rōran gained access to many advancements.
Today, the people of Rōran enjoyed central heating in the desert, running water, electric lighting, and even elevators and apartment housing—all built using the Dragon Veins and puppet technology he had harnessed.
Of course—
Anrokuzan's approach had been far from wise. He could have won the people’s loyalty and had them willingly work for Rōran—and for him. But instead, he chose the most foolish method of all: brutal slavery.
Such was the limitation of his thinking.
At the very top of the Central Tower lay the royal hall, used by the Queen to receive foreign guests.
There, Queen Sāra sat upright on her throne, watching calmly as four Kumogakure shinobi appeared in the hall like wraiths, one after another.
“Well, I’ll be damned... I didn’t think the Queen of Rōran would still be here,” one of them said with clear surprise. He was a chunin dressed in black with a single white shoulder mantle, clutching a pitch-black kunai in hand as he eyed Sāra.
“As Queen, it is my duty to remain with my people.”
Then a cold smile curled on her lips. “Besides, you’re shinobi from Kumogakure—one of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Not some savage, lowborn, worthless bandits. So I have nothing to fear… right?”
“…”
The four Kumogakure shinobi scowled at her words, but none of them could come up with a retort. The chunin who had spoken up was the first to recover, sneering as he asked, “If that’s how you feel, then why did you evacuate your people ahead of time?”
“Because I thought we were being attacked by those savage, lowborn, worthless bandits. A reasonable precaution, wouldn’t you say? Who would’ve guessed that it would be noble shinobi from one of the Five Great Villages showing up instead?” Sāra shot back without missing a beat.
That shut the chunin right up. His eloquence clearly couldn’t match hers.
But it didn’t matter. After all, her fate was in their hands now.
“Oh, Your Majesty… the world doesn’t care how sharp your tongue is. Without strength, you’re just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. I suggest you behave—maybe you’ll even catch the eye of one of our lords back home~”
“Hahahahaha!”
Laughter erupted throughout the grand, echoing hall as the four Kumo shinobi laughed shamelessly and without restraint.
Sāra, still seated on her throne, flushed with humiliation and fury. Her fists clenched tightly, trembling with frustration. All she could do was glare at them through gritted teeth.
“I demand to speak with your Raikage!” she shouted. “I want to know why you’re attacking Rōran without cause. Has Kumogakure stooped to banditry now?!”
At that, the Kumo shinobi fell silent and exchanged glances.
She was, after all, the reigning monarch of a nation. If she wanted to speak with the Raikage, they had to pass the message along. If something went wrong and they ignored her, they’d be the ones in trouble.
“Yagai, go report this.”
The chunin finally gave the order to one of the genin in the group.
Though Yagai looked clearly displeased, he obeyed and quickly leapt out through the shattered window.
“Well then, Your Majesty,” the chunin said with a mocking smirk, “please wait patiently for Lord Raikage’s reply.”
With that, he sheathed his kunai back into the pouch on his leg, leaned against a stone pillar, and closed his eyes to rest.
They had already confirmed that aside from the Queen, there was no one else left in the city. And with the Raikage and their main forces stationed just outside, they figured they could afford to take it easy for now.
Ever since the Raikage had decided to launch a surprise attack after the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure went missing, they had marched around nearly half the continent along the coastline of the ninja world.
And that wasn’t even counting the long journey from Kumogakure through the Land of Lightning…
They planned to travel by sea, passing the former peninsula of the Land of Whirlpools, arriving at the Land of Tea in the southern region of the Land of Fire. From there, they would use it as a springboard to sprint across the sea and breach the borders of the Land of Wind.
What followed was a series of battles against layers of Suna shinobi blockades. Fortunately, the Third Raikage always led from the front, like a razor-sharp lightning blade, slicing through every Suna shinobi who stood in their way.
Unfortunately, just under 50 kilometers from Sunagakure, they were finally halted by someone called Rasa, who used endless streams of gold sand to block their advance.
With their water and food supplies running low, the Raikage had no choice but to call for a retreat. Along the way, however, he decided to wipe out the small nation of Rōran.
Truth be told, the chūnin didn’t think it was necessary to destroy an entire country. Rōran likely wouldn’t have dared refuse to offer them fresh water, food, and a temporary place to rest.
But since the Raikage had already made the decision, a mere chūnin like him had no right to object.
Still, both his body and mind were thoroughly exhausted.
If only he could soak in a hot spring, hold a soft body in his arms, and drift off into a sweet, peaceful sleep…
“Hm?”
But the next second, he suddenly felt a chill against his throat. His body jolted with alarm and tried to react—but it was already too late. That icy sensation flashed across his neck!
His Adam’s apple, still moving a moment ago, was cleanly sliced open by an invisible blade. Instantly, warm, crimson blood gushed out.
“Ugh—ahhhh!”
He tried to cry out, but blood surged up and blocked his airway. No sound came out. As his pupils trembled violently, the last thing he saw was the scene of the other two genin being assassinated as well.
How could there possibly be enemies inside Rōran?
“You all!”
Queen Sarah leapt to her feet from the throne, eyes wide in shock as six black-clad shinobi slowly emerged from the air.
Meanwhile, the three Kumogakure shinobi who had been so smug moments ago were now lying at their feet, clutching their throats in despair as they bled out. Before long, they lay still in pools of blood, their bodies occasionally twitching slightly.
“Not bad,” said Fujin, looking at Sara.
“From your earlier conversation, I’ve gathered a decent idea of what’s been happening here.”
“Which is why, Queen of Rōran, I believe both you and your kingdom are in desperate need of our help. So, how about hiring shinobi from Umigakure?”
“Umigakure…” Sara felt a pang of disappointment in her heart.
For just a moment there, she’d hoped that the ninja who came to save her were from Konoha again. She quickly shook her head and chuckled bitterly.
“Forget it. There are over three thousand Kumogakure shinobi outside the city—heck, even the Third Raikage himself is here. A tiny village like yours doesn’t stand a chance. You should hurry up and run.”
She had never heard of a place called Umigakure, so she naturally assumed it was some obscure little shinobi village.
“That won’t do,” Fujin replied with a cold smile, glancing through the shattered window toward the sky outside the city.
“Given the current situation, whether or not you hire us, we’re still going to clash with those Kumogakure shinobi.”
After all, the World Government’s goal is to conquer the entire shinobi world—how could they possibly back down just because of one measly Raikage?
...
Near a skybridge somewhere within the city of Rōran.
[Clang! Clang!]
The sharp sound of metal clashing rang out again and again—stopping, then starting anew.
Brilliant sparks flared repeatedly as shadowy figures darted back and forth, occasionally accompanied by furious shouts of protest.
"Who the hell are you people?!"
"You don’t look like shinobi from Sunagakure—how dare you provoke us from Kumogakure?! Are you looking to die?!"
But the six figures opposing them didn’t respond at all. It was clear they had no intention of explaining anything—their only goal was to take down their enemies.
The Kumogakure squad followed the standard composition: a single chūnin leading three genin.
This chūnin, however, was a sensory-type ninja whose mission was to investigate any hidden shinobi within Rōran.
That was how he had discovered the presence of Chome and her group.
Every time the Umigakure genin swung their kunai, illusions of wind, fire, lightning, or water flared out as special effects.
This gave the Kumogakure team a real headache.
At first, they couldn’t even tell the illusions were fake. They ended up wasting chakra to cast jutsu in defense or getting wounded by hidden blades while trying to dodge.
Even after realizing the elemental images were illusions, things didn’t improve much.
They still couldn’t clearly track the real position of the kunai—and those illusions, while fake, were dangerously deceptive.
They carried no real flames, no surging water, no forceful impacts—yet the cold glint of those blades was very real and very lethal.
It was like some kind of genjutsu-infused kenjutsu.
