Naruto: The Progenitor of Demons Starting from Kirigakure

The next day, early in the morning, Jieluo officially went to the village's Mizukage Building to report for duty.

Unlike Konoha, the village's ninja gatherings, exchanges, and activities are all concentrated in the Mizukage's castle, since the area is quite large. The village usually serves as an entertainment venue, with numerous shops where you can buy almost anything.

"Good morning, old man Bailian~" Pushing open the door, Yura walked into the office, looked at the First Mizukage and smiled, "So early, working so early, aren't you going to sleep a little longer?"

"Old people don't sleep well." Bai Lian was somewhat prepared for Jie Luo's overly familiar manner; powerful ninjas could have privileges. She replied, "Good morning to you too."

"We made an appointment after all, and I'm not used to being late." Jieluo said, leading Lucy to sit casually on the solid wood sofa in the office, and instructed, "Little Fairy, go and see if there's any tea to brew a pot."

Lucy was an honest person, and when she heard Gero's call, she did as he asked, getting up to rummage through the cabinet in the office.

Seeing this, the old man Bailian's eyelids twitched. With a wave of his hand, he opened a drawer, threw a bag on the coffee table in front of Jieluo, and said, "How did you know I had tea?"

"Isn't that obvious? When you have guests, don't you make some tea?" Jieluo said. "So, there are snacks too, right?"

"Are you here to freeload?" With one eye on guard duty and the other on lookout, the old man with the white lotus looked visibly speechless and said, "No snacks. I'm on duty, so be serious."

"Oh~" Sitting up slightly, Jieluo said, "Old man, a ninja blocked my way last night."

Waving her hand, Bai Lian said, "Under normal circumstances, some guys are testing your mettle."

"Who?" Jieluo asked.

"Some guys who aren't entirely convinced by Huan Yue," Bai Lian said, "have to make sure you're qualified before they pay their respects."

"Interesting." Yura looked out the window at Kirigakure and said, "Didn't Little Mustache come today?"

Yura had a pretty good impression of Hozuki Gengetsu; the kid was just warlike, not a bad person.

"Do you like this one?" Bai Lian asked with a smile.

Waving his hand, Jie Luo said with a half-smile, "Old man, if you want to play matchmaker, don't blame me for turning hostile."

This old man's life is nearing its end; he reeks of decay. As a member of the Oni clan, Jieluo could see that his death was imminent. He had fought too recklessly in his youth, and now that he was old, all the problems would surface. The fact that he could still go to work despite all that hardship shows he was a true iron man.

"Forget it, I can't interfere in the affairs of young people," said the old man Bailian. "As long as the village grows stronger, I'll be satisfied. Ghost Princess, I like ambitious young people. In the end, the ninja world is ruled by might; whoever is stronger is right."

"Are you a seasoned ninja, or do you see things more clearly?" Jieluo smiled slightly. "There's a saying in Konoha: it's not that you become Hokage to gain everyone's recognition, but rather that you gain everyone's recognition to become Hokage."

"Ridiculous," Bai Lian commented succinctly. "I'll only admit they're right if the Senju clan relinquishes the Hokage position."

The normal logic in reality is that when someone takes over, power changes hands, regardless of whether others approve or not.

If you disagree, I can shut you up.

"Let's end this small talk," Jieluo said. "What's the schedule for today?"

Bai Lian said, "I've assigned you two subordinates. You can go and take a look. If you don't like them, you can send them back. They are both promising young men from the village with clean backgrounds."

Jieluo nodded and said, "Then I'll go take a look. It's not some kid who's only ten or so years old, is it?"

Without saying a word, Bai Lian tossed a prepared scroll to Jie Luo.

After opening it and taking a look, Jieluo burned it and complained, "What a brat! Do I have to start from low-level tasks again...?"

"No matter what, you need to have your own trusted subordinates. These two clans only recently joined the village," Bai Lian said. "Besides, low-level missions are a process of getting familiar with the village."

After calling out to Lucy, Jiro said, "Then I'll be going now, old man."

Watching Jieluo leave the room, Bailian's eyes were solemn with one eye and darted sideways with the other.

Observe for a while longer; if they genuinely want to join the village...

Inside the No. 7 indoor training ground of Water Shadow Fortress, Jie Luo met his subordinates, two girls, who were twelve years old.

One had her hair tied in a strange bun and wore ancient tribal clothing, a long skirt in bright, colorful patterns, with her hair styled into four loops at the back of her head. The other wore a high-slit, light blue long skirt and had long, reddish-brown hair resembling that of the Whirlpool tribe, tied in a ponytail.

The two little girls got a little bored while waiting, so they sat on the wooden stake with somewhat vacant eyes.

As Jieluo approached, the two noticed Lucy's arrival and stood up, their expressions wary.

"Good alertness," Jieluo said.

As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them saw Jie Luo, their expressions tightened, and a flash of shock crossed their eyes.

"Oni-hime!" The girl with the strangely styled hair exclaimed softly, then looked at Yura with burning eyes and said, "I heard that you cut down Kenji with one strike last night. That guy's swordsmanship is among the top ten in the village!"

Jieluo's gaze fell on the sword on her back. This little girl used swords, two swords, one an excessively long nodachi and the other a katana.

Another red-haired girl stood up, bowed gracefully and politely. She was a little taller than Jieluo and said respectfully with a smile, "Lady Oni-hime."

"Give me your name," Jieluo said. "Never mind, I only have one test left."

Upon hearing this, the two of them felt a jolt in their hearts.

"Make eye contact with her." Jieluo pointed at Lucy and said, "If you can hold out for half an hour, you pass."

The two looked at each other, puzzled but highly obedient. The tall, red-haired girl said elegantly and politely, "Then please take care of me." As she bowed, the knife at her waist flicked up, and without further ado, she opened her eyes wide to look into Lucy's eyes.

The shorter girl also widened her eyes, looking at Lucy with a somewhat belligerent and fierce expression.

Lucy blinked.

Jieluo jumped up slightly, sat down in mid-air, and watched the scene with great interest.

Not just anyone can make eye contact with Lucy. It has nothing to do with having a lot of experience; the key is the strength of one's mind.

As they began to look into each other's eyes, they quickly sensed an invisible mental pressure. Unconsciously, they started to sweat, and as the sweat slid down their faces, they gradually turned pale. Time passed by, and after an unknown amount of time, their bodies trembled, their eyes were bloodshot, and all sorts of negative emotions surged in their hearts. They struggled to hold onto the last bit of clarity in their minds.

"Alright, that's enough," Jieluo said.

After saying that, Lucy looked away and couldn't help rubbing her dry eyes, without even blinking.

The two girls collapsed to the ground, exhausted, panting heavily. When they glanced at Lucy, their eyes were filled with fear.

The results were not announced, and the two of them did not know how long they had persisted. They felt uneasy, as if it had been a very long time, but it also felt like time had not passed very quickly.

"Give me your names," Jieluo said after the two of them had calmed down.

The two girls breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mikoto Teru," the tall, red-haired girl said.

"Zhu Yin," the short girl said.

"You two, both use knives?" Jie Luo asked.

"Yes!" The two girls stood at attention and nodded.

The show of force was very effective.

Jieluo seemed to be deep in thought. Swords were a specialty of Kirigakure, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were the most distinctive feature of Kirigakure. Jieluo was thinking about creating a new Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Is a sword powerful because of its fancy design? A sword is powerful because of pure swordsmanship.

"Come on, show us your swordsmanship," Jieluo said. "If you're good, I'll give you two powerful new swords."

Upon hearing this, their eyes lit up slightly.

Jieluo turned to look at Lucy, who was standing to the side as if it were none of her business.

Once settled, this guy needs some serious training.