The Game Merchant Who Started from the Ninja World

Chapter 17: Kirigakure's Decapitation Plan

Terumi Mei waved her hand with a smile. "There's no need to worry about money. If necessary, even if Kirigakure enters a wartime emergency state, we'll fully support the leveling path of our village's players."

Most shinobi—even the Daimyō of the Land of Water—when meeting her, their first thoughts were always about her stunning beauty and voluptuous figure.

But only the few who had experienced the coup and chosen to follow Terumi Mei truly understood—

This mature and powerful kunoichi was the hero who overthrew the Bloody Mist regime, the long-awaited leader capable of guiding Kirigakure to become the strongest Hidden Village.

The village's revitalized state today was inseparable from her political reforms and decisive leadership.

Suppressing the old guard, supporting a new generation of shinobi, resolving tensions between civilian-born and clan-born ninjas.

She even boldly pardoned rogue shinobi who had attempted to assassinate the previous Mizukage and welcomed them back to the village. All wandering Kirigakure ninjas were recalled.

Chōjūrō looked at her with admiration—but also concern.

He knew that Lady Terumi Mei wished to find a suitable husband and settle down.

But the stronger a kunoichi was, the harder it became to marry.

Of course, such thoughts were something he'd never dare voice aloud. If he did, the ever-smiling Terumi Mei would likely discipline him on the spot.

"My Lady, I have a plan that could breach the castle interior."

A civilian player bowed respectfully before Terumi Mei.

Right now, within the ruined castle, more than two hundred players had gathered under her command, forming the strongest assault force targeting the Wraith General.

On the other side, a team of over a hundred players had been assembled by Mabui, the Raikage's secretary and strategist, on behalf of Kumogakure.

Kumogakure, known for its militaristic nature, fully supported the Reincarnation Game. Backed by the combative Raikage, they were willing to invest heavily.

Mabui herself might not have Terumi Mei's overwhelming power, but she attracted allies through generous rewards and potions for those who joined the Kumogakure Alliance.

As for Konoha, the strongest shinobi village...

Without Hokage support, Asuma had managed to gather a large budget by giving up his personal assets. But Danzo had sabotaged him from behind, restricting how the reward points could be used. They could only be spent on officially registered Konoha players and not for recruiting others.

This left Konoha in a very poor position within the game.

Terumi Mei raised an eyebrow in interest. "What kind of plan?"

Since entering the Reincarnation Game and interacting with civilians, she had found them far from ignorant. On the contrary, they were full of innovative ideas—only held back by their environment.

The civilian player sent her a private message, detailing the plan.

After reading it, Terumi Mei's expression turned a little strange. "Will this really work?"

The civilian player dropped to one knee in a ninja-like posture and said, "I am willing to try."

Terumi Mei nodded. "Very well. If the plan succeeds, I will send shinobi to escort you and your family to Kirigakure. If your children show talent as shinobi, I will assign a jōnin to personally train them."

"Thank you, Lady Mizukage!"

The player was visibly emotional and, following the plan, prepared himself before rushing into the castle.

Half a day later,

He knelt respectfully before a Wraith squad captain and shouted, "I surrender to Lord Wraith General! I'm done being oppressed by those damn humans. I wish to defect!"

The Wraith squad captain, nearly two meters tall, loomed over him, then nodded repeatedly. "Very good. If you tell me everything about those humans who dare disturb Lord General's slumber, I, Glava, shall accept your defection."

Unlike ordinary wraiths, Wraith squad captains possessed intelligence.

During the invasion of other worlds, they had encountered humans who betrayed their own kind. Though they didn't fully trust such people, they were willing to give them a chance.

Glava embedded a gray-black Wraith Seed into the man's chest.

He growled menacingly, "Now you'll come with me to meet the general. If you try anything, I can detonate the seed at any time. You'll die without a trace."

"I swear eternal loyalty to Lord Wraith General!"

The civilian player shouted hoarsely.

Satisfied, the Wraith squad captain led him through the defensive lines packed with Wraith Soldiers, all the way to the General's lair.

At that moment—

The civilian player, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly opened his inventory and tossed out a teleportation scroll.

The Wraith captain reacted instantly, roaring, "You damn human! How dare you trick me?!"

Boom!

The Wraith Seed detonated.

Spectral flames consumed the player's body. Within seconds, his health was reduced to zero.

But even as he burned, he burst into manic laughter. "I'm the vanguard scout of the Kirigakure Alliance! My mission was to break through your defenses—and it's done!"

The teleportation scroll's glow activated within the Wraith General's inner sanctum.

The Wraith captain panicked, lunging to interrupt the cast—but was blocked by twin blades.

"Chōjūrō—on the field!"

He pushed forward with surprising force, knocking the captain back.

Immediately after, five elite players, including Terumi Mei herself, launched an assault and reduced the Wraith captain to ash in seconds.

This was a decapitation strike.

Using a civilian player as bait to break through the Wraith Soldiers' defense line and teleport directly into the stronghold—

then eliminate the Wraith General in a single surgical operation.

This would mark the complete fall of the ruined castle.

Behind the screen,

the silver-haired loli stared in shock, dumbfounded by the sheer cunning of the tactic.

Previously, when other World Wills faced the Corruption Sources, they always sought powerful, heroic individuals—strong-willed champions who charged headfirst into battle.

But these overlooked civilians were outperforming even the classic "hero templates."

Sure, it was a bit underhanded...

The loli felt like a whole new world had opened before her eyes. The tuft of white hair on her head bounced in excitement.

"Lady Mizukage, should we charge in directly now?"

Chōjūrō was eager, his hands gripping his twin swords tightly.

But Terumi Mei shook her head. "Stick to the original plan. Set up traps around the area first. Once the Wraith General is lured in and weakened, then we'll engage."

Chōjūrō watched as various trap items were purchased and deployed. He sighed. "The trap items in the game shop are too expensive. If we could train a player to master trap-related life skills, that'd be perfect."

"I'll consider it. Let's handle the current threat first. Once we're out of the game, we'll bring it up in the council."

Terumi Mei remained cautious. She had already commissioned a full study from the finance department on material prices and life skill costs.

The conclusion?

To max out a single life skill to Level 10 would require at least two billion ryo.

The annual budget from the Land of Water's Daimyō for Kirigakure was barely twenty billion.

A full tenth of that—just to train one specialist.

It was an enormous investment, which was why the proposal had been tabled for now.

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