Fuyōna stood with Princess Mizuko of the land of water in her father's office while she explained what had been going on behind closed doors here in the palace.
From what Fuyōna was hearing things sounded like they had gotten much worse than he had expected, seeing that the daimyō had been keeping these secrets to himself and forbidding anyone to inform Fuyōna of them.
"Why didn't you come to me sooner?" Fuyōna asked, looking at Mizuko as she turned away.
"I couldn't. The nobles who have betrayed my father have their assassins keeping a very close watch on me. And now that they have poisoned my father, I fear I am next." She said, holding her hands close to her chest.
"I won't let that happen," Fuyōna said with a severe tone, giving her some relief with his words comforting her.
"I guess my father wanted to handle his own affairs without your help," Mizuko said as she turned back to face him.
"Fuyōna. I need your help if I am to become the next daimyō and continue where my father left off. Otherwise, I fear there could be a civil war between the nobles and yourself." She said, this time being the one with a serious tone.
Fuyōna knew that a civil war between the Mist and the land of water would destroy everything he had worked so hard to achieve.
"Don't worry. I won't let that happen either. Not now." Certain that he would go to any lengths necessary to protect his country's tranquillity and prevent it from collapsing whether that be due to internal strife or foreign invasion.
"Do you know which nobles are involved in this?" Fuyōna asked after a couple of seconds.
"I know some, but only my father knew who was truly involved," Mizuko said.
"Alright. Tell me everything you know." Fuyōna said, wanting to hear it all.
Sometime later both Fuyōna and Mizuko walked back into her father's room, being greeted by all of the nobles and other people as they did.
From what Mizuko had said, Fuyōna could piece together that three of the nobles who didn't like the way things were being run had turned against her father and were currently trying to gather their forces and more allies to rally to their side.
All they needed now was for the daimyō to die and then get rid of the next in line, leaving the position open to a vote from the nobles and the people. Something that hadn't happened in a long time.
Fuyōna walked over to the daimyō who was lying in his bed struggling to even breathe. Fuyōna placed his hand on his head and closed his eyes for a moment, gathering a small amount of nature energy before he used it to try and sense what was going on in his body.
Poison indeed... Fuyōna said to himself not a moment later, knowing it was too late for him now.
Not even Lady Tsunade would be able to fix this now. Fuyōna thought before he turned his attention back toward the others in the room.
"It has come to my attention that some of you are having second thoughts about this war and the leadership of your country," Fuyōna said, taking them by surprise.
"What is the meaning of this?" One of the Nobles spoke up, coming to the front of the others.
Fuyōna recognised him as the ring leader and prime suspect in this whole thing, giving him the chance to speak to confirm his thoughts.
"You are the one who has brought war to our nation. And you and the daimyō just expect us to be quiet and obey your every command as if we have no say in the matter." He said.
"The others and I have come to believe that you and the daimyō are not what is best for our nation and that it is time for new leadership!" He said, gathering a few of the other nobles to his side, clearly the ones who were also involved.
Fuyōna remained quiet and pretended to back down, hoping that he would keep monologuing, further confirming his play in all of this.
"I say that we put it to a vote on whether the people really want Lady Mizuko to carry on where her father failed. After all, do we really want a woman leading us!" He yelled, getting a chuckle from some of the others.
"You have been planning this all along haven't you!" Mizuko yelled, letting her emotions get the better of her.
"You are responsible for doing this to my father aren't you!" She said, getting a gasp from the others in the room.
"Now, now princess. You should be very careful who you accuse of such a horrendous crime." He said, playing his words like a true politician.
"I may not have agreed with how your father did things, but that does not mean that I would commit treason to gain power." He then said, making Mizuko look like a fool, further edging the other nobles over to his side.
"The last thing our nation needs now is someone who acts on emotion alone. Face it, you are a spoilt little brat who has no right to rule over us."
Mizuko was shocked and took a step back, feeling almost helpless. For the first time in her life, she felt speechless, not knowing how to defend herself.
Fuyōna had now heard enough of his nonsense and decided to step back in, allowing his chakra to burst to life, letting it grow cold, causing the noble's breath to become visible.
"You nobles seem to be under the impression that you actually hold power in this land. With your fancy titles and large sums of money, you think that you can claw up through the ranks and one day grasp at power that will be forever beyond you." Fuyōna said, almost laughing at how pathetic it was.
All of the nobles were now on their back foot, feeling the intense cold as some of them started to shiver, with the crushing weight of his chakra pressing down upon them.
"Your only role is to serve the daimyō helping to keep the people in our nation happy and give them a voice. The idea that becoming the next daimyō will give you power is funny. You see, the daimyō serves me and does what I tell him." Fuyōna said, getting a shocked reaction from all of them.
"Those who will not fall in line will be disposed of, plain and simple. I had hoped I could leave things on this end to the current daimyō without having to do things myself. However, now that it has come to my attention that some of you are pushing above your station and have even gone as far as to kill him and attempt to take his place. I can not stand by any longer."
Fuyōna's words were strong, demanding an overwhelming presence with the effect of his chakra and its chill.
"The next daimyō will be whomever I want it to be. And I say that it will be Princess Mizuko. If anyone has a problem with that, feel free to speak now." Fuyōna said, allowing the pressure of his chakra to relax and the cold chill in the air to disappear, giving the nobles a moment to think about their choices.
"Y-You monster..." The noble who had been at the centre of all of this said, still refusing to back down after Fuyōna's threat.
"We will not bow down to another tyrannical dictator like your predecessor!" He yelled, keeping a strong stance.
"I see... Very well. Perhaps your successor will think differently." Fuyōna muttered, leading the noble to have a puzzled expression before snapping his fingers.
Ice suddenly burst to life around his feet, trapping him up to his knees causing the pain of his legs freezing to shoot through his mind before he screamed out in pain.
The other nobles in the room almost jumped back at the sight, panicking as they rushed to the doors, only to see that their path had been blocked by the guards.
"K-Kill him! Kill the princess!!!" The noble whose legs had been frozen yelled, crying out in pain as he commanded his assassins to act now.
"I'm afraid your assassins won't be helping you today," Fuyōna said, clicking his fingers once more, causing three blocks of ice to drop to the ground, revealing the assassins frozen inside of them, sharing the same fate he was about to.
"Did you really think that you would get away with this?" Fuyōna asked, looking into his eyes as he stood in front of the man.
"C-curse..." The noble said, trying not to lose consciousness from the pain.
Fuyōna took a step back before he turned around to face the other nobles and address them.
"To those of you who remain loyal and do as you are told, you have nothing to fear. You and your families will be safe and your lands secured. All that I asked is that you do your best for your nation and its people." Fuyōna said, seeming to put them at ease a little, however, still seeing the look of terror on their faces.
"It would seem we have no choice." Another of the nobles said, knowing the only choice they had was to fall in line or die, due to the overwhelming power that Fuyōna possessed.
"We recognise Princess Mizuko as the next daimyō." He said before turning to the others.
"Those of you who sided with lord, Hogasharu to overthrow the daimyō should be ashamed of yourselves, and pray for mercy for Lord Mizukage here." He said, getting a mixed reaction.
Mizuko felt Fuyna place a hand on her shoulder and couldn't believe what had just happened.
"You have all of the support of the Mizukage. Don't forget that Princess." Fuyōna said as he smiled at her.
Mizuko felt all of the weakness in her body suddenly fade away at his touch. Feeling her strength return to her before she stood strong and faced the nobles of the land of water.
"I will be the next daimyō like my father before me. And those of you who were involved in this will be punished." She said, nodding her head to her guards before they grabbed the lords that had been involved and arrested them, taking them away.
"The rest of you are welcome to stay and pay your respects to my father." She then said holding her head high.
The other lords bowed their heads and went about their business being glad that they had not become involved with the rebelling nobles.
"I thank you Lord Mizukage. Without your help, I fear that I might not have seen another sunrise." Mizuko said, lowering her head a little.
"Please, princess. Don't mention it." Fuyōna said.
"In the meantime, I will leave you with some of the best guards I have to offer. Each hand-picked by myself." Fuyōna said.
"If you need anything, you just tell them." He said.
"Does that mean you won't stay?" Mizuko asked, looking into his eyes.
"I'm afraid I have other matters to attend to regarding the war, Princess," Fuyōna said, knowing what she was hinting at.
"Maybe another time." She then said, wrapping her arms around his and pressing her body onto him.
"Thank you, Fuyōna." She whispered softly to him. Knowing that once again he had saved her life.
Fuyōna stayed quiet and let her hold onto him for a moment longer. Knowing that it made her feel safe.
"If you need anything, just use this," Fuyōna said as he handed her a small scroll.
Mizuko let go of him and looked at it, wondering what it was.
"Simply open the scroll and place your hand onto the seal. I will know." Fuyōna said, explaining to her how to use it.
Mizuko nodded as she took the scroll and placed it into her robe before she took a step back.
"Make sure you guard the Princess with your life." Fuyōna then said to the Anbu guard who was in the room with him.
"Of course sir." The man said while he bowed.
"Farewell for now Princess. I am sorry about your father." Fuyōna said with a gentle smile.
Mizuko nodded her head, knowing he meant it.
"Farewell... Fuyōna." She whispered as she watched him step into an ice mirror, disappearing and leaving her to pay her final respects to her father.
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That's the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading and I hope you all have a great Weekend!