As the saying goes, "strong grass is revealed by fierce winds"—there were still ninja willing to "fulfill their duties," ready to give everything for Kikyō Castle.
However, just as he approached Yūshin, Yūshin pivoted on one leg, violently twisted his waist and spun his body, raising his right leg high and driving it down forcefully toward the attacker's neck from above.
Bang!
White steam dissipating from Yūshin's body quickly dispersed in the empty street, while the attacker's head was stomped into the ground.
Yūshin frowned—this ninja's strength was utterly ordinary; he'd only absorbed a negligible amount of chakra.
"Opportunism, huh? Well, I understand. Everyone wants to progress."
Yūshin knew his appearance of being ready to collapse at any moment was quite enticing.
Take a gamble and turn your bicycle into a motorcycle—some people simply can't resist such temptation.
He didn't even spare the corpse a glance, simply addressing Date Kametani in an increasingly gentle tone: "Lead the way."
Date Kametani's body shuddered violently. This ninja's death made him understand his current predicament even more clearly. Splattered with blood, he managed to suppress his scream back into his throat.
Then, like a rabbit, he suddenly bolted in one direction.
"This... this way, Lord Daimyo."
Huh? Why are you using inverted syntax now?
Yūshin couldn't comprehend this fellow's erratic reactions. As his chakra depleted, his body grew increasingly weak, and to conserve energy, wasn't his voice naturally getting softer?
Date Kametani hurried along, terrified that a moment's delay would result in his brains being splattered.
In just over ten minutes, he led Yūshin to a location in the castle town not far from the keep, surrounded by what appeared to be ordinary residences.
However, once the two entered a certain courtyard one after the other, they quickly discovered a hidden passage leading deep underground in one of the rooms.
Beyond the passage lay the Kikyō daimyo's "safe house."
Yūshin and Date Kametani descended the steps. As they penetrated deeper into the passage, the smell of blood soon permeated the air.
After silently eliminating several guards, Yūshin finally infiltrated the daimyo's safe house.
This place was deep underground with an extremely quiet environment. Unless there was an earthquake, other disturbances could hardly penetrate here.
One had to admit that Daimyo Date Toyosaka truly lived up to his title—his nerves were remarkably steady. Outside, they'd demolished half the keep, yet he could sleep peacefully here.
In his mind, hiding here was completely unnecessary. Was a mere petty thief worth such elaborate precautions?
Those guardian ninja were simply too cautious.
But facts proved his guardian ninja weren't cautious enough.
This was Yūshin's first time seeing the daimyo. He'd originally wanted to exchange words with him, but seeing that mountain of flesh resembling an old sow, along with the soft snoring emanating from between his fat cheeks, Yūshin abandoned the idea.
The man was sleeping so soundly—forcibly disturbing him seemed rather impolite... Yūshin thought carefully and realized he had nothing particular to discuss with him anyway.
He waved his hand, signaling Date Kametani to bring his ear closer.
"Just as I said earlier, everyone needs progress... So what about you, Lord Steward? Do you want to progress?"
He spoke softly while pressing a kunai into Date Kametani's hand.
"..."
Date Kametani desperately wanted to progress, yet he'd never imagined this method of advancement.
His hand gripping the kunai trembled even more dramatically.
This was perfectly natural—for someone unaccustomed to the kitchen, killing a fish was difficult enough, let alone killing a person.
However, Yūshin possessed considerable linguistic talent. Whether mockery, persuasion, or intimidation, he employed them effortlessly.
"Look, there are three people here: you, me, and him."
"Now you hold a kunai, and the rule is this... one person here must die beneath this kunai's blade."
"So think carefully—what outcome is most beneficial for you and me?"
Could Date Kametani kill Yūshin? Impossible. Would he commit suicide? That was asking too much.
Therefore, among you, me, and him, only he could die.
His hand trembled and trembled, but somehow, inexplicably, it suddenly steadied.
See? People always progress.
Yūshin nodded lightly. He reached out to pat Date Kametani's shoulder, then turned and walked away.
Silence continued for some time.
Subsequently, pig-slaughtering screams suddenly erupted from behind Yūshin.
Date Kametani lacked technique and his hands were certainly unsteady, so the screaming lasted quite a while.
Listening to these sounds, Yūshin felt somewhat wicked... but there was no help for it. As they say, "one who touches pitch will be defiled"—his brief association with Tobirama Senju had unfortunately infected him with that despicable influence.
Date Kametani emerged from the underground passage, covered in blood.
...
Last night, a major incident occurred in Kikyō Castle.
The guardian ninja employed by the daimyo suddenly revealed his wolfish ambitions, attacking the daimyo and his direct relatives, creating a household registry tragedy.
The city fell into chaos. After the keep was half-destroyed and collapsed, many civilians suffered undeserved disasters.
Fortunately, shortly after the tragedy began, that deranged guardian ninja was subdued and eliminated by the arriving Fūma Clan reinforcements, preventing further escalation of the disaster and sparing Kikyō Castle from destruction.
Though the perpetrator was ultimately subdued, the tragedy couldn't be undone—Kikyō Castle needed a new ruler.
Well, even Yūshin had to admit he'd underestimated Date Kametani's rate of progress. Initially, the man could only "progress" with his assistance, but after taking that first step, he immediately learned self-improvement.
Date Kametani had obviously refined Yūshin's original story with meticulous detail.
Simply put, Yūshin's target was only that daimyo—he didn't care about the daimyo's household registry.
Clearly, someone had taken advantage of the chaos to conduct a "no half-measures" hunting expedition.
Yūshin had no criticism of this. "Eliminate the roots when cutting grass" is a fundamental principle of political struggle—as they say, defeat breeds resentment, victory breeds retaliation.
Thus, Date Kametani became virtually the daimyo's sole heir.
Precisely because of his special status, Yūshin had spared him, attempting to cultivate him as a qualified proxy.
But Yūshin wouldn't allow Date Kametani to become daimyo directly, nor even let him become "acting daimyo."
In fact, though Date Kametani would become Kikyō Castle's nominal ruler, his external identity was temporarily only "acting lord."
Speaking of which, there wasn't much difference between lord and daimyo, but Yūshin specifically gave him the lord title rather than the daimyo designation.
The reason was simple—Yūshin was deliberately creating obstacles.
As they say, "legitimate in name and deed"—a lord was legitimate compared to a daimyo, but not completely so.
Legitimate, but seemingly a bit crooked.
This was exactly the effect Yūshin pursued.
Simply too devious—even Tobirama Senju was no worse.
Early the next morning, the Fūma Clan collectively entered Kikyō Castle, beginning to help restore order to the city.
They rescued the wounded, searched for casualties, cleared architectural debris, and other such tasks that could fill them with enthusiasm.
Many people immediately noticed their difference from the previous daimyo's ninja.
The reason was simple...
Before today, they were temporary workers.
After today, they'd be considered civil servants.
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