"Is the orchestra ready?"
"Yes, but..."
"And the Utahime?"
"The 108 Utahime were chosen from all over the country. We even invited the famous Fujikaze Yukie, but sir..."
"The banquet and celebration will also be held to the highest standards."
"Don't worry."
The Great Minister wiped the sweat from his brow. Seeing that the Daimyo wanted to ask more about the banquet details, he could no longer suppress his anxiety and raised his voice slightly:
"Lord Tokugawa!"
Land of Wind Daimyo, Tokugawa Shingen, was startled. His round belly jiggled, and he adjusted the Daimyo's ceremonial hat on his head, smiling and gesturing for him to proceed.
The old Great Minister watched the still-smiling Tokugawa Daimyo, his face flushing with urgency.
"Sir, Linto is already inside Washu City. He just settled his luggage and his group is out collecting information. They might already be contacting people, planning a rebellion. Why... why aren't you worried at all!"
If the Great Minister didn't have two elderly demonic puppets under his crotch, this scene would truly be like an emperor being anxious while his eunuch is not.
Fwsh—
Tokugawa Shingen fanned himself with his folding fan, gently creating a breeze for the old man in front of him.
"When you entered the city, did you do as I told you?"
"Yes, I did."
"Did Linto kill anyone?"
"No, he didn't."
The Great Minister recounted everything that happened at the city gate to Tokugawa Shingen, then he clapped his thighs repeatedly:
"Sir, I consider myself over seventy years old, and I've seen many dangerous villains, but Linto..."
The Great Minister recalled.
Linto's deterrence was on another level.
It was like a sword hanging overhead, its fall dependent entirely on the other party's whim.
Because of this, there was no need for extra threats or intimidation. A mere steady gaze was enough to inspire genuine awe from the bottom of one's heart.
Killing the second generation isn't interesting, so who is interesting to kill?
It couldn't possibly be the Great Minister, this old man with one foot in the grave, right?
Linto was clearly hinting... no, directly pointing at the Tokugawa Daimyo!
"Don't worry, he won't kill me."
The Tokugawa Daimyo said, "If Linto wanted to kill me, he wouldn't mess around with you. My head would already be hanging on the city walls by now. Don't forget the 'Devil's Palm' at the Roran ruins."
The Daichi rift, stretching for hundreds of kilometers, resembled an eternally burning purple earth fire. This terrifying scene was captured from the air by people from surrounding cities using hot air balloons.
It looked like a devil's palm reaching up from the abyss of hell.
"The Akatsuki organization has been defeated."
"Sunagakure Village has betrayed us."
The Tokugawa Daimyo said with a smile, "Who do you think in Washu City can stop him now?"
The Great Minister's eyes turned red. "Your subject vows to protect the Daimyo's safety with his life. The villain Linto indeed has a strong army and sharp swords, but—"
The old man quickly drew the short sword from his waist.
"My blade has never been dull either!"
"Please calm down."
The Tokugawa Daimyo, seeing the old man agitated and trembling, quickly stood up to support him, startled.
However, he stood up too abruptly. The Tokugawa Daimyo's vision went black, and he fell onto the Great Minister, and the sword happened to pierce the Tokugawa Daimyo's round stomach.
"Daimyo?!"
"Daimyo!!!"
...
Two hours later, Linto and his group returned to the courtyard arranged by the Tokugawa Daimyo.
According to the Tokugawa Daimyo's itinerary, Linto's group would attend a banquet tonight after a short rest.
The next morning, both sides would hold talks to negotiate and sign agreements.
As if to avoid any further complications, the timeline was shorter than the previous Land of Water operation.
Having been tricked once in the Land of Water, Linto didn't want to be tricked a second time if he could help it.
So before the banquet began, everyone went out to gather information and get to know the city's current situation in advance.
The group sat on tatami mats. Rasa formed hand seals and set up a soundproof barrier.
Meanwhile, Granny Chiyo released puppets to scout the surroundings.
A few seconds later, the two nodded at Linto, indicating that it was safe to talk.
"Then let's exchange information," Linto said.
"I'll go first."
Rasa said, "Factories, businesses, conflicts, and suicide incidents have been constantly increasing over the past year. Also, your ideology of awakening is spreading among the lower class people.
This might sound strange, but this spread is a bit too exaggerated and..."
He chose his words carefully.
"Just say it," Linto replied.
Rasa nodded. "I think it's too crazy."
From what he understood, the lower class people treated the ideology of awakening like a drowning person desperately clinging to a life raft, pinning all their hopes on a vague concept.
They chanted and prayed daily, as if someone would descend from the heavens to save them from their suffering.
Rasa didn't understand these things—his sole focus was on killing the Daimyo—but this shouldn't be how it was, right?
Linto didn't comment and looked at Granny Chiyo.
Granny Chiyo said, "I went to find old friends. Most of them are dead, but luckily a few are still alive.
From what I gathered from them, the Tokugawa Daimyo of the Land of Wind... has likely conceded.
However, regarding this matter, the officials in Washu City are divided into two factions.
One faction believes that, at this point, the only option is to appease Linto, given the Land of Wind's resources, and win his favor.
The other faction believes that if you give away five cities today, you'll have to give away ten tomorrow, and then you'll finally get a night's peace. But as you look around, Linto will be there again. It's better to fight with the last drop of blood."
Linto was speechless.
Granny Chiyo took a sip of hot tea. "In short, for the past few days, members of the two factions have been fighting each other, throwing Washu City's officialdom into chaos. The Tokugawa Daimyo, on the other hand, spends his days listening to music and enjoying himself, as if he has completely resigned himself."
Linto pondered for a moment. "Do you think the war faction will attack us?"
"Heh—"
Granny Chiyo scoffed.
"They're just a bunch of civil officials."
Linto understood her meaning.
He then turned to Kakashi. His gaze swept past Amber and paused. He asked, "Do you have any information to share?"
Amber awkwardly scratched his head.
"I went around outside and only got this."
He took out a few flyers from his pocket:
"Handsome men/Muscular hunks are here to drive away all your unhappiness!"
Below, it was written in pink text: "Sincere Listening," "Exclusive Companionship," "Healing Time," and similar phrases.
"They said that if I don't have a job, I can work for them."
"Some talent scouts said I'd be perfect for their movies and gave me their business cards—"
Seeing the promotional flyers and business cards, all with an alluring atmosphere, everyone was stunned. Imagining Amber, the corps leader of the Annihilation Army, dressed in a suit and drinking with rich women, they all burst into laughter.
Amber was so embarrassed that he could only bury his head in drinking tea.
Linto smiled and waved his hand. "It's not your fault. You're not from a ninja background, so you're not good at gathering information."
He finally looked at Kakashi.
"For me..."
Kakashi's smile disappeared, and his expression became stern. "There's a bit of a problem."
Because Master Blind passed away, the task of contacting Washu City's "mice" fell to Kakashi. He went to the suburbs and, after infiltrating underground, he discovered that the mice in Washu City...
"They've all disappeared."