They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 209 On the Eve of the Coup

"Has Hozuki Shingetsu entered the city?"

The eldest prince, Mizuhiko, was overjoyed upon hearing the news.

As an external aid that Kusaka Masato had contacted long ago, Mizumasa had been eagerly awaiting Hozuki Shingetsu's arrival ever since the daimyo fell seriously ill.

As the rightful heir apparent, Mizuhiko had no need for any underhanded methods to inherit the position of daimyo openly and legitimately. Therefore, he never even considered launching a coup to seize the daimyo's position.

That's why he was caught off guard by his younger brother, Shui Dufu.

Since Shui Du had planned to poison the daimyo, he naturally had to make thorough preparations before committing such a heinous act.

Besides the necessary search for beautiful women and poison, he also secretly used his funds to contact a group of wandering ninjas and black market hired ninjas as external support.

This was a trump card prepared to prevent his own father from discovering his plot and, in a fit of rage, ordering the Yanagisawa clan's ninjas to capture him.

In addition, it was also to have the power to restrain the Yanagisawa clan's ninjas in case of an attack on the castle tower.

If Shui Dufu is given enough time to kill all the royal family members with inheritance rights, then the Liu Ze clan will be no threat.

As ninjas who have served the royal family for hundreds of years, the Yanagisawa clan has always been loyal to the daimyo.

Regardless of how a daimyo rose to power, as long as he is a daimyo, the Yanagisawa clan will unconditionally obey his orders. This is why the Yanagisawa clan has been able to exist as a daimyo's guard for hundreds of years.

Fortunately for Mizuto Fumi, Mizu Keita did not realize that this was his conspiracy, so this ninja force, which was meant to guard against the Yanagisawa clan, was used by him to fight against his own elder brother.

During this period, with the help of this group of ninjas, Mizumasa had been at a significant disadvantage, which is why he was so excited upon hearing the order for Hozuki Shingetsu's arrival.

"Quickly, send word to him to come here!"

Mizuhiko hurriedly ordered someone to summon Hozuki Shingetsu to protect him.

However, a moment later, Mizuki Masahiko saw that the messenger had returned, but Hozuki Shingetsu did not come.

"Your Highness, Lord Crescent Moon said that he is ostensibly here to visit the Daimyo, so it's inconvenient for him to come to you in a high-profile manner. Furthermore, he said he lives in the embassy district, so he has no official connection with you and can be used as a surprise attack force against the Second Prince..."

Before Mizuhiko could speak, the messenger nervously repeated Hozuki Shingetsu's words.

"I see... That was a brilliant move."

Upon hearing this explanation, Mizuki Masahiko, who was about to praise Hozuki Shingetsu, suddenly thought of a problem and immediately changed his expression.

"No... Damn it! What if I get assassinated by that bastard Shui Du Fu's men if he doesn't come to protect me? What kind of secret agent would he be then!"

At this thought, he grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, "That bastard Mizuto Fu has a whole group of ninjas under his command, while this bastard Hozuki Shingetsu has the power of an entire ninja village under his command but only brought this few people. Could it be that he had already planned to surrender to that bastard Mizuto Fu?"

"That scoundrel Kusaka Masato, even at a time like this, he doesn't come to think of a solution..."

Just as Mizuhiko was driven to madness by the immense pressure of life and death, a faint voice suddenly appeared in the room.

"Who said we didn't send anyone? Your Highness, I'm here to protect you, aren't I?"

"Who?"

Mizuyako turned his head and saw a young man wearing the standard Jonin vest of Kirigakure suddenly appear in front of him.

When asked by Mizuhiko, the young man smiled and began to introduce himself.

"My name is Blood Pond Steed, and I have come here to protect your safety in accordance with Lord Crescent Moon's command."

Upon hearing that the ninjas were sent by Kirigakure to protect him, Mizuhiko's expression immediately improved.

He knew his younger brother's ways well, and he also knew that the time before he officially became a daimyo was the most dangerous. So, in order to save his own life on the eve of dawn, he began to make grand promises.

"A fine horse in a pool of blood? Very good... Before I become a daimyo, my safety depends entirely on you. As long as you perform well, I will definitely appoint you as my personal bodyguard when I become a daimyo, so that your family will enjoy the king's favor for generations to come."

"To be bathed in the emperor's favor for generations to come?"

Blood Pond Ryoma's eyes flashed, and he couldn't help but think of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning and the miserable days his clan had endured in Hell Valley.

Blood Pond Ryoma's smile gradually faded. "...In that case, I thank the prince...no, the daimyo for the reward."

In the closed, dimly lit room, a pair of scarlet, straight-lined blood-red eyes slowly opened.

The Blood Dragon Eye, once known as the "Hypnotic Eye" alongside the Sharingan, has once again shone brightly in the ninja world after disappearing for decades.

Meanwhile, Blood Pond Ryoma and Mizu Masahiko were having an in-depth conversation.

Mizuto Tomioka and Kusaka Masato also received news of Hozuki Shingetsu's arrival in the city.

"Lord Kusaka, what do you mean by Hozuki Shingetsu entering the city at this time? Could he be an accomplice the boss has brought in?"

Mizuto asked Kusaka Masato, who was sitting below him.

Mizuto Tomio was originally filled with hatred for Kusaka Masato because Kusaka Masato had spoken up for Hozuki Shingetsu on several occasions in the court.

Because of many past events, Mizuto Tomio harbored deep resentment towards Hozuki Shingetsu, so his previous relationship with Kusaka Masato was definitely not friendly.

However, all of this changed recently when Kusaka Masato offered a plan to Mizuto Tomio and found a beautiful woman willing to sacrifice herself for it, which gave Mizuto Tomio's "great cause" hope.

"After all, Hozuki Shingetsu is the daimyo's adopted son, so it's understandable that he came here upon hearing that the daimyo was critically ill."

Kusaka Masato calmly explained to Mizuto Fumi, "The fact that he has been staying in the embassy building and has not gone to the Crown Prince's residence shows that there should be no connection between him and the Crown Prince."

"As long as it's not reinforcements called by the boss... In that case, let's keep an eye on that bastard for now, and deal with him properly once I become the daimyo."

In his view, Hozuki Shingetsu, this lowly servant, had humiliated him twice, which was an unbearable disgrace for someone as narrow-minded as him.

For now, for the sake of the bigger picture, let's not provoke him. Once he has successfully ascended to the position of daimyo, he will show Hozuki Shingetsu what "the majesty of a daimyo" truly means!

"Still waiting for you to become a daimyo? Maybe in your next life!"

Seeing Mizuto Tomio's appearance, Kusaka Masato inwardly sneered, but outwardly he nodded politely, appearing to agree.

"However, perhaps having heard about the relationship between you and me, Hozuki Shingetsu wrote me a letter before he came. In the letter, he expressed regret for his previous offense against Your Highness and offered to help you resolve the troubles of the Yanagisawa clan at a crucial moment in order to make amends."

As he spoke, Kusaka Masato took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Mizuto Tomio.

"Oh? That lowly person would actually say such a thing? It seems that my succession to the position of daimyo is the will of the people and an inevitable trend!"

"But isn't it a bit too late for him to be trying to curry favor with me now?"

Upon hearing this, Mizuto Tomio immediately became interested, took the letter from Kusaka Masato, and opened it.

In his view, Hozuki Shingetsu had already realized that he had a great chance of winning, and was worried that he would settle scores later, so he was rushing to show his loyalty by being a staunch supporter.

"However, if what Masato Kusaka says is true, we can give him a verbal promise first, and then deal with him after we've used him."

Shui Dufu thought to himself as he opened the letter.

Although he hated Hozuki Shingetsu to the core, he had to admit that Hozuki Shingetsu did have some strength.

After all, he had personally witnessed that the Jonin of the Yanagisawa clan couldn't even last three moves against Hozuki Shingetsu.

It's impossible to get his forgiveness anyway, but we can keep Hozuki Crescent Moon hanging with a verbal promise and take revenge later.

He opened the letter and saw that, just as Hikasa Masato had said, it began with Hozuki Shingetsu expressing regret for his past offense against Mizuto-fu and lamenting his blindness.

Mizuto Tomio glanced at him briefly, and even though he was filled with hatred for him, he couldn't help but be moved by Hozuki Shingetsu's "sincerity".

The rest of the letter hasn't been read yet, but Hozuki Shingetsu started with several thousand words, expressing deep remorse for his past words and actions, sincere apologies to Mizuto Fumi, and hoping that he would forgive his past mistakes and give him a chance to make amends.

Then he wrote on the back that he was willing to act as an inside agent, so that when Mizuto Fumi had designs on the castle tower, he could intervene to restrain the Yanagisawa clan and allow Mizuto Fumi to successfully bring people to the daimyo's palace.

"...Hmm, making amends in this way is acceptable."

Mizuto stroked his chin, suppressing his excitement, and said to Kusaka Masato, "Since he has this intention, let's allow him to make amends! We'll inform him when we launch the plan!"

"Tell him that as long as he can keep the Yanagisawa clan in check, I will let bygones be bygones and allow him to continue controlling Kirigakure!"

(End of this chapter)