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

Chapter 210 The Spoiler

Hozuki Shingetsu, on this side, was naturally unaware that Mizuto Fumi had already "magnanimously" verbally forgiven him.

Or rather, even if he knew, he wouldn't care.

After all, for a prince without any extraordinary powers, his ability to act arrogantly was simply due to the ninjas' preconceived notions about nobles.

Otherwise, even a recent graduate from the Ninja Academy could probably kill him easily, let alone Hozuki Shingetsu.

So after discussing with Kusaka Masato about having him find a random family to provoke Mizuto Fumi's arrogance, Hozuki Shingetsu put the matter out of his mind and stopped paying attention to it.

For Hozuki Shingetsu, this trip to the capital city for the coup was a piece of cake.

The ninjas in this capital city nowadays, including the Yanagisawa clan, the wandering ninjas recruited by the Water City, and the black market hired ninjas, are not even a warm-up for him to deal with.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist could easily defeat these people, let alone him.

For him right now, the most important thing is how to guide this scene in the direction he envisions.

His original plan was to incite a conflict between Mizuhiko and Mizuto Tomioka, and then, in the ensuing struggle, the ruthless Mizuto Tomioka would kill all the male heirs with inheritance rights.

Later, he and Mizu Masahiko "accidentally" perished together in the chaos of war. Upon hearing this news, Daimyo Mizu Keita was shocked and furious, and subsequently died of a sudden stroke.

Immediately afterwards, Hozuki Shingetsu was able to use his status as the daimyo's "adopted son" to support the daimyo's princess as the new daimyo. He secretly controlled the government by virtue of his military power, and when the time was right, he officially took the throne as the princess's husband and "adopted son".

However, recently, while carefully reviewing this plan, Hozuki Shingetsu discovered a very important problem.

If all the male members of the Daimyo of the Land of Water with inheritance rights die in the internal strife, will the other countries just stand by and do nothing about this great opportunity?

In his original "Hozuki Substitutes Water" plan, he only considered the domestic political situation and did not fully take into account the international environment.

Or rather, he did not anticipate that the Fire, Lightning, and Earth factions would form an alliance to deal with him at this time, which was completely different from the international situation in the Land of Water before.

Although the other countries may not intervene militarily at first for various reasons, the daimyo of each country can take a different approach, choosing a male from their collateral branches or non-eldest sons to marry Mizu Keita's daughter and become the new daimyo of the Land of Water.

Especially given the current situation where the three ninja villages of Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure have formed an alliance, these three forces certainly won't just stand by and watch Hozuki Shingetsu get what he wants.

Therefore, he now needs to further refine this "ghost lantern instead of water" plan.

"Fortunately, we recruited the Blood Pond Clan before, and now we have a ninja clan under our command who are proficient in hypnosis and illusion techniques, which makes some things easier to do."

Hozuki Shingetsu kept writing and drawing on the paper, sorting out his next action plan.

Due to the similarity between Japanese and Chinese, in order to prevent others from seeing what he was writing, he specially used a method of secrecy from his school days: Chinese characters + English + pinyin + abbreviations, ensuring that no one in the entire ninja world except him could understand the information on the paper.

In fact, not only this piece of paper, but everything he wrote for himself was encrypted in this way.

"Lord Shingetsu, a messenger from the castle tower has sent word, inviting you to come to the castle tower to meet the daimyo."

Outside, Uzumaki Sōjin pushed open the door and entered, addressing Hozuki Shingetsu.

"Oh? Looks like the old man's awake!"

Hozuki Shingetsu was not surprised by the daimyo's invitation, as he, as the "adopted son," had no right to inherit the throne given that both princes were still alive.

In addition, the respect that ninjas have shown to nobles for a thousand years, as well as the tacit understanding between the five great nations' daimyo families, made it impossible for Mizuki Tai to realize the ambitions in the heart of his "adopted son".

For Mizuki Keita, at this point, Hozuki Shingetsu, his "adopted son," was more trustworthy than his two biological sons.

"Let's go, pack our things. I reckon we'll be staying at the castle tower for a while."

Hozuki Shingetsu gave instructions to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

When the daimyo sent someone to let him into the castle tower at this time, he had basically guessed Mizuki Keita's purpose.

Soon, the group arrived at the gate of the castle tower, led by a waiter.

"This tight-lipped approach... it seems Shui Jingtai knows his two sons very well!"

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the samurai standing guard in front of the castle tower and sneered inwardly, which confirmed his suspicions even more.

As expected, when the group of Mist Ninja arrived at the top floor of the castle tower led by the attendant, Mizu Keita, who was lying on his sickbed, told him directly the purpose of his visit.

"Ahem... You'll stay here at the castle tower for the time being! Work with the Yanagisawa clan ninjas to protect my safety."

With a sallow complexion, Shui Keita leaned against the bedside and gave instructions to Hozuki Shingetsu in front of him.

"As expected, she's wary of her two sons..."

Hozuki Shingetsu was not surprised by the daimyo's request and readily agreed.

As a daimyo, although Mizuki Taira indulged in pleasure, watched the court in chaos, and did not care about the lives of his people, he was still an emperor.

When an emperor needs to rely on others to dictate the exercise of his power, then that emperor is in the most dangerous situation.

Although the eldest prince had already been designated as the next daimyo, as long as Mizu Keita lived, Mizu Masahiko would remain the crown prince.

As for Mizuki Keita, he definitely wants to stay in the daimyo position until the very last second.

However, for Mizuhiko, as long as the daimyo lived, it meant that his younger brother might take his place.

For Mizuto Fumi, if the daimyo did not change his will before his death, it would mean that he would forever remain a leisurely nobleman, which was undoubtedly unacceptable to him.

Shui Jingtai was unaware of how many people around him were plotting to betray him and curry favor with the new master in order to gain favor with the new ruler. However, he knew that he had to bring in external forces at this time, otherwise he might be killed at any moment.

So now that Sui Keita knows what his two sons are thinking, his solution is simple: to have Hozuki Shingetsu come and serve as his personal bodyguard until his death.

Hozuki Shingetsu has no foothold in the capital, harbors deep hatred for the Water City, and has no connection with Mizu Masahiko. Coupled with his powerful ninja skills, he is the perfect troublemaker to deter the other two from making any rash moves before his death, allowing him to spend his final days in peace.

However, Shui Keita probably never imagined that his cunning schemes would backfire so spectacularly, attracting a wolf cub like Hozuki Shingetsu who was impossible to tame.

(End of this chapter)