Chapter 31

AKIHITO SHIRAHOSHI

Akihito Shirahoshi rode back with his men towards the capital of his fief. The quick victory was a double-edged sword for him and his men, though he personally would lean more towards the blessed part.

They had come out relatively unscathed out of the battle, his men suffering little to no loss in the small skirmish that had taken place before the Fire Temple had stepped in. So, his men, while unscathed, remained unbloodied and untested, a small worry given the odds he faced.

They had the momentum now, yet he didn't wish to squash it by making a mistake. He had already received word that the capital had been sealed by the Guardian Twelve and the Fire Temple, denying the Third Prince and his men entry into the city, thwarting their plans of occupying the capital.

This gave the third Prince two choices: to remain put and lay siege to the capital and wait for the funeral proceedings to end before launching an attack and taking over the capital, or to turn back and attack him, for he remained his only true contender.

"What do you think he will do?" he questioned Shinohara-san; the older man rode by his side as they traversed through the forest; their riding speed had been slowed down so as to allow the men some rest after the sheer bustle that had been the last few days.

"It is tough to say," began the old man as they rode at the head of his army.

"Both choices carry a sense of risk. Waiting for funeral to end would leave him open to an ambush, and as more time passes many a lord could attempt to pull out their support after the whole mess with his grandfather. On the other hand, you have just won a great victory, and attacking you would mean battling you on your terms and land, a feat which his advisors would surely caution him against," Shinohara san's reasoning was sound as the older man turned to face him.

"What would you prefer he do, Akihito-sama?" and that was an interesting question.

"I would prefer he have a change of heart and decide to become a monk at a monastery," he said with a smile as they both chuckled at his answer.

"That would end the war rather quickly," the older samurai added, shrugging as he sighed.

"That it would," but his mind raced to the earlier question as he thought of what he wished the Prince would do. Truthfully, there wasn't much difference between the two scenarios.

"It wouldn't make that much of a difference in either case, though I would prefer it if he were to face me in my own lands, that way I could at least hope to dictate portions of the whole affair," he replied after some thought and the older man nodded.

"Then let us hope it be as you wish," and with that they continued to ride, until a missive reached them halfway into their journey, a letter had arrived for him from his own castle.

He would open it and skim through it. It was from Miyuki, and contained the usual greetings on his victory followed by a wish to see him in earnest, it was all good until he reached the last portion of the letter.

And he felt himself groan internally at the words.

His discomfort must have shown as Lord Shinohara cut in from the side.

"I don't believe that groaning is an appropriate reaction on receiving a letter from your dear lady wife, Akihito-sama," he added smirking at him and Akihito shook his head.

"It is not my lady wife that has me groaning," he replied as Shinohara-san's eyes narrowed.

"Ohh, them who have you troubled, young Prince," he questioned.

"My new wife-to-be, I am afraid," he replied, his voice a whisper, and had it been anyone else apart from him, except Nakiri-san, he would not have answered the same. Yet these two people had raised him and were like family to him.

"Ohh, lady Chiba, I recall hearing good things about her. She was rather famous as a maiko, wasn't she?" the older samurai questioned, and he nodded.

"Ohh, famous she was, yet few know the true reality of her fame," he mentioned as he pulled on the reins.

"Let us increase our pace a bit; we could make it to the castle by nightfall if we hurry," he shouted back, and the order was relayed to the man at the back.

"And what reality is that?" the question from Shinohara-san was drowned out by the sound of horse hooves drumming over the forest, yet not to his ears as he answered into the ear.

'That unlike himself, the whispers around her have a nugget of truth to them.'

0000

IEYATSU GIN

It was good to be back home, for the castle was just that to him. Home.

And he found himself sitting in his room as he was accosted by the only family he knew. Nakiri-san was much older than him and was like a sister to him, with both of them being the hands and feet of their young lord, doing his bidding.

"So, how is she?" she questioned, and there was little need to elaborate on who she was referring to.

She was, of course, asking about the Lady Chiba, Lady Himiko Chiba, their lord's wife-to-be. She was currently having a meal with Lady Miyuki, and giving the Princess her respect for she was of the higher status of the two.

Truth was that Ieyatsu didn't know what to make of the former maiko. The lady Chiba gave him an ominous feeling, the way dark clouds would give one before the storm came calling. And he had felt the sensation familiar and only now realized that being in her presence was similar to how he had felt the first time he had met Lord Akihito, with that gaze looking at him, more like looking through him as if all his secrets laid bare.

"I don't know," he answered before he recalled something.

"Though shouldn't you know about her yourself? After all, she told me that she used to frequent the castle in her youth," he added, and Nakiri-san nodded at that.

"Indeed she did, though that was years ago before she was dubbed as the blessed maiko, and even then, she had been a child," she began as her gaze began to wonder.

"A peculiar child at that, much like our own young lord. She was the only one who seemed to be able to mingle with him," she began, and Ieyatsu could see what she meant.

"Well then believe time has only enhanced her peculiarity, let us hope that she proves to be a blessing for our young lord, I would hate for this to turn into something ugly," he remarked as he sipped the warm tea, letting it soothe him as he closed his eyes.

"You should rest, I will go and see how's the meeting between Princess and Lady Chiba," and with that she was gone, leaving alone.

He would shut his eyes and lean back, resting until suddenly his rest would be disturbed by a loud banging at the door.

"Who is it?" he snarled in rage at being disturbed.

"Lord Gin, I bring troubling news," a servant called out from behind the door, and the words flung the sleep out of him as he jerked up, picked up his blade, and rushed towards the door.

Swinging it open, he found a servant standing outside nervously.

"What happened?" he questioned, for these were times of war, and he had to be prepared for the worst.

"My lord, the army from the capital," he began as his heart sank.

"It marches towards us."

0000

HIRUZEN SARUTOBI

Being a Hokage was a heavy burden. Few understood that. The weight of the hat he wore was gruesome, for once you donned it, it meant that you must place the village first in all matters going forward, beyond even family and comrades.

He had not felt the burden weigh heavier on him more than today as he sat in the Hokage office, having just dismissed his two older teammates. Both of whom had been livid at Danzo's arrest, and it had cut him deeply to make it clear to them that there was little he could do to help them in this regard.

The door to his office swung open once more as the person who was at the heart of this whole conspiracy walked in. He had always thought that of his three students Tsunade remained most oblivious to the affairs of the village, yet after what had happened in the last hours he might have to change his evaluation.

No greetings were exchanged as she walked in silently and sat down on the seat opposite to him as he sipped his pipe and scrutinized her face.

"You suspected this," he broke the silence. There was no accusation in his tone, no blame, for she held none. The actions that had started this mess were purely Danzo's own, and no one shared the blame apart from him.

"I did." She answered curtly, as he ahd expected.

"Yet you chose not to warn me," he said, a bit of anger and frustration leaking into his voice.

"I did warn you. You just chose to ignore it..." she remarked, and as he was about to return, she continued.

"...much like you did for everything else when it came to your precious little comrade," she said, and he frowned as he tried to recall their last conversation. Playing it back, he could see the signs, the indications, the hints—everything that he had chosen to ignore.

What had he done? He thought as he shook his head.

In the end, he sighed. It was all too late now.

"You said that this Lord Akihito would become the daimyo. How do you believe he would act given everything that has occurred?" he questioned, for the times were tough. They had just made peace; the ink on the treatise had yet to dry. Any spark or hint of cracks between the village and the populace apparatus could reignite the fires of war.

"Danzo attacked him and his wife. And though the attack was thwarted, the young lord believes this isn't the first time he has moved against him. Konoha has failed in its duties. He will be wroth with us, and he will demand answers," she replied as he looked him in the eye.

Thankfully, he was set to resign regardless; this just made it certain.

"But he will not a spectacle of it; he understands discretion and is not like the rest of the lords. He could be reasoned with and placated, things will not devolve into what happened Sunagakure," her answer alleviated his fears.

The nobility was often fickle and given to its own fancies. He had feared that this whole incident could spiral out of control, yet it seemed his fears were unfounded. Tsunade had a good measure of this rising lord, and he would trust her judgment now.

"Good, then..." but his words were cut off as the doors were swung open, and he was angry at first until his eyes landed on just who had walked in.

"I have heard interesting things about the happenings in the village," came in a boisterous voice, as his other student walked in, his hair white much like his own sensei, yet he wore red like the Shodaime, with a giant scroll at his back and a metal helmet with 'oil' written on.

Jiraiya was back.

0000

Back in the capital, a young man with black hair stood in the middle of the forest, yet it would be a mistake to call it as such, for at least the area around him. For little remained of the trees which once populated this area except empty stumps.

A katana and a shinai strapped to his side, as he stared at the poster of the young jito of Shinoi. A frown marred his face as he pinched it with a bit more force.

SWISH!

And the piece of paper was cut into a hundred pieces, as he began to walk away from the forest.

"So, he is the one who finally got you, you old bastard."

"Let us hope he proves worthy of my blade."

He was Kenshiro Ougi, a samurai who had lost only one battle in his life. One out of five hundred and sixty-three!

0000

As always, you can read ahead and support me on Patreon and help me write this and other such stories. So become a Patron and support me, if you can. It would be pretty awesome of you.

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~I have a new DUNE fic on now as well. Check it out~

A/N: Samurai power level explanation. This is an apples-to-oranges comparison, but here is a simplified explanation.

A samurai has apprentices underneath him, and I have not covered them. But an apprentice can be like a weak genin (around the initial Sakura level)

A regular samurai is around a peak genin~maybe regular chunin

Special samurai, like MC, Watashi Masamune, and Shinohara, are unique. They are like Mifune and, hence, are difficult to classify. Each has his own skill set and power level but can be around chunin.

The biggest difference between samurai and ninjas is their code of conduct and their mobility techniques.

~Just began watching Shogun. That show seems pretty cool at first glance~