Betrothal

"Lord Raikage, I heard you recently had another son. Is he here today?"

Dada raised his head and looked ahead.

After a moment of consideration, the Third Raikage said, "Dada, come pay your respects to Your Excellency the Daimyo."

Contrary to what the Daimyo had expected, by his calculations, the Raikage's second son should have been quite young. He had assumed a small child would be led forward by the hand, yet a tall, upright youth walked up on his own.

The youth was taller and more valiant-looking than expected, which surprised the Daimyo. Height was one thing—the Yotsuki Clan grew tall and powerfully built after adulthood—but the boy's eyes were remarkably clear, nothing like those of a child.

While the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning assessed Dada, Dada assessed him as well. To Dada's disappointment, aside from the strange decoration on his head, there was nothing particularly unusual about him. He wore luxurious clothes, but his vitality was weak, as though he had been drained dry by debauchery. He looked quite old and was also very fat.

In an anime, this sort of person would usually be a typical high-ranking background character.

Staring was impolite. Not only was the man the Daimyo, but Dada was also his junior. He promptly stopped looking at him, gave a slight nod, and waited to see what the Daimyo would do next.

"What a dashing young man. Lord Raikage, you have raised an excellent son." As the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning spoke, he seemed to be watching the Third Raikage's expression.

"My son is merely a little precocious." The Third Raikage remained impassive, though he was also wondering what the Daimyo was plotting.

The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning showed a regretful expression. "Yotsuki Dana, is it? An interesting name. I heard that this child was born with Bloodline Disease. How pitiful. But there is more than one path in life besides becoming a ninja. Since he is such an intelligent child, he could become Kumogakure's advisor in the future. The doors of the Land of Lightning will also be open to him."

Dada and the Third Raikage exchanged a discreet glance. Both found the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning's actions increasingly baffling.

The matter of Bloodline Disease was indeed true, though recently, it had become a little hard to explain...

Dada himself was not even sure whether he was still sick...

Presumably, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning did not know of Dada's changes over this period. That was normal, though. If the Daimyo knew everything happening within Kumogakure, that would be cause for concern.

"Lord Raikage, this child is intelligent and heroic. I truly like the look of him. As it happens, I have a daughter around his age. Lord Raikage, how about we arrange a marriage between them?"

Third Raikage: "Hm?"

Dada: "Huh?"

Third Hokage: "Cough, cough, cough!?"

Yotsuki Ki: "Pfft!"

Everyone raised their heads in surprise.

Even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was somewhat taken aback.

After what had happened, Kumogakure should indeed have been appeased, but marrying off a daughter... No, given the status of the Yotsuki Clan and the Third Raikage, it should be considered a marriage alliance...

Dada did not rashly refuse. He was rather curious about this, so he merely looked quietly at the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning. His calm demeanor made the Daimyo hesitate slightly. The boy did not seem as simple as he had imagined, and the information he had might have been one-sided.

But on second thought, she was only a daughter. He had few sons, but plenty of daughters.

She was only an unfavored daughter, anyway. Using her to win over Kumogakure was quite appropriate.

The Third Raikage, however, frowned and said, "Your Excellency the Daimyo, Dada's circumstances are rather special. Because he possesses a bloodline, the clan has arranged for him to take concubines in the future..."

The clan elders hoped Dada could leave behind as many descendants as possible. If he married the Daimyo's daughter, that aspect would become troublesome.

At the Third Raikage's words, quite a few women in the banquet hall, young and old alike, looked at Dada as if they were looking at a scumbag.

He was so young and rather handsome, but it was a shame he had already started down that path.

Dada covered his forehead, speechless.

Father, you really outdid yourself. What were you doing, saying that in public...

Just as Dada thought the matter should end there, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning unexpectedly burst into laughter. Fanning himself, he said, "Haha, it is no matter. The more outstanding a man is, the less likely he is to lack women who admire him. Given the Yotsuki Clan's status, it is only natural."

Not to mention how many wives the Daimyo himself had. Of the many nobles present, how many did not have wives and concubines in droves?

Just as Dada was preparing to refuse in person, he suddenly saw the curtain behind the Daimyo ripple slightly. A graceful figure vanished behind the hazy gauze.

The Third Raikage understood that this was the Daimyo's gesture of appeasement. Forming a marriage alliance with the Yotsuki Clan—or rather, Kumogakure—also conveyed goodwill. Especially now that everything had been made clear, it would bring nothing but benefits to Kumogakure and the Yotsuki Clan. Still, he could not truly treat Dada as an ordinary child. Dada had to agree to this himself.

He looked toward his son, only to find that the boy was staring blankly at the curtain behind the Daimyo. That was the banquet hall's rear chamber, where the Daimyo's family stayed. A closed his eyes slightly, and with his sharp senses, he immediately understood why.

So he gave a light cough and agreed to the matter on behalf of the Daimyo.

Only then did Dada snap out of it, noticing that the Third Raikage was secretly waggling his eyebrows at him...

It felt like Father had misunderstood something...

Thus, Yotsuki Ki, who had been the target of so many nobles, came away unscathed, while Dada somehow ended up with a marriage engagement of his own.

And, well, a reputation as a future scumbag had been reserved for him too.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had remained silent throughout, rolled his eyes and placed even greater importance on the Raikage's second son.

He possessed the Kekkei Genkai the Yotsuki Clan had long dreamed of, had exceptional talent, and was even the Daimyo's future son-in-law. However, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning had called Dada's condition Bloodline Disease rather than a Kekkei Genkai. That was worth noting.

Dada himself was still somewhat dazed, but when he recalled the glimpse of that figure behind the curtain, he suddenly felt that it was not such a bad thing.

At least the ugly truth had been laid out from the start.

The banquet thus entered its final stage. The Daimyos of the two countries left the banquet hall together. In theory, the others could have continued enjoying themselves, but aside from a few tactless minor nobles who lingered over the wine and food, everyone could sense the strange atmosphere of the banquet and took their leave.

Inside a house on the outskirts of Asuka City, there were no lavish decorations. It was not dilapidated, but it felt utterly out of place amid Asuka City's wealth, more like a commoner's residence. Still, it was kept clean.

A graceful girl in luxurious clothes stormed in. As she walked, she stripped off her outer garments, revealing the fitted combat attire underneath.

She casually tossed the luxurious clothes onto the floor and headed straight for the inner room, startling the little maid hiding in the corner.

"Miss, why are you back so early? Was the banquet fun?" The chubby little maid hurriedly wiped the pastry crumbs from her mouth, her face full of guilt.

The girl said helplessly, "Sneaking food again! Momoko, just how fat are you getting?"

Then she recalled what had happened in the banquet hall, and her mood immediately soured. She snatched the snack box from the round little maid's hands.

"Miss, don't throw it away! I had to beg the kitchen staff for ages before I finally got that..."

"Eat, eat, eat. All you ever think about is eating. If we have to escape someday, I'm not taking you with me when you're this fat!"

"But Miss, Asuka City is pretty nice. It's warm here, and the kitchen isn't strict. I'm never left hungry..." The little maid's voice grew quieter and quieter.

After a while, seeing that the girl seemed to have calmed down, the little maid quietly took back the snack box from her hand and asked soothingly, "Miss, what happened to make you so angry? Weren't you fine when you left?"

"Nothing. I'm going to train. Eat slowly!" The girl glared at the maid angrily, then took a carefully hidden kunai from a cabinet.

I have to train hard, become a ninja, and escape Asuka City. I absolutely will not marry that little scumbag!

Three days later, the New Year ceremony ended without anything remarkable happening. Dada had thought there might be some surprise, but it was merely a long, complicated series of meaningless rituals. It was not even as interesting as the first day's banquet.

At first, Dada had thought the Raikage and Hokage being in the same place would create at least some sparks, but reality proved that even the Kage shared a rare tacit understanding. Aside from someone from Konohagakure coming over to explain that their appearance here had not been intentional, but at the request of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the two groups had no further interaction.

Perhaps that was simply how the game was played.

So his initial guess had been right. Like the Third Raikage, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been one of the parties passively accepting mediation.

After New Year's Eve ended, Dada set off early the next morning with the Third Raikage to return to Kumogakure.

Once they passed through the gates of the Capital City of the Land of Lightning, Dada was still somewhat dazed.

He had somehow ended up with a marriage engagement...

When Dada brought it up to the Third Raikage on the road, the Third Raikage said this:

"There is still plenty of time. At your age, you have at least several more years. By then, things may change, or they may not. But during this period, this engagement will benefit both the village and the Yotsuki Clan. If you truly dislike her by then, it will not be too late to explain it to the Daimyo."

Then the Third Raikage added with an extremely punchable expression, "Besides, weren't you quite willing? You were staring so hard that you were practically dumbstruck!"

What left Dada most helpless was that over these past few days, everyone in the Kumogakure delegation would say "Congratulations" in a teasing tone whenever they saw him. Yotsuki Ki even laughed loudly and mocked him for getting married at such a young age, saying how miserable it was and so on.

What was so funny? You were going to be single for the rest of your life, you know!

Most importantly, until leaving the Capital City of the Land of Lightning, he never met the Daimyo's daughter. This seemed to be a matter of etiquette. He only knew she was three years older than him and bore the title Natsu. She had probably been born in summer; in Japanese terms, that made her Princess Natsu.

Dada could not determine whether she was the beautiful figure he had glimpsed behind the curtain that day.

He could only pray that their features suited each other, and that she would not know eight kinds of dance.