Do You Think the Feudal Lord Will Believe You?

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they left the restaurant amid a lively crowd.

"The night is still young. How about we head to the Kabuki District for a few more drinks?" Uchiha Toko, surrounded by the others, suggested.

"Since Clan Head Toko has spoken, I can only risk my life to keep him company!" Inuzuka Fu, already slightly tipsy, laughed.

With their guard lowered by alcohol, the group immediately broke into snickering laughter. Even Hyuga Keito and Hyuga Ken'ya, who had remained stern-faced until then, wore somewhat lecherous grins.

"Clan Head Toko! There are girls on the team!" Uzuki Yugao said with a hint of reproach.

"Oh, I hadn't considered that." Uchiha Toko smiled. Then he took out a stack of cash from the Sealing Scroll and rather roughly stuffed it into Gekko Hayate's arms. "Hayate, take your little girlfriend and have a good time around town!"

"That's right. Just remember to come back early tonight," Kuroki Ryuta teased.

The others' laughter made the young couple blush furiously, but Gekko Hayate still accepted Uchiha Toko's money. After bidding the others farewell, he took Uzuki Yugao out shopping.

As for the rest, they headed toward the Kabuki District.

After the group had gone far away, Uchiha Toko's real body slowly emerged from the shadows of the street and walked in another direction.

Within Tanzaku Town's Lord's Mansion, located in the heart of the Land of Fire's largest gambling district, the lord was naturally no ordinary man.

Besides the noble title officially granted by the Land of Fire, Yamamoto Taro kept several hundred Samurai and over a dozen ninja in his Lord's Mansion. Together with his connections to several ninja clans in Konoha, his position as lord was as steady as a mountain.

After finishing tonight's banquet, Yamamoto Taro entered his bedroom drunkenly with a lascivious grin, one arm around each of two shapely young women.

"Tonight is bound to be a pleasant night." Yamamoto Taro chuckled. Yet the moment he raised his head, before he could turn on the lights, he saw someone sitting on the sofa by the window in his luxurious bedroom. Moonlight streamed through the window, falling upon that person and the Kunai in his hand, which he repeatedly polished, reflecting a chilling glint.

The women in Yamamoto Taro's arms instinctively tried to scream, but a red flash flickered in the eyes of the person by the window, and the women instantly went limp and collapsed.

Yamamoto Taro sobered up at once. Whoever appeared in his bedroom at such a time, holding a weapon, clearly meant him no good.

"Who are you, sir? Why have you come here?" Yamamoto Taro had seen his share of storms. Though cold sweat covered his forehead, he maintained the bare minimum of composure as he kept backing away.

"I suggest you stop backing up. It would be unfortunate if that thing behind your right side exploded," the visitor said teasingly. "I can't guarantee whether you'd die, but you'd definitely go flying."

Yamamoto Taro abruptly stopped and looked back. An Exploding Tag was stuck directly behind him on the right, and its trigger mechanism was only a few centimeters from his right foot.

Yamamoto Taro swallowed. Having lived in high station, he had never faced death from such close range.

"Sir, we can discuss this. Are you here for money, or..." Yamamoto Taro stopped moving, but his little movements with his hands did not cease. He intended to make some noise in the bedroom. As long as the guards in the Lord's Mansion reacted, the Samurai and ninja he had spent so much money raising would tear this intruder apart in an instant!

The person by the window seemed not to notice, smiling as he watched Yamamoto Taro inch his way along until he knocked over a large flowerpot by the door. The sound of shattering porcelain echoed throughout the room.

Yet the Lord's Mansion guards Yamamoto Taro had been waiting for did not appear for a long time. Then, the person by the window spoke.

"Are you waiting for the Samurai and ninja in this estate?" The person by the window slowly rose and walked toward Yamamoto Taro. His footsteps were light, but to Yamamoto Taro's ears, they were no different from the footsteps of the Death God.

"Two Shimura Clan jonin, twelve rogue ninja, and 271 Samurai. They took a bit of effort to deal with." The visitor came to Yamamoto Taro's side and reached out to turn on the room's lights. A handsome face gradually came into view, while the three tomoe revolving within those blood-red eyes left Yamamoto Taro stunned.

"The Uchiha Clan?"

"Not bad. You know your stuff." Uchiha Toko tapped Yamamoto Taro's chubby face with the flat of his Kunai.

"As a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village, isn't it against the rules for you to act this way?" Upon seeing the Sharingan, Yamamoto Taro actually calmed down somewhat. The Uchiha Clan was a ninja clan of the Hidden Leaf Village. Attacking a noble who held a title in the Land of Fire was a capital crime.

"The rules?" Uchiha Toko smiled. "Then let's talk about the rules."

"Over the past four years, Mr. Yamamoto has repeatedly provided Shimura Danzō, a defector from the Hidden Leaf Village, and his criminal organization with as much as 1.8 billion ryō in funding. You intended to support Shimura Danzō in taking control of the Land of Fire's military power. What do you think would happen if the Feudal Lord learned of this?"

Uchiha Toko spoke with a half-smile, and Yamamoto Taro's pupils abruptly widened.

"Sir, you can't make such accusations lightly. I merely wanted to hire some guards," Yamamoto Taro hurriedly explained. That was indeed the truth. He had spent so much money hiring Shimura Clan ninja because they were powerful and could handle some dirty work for him. He had never once considered taking control of the Hidden Leaf Village as the other man claimed.

"Merely guards? Do you think the Feudal Lord will believe you?" Uchiha Toko smiled.

"What exactly do you want, sir?" Yamamoto Taro took a deep breath.

"Personally, I believe Lord Yamamoto is loyal to the Feudal Lord. But you should know that our Feudal Lord is somewhat suspicious." The Kunai in Uchiha Toko's hand fluttered up and down like a butterfly. "So? Do you still want to talk about the rules?"

"Please keep this secret for me, sir. There will surely be a generous reward afterward." The blade of the Kunai brushed past Yamamoto Taro's nose several times, completely shattering his mental defenses. He immediately dropped to his knees.

"What kind of person do you take me for?" Uchiha Toko's expression turned displeased.

"Yes, yes, this lowly one deserves death. But please, my lord, show mercy and spare my life." With his life in another's grasp, Yamamoto Taro could no longer hold himself together. He immediately began kowtowing to Uchiha Toko.

Only after watching him kowtow for a while did Uchiha Toko slowly speak. "I see you run Tanzaku Town rather well. About how much profit do you make each month?"