Eve of the Bloody Grand Ceremony

The day before the coronation ceremony.

Daimyo Manor, Main Hall.

The hall was brightly lit, as clear as day.

Over a hundred court attendants and ceremonial officers moved constantly through the hall, yet there was no clamor.

Every face bore solemnity.

Chiba Ran stood atop the raised platform in the center of the hall.

He wore a layered twelve-piece ceremonial robe, its gold-thread flames flickering beneath the candlelight.

Two elderly ceremonial officers knelt before him, carefully arranging the hem of his robes.

"My lord, tomorrow's ceremony requires you to enter through the Vermilion Gate and ascend the ninety-nine steps on foot."

"When taking the stage, step forward with your left foot first. It symbolizes trampling the old days beneath your feet and opening a new chapter."

Chief Ceremonial Officer Yamano's voice was aged and respectful. He explained every detail, afraid that even the slightest mistake might be overlooked.

He had repeated these rituals to Chiba Ran no fewer than ten times.

Chiba Ran remained expressionless and motionless, allowing the ceremonial officers to fuss over him.

To him, these cumbersome rites were utterly boring.

Compared to the coronation ceremony, tomorrow's grand performance of "executing the tyrant" would be far more interesting.

But to make the act more convincing, he needed to play his role well.

A young monarch about to rule the realm.

His gaze drifted toward West City.

West City, Underground Waterway.

This place seemed like an entirely different world from Daimyo Manor.

A nauseating stench filled the air.

Water seeped from cracks in the stone ceiling, dripping with soft plops and splashing filthy water.

In one corner, firelight flickered.

More than two hundred samurai and rōnin sat or stood in silence, wiping down their weapons.

The firelight reflecting off their blades illuminated their crazed faces.

These men were all remnants who had lost in the struggle for succession.

They were desperadoes who had gambled away everything.

Saionji Takashi stood on a platform, staring at the pitch-black sewage below with his brows tightly furrowed.

His heart was as chaotic as the filthy water.

Unease.

A powerful sense of unease gnawed at his heart.

Behind him came the suppressed breathing of his nephew, Chiba Xiu.

Chiba Xiu's eyes were bloodshot, his cheeks flushed red with excitement.

He stared fixedly at the only exit leading to the surface like a wild beast trapped in a cage—restless, exhilarated.

"Uncle, do you think... Lord Danzo's side can really be trusted?"

His voice was hoarse, trembling with tangled emotions.

Trusted?

Saionji Takashi sneered inwardly.

He knew better than anyone that a ruthless figure like Shimura Danzō was merely using them.

They were a blade.

A blade that might be discarded once it had served its purpose.

But they no longer had any way back.

Saionji Takashi said nothing. He lifted his head, his thoughts flying toward the Daimyo Palace.

Daimyo Manor, Main Hall.

"...When receiving the Imperial Seal, you must raise it above your head with both hands. Then turn and face the civil and military officials, face the countless people of the realm."

Ceremonial Officer Yamano continued explaining tirelessly.

Just as Yamano turned to adjust the trailing sash at Chiba Ran's back, Qing Yueye, standing quietly to one side, slipped soundlessly out through the dark door of the side hall while no one was paying attention.

She moved swiftly, clutching a tiny folded note in her hand.

At an unnoticed corner of the corridor outside the hall, she slipped the note to an old servant trimming potted plants, then immediately returned.

The entire process took only a dozen breaths.

When she returned to her original position and stood with her hands at her sides, her breathing was not the least bit disturbed, as though she had never left.

None of the surrounding guards or the Ceremonial Officer noticed anything.

Only Chiba Ran, standing motionless atop the high platform, finally revealed a faint, amused smile.

He did not call attention to it, nor did he even look at her again, as if nothing had happened.

The subtle change in expression vanished in an instant.

His consciousness spread out from Daimyo Manor like a tide, beginning to observe other, more interesting points of light within the city.

Inside Konoha's temporary residence.

Minato Namikaze's point of light was bright and steady. He was studying the Hokage's work documents—a diligent young man.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's point of light was somewhat dimmer. He sat alone in his room, smoking a pipe.

Danzo's point of light, meanwhile, was like a flickering baleful star—cold and malicious.

He, too, was waiting.

Underground Waterway.

"Still no news?"

Chiba Xiu suddenly turned and seized Saionji Takashi's arm, his fingernails nearly digging into the flesh.

"Our man planted in the City Guard! He said he would deliver the final deployment map for the ceremony today!"

"Don't panic."

Enduring the pain in his wrist, Saionji Takashi soothed him. "The more it is a time like this, the more we need to stay calm."

"Calm? How am I supposed to stay calm?!"

Chiba Xiu flung him away, looking utterly crazed.

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow is that bastard's coronation ceremony! If we fail, all of us will die!"

"I don't want to die! I'm the real daimyo! That seat is mine—mine!"

His roar echoed through the narrow tunnel.

The desperadoes around them turned at the sound, their gazes filled with a mixture of contempt and pity.

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A sense of helplessness rose in Saionji Takashi's heart.

Was it really right to pin their hopes on such trash?

Just then, a faint whistle sounded from afar.

It was their agreed-upon signal.

Everyone perked up and turned in unison toward the end of the dark passage.

A man dressed in commoner's clothes came scrambling over, practically crawling and rolling, his face filled with joy.

"My lords! Lord Xiu! We got it! We got the deployment map!"

He presented a scroll to Chiba Xiu as though it were a precious treasure.

Chiba Xiu snatched it away and eagerly unrolled it.

Saionji Takashi hurried over as well.

The scroll detailed the guard placements for tomorrow's ceremony, patrol routes, and even the shift-change times with perfect clarity.

"Excellent!"

Chiba Xiu's eyes gleamed as he looked over it, his breathing quickening.

"Look here! The eastern watchtower has the weakest defenses! Our men can break in from there!"

"And here—when Chiba Ran takes the stage, there will only be twelve guards at his side! We only have one chance!"

He pointed at the deployment map, his voice shrill with excitement.

The previously silent atmosphere ignited in an instant.

The desperadoes' eyes erupted with blazing fervor.

Yet as Saionji Takashi looked at the deployment map, detailed to an almost excessive degree, the unease in his heart only grew stronger.

It was going too smoothly.

Everything was going too smoothly.

Suppressing the unease in his heart, Saionji Takashi quickly asked where the deployment map had come from.

When he learned that Qing Yueye had risked her life to deliver it, he finally let out a breath of relief.

Perhaps he was overthinking it.

Daimyo Manor, main hall.

The etiquette rehearsal had already ended.

The Ceremonial Officer and attendants had all withdrawn.

In the empty grand hall, only Chiba Ran and Qing Yueye remained.

Having shed the cumbersome ceremonial robes, Chiba Ran changed into everyday clothes and felt much lighter.

He walked slowly to the hall doors and pushed open the heavy doors.

The night wind blew in, carrying a trace of chill.

He looked down over the brilliantly lit city beneath his feet.

The lights of countless homes stretched together in an unbroken expanse into the distance.

His gaze crossed layer upon layer of rooftops before finally settling on the darkened area in West City.

"The stage has already been set."

He spoke calmly, his voice drifting away on the night wind.

Qing Yueye stood behind him with her head lowered, her heartbeat accelerating uncontrollably.

She thought he was sighing over tomorrow's grand ceremony.

Yet she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Chiba Ran suddenly laughed, a teasing note in his voice. "The bait has been cast, and the fish have taken the hook."

Qing Yueye's breath stopped for an instant.

What bait?

What fish?

"Do you know why I kept you by my side?" Chiba Ran's voice rang out again.

Qing Yueye's lips moved, but she said nothing.

As if he had seen through her thoughts, Chiba Ran gave a soft laugh. "You want to say it's because of your beauty, don't you?"

He shook his head, a trace of pity in his tone.

"Would someone who truly held power keep an enemy at his side just because of a pretty face?"

"Qing Yueye, you think too highly of yourself—and too little of me."

Rumble.

A soundless thunderclap exploded in her mind.

An enemy?

He still knows I'm his enemy!

"You are beautiful, but that is all."

"In the game of power, beauty is the cheapest thing there is."

Chiba Ran turned around. Moonlight outlined his cold, stern profile, and his eyes were unfathomably deep.

He slowly approached her, raised a hand, and gently patted her shoulder. His gesture was tender, but his gaze was ice-cold.

"Now, all that remains is to wait for those rats hiding in the sewers to crawl, one by one, into the cages I prepared for them."

"Come to think of it, I should thank you."

"If it weren't for you, this play would not have begun so soon."

Every word stabbed at Qing Yueye's nerves.

At last, she understood.

That note she had risked her life to deliver...

That opportunity she had thought heaven-sent...

It had all been a trap laid by him personally!

He had not even bothered to stop it. He had merely gone along with the flow, keeping everyone in the dark.

A bone-deep chill rose within her. Qing Yueye's body began to tremble violently, even her teeth chattering.

Devil. He was a devil.

Chiba Ran admired her despair as though he were looking at a toy.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze.

"Guards."

"Drag her away."

"Once the rats have all been caught, I'll deal with you."