Land of Fire Capital.
Inside the Daimyo Manor's inner courtyard, the heating was pleasantly warm, and laughter filled the air.
A small banquet was underway.
None of those present were important court ministers. They were all trusted confidants who had followed Chiba Ran before he rose to power.
Chiba Ran held a wine cup and smiled as he watched the scene before him.
Their faces were flushed red from drink as they slurred their words, boasting about their past bravery.
Everything was much the same as when they had gathered around a stove in that small courtyard and plotted together.
They laughed, cursed, and bantered without restraint.
Yet Chiba Ran keenly sensed that, in the end, some things had changed.
Whenever his gaze swept over them, the boasting voices would instinctively grow quieter.
Beyond familiarity, their smiles carried reverence.
Before, they had been companions weathering the storm together.
Now, he was their lord, and they were his subjects.
An invisible gulf stretched between them.
Perhaps that was what it meant to call oneself isolated and alone.
To gain supreme power, one also had to bear the loneliness that came with it.
Chiba Ran quickly cast aside that fleeting emotion.
To him, it was merely an idle reflection after a meal.
His thoughts drifted away with it.
He thought of the Guardian Shinobi he had sent to the construction sites.
On a whim, he had made a group of proud ninja elites supervise construction.
Whether that casual move could change those elites, he did not know.
Perhaps it could.
Perhaps it could not.
It did not matter.
If it succeeded, it would be an unexpected gain.
If it failed, it would cause no harm.
He understood perfectly well that trimming a few branches and leaves could not change much.
What he