A mysterious man in a black robe appeared at the residence of the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire once again, but this time, he had not come to strike a deal.
He had come to inform him of something.
"You're saying... your base in the Land of Fire was destroyed?... Was it... the Hidden Leaf Village?"
The Hidden Leaf Village was the first thing that came to mind. No other organization in the Land of Fire possessed that kind of power.
Nor would any other organization destroy the base of the group he was trading with.
To him, this meant the Hidden Leaf Village had discovered his dealings with this organization and was sending him a warning.
Fear instantly engulfed him, leaving him unable to see even a glimmer of hope.
"Don't be nervous. We investigated. It wasn't the Hidden Leaf Village, but some immensely powerful monster."
A monster?
The Daimyo was skeptical of the mysterious man's explanation.
He took a handkerchief from inside his robe and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
That's true. He has no reason to deceive me.
The Daimyo looked at the mysterious man, his expression dark and unsettled.
Still, a monster...
The Daimyo pondered what sort of monster could have destroyed this mysterious organization's Barrier.
The more he thought about it, the further his imagination wandered.
A giant beast with sharp fangs and claws evolved into a terrifying creature with black wings on its back, six claws, a gaping maw, and three pairs of blood-red eyes.
Because the mysterious man had called it a "monster," the Daimyo, whose thoughts were still muddled and who had yet to fully recover from his fear of being discovered by the Hidden Leaf Village, never even considered that it might be a person.
"Achoo!"
Keita Otake