About two hours earlier.
The capital of the Land of Water.
The sky was dark and gloomy, gray clouds blanketing the heavens as though a storm was about to break.
When a cool breeze swept through.
A middle-aged man carefully carrying ten jin of Rice he had just bought suddenly felt something cold on his forehead. He wiped it with his hand and discovered it was a raindrop.
Then came the second drop, then the third, falling continuously onto his head and shoulders. His expression changed, and he no longer cared about the cold stares cast down by the ninja masters on the rooftops. He hurried home at once.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the people in the streets and alleys grew busy.
Some hurried to pack up their stalls, some sought shelter from the rain, and most, naturally, rushed home.
Before long, a thin mist spread between buildings of all sizes, drifting and curling around the gardenia trees blooming along both sides of the streets.
Not long after that, the entire city fell silent.
Only the Hidden Mist Village ninja, their bodies radiating a chilling aura, continued patrolling back and forth beneath the steadily intensifying rain.
Meanwhile, the civilians hiding indoors peered through the cracks in their windows, secretly watching what was happening outside.
Rumor had it that someone was planning to assassinate the daimyo, so large numbers of ninja and Samurai had poured into the city over the past two days, leaving them in a state of constant anxiety.
This had led everyone to begin stockpiling food, which in turn caused prices to soar.
Gradually, they had fallen into a vicious cycle that kept everyone on edge.
No one knew when these days would end.
[Tap, tap, tap]
At the edge of the civilian district, a