"It's not certain yet, but your older brother is currently the prime suspect. We'd better go find him as soon as possible and see if we can get any information out of him," Shiyu suggested.
Ichikawa In nodded and said, "Let's do as Lord Shiyu says."
"Don't call me Lord Shiyu, just call me Shiyu. We're about the same age." Shiyu immediately shook his head, embarrassed.
"Okay, Shiyu, can I call you Brother Shiyu? Otherwise it sounds too formal," Ichikawa In said, blushing.
"Alright, then I'll call you Sister Ichikawa?" Shiyu said without any shame, after all, he was only twelve or thirteen years old.
"By the way, Brother Shiyu, if Big Brother is the murderer, what was his motive for killing him?" Ichikawa In asked.
Shiyu then analyzed, "We still can't be sure if it was you, Ichikawa Yu, who did it. I met him once. He's arrogant and carefree, but also very straightforward and not good at playing tricks. If we have to say he had a motive for murder, it's probably because Lady Sanjo wasn't his biological mother."
"The daimyo also suspects that the eldest son was behind it, because your second Ichikawa Noboru, was assassinated. If Shuo killed your mother and the assassination was successful, then he will definitely be the next daimyo."
"Furthermore, since one pool of blood couldn't be identified through analysis, let's assume it's your mother's blood, and the other is male blood. These two people are indeed not related by blood, which makes sense."
So Shiyu and Kaku immediately set off for Ichikawa Yu's residence, but Shiyu discovered with his Byakugan that Ichikawa Yu was not in his house.
Where could this guy go? Could it be...?
Just then, a loud shout came from not far away.
"An assassin!! Quick! Someone attacked the Second Prince!" Shiyu and Hidden exchanged a glance and said, "This is bad! It must be that Ichikawa Yu left while we were investigating and ambushed Ichikawa Noboru!"
The two then rushed to Ichikawa Noboru's room. By this time, the alarm bell had already been rung, Shiyu and In had arrived at Ichikawa Noboru's room.
At this moment, Ichikawa Noboru was already unconscious, while Ichikawa Yu was also very fast, pushing open the door and running into the house.
Shiyu sneered, "With me here, you think you can run away?!"
Shiyu then quickly used his Body Flicker Technique to run over, and in his haste, Ichikawa Yu bumped into Ichiki Toshio retainer of the daimyo who was rushing over.
"What's going on? Why is Your Highness running in such a hurry?" Ichiki Toshio asked.
Shiyu immediately captured Ichikawa Yu.
At this moment, Ichikawa Haru and the guards arrived together and asked, "What exactly happened?"
Shiyu said, "Someone is trying to assassinate the Second Prince!"
"Father! My eldest brother is the murderer who assassinated my second brother!" Ichikawa In had no choice but to tell the truth.
Those around them were all witnesses, and naturally they described what happened to Ichikawa Haru.
Ichikawa Haru shook his head, utterly disappointed, and said, "I never imagined that the one who assassinated Sheng'er was truly you! Fratricide! Utterly depraved! Guards! Take him to prison! He'll be dealt with later!"
"Father! Father! It wasn't me! I don't know anything!" Ichikawa Yu also seemed to have just woken up from a dream, as if he really didn't know what he had done.
"So many eyes are watching. You still won't admit it after all this? Take him down!" The daimyo waved his hand, and the guards took Ichikawa Yu down.
With a roar, Ichikawa Yu, having practiced martial arts for many years, easily knocked down all the guards around him.
"You unfilial son! Do you still want to resist?!" Ichikawa Haru was furious and took a step forward.
"Father! Father! You really don't believe me? I really didn't do anything. It's like a dream. I woke up and found myself here."
"Surrender, or I'll have the Light of the Shinobi World deal with you!" Ichikawa Haru said, his voice filled with grief and helplessness.
"Lord Shiyu!" Ichikawa Yu also looked at Shiyu with great pity.
"We can talk about this in the prison," Shiyu said calmly.
Immediately afterwards, Ichikawa Yu was taken to the prison in the Land of Water.
"Thank you! It's hard to guard against a thief within your own ranks! I didn't expect things to end so quickly, Lord Shiyu. I'm truly sorry to have troubled you." Ichikawa Haru also gave a wry smile.
"Father! Go and see Second Brother quickly!" Ichikawa In reminded him.
"That's right! Quickly check if Sheng'er is alright!" Then Ichikawa Haru immediately went with the others to check.
Shiyu looked at Ichikawa Noboru expressionlessly and said, "I know how to heal. Let me heal it." Without saying a word, Shiyu Katsuyu summoned Katsuyu, which quickly healed Ichikawa Noboru's injuries.
"Katsuyu, are you sure you've cured him completely?" Shiyu asked, somewhat incredulously.
"I'm certain this gentleman is very lucky; he wasn't seriously injured." The Katsuyu then returned to the Shikkotsu Forest.
Shiyu then smiled and said, "Oh dear! Second Young Master is truly blessed! I never expected that you would survive two assassination attempts unscathed. Although you were injured this time, it was only a minor injury, and you'll be fine in a few days."
Upon hearing Shiyu's words, both Ichikawa Haru and his retainers showed expressions of joy.
Soon, Ichikawa Noboru also woke up.
"Father... Father, what just happened?" Ichikawa Noboru woke up weakly and was immediately startled when he saw the people around him.
Afterwards, Ichikawa In told Ichikawa Noboru everything.
"So it was my elder brother who killed me. We are of the same blood, why are you so cruel to me? Why did he disregard our brotherly bond and kill me?" Ichikawa Noboru also looked grief-stricken, completely ignoring his own injuries.
"It seems he wants to eliminate you completely. After killing you, he thinks he'll definitely be the next daimyo. This guy is truly blinded by greed! He's always been arrogant and disdainful of everyone, and now even his character is so despicable! He's really not a good candidate for daimyo!" Ichikawa Haru shook his head, extremely disappointed.
The retainer, Ichiki Toshio, immediately suggested, "Lord Ichikawa, I find that His Highness the Second Prince is humble and polite, cautious in his actions, and possesses many virtues. Why not..."
Ichikawa Haru nods and says, "Very well! Let Noboru be the next daimyo! That rebellious son! He's such a disappointment!"
Shiyu then nodded and said, "Lord Daimyo, now that the assassin has been captured, I can leave. There are still some matters in Shinobi Village that require my attention!"
Knowing that so many things had happened on their side and needed to be dealt with, the daimyo of the Land of Water did not try to keep Shiyu.
"Then I won't see you off any further, Lord Shiyu." The daimyo of the Land of Water had thus seen Shiyu off.
Shiyu quietly left, and taking advantage of Ichikawa In's solitude, he used Flying Thunder God Technique to take him away.
"Wow, help!"
"What do you mean, 'save my life'? You little brat!"