"Don't panic like that. It's unbecoming of an elder of Kirigakure, don't you think?"
The nobleman studied the half-peeled apple in his hand, then looked up. A flicker of disgust crossed his narrow eyes.
"Rest assured, His Excellency the Daimyo won't forget your outstanding contributions to the Land of Water over the years. The Daimyo's Mansion remembers everything you've done."
Perched on a ceiling beam, Terumi Mei felt a jolt of alarm.
The Daimyo's Mansion? Elder Aota once wielded enormous power in the village. Has he been a pawn planted inside Kirigakure by the Daimyo's Mansion all along?!
But the seemingly reassuring words did nothing to calm Elder Aota. He looked as though he had been plunged into ice, his face turning deathly pale.
He had spent most of his life fighting for power. How could an old fox like him miss what lay beneath those polished political words?
The Daimyo would remember his contributions. That meant the Daimyo's Mansion would remember what he had done, but had no intention of protecting him now that he had been caught.
They were abandoning him completely and making him the scapegoat!
"My lord! You can't do this!"
His instinct to survive overwhelmed his reason, and Elder Aota roared in fury.
"For years, I've worked tirelessly, doing the Daimyo's dirty work in the shadows. If you hadn't insisted that I cooperate with that Rivers-and-Seas Trading Company from the Land of Fire, even helping them get their hands on the top-secret Deep-Sea Cable equipment—"
Elder Aota pointed at the nobleman, his voice shrill. "If I hadn't been satisfying the greed of your Daimyo's Mansion, would I have slipped up and had that mad dog Karatachi Yagura breathing down my neck?!"
"Now that it's all come to light, you think you can cast me aside?