Kill the Daimyo?
Hozuki Shingetsu stared at Kusaka Masato in shock, thinking he must have misheard.
"That's right. Exactly what you're thinking. Kill the one in Tenshukaku—the current Daimyo of the Land of Water, Mizukaita." Kusaka Masato repeated himself.
"Kill the Daimyo... May I ask why you want him dead, sir?" Hozuki Shingetsu humored Kusaka Masato while giving Karatachi Yagura a meaningful look. Karatachi Yagura understood at once and quietly blocked Kusaka Masato's retreat.
Whether Kusaka Masato was baiting them or genuinely intended to go through with it, this was the last thing Hozuki Shingetsu should get involved in. His main goal here was to ease tensions with the Daimyo, secure a hefty sum of money, then return to dealing with Ren. He didn't need any complications right now.
So Hozuki Shingetsu decided to use genjutsu to erase Kusaka Masato's memories and make him forget what had happened the previous night.
Kusaka Masato acted as though he hadn't noticed, simply watching Hozuki Shingetsu.
After Karatachi Yagura signaled that no one was outside, Hozuki Shingetsu was about to act when Kusaka Masato spoke up. "If Minister Hozuki is thinking of using genjutsu to control me, you're underestimating me."
"Since I know you have methods like that, wouldn't I be rather naive to come here without taking any precautions?"
Kusaka Masato looked at Hozuki Shingetsu and smiled faintly. "Before coming here, I wrote down all my suspicions in a sealed memorial and left it in Tenshukaku. Anyone who wants to enter Tenshukaku has to undergo a mental examination by the Yanagisawa Clan to prove they aren't under mind control."
Kusaka Masato took a pocket watch from his robes and held it up for Hozuki Shingetsu to see. "Unless you can get past the Yanagisawa Clan's defenses and retrieve the memorial from Tenshukaku