Many things came down to a single turning point.
For Oda Ieyasu, that turning point was his child.
To keep his child alive, he didn't dare use his own forces or reveal his trump cards.
Under normal circumstances, Oda Ieyasu would have acted with only a fifty percent chance of success.
But when his child was involved, he wouldn't risk even a one percent chance of failure—not even if he had a ninety-nine percent chance of winning.
Now Lin Qing had helped him reclaim that vital "one percent."
They had arrived at Saito Mansion.
Saito had married into the Daimyo's family and was already one of the Conglomerates in the Land of Water.
As the eldest daughter, Saito Ayaka only had to wait for her father to die before she could become the head of the Saito family and command its immense wealth.
But when Lin Qing and the others reached the gates of Saito Mansion, they found them wide open. There wasn't a servant in sight, let alone any guards.
The vast mansion was silent, not a sound of life to be heard.
Only a faint candlelight flickered in the main hall.
Hayato Kamihara whispered, "Something's off. Lin Qing carried all of us here. There's no way word of Hidan and Kakuzu's defeat has reached them yet."
He rose slightly onto his toes and peeked inside.
"Could there be a trap?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a lilting melody drifted from the candlelit hall.
"It's a Shakuhachi."
Oda Ieyasu fell silent for a moment. "My wife's favorite piece—and the one I love most—is 'The Wind.' She's the one playing it."
That made the whole thing even stranger.
The wife who had betrayed her husband hadn't fled. Instead, she had sent all the guards and servants away, stayed alone