Pillar of the Nation

After bedding ten women a night and constantly taking all sorts of drugs, he basked in the warmth of the bedroom. As time went on, Mado Tadamori often hosted parties at home where one man entertained many women. He even demanded that other officials offer up their wives and daughters for his pleasure. His extravagant lifestyle gradually corroded both his mind and his body. All that vigorous exertion took its toll, and after decades of womanizing, he had fathered only three daughters. This only made Mado Tadamori, who was deeply obsessed with having a son, redouble his efforts. At the Daimyo Mansion, temples, the Daimyo Clan Ancestral Hall, and elsewhere, he would seize any woman he encountered and ravage her. Sadly, Heaven had played a cruel joke on him: the more he had, the more he stood to lose. He possessed the kind of sexual privileges that the poor could never dream of in a hundred lifetimes, yet, as if by some cruel joke, he could not father a single son.

Mado Tadamori took more than half of the Land of Rain's annual revenue for himself. Most of Amegakure's bustling shopping district belonged to him. The underworld, the legitimate world, and everything in between were all merely his subsidiaries. Decades of development had left the common people of the Land of Rain still unable to eat their fill or dress warmly, and his extravagant, ruinously lavish lifestyle was directly to blame. Takamagahara had been built on the advice of a certain woman, at the cost of three years' worth of public revenue. It was said that deep within Takamagahara lay Mado Tadamori's most precious treasure and greatest secret. This rumor had once drawn even more people there to spend and squander their money.

At fifty, Mado Tadamori was not only insatiable in his lust, but also fond of violence and devoted to the samurai spirit. He boasted that, in his youth, he could kill fifty samurai in single combat, and he most admired their fierce, fearless courage and conviction. So he often held Samurai Duels! A Samurai Duel was a fight that could not end until one side was dead. The winner received money and beautiful women; the loser paid with his life.

With his body hollowed out by drink and women, Mado Tadamori had not felt threatened in far too long. He had forgotten that the Daimyo was already in his twenties. He had forgotten how much politicians resented how far and greedily he reached. He had forgotten how long it had been since the soldiers at the borders had received their full wages. He had forgotten that the common people had begun organizing a wave of resistance and assassination attempts against him! His mind growing ever more clouded, he likened himself to the sun. The common people of the Land of Rain, on hearing this, wished they could perish along with the sun.

Uchiha Zhuang pieced together what he had heard over the past few days and worked out the story's basic outline. Mado Tadamori had grown rich and forgotten his roots, so his enemies wanted him dead. But where was he now? Uchiha Zhuang had no idea how to get close to Mado Tadamori, nor did he know how many guards were protecting him. Fortunately, the mission had no time limit, so he had plenty of time to investigate and plan. Thinking it over, Uchiha Zhuang realized that this woman had surely sent people on this mission before. She had not given him even a single clue—she really did see him as nothing more than cannon fodder. Uchiha Zhuang left the main building and decided to head out through the complex of annexes, to see how the common people who made their living off Takamagahara were doing.

As soon as he stepped out of the annex's lobby, he saw that the surrounding streets were clean and tidy. Though the rain fell without letup, there was barely any standing water; the underground drainage system was highly efficient. People dressed in finery, plain clothes, or rags came and went through the lobby in an orderly fashion. He walked along the unusually sturdy road, and the moment he left the neat street corner, he was swept up by the noisy clamor of vendors calling out and people shouting. The bustling commercial street nearby was full of life. As he walked along it, enticing spicy aromas stirred his appetite. There were barbecued food stalls, teppanyaki stalls, fried and stir-fried dishes, and plenty of stalls offering little games. Others sold souvenirs, daily necessities, medicinal herbs, treasures, and antiques. Though most of the residents dressed plainly, their faces were alight with happiness and joy.

The two of them walked and ate, blending completely into the lively surroundings. They really did look like ordinary foreign tourists. Last time, he had bought a Kappa doll to keep at home. This time, Uchiha Zhuang bought some fish and shrimp sculptures unique to the region, along with jewelry typical of the Land of Water. After strolling all morning, the two returned to the clothing shop, picked up several outfits tailored to fit Persia, and went back to their lodgings.

After helping Persia change, the two went to the courtyard, where they had their meals, and ordered her favorite spicy sukiyaki hot pot. While they waited for the dishes to arrive, Uchiha Zhuang asked, "We went to Takamagahara this morning, but didn't find anything particularly fun there. Why are so many people drawn to it?" The waitress giggled when she heard this. Looking at Persia, who was busy scooping meat and vegetables out of the pot, she replied softly, "Takamagahara has twenty-two floors aboveground and five underground. The twenty-two upper floors have hotels, shops, cafés, bars, restaurants, souvenir stores, casinos, theaters, boxing rings, a red-light district, bathhouses, and all sorts of other places. Once you go in, you won't want to leave. Maybe you didn't explore much." Uchiha Zhuang blushed. He had no experience with entertainment like that; he could not let her think he was a bumpkin. He asked again, "What about the five underground floors? I want to see those." The waitress continued, "You need a ticket to get into the five underground floors. They say there's a black market, a clinic, specialty restaurants, an unrestricted red-light district, a mercenary office, a black bar, a Samurai Duel arena, illegal boxing, an exchange, a training ground, a laboratory, and Mado Tadamori's legendary little vault. Actually, there's a lot more down there than aboveground. There's a saying around here: at Takamagahara, if you want something, you can even pluck the sun from the sky. They're really talking about the power of the people on the five underground floors." Uchiha Zhuang nodded and promptly ended the conversation.

He was amazed by the designer's futuristic vision and the ambition of the person who had made it a reality. He was stunned that such a postmodern, multifunctional complex could exist in the incongruous Land of Rain. The waitress paid no attention to Uchiha Zhuang, the country bumpkin. She met plenty of customers every day who knew nothing about Takamagahara's appeal. Persia happily devoured the meat and vegetables at lightning speed, like an emotionless eating machine, while Uchiha Zhuang ate slowly and planned to visit Mado Tadamori's residence first. If he found him, he would kill him with a single slash and grab some documents from his room to complete the mission. To be honest, the struggles of life and death in the Land of Rain had nothing to do with him. That woman had got him by the short hairs (I'm calling the guards!) and forced him to take this mission. Damn woman! Uchiha Zhuang muttered angrily. Meanwhile, Tomoko was communicating with Ryūchi Cave telepathically, receiving one secret mission after another.

After lunch, they returned to their room. Uchiha Zhuang told Persia to rest there and wait for him to return. For dinner, she could just ask the staff to bring it to the room. Then he pulled a hair clip from inside his clothes and handed it to her. "Here, this rose hair clip is for you. Pin your hair back with it so it won't keep falling across your face." Persia took the beautifully crafted, brightly colored rose-shaped hair clip and admired it, unable to put it down. Uchiha Zhuang gathered his supplies and gear, preparing to sneak in. He opened the window and squinted into the slanting drizzle. Then, with a soft whoosh, he vanished. Persia went to the window and gazed at the pitch-black sky. It looked as though a torrential downpour was coming tonight. "You silly woman, you and he can never be together. He's always going wherever the wind and rain take him; he could be killed any day now, and his body left to rot in some filthy ditch, where no one would ever find it. Don't fall for him!" The god within her, Xia Mi, cried out. Persia pretended not to hear and stared blankly into the rain. "The Creator said we would meet, and that he and I are one. We belong together." Persia spoke with childish but unshakable conviction.