The New Daimyo

"Uncle? Chixing?!"

Following the source of the familiar voices, he saw the familiar faces of Uncle and Chixing.

"What are you doing here?"

Before Uncle could answer, Minato had already guessed what was going on from the ox horn in his hand. That was right... after all, Uncle was something of a professional. How could he not know when a Talisman had appeared?

"Looks like we got here too late. The Shadowkhan have already taken the Ox Talisman."

"Mr. Uncle, does the Ox Talisman grant super strength?"

"That's right, but not ordinary super strength..."

"Not ordinary super strength?" Minato asked, puzzled.

"Mm... the Ox Talisman can also transform a person's body, building muscle throughout and greatly improving their physical abilities and resistance to impact..."

So... it was an all-around enhancement?

"What is the Shadow Kingdom, then?" Minato continued.

"The Shadow Kingdom... is the land of the Shadow Ninjas. There's nothing there, only endless darkness... if an ordinary person enters it recklessly, they'll inevitably be transformed into one of them..."

"Trans...formed?"

Honestly, the explanation had truly frightened Minato. Did that mean the Shadow Ninjas had once been human?

He had no idea what it felt like to become part of the Shadowkhan, but just considering their immortality, plenty of the Ninja World's crazies would probably leap at the chance.

"All right, that's enough talk. Uncle needs to go back and make a spell to find the next Talisman."

The capital of the Land of Fire.

It was the most prosperous city in the Land of Fire. Even at night, it was brightly lit and bustling with crowds.

But tonight... something would happen here that would shock the entire Ninja World...

The Daimyo Mansion--

"Drink... drink some more..."

Today was the birthday of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. By rights, the whole country should have been celebrating, but the Daimyo had said, "There's no need to waste the people's time and money." It was enough to let the entire capital celebrate.

Seated in the place of honor at the center of the banquet, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire raised his cup high. He looked much like a "Ten-Perfect Old Man" boasting about his accomplishments, while the powerful ministers and invited wealthy merchants below fawned over him one after another.

"Today is a day worth celebrating. Lord Daimyo has spent every day this past year dealing with countless affairs on our behalf, with no time even to rest properly or spend time with the princes and princesses. Allow me to offer everyone a toast on Lord Daimyo's behalf!"

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had gotten so drunk that he'd passed out at the table and started dozing off before he'd said more than a few words. So his most trusted minister took charge of the birthday celebration. He raised his cup too and drained it in one go, marking the start of the grand banquet.

Late that night... the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was sleeping soundly when a sudden urge to urinate woke him. Holding his head, which throbbed with pain after a drunken blackout, he got up. After calling for his attendants again and again without receiving an answer, he had no choice but to struggle to his feet.

"Mm... where was the bathroom again?"

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire staggered through the door and somehow found himself in the garden. "Forget it... I'll just take care of it here..."

Just as he was about to pull down his pants and relieve himself, an oddly thin mist appeared in the pitch-black night.

"Hm? Is it foggy...?"

Shivering, the Daimyo pulled his pants back on and swayed toward the door. But in the next instant, he suddenly felt a powerful urge to vomit.

--Hurk!

As he crouched down and threw up uncontrollably, a flash of cold light streaked past him. A dagger reflecting the moonlight plunged into the wall.

"Who's there?! Who is it?!"

As the lofty Daimyo of the Land of Fire, he'd never suffered such a fright before. His face instantly went deathly pale, his pupils dilated, his heart clenched, then began to pound wildly.

"Oh, you dodged it. Uncle's really lucky~"

The figure that appeared faintly in the moonlight, speaking in a playful voice, was Jack, who had fought Minato not long ago.

Since Qian Yu might need an unusually large number of Dimensional Points next, he'd decided to make a big score.

"Guards! Someone, come quickly!"

This was his first time coming face-to-face with an assassin. Although the other party was just a child, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was still terrified. His legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground.

He called for the guards inside his mansion, as well as his most loyal personal bodyguards, the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

But no matter how desperately he screamed "Someone, come!" again and again, the whole area had already been sealed off by Jack's fog. Even if he shouted himself hoarse, no one would hear him.

"D-don't come any closer...! I... I'll give you money! I..."

Before he could finish, there was a sharp whistle as something cut through the air. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire widened his eyes in disbelief, his face filled with horror, because... he saw... his own body, and his neck spurting blood!

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire--dead!

It wasn't until the next morning that a maid watering the flowers discovered the Daimyo's body in the garden...

The previous Daimyo had neglected the people and lived a life of debauchery, leaving the Land of Fire's treasury empty. When the new Daimyo took over, there wasn't even enough money in the treasury to keep the capital running normally...

And... the capital now faced an even greater challenge. With the previous Daimyo's assassination, the nobles who had once bought their offices and split the spoils with the Daimyo while squeezing the people dry sensed that things were turning against them. Their appointments might become worthless scraps of paper, and they could also face the new Daimyo's "three fires on taking office." So they immediately fled overnight in their carriages.

The sudden departure of those wealthy merchants had an enormous impact on the market throughout the Land of Fire, as well as on prices—especially food prices, or more precisely, the price of rice.

The nobles and wealthy merchants had originally planned to conspire with the Daimyo, pretending that the rice harvest had failed so they could squeeze the people dry. Unfortunately, their plans couldn't keep up with events. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had been assassinated, the wealthy merchants had left, and the nobles didn't want to hold on to their rice, so they could only force prices up and sell it.

And aside from the people of the capital, the one most affected by this situation was the new Daimyo, Enshi Shu...

Daimyo Mansion, meeting room--

"Ruined! You've ruined everything!"

Enshi Shu hurled the documents to the floor and pointed at the ministers in front of him, cursing them furiously:

"You've done something like this, and you still expect people to wish you well?"

"And you still have the nerve to ask why you shouldn't look for the problem in yourselves? Disgusting! Disgusting!"

...After giving the ministers a long-winded tongue-lashing, Enshi Shu finally fell silent when his mouth went dry. Then he added one last thing:

"In a word, disgusting!"

He'd just given them a thorough scolding, but these heartless bastards could still keep straight faces, as if nothing had happened?