The New Daimyo

"Uncle? Chixing?!"

Following the source of the familiar voices, the well-known faces of Uncle and Chixing appeared before them.

"Why are you two here?"

Before Uncle could reply, Minato guessed the gist of it from the ox horn in his hand. It made sense... after all, Uncle was a professional in this field; how could he not know when a Talisman had surfaced?

"It seems we arrived a step too late. The Shadowkhan have already seized the Ox Talisman."

"Mr. Uncle, does the power represented by the Ox Talisman mean super strength?"

"Correct, but it is not ordinary super strength..."

"What do you mean it's not ordinary super strength?" Minato asked, puzzled.

"Hmm... the Ox Talisman can also cause physical transformation, turning the entire body into muscle, greatly enhancing physical fitness and resistance to impact..."

In other words... it is an all-around enhancement?

"Then what is the Shadow Kingdom?" Minato continued to ask.

"The Shadow Kingdom... is the realm of the Shadow Ninja. There is nothing there, only endless darkness... If an ordinary person were to rashly enter it, they would inevitably be transformed into one of them..."

"Trans... formed?"

Honestly, this statement truly frightened Minato. In other words, those Shadow Ninja were transformed from human beings?

Although he didn't know what it felt like to become part of the Shadowkhan, just considering their immortality, it was likely that many lunatics in the Ninja World would flock to it.

"Alright, that is enough talk for now. Uncle must return to prepare the spell to find the next Talisman."

Land of Fire capital.

This was the most prosperous town in the Land of Fire; even at night, it was brightly lit and bustling with crowds.

But tonight... an event that would shock the entire Ninja World was about to take place here...

Daimyo Mansion--

"Drink... drink more..."

Today was the birthday of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. By rights, the whole country should be celebrating, but the Daimyo had stated that there was "no need to excessively labor the people and waste wealth," and that it was enough for the entire capital to celebrate.

At the head table in the center of the banquet, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire raised his wine glass high, looking very much like a "perfect elder" boasting of his achievements. The powerful officials and wealthy merchants invited below were all fawning and echoing his sentiments one by one.

"Today is a day worth celebrating. The Daimyo has worked tirelessly for us every day this year, not even having time to rest properly or spend time with the princes and princesses. Let me, on behalf of the Daimyo, propose a toast to everyone!"

Because the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had become dead drunk and fallen asleep on the table after only saying a few words, his most trusted minister presided over the birthday party. He also raised his glass high and drained it in one gulp, signaling the opening of this grand banquet.

Late at night... the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was suddenly awakened from his deep sleep by the urge to urinate. He pressed his aching, blank-minded head as he climbed up. After calling the names of his attendants for a long time without receiving a reply, he had no choice but to stand up with great difficulty.

"Hmm... the restroom... where was it again?"

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire staggered as he pushed open the door, and somehow ended up in the garden. "Forget it... I'll just finish it here..."

Just as he was about to take off his pants and get it over with, a strange, abnormal mist appeared in the pitch-black night.

"Hmm? Is it foggy...?"

Shivering, he pulled his pants back up and swayed toward the door, but in the next instant, he suddenly felt a strong wave of nausea.

--Hrk!

Just as he couldn't help but squat down to vomit, a cold glint flashed before him, and a dagger reflecting the moonlight embedded itself into the wall.

"Who! Who is it?!"

As the high and mighty Daimyo of the Land of Fire, where had he ever experienced such fear? His face turned deathly pale, his pupils dilated sharply, and his heart constricted violently before pounding frantically.

"Oops, you dodged it. Uncle is quite lucky~"

Emerging faintly in the moonlight, the one who spoke in a playful tone was Jack, who had just finished his battle with Minato not long ago.

Because the amount of Dimensional Points Qian Yu would need next might be exceptionally large, he decided to pull off a big job.

"Someone! Come quickly!"

It was his first time facing an assassin head-on. Although the opponent was a child, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was still frightened out of his wits, his legs weak as he collapsed to the ground.

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

But no matter how heart-wrenchingly he screamed, "Someone, come here," this area had already been isolated by Jack's mist. Even if he screamed until his throat tore, no one would hear him.

"Don't... don't come over...! I... I'll give you money! I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, only a crisp sound of air being pierced was heard. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire widened his eyes in disbelief, revealing a look of extreme terror, because... he saw... his own body, and his neck spraying blood!

Daimyo of the Land of Fire--Deceased!

It wasn't until the next morning that the corpse of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire in the garden was discovered by a maid responsible for watering the flowers...

Because the previous Daimyo had no compassion for the people and was licentious and lawless, the treasury of the Land of Fire was empty. When the new Daimyo took office, the money in the treasury wasn't even enough to ensure the normal operation of the capital...

Moreover... the capital now had to face an even greater challenge, which was... following the assassination of the previous Daimyo, those nobles who had bought their official positions and split the spoils of the people's blood and sweat 30/70 with the Daimyo sensed the shift in the wind. Realizing their appointment papers might turn into waste paper and that they might have to endure the "three fires of a new official" from the new Daimyo, they immediately fled in carriages overnight.

The sudden flight of those wealthy merchants had a massive impact on the entire Land of Fire's market and commodity prices, particularly the cost of grain—or more accurately, the price of rice.

The nobles and merchants had originally intended to conspire with the Daimyo, feigning a poor harvest to ruthlessly scrape the fat off the common people... Unfortunately, plans could not keep pace with change; the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was assassinated, the wealthy merchants fled the scene, and the nobles, unwilling to keep the rice stockpiled in their own hands, were forced to sell at inflated prices.

Aside from the citizens of the capital, the person most affected by this situation was the new Daimyo—Enshi Shu.

Daimyo Mansion, Conference Room—

"Smash it! Smash it all!"

Enshi Shu threw the files onto the floor, pointing at the noses of the ministers before him as he cursed them out:

"You do things like this and still expect people to wish you well?"

"And you have the nerve to ask why you shouldn't look for the problems within yourselves? Disgusting! Simply disgusting!"

...After a long-winded tirade against the ministers, Enshi Shu finally shut his mouth once he felt parched, adding one final remark:

"In a word, disgusting!"

After being berated so thoroughly, these heartless wretches could actually remain composed? Looking as if nothing had happened?