Late at night, when ordinary people were asleep, Uchiha Feng and Uchiha Mikio continued to stealthily make their way through the Daimyo Palace.
The closer they got to the daimyo's quarters, the tighter the security became. With Uchiha Feng's clumsy, newly learned stealth techniques, he could no longer get close to the daimyo.
He could only stop and leave the rest to Uchiha Mikio alone.
With the experience he had accumulated as a Jonin during his lifetime, sneaking up on the daimyo of a small country without even ninja guards was simple. So easy.
After quite some time, Uchiha Mikio returned to Feng's side and gave him an "OK" gesture.
Feng instantly understood. The other man had successfully used genjutsu to control the Tea Country daimyo, and they could now withdraw from the Daimyo Palace.
All that remained was to wait for dawn, when the daimyo would summon him, grant Feng a noble title, appoint him commander of the guards, and let him gradually take control of the entire Tea Country.
As for Uchiha Mikio, after Feng received his appointment, he would continue lurking beside the Tea Country daimyo to ensure the daimyo did not accidentally break free from his control.
As an Impure World Reincarnation, he did not need to eat, drink, or relieve himself. His senses of pain and touch were also weak, making him almost impossible to detect while in hiding.
At daybreak the next morning, Uchiha Feng and Uchiha Mikio, who had arrived early at the entrance of the Daimyo Palace, followed an attendant inside to meet the daimyo.
"I have heard that an extraordinary figure named Sekito has recently arrived in our country.
"I hereby appoint Sekito captain of the Samurai Corps and guardian of the capital.
"He shall receive a stipend of eight hundred koku and be granted an estate."
Inside the council hall, after Feng and Uchiha Mikio bowed upon meeting the daimyo, the attendant at the daimyo's side read out Feng's appointment.
At first, Feng had wanted to become the Tea Country's shogun directly—the highest military authority.
But after thinking it over, that would have been too conspicuous. The Land of Fire was right next door, and Konoha's ninja could arrive in two or three days.
To avoid exposure, Feng carefully considered it before choosing the positions of captain of the Samurai Corps and guardian of the capital.
The captain of the Samurai Corps was not a high-ranking post, but he commanded every samurai within the Daimyo Palace. Controlling them was equivalent to controlling the daimyo.
The guardian of the capital was no minor post either. He was the supreme commander of the capital's forces, and controlling them was equivalent to controlling the Tea Country's capital.
Compared to the Tea Country's other high officials, the guardian of the capital ranked no higher than fifth in military authority, so he would not draw much attention.
Once he secured those two posts and turned everyone under his command into his own people, his authority might not appear great in name, but in practice, it would mean Feng had almost taken control of the entire Tea Country.
From then on, even if the daimyo somehow broke free from Uchiha Mikio's genjutsu, he would be unable to do anything. He could only become a puppet dangling from Feng's strings.
And it would not attract attention, either.
After all, the Tea Country was neither situated among the great nations nor possessed anything particularly appealing. It was merely some insignificant little country tucked away in a corner.
As long as no major trouble erupted within the country, no one in the Ninja World would pay attention to it.
Furthermore, Uchiha Feng was not using his real name from this world, but the name he had used in his previous life.
As for Uchiha Mikio, to avoid attracting attention, he had not even revealed his name. For now, his identity was Feng's guard.
However, although Feng's appointment did not follow his original plan of directly becoming the Tea Country's highest military authority, it immediately provoked dissatisfaction among the other ministers in the council hall.
This was especially true of several men dressed as samurai. They were the Tea Country's shogun and deputy shoguns, the nation's original military leaders and highest authorities.
An unknown man like Feng had skipped past the ranks of ordinary guards, squad leaders, and unit commanders, arriving only to become guardian of the capital and take charge of the security of the entire Tea Country capital.
How could those who had originally been eyeing that position possibly agree to it?
As for the captain of the Samurai Corps, that was the commander of the daimyo's personal guards. It was a matter of the daimyo's household, not state affairs, so others could not say much about it even if they wanted to.
Feng's solution to this was simple. He glanced at Uchiha Mikio beside him.
Understanding immediately, Uchiha Mikio charged at the few people shouting the loudest.
Moments later, the council hall was deathly silent. Everyone was pale as death, their souls seemingly leaving their bodies.
Several generals and ministers were already lying on the floor, each without a trace of life. Blood continuously poured from their bodies, dyeing the expensive carpet red.
Naturally, under Uchiha Mikio's control, the Tea Country daimyo said nothing about this.
Only after a long while, when everyone had recovered somewhat, did the daimyo finally speak and break the suffocating silence.
"Alright. Does anyone still object to my appointment of Sekito as guardian?"
"..." Other than silence, there was only silence. No one in the council hall dared to speak.
After all, the colleagues who had dared to open their mouths were already dead. Who among those remaining would dare say anything?
"Hmm, since no one objects, then it is settled.
"Is there anything else to discuss today? If not, then let us adjourn."
The daimyo spoke again and made the decision directly. After saying that, he left the council hall and returned to his rear courtyard to pick a plaque.
"Alright, now go notify the Guard Corps in the capital and the Samurai Corps at the Daimyo Palace.
"Have everyone holding the rank of captain or above gather at my estate for a meeting. I need to get acquainted with them.
"Uh, you there. Where is the estate the daimyo just granted me? Take me there."
After the daimyo left, Feng spoke to the people in the council hall, who were fleeing in panic.
His words were full of threat and left no room for refusal.
As the guardian of the capital, he still had a shogun and deputy shoguns above him, so technically, he had no right to make decisions by himself.
Feng did not care about that, and neither did anyone else.
Feng did not care because he had only declined to become shogun in order to avoid drawing the attention of nearby Konoha, not because he could not take the position.
As for the others, they did not care because the Tea Country's shogun was already lying on the floor, and one of the two deputy shoguns was lying there as well.
And as for the deputy shogun fortunate enough to survive, did he dare say anything now?
Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Feng slowly left under the guidance of an attendant and headed for his new home.
By now, the plan to escape Konoha that he had envisioned while still in Konoha had been completely accomplished.
What came next was deciding what to do with the future.
As for whether he would lie low behind the scenes in the Tea Country and coast through life, or take part in the plot and do something, that would depend on how things developed for him in the Tea Country over the next period of time.
If everything went as Feng expected, and he could use genjutsu to control the daimyo and thereby control the entire Tea Country,
then he would find a way to contact his clansmen in Konoha and pull the Uchiha Clan out of Konoha's swamp-like quagmire.
After all, the Uchiha Clan still had dozens of living pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Every one of them was an expert in genjutsu.
Rather than let them be toyed with by Hiruzen Sarutobi and those higher-ups in Konoha as they waited to die, it would be better to pull them all out of Konoha, use them to control the daimyos of other countries, and directly become the hidden rulers behind every nation.
Then, in the daimyo's name, they could slowly destroy the other ninja villages and unify the ninja world. That would be far easier and safer than unifying it through direct slaughter.
That way, the Uchiha Clan would become the family that ruled the entire Ninja World. Wouldn't that be a hundred times better than struggling endlessly over becoming village chief in tiny Konoha of the Land of Fire?
Of course, if things did not go as Feng expected, and becoming the daimyo through genjutsu did not allow him to become the Tea Country's hidden ruler, then he would try out red ideology.
But that was his ultimate move. Uchiha Feng did not want to use it unless absolutely necessary.
After all, once he used it, things would evolve into socialism. How would he become a dictator in the future—a dog emperor who did nothing all day, had food brought to his mouth and clothes placed on his body, and could pick plaques in his harem every day?
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