Daimyo Kills the Crown Prince

Inside the palace, outside the Daimyo's bedchamber.

When Uchiha Feng and the others arrived, they saw the group that had left them earlier kneeling outside, putting on a show of wailing and weeping.

Clearly, they had failed to gain an audience with the Daimyo and had been turned away.

Thinking that if the Daimyo did not help them, they would all be finished, they had no choice but to use this method to draw him out.

Unfortunately, the Daimyo had long been under the control of Uchiha Mikio and had issued a strict order: he would see no one until Feng and his group arrived.

Therefore, no matter what they did, they were destined to remain outside, anxious and helpless.

Now that Uchiha Feng and his group had arrived, to ensure this grand performance had no logical flaws, the controlled Daimyo used the excuse that it was late to have his attendants continue to turn everyone away.

Feng, having rehearsed the plan countless times in his mind, had naturally already figured out how to handle the current situation logically.

He watched as the likewise-controlled Crown Prince approached the Daimyo's bedchamber and shouted loudly:

"Father, you are currently ailing and have been unable to handle state affairs for a long time.

As the saying goes, a country cannot go a single day without a ruler. I ask that you abdicate to settle the affairs of the state."

Once these words were spoken, aside from a few people, the rest of the crowd—already rattled by the day's various events—were scared out of their wits by the Crown Prince's words.

During the day, when the Crown Prince dealt with the Eldest Prince, the Eldest Prince had gathered private troops first; it could be called a rebellion, so even if the Crown Prince had hacked the Eldest Prince to death in public at the city gate, the methods were slightly cruel, but everyone felt it was understandable.

At night, the Crown Prince had cruelly murdered the other princes and those eligible to inherit the position of Daimyo. It could be said that, influenced by the Eldest Prince's rebellion, he had eliminated all enemies ahead of time to secure the throne. Although the Crown Prince was in the wrong, it was still barely justifiable.

Moreover, most importantly, the Daimyo had shown no dissatisfaction while the Crown Prince was doing these things.

Therefore, everyone had naturally assumed that these matters had the Daimyo's approval, or at the very least, his tacit consent.

But now, the Crown Prince was directly forcing the Daimyo to abdicate!

This blatant act of insubordination made everyone realize—oops, perhaps, possibly, likely, the previous events were not ordered by the Daimyo, but were the Crown Prince faking imperial decrees to commit treason?!

Damn it!! If that were the case, then things had spiraled out of control. This capital city would likely see another great slaughter, and the death toll would be far higher than before.

"Heh, good, you really are a fine son of mine.

Are you really so impatient to sit in my seat?"

A moment later, the Daimyo's angry voice drifted out from the room.

The crowd's hearts remained in their throats, their anxiety unassuaged.

The Daimyo's words only expressed dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince's insubordination; they did not reveal whether he had authorized the previous two slaughters.

"Father, you only have one child left now.

The position of Daimyo will be passed to me sooner or later, so why can it not be now?"

The Crown Prince spoke again, his tone filled with arrogance and confidence.

"What!?! What do you mean you are the only child left?!"

The Daimyo pushed the door open and stepped out, shouting in extreme shock and rage.

"Heh, Father, just as you suspect, during the time you were resting, I have killed everyone eligible to inherit the position of Daimyo."

"Rebellious son!! You beast!! Those were your own brothers and nephews.

How could you bring yourself to do it? How dared you do it? Someone! Come here! Seize this beast! Seize him!"

The Daimyo was furious upon hearing this, and his words brought joy to the group that had been kneeling and weeping at the door; they jumped right up.

Because the Daimyo's words had just confirmed that they, who had not followed the Crown Prince's orders, were the ones who had acted correctly.

Conversely, those who had followed the Crown Prince's orders and laid hands on the Daimyo's offspring were all in the wrong, and they were the ones who would suffer next.

Naturally, in contrast, those who had followed the Crown Prince's orders were now essentially ashen-faced, looking as if they were mourning their own parents.

Of course, Uchiha Feng, the "screenwriter" and "director," was not among them.

While everyone else was still lost in their own thoughts, he led Uchiha Mikio and Sada Hidemasa forward, pinned the Crown Prince down, and forced him to kneel before the Daimyo.

Then, Feng said calmly: "My Lord, the man has been captured."

This maneuver stunned both those who had followed the Crown Prince's orders and those who had not.

??It could be done like this?!

How could it be done like this?!

Damn! So it could be done like this!

Various exclamations echoed in everyone's hearts.

"Rebellious son! Rebellious son!" The Daimyo ignored the other thoughts, pointing at the Crown Prince pinned beneath his feet and cursing incessantly.

After speaking, as if he had lost his mind in a fit of rage, he actually drew the long sword from Uchiha Feng's waist and hacked at the Crown Prince.

He shouted as he struck: "I'll kill you, you beast!"

"No! Father, you only have one son left! You cannot kill me, you... can... not... you..."

Pinned by three people, the Crown Prince had no way to dodge; he lost his life after only a few words under the Daimyo's frantic blade.

As he stood on the brink of death, the genjutsu controlling him naturally dissipated, leaving his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

This scene shocked the others all over again.

The night's events had taken one twist after another, and damn it, each one was more terrifying than the last.

In just a single day, the Eldest Prince of the Tea Country had died, along with more than half of the ministers and nobles.

Then, almost all of the Daimyo's other offspring had been wiped out.

And all of these people had been killed by the Crown Prince, whom the Daimyo had appointed only a short time ago.

Finally, the Daimyo had stepped forward to claim he was unaware of the Crown Prince's actions.

With things standing as they were, those who had followed the Crown Prince in his wrongdoing would likely face a purge.

By this count, the population of the Tea Country's capital would likely be halved in just one day.

It was fortunate that the Tea Country was well-situated, with the sea to the east and west, the Land of Fire—one of the five great ninja nations—to the north, and the Moon Country, which was even weaker than the Tea Country, to the south.

Had the Third Great Ninja War not ended several years ago, they would have needed to prepare for the nation's collapse at any moment given the current situation.

"Hoo... hoo... Guardian Sekito, find men to give this unfilial son and the princes who met their end tonight a proper burial.

Then, notify all the ministers still in the capital; we hold a meeting tomorrow morning. I want to see every single one who is still alive, not a soul missing!

As for you lot, everyone present in the palace tonight must also be in attendance tomorrow morning without exception."

Having not engaged in strenuous exercise for a long time, the Daimyo was panting after his frenzied killing spree. He stood still to steady his breathing before he spoke.

After finishing, he turned his gaze to scan everyone present, as if to commit their faces to memory.

Once he finished scanning the crowd, the Daimyo continued, "Guardian Sekito, arrange for men to guard the palace. Let Aiko return home before the meeting tomorrow morning."

With that, supported by his attendants, he walked slowly back to his bedchamber and had the doors closed, leaving the bewildered crowd in the courtyard at a loss for what to do.

Uchiha Feng, one of the only three people on the scene with a different perspective, took charge as the leader of that trio, ignoring how the others felt.

After the Daimyo returned to his chambers, he naturally assumed command of the scene and turned to give orders to the still-confused Shibata Keiichi and Furukawa Kengo:

"Keiichi, Kengo, take your men back to the outpost to gather more people. Follow the Daimyo's orders and go door-to-door to notify every minister in the capital of tomorrow morning's meeting."

The two were Feng's subordinates and sworn retainers; naturally, Feng prioritized them for his arrangements.

As for the question of loyalty, they had all killed the Daimyo's offspring together. If they didn't listen to Feng, did they really have any other way out?

"Senior, guard the Daimyo tonight. Do not let anyone disturb him again."

Feng turned to look at Uchiha Mikio and spoke.

For the sake of caution, he would not call Uchiha Mikio by his name in a crowded setting.

Ninjas were a group that paid extreme attention to detail and intelligence, so Feng naturally had to be exceptionally careful.

Uchiha Mikio was also one of the three people on the scene with a different perspective.

As Feng's plans continued to unfold, the scheme to completely seize control of the entire Tea Country was nearly complete.

Uchiha Mikio grew increasingly impressed by Feng's wisdom, and he believed more firmly than ever that under Feng's leadership, the Uchiha Clan would soon welcome a glorious future.

In such a situation, how could he be at a loss like the others? He felt only mounting excitement and a surge of blood that he could barely contain.

After instructing Uchiha Mikio, Feng looked at Sada Hidemasa. With his own intelligence, the man had likely guessed that the current situation was entirely orchestrated by Feng.

Therefore, he was the third person on the scene who was not at a loss.

He was just as agitated and restless as Uchiha Mikio, though Mikio was excited for the future of the clan, while Hidemasa was excited for his own.

"Hidemasa, go with the others in this courtyard to bury the princes and their families.

Remember, do not leave anything out, lest the Daimyo be displeased."

Feng spoke, slightly emphasizing his tone when he said "do not leave anything out."

He trusted that, with Sada Hidemasa's cleverness, he would understand the meaning behind those words.

"Yes, my lord! This subordinate will certainly inspect everything carefully and ensure not a single one is missed!"

Sada Hidemasa responded loudly at once, also slightly emphasizing his tone when he said "not a single one is missed."

A broad, smooth road lay before him. There might be great risks, but compared to the brilliant future it promised, he was willing to go mad once and take the gamble.