Scandal Among the Upper Nobility

Scandal Among the Upper Nobility

He had nearly been scared to death.

But the fright also left Shinteng Zoi furious. In the eyes of nobles, ninja were no better than servants—lowly inferiors.

And now those lowly ninja had tried to murder a noble.

"I knew it from the start," Shinteng Zoi said. "Those ninja who came over to our side were ungrateful wretches!"

"Good thing I hired ninja from the Uchiha Clan, or I'd be in danger right now."

Ying said, "Lord Shinteng Zoi, as far as I know, the Chinoike Clan pledged itself completely to the Land of Lightning a few years ago. Why would they attack you, a noble of the Land of Lightning?"

Uchiha Jobu wanted to know that too. Life in the Warring States Era was hard. Many ninja clans could not survive on missions alone and had no choice but to seek the patronage of powerful nobles or become weapons for other nations.

The Land of Lightning.

It was one of the strongest nations of the Warring States Era, with an army far larger than those of other nations.

Having pledged itself to the Land of Lightning, the Chinoike Clan should never have attacked Shinteng Zoi. Such an act would be seen as treason, and the nation's ruling elite would unite to destroy them.

"Hmph! What else could it be? Their clan leader's daughter climbed above her lowly station and married His Lordship the Daimyo."

Perhaps watching Uchiha Jobu kill every attacker had restored Shinteng Zoi's nerve. He spoke with fresh indignation.

"Those inferiors don't know their place. They think that because one of them married His Lordship the Daimyo, they can strike at nobles like us."

"In their dreams! I know exactly what the Chinoike Clan's ninja want. They want to kill me and leave my sister with no one to support her. Then their clan leader's daughter can become His Lordship the Daimyo's only wife!"

Uchiha Jobu nodded in understanding. So that's it. What a mess these nobles are. To elevate their clan leader's daughter, the Chinoike Clan meant to kill Shinteng Zoi and bring down the Land of Lightning's daimyo's current wife.

"My mission is only to escort you back to the Land of Lightning. I'll deal with any enemies we encounter on the way."

"You, Uchiha! I want to expand the mission. I want the Uchiha Clan's ninja to attack and kill the Chinoike Clan's ninja!"

"You know Uchiha ninja charge the highest fees in the Warring States Era. Taking on a ninja clan of considerable strength would require at least fifty ninja, including powerful elites. You'll have to pay more. Understood?"

At the mention of money, Shinteng Zoi looked openly disdainful. He puffed out his chest. "One hundred million ryo."

In the Shinobi Village Era that would follow the Warring States Era, ninja missions would be divided into five ranks: S, A, B, C, and D. S-rank missions could pay over a million ryo, A-rank missions roughly several hundred thousand to a million, with the maximum reward falling at each lower rank.

And this was still the Warring States Era. One hundred million ryo would cover the entire Uchiha Clan's needs for a year or two.

"Ying," Uchiha Jobu said, "head back to the clan first and tell them what happened here."

Shinteng Zoi truly was one of the Land of Lightning's highest-ranking nobles. He had casually offered another hundred million ryo to expand the mission.

Ying, too, was stunned by the sum Shinteng Zoi had offered.

At Uchiha Jobu's instruction, Ying immediately turned and rushed back toward the Land of Fire.

If they had a contracted summoning beast, they could have sent word through it directly. But they had none.

Uchiha Jobu watched Ying leave and estimated how long it would take the Uchiha Clan to reach the Land of Lightning. As he worked through the timing, something suddenly felt wrong. He frowned. "If what you say is true, do you really think the Chinoike Clan's ninja are the only ones after you?"

Shinteng Zoi stared at him. "You mean someone else has a death wish too?"

"We haven't even entered the Land of Lightning yet," Uchiha Jobu said grimly. "We're still on the border between the two nations. This escort is only a mid-level mission. There's no way the Chinoike Clan could have learned your route and set an ambush here on its own."

He had not noticed it before, but the realization struck all at once. The Chinoike Clan's ninja could not be the only ones involved. Otherwise, how could they have known Shinteng Zoi's location and been waiting here before he even entered the Land of Lightning?

There were two reasons. First, the Chinoike Clan's ninja had seemed familiar with the surrounding terrain when they attacked. They could not have just arrived.

That meant they had reached this place in advance, at least a full day before Shinteng Zoi.

Second, the journey had been free of danger until now. They had not encountered a single enemy. Someone might have arranged it that way so Shinteng Zoi would reach the Land of Lightning sooner.

Of course, it was only a guess. Uchiha Jobu could not be certain. Ninja could not be judged by ordinary logic, and who knew what the Chinoike Clan was thinking? Many of its ninja seemed mentally unstable, even deranged.