Watching his old companion beside him sit down, the Sato Clan Head instead calmed down. Looking at Sato Liandu as he walked up to him, he sighed. "Is it worth it, for a clan head position that would eventually be yours? You would even risk offending Konoha for it."
"Eventually mine?" Sato Liandu repeated with an amused smile, a mocking curve forming on his wickedly handsome face.
Leaning closer, he lowered his voice. "Leaving aside whether I could smoothly inherit the Sato Clan Head position after you died under normal circumstances, even if I could, how could that possibly compare to snatching it from your hands myself?"
"You madman! I never should have trusted you back then!" the Sato Clan Head gritted out as he stared at Sato Liandu.
"Madman?" Sato Liandu chuckled. "A madman would not have tripled the Sato Clan's income over the years, nor would he have dramatically raised the Sato Clan's standing in the Land of Fire."
"If that person from the Tanaka Clan had not happened to encounter that sculptor who became a master at such a young age in the Land of Fire, sending his carvings everywhere and winning the Daimyo's favor, the Land of Fire would already belong to our Sato Clan, aside from the Daimyo!"
"And the Daimyo's Wife's birthday is coming up. I heard that person from the Tanaka Clan has boasted to the Daimyo that he will present a life-sized sculpture made from mutton-fat jade on her birthday."
"Now, as long as we eliminate the sculptor in Konoha, the Tanaka Clan will naturally fall into our hands once they lose the Daimyo's trust. And you people, who stand in the way of this?"
As he spoke, Sato Liandu broke into an evil smile. "Once I drive you from the clan head position, I doubt anyone below will have anything to say about it."
"The Land of Fire? Our Sato Clan's domain?" The Sato Clan Head glared furiously at Sato Liandu's arrogant, confident face. "Young people like you will never understand what truly matters in this world! Power and influence? Or the favor you think you have won from the Daimyo?"
"I will never hand the clan head position over to you!"
Hearing those words, Sato Liandu's wicked face twisted slightly. He stared at the solemn-faced Sato Clan Head. "You old bastard! Once this matter is finished, I will personally drag you down from the clan head position."
"We're leaving!" Sato Liandu called in a low voice.
As his words fell, more than half the people seated in the Sato Clan's meeting hall stood and headed outside. Only a few chairs remained occupied.
The Sato Clan Head clenched his fists as he watched those following Sato Liandu leave. In the end, he slumped back into his seat.
"Clan Head?" someone seated nearby called cautiously.
"I'm fine. Don't worry!" Hearing the voice, the Sato Clan Head straightened his bent back once more.
He raised his head and swept his gaze across the sparsely occupied hall.
In a deep voice, he said, "Sato Liandu is far too arrogant. He has no idea who truly holds the power to speak in this world! Send someone to Konoha immediately and inform them of this matter!"
"Isn't it already too late to go now? Since he dared to say it openly, he may have already succeeded!" someone nearby said.
"Hmph! I never expected us to make it in time. We only need to distance ourselves from this matter. If Konoha truly investigates, they will pursue Sato Liandu, not hold the entire Sato Clan accountable."
"Yes, Clan Head!"
The few people remaining in the room exchanged looks and nodded.
After leaving the meeting hall, Sato Liandu looked at the snowflakes resting on the eaves, and his mood settled. With his current control over the Sato Clan, he could have forcibly seized the clan head position long ago. But without a justifiable reason, it would be easy for the Daimyo to find an opportunity to intervene.
"Lord Liandu!"
A man dressed in noble attire who had followed Sato Liandu out of the meeting hall called after him.
Hearing the call from behind, Sato Liandu's lips curled slightly. His forward steps paused, and he tilted his ear as if listening.
Seeing Sato Liandu stop, the man behind him showed a flash of delight in his eyes. He stepped forward and said, "Lord Liandu, should we send people to keep an eye on those from the clan head's faction? In case they go and leak the news..."
"Leak the news?" Sato Liandu chuckled.
"To whom? Konoha? The Daimyo? Or that person from the Tanaka Clan you serve?"
"My lord, I have been wronged!"
The moment Sato Liandu spoke, a thud sounded behind him. The man who had just been speaking dropped to his knees. Despite the freezing snow and ice, beads of sweat the size of soybeans streamed down his forehead as he cried out nervously.
"Wronged?" Turning around, Sato Liandu looked down mockingly at the kneeling man. "I really should thank you! All these years, you have helped me keep passing along the information I wanted passed along. Otherwise..."
"Heh. It would have taken me quite some effort to gain the power I have today!"
"Lord Liandu! Heaven and earth bear witness to my loyalty! I have never had even the slightest intention of betraying you!" The kneeling man's long robe was already soaked through with sweat. With his forehead pressed against the snow, his face was full of terror as he gritted his teeth.
He absolutely could not admit to it. The fate of the last person who had betrayed Sato Liandu was still vividly before his eyes.
Whenever he thought of that person being thrown into the Insect Cave with fresh honey smeared into his wounds, only to be devoured alive, he could not stop trembling.
If Sato Liandu had not seized leverage against him years ago, he would never have dared betray him.
Looking at the man kneeling on the ground and shivering violently, Sato Liandu lost all interest in continuing to toy with him. He said directly, "Did you really think I never noticed the intelligence you spread over the years? I merely played along!"
"And now, as long as the Tanaka Clan cannot deliver what they promised on the Daimyo's Wife's birthday, I can strike at every one of their businesses. The Daimyo, having lost face, will not offer the Tanaka Clan any support either."
"Even if the Daimyo cannot possibly stand by and watch the Tanaka Clan collapse completely, the Tanaka Clan will never again be able to threaten the Sato Clan's position."
"As for the Daimyo finding out afterward that we killed that sculpting master, we will simply give up some benefits to placate him."
Sato Liandu did not look at the trembling wretch kneeling on the ground as he said this. Instead, he addressed the others who had followed him out of the meeting hall.
After all, even though he could essentially have the final say in the Sato Clan, it was still necessary to offer the other clan members some explanation.
"What about Konoha?" someone nearby could not help asking.
"Konoha?" Sato Liandu paused, his face filled with disdain. "Konoha's Third Hokage is nothing but a useless fool now. If this were the era of the First or Second Hokage, I naturally would not dare do such a thing.
"But according to information the clan obtained, Konoha clearly won the Shinobi World War a few years ago. Yet when the Cloud Ninja came to sign a treaty and failed to abduct the Hyuga Clan's princess, Konoha not only did not condemn the Cloud Ninja, it actually forced the Hyuga Clan to hand over the corpse of the branch family head."
"What is there to fear from a Konoha led by someone so weak and easily bullied? So what if Konoha learns of it? Could Konoha possibly dare come here and coerce the Sato Clan?"
As they watched Sato Liandu radiate confidence ahead of them, the Sato Clan members following behind were all thoroughly convinced.
Irritated, Sato Liandu glanced at the kneeling man, beneath whom a puddle of urine had even formed. He waved his hand. "Throw him into the Insect Cave!"
Then, looking coldly at the others who shuddered upon hearing the words "Insect Cave," he said, "What I hate most in my life is betrayal! Wealth, power, beautiful women—I can give you all of them! But if you wish to betray me, the Insect Cave will be your only fate!"
Before you continue