Analysis

The Capital of the Land of Fire lay slightly west of the center of the Land of Fire, only a normal person's two or three days' walk from Konoha.

Aside from a moat several zhang wide surrounding its perimeter, towering stone walls rose from the ground and encircled the entire city. Neatly dressed soldiers occasionally hurried back and forth atop the walls, their vigilant gazes sweeping over both sides.

Within the estate of the Sato Clan, one of the great noble families of the Land of Fire...

Tap... tap... tap...

Heavy footsteps echoed through the tranquil courtyard. A tall, upright young man dressed in monk's robes, with a graduated haircut, walked steadily along the bluestone path.

Bang...

Crash...

"Trash! Every last one of you is trash!"

The chaotic sounds, as though someone were tearing the house apart, shattered the courtyard's peace. Pines and cypresses stood scattered throughout the yard, while fragments of precious porcelain littered the floor of the main residence.

Upon reaching the house, the young man listened to the sounds inside. After a moment of silence, he said, "Liandu! I'm here."

The surrounding noise abruptly fell silent. Inside, Sato Liandu, dressed in aristocratic clothing, panted heavily with a sinisterly handsome face. Hearing the voice outside, he did not bother straightening his disheveled clothes. He kicked aside the porcelain shards covering the floor and opened the door.

"Come in!"

Without exchanging any pleasantries, Sato Liandu opened the door and sat down in a chair without the slightest decorum.

The young man who entered frowned at the messy room but said nothing. He calmly shut the door behind him and walked up to Sato Liandu.

"What happened that required me to leave the Fire Temple?"

At those words, Sato Liandu clenched his fists tightly. His sinisterly handsome face twisted slightly as he gritted his teeth. "Those useless fools!"

The young man standing there raised his brows slightly but did not speak, waiting for him to continue.

Seeing that the young man had no reaction, Sato Liandu let out a long breath and shook his head. His voice was somewhat dejected as he said, "Konoha discovered that I sent people there to kill someone."

"You sent people to Konoha to kill someone?!" The monk-robed young man's voice suddenly rose several pitches. His previously calm expression changed at once. "How could you be so foolish?"

Sato Liandu gave a bitter laugh. Only before this man, his true friend, could he reveal such weakness.

At all other times, no matter what happened, as the current de facto head of the Sato Clan, he could only present an appearance of having everything under control. That was the price of standing at the top.

Yet it had also been his own choice. He had tasted the feeling of having his life and death controlled by others once, and once was enough.

For that, he was willing to pay any price.

"Nothing should have gone wrong. After all, the target was merely a defenseless orphan from Konoha. Who would have thought..." As he spoke, Sato Liandu lowered his head in despair.

"What is the situation now? If it isn't too serious, I can ask my teacher to plead with Konoha." The monk-robed young man asked in a low voice.

At those words, Sato Liandu's eyes brightened slightly, only to dim again in an instant. He waved a hand listlessly.

"Forget it. That fool who acted also implicated the heirs of Konoha's Ino–Shika–Cho clans and even killed one of Konoha's Anbu. I've already had people bring gifts to apologize throughout Konoha. With the connections I've built over the years, it can still be settled if I pay a certain price."

"Then why did you call me back...?" the monk-robed young man asked.

At the question, Sato Liandu's eyes revealed chilling killing intent. He pulled a photograph from his chest and handed it over. "Help me get rid of this brat!"

The monk-robed young man frowned slightly and took the photograph.

"A child?"

The photograph clearly showed a seven- or eight-year-old child standing outside a shop. The words Samu Carving Shop were carved above the entrance.

"Yes. He's the brat I wanted killed in Konoha. If he had just stayed in Konoha, there really would have been nothing I could do. But since he insists on opposing me, I can only trouble you with this." Sato Liandu's expression was icy.

"Leave it to me!" The monk-robed young man nodded without asking further questions, picked up the photograph, and headed for the door.

"If things become impossible, preserving your life comes first."

Watching the monk-robed young man leave, Sato Liandu was suddenly seized by an inexplicable sense of unease and could not help saying so.

The monk-robed young man paused mid-step, then pushed open the door and continued walking away at the same steady pace.

Clip-clop... clip-clop... clip-clop...

Rapid hoofbeats rang out along the official road of the Land of Fire.

Inside the carriage, Samu Kokaze sat facing Guy.

"If someone comes to intercept and kill us, it'll probably be around here."

A childish voice broke the silence in the carriage.

Guy, who had been meditating across from him, frowned when he heard that. "There shouldn't be anyone coming, right?"

"Why not?" Samu Kokaze gave a cold laugh. "As a noble of the Land of Fire, he can't break the rules and send someone to assassinate Brother Yoshikado. But killing a commoner like me is no problem at all."

"Ever since the Sato Clan's attempt to kill me in Konoha failed and was exposed, they haven't had many options left. Killing me is one of the simplest."

Guy frowned deeply upon hearing this, and it was obvious from his expression that he had not grasped the point.

Helpless, Samu Kokaze could only continue explaining. "Ever since the Sato Clan's attempt to kill me implicated Ino and the others, the gap in strength between the Sato Clan and the Tanaka Clan is no longer so enormous."

"If the Tanaka Clan could not have defeated the Sato Clan at all without the Daimyo's support before this incident, then after the assassination attempt, with open or covert assistance from Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, and their three clans, they can now withstand the Sato Clan's attacks even without relying on the Daimyo."

"And now that I, someone already caught at the center of this affair, have left Konoha, I've given them a perfect opportunity."

"What opportunity?" Guy could not help asking, feeling that his head was not quite enough for this.

Samu Kokaze sneered. "Naturally, the opportunity to kill me. This is outside the village, unlike inside it. If I were assassinated in the village, the Hokage could mobilize the village's resources to seek justice for me, and no one could say otherwise. But outside the village..."

As he spoke, he sneered again. "Killing me would also temporarily ease the Sato Clan's current disadvantage. After all, you could say that I'm the key figure behind the Tanaka Clan's rise."

"If I were killed on the road to the Capital of the Land of Fire, the people beneath the Tanaka Clan would surely start having thoughts they shouldn't have, especially when they already saw the Tanaka Clan as being at a disadvantage."

Guy, seated across from him, now had his mouth hanging open as he stared dumbfoundedly at Samu Kokaze, who continued analyzing the current situation.

Still immersed in his analysis, Samu Kokaze did not notice at all. He continued with a cold laugh, "What's more, if I'm killed, then on the Daimyo's Wife's birthday, the jade carving promised beforehand definitely won't be delivered. By then, the Tanaka Clan will lose favor with the Daimyo. Even with the support of Ino's three clans, the Sato Clan's chances of winning will increase greatly. Do you think he'll send someone to kill me?"

"Gulp..."

Guy swallowed hard. The sound finally interrupted Samu Kokaze's train of thought. Looking at Guy's dumbfounded expression, the child's face suddenly changed.

"Damn it! I got too carried away showing off!"