The daimyō screamed, "Guards!"
Sasuke clicked his tongue impatiently, raised a hand, and Chidori Sharp Spear pierced straight through the daimyō's shoulder.
Blood immediately stained the daimyō's luxurious nightclothes red.
Before he could scream, the daimyō looked into Sasuke's terrifying, murderous eyes and fell completely silent.
"Shut up. I'm not as patient as Naruto when it comes to comforting you."
Inside an abandoned tea room.
Drip.
The dossier recording the whereabouts of every one of his family members slipped from Fujiwara Hidemasa's trembling hand and fell onto the tatami.
It was as if every bone had been pulled from his body. His face was deathly pale, utterly bloodless.
"Uchiha Sasuke..." Fujiwara Hidemasa muttered the name over and over.
Naruto maintained that gentle smile, as though he had not noticed the other man's loss of composure at all. He unhurriedly poured himself another cup of tea, the rising steam blurring the contours of his face.
Fujiwara Hidemasa's chest heaved violently. Forcing himself to retain the last shred of aristocratic dignity, he squeezed out a cold laugh through clenched teeth.
"You think... you think such despicable methods can make the Daimyō's Palace submit?"
"What we represent is an Order passed down for centuries! The foundation of this country!"
Naruto set down his teacup.
The bottom of the cup touched the table with a soft clink.
For the first time, he truly looked Fujiwara Hidemasa directly in the eye.
In those azure eyes, all the earlier gentleness and amusement vanished in an instant, leaving behind only pure, untainted indifference.
"Order?" Naruto spoke calmly. "Lord Fujiwara, which kind of Order are you talking about?"
He even felt a flicker of boredom. These people always loved dressing up rotten rules as sacred doctrines, repeating lies they did not even believe themselves over and over.