The Land of Wind, Trade City.
After the Gold Dust Trading Company was robbed, this street had languished for nearly half a year. Six or seven shops out of ten had closed, and even stray dogs no longer bothered to shelter beneath the eaves.
Uchiha En stepped out of the void onto a rooftop overlooking the ruins.
The same old place.
Under cover of night, he changed into a merchant's coarse clothes and slipped through the city gate. Trade City had fallen so far that the guards just yawned, too lazy to question anyone coming or going.
Out of the city, then west.
The nights in the Land of Wind were the color of sand.
He moved fast, leaping across the terrain.
A few hundred miles of Imperial Road were no more taxing to him than a stroll after dinner.
Before dawn, an oasis appeared at the far edge of the sea of sand.
Earthen-yellow walls enclosed a spread of gray-blue rooftops. At the city's center stood a brightly lit mansion, its ornate eaves and brackets an extravagance that stood out in the desert.
This was the Capital of the Land of Wind.
Uchiha En had never been here before.
That was why he had traveled here on foot.
The veteran finance minister's residence stood two streets west of the Daimyo's Mansion.
It had three courtyards and vermilion gates. Two lanterns hung at the entrance, each bearing the character for "Watanabe."
Watanabe Ichiro had controlled the Treasury of the Land of Wind for thirty years. Both the Daimyo's private funds and the state treasury passed through his hands.
Late that night, Uchiha En stood in the study.
Watanabe Ichiro got up for a drink of water, pushed open the door, and saw someone sitting behind his desk.
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