[The Daimyo of the Land of Water appeared earlier under the name Uesugi Kenwa. "Takahashi Ryusui" in the previous chapter has been corrected.]
The veteran daimyo present each scrutinized the young man before them, Yamashita Cixin, who still had a few rough edges.
Fujiwara Daichi, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, deliberately gave him a hard time. "After this upheaval, the Land of Lightning has suffered a grievous blow. Whether it can still call itself a great nation is another question. And now some greenhorn thinks he deserves to call himself a 'daimyo' and stand as our equal. Times really have changed..."
Yamashita Cixin smiled. "Ah, I agree that I'm different from my elders. All of you inherited your positions from your fathers, while I came from humble roots. I'm only sitting here thanks to someone's help. Still, we're much of a muchness..."
Everyone thought, This fellow...
Abe Kazutaka, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, sneered. "I've heard of you. The leader of the Land of Lightning's early movement against the nobility, a wanted criminal with a hefty bounty on his head. Whoever could raise a former criminal to the daimyo's throne must be quite something. Just who is this benefactor of yours...?"
Yamashita Cixin calmly gave a name. "Uchiha Itachi."
Whoosh!
The room abruptly fell silent.
Abe Kazutaka said, "That Uchiha butcher who slaughtered his entire clan!"
At that moment, the black-robed young man behind Cixin clenched his fists.
Uekawa Shikyu, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, said, "I must clarify something here. Uchiha Itachi has returned to Konoha, and his name has been cleared. He took the blame for Danzo. Lord Kazutaka, someone in your lofty position should choose his words carefully..."
Abe Kazutaka dismissed this. "Hmph. The Uchiha were an ill-omened clan to begin