Xuandou walked into the hall, his gaze sweeping over the extravagant scene as a cold sneer curled his lips.
Fuck, that bastard Daimyō.
He actually knew how to have more fun than I did!
Hearing footsteps, the Daimyō lazily lifted his eyelids.
He glanced at Xuandou and the Iwagakure Jōnin, then raised his wine cup and took another gulp, slurring:
"You... you're the ones Iwagakure sent?"
"Are those Uchiha... really that powerful?"
"You ninja are getting more and more useless."
The Iwagakure Jōnin flushed crimson, his lips trembling. He wanted to say something, but Xuandou raised a hand to stop him.
"Daimyō Highness is right."
"We ninja really aren't much use."
Xuandou's voice was calm.
The Daimyō belched drunkenly and nodded in satisfaction.
He was about to lecture them some more when his gaze suddenly met Xuandou's eyes.
The scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun slowly in the dim yellow light.
"Yin Release: Heart's Divergent Gate."
The Daimyō's eyes instantly went vacant, his body freezing in place. The wine cup slipped from his hand, spilling wine across the floor.
The two women beside him screamed in fright. Xuandou silenced them with a glance, and they huddled in a corner, trembling.
"From today onward, you will follow my instructions."
Xuandou's voice was low and icy.
The Daimyō nodded mechanically.
The dancing girls and attendants watched in terror, but none dared make a sound.
A month later.
The banquet hall at the Daimyo's Residence in the Land of Earth was festively decorated, with wine cups passing back and forth.
At the invitation of the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, nobles great and small had traveled from every direction to gather under one roof.
They did not know why the Daimyō had suddenly summoned everyone, but they could not refuse him the courtesy.