At the daimyo's residence in the Land of Lightning, the country's daimyo, Jinmu Yotsuki, looked at the Uchiha clansman who had entered and asked in a puzzled tone,
"Uchiha? What have you Uchiha come to see me for? Our Land of Lightning doesn't seem to have any dealings with you, does it?"
The Uchiha clansman slowly raised his head and looked straight at Jinmu Yotsuki. "Your Excellency must be so important that you forget things easily. Our Uchiha Clan once entered into a contract with your Land of Lightning."
A minister beside him suddenly barked, "Insolence! The Uchiha Clan truly is arrogant! How dare you be so ignorant of etiquette! Do you know that the man before you is the ruler of the Land of Lightning, its daimyo?
"You're nothing but a mere Uchiha. Kneel and pay your respects at once! Kowtow and beg forgiveness!"
"Shut up. You're not worthy of speaking to me." The Uchiha clansman did not indulge the minister in the slightest. Without hesitation, he activated his Sharingan and glared at him.
Within 0.1 seconds, the minister fell under genjutsu and collapsed to the floor, unconscious. The samurai standing guard nearby noticed the commotion and immediately ran over.
One samurai carefully helped the minister up. "My lord, are you all right?"
The other samurai placed their hands on the scabbards at their waists, watching the Uchiha before them nervously.
The minister weakly opened his eyes and pointed at the Uchiha. "You dare attack someone in the daimyo's presence! What are you waiting for? Seize this Uchiha!"
Hearing this, the samurai looked back at the minister in astonishment. Seriously, man, are you drunk? How little did you eat to get this wasted?
Us, take down an Uchiha? Are you kidding me? We're just a handful of samurai who can't even beat ninja, and you want us to fight an Uchiha clansman, supposedly the strongest in the Shinobi World? You barely pay me anything each month. Why should I risk my life for you?
The samurai exchanged glances, each reading the others' thoughts. For a moment, the scene fell still, with not a single person willing to step forward.
The Uchiha clansman gave a soft scoff, sweeping a disdainful gaze over everyone present before turning his attention back to Jinmu Yotsuki.
"Your Excellency, do you need me to remind you what our contract entails?"
Jinmu Yotsuki's expression had darkened. After all, this Uchiha had knocked down his minister in his own residence. It was a slap in his face!
Jinmu Yotsuki truly wanted to give the order to have this Uchiha clansman thrown in prison, but everyone present combined was no match for him. He could only swallow his anger.
Jinmu Yotsuki took several deep breaths and finally managed to calm himself somewhat. Looking at the Uchiha, he said, "Isn't it a little too arrogant of you Uchiha to behave this way in my residence?
"Besides, I recall no contract between the Land of Lightning and the Uchiha."
The Uchiha clansman said evenly, "This contract was signed several hundred years ago. It was a permanent contract between the daimyo of the Land of Lightning at the time and our Uchiha Clan.
"Each year, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning was to pay the Uchiha a guarding fee to employ the Uchiha Clan to watch over the Chinoike, a clan of criminals from the Land of Lightning."
Only upon hearing the name Chinoike did Jinmu Yotsuki seem to recall something. "I remember now. The Land of Lightning did indeed have such an agreement with the Uchiha.
"What is it? Is there some problem that brings you Uchiha here to discuss this? I distinctly remember that we have paid the corresponding employment fee every year."
The Uchiha clansman thought over what Uchiha Takashi had instructed him to say, then said, "Our Uchiha Clan has come to terminate this contract.
"Because the Chinoike Clan no longer exists in the Shinobi World. With no one left to guard, this contract naturally comes to an end..."
Jinmu Yotsuki raised his eyebrows at this. "Oh? You Uchiha are actually so faithful to your word that you never considered taking our payments for nothing?"
"Our Uchiha Clan has always kept its promises. We never engage in such sneaky, underhanded dealings! This is the honor our Uchiha have upheld for a thousand years." The Uchiha clansman lifted his head slightly as he spoke, his face full of pride.
In truth, what this Uchiha clansman had wanted to say was that the Uchiha had already absorbed the Chinoike, so the Land of Lightning no longer needed to concern itself with them.
But after Uchiha Takashi learned what this fellow intended to say, he immediately flicked him on the forehead and told him what he should say instead.
Uchiha Takashi's words were not lies. They were entirely true, merely presented from another angle. This was what was called a montage-style lie.
Presenting true events in another way to achieve the goal of deception.
The Chinoike were indeed gone. After all, once they had been absorbed by the Uchiha, although their surname remained unchanged, strictly speaking, the Chinoike Clan no longer existed.
Jinmu Yotsuki said happily, "So that's how it is. The Uchiha Clan truly does keep its promises and conduct itself with integrity, just as the rumors say. You have my admiration."
Jinmu Yotsuki believed the Uchiha clansman without even sending anyone to verify his words. This was the benefit of the outstanding reputation the Uchiha had built up over a thousand years.
Almost no one would think the Uchiha would lie. If someone grabbed a random person off the street and told them the Uchiha were lying, they probably would not believe it.
The Uchiha clansman lowered his head slightly. "So this contract has ended. I came specifically to inform you of this. Now that the message has been delivered, I will take my leave."
With that, he turned to leave. Jinmu Yotsuki hurriedly spoke up. "Wait. You Uchiha barged into my residence and injured my minister. Don't you owe me an explanation?"
The Uchiha clansman turned his head slightly. The Sharingan in his eyes slowly rotated as his scarlet gaze fell on Jinmu Yotsuki, seated on the raised platform.
"An explanation? This is how we Uchiha have always done things. Is there a problem?" As he spoke, he looked at the minister lying on the floor feigning weakness, and the samurai guarding against him.
"Could it be that these few ants here are what give Your Excellency the confidence to question me?"
The atmosphere in the hall grew tense once more. All the samurai placed their hands on their scabbards, yet none dared draw their blades.
Under the stare of those scarlet Sharingan, Jinmu Yotsuki felt cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Just as the pressure became overwhelming and he was about to buckle, the Uchiha sneered, then slowly vanished from the spot.
The daimyo's eyes flew wide. After a moment of disorientation, he realized that the Uchiha clansman had long since left his residence. Everything just now had merely been genjutsu.
Seated on the platform, Jinmu Yotsuki felt a wave of lingering fear. This Uchiha clansman had drawn everyone present into genjutsu without anyone noticing.
Was this the Uchiha Clan? Dealing with them would be as simple as slaughtering pigs. How terrifying!
When the feeble minister beside him saw that the Uchiha clansman had left, he immediately scrambled up from the floor. His back no longer hurt, his legs no longer felt weak, and not a trace of his earlier frailty remained. Without hesitation, he threw himself before the daimyo and began wailing.
"My lord! The Uchiha are too arrogant! He was looking down on you! Those Uchiha are utterly outrageous in everything they do! This was a slap in your face, my lord! You must demand an explanation from the Uchiha!"
Gritting his teeth, Jinmu Yotsuki told the minister coldly, "Shut your mouth! Haven't you embarrassed us enough? You will take what happened today to your graves. If anyone dares spread word of it, I'll have their head!"
The minister shrank back and hurriedly retreated, not daring to say another word.
After Jinmu Yotsuki finished speaking, he suddenly felt the pressure on him vanish, leaving his entire body at ease. He slumped in his chair, panting heavily.
Although he felt deeply stifled, he could not muster the slightest thought of revenge. He understood perfectly well that if he dared retaliate, he would die in this very seat tomorrow. He had not lived enough yet. He did not want to die!