Rain led Torifu through several streets. With every street they walked through, Torifu noticed that there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, but their clothes were becoming more and more luxurious. He didn't expect that the Uzumaki clan would also have a class system.
"Are these the nobles of the Land of Whirlpools?"
Rain turned around and said, "No, shinobi-sama. There are no nobles in the Land of Whirlpools. This street is where the officials live."
Torifu was a little speechless. What was the difference between this and nobility? It just sounded nicer. Did a small country like this need so many officials? But this was an internal problem of their country and had nothing to do with him. The Land of Fire also had a similar situation. However, the Daimyō didn't have much real power, and as long as they didn't do anything too outrageous, they were left to their own devices. After all, on the surface, the ruler of the country was the Daimyō, and the Hokage was just the Daimyō's subordinate. But everyone knew the reality; it was just to maintain a facade of peace.
After a while, Rain led Torifu and his group to a very luxurious mansion. The outer walls were carved with various inscriptions and secret formulas. Torifu didn't know much about these, but he could feel the chakra contained within them. It was probably a type of sealing jutsu used for defense. Since it was the Daimyō's residence, it was understandable that it would be safer.
There were two hannya masks on the front gate. It was a custom of the Uzumaki clan and had quite a nice feel to it. But he didn't have time to admire the gate. Rain went up and said something to the guard, then came back to Torifu's side.
"Shinobi-sama, let's go in. The First Prince has been waiting for a long time."
Torifu agreed and followed Rain into the Land of Whirlpools' Daimyō's residence. As soon as he stepped through the gate, he suddenly felt a pressure on his body. The flow of his chakra was also a little suppressed. But this didn't have much of an effect on Torifu. It seemed to only be able to suppress shinobi below Kage-level. If Hiruzen and Kagami had come, their strength would have been suppressed by a third.
"Shinobi-sama, it's normal to feel pressure. This is a sealing jutsu that Ashina-sama engraved to ensure the safety of the Daimyō's residence."
Torifu just nodded and continued to follow Rain into the mansion. Seeing that Torifu was fine, Rain turned his head and continued to lead the way.
This Daimyō's residence was about the same size as the Kumotsuru Clan's compound, maybe even bigger. There were all kinds of flowers that Torifu had never seen before and a very clear pond. There were also many maids walking around, all wearing the unique clothing of the Uzumaki clan. When they saw Rain and Torifu, they all bowed. Torifu waved his hand, signaling them not to be so formal, and continued deeper into the residence.
"This Daimyō's residence feels like a maze."
Rain smiled. "It was also Ashina-sama's request to make it difficult for assassins to find the Daimyō's location immediately."
When he said this, Torifu didn't know what to say. This Ashina really seemed afraid of dying. But it might have been these arrangements that allowed him to escape death and avoid being captured. He could now vaguely see a building. That should be the Daimyō's residence. It was not easy to get to. It had taken them about five minutes to walk from the entrance before they saw a proper building. Anyone who didn't know any better would have thought they had walked into a zoo.
Rain led Torifu through the last bamboo path, and they finally arrived at the Daimyō's residence. To be precise, it was now the First Prince's residence. It was said that the First Prince was personally appointed as the regent by Ashina, and he even produced a letter with a seal. He had a head start on his brothers. From the looks of it, he was the most likely prince to succeed to the throne. As for Ashina, many of the clan members believed he was already dead. But Torifu didn't think so.
"Shinobi-sama, we have arrived."
Torifu looked up, and a house similar to the buildings in the Hidden Leaf Village appeared before his eyes. This was something Torifu didn't expect. Everything else had been so unique, but the residence was in the style of a Hidden Leaf house? The difference between the two made Torifu a little dazed.
"Shinobi-sama, please enter."
Torifu straightened his clothes and waved his hand. The puppets behind him walked to the front and pushed open the door of the house. Torifu walked in with his head held high, and the eight puppets followed him in an orderly fashion. As soon as he entered the room, Torifu released a faint burst of chakra to sense the entire room. Besides the servant Rain, only the First Prince sitting on the main seat was a shinobi. Everyone else was an ordinary person. The strength of these two wasn't very high, only about Jōnin level, but whether they were hiding their strength... that was hard to say.
When the First Prince saw Torifu enter with a team of shinobi, he immediately smiled and got up to welcome them.
"Hidden Leaf's honored guest, I am the First Prince of the Land of Whirlpools. I welcome your arrival."
Torifu looked at the First Prince and then smiled. "The purpose of our coming to the Land of Whirlpools from the Hidden Leaf is to help the First Prince put down the rebellion. But it seems you are not very sincere."
When the First Prince heard this, the smile on his face immediately froze. "What are you talking about, honored guest? I am full of sincerity toward you. I'm just waiting for you to defeat my brothers who are trying to rebel."
The First Prince's expression was very lively, but Torifu could tell that none of his expressions were genuine. They were all just for show.
"When I first arrived on the island, only this one servant came to meet me. When I entered Uzushiogakure, there was no welcome. Is this what you call sincerity?"
"What! How could this happen!"
Countless Adamantine Sealing Chains suddenly appeared behind the First Prince! They tightly wrapped around Rain and pulled him in front of him!
"What did I tell you to do! This is how you welcome our honored guest!"
He then threw him against the wall. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth. Rain quickly got up, constantly apologizing, looking extremely humble.
Although Torifu was pretending to be arrogant and unreasonable, he couldn't stand this kind of scene. He found it especially annoying when he knew that what the First Prince was thinking was completely different from what he was saying.
"Alright, Your Highness the First Prince. Just send him away. He's an eyesore."
"Did you hear that! Now get out!"
Rain quickly kowtowed a few times and then walked out with a smile on his face. The smile seemed to be carved onto his face. From the moment he first met Torifu, was sent flying by Torifu, to now being punished by the First Prince. He always had a smiling face. At first, it seemed humble, but after seeing it more and more, it felt unsettling.
Turning back, the First Prince looked at Torifu with a look of eagerness. "Honored guest? Can we talk about what was in the letter now?"