"Take care, Your Highness."
As he watched the First Prince leave, Rain's face was devoid of any emotion. He still bowed and began to clear the table, then carried the bowl that had contained the medicine out of the room.
Meanwhile, Torifu, led by the maid, arrived at a small residence next to the Daimyō's mansion.
"Shinobi-sama, this is a special residence for our honored guests, located right next to the Daimyō's mansion to show our respect for you."
Torifu nodded. The place looked like a miniature version of the Daimyō's residence, with all the same facilities, but on a slightly smaller scale. This was to be expected. After all, they were the hosts, and no matter how distinguished a guest was, they couldn't overstep their boundaries.
"Thank you. I can manage on my own now."
The maid bowed slightly. "Understood, shinobi-sama. I'll take my leave."
Torifu smiled and waved goodbye to her, then stepped inside the residence. The basic layout was the same: a fish pond, flowers, and a bamboo grove. After passing through all of these, Torifu arrived at his living quarters. This was the only room in the entire residence, so there was no fear of getting lost. He pushed the door open, and the layout inside was very similar to the Daimyō's residence, almost an exact copy. However, the chakra suppression here was noticeably much weaker. Was this a sign that they didn't care about the guest's safety? Or were they afraid of affecting a guest who could take on three people at once?
Torifu couldn't be bothered to think about it. He spread the eight puppets out around the house and gave them a command to protect him. He then lay down on the bed, ready for a good rest. The long journey had made Torifu a little tired, and he hadn't slept well the night before. After drinking so much wine with the First Prince, sleepiness instantly washed over him, and he fell into a deep slumber. With the puppets protecting the area, he wasn't afraid of being ambushed in his sleep. He needed to recharge his energy while he had the chance. Who knew what kind of annoying things would happen in the next few days?
Torifu's worries weren't unfounded. Shortly after he fell asleep, a few shadowy figures climbed over his wall. Judging by their clothes, they were from the same group as the Hidden Mist rogue ninja from that morning, but they were obviously not leaders, just mere grunts. There were about five of them. They quietly infiltrated the courtyard. They had already gotten a good look at the residence's layout from the wall, so they were exceptionally fast after entering. They easily made their way to Torifu's quarters.
"Shh! These must be the people the boss was ordered to assassinate. The boss and the others are probably dead."
"Then why are we still here to die! Even the boss was no match for them!"
"Do we have a way out? We can't escape. We might have a chance if we fight here, but that person..." He didn't finish his sentence. "In any case, at worst, we'll die. We knew this day would come the moment we left the village."
The five of them looked at each other and nodded in resignation.
"Speaking of which, shouldn't that person be from the Hidden Leaf Village? How could he be here?"
The leader of the group gritted his teeth. "How should I know? Damn the Hidden Leaf Village! And those damn eyes!"
Just as they were complaining, a gentle voice sounded above their heads.
"Hello there. The chitchat's over. Bye now."
The men looked up and saw five blazing fireballs heading toward them. In the next second, they hit their bodies, instantly turning them into desiccated corpses.
"So weak."
The Scorch Release puppet's words had a double meaning. After speaking, its eyes dimmed and became lifeless. It then walked back to the house to continue guarding Torifu.
At around one in the afternoon, Torifu woke up. He had been woken up by hunger. Even though he had eaten a lot that morning, he was bound to be hungry after so much time had passed. He took some food out of his ring and went out into the courtyard, eating as he walked. The eight puppets saw that Torifu was out and continued to follow him.
There was a faint smell of charcoal in the air. Following the source of the smell, Torifu walked toward the fish pond. As soon as he looked, he saw five withered corpses scattered around the pond. Their faces were very peaceful and showed no signs of pain.
"Someone snuck in. Scorch Release."
The puppets were good at everything, but if they weren't ordered, they wouldn't clean up the battle traces. If a maid were to come in, she would be scared to death. He gently exhaled a cloud of mist, which instantly spread around the fish pond, covering the five corpses. When the mist dissipated, the corpses also disappeared.
Although the bodies were no longer in good shape, Torifu could still tell their identities from their clothes and headbands. "These rogue ninja are quite persistent. They came back for a second try after failing the first time." Torifu didn't bother with these small fries. He was more interested in the person behind them. But there was no rush. If he stayed here for a while, everything would become clear.
Torifu looked around and saw that he was already at the front gate. It would be a waste not to go out and take a look around. He wondered how everyone else was doing. Even if the princes were scattered all over the Land of Whirlpools, they should have been found by now. The two puppets Torifu had sent out had also made contact with the Second and Third Princes. He got some information, but it wasn't very useful.
"The Second Prince is indeed an ordinary person with no chakra, just like the First Prince said." But he wasn't as lacking in ambition as the First Prince made him out to be. At the very least, the Second Prince hadn't told the First Prince about asking the Hidden Leaf for help. After talking with the puppet, the Second Prince instructed the puppet to stay hidden and wait for the right moment. He even had the puppet stay in his residence.
Torifu wouldn't believe that these nine people weren't blood brothers. In such a chaotic situation, they all decided to ask the Hidden Leaf for help first. If they had asked for help from other countries, they would probably have been annihilated. These princes weren't very capable, but they were all great at plotting against their brothers. It seemed this country had only survived until now because Uzumaki Ashina had been holding it together. As soon as Uzumaki Ashina disappeared, everything fell into chaos. They even hired Hidden Mist rogue ninja.
"I wonder where that old man is hiding. He must have chosen to go into hiding because he knows a lot of secrets." Torifu didn't believe that a Kage-level powerhouse would suddenly go crazy and disappear for no reason. All of this was probably just a façade he created.