Chapter 345: Rapidly Changing Situation
Under Koyuki's guidance, Mugetsu made his way to Sosetsu's study.
To Mugetsu, the "study" looked far more like a laboratory. The room was filled with mechanical devices and strange instruments; bookshelves were crowded not just with scrolls but with schematics and blueprints.
"Koyuki, Father has work to do right now and cannot play with you," Sosetsu said apologetically as he set down the book in his hand.
He assumed his daughter had come to pester him because there was no morning court today.
"It is not me who came to find Father. It is Brother Mugetsu who has something to talk about," Koyuki quickly clarified, making it clear she was not just here to play.
Mugetsu nodded to confirm her words.
"Thank you for your hard work, Koyuki. This is your reward. Take it and enjoy it, but eat it outside or the smell will linger in the room," Mugetsu said with a small smile, producing several beautifully wrapped candies as if by magic and handing them to her.
After all, Doto was still Koyuki's uncle. It would not do to leave the child with only bitter memories of this day.
"Mm, thank you, Brother Mugetsu."
Praised and rewarded, Koyuki beamed and happily trotted out of the room with the sweets in her hands.
Seeing his daughter so delighted, Sosetsu's expression softened as well.
"It seems you are very good with children, Mugetsu. Koyuki likes you very much," he said, smiling as he adjusted his black framed glasses.
Although Koyuki was fairly sensible for her age, she had still grown up as a princess, pampered from childhood. It was not easy for outsiders to gain her favor.
"Perhaps it is because I often teach students around her age. I have a bit more experience," Mugetsu replied lightly.
"Lord Sosetsu, the reason I came to see you today is because I accidentally discovered that someone in the Land of Snow is planning a rebellion."
After that brief exchange, Mugetsu got straight to the point.
In a situation where he could simply crush the problem with strength, he had no interest in wasting time. Rather than sitting around and waiting for the other side to make a move, he preferred to strike first.
Because of Doto's special identity, Mugetsu chose to be upfront with Sosetsu. Otherwise, a Konoha ninja interfering in another country's politics without the Daimyo's knowledge would be far too sensitive.
"Rebellion? That is impossible."
Sosetsu's first reaction was disbelief.
Mugetsu was just the ninja he had hired to protect Koyuki. Under normal circumstances, he should have had no contact with such matters at all.
"And the leader is none other than your younger brother, Lord Sosetsu. Kazahana Doto," Mugetsu continued calmly, taking out a scroll.
"Impossible! Doto is loyal to this country. How could he possibly do something so treasonous?"
Sosetsu's brows furrowed deeply, his disbelief intensifying.
The good impression Mugetsu had built up vanished in an instant. Sosetsu even began to consider dismissing him and sending him straight back to Konoha. To him, these words sounded malicious and baseless.
Just as Sosetsu was about to have Mugetsu thrown out of the study, the documents Mugetsu unfurled on the table forced him to fall silent.
"These are all records of transactions Doto carried out with Snow Ninja Village by abusing his authority."
Mugetsu's tone remained even.
"As Daimyo, do you truly understand just how deep his relationship with Snow Ninja Village runs?"
The head of Snow Ninja Village was not a fool. If Doto only painted them a bright future and promised funding after his coup, there was no way they would fully commit their support.
The reality was that Doto had already been using his position to help Snow Ninja Village develop, step by step.
And money did not appear out of thin air.
Everything he diverted to Snow Ninja Village had been carved out of other projects.
There was too much information.
For a moment, Sosetsu found it hard to breathe.
How could his dependable younger brother suddenly become a schemer who abused his power and harbored a heart ready to betray him?
"The mission was only to protect Koyuki. Why did you obtain this information?" Sosetsu asked at last, after forcing himself to calm down.
"Perhaps they mistakenly believed I was hired to investigate him."
Mugetsu's voice was calm.
"Once I realized there were people monitoring me, I investigated in return. I did not expect to uncover such a large surprise."
Strictly speaking, most of what he said was the truth. Doto had indeed sent Snow ninja to keep an eye on him, which had given Mugetsu the idea to dig deeper. Originally, he had planned to focus entirely on researching Sealing Techniques during this mission.
"Normally, I would not interfere in matters outside the scope of the commission."
Mugetsu's gaze met Sosetsu's.
"But I feel that this country, which has already endured long years of severe cold, should not have to endure further chaos. That is why I came to you."
"You are right, Mugetsu. This country cannot withstand any more turmoil."
Sosetsu drew a deep breath.
"On behalf of the Land of Snow, I thank you for your efforts. However, this matter is far too serious. I must send people to verify it first. If it proves true, I will see that you are generously rewarded. And Koyuki's safety will be entrusted to you."
When he had first seen the documents, Sosetsu truly had not wanted to believe them. He had even tried to excuse Doto: after all, his brother had once studied in Snow Ninja Village. Being slightly lenient toward them was not inconceivable.
But the more he read, the less he could deceive himself.
Every project he had planned for the sake of the people had been twisted at some point and redirected to line Snow Ninja Village's pockets.
In truth, after carefully reviewing everything, Sosetsu had already accepted the documents as genuine in his heart.
Mugetsu had only arrived in the Land of Snow recently. There was no way a foreigner could fabricate so many highly specific internal records, secrets even many officials did not know.
Still, the matter was too large. Acting rashly without a formal investigation would be reckless.
"Please move as quickly as you can," Mugetsu said, nodding. He showed no disappointment.
Doto was, after all, Sosetsu's brother and a key official of the Land of Snow. Snow Ninja Village was also involved. It was only natural that Sosetsu would be cautious.
Of course, in Mugetsu's ideal scenario, Sosetsu would simply grant him full authority.
Then Mugetsu would go directly to eliminate Doto, capture Kanko afterward, and neatly resolve the entire situation.
As Mugetsu left, Sosetsu stared at his back and let out a long sigh.
He had never imagined such fratricidal conflict would fall upon his own family.
"Doto… why did it come to this?"
…
When Mugetsu stepped out of the study, Koyuki was still in the corridor, happily nibbling on the candies she had earned.
"Let us go, Koyuki. What kind of story do you want to hear today?" Mugetsu asked with a smile.
"I want to hear the story of the Senju and Uchiha from the Warring States Period," Koyuki replied without hesitation. Obito's half finished "lesson" was still stuck in her mind.
"And you cannot stop halfway and start asking those strange questions again," she added quickly, remembering the trauma of being ambushed with exam questions.
Obito's inhumane behavior had clearly left a bit of a shadow on her heart.
"Of course not," Mugetsu said, gently patting her head.
"But you will have to wait a little while for the story. I need to make some arrangements first."
Obito and the others still had no idea about Doto's plans to seize the throne.
To them, this was still just a simple escort mission.
Koyuki nodded obediently and went back into the room to wait.
Next, Mugetsu briefly gathered Kakashi and the others and explained the situation.
"The situation has changed. Doto is going to usurp the throne. Get ready for battle."
"Oh, so it is a coup. I thought someone would at least send a letter saying they planned to kidnap the princess. Wait… usurp the throne?"
Obito's disappointment at the lack of a "kidnap the princess" scenario quickly turned into shock as the meaning sank in.
"Do you mean he is going to overthrow the Daimyo?"
His expression edged into excitement.
This was the kind of major plot twist that normally only happened near the late stages of a ninja novel, just before saving the world.
"Doto… the Daimyo's brother?" Kakashi muttered, thinking back.
He recalled the serious man they had briefly met when they first arrived at the castle.
"Teacher Mugetsu, what should we do? Should we send Koyuki to a safe place first?" Rin asked anxiously.
The mission was to protect the princess. Naturally, her first thought was Koyuki's safety, not suppressing the coup.
"There is no need for that right now," Mugetsu said, shaking his head.
With his current strength, there was no safer place in the entire Land of Snow than at his side.
"You do not need to take any special actions. Just keep protecting Koyuki as before, but stay more alert."
"Although I have already found proof that Doto intends to seize the throne, the Daimyo still has to complete his own investigation. So for now, do not act rashly," Mugetsu explained.
"That is so troublesome. If we already know he is a bad guy, why not just arrest him?" Obito scratched his head, genuinely perplexed.
"Do you even remember who he is?" Kakashi looked at him as if he were hopeless.
Doto was arguably the second most important person in the Land of Snow.
"I really do not remember who Doto is. I think he is related to Koyuki somehow," Obito admitted honestly.
When Asama had introduced Doto, Obito's entire focus had been on the word "princess." He had barely listened to anything else.
"It does not matter who the enemy is. As long as you protect Koyuki, there will be no problems," Mugetsu said, cutting off the bickering.
"Of course, you also need to protect yourselves."
This time, they were very likely facing an entire ninja village.
Even a small one was far beyond what Obito and the others could handle alone at their current level.
For this mission, Mugetsu would be the main fighting force. Obito's team would mostly be responsible for dealing with small fry.
…
Sosetsu might have been a bit idealistic as a Daimyo, but he was not stupid.
Before the investigation results came back, he sent ninja who were loyal only to himself to secretly seal off Doto's residence.
If Doto made any suspicious move, they were to capture him immediately.
Sosetsu understood very clearly that Doto was the core of the coup.
Without him, Snow Ninja Village would not dare move so brazenly.
However, Sosetsu still underestimated how far his ambitious younger brother was willing to go.
Once someone began to test a pane of glass to see how strong it is, the result of it shattering was almost a foregone conclusion.
Once suspicion took root, people would use any means they could to confirm it.
The moment Doto suspected that his plot had been exposed, and that Sosetsu had hired Konoha ninja to investigate him, he began thoroughly checking every potential leak and preparing for the worst.
So when Sosetsu truly started his own investigation, Doto immediately noticed.
From his point of view, this only confirmed his fears.
Therefore, Doto activated his arrangements at once.
On one hand, he secretly contacted Snow Ninja Village and ordered them to prepare for a forceful coup.
On the other, he used the Transformation Technique to slip past the cordon around his residence and disappear.
Sosetsu had not imagined that his younger brother would go this far for power.
By the time one third of the evidence had been verified, Sosetsu already had enough to condemn Doto to death as a high ranking official who had betrayed the nation.
He personally went to the residence and used his authority to control everyone inside.
"Doto, why would you do this? Did we not agree to make the Land of Snow prosper together?" Sosetsu asked, pain written across his face.
"That was only your wishful thinking," the "Doto" before him sneered.
Sosetsu's brows drew together. Something was off.
Those words did not sound like his brother at all.
"You are not Doto. Who are you?" Sosetsu demanded.
"How strange. An ordinary man actually saw through my Transformation Technique."
The impostor gave up the act.
"You know, I worked very hard to perfect this disguise, constantly imitating Lord Doto while serving at his side."
The ninja under Sosetsu's command suddenly went pale.
If this was a double using Transformation Technique, it meant Doto had already escaped right under their noses.
"My apologies, Lord Sosetsu. We failed our mission," the leading ninja said, kneeling on one knee.
"I will immediately dispatch teams to conduct a countrywide search. We will find the criminal Kazahana Doto as soon as possible."
"Hahaha, it is too late!" the impostor laughed wildly.
"You do not need to look for Lord Doto. Lord Doto will come find you very soon! Only Lord Doto can bring true strength to the Land of Snow!"
The guard holding him could not stand it any longer and drove a fist into his stomach, signaling him to shut up.
As if answering that arrogant declaration, Doto appeared in the afternoon at the head of a strike force of Snow ninja, launching a surprise assault on the royal castle.
Even though Sosetsu had strengthened the defenses thanks to Mugetsu's warning, the forces directly under his control were still far weaker than Snow Ninja Village.
He had not only cut the village's budget, but the entire country's military spending.
As for the regular army and samurai, they were barely worth mentioning.
Snow ninja could easily use wide range Snow Style techniques to incapacitate them in one stroke.
Out of fear of Mugetsu, and because he believed Koyuki's status might threaten him in the future, Doto personally led the Snow ninja toward her location.
He knew his naive older brother far too well. Sosetsu would not run.
The main battlefield gradually shifted toward where Koyuki was staying.
The noise of battle grew louder and louder, quickly drawing Obito and the others' attention.
"It is so noisy. Did something happen?" Koyuki stood on tiptoe, trying to see into the distance.
Just then, Sosetsu arrived with a group of guards.
He looked at Mugetsu with a deeply apologetic expression.
"I am sorry, Mugetsu. I squandered the intelligence you brought me and failed to resolve this before it exploded."
He took a breath, then said solemnly:
"Please take Koyuki and leave this castle. Leave the Land of Snow. This is my request as her father."
Events had spiraled far beyond what Sosetsu had expected.
He had never imagined Doto would move this quickly.
If he had not taken early action to try to arrest his brother, they might not even have finished verifying the evidence by now.
The strength supporting Doto far exceeded his estimates as well.
The castle's reinforced garrison was being completely overwhelmed.
Mugetsu might be an excellent ninja, but Doto had hundreds of Snow ninja on his side.
Sosetsu decided that Mugetsu should break through with Koyuki while he himself stayed behind to die with the castle.
"Why do I have to leave the Land of Snow? I do not want to be separated from Father," Koyuki asked, confused.
Although she yearned a little for the Land of Fire, something about this felt wrong.
"Because Father has made a grave mistake and must be punished," Sosetsu said with a gentle smile, stroking her head.
"If you stay with Father, you will be punished as well."
"Then I want to be punished with Father," Koyuki cried, clutching his arm with both hands.
Sosetsu showed a helpless expression, lifted his daughter up, and tried to hand her to Mugetsu so he could take her away by force if necessary.
But Mugetsu did not accept her.
Instead, he adjusted his glasses with his right hand and smiled.
"The mission may be to protect the princess, but upgrading it to subduing a rebellion is not too big of a stretch," he said lightly.
"However, the commission fee will need to be adjusted later."
From Mugetsu's point of view, Sosetsu's actions were those of a disastrous teammate.
But with his overwhelming strength, there was not much difference between a best case and worst case scenario.
At the end of the day, this was just a small ninja village in a remote country.
The worst case might even work out better for him, letting him temper Obito and the others while also increasing the mission rewards.
"Mugetsu, I must remind you, Doto has hundreds of ninja at his command," Sosetsu said again.
Given Mugetsu's intelligence gathering abilities, he was obviously an outstanding ninja.
But no matter how strong one ninja was, could he really stand alone against hundreds?
"Lord Daimyo, I should remind you of something too."
Obito took a step forward.
"Teacher Mugetsu is super strong."
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