Chapter 181: Mutual Probing
Dana patted the black-haired swordsman's face, the sound echoing in the silent training ground. His touch was light, but it was enough to make the man's head turn with the movement of his hand.
The black-haired swordsman's face instantly darkened.
No one could tolerate such an action.
Unless they had ulterior motives.
But before he could react, Dana had already moved on to the sallow-faced ninja, patting his cheek with the same insulting gesture.
"Not bad, not bad."
The sudden turn of events had silenced the training ground.
The black-haired swordsman, Iga Saemon's, face flushed with anger, and then, with a great effort of will, he suppressed it, his face a mottled red. The sallow-faced man, Mitsumasa Saito, was also gritting his teeth, staring at him.
Dana watched them calmly, as if waiting for them to react. But after a long moment, nothing happened. He just shook his head and turned to leave.
"Let's go," he said.
Jun'en Furuya's expression was uncertain. He glanced at the two stunned men and then followed him, his steps not as steady as before, a sense of urgency in them.
Dana went to the guest room that had been prepared for him in Asuka Castle and sent Jun'en away. He looked around, and without any signal, his men, who had been scouting, came in through the window.
And one more person: the captain of the Nine Samurai.
"Lord Dana," the man, who was wearing black makeup, said, kneeling on one knee.
His name was Boku. He was the third captain of the Nine Samurai, due to their rotation system, and had been in the capital for two years.
Even before he had entered the capital, Dana had exchanged information with him through his Communication Snail.
In short, the escort mission had indeed been arranged by Jun'en. Boku had agreed, partly because he didn't want to disrespect the Daimyo over such a small matter, and partly because he wanted to give the two young Cloud ninja some experience. In his judgment, it had been a low-risk opportunity for training.
But things had gone wrong, and the two of them were now dead.
He had conducted his own investigation and had gathered some limited information.
The two bodies had been found by Prince Takayoshi, who had only dared to return to the valley half a day after the attack, when he had seen that no one was pursuing him. He had not seen the battle itself. He had only said that the two Cloud ninja had told them to run.
The bodies had been brought back and examined. They had both died from external wounds. There was very little other information.
The prince and his attendants' stories were consistent. But without the use of more extreme interrogation methods, there were still doubts.
And then there was the assassination attempt.
Four days after the attack, the remaining seven of the Nine Samurai had been guarding the castle as usual. Though they were shorthanded, they had rearranged their defenses and were still quite secure. But the assassin, if he had not been incredibly lucky, must have been very familiar with the castle's defenses. He had found several weak points and had made it all the way to the Daimyo's study before he was discovered.
The assassin himself was not very strong, but he had fought with a desperate ferocity, giving them no chance to capture him alive. In the end, he had been killed, or rather, he had killed himself. The information they had gotten from his brain was incomplete, only that he had been a bold man who had taken on the mission to assassinate the Daimyo.
And then the Daimyo had been furious, and Jun'en, under the pretext of a security breach, had recruited the two mercenaries, Iga Saemon and Mitsumasa Saito.
Boku had, of course, not just stood by and watched. In fact, on their first day, they had been subjected to a thorough investigation by the Nine Samurai, but they had found nothing suspicious. They were not using a Transformation Jutsu, and their records at the underground exchange were real. It seemed they were really just mercenaries recruited by Jun'en.
He had been under a great deal of pressure lately. He was relieved that Dana and his Special Strategy Division had arrived.
"I've tested them," Dana said, taking a sip of tea. "It doesn't seem to be a disguise or a transformation. But their reactions are definitely suspicious."
In fact, he had even used his "pulse" vision, but had found nothing. But its main purpose was not to detect concealment, so he was wondering if he should have Kayo or Yusuke come and take a look.
"Do they have a motive?" Boku asked.
"It's not clear yet," he said. "But the timing of their appearance is too coincidental. Even if their only intention is to get close to the Daimyo, the person who arranged for them to be here is definitely up to something."
He paused. "I tried to provoke them," he said, "but I failed. At the very least, these two are not fools. But that makes it even more suspicious."
In another part of the castle, Jun'en was reporting to the Daimyo.
"That Yotsuki Dana," he said, "is not easy to deal with. He's a bit too aggressive."
"A young prodigy," the Daimyo said, unconcerned. "It's to be expected. As long as he didn't see through anything, it's fine. As for the two mercenaries, their feelings are of no consequence."
"As you say, my lord."
"The Cloud's men arrived much faster than we expected," the Daimyo continued. "Are you sure those two mercenaries are clean? Though it was just for show, they are still in the castle. We have to be careful."
"We have checked their identities, and even the Nine Samurai found nothing," he said respectfully. "But I will be careful."
The Daimyo nodded.
At the foot of the castle, in a house where the two black-haired swordsmen had been quartered.
The two of them were sitting cross-legged in front of a hearth, the black-haired one stirring a pot of some unknown white liquid.
"That Yotsuki Dana," he said, "I haven't seen him in years. To think he's grown so much. He's almost as tall as me."
"It's not news," the sallow-faced ninja said. "If you still think of him as the little kid you could carry on your shoulders, you're a fool."
"I wonder if he saw through anything this afternoon," the black-haired swordsman said, his expression serious.
"It should be fine," the sallow-faced ninja sneered. "My jutsu is not so easily detected. A completely unexpected way of probing. Though I knew he was trying to test us, it was still very annoying."
"Our initial objective has been achieved. If it's not possible, we can just abandon these identities."
"The timing is not right," the sallow-faced ninja said, shaking his head. "We are likely under surveillance. And we still need some time to study that snail shell."
The black-haired swordsman put the lid on the pot. "If we were to fight him head-on," he said after a while, "do you think the two of us could take him?"
The sallow-faced ninja looked at him. He could see the stubbornness in his eyes. "It would be difficult," he said calmly.
The two of them were silent.
"So what are you cooking?" the sallow-faced ninja said after a long time.
"Snake meat."
"...I'll cook tomorrow. Toad."
"...Can you eat a toad?"