Chapter 183: The Wild Fantasies of a Playboy
"I know who was behind the assassination attempt on the Daimyo."
Prince Yukihiro leaned forward, one eye half-closed.
Dana felt as if he were being sprayed with oil. The air between them instantly became greasy.
He resisted the urge to lean back. "Oh?" he said, his expression unchanged. "Who?"
Yukihiro, not getting the surprised reaction he had expected, sat back up. "It seems you already have a clue, Dana-kun. You're not worried at all."
"Shouldn't you be the ones who are worried?" he said, glancing at him.
The prince froze, then burst out laughing, clapping his hands.
"Interesting! Interesting! As expected of the number one genius of the ninja world."
Then, his expression suddenly darkened.
"It seems I was being a little sentimental."
Even if he was unhappy, his expression shouldn't have changed so quickly.
But he suddenly felt very annoyed. From the moment Dana had walked in, he had felt that in comparison to his tall, young, and heroic figure, he was like a short, shriveled old man.
"The investigation has already begun," Dana said, looking at the man with the rapidly changing expressions. "I am confident that my men will find the truth. Of course, if you wish to expose the mastermind sooner, you can tell me what you know."
He didn't know if the information was even true. This Prince Yukihiro was clearly trying to use it to win him over, to buy his favor.
But like most of the people in the Daimyo's court, he had the typical aristocratic mindset, thinking that the Daimyo's court was a tier above the hidden villages, that the villages were their subordinates, that they couldn't function without them. An assassination attempt on the Daimyo, and the Cloud should be in a panic, desperately trying to prove their loyalty.
His unconcealed change in expression was proof of this.
But he was not going to play along.
If he had been willing to have a proper conversation, he might have been interested in what he had to say. But this guy seemed to have gotten the wrong script. And from what he had heard from Boku, he was one of the most disliked people in the capital.
"But you must have some other need, Prince Yukihiro," he said, putting down his teacup. "Otherwise, you could have just told the Daimyo."
He smacked his lips, as if reluctant, but in the end, he said, "I heard you were a fierce and arrogant man, that you would step on another mercenary's face and interrogate him. I thought it was a rumor. But seeing you today, I believe it."
The servant grapevine, Dana thought.
"But the more you are like this, the more I feel we should cooperate. I believe that you, like me, are not a man who follows the rules. Only a man like you can help me. Dana-kun, I have heard that you are to become the next 'A' of the Hidden Cloud. I wonder if you would like to have a close and intimate Daimyo?"
He leaned forward again, as if the gesture would make him more persuasive.
This was the first time tonight that he had been surprised.
Surprised by this man's stupidity.
He looked at his confident expression and thought of the intelligence he had gotten from Boku.
This Prince Yukihiro was the last son of the Daimyo's official wife, and was a special case among his many sons. He was also the most ridiculous. He had once spent half a year in a brothel, living a life of debauchery, and had even caused a few deaths. The fortune his father had given him when he came of age had been squandered in just a few years. But he could not give up his extravagant habits and had resorted to swindling and using his status to bully others. Even his own half-siblings were not safe from his clutches. The ministers of the court called him a "leech on Asuka Castle."
Because of his terrible reputation, besides a few clueless dancers, no one in the aristocracy was willing to marry him. In fact, they all avoided him like the plague, afraid that he would suck them dry. As a result, at almost forty, he still had no official wife, though he had plenty of illegitimate children. And there had even been a ridiculous incident where he had, on the grounds that he had no wife, requested to marry his own half-sister, which had enraged the Daimyo.
A man like this was asking him to help him become the Daimyo.
He might as well give him a kunai and let him go and conquer his own kingdom.
Of all the Daimyo's sons, it was not clear who was the most likely to succeed, but he was certainly the least likely.
But then he thought, from another perspective, a fatuous new Daimyo might not be a bad thing.
"The new Daimyo will be decided by the current one," he said after a moment of thought. "And in my opinion, the current Daimyo is in good health. Prince Yukihiro, you would be better off trying to win his favor than coming to me."
The succession was determined by two factors. The most important was the Daimyo's own opinion. The ninja world had no concept of primogeniture. It was basically up to the Daimyo's word. But the current one clearly did not feel the need to consider this. He was probably planning on deciding on his deathbed.
The other factor was the support of the ministers. There had been cases in history of a son rising to power with their support. But the Daimyo would also consider their attitude when choosing a successor. So the two were intertwined.
And Prince Yukihiro had neither. In fact, they were both against him.
Most importantly, the Cloud, or rather his father, did not want to get involved in such matters. This was not some court drama. This was the ninja world.
If his father hadn't been so sentimental, so considerate of the Daimyo's feelings, he wouldn't be handling it this way.
The dinner ended on a sour note. In the end, he had not revealed his "important information," and Dana had not asked again.
But from what he knew, with his on-and-off financial situation, it could not have been easy for him to host such a banquet in this famous den of pleasure, and to have called so many dancers. He wondered if he felt he had lost a lot of money.
It was late when he returned to his guest room. He was meditating when a pebble was thrown through his window again.
Natsu was waiting, her arms crossed. Dana poked his head out.
"Not going to scare me today?"
"Yesterday was too embarrassing."
She nodded.
And then she saw him jump out of the window, holding his own head.
"Ah!"
He quickly dispelled the transformation and covered her mouth.
"Shh! What precious information do you have for me today?"
"Nothing," she said, catching her breath. "I tried to find out, but it's not so easy to get information, is it?"
Just as he was about to say something, he heard a faint shout from the other side of the castle. "Assassin! Someone, quick!"