As Anko sank deeper into thought, Tachibana Jirō suddenly spoke—his words almost crashing her brain to a halt.
"Keizumi-sama, shouldn't we find someone to ask where the daimyō's mansion is?"
Mitarashi Anko: "???"
Wait…
Wait a minute!
The daimyō?
Could this ninja cat be talking about the daimyō of the Land of Fire?!
"No rush," Uchiha Keizumi said coolly. "It's rare for me to come to the capital of the Land of Fire—why would I kill the daimyō and then just leave? The evil here… it's not limited to him alone. To my eyes, this place is a breeding ground for evil in the entire shinobi world."
"Especially those so-called high-and-mighty nobles. From birth, they see themselves as above others, and believe that the laws and morals of the Land of Fire do not bind them."
"In some ways, even the law itself favors them, making their acts of violence and cruelty an accepted norm. They see ordinary people as something different from themselves—and lower."
Keizumi's voice was low and shadowed. "If the evil before me is not purged in its entirety, how can the entire shinobi world ever be cleansed?"
His words weren't loud, but to Mitarashi Anko's ears, they landed like one explosive tag after another—blowing her thoughts into chaos.
Kill the daimyō of the Land of Fire—those words echoed madly in her mind.
Anko realized she was drenched in sweat.
And now, at last, she understood what Keizumi had meant earlier when he said he had "something to do."
—He was going to assassinate the daimyō of the Land of Fire!
No… given how brazenly Keizumi had acted all day, could this even be called an assassination?
No—this was going to be an open execution!
In his mind, it seemed the very concept of "daimyō" didn't exist at all!
"Meow, you were Keizumi-sama's classmate back at the Academy. Surely you know that in his eyes—under his [Absolute Justice]—there is no such thing as 'those above others.'"
Tachibana Jirō's words struck Mitarashi Anko's mind like a bolt of lightning, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"In the eyes of Absolute Justice, there is no one above another…"
Anko found herself repeating the phrase under her breath.
…
Meanwhile—
In the busiest district of the Land of Fire's capital—
Several samurai pushed their way urgently through the crowd, ignoring the waves of grumbling and complaints that rose in their wake. They forced their way to a public notice board, swiftly tore down the official decree posted there, and replaced it with sheets of paper from their hands.
Without pausing, they plunged back into the crowd, panting as they rushed toward another location. Judging by the thick stack of papers they carried, they would be at this all day and night before finishing their task.
Curious eyes soon turned toward the notice board.
"A ninja… bounty warrant?"
"—Hss! Signed by the daimyō?!"
It didn't take long for people to realize this wasn't an ordinary decree—it was a wanted notice.
The bounty amount printed on it set every nerve alight.
"Fifty million ryō?!!"
Gasps of disbelief rippled through the gathered crowd.
Now it wasn't just the commoners of the capital who were stunned—even several shinobi among them stared wide-eyed.
"Fifty million ryō… That's about the bounty level of some minor village Kage," a Konoha shinobi muttered, rubbing his chin as he studied the sparse details on the notice.
"Name: unknown. Age: unknown. Sex: male…"
"Strength: unknown… Only a crude sketch provided. The sole distinguishing features are that he's accompanied by a cat—and by a short-haired woman dressed as a shinobi."
"Crimes… killed two members of the Police Force in broad daylight, and killed a civilian from a distance."
"And… huh? Wait—what?!"
"Massacred dozens of nobles?!"
The Konoha shinobi's eyes went wide, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
Where did this guy come from?
How could he be this bold?!
Still… from the barebones description, there was something about it that felt strangely familiar.
Was it just his imagination?
...
With the Land of Fire's Daimyō's residence operating at full capacity, one wanted poster after another was plastered all over the capital, instantly drawing the attention of countless people.
The staggering bounty of fifty million ryō shocked many.
But what shocked them even more was the "criminal's" actions!
Dozens of high-ranking nobles… killed?
The prestigious Yūki Clan had all but ceased to exist in less than half a day!
Some couldn't hold back their curiosity and headed toward the Yūki Clan's estate.
The moment they neared the area, they caught a whiff of a thick, iron scent—blood, wafting out from within the estate. The stench was so strong it made many people's faces twist in discomfort.
Those bold enough to poke their heads in for a glance turned pale on the spot, their expressions filled with horror.
The wanted notice hadn't lied—one of the Land of Fire's noble clans, the Yūki, had truly been nearly wiped out!
"Fifty million ryō… if you took that rogue ninja's head to the Daimyō's mansion, you'd be set for life, wouldn't you?"
"Assuming you live to do it! The target is a ninja, someone who can use ninjutsu. That bounty isn't something we ordinary folk should even think about. Daimyō-sama clearly put it out to draw the capital's ninja into hunting the rogue."
"That said… no name, no age, just a few traits and a sketch that looks like a child's doodle—who's going to find them?"
"Doesn't matter if they can or not… I just hope this death-seeking killer doesn't come after people like us."
"A man, a woman, and a cat… Why does that feel like I've seen them somewhere before?"
"…"
While ordinary citizens were either curious or treating it like a spectacle, the capital's nobles could no longer sit still.
One after another, they rushed toward the Daimyō's mansion.
When the group of nobles arrived, they found the Land of Fire's Daimyō looking somewhat weary.
"Daimyō-sama, how could such a villain appear in the city? What's his goal? What does he want? Which village is he from? He's not from Konohagakure, is he?"
A flurry of questions spilled from the mouth of a white-haired elder. "Daimyō-sama, a dangerous ninja targeting the nobility—we absolutely cannot sit and wait for death!"
The Daimyō took a deep breath and said, "The questions you're asking are the same ones I want answers to, but no one can give them to me. The reason I issued the fifty million ryō bounty is because I, too, believe the Land of Fire cannot simply wait for death!"
His gaze swept over the people before him. "I also know that all of you have privately hired powerful ninja. Now, in the face of this crisis, you must step forward as well."
"The lesson of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold' is not one any of you here can claim not to understand. The rogue destroyed the Yūki Clan, which means he may very well set his sights on other noble houses…"
"Or even on me, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire! Only by standing united can we weather this crisis together!"
The Daimyō's words left everyone in the hall glancing at each other.
They were, in truth, reluctant to send out the ninja they had hired.
After all, they had spent large sums to employ those ninja to protect their own lives—not to hunt down some rogue shinobi.
What if, while their bodyguards were off chasing the criminal, someone took the opportunity to target them instead?
"Daimyō-sama…"
One man couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked, "Don't you have the Twelve Guardian Ninja? It's said they're twelve exceptionally powerful elite shinobi. Why not send them? With their skill and their numbers, dealing with a single rogue shouldn't be a problem, right?"
The Daimyō of the Land of Fire: "…"
If the Twelve Guardian Ninja were actually by his side, would he still be this flustered?
Of course, that was something he could never say aloud—otherwise, the people before him would immediately see his weakness.
"A large portion of the Twelve Guardian Ninja have already been dispatched," the Daimyō said in a deep voice. "But finding a rogue shinobi in a city as vast as the capital is no different from fishing a needle out of the ocean. That's why your cooperation is all the more necessary. I think you all know perfectly well what happened to the Yūki Clan."
"Uh…"
Suddenly, someone cut in, "Don't we already have technology for long-distance communication? Why not contact Konohagakure and see if they have any information on this rogue?"
The hall fell silent for a few seconds.
The Daimyō also paused, then gestured for one of his retainers to step closer and bow.
He whispered a few words into the man's ear.
The retainer quickly nodded and left in haste.
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