Kapitel 151: 150-Is Konoha Involved?
"So you purposefully let your clones be discovered?" Yano asked, studying Renjiro's face and body language.
Renjiro nodded, "I also ordered them to use the few earth-natured jutsus that I knew here and there to fully paint the picture that Shinobi from Iwagakure attacked the nobles.
It's a deception within a deception. At first, they would suspect the Iwa Shinobi in the city, but after they notice that most of the damage caused was by wind jutsus, they'll eventually conclude that Suna Shinobi did this. Them concluding this on their own would make them less likely to even think that someone might be impersonating Suna Shinobi."
Yano felt a shiver run down his spine. 'That is frightening and also smart,' he thought.
The sheer ingenuity of Renjiro's plan forced him to compare Renjiro to his own clan head, a notorious schemer. He was in awe of Renjiro's idea and couldn't help but start seeing him in a different light.
'With the way he is quick on his feet plus his wits, he might be a good candidate for…' Yano's thoughts trailed off as he was interrupted by Renjiro's question.
"What's next? Have we completed our mission, or do we need to stay here?"
"No," Yano replied, shaking off his thoughts.
"First, we will wait and see how the capital reacts. With Asa being here, they might first suspect him. Once we have gauged their response, then we can decide where and when to apply pressure or just leave."
Renjiro nodded, and they both made their way back to the caravan's quarters. As they did, Renjiro couldn't help but think, 'I already have a present waiting for Asa the next time he goes to the Daimyo's court.'
In his quarters, Asa was in the middle of a crisis. The guards and shinobi in the capital city had already determined that his squad was not responsible for what happened to the nobles since they had not taken a foot out of their quarters, which were closely monitored. Despite this, Asa couldn't shake the feeling of a noose tightening around his neck.
'What is happening,?' Asa thought, pacing back and forth.
'No, this cannot be happening. I had been planning for this for a while. After I defeated the Four Tails and handed it to the village, I knew that I needed to strike first and get the Daimyo's support. So who is planning against me?'
'Is Onoki scheming against me? I am not sure whether he knows what I am doing, and even if he knew, he wouldn't bother doing anything since he always looks down on me because I only have a Kekkei Genkai while he has Dust Release.'
Asa stopped and looked around the room. His squad was quiet, each member deep in their own thoughts.
One of his squad members, Okuma, finally spoke up. "Lord Asa, what should we do? The guards have nearly vindicated us, but the fact that the people identified near the homes of the dead nobles were shadow clones is a problem."
Asa clenched his fists, 'With the murders being shadow clones makes me think that maybe Konoha is involved. Or maybe Ohnoki paid some mercenaries to frame Konoha?' His mind raced with possibilities.
"We need to stay calm," Asa said, trying his best to reassure his squad
Okuma nodded, "Understood, Lord Asa."
Asa continued to pace, 'If it's Konoha, they would need a very good reason to interfere here. They wouldn't risk a conflict with the Land of Earth without significant cause. On the other hand, if it's Onoki, he would need to be very subtle. He wouldn't openly attack his own shinobis unless he had a plan to benefit from it. But why use shadow clones? Unless…'
Asa stopped, his eyes widening as a new thought occurred to him. 'Unless Onoki wanted to create confusion and make it look like Konoha was involved. But that's a risky move, even for him. No, there has to be more to this.'
Asa was deep in his thoughts, trying to piece together the fragmented puzzle of the conspiracy against him when he was disturbed by an attendant.
The attendant, dressed in the traditional garb of the Daimyo's court, bowed slightly and gestured for Asa to follow him. It was time for Asa to report his findings to the Daimyo.
Asa knew this wasn't a benevolent gesture from the Daimyo. While it might appear that the Daimyo was giving him a chance to clear his name, Asa understood the underlying ploy.
The Daimyo was setting the stage to wash his hands of Asa should he make any mistake regarding this matter. The court officials were like a pack of beasts, waiting to pounce on any sign of weakness or failure from Asa.
As Asa walked through the grand corridors of the palace, he thought ruefully, 'It seems that the Daimyo has already made his decision on my proposal.'
Nevertheless, Asa had vowed to himself that he wouldn't give them the chance to undermine his cause. Failure here would give Onoki the justification he needed to eliminate him once and for all.
Upon entering the Daimyo's hall, Asa was greeted by the imposing figure of the Daimyo seated on his ornate throne. The hall was filled with court officials, all of whom turned their scrutinizing gaze on Asa as he entered.
"Asa, I hope that you come with good news," the Daimyo said immediately as Asa entered the hall.
Asa bowed deeply, "Yes, Lord-Daimyo," he said, his voice steady. "After investigating the matter, we found out that the shinobi responsible were from other villages."
The Daimyo raised a brow, "Why and which villages?"
Before Asa could respond, a snide remark came from Usui, one of the high-ranking officials in the Daimyo's court. "Now he wants to blame another village."
Asa felt a surge of annoyance but kept his composure. He ignored the remark and continued, "The assailants were all clones, and after eliminating them, we found out that they were shadow clones."
The hall erupted in murmurs. The revelation that shadow clones were involved pointed unmistakably to Konoha, as the technique was widely recognized as one of their specialities.
The Daimyo's eyes narrowed. "What are you trying to say, Asa?"
Before Asa could answer, Usui interjected again, "Konoha cannot be involved here. Asa is just trying to distract us from the fact that he came here to the capital to commit these acts."
Ignoring Usui's interruption, Asa continued, "Lord Daimyo, the killings were committed using wind chakra nature. So it is either shinobi from Konoha or Suna behind this."
"Suna must be behind this!" a voice shouted from the assembled officials. Given the cold relations between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, this conclusion was expected.
No one argued against this until Usui spoke again, "Why are you idiots falling for this? Asa was clearly behind this attack! He is trying to kill us before he..." Usui couldn't finish his statement because the atmosphere in the hall shifted dramatically.
A heavy, oppressive presence filled the room as Asa flared his chakra. The sudden change in the atmosphere silenced everyone, and all eyes turned to Asa.
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