Capítulo 36: State of Affairs and Surprise Guest
_________ POV Narration_________
The Land of Iron was structured in a rather strange way, unlike the other territories, it wasn't outright ruled just by the Daimyō and the Kage of its respective hidden village.
However, just like any of the other nations. In the Land of Iron, the Daimyō acted as the political leader of the country.
As a strict and honour-ruled society, the Land of Iron saw Shinobi with disdain and considered their assassination techniques and Jutsu to be nothing more than petty tricks.
The Samurai in the Land of Iron relied only on Kenjutsu, or sword techniques and fighting styles that coupled well with their chakra blades.
A big part of why they could maintain their neutrality was their military strength.
Each Samurai was also much stronger than regular Shinobi, which gave them an advantage on the world stage.
But the leader of the armies was also a figure that could protect their country if push came to shove.
The General and Samurai Warrior, Mifune.
He had even been told to have fought Hanzō of the Salamander and survived. He had actually won Hanzo's respect, only losing because his blade had broken during the battle.
Their fight was nothing more than a simple skirmish while the general was away on a mission near Amegakure or the village hidden in the rain.
Even if he lost in the end, that fight had cemented Mifune as a powerful Samurai, and had proved to everyone once again that the Land of Iron was not to be trifled with.
This was all the more reason why the Daimyō, Harada Yoichi, was having trouble understanding why Shinobi had decided to set up camp in their territory.
After all, besides Mifune, there were also plenty of Hatamoto more than capable of fighting and killing even Jonin.
Only after his delegation returned with a report that he had grasped the situation a bit more.
'The Red Dot.'
He was basically the only person in the world that could pull something like that off.
Yoichi was a bit relieved when hearing that the Red Dot was only building an organization and not a full-on hidden village.
But that didn't mean he was all that happy about not being consulted at all regarding the mountain range said the organization now occupied.
Alas, the Red Dot did have the strength to just take whatever territory he desired, at least unless any of the 5 Great Kage decided to speak up against him.
In a sense, any of the 5 Kage would also be able to take up whatever territory they wanted if they were to be rogue Shinobi.
But they were all affiliated with their respective hidden villages and directly under the political jurisdiction of their land's Daimyō.
The Red Dot was a powerful figure not affiliated with any of the Daimyō, and not under the jurisdiction of any power, that was what made him dangerous.
That was also why plenty of the Daimyō and Kage wanted him to disappear.
He had gained a lot of fame and notoriety too quickly, which took the world by surprise but only ended up putting a target on his back in the end.
At least that was what Yoichi had figured out when reading reports about him.
But now his movements were starting to make more and more sense, the Bounty Hunter's intentions becoming clearer and more transparent.
'From reports, he could've easily never been seen during his missions... This means that he was specifically always looking to increase his reputation.
I didn't really know why before, but it seems that it might be related to that organization of his...'
Not only that Yoichi started connecting the dots of all of the bounties that were being collected as of late.
Many of the bandits with bounties died before the people he employed to deal with them even got close to finding their hideouts.
Yoichi had received reports of masked men turning in those bounties, and now he realized that they were all affiliated with the organization that the Red Dot was building.
It was quick and decisive, and it cleaned up a lot of the danger on the roads, which allowed merchants and villagers to feel a lot safer.
'A 'village' of bounty hunters, huh? Training other children to follow the same profession. I am unsure how to feel about this still.'
In the end, the Daimyō decided that he would just wait to meet with the Red Dot, as he had promised to visit rather quickly.
It was a bit concerning considering the Red Dot's reputation, but the delegation did also vouch for his character, as he had been nothing but polite to them.
Yoichi still summoned all his strongest guards at the castle while expecting the Bounty Hunter. Mifune was also there to assist in case something happened and represent the Land of Iron's military power.
All of the leaders of the noble families were informed of the situation and they all sent their strongest warriors to the castle to defend their lord, just in case.
Some of the leaders even showed up themselves, as they were renowned samurai in their own right.
Everyone was gathered in the throne room, where a large table had been set up. Each noble was sat down, refreshments in front of them, and their personal guards behind them and lined up in the hall.
The Daimyō stood at the head of the table, dressed in expensive white royal attire garb, his face obscured by a golden veil connected to his large hat.
Everyone had already been present at the castle for a few days, and some of the people present were getting a bit bored with waiting, Sake could only entertain them for so long at the end of the day.
"My lord, when exactly do you think this 'Red Dot' is going to appear?"
Mifune was the one to speak up first, his long grey hair and pointy beard flowed in the wind, as the windows inside the throne room were all open.
He was wearing a black garb underneath his grey samurai armour, and at his waist was a regular katana.
The Samurai and nobles in the room all refrained from speaking about their displeasure. But Mifune didn't seem to have the same reservations.
"Today is the last day, he had promised to arrive shortly, if he does not arrive, then I will have to send people after him and his organization..."
Yuichi spoke from behind the golden veil, his voice resounding throughout the hall, which caused many of the nobles present to nod in acceptance.
Having a decisive leader was a good thing in their opinion, and they, as a nation, didn't see the Red Dot as a large danger to them.
Mifune's point of view was, however, different.
"... I appreciate your resolve, my Lord. But please understand that going after the Red Dot might not be as simple as that.
It would be a commitment that will require many lives, lives we cannot afford to spare. I urge you to reconsider." As the General, Mifune wanted to avoid losing the lives of too many of his men.
"And what do you propose?! That our great country bends backwards to attend to the will of some vagrant?" One of the nobles present spoke out in a haughty tone, spreading out her fan and asking a rhetorical question with a scowl on her face.
She was dressed in a flower-themed red yukata, with her black hair flowing back all the way to her waist.
Her face was fair, and her skin was as white as snow, mostly thanks to makeup, her eyes were also dark to match her hair. It all gave her the appearance of a noble beauty.
She was mainly there because she wanted to deepen her relations with the other nobles, and also hopefully get to meet the elusive 'Red Dot'. As he seemed like a useful ally to have.
However, Ken had yet to show up, and she decided to voice out her displeasure without much hesitation.
She was Yuuko Chinatsu, the head of the Chinatsu merchant clan and one of the youngest leaders present, being only 26 years old.
The elders in the room would have usually ignored her presence, or tried to dispute her words. Being a woman in their field was rather difficult after all, but now they all seemed to unanimously agree with her.
"That 'Vagrant' can likely assassinate everyone in this room before the end of the week. We can't afford to underestimate him in any way.
He's already proven himself in his skirmish with the Grass Village at the end of the Second Shinobi War."
Mifune simply narrowed his eyes at the people in the room. His determined tone remained unflinching even when all of the nobles eyed him with scrutiny.
He truly felt disdain for the nobles present, as he and his men would be the ones to suffer from their choices if a war was to break out within their territory.
Mifune also felt bad for the civilians, who were already suffering enough because of the Shinobi War.
Their country relied on exports as well, so the constant fighting in nearby territories directly hampered the lives of the regular honest living folk.
If the Red Dot truly decided to wage war against them, Mifune was confident he could win, he knew of the forces that he commanded, and he knew that there were few in the world that could match them.
But he was also sure the damage done to their Land would leave them open for the other nearby Nations, which was a much larger disaster than just some Bounty Hunter starting an organization in their territory.
"He truly is not a figure I would wish to face off against under normal circumstances, especially since he specialises in assassinations from initial reports...
Alas, we can't afford to not take action, lest we become the laughing stock of other nations for harbouring a band of supposed war criminals right under our noses."
Yoichi was the one to respond to Mifune's concerns, though his response did little to help the General.
'Who cares about you losing face?! The lives of my men and the future of our country are at stake here!' Alas, Mifune didn't continue speaking, knowing that lashing out like that at the Daimyō was not a good idea.
To the side, Yuuko also smiled a bit, covering it with her fan in the process.
'Just saying some stupid shit like this is enough to buy me some browny points with these old fools... Alas, winning over the general might not be all that easy...'
Yuuko couldn't care less about waiting for the Red Dot to show up. She simply wanted to build up relationships with as many of the noble families as possible.
She could easily read the mood in the room and tell that everyone was displeased for having to wait around for a bounty hunter, so she voiced out their displeasure without any hesitation.
To her this was all a game, a game she planned to win. She may not have been dealt the best hand, but that didn't mean she was unable to make the best of it.
"The dealings of a royal court are never going to get boring, huh?" The people at the table couldn't help but blink a few times, as they wondered who the voice belonged to.
At first, they thought it was one of the Samurai to the side, but their samurai knew better than to interrupt the nobles.
Then, they looked to the side, sitting at the same table as them was an unfamiliar figure, eating grapes and drinking wine alongside them.
Suddenly, all of the nobles jumped away from the table in shock, all of their spines shuddering when catching a glimpse of the man they couldn't quite recognize.
"G-guards!" Yuuko said as she gestured for the shocked samurai to draw their blades, as she herself unfolded a sharpened metallic fan.
In an instant, all of the Samurai presents drew their swords and pointed them at that chair, where one short man stood, still drinking wine with a smile on his eyeless face.
The man was only wearing a black coat, and his long spiky hair was just as long as Yuuko's who was still staring at his figure with an unnerved expression.
"Who are you?! State your business right away!" Mifune had also drawn his sword already, walking over to the disfigured man with careful steps.
He was less flustered than the others but also shocked that he hadn't even realized when the man had entered the room.
"Oh? Wait, I forgot that no one has seen me like this before..." The disfigured man then took a mask which had been hanging on his belt and put it on his face.
Instantly, everyone in the room was staring at a man wearing a white mask with a red dot in the middle, and they all instantly understood who they were staring at.
"Red Dot! It's a pleasure to finally see you in person." The Daimyō was the first one to recover, as the nobles were still processing what had just happened.
The Lord immediately glared at the samurai and clapped his hands, gesturing for them to sheath their blades.
"The pleasure is mine, Lord Daimyō. One rarely receives such an invitation after all...
Also, please call me Ken, feels a lot more natural to me." The Blind bounty hunter spoke out with confidence, not even bothered by the fact that dozens of samurai were aiming to kill him seconds before.
The Daimyō laughed heartily when hearing the Blind man's request.
"Hahha~ Very well, Ken it is then. You may also call me Yuichi, no reason to mince words at this stage."
The Daimyō would've normally not accepted someone disrespecting him in any way.
But Ken had technically just shown him that he could've killed them all at any second, so he decided to throw away honorifics for once, be it from shock or fear.
"Red Dot..." Mifune also muttered as he sheathed his katana, his eyes narrowing as he studied the infamous bounty hunter's figure.
Mifune could clearly see him sitting at the table, yet he couldn't feel him there at all. It was bizarre, to say the least.
"How did you manage to sneak in here undetected?" Mifune immediately questioned him, the security of the castle being his number 1 concern at that stage.
"The windows are open... Most Shinobi are also able to just crawl on the ceiling, these chairs are pretty tall.
So from there, it was just a matter of dropping down when everyone's gaze was not focused on the table." Ken pointed at the large windows off to the side.
He didn't see any issue in explaining how he had gotten in, it wasn't like he was there for an assassination, though his entrance definitely served as a demonstration of what he was capable of.
"I see... Interesting method indeed, a master in stealth, to say the least... How did the men on the other side of the table not notice you?!" Mifune was appreciative that the Red Dot answered honestly.
But that didn't mean he was satisfied with the answer completely. Such a mishap was not something that could be overlooked.
"Now now, we didn't invite him here for an interrogation. I'm assuming the Samurai present were just not staring at the table, in fear of provoking any of the nobles present..."
Yuuko was the one to calm him down in the end, folding her fan and being the first noble to sit back down at the table.
Seeing her do so made the other men also sit down, and Ken sighed as he finally sat up and walked a bit closer to Yuichi, Mifune made sure to stand in between them though, just for protection.
In the end, Ken sat back down a bit closer to the Lord, right in between Mifune and Yuuko.
The noblewoman's gaze was curious, sometimes shifting towards the bounty hunter that stood beside her.
'He would make a useful ally indeed...'
Yuuko's thoughts immediately started running wild, as she imagined employing an assassin like him under her.
Yuichi looked at the bounty hunter with a bit of sweat on his brow, before taking a deep breath and calling himself down completely.
In the end, he smiled underneath his golden veil before he started speaking again.
"Now, I think it's time for us to get down to business..."
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Hope you liked the chapter! Had an exam today, gon sleep now, hopefully :))
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