Next day
After navigating through the palace they arrived in the palace throne room.
'Let's see what the Fire Daimyo looks like,' Akshi thought as the door opened with a loud creak
"They should try to fix that door," making him chuckle as everyone made their way in.
"This is for effect,"
After a few steps, they found themself in a big room similar to the one of his father with the only real difference being the red color and the fire emblem painted on the wall of the place in front of them and on the side were high-level dignitaries and scholars of the country scrutinizing them.
"We greet the Fire Daimyo," Akashi and all the other Bowed slightly toward the man seated on the top of the stairs.
"Get up, get up, haha, this is a pleasure to receive you," he said
Activating his ming eyes Akashi scanned the entire room
'Gennin,' he thought looking at the old man seated on his Tatami
'Not bad, the room is packed with high-level seals of all kinds, there are ninjas, samurais, and monks all around the place,' he analyzed
He could tell at one glance that their strength wasn't bad
'I guess that I underestimated them a little too much,'
"First I would like to convey an apology on behalf of my parents, an incident arose back home forcing them to stay and take care of that,"
"Hoho, I see, I understand some things can't be helped, though I would have loved to meet him and express how sorry I am for the misfortune that befell you all, for the tragic event that propulse him on the throne and the tragedy that befell your clan, everything happened so fast that we didn't see anything come," He said with a smile
'I feel his suspicion, he isn't even trying to hide, well it's not like it's the first time that a family member killed a Daimyo for his position!' Akashi thought
"Thank you, it means a lot coming from you,"
"I'm also happy to see you all, Kuroko and young Arima,"
"It's an honor that you remember us,"
After the greeting and the small talk, they moved to another room where the negotiations started.
The principal actors of the fire and sky country were seated facing each other discussing every point meticulously.
Meanwhile, like the Daimyo and his advisors, Akashi and his group were seated opposite each other hidden behind a curtain completely hiding them.
After ten minutes Arima got up and started stretching
"He left, we can leave too, let's go," he said, and Akashi followed him
"What, where are we going, what about the negotiations," Karin asked perplexed as she looked at them while the old Kuroko just followed
"We leave it to the professional, those kinds of negotiations take weeks sometimes you don't really think that a Daimyo will sit from dawn to dusk for weeks right, we will make a rapport at the end of the day," Arima said as they left the room
"This is the whole point of sitting behind a curtain," Akashi explained
"This is, how to say that... strangely disappointing," Karin murmured in a barely audible voice
"Arimaaa..." A loud voice resounded as soon as they left the corridor and a beautiful young lady ran toward them with her servants trying to convince her to behave more appropriately.
"Ho, how are you Princess Saya, it's been a while," He said as they enlace each other for a few seconds under the surprised eyes of the crowd
"You are really alive, I thought you were dead for a few years, how come you didn't write to give news, do you have any idea how worried we were," she said before starting to attack him
"It wasn't possible sorry, we were really in a precarious situation for a while,"
After a little, a few more people arrived and immediately started to engage with Arima
"Coff, coff, hm, everyone let me present to you my cousin Akashi and our friend Karin, and I think you remember the old man Kuroko. Akashi this is the second princess of the land of fire her name is Saya, this there is Lero, and this is..."
Arima presented everyone he remembered and the princess filled the rest.
They walked toward a garden, built in the middle of a beautiful pond.
They talked of all and everything but of course, they started by asking what happened from the attacks to how they arrived at the land of Sky.
Having already prepared a story for the public after all they knew that everything that was said to those little nobles would reach the ears of their families.
In the middle of their discussion which had lasted for hours with the servants offering snacks a voice interrupted them.
"So it's true! You are still alive, huh, I hoped that I wouldn't have the displeasure of meeting you again Arima,"
Turning around they meet a well-dressed boy flanked by two friends and a few samurais by his side.
The harmonious atmosphere became tense when they saw him
"Fifth prince..." The young noble greeted him and Akashi and Karin offered a curt bow of politeness.
Akashi's eyes turned toward his cousin who was trying his best to remember who that person was, it was the princess who saved him from that situation.
"It thought that I told you not to bother us brother Senzo," She said but he just scoffed and walked toward them until he was standing in from of Arima.
"So you loser are still alive, huh, and bet you crawled back from your hole to beg my father to help rebuild your pathetic country!"
"Your name seems familiar, and judging from your tone you must be one of the idiots that I beat up last time I was here, right!"
"You..."
"Yes! Cat got your tongue, little prince?" Arima responded all smiling
"I'm going to make your stay here a real hell, you fucking red-hair monster," The third prince said with venom in his voice.
"Ok that's enough," Saya said putting herself in front of them
"I knew you were going to act like that and get angry because of your short temper, do you do that on purpose? Seriously you should leave," she said crossing her arm in front of her
"Leave!! Why should I leave this is my place I have every reason to be here, you shouldn't take the side of strangers over your own family, plus I came to great another prince so." He said humping before turning toward Akashi
"What now," he murmurs to himself
'Did he decide to pick on me because he can't defeat Arima?! Ahh, seriously I don't want to play that stupid game with that low-level villain. Let's try to be nice and flatter his ego,'
"This is a pleasure to meet you third Prince Senzo I heard a lot about you since my arrival here," Akashi said with a smile
'Don't take it for a sign of weakness,' he implored
"Ah, I see that you are more educated than your cousin, so you are the bastard of that wretched woman that dared to humiliate my elder brother..."
While the prince was still busy talking Akashi was no longer listening to him, his eyes darted around the room as he looked at the expression of everyone while trying to calm himself.
Some seem shocked, others resigned others angry.
"I tried to be nice," he said interrupting the Prince's monologue.
"You motherfucking imbecile, do you like to suffer or something," he said a mix of anger and stupefaction in his voice
"How dare you, you lowlife..."
"Bam, bam, bam, bam!" Before he ended his sentence two loud smacks resounded in the room and the prince started to stagerring on his feet.
"My prince, his two friends that had stayed silent screamed as the guard hurried to catch him before he fell unconscious in their hands.
"You! What have you done to the prince," they screamed angrily, porting their hands on their weapons.
"Me?!" Akashi asked indigenously "I didn't do anything, did you see me do something to your prince," he asked with a confused expression on his face
People looked at him in surprise,
"We heard the sound of your slaps," one of the samurais protested
"Slaps, those are serious accusations here, when did I slap the prince, this is preposterous," Akashi defended himself he had already evaluated the people here and he knew that the guards of the prince were at the level of genin this is the reason they didn't even saw his attack after all he was already at the level of a low-level jonin.
But it was different for the maids of the princess who were about the chunin level of the princess so with pleading eyes he turned toward her.
"Princess Saya I need you to come to my aid, I am been slandered here, did you or maybe your guards see me slap the prince," he asked
"Coff, I didn't see him slap my idiot brother," responded the princess before turning to her maids,
"Did you see anything?" she asked and with a smile they responded "No princess we didn't,"
"See, he didn't attack my brother now take him and leave," she ordered, and although dissatisfied they took the fifth prince whose face was reddening, and left.
"Thank you," Akashi murmured to the prince
"We really didn't see anything," she said before they returned to their discussion.