"Intru..." A watchguard cried out, but Daniel knocked him out as soon as he entered. He then walked a few steps into the room where the leadership of the Loyalists was gathered.
"Leaf shinobi? I suppose the intel you guys have is a bit outdated," the leader of the Loyalists said, seeing Daniel enter.
"I'm already ticked off since I'm practically working overtime here," Daniel replied. To the leader's perspective, Daniel vanished for a minute, only to reappear next to him. As the leader tried to reach for a weapon, Daniel's eyes turned red, trapping him in a genjutsu.
"Kazuki and my clone seem to have found a Loyalist base and are currently being welcomed, with Kazuki being recognized and all," Daniel muttered as his gaze shifted for a second. He then proceeded to read the mind of the Loyalist leader.
"Well, this just took a turn," Daniel muttered. "The Loyalists were simply puppets of the Neutral faction led by Lady Kuroda, who is amassing bodies mostly of common folk but also of captured rebels, using a forbidden technique to make her own forces stronger," he summarized as he read the leader's memories.
Daniel stood there for a second, collecting his thoughts. "Her aim is to turn the Land of Tea into a shinobi nation by using what the nobles deemed as worthless beings as fuel for themselves. I don't even know how, but they've been using a technique that sucks the life force of a person and transfers it to another, boosting the other's overall abilities," Daniel pondered. It seemed the noble faction and the Neutral faction were the true villains here. Judging by the amount of information Daniel got from the Loyalist faction leader, they had been doing this for the past two years. Only three clans had been benefiting from this: the Kuroda, Mori, and Ito clans. Their current forces summed up to around fifteen hundred amped-up members, with the average being around Jonin level and a few above that.
"Maybe it could've worked," Daniel smirked a little, but he knew the prince, after being exposed to this war, wouldn't agree with such plans. Besides, the Neutral faction was behind his family's assassination.
"Hey, other me! What do you think?" Daniel asked as he telepathically talked with his shadow clone.
"I think we should ask the prince how he wants to solve this," the clone replied.
"Then grab him and come over here," Daniel responded.
"Hold on a sec, I was just cleaning up a bit," Daniel's clone said as the moon shone in the room where the prince was sleeping. The clone stood there, covered in a little blood from the assassins who had tried to eliminate the prince during the night.
"Hey... Wake up," Daniel said as he slapped the prince's face lightly. The prince woke up from his sleep soundly.
"Is it morning already?" he asked, still half asleep. "Oh, Lord Hiroshi, it just..." As he slowly grasped the situation, Kazuki saw Hiroshi, the leader of the Loyalist faction, sitting in front of him tied up.
"Wait... What's going on?" he asked, startled.
"Just read these for a minute," Daniel said, presenting Kazuki with some documents.
"How did you..." Kazuki began, but the weight of the situation quickly silenced him.
Before the prince could finish his sentence, his face grew grim from the contents of the document. The rising kidnappings in the Land of Tea, the charges against members of the royal family for embezzlement, and many more crimes were detailed, including the plans to start the war and use it as a catalyst to transform the Land of Tea into a shinobi nation, amassing power through a forbidden technique. Everything was there, and as Kazuki read the documents, he became more and more horrified by what his people were doing to one another.
"He's currently knocked out and won't cause trouble. This place is secured, so take your time," Daniel said as he stepped out for a minute, leaving Kazuki to fully digest what was happening. Previously, Kazuki had lived an easy life, not particularly concerned about the people since he wasn't even going to be king—his elder sister was set to rule. He hadn't involved himself much in politics. But ever since the war started, he saw the hardships the common folk were enduring and was exposed to both sides of the major political factions in his nation. He saw how the rebels detested ignorant nobles and how the Loyalist faction was keen on ruling with an iron fist.
Kazuki was torn and wanted to end the suffering of his people, especially the innocents. But this—this was more than just going overboard. For what? Just to have more power so they could be feared as strong? Kazuki was furious but couldn't help but feel powerless. His nation could crumble at any moment. He spent the entire night sitting on this, contemplating.
Daybreak soon arose. Daniel entered the room, finding Kazuki with a tired-looking face. "Can you wake him up, please?" he asked. Daniel nodded slightly and touched Hiroshi's shoulder. With a big gasp, Hiroshi regained consciousness. Upon seeing Kazuki's tired face, he knew their secret was out. He simply laughed maniacally, showing no remorse.
"Brilliant, isn't it? Soon we of the Land of Tea will rise up as an unstoppable force. Even the great nations will bow down to us," he said, laughing.
Kazuki, upon hearing this, could see that this person was not going to change, nor would the others. He was deeply hurt by this. "Is that all?" he asked, his voice tired even though he hadn't spoken much.
"I got what I needed," Kazuki said as he stood up and left the room.
"Oh, come on, little prince. Can't stomach it? All you royals are weak, that's why..." As Hiroshi tried to mock Kazuki, Daniel let out a deafening aura, causing Hiroshi to freeze in fear.
"Now that's not how you speak to your leader, is it?" Daniel said as he placed his arm on Hiroshi's shoulder. On contact, a black flame emerged, engulfing Hiroshi. As he screamed in agony, Daniel simply walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving Hiroshi to burn.
"I guess this is the end of our journey together," Kazuki said tiredly with a smile. "I do want to ask for your help, but I know this is an internal matter, so thank you," he said, bowing down with tears in his eyes. He knew there was no way for Daniel, a chunin, to handle such a force.
"Maybe I could help a bit," Daniel said, bringing shock to Kazuki's eyes while he was bowing down. Daniel saw this as an opportunity to make a bigger name for himself as a shinobi while letting loose a little.
"Really?" Kazuki couldn't help but express his joy. The one person who had helped him the most during these times was Daniel, and this meant a lot.
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