The sons-in-law of the Uchiha family each carried off the woman they loved. As their leader, Kei had turned a blind eye to the premarital affairs of some of his adult comrades.
They were all at the age when they should start families. Keeping the girls by his side forever simply wasn’t appropriate.
"Ah! A daughter who grows up is bound to leave her family. Keep her and keep her, and eventually she’ll only grow resentful!"
The wine cup in Kei’s hand slipped to the floor. The metallic clang against the bluestone floor startled Yangyan, who was still bent over tidying the room.
The drinking session had left Kei’s room in complete disarray. The young men who had forgotten everything in the heat of romance had all gone off to indulge their youthful passions, leaving Yangyan behind to clean up the mess.
The bright crescent moon shone through the carved railings and into the room. A few autumn cicadas called out, their cries growing increasingly mournful in the night dew. The autumn wind passed through the window screen and brushed against the woman’s temples.
The moon was bright, and her heart was clear.
A man and a woman alone together in the same room—the atmosphere was undeniably suggestive.
Yangyan’s fitted kimono wrapped around her figure, accentuating her graceful curves. As she bent down, her feminine allure became even more pronounced.
Her slender waist and full, rounded hips gave her figure distinct contours. Her soft, delicate curves and smooth, silky skin made her seem like a masterpiece of nature itself, a woman cherished by the heavens.
The moonlight was enchanting, but the woman was even more so. Yangyan possessed enough beauty to make any man lose himself in fascination.
The scene seemed to foreshadow that what came from behind would not necessarily be a knife—and that a heart-wrenching cry would not necessarily be one of pain.
Something cold pressed through the fullness of Yangyan’s body and came to rest against her cheek.
The woman immediately put away her coquettish expression and spoke timidly.
"If my lord needs something from me, there is no need to use force."
Holding the Miike Blade, Kei looked at the beauty before him with an ambiguous smile but said nothing.
Seeing his attitude, Yangyan knew what she needed to say.
"Yes, my lord. I did know that Miss Pakura’s position was hopeless, and I was the one who encouraged Oboro and Zhujun to arrange this absurd meeting. But I didn’t simply stand by and watch, either!"
Without waiting for Kei to question her, Yangyan confessed everything she needed to confess. There had simply been too many flaws in today’s meeting with Pakura.
Kei was already taller than the statuesque Yangyan. If he lowered his head, he could easily kiss the woman’s forehead.
Unfortunately, it would have been much better if there had not been a blade between them.
Kei still couldn’t understand her answer.
Yes, Yangyan had personally gotten involved as well. If she knew from the beginning that the meeting was doomed to fail, why had she deliberately created a mistake for herself?
"Continue."
Kei was not satisfied with that answer.
Yangyan continued.
"My lord once told the story of ’When those above have a certain preference, those below will take it even further.’ At first, you kept Oboro by your side because you had no choice. As the most important person in Naka, you needed protection, and Oboro’s abilities could provide you with the best protection."
Yangyan showed no fear despite the sharpness of the Miike Blade. She remained the same eloquent woman she had always been.
"But things are different now. The villagers sending their wives and daughters to work as servants in the homes of the Red-Eyes is almost becoming a trend. The Red-Eyes themselves are even finding ways to adopt girls and send them into the Uchiha households!"
Her tone was filled with disgust as she spoke of these developments.
"It has already become a custom in Naka to prefer marrying a female servant who once served the Uchiha Clan over marrying a crude village woman. Minor lords send their daughters to the daimyō’s household to be educated, while the daimyō’s household sends its daughters to live with the supreme leader—all because Oboro received such good care while she was here with you."
Yangyan changed tack and continued.
"The girls who enter the Uchiha households really are educated well, but that only applies to the Uchiha. Wealthy merchants who imitate them do not possess the Uchiha Clan’s self-restraint and virtue."
"If this continues, the customs of Naka... really will become a problem."
Kei looked coldly at Yangyan, signaling that such a little trick would not work on him.
But what Yangyan had said was true. She had deliberately placed herself in a position Kei would never have expected, which was why she had been able to say these things.
"If that’s all there is to it, I don’t think the problem is particularly serious. It’s merely a matter of private morality. It doesn’t affect the economy and might even encourage population growth. But in order to defame you, the daimyō have exposed Tsunade’s secret!"
That finally caught Kei’s interest. For the first time, he was no longer completely silent.
"Oh?"
Indeed, gossip was part of human nature. Seeing that her lord had finally reacted, Yangyan quickened her explanation.
"Tsunade is called Princess Tsunade because her father was the son of Hashirama Senju, while her mother was an adopted daughter of the daimyō."
"She was offered by a minor feudal lord to a great noble, then offered by that great noble to the daimyō. In the end, her beauty attracted the attention of the Senju, and under the identity of the daimyō’s adopted daughter, she married into the Senju family!"
"From the moment Gen’nosuke returned to Naka, rumors about Princess Tsunade have spread throughout the Land of Fire. And the identities of Oboro, Gen’nosuke, and yourself make it very easy for people to draw their own conclusions!"
Yangyan had actually understated the situation. The truth was far more sordid when one thought about it.
Someone was deliberately trying to sow discord within Naka. Naturally, the rumors covered a wide range of topics, and their language was extremely vile.
Kei and the others knew what was actually happening within Naka, but outsiders did not. If something could happen to Tsunade, then people could imagine the same thing happening to Oboro.
Even if nothing had happened, people loved spreading sensational stories like this.
Rumors only stop with the wise—and there were very few wise people.
Kei put away the blade and looked at Yangyan.
"You could have advised me about this in private."
Yangyan shook her head. She did not want to say what came next while being threatened by a blade.
"All right, my lord. The fact that I’m dressing it up in such respectable language only proves that I didn’t actually do anything I shouldn’t have."
A smile returned to Yangyan’s face, giving the mature beauty a hint of playfulness.
"Meeting the nominal leader of another faction is precisely the sort of thing we, as your subordinates, should urge you to do. We simply failed to make the necessary preparations beforehand and brought the trouble all the way to you. That was our mistake, and we deserve punishment for it."
Yangyan blinked and continued,
"But haven’t you punished everyone already, my lord? Oboro and Zhujun are now both women of marriageable age. They won’t be able to serve at your side anymore. With Joseph and Johnny as your guards, together with your own strength, your safety is still assured."
Yangyan had achieved her objective in a very roundabout way.
Yes, Kei had deliberately allowed Oboro and Zhujun to bring about these marriages because he had noticed the problem and realized that the girls should leave his side.
At first, Kei had not suspected Yangyan. He had merely assumed that the Sand shinobi had somehow taken advantage of the innocent Oboro and the straightforward Zhujun, encouraging Yangyan, who was never afraid of making trouble, to get involved.
After all, these people were all close confidants of his, and they were all accomplices in this incident.
Betraying him was impossible. Being manipulated by someone else was far more likely.
Kei felt that perhaps he had spoiled the people around him too much. He had treated Oboro’s overstepping as amusing and had never cared about Zhujun’s lack of assertiveness.
He had always felt that he could hold up the sky for them and allow the girls around him to live freely.
But thinking about it now, how was that any different from Jia Baoyu?
He had treated them well, yet forgotten that they would eventually marry and establish relationships of their own. He wondered whether the children he had spoiled would suffer grievances in their future lives.
Kei felt somewhat wistful.
As their lord, he could protect them. But interfering in their family affairs would be going too far.
While they remained at his side, they were inevitably the center of attention and would inevitably become targets for anyone seeking leverage against him. If they continued to be so naïve, something would happen sooner or later.
So Kei had thought that, since they were already at the age to marry, he might as well use this opportunity to marry them off quietly, rather than damage the bonds they had built over so many years.
The sooner they married, the sooner he could stop worrying about them. It would also fulfill their own wishes.
If problems arose afterward, he could settle the score with their husbands.
Kei could still bring himself to punish the men.
What he had never expected was that Yangyan had been the one orchestrating everything.
"I still don’t understand why."
Knowing something was wrong and deliberately making the same mistake anyway was not like Yangyan at all.
Faced with Kei’s question, Yangyan finally showed a hint of a young woman’s shyness.
"My lord, I need an opportunity to leave your side and accomplish something for you. But I also couldn’t stand seeing so many other women remain beside you, so I could only resort to this strategy. If you absolutely must have an explanation... perhaps it was jealousy."
Yangyan’s words shocked Kei.
He asked incredulously,
"What? What do you mean?"
Yangyan, however, adopted a completely businesslike expression.
"It’s like this, my lord. A man named Gen’ō from Yangyan Village became interested in my name. He believes that I am a surviving member of Yangyan Village’s former ruling family and its natural leader."
Yangyan Village lay among the mountains and did not even belong to any country. Its people were skilled at producing explosive tags, and during the Second Shinobi World War, they had been capable of standing against Konoha.
Gen’ō was the man who had once buried one hundred thousand explosive tags beneath Konoha.
At the time, he could not understand how the Uchiha had learned about Konoha’s explosive tags. Then he heard that the leader of the Uchiha had a girl named Yangyan at his side.
Gen’ō went to great lengths to get a look at Yangyan. To his surprise, he found that the woman bore some resemblance to the deceased leader of his village. When he calculated their ages, the coincidence seemed even more striking.
From there, Gen’ō’s imagination filled in the rest of the story: the young lady of his village had joined the Uchiha, had had her eyes replaced, and was now seeking revenge.
Whether it was true or not, and whether Gen’ō himself intended to use the Uchiha to rebuild Yangyan Village, did not matter.
Gen’ō had already begun gathering the scattered members of his clan and bringing them to swear allegiance to Yangyan.
And the gift they offered Yangyan was this:
In Key-Mae Village of the Land of Locks, which had once bordered Yangyan Village, there was a group of people who could form hand seals using their eyes.
"I want to take those people from Yangyan Village with me and recruit those people who can form hand seals with their eyes for you, my lord. If we obtain them, Naka’s strength will rise to another level."
"But I don’t want to see you fooling around with other girls when I’m not by your side!"
Yangyan straightened her back, trying to make herself look completely justified. Yet her flushed cheeks revealed the woman’s embarrassment.
Kei was even more bewildered.
"Don’t tell me you’re interested in me?"
To prevent her hopelessly oblivious lord from misunderstanding, Yangyan answered firmly,
"That is exactly what you think, my lord."
Kei still couldn’t believe it.
"Didn’t you like Gen’nosuke?"
The woman gave what she considered the most convincing explanation.
"Within the Kōga circle, Gen’nosuke is the most outstanding member of the younger generation. But you’ve seen it yourself: compared with the exceptional talents of the Iga Group, he falls somewhat short."
"I am the most beautiful woman, so naturally I should like the most outstanding man."
If she could come to like Gen’nosuke, why couldn’t she come to like Kei after being given a new life?
As she spoke, Yangyan looked at Kei with admiration.
And Kei, who had never before been the one someone chose so decisively, felt ripples stirring in his heart.
When it came to matters of love, he was no longer wise and calculating. His face was filled with youthful awkwardness, especially beneath the watery gaze of this older woman.
"But, Yangyan, you only like the most outstanding person. What if, one day, someone more outstanding than me appears? I..."
Yangyan placed a slender finger against Kei’s lips.
"Then please continue to remain outstanding, my lord."
Hearing this, Kei stopped holding himself back.
He grabbed Yangyan by her hair, bringing their faces, eyes, and the tips of their noses close together.
Her skin was so smooth and delicate that even the smallest details seemed flawless.
What a perfect face.
Even Yangyan, a woman renowned for her allure, became shy.
She leaned toward Kei’s ear and whispered,
"I want to have an achievement worthy of presenting to you, so that I can earn the qualifications to stand at your side."
"Before that, all I could do was resort to underhanded means to drive the women around you away."
Yangyan’s heart was filled with guilt.
But Kei had no intention of dwelling on that.
"Heh. A sensible woman should remember this: when I grab your hair, you’re supposed to bite my head."
With that, the Miike Blade sliced through the strap at Yangyan’s shoulder, and her kimono slipped from her body.
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