Chương 157: The Crimson Eye Counters the White Eye

For most of shinobi history, succession struggles among a daimyo's children were never particularly fierce. The reason was simple: primogeniture. To preserve national stability, a daimyo would usually designate his heir apparent—the Young Lord—long before old age crept upon him. The remaining sons either secured official posts through merit or resigned themselves to lives of idle nobility, feasting away their days in comfort. Whether the chosen heir was competent hardly mattered.

In fact, many ministers preferred an incapable heir. A pliable daimyo was far easier to serve. The real danger came when the heir was erratic, cruel, or unstable. In such cases, the bureaucracy often embraced the time-honored tradition of removing an unsuitable future ruler and replacing him with a more agreeable candidate. Based on the intelligence he had gathered, Dongye zhen knew that the current heir of the Land of Hot Water was mild-mannered and courteous.

The kingdom's ministers were generally satisfied with him. Under such circumstances, for another prince to challenge the succession, external backing was practically guaranteed. Political struggles in the shinobi world rarely involved elaborate alliances or intricate schemes. Perhaps chakra itself had influenced civilization over the centuries, but people here tended toward direct and brutal solutions. Erase your opponent physically. Simple. Effective. After all, shinobi were the finest assassins in existence.

That was why the murders of ministers were merely a diversion, intended to scatter the protective forces of Yugakure. The second prince's true objective had always been his elder brother. His time was running out. The moment the old daimyo drew his final breath, the Young Lord would ascend as the legitimate ruler. Even Kumogakure, despite its influence, would find it difficult to openly target a reigning daimyo.

Without Kumo's support, the second prince would amount to little more than a clown thrashing against the tide. This was one of the unspoken boundaries governing the relationship between nations and hidden villages. Legitimate shinobi villages accepted missions to protect daimyo. They did not assassinate them. That sort of work belonged to missing-nin and rogue shinobi. If that line vanished and villages began murdering rulers at will, no daimyo in the world would sleep peacefully again.

Since assassination was the enemy's endgame, Dongye zhen had chosen to lie in wait inside the daimyo's palace. The Young Lord lived here, attending his dying father and waiting for the inevitable. Once the old daimyo passed away and succession became official, the matter would be settled. Had the old man relinquished power earlier, none of this chaos would have happened. Unfortunately, the ruler of the Land of Hot Water clung to authority with iron fingers. Even on his deathbed, he refused to let go.

Many of his ministers had long grown weary of it. Thus, while everyone publicly expressed concern for his health, most were secretly counting the days until he died. Some even hoped the process would hurry along. That outcome benefited the majority. The kingdom's most important officials had also gathered inside the palace, where security was strongest. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The usurping prince's window of opportunity was rapidly closing.

The first night passed without incident. Dongye zhen and his team remained hidden in the shadows of the palace grounds, waiting patiently. Then came the second night. Near midnight, an explosion shattered the silence. Shouts erupted immediately afterward. The final battle had begun. Standing atop a distant building, Dongye zhen, Hayate Gekkō, Yugao Uzuki, and Yamato observed the chaos unfolding below. The attackers numbered around thirty. Their equipment varied wildly.

Many resembled wandering shinobi, but beneath the disguises, traces remained. Certain ninjutsu and taijutsu habits unmistakably carried Kumogakure's signature. Regardless of origin, every one of them was skilled. Defending the palace were not only Yugakure shinobi but also four Konoha squads assigned to the protection mission. One of those teams happened to be an old acquaintance. Jonin Sarutobi Hizuki's reconnaissance squad. Four shinobi and a ninja dog.

Most ninja battles occurred in forests or wilderness, where the true scale of shinobi destruction wasn't always obvious. Inside a dense palace complex, however, it became impossible to ignore. Grand buildings collapsed after only a few ninjutsu strikes. Fire Release ignited entire sections of the compound. Water Release techniques surged across the battlefield. Mist spread through the shattered courtyards. Servants and guards unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire died with tragic ease.

A single kunai or shuriken could cripple them. A direct hit from ninjutsu often left no intact corpse behind. To ordinary people, every weapon in a ninja's arsenal was lethal. Watching the fierce battle below, Yugao asked,"Captain, shouldn't we help?"

"Not yet." Dongye zhen shook his head.

"Yugakure and our people currently hold the advantage. Nothing's gone wrong so far. Let's keep watching."

"But if the Young Lord is killed, wouldn't that hurt Konoha's interests?" Dongye zhen smiled faintly.

"No, Yugao. You're looking at it from the wrong angle."

"The important thing isn't who becomes the daimyo of the Land of Hot Water."

"The important thing is that Konoha remains the strongest." He continued calmly,"If the second prince ascends the throne, he'll still need an alliance with the Land of Fire as long as Konoha remains dominant."

"On the other hand, if Konoha weakens while Kumogakure grows stronger, then even the current Young Lord would eventually gravitate toward the Land of Lightning." Yugao blinked.

"So that's how it works?" Hayate nodded.

"The shinobi world has always worked this way."

"For small nations, survival means standing beside the strongest power available. That's been true for generations." Who occupied the throne wasn't what mattered. Konoha's strength was. As the strongest hidden village, Konoha's greatest enemy had never truly been Kumogakure. It had always been itself. The mightiest powers rarely fell from external assault. They rotted from within. Ninja battles ended quickly. Before long, mounting casualties began breaking the attackers' momentum.

Signs of collapse spread through the rogue force. Half the surrounding structures had already been reduced to rubble. At a time like this, nobody cared about palace property damage. Working in perfect coordination, Sarutobi Hizuki's squad eliminated another opponent. Nearby, the ninja dog Rocky lifted his nose and sniffed the air.

"I smell someone familiar." Inuzuka Meiko glanced over.

"Who?"

"Some bastard." Hyuga Tokuma frowned.

"Forget it. Deal with these guys first." Realizing victory was no longer possible, someone among the attackers signaled a retreat. The survivors immediately regrouped. Explosive tags. Smoke bombs. Specialized interference grenades. A barrage erupted simultaneously. The battlefield vanished beneath chaos. By the time Yugakure and Konoha forces pushed through the smoke, the enemy had already disappeared. Not only had they escaped— Nobody could even determine which direction they had gone.

Among Konoha's protection forces were not one but two Byakugan users. Tokuma himself, and another branch-family Hyuga from a different squad. Yet at this moment, both seemed effectively blind. Sarutobi Hizuki turned toward Tokuma.

"The same as last time?" Tokuma nodded grimly.

"Yes."

"There are too many targets. I can't distinguish which ones are real." Hizuki shifted his gaze.

"Muta? Meiko?" Aburame Muta simply shook his head. Meiko clicked her tongue.

"The specially designed interference bombs scrambled all the scent trails. I can't track them anymore." She looked toward her captain.

"What now, sensei?" Hizuki sighed.

"Forget it."

"We'll leave the pursuit to ANBU."

"Our job is protecting the Young Lord." From his distant vantage point, Dongye zhen maintained silent sensory surveillance over the entire battlefield. Hayate frowned.

"Isn't the Byakugan supposed to track people? Why does it feel like Tokuma lost them completely?"

"He didn't lose them." Dongye zhen's eyes narrowed.

"There are simply too many targets."

"The enemy used a special method to deceive the Byakugan and conceal their actual movements." Yugao looked surprised.

"You can do that?"

"Of course."

"There are countless strange abilities in the shinobi world." Dongye zhen rose to his feet.

"No need to worry. They aren't getting away."

"Come with me." The Byakugan was powerful, but it wasn't invincible. Certain advanced barrier techniques could obstruct its vision entirely. Yet the enemy clearly hadn't deployed barriers during their retreat. Which left only one reasonable explanation. Among the attackers was a wielder of the Red Eyes bloodline from the Land of Water. And there was a very good chance that person was working for Kumogakure. After all, those dark-skinned barbarians had an extensive criminal record.

Stealing bloodlines was practically a family tradition. If they had stumbled across a Red Eyes child in the Land of Water and abducted them years ago, it wouldn't be surprising in the slightest. After all... In the future, they would even try to steal a Byakugan heir from Konoha.