It was a dark and windy night, the perfect weather for murder and arson.
Uchiha Nagi, clad in black from head to toe, with his black hair, blended seamlessly into the night like a dark cloud. If it weren't for his red Sharingan, he would have been a true shadow.
At night, Uchiha Nagi slipped into the daimyo's mansion alone. He wasn't worried about the strength of the guards. The Land of Fire's daimyo was protected by only twelve Jonin; the Land of Sand's...
By his count, there probably weren't even six. With no Kage-level individuals present, just a handful of Jonin, he could have slaughtered the Land of Wind's entire daimyo household on a whim.
No wonder Sasori was able to conquer a small country. In a place without a hidden village, a Kage-level shinobi was an overwhelmingly dominant force.
However, after many generations, the daimyo's clan had grown large. Even if Nagi killed the current one, Sunagakure could simply replace him by appointing someone from a branch family. But that would bring him no benefit and a world of trouble. The common agreement among all nations was not to assassinate the daimyo. Anyone who did would be immediately blacklisted and hunted across the entire continent.
So, upon entering the daimyo's mansion, Nagi wasn't wary of the few Jonin, but of the ubiquitous traps—all sorts of curse marks, exploding tags, and sealing jutsu. They might be short on Jonin, but the daimyo had money. As a result, traps like exploding tags and sealing jutsu were everywhere. An outsider could easily fall for one.
"Since an outsider could easily fall for one, I'll just find an insider to lead the way." Uchiha Nagi smiled faintly. His eyes scanned the area and lit up when he spotted a young servant cleaning.
Nothing else, just a convenient and practical tool. He activated his Sharingan, compelling the servant to lead him past the traps and to the daimyo's study.
Nagi then carefully shadowed him from behind. In truth, his Sharingan could identify most of the traps along the way, thanks to its microscopic dynamic vision and observational prowess, coupled with its ability to perceive various energies like an infrared sensor. What he feared were the traps he couldn't perceive. For example, in the garden, Nagi discovered a trap disguised with dead wood and fallen leaves. The moment someone stepped on it, surrounding bells would jingle. These non-lethal alarm traps were the most troublesome.
The servant, under the influence of the Sharingan, walked dazedly toward the daimyo's study. Perhaps because they prioritized protecting wealth and the daimyo's life, or perhaps because there simply wasn't enough manpower to guard such a large estate, the study itself had few defenses.
Nagi let the servant go, simultaneously planting a hypnotic suggestion in his mind to make him forget what had just transpired.
The huge study was filled with unofficial histories, biographies, works on geography, Buddhist sutras, and some non-essential books on topics like agriculture and alchemy. Many of the books had yellowed with age; who knew how long it had been since they were last touched.
Nagi felt a headache coming on just looking at the mess. Finding the map of the ancient Land of Roran he wanted in such a massive study was going to be a real pain.
He directly created three solid Shadow Clones to help with the search.
"Damn this Land of Wind daimyo, can't even organize his things. How are we supposed to find anything in this mess?" Shadow Clone #1 complained.
"You've got it easy. At least your books have titles. Look at my section—it's all scrolls. I have to open them one by one, and I still have to carefully check for exploding tag traps and whatnot. What a pain, ptooey—" Shadow Clone #2 spat.
"Speaking of which, isn't it a bit weird for a Shadow Clone to spit?" Shadow Clone #3 asked, giving #2 a strange look.
Clone #2 was silent.
"Exactly! A body made of chakra, spitting. A glob of chakra-spit?"
"Ooh! In that case, should we try peeing and pooping? Let's see what a Shadow Clone excretes…"
"Alright, get to work, everyone. No more idle chatter. While there are no Kage-level shinobi here, alerting those few Jonin would still be a major hassle." Uchiha Nagi clapped his hands, putting an end to the rambling of his numerous goofball clones.
"To work, to work~"
"Let's get it!"
"Treasure hunt, treasure hunt~"
Clutching his aching forehead, Nagi couldn't believe his clones had such a goofy side. Could it be that, when no one was watching, he was a goofball at his core?
Rustle, rustle—
The several Shadow Clones quickly rummaged through the daimyo's study, checking the contents of various scrolls and books. With the dynamic vision of the Sharingan, to say they could read ten lines at a glance would be an understatement.
"Hmm? What are you looking for?"
Suddenly, a voice like a songbird echoed from within the study, startling Uchiha Nagi. His three clones jumped as well. This person had managed to approach them without making a sound.
"…?!"
Uchiha Nagi turned to look. A girl of about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in a kimono, stood in the study, watching him. She held a lantern and wore an endearingly dazed expression.
Swoosh—
One of the Shadow Clones had already flickered behind her. He clamped a hand over her mouth, a kunai already pressed to her neck. At the slightest wrong move, he would slit her throat.
"Wait, don't make a move yet," Uchiha Nagi stopped the clone. In reality, the clone had no intention of acting rashly; his thoughts were one with the original body, so the reminder wasn't necessary.
First, he scanned his surroundings and confirmed that there were indeed no hidden enemies—it was just her.
Uchiha Nagi frowned, utterly shocked that she could appear beside him so silently. The most shocking part was that she was an ordinary person, with no chakra or any other kind of combative energy in her body.
"Who are you?" Uchiha Nagi asked.
"Me? My name is Yukihime. You can call me Yuki. It was snowing when I was born, a rare sight here, so my father named me Yukihime…" the girl replied, still in a daze.
Hime, meaning princess…
In this class-conscious ninja world, an ordinary person wouldn't dare give their child a name containing 'hime.' It would only invite trouble.
"Are you the daimyo's daughter?" Uchiha Nagi asked.
"Uh-huh, that's right. And you? Are you a thief? But there's no treasure here, only books." Yukihime blinked her beautiful, dazed eyes. A moment later, realization dawned:
"Oh, I get it! You're here to read books too, right? Just like me. I come here every day to find books to read."
"You come here to read often? Then you must be quite familiar with the books in this study," Uchiha Nagi said.
"That's right! As the daimyo's daughter, I can never leave the city walls. It's so boring. Besides strolling around, all I can do is read. By the way, what book are you looking for? I can help you! I know this place best~" Yukihime said, her eyes completely innocent, their depths utterly clear and without a hint of guile.
Uchiha Nagi was silent for a moment before choosing to tell the truth. "I'm looking for a map of the Land of Roran from several decades ago. Is there one here?"