The rats hiding underground had all vanished.
When it came to fighting, those people lurking in the shadows might not be particularly skilled. At most, they were the kind who had blood in their veins and enough guts to rush in with a knife when something happened.
But when it came to running for their lives...
No one knew how to escape better than rats.
Even if the officials of Warsaw City mobilized all the samurai and ninja in the city to capture them, there would always be a few that slipped through the cracks, unless...
"Either someone set a trap and caught them wave after wave, so we just haven't found them yet,"
"Or the rats have gathered in a very well-hidden place, even you can't find it."
Ryosuke analyzed the two possibilities.
Everyone exchanged looks. To say the rats had disappeared... it was actually a small matter and wouldn't have any real impact on Ryosuke's negotiation plan.
After all, the rats mostly lived at the very bottom level of society, at best, they were just ordinary people with a few "special tricks."
Even if they caused trouble, they would still stand on Ryosuke's side.
Whether it was Ryosuke's Hermit Purple's abilities or Kakashi's ninjutsu-based tracking, if they really wanted to find them, they definitely could. But the banquet would start in less than two hours.
Rasa suggested, "Let's leave the matter of the rats for after the banquet."
Ryosuke nodded slightly.
Over the next hour or so, no one stayed idle.
Grandma Chiyo and Rasa took out a small notebook, using the time before the banquet to brief Ryosuke on the Wind Country's Daimyo, Tokugawa Shingen, as well as other bureaucrats and their factions.
Although word was that Tokugawa had already surrendered, they still needed to go over how he surrendered, which factions could potentially be persuaded, and all other delicate details.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, who wasn't too familiar with the Wind Country and whose body still hadn't fully recovered, was helping to look after Gaara.
Gaara, already a bit withdrawn by nature, had been startled by the cannons when he arrived in Warsaw City, and then publicly mocked by others. His mood went up and down so much that he seemed to have fallen ill, sitting weakly in a corner.
Having nothing else to do, Takeshi went outside to the pond, hoisted up a twenty-kilogram boulder, and began strength training.
A breeze swept through the courtyard. From deep within came the faint sound of a pipa being played. Listening to the music, everyone's tension from arriving in Warsaw began to ease, replaced by a subtle calm.
Rasa squinted slightly as he listened to the tune. "People in Warsaw City really know how to enjoy themselves. Even a private courtyard comes with its own musician. When you think about it… the Daimyo really deserves to die."
When the time was about right, a carriage team was already waiting outside the courtyard.
More than fifty samurai bodyguards, all carefully selected, stood in formation. They might not all be top fighters, but every one of them was tall, handsome, and richly dressed. Even their scabbards and sword hilts were inlaid with gold and gems.
Three carriages were prepared. Each one was pulled by eight horses, and even the coachmen carried themselves with grace and refinement, clearly well-trained in etiquette.
Alongside were over twenty maids and attendants. They carefully placed small stepping stools before each carriage, knelt on one knee with lowered heads and drowsy eyes, quietly waiting for Ryosuke's group to board.
Rasa, who had just regained a sense of calm moments ago, stared at the scene of luxury before him and ground out words through clenched teeth,
"Disgusting. Truly disgusting!"
Unlike the Water Nation's Kyoto Water Garden Festival last time, where not only Ryosuke but also Oda Ieyasu had sent invitations to every major organization and figure across the ninja world, tonight's banquet had only one true guest of honor.
Ryosuke.
Everyone else, nobles, bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, artists, were just filler to make the scene look less empty.
They might each have their own backgrounds and power, but,
Ryosuke was the background itself.
To the bureaucrats and elites of Warsaw City, Ryosuke was like the night sky above them, vast, dark, suffocating. A single thought from him could erase their lives.
After all, among people of their rank, whose hands were truly clean?
Because of Gaara's condition, Rasa and Grandma Chiyo decided to stay behind to care for him.
At first, Ryosuke considered placing them in the Ghost Room for safety. But after some thought, with Rasa and Chiyo's capabilities, protecting one Gaara wasn't much of an issue.
If he actually put them in the Ghost Room, it would feel like he didn't trust them at all.
Besides, with this short distance, if a fight really broke out, Ryosuke could arrive in a minute or two once they sent a signal.
"Remember to bring me back a bottle of good wine," Grandma Chiyo reminded.
Leaning out the carriage window, Ryosuke made an OK gesture in reply.
As the carriage slowly began to move, the window closed, and silence settled inside. Even the carriage's vibrations were faint, completely quiet. Overhead, tiny stars glimmered; upon closer look, each one was actually a small embedded diamond.
Ryosuke reached up to touch one. "I know Takeshi's not the type to hesitate. If you've got something on your mind, just say it."
Takeshi awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"I just thought… I really thought, my lord, that you'd refuse to ride in such a carriage. I figured you'd reject all this flashy nonsense, maybe ride a horse or just walk there."
"Walk?"
Ryosuke patted his still-injured thigh.
"I've been floating all this way. It only looks like I'm walking. Daytime's fine, but floating at night would probably scare people half to death. Besides, "
He leaned back into the soft seat, as if sinking into a girl's arms.
"If I were going to see Tokugawa to kill him, I wouldn't sit in a carriage like this, it's way too slow. But since we're here to negotiate, this evening banquet, this carriage, even the sword they sent over this morning, they're all part of his probing."
"The best way to handle these soft tests is to ignore them completely."
The banquet is just a dinner.
The carriage is just a ride.
The sword is just a stick for poking the fire.
Everything was just the wind blowing by. Ryosuke didn't waste any energy responding to them, focusing entirely on tomorrow's formal negotiation.
Takeshi seemed to understand. He nodded. "Lord Ryosuke, you really know a lot."
Ryosuke laughed and tossed him a piece of pastry from the table.
"I don't know any of this political stuff. It's Oda Ieyasu who drilled it into me over and over. He told me Tokugawa Shingen might look like a coward, but he's not an easy man to deal with."
Ten minutes later, the carriage came to a gentle stop. Ryosuke floated down, casually helping up a few kneeling attendants and handing them the box of pastries taken from the carriage.
"Share them among yourselves. You've worked hard."
The attendants thought they'd misheard him, standing frozen, not knowing what to do.
Ryosuke smiled, patted one on the shoulder, said nothing more, and stepped onto the red carpet.
He looked up at the Daimyo's residence before him.
A massive, luxurious building crouched in the darkness like some terrifying beast.
Rows of glass lanterns glowed bright, illuminating the estate like daylight. The open gates looked like the jaws of a monster, painted with festivity, but only to lure its prey inside before swallowing them whole.
Tokugawa Shingen stood at the gates. Around him bustled nobles and dignitaries, all bowing deeply as they passed. Tokugawa returned each with a polite nod, but his eyes were fixed straight ahead.
Only when Ryosuke stepped down from the carriage did Tokugawa's face light up with a genuine smile, like a servant finally welcoming home his long-awaited master.
He bowed deeply.
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