Shinju didn't answer right away.
Instead, he watched quietly as the Ghost Samurai flew off into the distance.
During their brief fight earlier, he had secretly placed a Flying Thunder God mark on his opponent.
Once the Ghost Samurai returned to wherever he came from, Shinju would only need to teleport over — and the man's true identity would naturally be revealed.
Beside him, the man they'd just saved — Kōmei — bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
"You must be the shinobi from Konohagakure, right? I've heard of your arrival in the Land of Birds for a while now but never had the chance to greet you properly. I really owe you all for today."
Shinju replied, "It's fine. We came here precisely to investigate the Ghost Samurai case…"
After spending some time at Kōmei's residence, Shinju calculated that the Ghost Samurai should have returned home by now.
So, after saying a few words of instruction to Tenten, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique!
...
At the Daimyō's mansion.
Though the Land of Birds wasn't large, its daimyō still maintained considerable extravagance.
The palace was luxurious and ornate, and even beside the daimyō's quarters, there was an open-air hot spring.
At that moment, steam rose gently from the spring.
A slender, graceful figure was bathing within the mist.
Splash—!
She lifted a handful of water, washing away the fatigue from the recent battle.
As she bathed, she muttered to herself,
"That shinobi wasn't all that amazing… totally overrated. I thought he'd be much stronger."
"But… he was pretty handsome, I'll give him that. (´つヮ⊂︎)"
"Sigh, even though I suspect Kōmei is the culprit, there's still no solid evidence…"
"When will I ever be able to avenge my father and brother…"
The girl's voice was filled with sorrow.
And just then—
Shinju teleported directly into the scene with his Flying Thunder God Technique!
Since he had placed the mark on the Ghost Samurai's lower back during their battle, his right hand was now… pressed against a soft, slender, and delicate waist.
The next second, a shriek echoed across the night!
"Ah——!!!"
Shinju froze in panic.
"Y-you—"
"I-I—"
Earlier, when he had sensed the Ghost Samurai's chakra, Shinju had realized that it was identical to the chakra of the Land of Birds' daimyō — Sagi!
That was why he hadn't told Tenten right away and instead came to confirm it himself via teleportation.
But what he hadn't expected… was that the daimyō, who had acted all androgynous and cold during the day, was actually a girl!
Who on earth would believe this?!
Sagi turned, her eyes blazing, and swung a hand at him.
"You lecherous intruder! Breaking into the daimyō's mansion— I'll kill you!! Ծ‸ Ծ"
Feeling terribly wronged, Shinju quickly caught her slender wrist.
"Daimyō, please— put your clothes on first. You're, uh… kind of… a little too…"
His gaze involuntarily swept up and down her body.
That was when Sagi suddenly realized — when she'd spun around to slap him, she was completely exposed.
Her bare chest and abdomen were in full view.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Sagi screamed hysterically.
Shinju covered his eyes with one hand, saying awkwardly,
"Hurry and get dressed, this is totally improper. I'm not even looking, really… (◔◡◔)"
He glanced again.
...
After quite some time, the female daimyō finally calmed down.
They sat together to discuss what had happened tonight.
Shinju was the first to speak.
"Why were you pretending to be the Ghost Samurai? Who exactly are you?"
Toki replied, "My name is Toki, daughter of the former daimyō Ōwashi of the Land of Birds."
"Sagi was my older brother."
"After my father's death, I already suspected something was wrong. Then my brother also died unexpectedly… After that, I disguised myself as him and took over as the daimyō."
"And I created the identity of the Ghost Samurai to investigate the truth behind my father's and brother's deaths."
Shinju nodded.
"I see… Since Kōmei benefited the most after their deaths, you suspect he's the mastermind."
Toki nodded firmly.
"Exactly. But that man is extremely cautious. Even when I appeared as the vengeful spirit of my father and brother, he didn't show a single crack in his composure."
Shinju thought aloud.
"Is it possible that someone else was behind it?"
Toki shook her head resolutely.
"Impossible! No one else had the motive to kill my father and brother except Kōmei!"
Shinju said, "Right now, your country has one daimyō and two top officials. If the daimyō dies, and suspicion falls on Kōmei, then think— who benefits the most in the end?"
Toki's eyes widened in shock.
"You mean… Mōsō-sama?! That's impossible! My brother only became daimyō because of his support!"
Shinju continued analyzing, "Maybe that's exactly why. Your brother was young, easier to manipulate than Kōmei…"
Just then, sharp whistling sounds pierced the air outside!
Shinju instantly raised his hand — an Ice Shield formed before him in a single breath!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Several shuriken struck the icy barrier but failed to make even a scratch.
"My shield once withstood Danzo's kunai. These few shuriken are nothing. Ծ ̮ Ծ"
With that, Shinju clapped his hands, summoning wooden vines with Wood Release to bind all the assassins who had attacked!
Beside him, Toki stared in disbelief.
"You're this strong?! Then why, when we fought earlier…"
Shinju spread his hands.
"I already knew the Ghost Samurai was the daimyō. I was afraid if I hit too hard, I might accidentally kill you — and cause political chaos in the Land of Birds. ┐(´-｀)┌"
Toki: "…"
Such a tactless guy! Can't you phrase it better?!
Then, Toki bent down to pick up the shuriken the assassins had thrown.
"These are the standard shuriken used by the Land of Birds' Royal Guard. The Royal Guard answers to Kōmei — I knew it! He is the mastermind! (′д｀σ)σ"
Shinju said calmly, "Don't jump to conclusions. We haven't interrogated them yet."
Then he began his "interrogation" by whipping the captured assassins repeatedly with Wood Release vines.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Smack! Smack! Smack!
"Talk!"
"Talk!"
"Talk!"
"…"
After a while, even Shinju winced in sympathy — the assassins hadn't uttered a single word.
He finally stopped, walked over to grab a drink of water, and sighed.
"These assassins sure have tough mouths. I've been questioning them for ages, and not a word!"
One of the beaten assassins, swollen and bruised all over, muttered weakly,
"… you never asked us any questions… (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
"You just kept whipping us without giving us a chance to talk! (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)"
Shinju: "…"
"Ah… right."
He cleared his throat.
"Whose orders are you under? Why did you try to assassinate the daimyō?!"
The terrified ninja immediately spilled everything like a waterfall.
"My name's Renga! I've been following our boss since I was born… Later, our boss used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a monk, pretending to be the high priest Mōsō! He used ninjutsu to trick the former daimyō of the Land of Birds and established his influence here!"
"This assassination was because—"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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