The distress signal rising in the village had stirred quite a commotion. As a special envoy, Hiramiya Saikyo couldn't remain in the dark for long. As soon as the tea room had collapsed, he had been alerted by his trusted aides and quickly exited the room to gaze toward the billowing smoke in the distance.

"What on earth is happening?"

"A bunch of useless idiots! Can anyone tell me what's going on at the tea room?"

"Where's Ogasawara Uemon? Why hasn't he made contact yet?"

Saikyo's fury was reaching explosive levels.

The old man's rage was so intense that it practically lifted his mustache. His subordinates were left scrambling under his verbal barrage. Yet, beneath this fury and arrogance, he felt a gnawing unease. All contact had been lost with the tea room, including any trace of Ogasawara Uemon or the scouts sent to gather intel there.

It seemed…

The tea room had turned into a black hole.

It had swallowed all information, leaving him clueless about what was going on there. However, he knew well enough that if the secret under the tea room were to be exposed, serious trouble would inevitably follow.

Saikyo recalled what Ogasawara had said before: "He looks at you with killing intent." A shiver shot down his spine. Could it be Hamawari? Did he discover the tea room's secret and plan to eliminate both Ogasawara and himself?

Once this idea took root in his mind, it became impossible to dismiss.

Even with a clearly visible distress signal floating overhead, Saikyo stubbornly refused his subordinates' suggestion to seek assistance from Hamawari, the deputy envoy. Instead, after some thought, he commanded them to withdraw from the envoy building and seek help from Konoha's ninjas.

He understood well enough.

The Konoha ninjas wouldn't act against him on a whim; even if the secret in the tea room were exposed, Konoha wouldn't execute him without sanction from the Fire Daimyo. However, Hamawari, a loyal "attack dog" raised by the Daimyo himself, posed a far greater threat.

"Go in the opposite direction from the tea room," he ordered.

Suppressing his panic, Saikyo tried to clear his mind and quickly made his decision.

"But there's a wall in that direction…"

One of his subordinates muttered.

"Idiot! Knock the wall down, and it becomes a path! Or are you telling me you can't even break through a single wall?"

Saikyo was nearly driven mad with anger. These men, now seeming useless, had proven both incompetent and dull. But with Ogasawara Uemon, his chief guard, absent, he had no choice but to rely on these "idiots" to protect him.

Not that nobility was entirely helpless in combat.

But Saikyo had been pampered from childhood. Although he'd dabbled in archery, swordsmanship, and horsemanship, it had been little more than a show. At over sixty years old, he'd lost much of his physical prowess.

Even with the secret ritual enhancements from the cult, he remained unable to fight effectively.

Soon enough, his men had chiseled an opening in the freshly painted wall. As one of the Fire Country's high nobles, Saikyo had a few capable people under him—rogue ninjas, minor clan shinobi, samurai. Together, breaking through a wall was no challenge.

But—

"Hiramiya-sama, where are you planning to go?" A leisurely voice came from the other side of the opening. Saikyo stiffened as if stung by a scorpion. It was him—it was Hamawari!

The old man quickly regained his composure, took a deep breath, and spoke:

"Hamawari? You're just in time. The envoy building is under attack, and Ogasawara is under great pressure. Hurry and go help him!"

Indeed, it was Hamawari standing on the other side of the wall.

The instant Konoha's distress signal rose, Hamawari realized he could delay no longer. Waiting any further would leave him without a chance, especially once Konoha's elite arrived. So he'd rushed here, blocking Saikyo's escape.

"Attack?"

Hamawari scoffed at Saikyo. "I just came from the tea room. There's no enemy there, only Konoha's law enforcement. Ogasawara doesn't need any help. He's only walking to his doom. I want to ask you, Hiramiya-sama: do you realize the trouble your actions will cause the Daimyo if they're exposed?"

"Hamawari!? What's that supposed to mean?" Saikyo's face darkened, his eyes flashing with a vicious glare.

"You want to know what it means?" Hamawari snarled. "Did you not consider the impact on the Daimyo when you were running amok in Konoha? How much trouble will it bring him?"

"As a special envoy, you represent the Daimyo's face here in Konoha. Every action of yours reflects his will. Yet instead of acting with propriety, you disgrace him. It's sickening!"

After this outburst, Hamawari calmed himself, his gaze piercing as he looked at the trembling, enraged Saikyo.

"It's pointless to talk to someone like you, selfish and disloyal. For the Daimyo's sake… it's best if you stay put!"

With that, a kunai slipped from Hamawari's sleeve into his hand.

Now, Saikyo finally understood what Ogasawara had meant by "killing intent." Hamawari was here to kill him. Just the look in his eyes said it all—nothing else mattered now, except the blade.

"Stop him!" Saikyo shouted.

Though his guards were hardly formidable, they were loyal. Even knowing they were no match for Hamawari, they charged forward, giving Saikyo the chance to turn and run—toward the tea room.

At this point, going to the Konoha ninjas was out of the question. Ogasawara was his only hope. Even if the tea room had become a death trap, any chance was better than none.

As he aged, feeling his strength wane, Hiramiya Saikyo realized how precious life was and how terrifying death could be.

He didn't want to die!

So when Ogasawara had presented him with a path to immortality, Saikyo had accepted without a second thought. Even knowing the man's questionable past, he had agreed to every one of his demands.

To survive, he had devotedly worshiped a dark god and hadn't hesitated to sacrifice others to pave his way to eternal life.

And now—

Saikyo, at over sixty years old, ran with surprising speed.

His swift stride betrayed none of his usual pampered lifestyle, almost rivaling a ninja capable of racing against steam trains. Even Hamawari was taken aback by the sight. Such a struggle is ultimately futile.

The difference in power is far too vast; words like "heaven and earth" could aptly describe it.

Hama wiped the blood off his kunai and began to pursue Heigu . Behind him, the warm corpse lay face down on the ground, completely still, as large patches of blood gradually soaked into the soil beneath them.

"Lord Heigu, stop this pointless struggle! All you're doing is adding to your suffering!"

A kunai flew like a meteor, accompanied by a soft sigh, striking Heigu directly in the back with brutal force, embedding itself deeply into his body. The sixty-something nobleman stumbled, his left foot tripping over his right, and collapsed with a thud. Enraged, he glared back at Hama.

"A twenty-something-year-old ninja ambushing a sixty-year-old noble? So much for honor!"

And also—

This hurts!

It hurts like hell! But Heigu knew he had no time for complaints or curses. Enduring the pain of his pierced heart, he struggled back up and continued running, the kunai lodged in his back swaying with every step.

"What… the hell?"

Hama was stunned by the sight of the kunai swaying up and down, left and right.

Well, would you look at that. Is this what they call immortality? A pierced heart, yet he's still alive?

After a second's pause, Hama flicked his hand, sending two shurikens spinning toward Heigu , embedding them precisely in his right leg's calf and thigh. If piercing the heart wasn't enough to kill him, then it was best to immobilize him first and figure out the rest afterward.

Heigu fell again.

This time, though, the shurikens lodged in his leg muscles hampered his movement. He reached to pull them out, but even in that short span, Hama had caught up, and there was still a little way to go before reaching the tea room.

Heigu had just managed to remove the shurikens from his calf and thigh.

Then another kunai penetrated his right wrist.

"Hama, do you know what you're doing? Killing me is declaring war against the Heigu family— not even the daimyo could protect you," Heigu warned. Though he knew it was a slim chance, he still tried to persuade Hama with words.

"Don't worry, Lord Heigu; the one who killed you is Ogatahara. I have nothing to do with it. As for whether your family might hold a grudge… do you really think they'd take the time for that? Your disappointing heirs will be too busy scrambling for the family headship to stir up trouble with the daimyo's guard."

Hama's response made Heigu pause, a look of terror flickering in his eyes. He raised his wounded right hand, as if to shield himself from Hama's strike, but he was too slow, far too slow.

With his fingers clenched tightly, Hama's hand, hardened like iron, fell like a lightning-quick blade, slicing through Heigu 's neck with ease.

Blood,

gushed from his severed neck.

This time, Heigu truly lost all possibility of rising again. The lifeless look in his eyes confirmed his death. Yet to be certain, Hama removed Heigu 's brain and heart and sealed them in a scroll. This would not only prevent Heigu from reviving but also keep his secrets safe from the Konoha ninjas.

"Even the brain's been taken out? Brutal!"

Uchiha Obito appeared silently, gazing down at the corpse.

"Well… so this is immortality, huh? Interesting. A pierced heart, yet no harm done— but decapitation proves fatal. Seems the head is the weakness… or maybe his immortality isn't quite complete yet."

"Interested in immortality too?"

Hama stored the scroll containing Heigu 's brain and heart.

"Only mildly curious; I'm not into worshipping evil gods," Obito replied coolly. "Anyway, aren't you framing this on Ogatahara? Better get rid of any loose ends."

"No need. It's just a pretext to deter Heigu's family from revenge. With Heigu dead, his family will be busy fighting over the head position. Challenging the daimyo's guard would be the last thing on their minds."

The noble world is equally blood-soaked and ruthless!

Every change in family head or clan leader often brings another wave of bloodshed. For centuries, many families and organizations have ultimately fallen due to endless internal conflict. Whether the Heigu family can make it through this crisis is another story!

"The details of Heigu 's death… don't matter. As long as there's no direct evidence linking me to the act." Hama spoke indifferently. Killing Heigu hadn't been a rash decision but rather a well-thought-out plan.

The Konoha ninjas had already set their sights on the consulate, and killing Arasaka Rokuro wouldn't solve the root issue.

As long as Heigu and Ogatahara Yoemon continued their secret rituals, they'd inevitably need strong, healthy people's blood, drawing Konoha ninjas again sooner or later. So rather than covering for Heigu …

it was more straightforward to eliminate the source, placing all blame on Ogatahara Yoemon. That way, Heigu would appear as a misled victim, saving the daimyo's reputation and sparing the Heigu family some disgrace as well!

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