The Daimyo shot up from his seat, his voice rising with fury. "I admit that you are very powerful, but do you think I am without any trump cards? I am the Daimyo of the Land of Sea! Meet my twelve guards!"
As his words thundered through the hall, twelve masked ninjas seated on the parallel seats sprang to their feet in perfect unison. Their movements were sharp and silent, cloaks fluttering as they formed a defensive circle around the Daimyo. In a blink, their hands went to their weapons, eyes locked on Antares—ready to strike, ready to kill.
So this is his last line of defence, Antares thought, his gaze narrowing as the air thickened with killing intent.
"Not only do I have these subordinates of mine, each of them as powerful as a Jonin. Although they are not exactly as powerful as the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire's Daimyo, this is a similar formation, and at the very least, you won't escape from here unharmed. And not only this: my whole army must already be moving and surrounding this entire mansion." A cold certainty settled in his voice. "I know that you both, the Uzumaki siblings, are very powerful. But with this formation, even you will find it difficult to leave from here alive. And even if you manage to leave from here alive, you won't be able to achieve your goal of making my younger brother the Daimyo of this country and having him as your puppet."
After hearing the Daimyo's words, Sachinobu immediately turned pale because he hadn't expected his eldest brother to be so thorough. Not only had he prepared an ambush with such a powerful team of ninja, but also all the army situated in the capital had been moved towards the Daimyo's mansion so that he could capture them like a turtle in a jar.
But at this complex, tense moment, Antares gave a low chuckle, which quickly grew into a hearty, unreserved laugh. Beside him, Makima was also smiling, covering her mouth lightly with her hand.
Watching the Uzumaki siblings behaving in such a manner, the Daimyo grew confused. A knot of unease tightened in his chest. He asked, "Have you both gone mad after seeing this display of my force? Why are you acting like this?"
Antares looked toward Makima, the laughter dying in his eyes, replaced by a cold amusement. "Show them what you can do."
As soon as Antares spoke, Makima nodded once, a subtle, sharp motion, and uttered a single, chilling word: "Kill."
The moment Makima's words fell, a sudden, sickening movement erupted among the twelve guards of the Daimyo. Four of them—their eyes momentarily vacant and unfocused—violently moved to stab their nearest teammates. The attacks were lightning-fast and brutal, and all the wounds were fatal, driven either directly into their chest or deeply into the neck. The sudden sprays of crimson blood hitting the polished wood floor were the first sounds of true horror.
Seeing such a shocking turn of events, the Daimyo's eyes widened in horror. His breath hitched, a thin, rattling sound in the sudden, bloody silence. He shouted aloud, "What exactly is happening?"
Immediately, he was left with only four of his original ninjas. Four lay dead, four had instantly betrayed, and those remaining four were now desperately trying to defend themselves against the four traitorous guards. The speed and brutality of the betrayal had fractured his entire defence.
Antares watched the chaos with an utterly detached expression. He looked toward the petrified Daimyo and said, "We have been here in the Land of Sea for almost a week now. Did you truly think we were doing nothing except for simple investigating? We didn't just investigate you; we also knew that you had this powerful 'trump card' under your command." Antares paused, a cynical smile curving his lips. "Although it might be a powerful trump card for you, it's certainly not worthy enough to be looked at by me, or by any of us Uzumaki siblings. We could take down this trash team of twelve so-called trump card ninjas of yours alone. We don't need each other's assistance, so keep that in mind."
After saying that, Antares snapped his finger sharply. A large, intense wave of crimson-orange fire was instantly released from in front of him, a torrent of heat and flame that immediately engulfed all eight of the fighting ninjas—the loyal and the betrayed alike. A brief, horrifying shriek was cut short as the immense heat vaporized everything. The fire reduced all eight bodies to smouldering charcoal, killing them instantly.
Watching the fiery annihilation, the Daimyo was stunned beyond measure. His mouth fell slightly open, and he muttered in disbelief, "You even killed your subordinates—the ones who betrayed for you."
Antares looked toward the Daimyo, his expression utterly devoid of remorse. "They never betrayed you. Rather, they were simply controlled by my sister."
Makima, who had been quiet until now and had only uttered the single, horrifying word 'Kill' that began the carnage, finally spoke. "I controlled those four ninjas of yours, the ones who generally dislike being confined within the boundaries of the Daimyo mansion. I met them separately and controlled them."
She continued, addressing the Daimyo's earlier threats with cold precision. "As for the proud guards you are boasting about right now—that the whole army will surround the mansion, and we will find it difficult to escape unharmed, that our mission will be totally wasted... No such thing is going to happen." She paused, letting the reality sink in. "Because even the commanders and generals of your army are already under my control."
"They already told us about your plan—that you were going to order them to surround the Daimyo mansion tonight. But we played along, just so that we could root out the traitor among the ranks of Sachinobu, who is going to be the next Daimyo. After all, we can't let him have a subordinate who is a traitor. Don't you think so, Morishima Yuma?"
Makima said this while looking directly toward Morishima, who was the commander-in-chief of Sachinobu's forces.
After hearing her accusation, Morishima's face immediately turned pale and was instantly slicked with sweat. He wanted desperately to run, but before he could even twitch, Antares appeared beside him in a blur. Antares slammed his right hand down onto Morishima's shoulder, pressing him violently into the ground with immense, focused force.
A sickening crunch echoed in the room as Morishima's shoulder shattered and his leg snapped beneath the pressure. The force was so staggering that the ground around Morishima was visibly dented and the stone tiles cracked outward, showing the sheer power Antares had used in his single, devastating attack.
After hearing Makima's precise, devastating explanation, the Daimyo, who had only moments ago stood up laughing triumphantly and showcasing his supposed intelligence, completely deflated. He slumped back into his large, ornate chair, his posture broken. He could only mutter one thing over and over, his voice thin and hollow: "It's over. It's over. It's over."
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