Amid the loud cheering of the guards of the Guardian Residence, the train pulled into the station, slowly bringing with it the gloom of dark smoke clouds. Inside the carriage, Uchiha Tonan casually took off his cap and threw it on the table. He then retrieved the Leaf ninja forehead protector from his ninja bag and put it on.
He got up and stood in front of the carriage door waiting for the train to reach the platform. Sekiya Ichikaze opened the train driver box’s door and looked at Tonan. He respectfully bid his farewell then. “Tonan-sama, take care of yourself. I’ll pick you up when the time comes.”
Tonan nodded slightly in acknowledgment. Chi… The train spat out thick steam. Following this, it seemed to deflate and stopped beside the platform.
Guardian Residence Chief, Uekawa Ozora, who was riding on a horse, lowered his eyes looking down at Tonan. He had no intention to dismount to greet his former colleague but arrogantly said, “I trust you’ve been well since we parted, Konoha’s number one genius.”
Because of the height difference, if Tonan replied to him, he would have to look up. This was the very picture Ozora wanted to see. Beyond a point, one could not blame Ozora for such childish thoughts. Having reached his current level, this was not something that would make him happy.
He did so in order to make the Daimyo happy. Embarrassing Tonan was equivalent to making the Daimyo happy, and making the Daimyo happy was equivalent to making himself more valuable to the country’s most powerful leader. Ozora was thinking too simply.
But Tonan was not willing to humor him. He didn’t look up and instead looked at the brown horse in front of him. In the next instance, the horse’s eyes shrunk and it fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth. Ozora jumped off and landed on the ground before the horse fell completely. Otherwise, he would fall as well and that would cause him to be embarrassed further. After stabilizing himself, he glared at Tonan, “You…”
Tonan had an expression as if he was looking at a fool. “I’m a ninja, not an official. Don’t play these silly tricks in front of me. Are you not afraid I’ll turn around and return to Konoha? If that happens, I’ll return alive. But as for you, would you still live after you went back to your master?”
Tonan’s words enraged Ozora but he had to admit that the former was right. Even though he had many men here now, if Tonan turned around and left, they truly couldn’t stop him. At that time, he might really lose his life once he returned to the Daimyo to report it.
He suppressed the anger in his heart and took a deep breath, “His Majesty has prepared a residence for you. Please follow me.” After speaking, he turned around and walked without waiting for Tonan. Looking at this behavior, Tonan chuckled. He didn’t bother to bicker with this boorish person who was in charge of the Fire Capital’s violent institution all year round.
Tonan followed Ozora’s lead as he looked around him. It had been almost three years since he left the Fire Capital. The more he saw, the more he realized the Fire Capital had changed a lot in this time. For starters, the entire city had expanded.
With the previous city wall as the boundary, the former capital was designated as the inner city. And a new wall was built around the former towns outside the capital, designating that area as the outer city. The roads had also been widened significantly and green pine trees were planted on both sides to separate the paths for pedestrians and carriages.
The city developments were not the only changes. Tonan noticed that several strange stores had also appeared in the Fire Capital. This also proved that the people here were living a much richer life than earlier. After all, only after being well-fed and well-clothed, they would have the time to pursue activities of pleasure.
Even the city guards’ demeanor had changed. All of them were full of energy and followed strict military discipline. Compared to the guards he had worked with earlier, these were in a completely different class. At that time, the city guards walked around casually, their approach and appearance being not very different from the bandits entering the village.
After suffering a setback at the train station, Ozora had no intention to chat with his ‘esteemed guest’. Soon, Tonan arrived in front of a large mansion under the city guards’ surveillance. Having reached their destination, Ozora turned around and indifferently said to Tonan, “Ensure to reach the arena the day after tomorrow morning for the competition. Don’t run all over the place in the next two days. The Fire Capital is not peaceful. Don’t make things difficult for me.”
Tonan smiled and lightly said, “Of course, I won’t cause any trouble to Ozora-sama.”
“Please,” Ozora gestured with his hand as got ready to leave. The two city guards immediately ran to the mansion and opened the gate. Tonan walked in without any change in his expression. Ozora looked at him as he was walking into the mansion and narrowed his eyes slightly. “I’ll see how long you’ll stay this high and mighty.”
The two city guards closed the gate again and stood on the left and right sides to guard it. Ozora looked around and instructed in a deep voice, “You all will remain here on duty. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Be careful, no mistakes can happen.”
“Yes,” The city guards immediately shouted in unison hearing their leader’s command, and then surrounded the mansion. Seeing that all was in order, Ozora turned around and walked towards the Daimyo Residence.
