Disguised as Abe Seimei, who had taken a special place of fear and hatred in Naraku’s heart, Uchiha Tonan looked to use the oldest reason to create a divide between the father and son.
Naraku, however, was very doubtful of his sensei’s words that indicated his father was not considering him to be the next in line of succession. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that he was much better than his younger brother who only while away his time making merry. He didn’t think his wise father would be so short-sighted or muddleheaded.
A small smile played on Tonan’s lips and he leisurely said, “Have you really not noticed yet? No matter what the Second Highness does, His Majesty doesn’t punish him. If at all, he only dotes on him more. This alone is enough to show that he holds the Second Highness in a special position in his heart.”
“More importantly, why is His Majesty not standing up for you when I’m being so cruel to you? Aren’t you curious as to why I don’t dare treat the Second Highness in the same way? Because I know that once I make a move on him, I am likely to lose my head.”
Naraku was shocked to hear Tonan’s explanation. He thought carefully for a while and discovered that there was some truth in this. These days, he had been badly injured but his father hadn’t shown any concern about him.
He had also heard from the attendants that his younger brother would go to their father’s place every day after class. His father would always keep him by his side whether they were eating or handling political affairs. Wasn’t this the same as preparing him to hand over the future tasks of governing the nation…
Naraku’s eyes were filled with panic immediately and he shook his head in denial, “Impossible… impossible…”
Tonan could see that Naraku had finally lost his reasoning and he knew that the fish had bitten the bait. He changed his tactic and said in a tempting tone, “There’s still a chance. I sincerely appreciate you and I’m willing to teach you to apply everything you have learned already. Do you still remember the Sweep Over Strategy I taught you before?”
Naraku nodded, “Yes, I remember.”
“In fact…, the Sweep Over Strategy can manipulate many major events…”
Naraku’s eyes flashed as he muttered, “King’s Heart… Minister’s Heart… People’s Heart… Ruler… influential officials… common people… As long as I can get the support of two of these forces, I’ll be able to ascend the throne to become the Daimyo.”
Tonan nodded in admiration, “Yes, this is called to change with the need of the time.”
In the next moment though, Naraku narrowed his eyes and firmly said, “No… you are deceiving me.”
“This fellow looks simple-minded but it’s not so easy to deceive him… It’s no problem though because the stage is set and the seed of doubt is planted. I just need to wait for it to slowly sprout on its own.”
Tonan said indifferently, “Whether I’m deceiving you or not, you will know it soon enough. His Majesty is abdicating soon, so the bias he had been hiding in his heart has become obvious. From here on, I’ll spend an hour teaching you different things each day. Pay careful attention because what I’m going to teach you now is called the Emperor Heart Strategy. It’ll prove very important for you in the future.”
As he began the lecture, Tonan’s expression changed and he exuded the aura of a person who has seen the ups and downs of time itself. Naraku had no choice but pay attention to his sensei’s teachings.
“Majestic presence in all directions, and the whole world declares itself a vassal — that is the Emperor. But the Emperor is solitary also…”
……
At night, in the North City Guard Residence, Tonan was sitting in front of a desk wearing a nightdress, holding a book ‘Economic Policy’.
“Enter.” He sensed someone outside the door using Wind Communication but his eyes never left the book.
Yoshiwara Ao carefully walked to his side and bowed, “My Lord, the matter you had instructed on earlier is already completed. All the black casinos, brothels, smuggling dens, and gangster strongholds under our jurisdiction are already under the grasp of our people.”
Tonan nodded, and while looking at the book, he picked up the teacup and took a sip, “Did they notice?”
“Yes, but I’ve already ordered the city guards to accept their tribute.”
“Well done. Now go and gather the troops, I want to uproot all of these social evils at one go.”
“Yes, My Lord.” Ao respectfully accepted the orders and left the room.
Tonan had realized he wouldn’t stay in the Fire Capital for too long. Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of the time before he left to reap some quick profit. While he was after the fortune, there was no reason to not do the things that would give him fame as well.
This plan had been going well. As long as there was no mishap, he would obtain a considerable amount of wealth, and he could even be able to secretly control the power of the country.
Moreover, he might even be able to deal with Sarutobi Shinnosuke and… Sarutobi Asuma.
“Hiruzen… don’t you like to play tricks to take advantage of others? Then, I’ll play with you. Let’s see who plays whom in the end.”
