“Seimei-dono…” Suddenly, the Daimyo’s figure appeared not far away. Uchiha Tonan could instantly sense several pairs of eyes watching him from the shadows. When Naraku saw his father, there was hope in his eyes, and he cried out, “Father, save me.”
Tonan put the candle on the ground and walked towards the Daimyo. “Your Majesty, may we speak somewhere else?”
The Daimyo nodded and left the study hall together with Tonan. They walked into the Daimyo Residence’s back garden. The Daimyo then asked with a worried look, “Seimei-dono, isn’t that too cruel to Naraku?” After all, he was the person who would inherit his position in the future.
Although he believed in Seimei’s capability, it was still distressing to see his son in such pain. Seimei’s teaching method was truly difficult to accept.
Tonan paused his step and lightly said, “Your Majesty, I wonder if I can say something.”
The Daimyo looked at Tonan and nodded, “Seimei-dono, please go ahead.”
Tonan placed his hands behind his back and said, “Compassion doesn’t control the army, righteousness doesn’t control wealth, affection doesn’t establish things, virtue doesn’t handle officials, and benevolence doesn’t hold power. Otherwise, even if you sat in the highest position, you’ll easily become a puppet in someone else’s hand. There’s no construction without destruction…”
The Daimyo was dumbfounded hearing this and stood in the same position in a daze as if he was considering what he just heard.
Tonan bowed to the Daimyo, “This being said, if Your Majesty thinks that it’s truly ruthless, then I’ll go and untie the First Highness now.”
Tonan turned and walked towards the study hall.
“Wait a minute.”
Behind him, the Daimyo called Tonan to stop, “Seimei-dono, you can educate Naraku in accordance with your method. If there’s anything I need to do, you can just tell me.”
Tonan smiled, “Your Majesty, you just need to ignore the First Highness. Even if he wants to complain to you tearfully, you need to endure and not see him.”
“No problem,” the Daimyo knew now was not the time to be soft-hearted. His great ambition was to have complete authority over the Land of Fire, unlike now when everything relied on Konoha’s protection.
Tonan pondered for a while, and added in a low voice, “In addition, Your Majesty, you need to do one more thing, so that it would be smoother for the First Highness to inherit great power in the future.”
The Daimyo asked curiously, “What’s that?”
“You should pay more attention to the Second Highness. Have him beside you at all times. It’s best to go out for a walk with him from time to time. Moreover, in front of other people, don’t berate him. Instead brag about him. You must give him enough importance.”
“Why?”
“Your Majesty, you’ve already decided to pass the most honorable thing to the First Highness. You can only compensate the Second Highness in other ways. The First Highness is your son and successor, but the Second Highness is only your son. You should give him fatherly love.”
“Or else if the Second Highness holds a grudge in his heart, I’m afraid that after the First Highness succeeds to the throne, they might draw swords at each other. But as long as you act according to my suggestion, even if the Second Highness harbors resentment in the future, his determination would’ve eroded and he could only be an idle vassal for the rest of his life, unable to do anything worthwhile.”
The Daimyo was enlightened and nodded, “You make sense. You are free to do whatever you please and teach him as you want.”
After that, they continued to chat for a long time. The Daimyo approved of Tonan’s teaching philosophy all the more and he tried his best to cooperate with his plan.
The sky was already bright by the time Tonan alone returned to the study hall’s small courtyard. Naraku, who was still tied to the stake, stretched his neck, wanting to see if his father had sought justice for him.
However, he didn’t see the person he hoped to and his heart was instantly heavy. Looking at Tonan, who was approaching him step by step with a cold look, he was very frightened. However, he couldn’t move. He could only timidly ask, “Where’s my father?”
“Humph,” Tonan coldly snorted. The candle had already burnt half and was full of liquid wax. The corners of his mouth rose. He picked up the candle and dripped the wax on Naraku’s body.
“Ah!” The scalding liquid stuck on his body, making him wail in pain. But the smile on Tonan’s face became wider.
“It seems a father’s mindset in the ninja world for wishing his son to become a dragon is too strong… he can even endure something like this. The gap between Konoha and the Daimyo is bigger than I thought.”
On the other side of the study hall’s courtyard wall, the Daimyo hid at one side and eavesdropped. Because he couldn’t bear it, he closed his eyes hearing his son’s miserable scream, and sighed. He then gritted his teeth, turned around, and left.
At the same time, Tonan felt that the secretly monitoring eyes in the dark had completely disappeared. Presumably, the Daimyo was wary of the guards and didn’t want them to hear the content of Tonan’s class.
After a while, the half-asleep Nahara staggered into the small courtyard of the study hall. Just as he entered, he was terrified out of his mind seeing the scene in front of him.
When Tonan looked in his direction, he stammered, “Seimei-sensei…, am I… late…”
However, Tonan unexpectedly smiled and nodded, “Second Highness, you came just in time. Go ahead and sit down. I’ll come and give a lecture later.”
“I thought I’d also be tortured, but I wasn’t.” Nahara couldn’t believe his ears. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva with a guilty conscience and quickly walked into the classroom.
At that moment, Tonan untied Naraku, who fell to his knee and gasped for breath. He wanted to take this chance to relax a little, but he was doused with a bucket of water again, which made him feel especially cold.
