"What? He actually defeated Fujino?"
"Your information isn't wrong, is it?"
"That brat has been a useless waste since he was little. How could he possibly be that strong? Are you joking with me?" Saito Ze's eyes widened in disbelief as he fired off question after question.
"Second Young Master, how could this kind of thing be fake?" Kimura said bitterly. "It happened in front of over ten thousand people. All the commanders were there. How could there be any mistake?"
When he found out he had been stripped of his position as a commander in the camp, Kimura had not been afraid.
Because he still had the Second Young Master.
In fact, being removed from his command because he had gone to see the Second Young Master would only make him seem more loyal in Saito Ze's eyes.
And once the Second Young Master ascended to the general's seat in the future...
What was one commander's position worth?
But after hearing that Rosinante had defeated Fujino with a single punch...
Kimura began to panic.
It seemed the General was not nearly as useless as they had imagined.
And if, when the time came, he really found a way to fulfill that promise...
Then what?
"Impossible! That trash? That useless piece of trash—how could he possibly—?!" Saito Ze roared in fury.
"Calm down a little," Lady Ishimura snapped, glaring at him in irritation. "It's just one matter, yet you're shouting like this?"
"Mother, this is not some small matter!" Saito Ze said through clenched teeth. "He actually beat Fujino. I've tested Fujino's strength before. Even I can't guarantee I could defeat him. If he weren't from outside the true samurai lineage, he would have become a commander long ago!"
Hearing that, even Lady Ishimura frowned.
"Then there's only one thing left to do..." Saito Ze said coldly. "If we're going to act, we have to go all the way."
His vicious gaze was so cruel it was as if he wanted to carve Saito Tsubasa to pieces.
Saito Tsubasa had always blocked his path.
Always made his life miserable.
And now...
He had taken everything that should have belonged to him.
Why?
Why did all the good things always go to him?
Just because he had been born a few years earlier?
Just because he was the legitimate son?
Saito Ze refused to accept it.
"No," Lady Ishimura said, shaking her head. "He now has those Hatake ninja protecting him. It won't be easy to kill him anymore. And after what happened last time, they'll definitely be on even higher alert. If we strike again, I'm afraid we won't get another chance."
"Don't worry," Saito Ze said calmly. "This world doesn't have only the Hatake Clan. And while the Hatake are fairly strong, they're still only a small ninja clan. They can't compare to the medium or large ninja clans. The number of ninja they can assign to protect Saito Tsubasa will definitely be limited. More importantly... we don't need to make the move ourselves."
His lips curled coldly.
"We just need to pass along the news that Saito Tsubasa has promised to take General Fujimitsu's head within three months. Once General Fujimitsu hears that... we won't need to do anything else."
Lady Ishimura's eyes lit up.
"That really is a good plan. But who should handle it?"
As soon as she said that, both she and Saito Ze turned to look at Kimura at the exact same time.
Seeing both their eyes fall on him, Kimura froze.
"Me?"
Then his expression changed instantly, and he pointed at himself.
"That's right. You," Saito Ze said calmly. "Kimura, this matter can only be handled by you. The fewer people who know about this, the better. And you already know about our scheme. If you refuse to go... then I'll have no choice but to kill you to ensure the secret stays buried."
Hearing that, Kimura could only force out a bitter smile.
Not long afterward...
He quietly slipped out of the Saito household.
Rosinante had no idea Kimura had left.
And even if he did know...
He wouldn't have cared.
After returning from the military camp, he had immediately buried himself in work, remaining in the study as he drafted a training outline.
This training outline was primarily designed to instill discipline in the soldiers.
Discipline.
Obedience to orders.
Absolute execution.
The combat strength of any army ultimately came from discipline.
Only a force with iron discipline could truly be called an army.
Beyond that, Rosinante also drew upon his own experience to create physical conditioning drills...
And training for the Spanish pike phalanx.
At first, the soldiers were extremely resistant to the harsh training Rosinante arranged.
The physical conditioning and formation drills, those they could at least understand.
But standing posture? Marching in step? Even how they walked, sat, crouched, and ate had to be regulated?
What kind of training method was that supposed to be?
Fortunately...
Rosinante trained alongside them the entire time.
And at the same time, he increased the food supply.
Seeing that even the General himself strictly followed the training outline, and with those generous meals being added on top...
The soldiers ultimately gritted their teeth and endured.
As the days passed, a month slipped by.
During that month, Rosinante raised the training standards several more times.
Each time he did, the soldiers struggled to adapt.
But whenever that happened, Rosinante would stimulate their morale by improving the meals.
With a full month of training behind them, all of the soldiers gradually began adapting to Rosinante's high-intensity regimen.
On this day, Rosinante had just finished the day's training alongside the troops and was now sitting in his tent, reading.
Suddenly, Hatake Ikko appeared beside him, his expression extremely serious.
Seeing Ikko's appearance, Rosinante didn't react much.
Because he had already sensed long ago that someone had infiltrated the area.
"Come out," Hatake Ikko said coldly. "I didn't expect General Fujimitsu to send you, Nara Lukoto."
"I didn't expect the Hatake Clan would send you to protect General Saito either," a man slowly stepped out from beside a nearby tent and said. "That really is troublesome."
"You Nara sent someone of your level to protect General Fujimitsu too, didn't you?" Hatake Ikko replied. "There's nothing strange about me protecting my General."
"I'm different from you," Nara Lukoto said with a faint smile. "Even if I'm from the main family, I'm still from a rather distant branch. But you... you're the young clan heir of the Hatake Clan. If I kill you here, I wonder how much the Hatake Clan will regret it."
"Kill me?" Hatake Ikko said coldly. "I'm afraid you don't have that ability."
"We didn't come with just me alone," Nara Lukoto said.
As soon as he finished speaking—
Two more figures flashed into place beside him.
One of them was large and heavyset.
The other had long golden hair.
Hatake Ikko's expression immediately turned grave.
"So even Ino-Shika-Cho has come..."