The mice hiding underground have all disappeared.
When it comes to fighting, these people who hide in the shadows might not be good at it. At most, they have a fierce spirit and dare to rush forward with knives when trouble arises.
But when it comes to escaping...
No one understands how to run better than a mouse.
Even if the officials of Warsaw City sent out warriors and ninjas from all over the city to capture the underground mice, there would always be some who slipped through. Unless...
"Either someone set a trap, and they've been captured in waves, so we can't find them for a while."
"Or the mice have gathered in an extremely hidden place, somewhere even you can't find them."
Linto analyzed two possibilities.
The group exchanged glances. The disappearance of the mice was, in fact, a small matter and wouldn't affect Linto's negotiation plans.
After all, mice mostly live at the bottom of society; at best, they are ordinary people with a few special skills.
Even if they caused trouble, they would stand on Linto's side.
Whether it was Linto's Hermit Purple or Kakashi and the others' Ninjutsu pursuit, if they really wanted to find them, they definitely could. However, the banquet was less than two hours away.
Rasa suggested, "Let's put aside the matter of the mice and investigate after the banquet."
Linto nodded slightly.
For the next hour or so, the group naturally didn't stand idle.
Grandma Chiyo and Rasa took out little booklets and, before the banquet began, introduced Linto to the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, Tokugawa, and other officials.
Although they heard that Daimyo Tokugawa had backed down, how exactly he backed down, and which factions could be tried to win over were subjects that needed to be discussed in detail.
On the other side, Kakashi, who wasn't very familiar with the Land of Wind's situation and hadn't fully recovered, was helping take care of Gaara.
Gaara was already a bit withdrawn. After arriving in Warsaw City and being startled by the celebratory gunfire, he was then publicly ridiculed. With his emotions fluctuating wildly, he seemed to have fallen ill and sat sickly in a corner.
Amber had nothing to do, so she went outside and carried a stone weighing over a hundred pounds from the pond's edge to train her physique.
A gentle breeze blew through the courtyard, carrying the sound of a pipa being played from deep within the small courtyard. Listening to the music, the tension the group felt upon arriving in Warsaw City eased considerably, and their hearts found some peace.
Rasa squinted, listening to the music, "The people of Warsaw City really know how to enjoy themselves, a private courtyard with a musician. Thinking about it... Daimyo should be damned!"
Time was almost up. A special motorcade was waiting outside the courtyard.
More than fifty guard samurai, each meticulously chosen. They might not be the best fighters, but they were all tall and handsome, dressed in opulent attire. Even their scabbards and hilts were inlaid with large amounts of gold and jewels.
Three carriages, each pulled by eight horses in front. Even the drivers of the carriages conducted themselves with extraordinary elegance, clearly having undergone rigorous training.
They were accompanied by more than twenty maids and attendants, who were taking stepping stools from the carriages and kneeling on one knee, heads bowed, waiting for Linto and his group to board.
Rasa, who had just found inner peace, looked at this extravagant scene and almost spat out the words through gritted teeth:
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Unlike the Water Garden Festival in Kyoto last time, when not only Linto but Oda Ieyasu had sent invitations to all the prominent organizations and figures in the ninja world, so many envoys had come.
Today's banquet had only one main guest, Linto.
Other dignitaries, officials, entrepreneurs, artists... and so on, were merely extras to make the venue look less deserted.
These people might have this or that background, but—
Linto was the "background" itself.
To the powerful and officials of Warsaw City, Linto was like the night sky above the blue dome, looming over them, capable of taking their lives with a single thought.
After all, how many of them had clean hands when they reached this level?
Due to Gaara's health condition, Rasa and Grandma Chiyo decided to stay behind to look after him.
Linto had initially wondered if he should put them in the ghost room for greater safety.
However, upon reflection, with the abilities of Rasa and Grandma Chiyo, protecting Gaara was not a significant problem.
If he were to put them in the ghost room, it would be too much of a lack of trust for them.
Besides, with such a short distance, if a fight were to break out, Linto could arrive in a minute or two as long as they sent a signal.
"Remember to bring me back a bottle of good wine."
Grandma Chiyo instructed.
Linto, peeking out the carriage window, made an OK gesture.
As the carriage slowly departed and the window was closed, it became quiet inside. They couldn't even feel the vibrations of the carriage moving forward; it was absolute tranquility. Overhead, there were faint stars, which upon closer inspection, were individual diamonds embedded in the ceiling.
Linto reached out and touched a diamond, "The Amber I know isn't one to stammer. Say whatever you want to say."
Amber scratched his face sheepishly.
"I just thought... I thought you, my lord, would refuse to ride in a carriage, refuse such overly flashy service, and instead ride a horse or walk."
"Walk?"
Linto slapped his thigh, still in shock.
"I floated here the whole way. It just looked like I was 'walking.' During the day, it's fine, but at night, it would be too terrifying. And besides—"
Linto leaned back into the soft chair, feeling as if he were sinking into a maiden's embrace.
"If I were seeking an audience with Daimyo Tokugawa for my own business, I wouldn't take this kind of carriage; it's too inefficient.
But we are here to negotiate with him. Today's banquet, this carriage, or even the knife handed to us this morning, are all stratagems from the other party to test us.
The best way to deal with such soft tests is to ignore them."
The banquet is a feast.
The carriage is like a taxi.
The knife handed to us is like a fire poker.
In any case, it's all just a gentle breeze; Linto won't waste extra energy dealing with it, focusing all his attention on tomorrow's treaty negotiations.
Amber seemed to understand, nodding, "Lord Linto, you truly understand so much."
Linto smiled and threw a piece of pastry from the table.
"I don't understand these political matters at all. It was Oda Ieyasu who repeatedly instructed me.
He told me that Tokugawa Shingen appears to be a coward, but he's a man who's not easy to deal with."
About ten minutes later, the carriage slowly stopped. Linto floated off the carriage, casually helped up a few kneeling attendants, and handed them the pastry box taken from the carriage.
"Please share it among yourselves. You've worked hard."
The attendants thought they had misheard and stood stunned, not knowing what to do.
Linto gave them a smile, patted their shoulders, and said no more. Stepping onto the red carpet, he turned to look at the Daimyo's mansion before him.
The huge, luxurious building lay in the darkness like a terrifying behemoth.
The lit stained-glass lanterns adorned the Daimyo's mansion, making it brilliantly illuminated. With its wide-open entrance, it looked just like a monster with its mouth agape, feigning festivity to lure others into its maw.
Tokugawa Shingen stood at the main gate. Dignitaries and celebrities came and went, bowing to Tokugawa Shingen. To this, the Daimyo merely nodded in return, his gaze fixed forward.
It wasn't until Linto alighted from the carriage that Tokugawa Shingen revealed a sincere smile, like a servant eagerly awaiting his master's return...
Bowing deeply.