Chapter 45: The Daimyo's Banquet
A week before the New Year, Dana's family and a large entourage of clan members set out from the Hidden Cloud Village for the capital of the Land of Lightning.
The Yotsuki clan, aside from their status as ninja, were also a major noble house, similar to the Hyuga in Konoha. They had a large retinue of servants, a long and storied history, and vast land and wealth. In terms of overall power, they were even stronger. For a formal visit to the Daimyo, they couldn't just show up in flak jackets and sandals, leaping through the trees. Besides, his mother, Satomi, was a civilian. It wouldn't do for the Third Raikage to show up to the party with his wife on his back.
So, they traveled with a large entourage, a long train of supplies, and gifts for the Daimyo and other dignitaries. The journey was a slow and leisurely one, expected to take four days.
Dana rode in his mother's warm palanquin, chatting with her to pass the time.
"Have you gotten taller again?" Satomi asked, looking at her drowsy son.
Dana gestured to himself. "Have I?"
With his new training and diet regimen, he did feel like he had grown a bit. He had always been on the smaller side in the Yotsuki clan, but now it seemed he had a chance of reaching their average height of over six feet. He was still thin, though. His body was different from a normal person's. For his size, he weighed a great deal more; his body density was very high, which was what allowed him to generate such immense strength.
"Yes, you have," Satomi said with a smile. "My son is growing more handsome every day."
Interestingly, the Third Raikage seemed to believe that riding in a heated carriage would dull a ninja's spirit. He insisted on walking the entire way, believing it was a test of his will. Arashi, in full agreement with his father, also chose to walk. Many of the other ninja in their party felt the same way, which resulted in the amusing situation of having a long train of empty carriages carrying only luggage while everyone walked.
When Dana had tried to get into his mother's palanquin, he had been stopped. The Third Raikage had told him that this, too, was a form of training. But Dana had silenced him with a single sentence.
"I'm just a kid!"
The journey was relaxed and uneventful. It gave Dana a chance to step away from his many responsibilities and reclaim a piece of his lost childhood. He heard that they had encountered a group of bandits along the way, but they had been eliminated by the reconnaissance team from dozens of miles away before he even saw them.
The capital of the Land of Lightning, the second most powerful nation in the ninja world, was, like the Hidden Cloud, built into the side of a mountain. It was a vast city, even larger than the capital of the Land of Hot Water, but its grandeur was not one of bustle and noise, but of solemn majesty.
As they approached, they were met by a delegation of officials and attendants who guided them into the inner city, where the Daimyo resided. Dana didn't get a chance to see much of the capital.
A Japanese-style tower, known as "Asuka Castle," was built into the mountainside. Over generations, it had been expanded and renovated, growing ever taller, and was visible from far outside the city walls.
Dana noticed that the guards along the way were all ordinary soldiers, with the occasional samurai in ornate armor. Their eyes were sharp; they were likely the type of samurai who used chakra. But to his eye, they were not very strong, probably around the level of a Chunin with some obvious weaknesses. In the ninja world, that wasn't much. No wonder the Daimyo had been so pleased with the Nine Samurai of the Thundercloud.
After a brief rest and a change into a gorgeous but uncomfortable set of clothes with Ume's help, Dana and his family were led to a grand hall within Asuka Castle.
Arashi kept wriggling his shoulders as if there were a pin in his shirt, a look of annoyance on his face.
"This thing keeps digging into my armpits," he grumbled.
"Have you considered," Dana said, "that the whole point of the design is to restrict your arm movement?"
Arashi fell into a thoughtful silence. A moment later, he flexed his arm. There was a faint sound of tearing fabric. Their mother, who was walking ahead of them, turned and shot him a disapproving look. Arashi tried moving his arm again. The restriction was gone.
Dana covered his face. The idiot had just ripped the inside of his clothes.
The castle was a labyrinth. After a long walk, they finally arrived at a banquet hall. Dozens of nobles and officials in lavish robes were seated on either side. At the far end of the hall, on a massive throne, sat a rather portly figure. He was not young and wore a ridiculously large fan on his head, emblazoned with a lightning bolt.
The whole look was... well, it was hard not to think he looked like an idiot.
The Third Raikage strode confidently to the front. As a figure of special status, he was seated to the Daimyo's left. Dana, his mother, and Arashi were led to a more distant area, where the families of the nobles and officials were seated.
There were many people in their section, none of whom Dana knew or cared to know. He went straight to their assigned seats and started eating.
Tonight was not New Year's Eve, but a pre-New Year's gathering, likely to welcome the Third Raikage. But that had nothing to do with him. Arashi, on the other hand, was immediately swarmed by a group of people, all of them fawning over him and trying to sell him on how beautiful their daughters were. They were just as obsequious to his mother. The Raikage's eldest son was clearly a hot commodity on the marriage market.
Dana, perhaps because he was too young, was left alone. If they knew how much power he actually wielded, they would probably be singing a different tune.
He was happy to be ignored. He sampled the delicacies that the servants kept bringing. Even to his discerning palate, the chefs of Asuka Castle were top-notch. He remembered his father saying that the current Daimyo was a man who enjoyed pleasure. It made sense.
He noticed that there was an empty chair of the same size as the Daimyo's to his right. He guessed it was for the Daimyo's wife, but then reconsidered. According to the customs of the ninja world, the Daimyo's wife would not have such a high status, equal to the Daimyo himself.
As he was wondering about this, he felt Arashi sit down next to him. Although the two brothers were close, they had never sat this close before.
"What's wrong?" Dana asked, shifting away slightly.
"They're so annoying," Arashi grumbled. "They won't stop talking about how beautiful and gentle their daughters are. I told them my little brother needs me and escaped."
Dana looked over. A number of people were still peeking in their direction, as if waiting for an opportunity. He, who had always considered himself his brother's equal, was now being used as an excuse. What do you mean, "needs you"? Like I'm a little kid.
Just then, a plump noblewoman who had been waiting for a moment, stood up and waddled towards them. "Young Master Arashi," she said in a quacking voice, "do you have time to visit us tomorrow? My daughter..."
Arashi, unable to stand her grating voice, picked up his chopsticks, pretended he hadn't heard her, and held a piece of meat to Dana's mouth. "There, there, Dada. Eat up!"
Dana ignored the greasy meat and glared at his brother with the eyes of a dead fish.
Are you serious? He suddenly had the urge to punch him.
Arashi turned to the noblewoman. "My apologies, Lady Oki. My little brother is still young and needs me. We can talk about this later." He then turned back to Dana, his eyes screaming with a desperate plea for help. Her daughter weighs 300 pounds. Save me.
But his face remained impassive. "Open up, Dada," he cooed. "Aaaah. Eat the yummy meat."
"...Arashi," Dana said through gritted teeth, "how are you ever going to repay me for this?"
Just as he was about to reluctantly open his mouth and accept the piece of fat, the doors of the banquet hall burst open. An attendant announced in a shrill voice, "His Excellency, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, has arrived!"
A man with a fan emblazoned with a fire symbol on his head strode in with an arrogant gait, followed by a large retinue and over a dozen powerful-looking ninja.
Leading them was a familiar face: the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.