76 The Capital (7)

"…interesting." Shinnosuke muttered to himself as he watched the fascinating young shinobi walk off hurriedly. The moment Shinji was some distance away, his entire demeanour had changed. His previously brightly smiling and beaming expression was replaced a cold look of calculation, as though anything and everything that entered his eyes was consciously quantified into useful information.

"Your highness?" Setsuna asked, using the prince's proper address now that they were the only two left outside the store.

"That boy. Interesting, is he not?"

His attendant thought back to the first impression she had of the boy. The way he carried himself was not at all like a civilian. There were traces of an ever-present vigilance for external threats. His physique, while still child-like, had compact muscles that belonged only to trained fighters.

The attire the boy wore was not one of fashion, but practicality. That, combined with the weapons pouch strapped to his thigh had told her he was a trained shinobi from a single glance. And as her prince had pointed out, he was likely a shinobi from Konoha.

Setsuna was trained to safeguard her liege's wellbeing from the moment she could walk. As such, she was also taught how to discover potential threats with just a glance. There were countless signs that might signal to her whether an unarmed civilian walking past her prince was truly harmless or a deadly assassin in hiding.

Calloused fingers, measured steps, muscularity, and other indicators of threat levels were displayed plainly before her discerning eyes. Even against sneaky shinobi, Setsuna had learned how to identify those silent killers hidden behind their disguise jutsu. Very little could hide from her eyes, which was also why she could not fathom what about the fledgling shinobi intrigued her prince so.

"He doesn't seem very special to me." Setsuna replied, her tone leaning more towards casual rather than the etiquette expected of an attendant of a member of the royal family. Her prince was never a stickler for formality, though it was only limited to when he was not in the presence of other distinguished figures. Setsuna was used to speaking informally with her prince when they were alone, thus there was no need for the overt decorum she had displayed just moments ago.

Shinnosuke glanced in amusement at his bodyguard, "So there are some things that escape even your eyes, Setsuna."

Her lips crinkled at the thought, "My apologies. What did your highness see in the boy that eluded me?"

"Setsuna, your eyes, while sharp, are only able to perceive what lies on the surface. It is unfortunate you do not have the gift of chakra sensory, for you would have picked up on the unique traces of his chakra." The prince spoke enigmatically.

She tilted her head, "Unique?"

"Yes. Kurono has helped me hone my chakra sensory abilities ever since I have awoken them. Though I cannot claim to have a similar mastery in terms of range, I do have one unique advantage even compared to the God's Eye – I have a near photographic memory, which applies to my chakra sensing as well."

Setsuna nodded, having known about her prince's lessons with one of three Kage-level fighters in the Daimyo's retinue. While her prince has yet to master chakra sensing to the extent of God's Eye Kurono, he is able to identify the chakra signatures of people just based on memory.

"At first, I only thought he felt strangely familiar, even though I could not remember having ever met such a person – which is especially odd for me who has near perfect memory. Then I realized, it was not the boy who seemed familiar. It was his chakra."

Shinnosuke turned to his attendant, a mysterious smile creeping up on his lips. "Imagine my surprise when I remembered what his chakra reminded me of. It stumped me for a while because the last time I felt that chakra was before I discovered my chakra sensing abilities. Then I remembered…it was the distinctive, baleful chakra belonging to a clan once known as one of the strongest shinobi clans in history."

"The chakra… of an Uchiha!" The prince looked like he was trying to hold back his glee as he declared with gusto.

Setsuna's eyes widened in surprise before nodding in understanding, "So that is the last Uchiha? No wonder you were so interested, your highness."

He mirthfully shook his head, "You're wrong. I know who the last Uchiha is supposed to be. Uchiha Sasuke, a boy I have once met before years ago when his clan visited the Capital. And unless my senses have dulled, that was not him."

His attendant looked confused. She knew her prince was not one who would make a mistake such as this. If he said that boy was an Uchiha but not this Sasuke person, then she knew it to be true. "But if that wasn't the last Uchiha… then who is he?"

"I know, right? Isn't it interesting? There is another living Uchiha other than the survivor of the massacre and the clan slayer! Fascinating!" The prince adopted a calculating smile.

He continued, "Konoha has been hiding another Uchiha from the world. Or perhaps, they do not even know that he is an Uchiha. Or maybe even he himself does not know it. How mysterious… how utterly interesting!"

Shinnosuke's mind rapidly calculated how best to utilize this information. So many possibilities, and yet there were equally many factors to consider before he could act on any plan. The Daimyo had decreed that none was to contact Konoha or her shinobi for political agendas, but how could he leave such a tantalizing morsel untouched now that he has discovered one?

A third Uchiha unbeknownst to the world was a chess piece that was not at all insignificant for his ambitions. Though this Shinji boy was still far too young and immature to be made use of now, there was still time. Shinnosuke would give him a few years to ripen and mature.

Of course, that did not mean he would deal with the hidden Uchiha with a completely hands-off approach. Though Shinnosuke was forbidden from openly or even covertly recruiting him to his faction, there were still things he could do to nudge the boy in the right direction.

Offering to loan him the money to purchase the sword was one such act. Three million ryo, while a vast sum for the common populace, was pocket change for Shinnosuke. If such a paltry amount could buy the loyalty of one of a young, impressionable and promising shinobi, not to mention one of the last few remaining Uchiha alive, it was more than worth the money.

Alas, the boy had refused his gift disguised as a loan. Even if Shinnosuke had not intended to collect on the debt nor call in any favours because of it, Shinji had rejected it based on what he called his principles. A surprise to be sure; one Shinnosuke had not been expecting.

The Uchiha looked to be about thirteen years old, meaning he likely just graduated the Shinobi Academy unless he had graduated early. At that age, boys were not the sort to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not many would turn down the offer of a cool new sword due to pre-conceived notions of principles or whatnot.

So unless Shinji knew Shinnosuke's true identity as the third prince of the Land of Fire and was thus trying to avoid being involved in the competition for the throne, unlikely but possible, it was probable that he indeed possessed remarkable self-control. Or it could be that the boy saw past his friendly, neighbourhood older brother act, resulting in an unwarranted caution.

"Setsuna, do you think he figured out who I really am?" Shinnosuke asked his attendant.

She immediately replied without hesitation, "Not likely, your highness. The face changing technique applied to your highness does not use chakra, so not even the Sharingan could see through your disguise."

"That's what I thought too. Hmm…" The current face he had on was the result of Setsuna's acupuncture techniques that temporarily shifted and morphed the bone structure of an individual. Even Setsuna's current face had been changed via the same method to allow for the pair to walk through the Capital's streets unrecognized. Otherwise, both of their eye-catching appearance would be too conspicuous for them to travel incognito.

Not to brag, but his original appearance was way better looking than his current visage. And Setsuna similarly had a cool-beauty type of image that was bound to draw unnecessary attention. Not to mention such disguises were necessary to avoid the eyes dispatched to watch them.

His second brother thought he was being slick by working with that crafty rat in charge of the nation's intelligence and covert operations and sending his lapdogs to watch Shinnosuke and the crown prince. How foolish. He was just an idiot blessed with low cunning and the powerful duke as a grandfather.

That rat holding the position of Minister of Intelligence would sooner swallow him up than subserviently obey like a lapdog. He was a man that their Father, the Daimyo, exerted much effort to subdue. He would likely start rebelling the moment the throne changed hands, and yet his second brother conceitedly thought he could control that rat.

Shinnosuke shook his head, disappointed in his brothers. One was an ill-tempered buffoon cursed with mediocre talents and the other a morally bankrupt and crafty scoundrel who thinks of himself cleverer than he actually is. It was like they were bagging for him to snatch the throne out from under them.

But he was careful not to overplay his hand. Though personally incompetent, they had powerful backers and broad influence over the Kizoku. For now, he was more than willing to play the part of the pitiful half-commoner prince with nary a supporter.

His plan was one that was eight years in the making, and for the eventual successful completion of it, Shinnosuke would throw away his pride to avoid being seen as a threat. At least not before the last domino had fallen and it was too late for any of them to prevent his inevitable rise to the throne.

Then, and only then, would he finally be able to confront the man he called his father and pay him back for his mother's death. And once that was done, he would set out on the task of purging this nation's corrupt Kizoku before tearing down the entire warped system of nobility.

Shinnosuke cleared his head of the thoughts which an outsider would undoubtedly deem as treasonous. His eyes that were previously holding on to a cold rage and murderous intent faded away in to the usual expression of brightness and warmth.

If nothing else, the prince was a patient man. He would wait for the perfect opportunity to begin his campaign. He would allow his brothers to continue on their delusional path, for Shinnosuke truly believed that they will be no obstacle on his ascent to the throne. He who believed without doubt at all that he will be the Daimyo, that is what it means to be prince.

For now, however, he had plenty of things to do to prepare for the day his ambitions would be realized.

"Come, Setsuna. We have places to be and people to coerce."

"At once, your highness."