Reborn in a Daimyo's court in Naruto

Part 19

Chapter 19

LORD HAYAMA MAHIRO

Lord Hayama Mahiro sat in his solar skimming over the emergency missive he had received from the Shinoi lands, his mind racing as he came to terms with just what was stated in the message.

"This is a disaster," he snarled in rage and worry as he threw the missive towards his second son, who sat opposite him.

Tsukiyama picked it up and skimmed over it, his eyes widening as he read through it.

"They have captured brother, how?" he questioned, and he nodded.

"Sakazuki underestimated the young lord of Shinoi and found himself too exposed, and with him captured, if he reached one of the two forts, he would have us on the backfoot," he snarled, worried about his successor.

"The letter mentions that the young lord is rushing towards the Western front with Sakazuki. We could send reinforcements; I could lead them," Tsukiyama offered, and though the plan was solid, he shook his head.

"No, that would take too much time and leave us all too exposed to a counteroffensive, we cannot thin out our defenses anymore," moreover, Sakazuki was already captured, he could not lost both his sons to this campaign.

Especially not at this critical juncture.

"A letter came from the capital in the night," he added and saw his son perk up at those words.

"The daimyo-sama's condition is critical, it is likely that he will not make it past a week," and he saw Tsukiyama's eyes widen at that.

"That means..." and he nodded before he could finish.

"Yes, this just makes all this more important, and we cannot afford a blunder at this juncture; we must be cautious not to make a mistake and give this young Akihito any chance," he said as he rubbed his chin.

"Then what are we to do?" Tsukiyama questioned.

"I have already written to your sister to have her Tatsuya gather a force covertly in the capital in case the daimyo-sama dies. He will be able to take the capital swiftly. But for that, we must first take care of this young Akihito," he said as he looked over the map that opened up in front of him.

"Write to Lord Hattori, have him reposition his forces, and allow them passage through our lands," he said as he pointed towards the Western fort in Shinoi lands.

"And have our forces in the West turn back and attack Lord Akihito's caravan," he commanded.

"But this will leave us vulnerable to a counterattack. The forces stationed in the Western fort could attack us at the back," Tsukiyama pointed out.

"Indeed, but all of this will matter on timing, we need to strike first, and neutralize the lord before his forces in Western front realize what is happening," he added as the plan began to take form.

"And what if we fail," Tsiyama's voice cut in.

"What if the young lord manages to do the impossible once more?" Tsukiyama questioned, and his question, while insensitive, was not entirely stupid.

The young lord Akihito had proven himself to be rather troublesome and resourceful. If he was to somehow make out of this once more, then what were they supposed to do? For him to succeed, all he would need to do was to hold off against superior numbers until his forces from the Western front realized what was going on.

"Then we must pray that the daimyo-sama doesn't live long enough to see the light of the next day. For in that case, we must have no option but to rely on help from my friend in Konoha."