The officer turned pale with shock upon seeing the tax official’s corpse!
He immediately drew the katana at his waist, glaring at the suspected murderer, Raiden Saku.
Simultaneously, over a dozen soldiers swiftly surrounded Saku and his companions, countless spear tips aimed directly at them.
The officer stormed over aggressively, pointing his katana at Raiden Saku: “That’s our Kanjou Commission’s tax official!
How could he just die like this?
Who killed him?
Was it you who murdered my colleague?” “Colleague?” Raiden Saku glanced disdainfully at the samurai.
“Birds of a feather flock together.” As soon as these words fell, the clear sky above Ritou suddenly darkened with a layer of ominous clouds, and a massive golden thunderbolt descended from the heavens!
A deafening roar echoed as the golden lightning triggered a widespread explosion!
As the thunder descended, the woman screamed in alarm, immediately turning to shield her daughter.
When the explosion subsided and the light faded, the woman looked around with lingering fear.
The ground around her was scorched black, the stone slabs and soil blasted apart and scattered.
The samurai from moments ago, along with the dozen soldiers, now lay charred and motionless around them.
Yet she, her daughter, the benefactor before her, his attendant maid, and even the small cart she used for her stall remained completely unharmed.
This was truly strange.
That golden thunderbolt had clearly struck directly toward them, yet the damage had so precisely distinguished friend from foe.
Could it be…
Clutching her daughter tighter, the woman gazed at Raiden Saku beside her with awe.
To command the heavens’ might and summon thunder…
Could this benefactor be the Raiden Shogun herself?
No, that couldn’t be—the Shogun was clearly female.
Suddenly, the woman recalled old tales once whispered throughout Inazuma: They said the Shogun had an adopted brother, equally a powerful deity who wielded thunder’s power like her.
Unlike the Shogun, however, her brother commanded golden lightning—brilliant and magnificent to behold.
Could this benefactor who’d helped them be the Shogun’s adopted brother?
If so, she had truly encountered her savior today, a noble protector!
Raiden Saku’s heavenly thunder striking down these scoundrels created profound shock among the surrounding crowd.
The commotion also drew the attention of the Kanjou Commission.
Particularly its head, Hiiragi Shinsuke.
As one of the Shogunate’s senior officials, the old man had seen much of the world and understood its dangers.
Seeing the golden thunderbolt strike from afar, he knew disaster had struck!
It was likely the Shogun’s younger brother unleashing his power!
Recognizing the severity, Shinsuke hurriedly rushed out of the Kanjou Commission headquarters with his guards.
Finding his men struck down by lightning, he immediately guessed what had transpired.
Spotting Raiden Saku, the old man approached with obsequious apprehension.
“Saku-sama, it is indeed you!
When I saw the golden thunder descend, I suspected you had returned.
But…
What happened here?
Could these fools have offended you, Saku-sama!?” Shinsuke offered an ingratiating smile: “My subordinates failed to recognize you, Saku-sama.
I never imagined they’d cause such misunderstanding.
I beg your forgiveness.” Raiden Saku’s expression remained icy, his demeanor toward Shinsuke cold and detached as toward a stranger: “Misunderstanding?
This is no misunderstanding.
This is Ritou.
In broad daylight, within the jurisdiction of Shogun-sama’s rule, a tax official dared to openly extort and bully orphans and widows!
Truly, what is unbearable cannot be endured!
So, in my fury, I made that scoundrel pay the price.” Hiiragi Shinsuke paid no mind to the cold, blood-dripping corpse hanging from the maple tree.
He feigned shock as if hearing of this for the first time: “Such a thing actually happened?
I bear the responsibility for negligence in oversight!” Raiden Saku inwardly scoffed with disdain.
What an old fox, trying to brush it off lightly with just “negligence in oversight”?
This only fueled Raiden Saku’s growing indignation: “Negligence?
I think it’s more than negligence—it’s incompetence!” Hiiragi Shinsuke’s expression immediately darkened, losing its previous deference: “May I ask, Saku-sama, what do you mean by that?
What do you mean by incompetence?
Are you referring to me?” “Of course, I’m referring to you!” Raiden Saku showed no mercy: “Back when Ritou was still a desolate land, scarcely populated and with all trades in decline, your Hiiragi Clan ancestor, Hiiragi Hiroshi, led his family to Ritou with meager resources, reclaiming the wasteland and developing commerce.
In just a few years, he transformed the barren Ritou into a thriving port, creating Inazuma’s most prosperous trading harbor.
A few years ago, when I left Ritou to embark on my journey across Inazuma, Ritou was still flourishing.
But upon my return, Ritou has visibly declined and decayed!
Hiiragi Shinsuke, I don’t expect you to possess the capabilities of your Hiiragi Clan ancestor.
I only ask that you uphold the Hiiragi Clan’s glory and preserve Ritou’s prosperity!” At this point, Raiden Saku slowly shook his head, his face filled with disappointment: “From what I see now, you don’t even have the ability to maintain Ritou’s prosperity.
The Hiiragi Clan, passed down to your generation, has become utterly incompetent!” These words left Hiiragi Shinsuke livid with rage!
He was seething inside but dared not show any resentment, forcing himself to endure repeatedly.
There was no other way—Ritou’s decline was an undeniable fact, and anyone could see that Ritou had become much more dilapidated compared to a few years ago.
Hiiragi Shinsuke had no grounds to refute this reality.
Moreover, Hiiragi Shinsuke himself had contributed significantly to Ritou’s decline.
He could only endure the scolding meekly.
However, in his heart, Hiiragi Shinsuke was screaming furiously, even mentally cursing Raiden Saku in every way imaginable!
Now, Raiden Saku is, after all, the younger brother of the Raiden Shogun, a deity who has lived for centuries.
Why would someone like Hiiragi Shinsuke, a mere official of the Kanjou Commission, dare to harbor resentment toward Raiden Saku, even direct hostility and malice!?
It’s simply because Raiden Saku has always maintained such a low profile in Inazuma that the populace has only heard of his existence, with no concrete knowledge of his circumstances.
In some remote areas, people even treat the matter as mere rumor.
Lacking renown, with unclear strength, and having never displayed his methods, it’s no wonder that an arrogant and obtuse individual like Hiiragi Shinsuke would look down on Raiden Saku.
Even the superficial deference Hiiragi Shinsuke showed Raiden Saku was solely out of respect for the Raiden Shogun.
Raiden Saku saw through this duplicity at a glance.
His expression slightly darkened as he took two steps forward, closing in on Hiiragi Shinsuke and imposing immense psychological pressure on him.
“Your Hiiragi Clan, and the duty of your Kanjou Commission, is to remain loyal to Shogun-sama, assist Shogun-sama in managing Ritou, invigorate Inazuma’s commerce as a whole, and enrich the Shogunate’s treasury.
That Ritou and Inazuma have fallen into their current state is the responsibility of the Kanjou Commission and the crime of the Hiiragi Clan!” As he spoke, Raiden Saku lifted his head to gaze at the Hiiragi Clan’s Kanjou Commission headquarters perched high in the distance.
From afar, the Hiiragi residence maintained its usual prosperous splendor, exuding the typical grandeur of an aristocratic family.
Finally, Raiden Saku cast one last look at Hiiragi Shinsuke, delivering a stern warning with his eyes: “Though Ritou has become so desolate, your Hiiragi Clan appears as flourishing as ever—perhaps even more so than before.
I hope it is merely incompetence, rather than corruption, and certainly not collusion with external threats.
I hope only Ritou has withered, not that you’ve grown fat by starving Ritou.” Having said this, Raiden Saku turned to leave with Atsuko.
As he turned away, he added a final instruction: “Oh, and after I depart, do not trouble this lady and her daughter.
Should I discover any duplicity on your part…” Leaving this heavy warning hanging in the air, Raiden Saku departed.
Hiiragi Shinsuke had been publicly denounced in this roundabout manner, yet dared not offer any rebuttal throughout the entire exchange.
He stood at the center of the street, the humiliating scene witnessed by all the surrounding Ritou residents.
The crowd watched Shinsuke and the Kanjou Commission officials with complex expressions, each nursing their own private thoughts.