Blind Sight (COTK Book 1)

Chapter 10: A Sister's Love

There was nothing Tera hated more than hiring civilians, but his hand had been forced. He'd been a fool, and his master would have frowned at the choices he'd made. He'd allowed emotions to dictate his actions and had failed to think logically. Many had been lost.

He was wrong, his master would have killed him for his failures.

Suppressing the chakra in his core, he skillfully slipped past the two Shinobi guarding the gates. There were more in the shadows above him, but they didn't notice him. Shinobi relied on Chakra for everything, and many forgot to train their senses to detect the basics.

The moon shone brightly on the sleeping city of Kazedama as Tera made his way through the shadows cast by the tall buildings. Peace had dulled the senses of the Shinobi, made them overconfident. Even with their after their past intrusions, the Shinobi were not truly on guard.

However, like bees, the closer one got to the Queen, the stronger the average bee became, and Shinobi were much the same. That was why the Daimyo was protected by the strongest the Land of Wind had to offer. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that the Daimyo had what he wanted.

He was in Kazedama to check the validity of the reports he'd been getting from the civilians his men had paid. It might already be too late, but he couldn't afford to ignore the rumors. Of course, as to be expected of such poor excuses for informants, none had tried to actually confirm anything. Only one had even stated there was a rumor, but the reports of others seemed to support it.

The rumor was the prince had left Kazedama unannounced, possibly with the Kazekage. If it was true, he needed to locate the prince immediately. It was doubtful the Daimyo didn't expect them to go after his son, but that didn't mean an opportunity to finally capture the prince wouldn't present itself.

Pausing in a shadowy dead-end alleyway, Tera looked up toward the sky. The moon was barely visible beyond the edge of the tall building in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he loosened his shoulders. Great physical exertion without chakra required one to relax, to prepare their body.

Stepping back a few feet, he made a running start and ran up the side of the wall long enough to grab the edge of a hanging balcony. Pausing for a moment, he waited to see if any of the guards just forty feet away had sensed him.

Effortlessly hauling his body through the cold night air, Tera hopped over the balcony railing. It took him less than four seconds to pick the lock of the balcony door and slip inside the apartment room. He didn't bother to close it behind him. Silently moving across the room, he didn't spare the man sleeping in bed a glance.

Delicately unlocking the door to the hallway, he cracked it open just enough to slip through. Repeating the process on the next room across the hall, he stepped out onto the balcony facing the courtyard of the Daimyo's Palace. No one would notice him on the second floor, which was just high enough to see over the courtyard walls.

Palace security had increased drastically in the last four years, but it wasn't impossible to beat. He just wished he'd considered kidnapping the prince to blackmail his father from the beginning. The chance had presented itself four years ago, and he'd passed it up, instead going for the Daimyo's wife.

Afterward, it had been too late. More Shinobi were recruited for the Daimyo's Guard, walls were sealed and reinforced. It would be impossible to sneak back out while carrying the Prince, especially without the use of chakra.

Rolling his shoulders, he hopped up on the railing of the balcony and jumped.

He waited for some time at the railing, straining all of his senses for anyone in the shadows he couldn't sense. Breaking into such a secure location, guarded by numerous high-sensitive sensory Shinobi required extremes. His core was throbbing painfully as the chakra within tried to escape, to flow through his body.