The mountains of the Land of Lightning were cold this time of year, biting winds howled through jagged ridgelines like. Snow had not yet fallen, but the clouds above Kumogakure's future foundation were dark, swollen with the promise of coming storms.
At the summit fortress of Kinbyō Castle, the highest authority in the land, the Daimyō of Lightning, lay dying.
His breathing had become shallow. His body trembled beneath thick silks embroidered with dragons and thunderbolts. Though the castle's physicians had administered everything from chakra-infused moss poultices to poisoned centipede venom, nothing stopped the decay spreading from his chest. The chakra leeching from his heart wasn't natural.
It was targeted.
His first wife, Lady Hiyokura, watched from across the room. She did not weep.
Instead, she whispered.
"There are those," she said softly, her words more directed at the advisors present than the dying man, "who would see the Lightning Dynasty fall. And there is one clan among us whose blood itself is unnatural."
The court turned.
The physicians paused.
She stepped forward, lifting the hem of her gown just enough to walk past her husband's bed.
"Crimson eyes," she said, stopping beside a carved incense pillar. "Eyes that can boil blood. They say their ancestors were born from a demon and a river god. Is that not what the records say?"
No one answered.
She continued. "The Chinoike. They have grown bold. They walk this palace as if they are kin. They married my husband's youngest concubine. And now, he lies here, stricken by a sickness that melts his veins."
One of the advisors, a man named Gensa, frowned. "My lady… there is no proof the Chinoike are responsible."
"And there is no proof they are not." Her voice was venom and silk. "I have seen what they can do."
She stepped close to the Daimyō, leaned down, and brushed a hand against his face.
"My love… I am so sorry."
He exhaled, final and slow.
Then died.
Later that Night
A letter was dispatched in silence.
Not to the samurai lords of the inner provinces.
But to a distant mountain stronghold where black smoke and red eyes gathered
To the Uchiha Clan of the Southern Valley.
The Daimyō of Lightning has passed. Investigation suggests sabotage by the Chinoike clan, known for their Blood Prison techniques and Kekkei Genkai.
This is an official contract.
The Chinoike are to be banished by force. Do not allow survivors to remain in Lightning territory.
Reward: 40 million Ryo
Signed:
Lady Hiyokura of House Gekkō
Far from the court, in a valley choked with mist, the Chinoike clan held council.
A boy named Chino, no older than ten, sat silently behind her mother, listening to her uncles and elders argue over what to do.
They had not yet heard of the accusation.
But in the distance, the wind shifted.