Not revised
-------------------------
Mashiro sighed, "That old man… Is it that time of the year again, where he goes on and on about the Last Will?"
Throughout the years, after the death of the previous patriarch, Housen had kept the act of harassing Mashiro about the "Last Will" that only he had. Even though Mashiro is the current head of the Hosai clan, he can't do anything to the old man.
Fuji frowned, "I've already told that fool to not talk about that again!"
Taro tilted his head in confusion, then asked, "What's wrong? Is it really that bad? And who exactly is that old man?"
Fuji was about to explain, when Mashiro suddenly stopped him, "I think it's time for him to know." Mashiro paused and stared at Taro, "What I'm about to tell you, don't tell it to anyone else, is that understood?"
Taro nodded. Although he had no clue what he was being so secretive about, he knew his father would never tell him something like that as a joke.
"The last will, isn't anything like ninjutsu, nothing like that." Mashiro took something from the drawer and showed it to Taro.
The scroll was brown with a hint of gold. At the center of the scroll, there was a seal that had the emblem of the Hosai clan.
"The last will is about who has the right to take control of the Hosai clan…"
With the revelation, Taro's jaw dropped. But his expression turned into confusion, "Why would there be a need for a succession will? The title of the clan patriarch should always be given to the eldest son after all."
In the shinobi world, especially in the warring state era, most clans, if not all clans, were similar to the feudal system back on earth, where most kingdoms were passed down to the eldest son of a family.
Although women had more influence in the ninja world than they did on Earth during medieval times, it was still rare to see women in political power.
Fuji let out a resigned smile, "That's only if Mashiro was the oldest…"
Taro let out a dry chuckle, "So, you're telling me that you're not the oldest, and that I have an uncle?" He paused and dragged his hands down his mouth, "I thought you were the only child, dad."
Throughout the times Taro had lived in this world, no one had mentioned the fact that Mashiro had siblings, not even a whisper traveled throughout the clan. Assuming that he never told anyone about the fact that he had an older brother, some people from the older generation should still know about his existence.
Reading his son's thoughts, Mashiro chuckled, "Yes, I do have an older brother. But those who know of his existence refuse to believe his legitimacy. In fact, they hate him more than anything."
Taro nodded, "I see… But why hide his existence? And what exactly happened for everyone to hate him?"
Mashiro sighed, "Because it would threaten my position, Taro. If it was known that he is the rightful heir as the eldest son, the younger generation that had no idea of him would surely cause a commotion about it."
He paused and began to ponder, then explained, "As for why he's hated…"
Mashiro explained the story of his elder brother to his youngest son, who stood there in amusement.
Hebi, the elder brother of Mashiro, was a brilliant person even as a child. As a child, he had already shown brilliance that even surpassed his own father, Shukaku, at the same age.
Many had hailed him as a genius that would surpass his father in the future, and someone that would alleviate the clan into a major power throughout the Land of Wind.
With this brilliance, Mashiro was overshadowed by Hebi who could do everything and had the charisma of a great leader. However, even though he was overshadowed and compared to his older brother all his life, Mashiro didn't feel discouraged, instead, he felt proud that he had such a brother.
However, the praise of the masses came with a price—pride. Hebi had become prideful at such a young age, he became too prideful to a point where he hated anyone else that gets attention from others.
No one was spared and everyone began to notice the disdain he showed in his eyes. However, with his charisma, everyone was soon fooled and all was hidden under the rug, even Shukaku himself was fooled.
However, one person began to grow a pride of his own, Mashiro. Throughout the years, he had accomplished many things, and soon enough, he got out of Hebi's shadow, becoming a man of his own.
But when Hebi noticed his brother's pride, he began to resent his beloved brother. Every time he met Mashiro, a flicker of disdain would appear in his eyes before disappearing—something Mashiro noticed and didn't appreciate, as he had pride of his own.
Soon, the two began to compete—not for the title of clan patriarch or the approval of others, but to prove who was superior.
As their relationship worsened, Shukaku began to notice their rivalry. At first, he thought they were fighting over who gets the patriarch position, but the more he investigated, the more he saw the real Hebi—a cruel person that looked down on everyone, even Shukaku himself.
In the end Shukaku confronted Hebi and tried to fix his ideology, however in the end, he was fooled by Hebi by accepting everything Shukaku said.
After Shukaku believed that Hebi was fully reformed, Hebi became paranoid that his patriarchal position could be taken away by his younger brother. And so he began building up power through his generation.
When Mashiro found out about his older brother building political power, he and his group of friends began to start their own political power through the elders and the younger generation.
Not liking the newly built power Mashiro created, Hebi slowly started killing everyone that was part of Mashiro's political party, by sending them to missions or outright killing them through assassinations.
When Mashiro found out about the odd disappearance of his people, it was already too late, as Hebi's power had already become so strong it rivaled his own father.
Scared, Mashiro quickly told his father about what happened and gave him enough evidence to make Shukaku believe that his eldest son was truly someone that cannot be fixed.
And so, during one of the monthly meetings, Mashiro and Shukaku exposed the killings and schemes Hebi had carried out throughout the court. The elders and clansmen were furious, as those he had killed were the brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters of many among them.
After the news was spread throughout the clan, Hebi and his closest companions were imprisoned.
However, after he was imprisoned and all clansmen wanted Hebi and his companions dead, Shukaku was too soft and was lenient towards his own kin, only imprisoning him for 30 years. After serving his 30 years sentence, he would be banished outside of the Hosai clan.
Although the clansmen were furious, they could do nothing as Shukaku was now at the peak of his life, creating peace throughout the Land of Wind.
But in the end, after Shukaku created peace throughout the Land of Wind, Hebi managed to escape to the capital where he quickly rose through the ranks and became a minister under the daimyo.
After Mashiro finished telling the story, Taro took a cold breath, "I see…" He paused and looked at the envelope on the table, "What's inside the Last Will, and why does Housen want it?"
Mashiro let out a rueful smile, "We don't know what's in this will, no one has ever opened it."
Taro was taken aback, "Why?"
Mashiro chuckled. "Because it doesn't matter who Father wants to be patriarch. Father loved Hebi and regretted what happened to him… Even if there's a small chance that he wrote in his last will that he wanted Hebi to become patriarch, it would still cause unnecessary instability."
Fuji jumped in the conversation, "That old man Housen was one of the most trusted men under Shukaku alongside me and some few already dead old geezers." Chuckling at the last part, Fuji added, "He even became the teacher of Shukaku for a while, teaching him Ki."
Nori chuckled, "Housen respected your grandfather the most, and so he became angry when everyone refused to read his last will. He kept saying it was disrespectful and that he would never accept Mashiro's legitimacy if the will wasn't read."
Taro understood the situation, but soon fell into confusion once more, "But didn't grandfather die suddenly? How could he manage to write the last will?"
Mashiro sighed, "He did it only a few years after Hebi left… That bastard truly loved his kids, even writing a damn will when he was still in his prime.