"Master," stammered the merchant group's representative, struggling to articulate his thoughts.

Jishin, sitting before him, threw a gaze of absolute indifference.

"Master, please understand," the trader tried again to persuade the prince. "If we stop selling our goods to the main families subordinate to your brother Izuna-sama, it will put us in a very awkward position."

"So what?" Jishin asked mercilessly, making the merchant standing in front of him sweat even more.

"You see… I mean… What I want to say is that Master Izuna might be very upset. And we certainly don't want to anger your brother..." By the end of his speech, the man's voice grew quieter and quieter until it turned into a half-strangled squeak.

The bloodlust emanating from Jishin wasn't something an ordinary person could withstand.

"Let's clarify something, Tomoatsu-san," the younger prince's voice made the merchant gulp fearfully and wipe the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand. "I couldn't care less whether Izuna is disappointed, angry, or upset. And if you think that my brother's wrath is more frightening than my own, well, don't be offended by what follows."

"Jishin-sama!" Now, truly panicked, Tomoatsu exclaimed. "You've misunderstood me..."

"You had your chance to speak," Jishin cut him off. "Now it's my turn. So be quiet and listen to what I have to say. I know very well that while Elder Yutaka was the treasurer, her family reaped the bulk of the benefits from working with you. And since Yutaka supported my brother, he was completely satisfied with this fact."

Jishin smiled unpleasantly.

"But those times are in the past. Now, I am the treasurer of the great Sumada clan. And if you want to keep the privileges that Elder Yutaka granted you, you will work not with her family but with me. Should you disagree, there are many competitors waiting to see you lose the Sumada's favor."

"We... We agree," the merchant conceded, hanging his head. If the privileges were lost under his management, his clan would never forgive him.

"Excellent!" Jishin's tone instantly became much more friendly. "Tomoatsu-san, what are you standing for? Take a seat, we have much to discuss."

The merchant nearly retched with blood at how shamelessly the younger prince changed his behavior depending on his own gain.

"Thank you, Jishin-sama," he managed to say.

"Don't mention it. And I must tell you, not everyone understands that if the world changes, you must change with it, or you can easily find yourself on the sidelines of history. I hope you will convey my words to your colleagues."

The merchant simply bowed silently in response.

Jishin was no longer the punching bag Izuna had grown accustomed to seeing him as. His acquaintance with Shiro the Serpent and the years of war had changed him significantly.

Thus, he was filled with determination to test his fangs against his older brother.

*****

"So that's how it is? Hey, Aoi! Can you imagine, Jishin has managed to become the treasurer," the heir of the water clan of Mizuno put aside the scroll with the spy reports. "And you said he was no good. So, who's right now, and who's not?"

"Katashi, be serious," the man grimaced as if all his teeth ached. "How many times have I told you to stop behaving as if you've completely forgotten all etiquette?"

"Uncle, sometimes you are so boring that I start thinking your nickname 'Strangler' was earned for your moralizing that is capable of choking someone!"

"Impertinent brat. Haven't had a good sparring in a while? Let me arrange an intense training session for you."

"It's only for now," Katashi smirked. "Soon, I'll be stronger than you, and then we'll see who has the last laugh."

The nephew and uncle fell silent. Neither of them had any ill intent in their words.

"As for the appointment," Aoi continued after a pause. "It's not surprising. Goro Sumada had to reward his son for managing to kill that old man, Jirobu Sansa."

"I thought Jishin's father would drag his feet until the last moment," Katashi said in surprise.

"Then you misjudged his character," the uncle corrected his nephew. "Goro has nothing against his younger son. But since he has to pay attention to what the main families and his older son think, previously, he had to be cautious in caring for the younger. Now, he can wholeheartedly give him the deserved reward."

"I see," Katashi smiled again when he recalled something. "By the way, remember that healer who saved your leg? You'd be one-legged if not for him."

"It wasn't that serious," Aoi muttered. "What about him? You didn't mention him for no reason, right?"

"As if you don't know. He was also involved in that battle. Curse it, even though Jishin got most of the glory, there were three of his subordinates there! And all of them were just advanced."

Katashi demonstratively shook his fist at the sky.

"Where's the justice? Why do I languish here from boredom, while others, just advanced, like me, are killing supreme warmasters?! I want that, too!" By the end, the young man almost whined.

Aoi shook his head in disbelief. It was a great mystery to him how his nephew managed to be so carefree and cheerful and then suddenly obliterate enemies with his water techniques as if it were the most natural thing.

The same was true of his aversion to violence. Katashi Kindhearted indeed tried to resolve matters peacefully, but if he failed, he could stain his hands with blood without any hesitation.

As for his love for some theatricality, it was far from the worst habit possible.

"You'll get your glory," Aoi promised grimly. "War is coming. You'll even get tired of earning that glory."

Katashi shrugged, his mind wandering.

At that moment, the Mizuno prince was thinking of several small but powerful clans to the east of Sumada and Mizuno.

If everything goes as he and Jishin planned, these clans would play important roles in the upcoming performance.

Gradually, the prince's thoughts shifted to the upcoming World War.

All these years, Katashi had thought about how best to accustom the world to the absence of war. And the more he saw, the stronger the feeling of disappointment in him grew.

People didn't want to live in peace. Every plan Katashi conceived shattered against harsh reality.

Greed, malice, deceit, and hypocrisy - the list of human sins could go on and on.

And at some point, the count of acceptable victims started to swell. Initially, Katashi had resolved to sacrifice merely the smallest amount necessary for peace, yet now, this number was gradually mounting.

At the moment, the water clan prince saw that people deserved to get what they so craved.

They had to drink the bitter cup of war to the dregs.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Moreover, it should be so painful and heavy that if offered an alternative, they would cling to it like a drowning man to a rope.

There were no words to describe how bitter the young man felt about these thoughts, but he saw no other way out, no matter how hard he tried.

Katashi was genuinely afraid of what he was about to do.

*****

The traveling cloak whipped furiously behind him as Stas made his way to Kizashi's laboratory. That's where the seal and Leviathan, lying within it, were located.

Three and a half months had passed since Stas began studying natural energy and Kiatto techniques.

And even though Kaede, upon learning the situation from Kizashi two weeks ago, said that there was still a little time, Stas didn't care.

He could wait no longer and was determined to bring to life everything he'd learned.

The doors rustled open, letting Stas inside.

Kizashi, working on something, looked up and stared at the earthling in surprise.

"Shiro! Have you finally returned? Did you... Did you manage?" The alchemist tossed aside some paper and approached Stas.

But Ordyntsev was too agitated to talk about anything other than healing Leviathan.

"Kizashi, could you ask your grandfather when he might come here? I can't deactivate this seal, and I'm not sure if I can do anything while it's active. If you could, bring him right now."

"Understood. I'll do what I can." Hideo's grandson nodded quickly and rushed off to find his grandfather.

Stas, in the meantime, leaned over the exhausted Leviathan. Coiled up, she lay within a faintly glowing dome of greenish light.

And he certainly didn't like what he saw.

Though she was in a healing sleep, which slowed down all processes many times over, death was slowly creeping up on the heroic snake.

Right now, she looked even worse than three and a half months ago.

If not for the technique, she might have risked not living even a few dozen minutes.

Stas had arrived just in time.

The doors flung open again, and this time, Hideo Sumada entered, followed by an impatient Kizashi bouncing behind him.

"Here I am, here I am," the old man grumbled. "Stop fussing. And what would you do if I was with the clan head? Would you barge in on him too? Greetings, Shiro-kun. My foolish grandson tried to tell me something, but he himself knew too little. Have you really found a way to save your pet?"

"Yes, sensei," Stas bowed, greeting the teacher. "It's a very dangerous but effective method. I want to ask you to turn off the technique when I say..."

"Don't rush," the old man waved him off. "First, I need to check her condition."

Hideo slowly approached the seal and placed his hand on it. The greenish glow dimmed slightly, allowing the healer to reach inside.

At that moment, the old man activated Healing Palm and ran it over the snake's body.

And judging by his frowning face, the examination results were not good news.

Kizashi's grandfather turned and looked at Stas calmly.

"Shiro-kun, Leviathan's condition is much more serious than one might assume. There's a chance she'll die immediately once Healing Sleep is turned off. You could say she's dying right now."

Stas's eyes narrowed sharply.

"What do you suggest?"

"First, I'd like to know what method you've come up with to heal your pet," Hideo corrected, looking at Stas demandingly.

The earthling hesitated. He hadn't planned on sharing these secrets with anyone.

But he had no choice. The old man was too stubborn, and he might recognize a lie.

"I created a method based on natural energy and Kiatto techniques."

"You... What?!" The old man's eyes widened in shock. "You want to get yourself killed?! Don't tell me you've already used it?!"

"Wait!" Stas stepped back from the approaching furious elder. His beard bristled with anger. "I made sure to remove the natural energy from myself."

"Really?! So nobody else managed, but you did?" Unsurprisingly, Hideo didn't quite believe him.

"Yes, I did." But Stas wasn't about to back down.

"Hmm," Kizashi's grandfather looked at Ordyntsev with a skeptical gaze. "Eh, what a crazy youth we have these days. We weren't so off our rockers in my time. I bet my old bones it's all because of your nutty sensei, Jun! Oh, I'll have words for him when I meet him."

Hideo stopped grumbling and pondered something.

"Ah, I didn't want to do this, but it seems I have to. Here's the plan. I'll call two more healers. With my grandson, there will be four of us. That should be enough to keep Leviathan's life from slipping away in the first minutes. At the same time, you will have to pull off your insane technique and do what must be done. Ready?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Let's begin then."

Within just twenty minutes, the doors opened again, and this time, two healers mentioned by Hideo appeared.

"Michiro Sumada," the first one introduced himself, a man in his forties, scanning the room with a careful look.

"Yuriko Sumada," the second healer, a woman in her thirties with two tightly tied ponytails behind her back.

Stas involuntarily remembered how Kizashi talked about Michiro, his grandfather's first student, with whom there was a conflict.

Ordyntsev didn't know how it all ended. But judging by their looks, they'd settled their differences.

"Colleagues," the old man's voice drew everyone's attention. "Our task is to create a life force transfer technique, giving this dying creature," he pointed to the seal, "at least ten minutes of life. Meanwhile, Shiro," now the old finger pointed at Stas, "will have to heal her. Questions?"

The thirty-year-old female healer had been looking at Stas strangely all this time. When Hideo finished speaking, she shyly glanced at Ordyntsev.

"Shiro-san, are you, by any chance, the one who defeated Jirobu Sansa?" Despite the situation, Stas involuntarily smirked. He thought the woman was going to ask something else. "...And fought and managed to escape from three dra..."

"In the first case, I did; in the second, certainly not," he interrupted her, drawing strange looks from those around.

"Young lady, don't get distracted!" Hideo scolded. "You can ask your questions later. Now get ready. Shiro, tell us when you're prepared."

"Hai!" Stas sat near the table with the snake and concentrated.

Over the past two weeks, he had trained specifically the process of summoning and controlling natural energy. And there had been significant successes. He now understood much better what he was doing.

His prana, emerging from his points, began to capture the nearest natural energy and suck it into his body.

However, what Stas didn't notice was Michiro Sumada's face. Being the right hand of the head of all healers, Michiro had extensive knowledge, including in rather specific areas.

Therefore, he almost immediately understood what the prince's subordinate was doing. And as soon as he did, he was horrified.

The man wanted to be as far away as possible from the lunatic who dared to do something with natural energy.

But Hideo said nothing, and Michiro had to endure, risking his life by being dangerously close to a true madman.

Involuntarily, the healer wondered about the reason for Shiro the Serpent's strange appearance. Were the serpentine eyes the result of his work with natural force? And if so, why was he still alive?

Could he have managed to tame this great power?

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Michiro's fear involuntarily receded slightly, and interest in the personality of the closest ally of the younger prince took its place.

Meanwhile, Stas, oblivious to what was happening, finally finished gathering the natural energy after five minutes.

Ordyntsev nodded to Hideo, and at the old man's signal, the others stepped forward.

The membrane trembled and began to be absorbed into the paper seal gradually. The hands of the healers surrounding the table with Leviathan glowed green.

As soon as the technique finally dissipated, they all released beams of green light directly into the snake's body, beginning to nourish her cells directly. This method of life support was incredibly energy-intensive but could work real miracles.

Even if the injured person had half their torso missing, the life force transfer technique would not only prevent them from dying but would keep them conscious.

Stas carefully placed his hands on Leviathan's scales and released the natural energy inside the snake's body.

He proceeded as cautiously as possible to avoid causing any damage.

"Shiro-kun, hurry up." Hideo's sudden voice almost threw Stas off his focus. "The life force transfer is meant for humans. It's not coping."

"Curse it," Ordyntsev hissed.

The natural energy was almost entirely transferred when Michiro flinched and noted in a drained voice.

"The heart has stopped."

The world seemed to freeze.

"No!" Stas roared. Without thinking of the consequences, he forced all the remaining natural energy to gather in his hand as quickly as possible and then struck Leviathan right opposite her heart, transferring everything in a single directed burst.

At that moment, he acted on some dark intuition rather than common sense.

After all, he had spent long months trying to comprehend what natural energy was. And during that time, he had achieved some understanding.

"The heart is beating!" Yuriko's surprised voice sounded as if from afar.

Stas, meanwhile, hurriedly formed the Kiatto technique and then connected to their bond. The feeling was unfamiliar, but it wasn't hard to figure out.

The regeneration technique obediently traveled through the link they shared into its new dwelling.

'Activate.'

Leviathan's body jerked. The muscles contracted. The pumped natural energy spread through all the coils of the snake, beginning its restorative action.

The prana coming from the healers also did its job.

The clasps closing the wound began to drop with a clang as the rapidly regenerating flesh pushed them out.

At the same time, Ordyntsev was busy expelling the natural energy from his body. As the ether roamed his body in small quantities and was immediately destroyed, it was almost impossible to notice.

After a couple of minutes, it was all over. The glow from the healers' hands also stopped as they had exhausted their reserves.

Hideo carefully applied a Healing Palm to Leviathan's body.

"She's... healthy." The snake, as if waiting for this, woke up and slowly shifted her previously frozen gaze directly to Stas.

'What... What happened?'

Stas tenderly stroked his pet on the head.

'You were injured. I healed you.' The man wanted to say more but couldn't find the words.

Levi looked around the room in confusion.

'Where's that scary old man?'

But Stas didn't have the chance to answer.

"Shiro-san," Yuriko's trembling voice caught his attention.

"What?" He frowned.

"Your hand. Your right hand!"

Stanislav raised his hand to his eyes and silently looked at the limb, which was clearly no longer quite human.

People generally don't have hard white scales overlapping like exotic plate armor. The mutation had taken over the limb up to the elbow.

Stas examined his nails with scholarly interest. They had changed, too. No, they hadn't turned into claws. Rather, they were now thick, white, rectangular plates, something like large modified scales.

"Doesn't it suit my image?" Ordyntsev flashed his serpentine eyes and crookedly smirked, waving his scaly hand.

Yuriko, her mouth agape like a fish, found nothing to say.