Shonin Clan's History

{A/N: Drop some comments if you want the next chapter to come faster and also add this to your library. We can't lose in the collection rankings, can we?}

"It's my father," Shin thought to himself as he heard a knock on the door followed by a voice asking if he was awake.

From what he gathered from the original Shin's memories, he was his father's only child, the product of a dozen marriages.

His mother, the one his father adored with all his heart, had passed away when Shin was just two years old.

Because of that, his father doted on him like a typical young master from a xianxia novel.

And when I say he was doted on, I mean A LOT! Shin could probably stroll through town and take a few heads off, and his father would still come to his defense without batting an eye.

"Yes, Father, I'm awake now." As soon as the words left his mouth, his father burst through the door, nearly tripping over his own feet in his rush. Before Shin could react, he was enveloped in a bear hug that squeezed the air right out of him.

"You stupid son! Do you have any idea how worried you made your father?" Shiren exclaimed, pulling Shin in even tighter. Shin felt his ribs creaking under the pressure, struggling to gasp out, "Fa-Father, it hurts!"

Shiren finally loosened his grip, rubbing the back of Shin's head with a sheepish grin.

"Hahaha... Looks like I got a bit too excited!" He had short black hair and brown eyes like Shin, but he was surprisingly bulky for a member of the Shonin clan.

After all, they were primarily a merchant clan that had only recently started dabbling in jutsus and training to become shinobi over the last century or so.

"Son, it's good that you're awake now, but there's something we need to talk about," Shiren said, his brow furrowed in a way that looked completely out of place on his face, especially around his son.

Shin blinked, noticing the unusual expression. His dad almost always had this calm, confident aura, like nothing could shake him.

Seeing that frown, Shin had a pretty good idea of what this was about.

"Is it about the giant tiger incident?" he asked, his voice tinged with a mix of curiosity and a little bit of dread.

On the surface, it might've looked like an unfortunate accident—a giant tiger attacking the caravan Shin was leading for the very first time.

Bad luck, right? But Shin knew better. Something like that shouldn't have been possible at all, not under normal circumstances.

The Shonin clan had dealt with a similar incident over a decade ago. Back then, they went all out, hiring hundreds of shinobis to hunt down every dangerous beast in that part of the forest, wiping them out until there wasn't a single one left.

No way a giant tiger should've been anywhere near that area, especially not on the exact day Shin led the caravan. It felt like the universe was pulling a prank on him—except this prank seemed more like a setup.

"Yeah, it's about that," Shiren confirmed, his voice steady. He didn't look surprised that Shin was already on the same page. Honestly, he'd come to expect this kind of sharpness from his son.

Shin had always been an observant kid, even when he was little, picking up on things most wouldn't even notice.

Shiren sighed, looking at his son thoughtfully. There was just one issue. Shin had never fully embraced his training, not after what happened with that so-called "mentor." The man was supposed to teach Shin jutsus, but instead, he'd attacked him.

That betrayal had left a mark, a kind of phobia that made Shin avoid any further jutsu training. It was understandable, but also... inconvenient.

Turned out, the whole attack had been orchestrated by the Shonin clan's long-time rivals, the Akum clan.

Of course, those weasels denied it all, even when Shiren had the mentor executed for his treachery. They were as shameless as they came.

"I suspect some of the elders are behind this recent attack," Shiren said, his expression practically shouting, "I'm almost sure of it," as he sat down beside Shin.

"It's possible," Shin agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. From what he remembered, the situation within the Shonin clan had never been all sunshine and rainbows.

The elders were restless, and honestly, some of them downright hated his dad—and him by extension.

When Shin's grandfather was in charge, he ruled with an iron fist, even going as far as killing his own uncle to secure his position as clan head. That kind of bloodstained history didn't just disappear; it lingered like a bad smell.

In short, everything was pretty much messed up. 

Under Shin's grandfather, the Shonin clan had managed to thrive and grow stronger, even forming connections with the daimyo of the Land of Fire—a pretty impressive achievement, to say the least.

Because of these connections, when his grandfather passed away, Shin's father, Shiren, easily took over as the head of the clan.

Those ties with powerful allies had smoothed the transition and kept things stable, at least on the surface.

"That's why I want you to be extra careful from now on, even when you're inside the clan's estate," Shiren said, his expression a mix of fatherly concern and simmering anger.

He was wearing that classic "protective dad" face that Shin had seen a few times before, usually when things got serious.

After all, Shin was his only child, and if something happened to him... well, let's just say there'd be a bloodbath.

Shiren could already feel the rage boiling inside him, barely holding himself back from storming out and dealing with those elders right then and there.

Who did they think they were, trying to hurt his son?

"I'll be careful, Father... but I have something to ask of you," Shin said, pushing the blankets aside and standing up from the bed.

He stretched, his muscles feeling stiff from lying down for too long. He glanced at Shiren, looking a little more serious than usual.

Shiren raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting to something more casual. "Hmm...? What is it?" he asked, sounding almost amused.

He was used to Shin asking for things all the time, whether it was new books, odd trinkets, or just random stuff that caught his interest.

"Can you arrange a place for me to train to become a shinobi?" Shin asked, and the room seemed to freeze for a moment.

As soon as the words left Shin's mouth, Shiren's eyes widened, and he shot up from his chair, his face a mix of shock and disbelief.

No matter how much Shiren had tried in the past, he could never get Shin to train in jutsus or even entertain the idea of becoming a shinobi.

It was like the very idea terrified him—understandably, given what had happened years ago. But now, here was Shin, standing before him, asking for it himself.

"I know what you're thinking... that I, the one who always ran away from learning jutsus, now suddenly want to train?" Shin said, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"YES!" Shiren blurted out without missing a beat, the shock still evident in his voice. He couldn't help but feel a spark of hope—maybe, just maybe, this was the turning point.

"It's because, Father... after seeing so many guards die to protect me, I realized how weak I really am," Shin said, his voice dropping low, almost to a whisper.

His eyes looked misty, tears welling up. "It should've been me—the useless one—who died instead of them."

Seeing his son's tearful eyes, Shiren's heart broke a little. He reached out, pulling Shin into a tight hug, his voice softening as he said,

"Son, don't worry about it. It's not your fault they died. It's not your fault." He held Shin close, hoping his words would be enough to comfort him.

Shin, however, had to fight back the smirk threatening to spread across his face. Did he actually care about those guards' lives? NAH, Not really. Would he have died in their place?

NAH,Not a chance. This whole act was just to get what he wanted—a little emotional blackmail never hurt, especially when it worked this well.

{You are becoming more and more like the heavenly demon, Master... kekekekekeke.}