Roughly seventy-two hours before Itami had finished the first draft of Japan's new constitution, Shiba was contained within the royal palace in Heian-kyō. The man had barricaded himself and what remained of his followers inside his palace.
Why would he do such a thing? Because after suffering months of abuse at the hands of the current Shogun, the forces who were once loyal to him had taken up arms in rebellion. Yet they did not side with the Itami Loyalists, who were currently pushing in from the South. Instead, each man followed a different General, who declared himself the new emperor.
By now there were at least thirteen different claimants to the throne that Itami had left vacant, not including Shiba himself, and at least five of these warlords' armies were battling in the streets of Heian-kyō for supremacy.
