After going around in circles...
Senju Tobirama returned to his Hokage office once again.
On his desk was a new row of golden decrees from the Land of Fire's Daimyō.
This instantly increased the pressure on Senju Tobirama's shoulders, and his head couldn't help but start to ache again.
Clearly...
The major figures of the Land of Fire were already impatient for Konoha to make a choice.
This wasn't really about investigating a case at all, but about picking a side.
As long as Konoha made its stance clear...
The evidence was not an issue.
Moreover, it was obvious that Akatsuki Village's ninja did this; it was just that Akatsuki Village had prepared so thoroughly that Konoha couldn't find any leverage against them for the time being.
No matter how outrageous the evidence Konoha submitted, the major figures were willing to accept it and were fully capable of turning fiction into fact!
All that was needed was for Konoha to take the lead in firing the first shot and pressuring Akatsuki Village!
The nobles would certainly not let Konoha fight alone; they would swarm in to follow Konoha in pressuring Akatsuki Village. They had operated in the ninja world for so many years and had close ties with the ninja clans... As long as they were willing to spend money, even Akatsuki Village wasn't a monolithic block.
Under both internal and external pressure...
They could always force Uchiha Makoto to make concessions.
After the concession, face would be saved. Once face was saved, the remaining problems would no longer be problems.
Such a course of action...
Senju Tobirama had actually considered it. He had even mentally prepared himself before meeting Uchiha Makoto. If Uchiha Makoto stubbornly denied it... then so be it!
Anyway, Akatsuki Village couldn't cause much trouble in front of his brother.
This time, the Land of Fire's Daimyō and nobles also supported him. At worst, it would just get a little ugly. Even in the worst-case scenario, there was still Takigakure to fall back on to salvage the situation.
However, after being sold on the grand vision Uchiha Makoto had painted and seeing the changes in that village, Senju Tobirama's mindset had changed slightly.
Unconsciously, he had begun to lean towards the modern ninja.
...
"Damn it, Uchiha Makoto, you naturally evil Uchiha brat."
"You've screwed me over so many times. This time, I've caught you by the tail. It's such a shame to let you off so easily..."
"..."
"But war... it will always come."
"I have to face this problem eventually..."
Senju Tobirama muttered to himself, still not fully decided.
He hated Uchiha Makoto.
But he loathed war even more.
War was a monster that could destroy everything.
Except for a few ninja with special personalities like Uchiha Madara...
No one liked a life of constant fighting.
To end the life of constant battle in the Warring States Period, Senju Tobirama had even accepted the idea of forming a village with the Uchiha clan and living together. The Uchiha clan was the same. Konoha had only been founded for a few years, and the members of the two clans had not truly forgotten the hatred between them... but they were trying to make themselves forget.
Time would heal all wounds.
But Senju Tobirama also knew clearly in his heart...
War would always come again.
Although the large-scale hot wars in the ninja world had ended and peace had generally been restored, it was all temporary. Kumogakure had signed a large number of unequal treaties, forcing itself to endure and lick its wounds. When Kumogakure recovered, that would be when the war would restart.
In fact, even without Kumogakure...
Another ninja village would stand up.
The very nature of ninja determined that war between the villages was inevitable.
As is well known...
Ninja rely on completing missions to support their families. A chaotic situation creates an endless stream of missions, while the longer the peace, the fewer missions there are for ninja to perform. Yet, the number of ninja constantly increases during peacetime.
So, sooner or later...
The non-productive ninja in each village would face unemployment, unable to get missions.
Even the large villages, with state-level funding, would find it difficult to sustain this indefinitely.
It was unlikely for a village to directly give ninja money; they would mostly subsidize missions, reducing the village's cut to increase the ninja's income.
But the overall decline in the number of missions was a major trend.
Jōnin were supposed to perform S-rank and A-rank missions, but in peacetime, there wouldn't always be such high-level missions.
To make a living, they could only stoop to B-rank, or even C-rank missions.
And Chūnin could only take C-rank and D-rank missions.
But what about Genin?
They could only lower their prices and start a price war.
In this vicious cycle, the Genin would eventually be unable to hold on, and yet they were the most numerous.
The most direct way to resolve internal conflicts is to externalize them to create demand... war was only a matter of time.
The tragedy of the ninja is that they crave peace, yet they cannot survive indefinitely in times of peace.
After several years of rest and recuperation in Konoha, the total number of missions had indeed seen a significant decline.
As a traditional ninja, although Senju Tobirama did not understand advanced economics, his years of experience managing the village gave him a keen sense of the danger. With the number of missions gradually decreasing, the village was bound to have problems.
That was why, regarding the grand vision Uchiha Makoto had painted...
Although Senju Tobirama had verbally denied and belittled it...
Calling it utter heresy, a foolish act that completely violated the rules of the ninja world...
His heart was indeed a little moved.
The hope of changing the ninja world and avoiding war... perhaps lay within it.
"Let that evil brat Uchiha Makoto test the waters first. Konoha will watch from the sidelines, crossing the river by feeling for Akatsuki Village's stones... That way, nothing can go wrong."
"We must both guard against Akatsuki Village and make use of it..."
"For the sake of a longer-term future... this time, I can only..."
Senju Tobirama sat in his office chair, with complex feelings, persuading himself.
In the end, he chose to give up a little of his own insistence.
"Damn it, Uchiha Makoto, you naturally evil Uchiha brat."
"I'm not helping you this time. I'm doing this for Konoha, for those poor ordinary people... for that little bit of... hope for change."
"Just this once... don't do anything else too outrageous..."
"Konoha will not go mad with you..."
...
Land of Fire.
A servant, with a nervous expression, not daring to breathe loudly, carried a bowl of steaming hot bird's nest soup and carefully walked towards the Daimyō's bedchamber.
The servants standing guard outside watched him, their eyes revealing an unstoppable sense of relief and... pity.
Normally, attending to the Daimyō was a fine job. The closer you were to power, the greater your own power. A servant favored by the Daimyō could soar to become a prominent figure by his side, and tributes from those below would flow to him endlessly.
But recently, the Land of Fire's Daimyō had been in a very bad mood, his temper foul. As the saying goes, being near a ruler is like being near a tiger. The servants by the Daimyō's side had been replaced one after another in a matter of days.
At its peak, three were replaced in a single day.
This servant carrying the bird's nest soup was very unlucky; he had drawn the short straw and it was his turn to attend to the Daimyō.
Just as he pushed open the door to the Daimyō's bedchamber...
The servant heard the roar of the Land of Fire's Daimyō.
"Fine! It seems the ninja are the ones in charge of my Land of Fire now!"
"And what does this report say? 'To relieve my lord's worries, I dare not shirk the labor,' and that he has discussed it with Akatsuki Village and will send a ninja army to Takigakure to hold them accountable."
"..."
"Who is it!!!"
The sound of the door opening startled the enraged Land of Fire's Daimyō. The servant hastily lowered his head.
"Your Highness, your bird's nest soup is ready."
"Who let you in!"
"Get out!!"
"Summon the Elder Statesman!!!"
The servant's back was instantly drenched in sweat. He hurriedly walked out and closed the door with a trembling hand.
He ran through the guards, taking two or three steps at a time, left the Daimyō's bedchamber, and sent someone to summon the Elder Statesman.
Before long...
The Elder Statesman arrived at the Daimyō's bedchamber.
The Daimyō's eyes were bloodshot, his clothes disheveled, his crown thrown on the floor. He was waving a sword around, and the room was a mess.
Priceless vases were smashed all over the floor.
"Your Highness, calm your anger."
The Elder Statesman looked at the red-eyed, extremely agitated Daimyō and quickly tried to console him.
But the Land of Fire's Daimyō's anger did not subside. His eyes seemed to be spitting fire as he waved Konoha's investigation report in his hand.
"Rebellion! This is all rebellion!"
"The ninja have only just gained a little power, and they dare to treat me with such contempt! Have I ever done anything to wrong Akatsuki Village... I was the one who funded its establishment!"
"It was MY money!!!"
"Have I not been friendly enough to Konoha... I have done right by Konoha!"
"The facts are so obvious. All I wanted was for them to give me some face, to resolve this matter gracefully..."
"But what about them?"
The Land of Fire's Daimyō was truly triggered.
The times were changing too fast.
The once respectful ninja of the Warring States Period now dared to be so insolent after just a few years.
The great nobles were putting pressure on him as a group because of the trouble Akatsuki Village had caused.
They were turning up the heat on him.
But the Land of Fire's Daimyō still did not want to have a falling out with the ninja villages.
To appease them...
He had only intended to have Konoha investigate, put pressure on Akatsuki Village, and symbolically hand over a few ninja to close the case. The great nobles neither agreed nor disagreed, which was a tacit approval.
But what was the result?
First, Akatsuki Village slapped him hard across the face, and now Konoha had given him another hard slap, blatantly shifting all the blame to Takigakure.
Neither side was taking him, the Daimyō, seriously.
Damn it!
He's become a clown!
He had confidently assured the great nobles that Konoha would give the Land of Fire a satisfactory explanation. With this kind of investigation result, how could he shut them up?
Who knows...
What they would be saying about him behind his back!
Looking at the Land of Fire's Daimyō, who looked like he was about to kill someone, the Elder Statesman immediately knelt down and tried to soothe his emotions, afraid that the Daimyō would make an irrational decision at this time.
"Your Highness, calm down. The more critical the situation, the more we must remain calm. We cannot act on impulse..."
"Elder Statesman, what are you afraid of!"
"You're worried about pushing Konoha and Akatsuki Village to rebel, aren't you..."
The Land of Fire's Daimyō laid his cards on the table. He was anxious day and night because of the ninja villages.
To suppress Konoha...
He had spent a great deal of money to cultivate Akatsuki Village, hoping to use it to balance Konoha. But he never expected that Akatsuki Village was a wolf cub that couldn't be tamed. It had only been a short time, and it was already showing its claws.
Konoha, on the other hand, was still behaving itself.
The Land of Fire had hoped to coexist peacefully with the ninja villages.
But facts have proven...
The ninja villages are all cut from the same cloth; not a single ninja is a good person!
"I... Your Highness... I dare not!"
"Your Highness, calm your anger..."
"Akatsuki Village is easy to deal with... but Konoha... you know, Senju Hashirama..."
The Elder Statesman mentioned Senju Hashirama's name. He was a terrifying ninja of this era, difficult to surpass and challenge.
The other daimyō and ninja villages did not know the terrifying strength of Senju Hashirama.
But as the Daimyō and Elder Statesman of the Land of Fire, they knew it very well.
Although Senju Hashirama had chosen to cooperate with the Land of Fire, willing to defend it and maintain the rule of the Daimyō and nobles, he didn't even want an official position.
But the high-level officials of the Land of Fire still did not trust Senju Hashirama... whether he had ambitions was not important. The key was that he had the ability!
As long as Senju Hashirama was alive...
The Land of Fire would always have to worry about this problem—if they pushed the ninja villages too far... would they push Konoha to rebel?
"But this matter absolutely cannot end like this!"
The Land of Fire's Daimyō calmed down slightly. The mention of Senju Hashirama filled his eyes with apprehension.
How could such a powerful ninja appear in the world?
It was truly shocking.
But the Land of Fire's Daimyō was still not willing to let it go.
Once a bottom line is crossed, there will be a second time. Zero times and one time are two completely different states.
Akatsuki Village's strength had expanded too quickly, and it had just won a foreign war. It was now too arrogant.
There was no need for the Land of Fire's Daimyō to personally suppress it.
After this incident, the Land of Fire's Daimyō knew without even thinking how many people would want to secretly trip up Akatsuki Village... Akatsuki Village's size was no match for the entire Land of Fire!
The most important thing was Konoha!
The Land of Fire's Daimyō had to focus his energy on sowing discord between Konoha and Akatsuki Village.
Konoha and Akatsuki Village standing on a united front this time was very dangerous... this was what kept the Daimyō up at night.
He had to drive a wedge between them.
And the matter of planting spies inside the ninja villages had to be accelerated.
It's not like he couldn't afford the price!
"Remember to grasp the right measure."
The Land of Fire's Daimyō stated his thoughts, adding another sentence at the end.
The relationship between the state and the ninja villages was like dancing with wolves, especially when the state had no weapon to balance the wolves. It was nothing more than luring them with benefits and moving them with sentiment.
Pave the way with money. If you don't want it, there are plenty of ninja who do—do they love gold, or do they love their village?
It was still the same old trick of balancing the ninja.
They were masters at this game.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I will see to it..."
The Land of Fire's Elder Statesman nodded. For now, this was the only way.
They could neither have a complete falling out with the ninja villages, nor could they let them get too comfortable. They had to constantly let the ninja villages know... without the support of the nobles, the ninja could not live comfortable lives.
It was just that the degree... needed to be grasped.
...
Takigakure.
"What? When did we ever send ninja to assassinate a great noble family of the Land of Fire!"
"This is a blatant accusation!"
"Where's Kakuzu? Get him here! Was it him acting on his own!"
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