The daimyo's attendants practically sprinted to Konoha's diplomatic mission, plastering fawning smiles on their faces as they relayed the Daimyo's "gracious" will to Uchiha Yorin.
Watching them now, it was hard to believe that just a few days ago, when Yorin himself had gone to the Daimyo's palace to request an audience, these same clowns had their noses pointed at the sky and wouldn't give the Hokage's advisor so much as half an ounce of face.
"So, um, these past few days, His Lordship has been… extremely busy. But once he heard about what happened to you, Advisor-sama, he became very angry. He said, 'How could such a distinguished guest be made to wait so long?!' and severely punished us. He's ordered us to invite you to the palace with the utmost respect…
So, you see, perhaps…"
"Ah, is that so? Well then, that's wonderful. Let's set it for three days from now."
Uchiha Yorin put on just the right shade of polite 'pleasant surprise' and said, "Three days from now, I'll go pay my respects to the Daimyo."
"Three days from now…"
The smiles on the attendants' faces began to stiffen.
"Why three days from now? I mean, surely this matter is very urgent for you, is it not…?"
"It was quite urgent," Yorin replied calmly, "but now it's not that urgent anymore."
He added, "While the Daimyo was busy these past days, I received a new assignment. That mission will be completed in about three days, so I'll come then."
Hearing this, the attendants were more than a little annoyed. Even though the Daimyo had instructed them to treat Uchiha Yorin properly this time, it was hard to undo a lifetime of arrogance. To them, he was still a lowly shinobi; how could they sincerely show him respect?
Turned down like that, they started grumbling in that special noble passive-aggressive tone:
"But Advisor-sama, you're putting us in a very difficult position. Surely there is nothing more important in this world than the Daimyo's affairs?"
"Yes, yes, of course the Daimyo's affairs are the most important in the world," Yorin answered, perfectly matter-of-fact. "Which is exactly why I'm currently busy with a matter concerning a Daimyo—no, concerning a nation."
The attendants, smacked with their own words, glanced at each other and had no idea how to respond.
After a moment, their leader tried again.
"Advisor-sama, if you do this, it makes things very difficult for us."
Despite having the upper hand, Yorin didn't just sneer back with a "Hard? Then don't do it." Instead he said:
"Please convey my deepest apologies to the Daimyo on my behalf. But really, it was I who was urgently requesting an audience—not the other way around… Unless…"
He tilted his head with a faint smile.
"Surely the Daimyo doesn't have some urgent matter he needs me—no, Konoha's help for?"
"N–no, no, absolutely not! His Lordship is in excellent health and everything is fine!"
The attendants practically waved their hands off denying it.
Failing to complete a mission was one thing—at worst you got scolded, sidelined, maybe beaten a bit. But making the Daimyo lose face was something else entirely. That kind of mistake started with "ritual self-disembowelment" on the menu.
"Oh, good. That puts my mind at ease," Yorin said cheerfully. "I was worried the Daimyo needed my assistance in some grave matter. Hahahaha~"
His relaxed laughter only made the attendants more uncomfortable. They wanted to laugh along, but didn't dare. What came out were several twisted expressions uglier than crying.
"At the very least, Advisor-sama, could you tell us what matter is occupying you? That way we can make a proper report when we return."
"Ah, well, there's nothing to hide." Yorin shrugged. "You know about Uzushio, right? The Land of Whirlpools that was wiped out years ago."
"Yes, yes, it was destroyed long ago. What about it?"
"Well, it's being restored." Yorin said this as if he were remarking on the weather. "Konoha has decided to help Uzushio rise again. These few days I've been busy contacting the Uzumaki remnants within Land of Fire, preparing to lead them back to their old homeland to rebuild the Land of Whirlpools.
This mission comes directly from the Uzumaki Daimyo herself—Uzumaki Kushina."
"I'm not lying, am I? The work keeping me busy truly is a Daimyo's mission."
"Since the esteemed Fire Daimyo has no immediate need of my help, I'll continue working for the Whirlpools Daimyo. That seems quite reasonable, doesn't it?"
At first glance, it sounded perfectly reasonable. At second glance, it was completely insane.
Helping the Land of Whirlpools restore itself?
Weren't all its people scattered to the winds? How many "remnants" could there even be left to recruit?
What exactly was Konoha trying to do?
"Konoha and the Uzumaki are the best of allies," Yorin continued, noticing their stunned looks. "In fact, we wanted to help Uzushio recover a long time ago. But we didn't have the time or resources back then, so it was shelved.
Now that peace has come and thanks to the prosperity of Land of Fire we've managed to earn a bit of money, we can finally act on restoring Uzushio."
"Ah, well… when you put it that way…"
The attendants' brains were buzzing.
Restoring a country? That's something you… shinobi… can just "operate"?
And yet… they couldn't say he was wrong.
The founding of Konoha had been greatly supported by the Uzumaki. Now Konoha wanted to repay that by helping Uzushio revive—on paper, that was proper friendship and obligation.
But that wasn't the issue.
The Land of Whirlpools was a state, with a sovereign title.
If it revived, it could engage in diplomacy with the Five Great Nations, and its lord—"Whirlpools Daimyo"—would have to be recognized by the international order.
And with the Uzumaki almost wiped out, whose power would Uzushio depend on to survive? Obviously Konoha.
Also… Uzumaki Kushina is the Daimyo?
Well, she is a princess of Uzushio. She does have a legitimate dynastic claim.
But isn't she also… the wife of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato?
So the Hokage's wife becomes a Daimyo? Doesn't that mean Konoha effectively controls Uzushio?
And they already have one child.
Doesn't that imply that in the future, Naruto Uzumaki will both be Daimyo of Uzushio and Hokage of Konoha?
Doesn't that mean Konoha will possess an actual country?
One country.
One country.
One country—with both title and strength?
A country ruled by shinobi?
What is Konoha trying to pull?
They've just smashed the unspoken line between ninja and nobles.
The unwritten rule—never formally discussed, never recorded, but understood by all—was that nobles wouldn't interfere in shinobi operations, and shinobi wouldn't meddle in state sovereignty.
Now Konoha is Uzushio, and Uzushio is Konoha.
If Uzumaki Kushina, as Daimyo of Uzushio, declares war on Land of Fire, will Konoha stand with Land of Fire… or with the Land of Whirlpools?
That thought alone made the attendants' scalps go numb.
They abandoned any attempt at small talk and rushed back to the palace to report this earth-shaking news to the Fire Daimyo.
Just as they'd expected, the Daimyo was already annoyed that Yorin hadn't come along with them. Once he heard about Uzushio's "revival," he completely exploded:
"What are they playing at?! Have we ever treated them poorly? Is there something we did that justifies this betrayal?!
They dare try to found their own country and turn their backs on Land of Fire?!"
After his outburst, the attendants and senior retainers in the chamber all stared at the floor, not daring to answer. Inwardly though, they were muttering bitterly:
"Treat them poorly? Who do you think ordered all that harassment of Konoha's transport company in the first place?"
Konoha got fed up with being squeezed and found an alternative. What else did you think they were going to do?
But no one could say that aloud. That sort of truth got you more than disemboweled.
"Damn it… damn it…"
The Daimyo continued to curse, anger mixed with bitter regret. He'd pushed too hard. Far too hard.
But now that things had gone this far, regret was pointless. They had to decide what to do next.
"We could send letters to all the regional lords, instructing them to stop obstructing Konoha's transport hubs. And tell Konoha not to restore Uzushio. How about that?"
It was the Chief Councilor who spoke up in the end, cautiously proposing a course of action.
The Daimyo, drained, replied:
"And if they ask why? If they insist on restoring Uzushio, then what?"
"Then we retreat one step further," the Chief Councilor said.
"Land of Fire can agree to accept the Uzumaki refugees and let them rebuild on Uzushio's former lands—but as a vassal domain of Land of Fire.
In future, the Whirlpools… no, the Whirlpools Domain would become an outer Daimyo, under Fire.
However, the outer Daimyo of Whirlpools cannot be Uzumaki Kushina, and Konoha must not use marriage to control the Whirlpools Domain. What do you think, Your Lordship?"
"Hmph. That treats the symptoms, not the disease," the Daimyo snorted.
Hearing this, the Chief Councilor fell silent, though in his heart he was muttering: Now you're scared? You weren't saying that when you were squeezing them dry. I told you ages ago: be cautious with shinobi. Don't push too hard. But no—
After that, the council chamber fell into quiet again.
After a long pause, the Daimyo finally said:
"Go on. Speak. Does anyone have any other ideas?"
Silence.
"Then it'll be as he suggested."
With that, the Daimyo turned and strode out, his slumped shoulders silently acknowledging the Chief Councilor's compromise.
In this round of political and economic confrontation between Land of Fire and Konoha, Land of Fire had lost.
And this was only the beginning.