In the afternoon, Konoha was peaceful and serene.
The smoke of war had not yet dissipated, but reconstruction had already begun.
Everyone in Konoha knew the Village had lost much of its vitality in this war.
Even so, the will to live had already helped the Village recover a measure of life.
Yuhi Shinku stepped through the Village gate, his footsteps unwavering.
The news of budget cuts weighed on his chest like a stone.
The image of that young Daimyo, those calm eyes, lingered in his mind.
He hurried straight to the Hokage Building.
Hokage Office.
Smoke filled the air.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk, puffing on his pipe, his brow deeply furrowed.
In front of him was a mountain of post-war reports and compensation lists.
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, the two Elder Advisors, sat on either side, their expressions grim.
In the shadows of the corner, Shimura Danzo leaned on his cane, silent.
The atmosphere was heavy.
"Still no news?" Homura asked first, impatient.
"Judging by the time, Yuhi Shinku should be back soon," Hiruzen said, setting down the scroll and rubbing his temples.
He was not worried that the request for an additional budget would be rejected.
No previous Daimyo had refused Konoha on such matters.
Konoha was the shield of the Land of Fire, and the cost of maintaining the shield was necessary.
This time, sending Yuhi Shinku was to submit a war report and also to gauge the new Daimyo's attitude.
A sixteen-year-old who seized power through bloodshed would not have ordinary temperament or methods.
But he was young, after all.
As long as Konoha presented itself as a meritorious servant and offered some appeasement, there should not be a big problem.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and a dust-covered Shinku walked in. His face was full of fatigue, his expression was complicated.
"Hokage-sama, honorable Advisors."
"You're back. You've worked hard," Hiruzen said with a gentle smile. "How did it go? What did the Daimyo say?"
Everyone's gaze fell on Shinku.
He stood straight but did not answer immediately.
His Adam's apple bobbed, as if organizing his words.
He looked up, met their gazes, and spoke with difficulty.
"Hokage-sama, the Daimyo Manor rejected the request for an additional budget."
The office fell silent.
Although they had anticipated this outcome, hearing it firsthand still made their faces sink.
Homura asked in disbelief, "Rejected? Why? So many died in the Village. Does the Daimyo not see it?"
Koharu said coldly, "What does the Daimyo want? To use Konoha to establish authority as soon as he takes office?"
Hiruzen did not speak. He took a slow puff on his pipe, his face hazy behind the smoke.
Things were likely not that simple.
In the shadows, Danzo's single eye flashed coldly.
"Yuhi Shinku, tell us the meeting in detail, word for word," Hiruzen said, voice calm.
"Yes."
Shinku steadied himself and recounted the meeting exactly.
From Arashi defining the war report as a performance review, to the soul-piercing question, "Are the lives of ninja more noble than those of civilians?"
And finally, the seemingly benevolent special fund for genius cultivation.
When he finished, the office grew even heavier.
Homura and Koharu were shocked.
Those arguments were airtight.
He stood on the side of justice, turning Konoha's merits into its duties.
He twisted Konoha's request for compensation into competing with the people for profit.
What a cunning tactic.
Could these words really come from a sixteen-year-old?
"Not only that…"
Shinku's voice tightened. "Before I left, I heard the Daimyo Manor is undergoing financial reform…"
"The Daimyo ordered that, starting next quarter, the Village's annual budget will be cut."
"What?!"
This time, even Hiruzen could not remain seated.
He looked up sharply, his eyes flaring.
Not only deny the additional request, but cut the existing budget as well?
"How much was cut?"
From the shadows, Danzo's voice was cold.
"Two… two-tenths."
Boom.
The number made everyone's heads buzz.
Two-tenths.
This was no small sum.
Ninja compensation, treatment for the injured, development of new ninja tools, maintenance of the Village's defense system… which did not require funding?
With that cut, the already strained Village would face serious operational difficulties.
Homura cried, "He's crazy! He wants to destroy Konoha! He is shaking the foundation of the Land of Fire!"
Danzo stepped out of the shadows, his cane striking the floor with urgent weight. "Cut two-tenths? On what grounds? How dare he?"
"What does he think ninja are? Tools to be measured by money?"
"We bled and sacrificed for the Land of Fire, and this is the humiliation we receive?"
"Hiruzen, we cannot tolerate this!"
"This brat is declaring war on us! We must teach him a lesson!"
Koharu echoed sharply, "That's right! We must make him retract the order!"
"Once the budget is cut, turmoil in the Village is inevitable, and our deterrence against other ninja villages will drop sharply."
"Do not forget, Kumo is still watching us like a tiger eyeing its prey!"
Emotions ran high in the office.
"Everyone, calm down!" Hiruzen snapped.
After the initial shock, he forced himself to settle.
He sat again, picked up his pipe, and did not light it for a long time.
His mind was filled with the young Daimyo described by Yuhi Shinku.
Calm, dignified.
Emotions unreadable.
Speaking the most piercing words in the gentlest tone.
First striking with a stick, then tossing a useless candy to make you grateful.
He knew this method well.
But it should not appear in a sixteen-year-old.
These methods, this cunning, this depth—clearly the mark of someone steeped in power for decades.
He remembered the past.
Back then, to secure the position of Hokage, he had also sought the Daimyo Manor's support.
He knew the Daimyo's power was not only in nominal rule.
Economics was the most lethal weapon.
After all, everyone had to eat, ninja included.
But he had never thought this new Daimyo would refuse so decisively.
The other party did not bargain with Konoha.
He issued a notice.
They had all misjudged him.
A chilling memory flashed through Hiruzen's mind.
Just last month, he had received a plea for help from this Daimyo.
At that time, the struggle for the Daimyo's position was at its peak.
He had refused.
Cold sweat formed.
"Hiruzen! What are you hesitating for?!"
Danzo stepped closer, voice sinister. "Send the Anbu to warn him! Let him learn what co-governance means!"
"Foolish!"
Hiruzen slammed the desk, voice sharp.
Danzo stopped.
Hiruzen stared, eyes like blades. "Warn him? How?"
"Send an assassin? Then what? Make the nobles and civilians of the Land of Fire see Konoha as rebels? Let the other four nations laugh at us? Give them an excuse to declare war?"
"Without the Daimyo Manor's support, can the Village endure a war?"
The barrage left Danzo speechless.
Yes.
The other side was the legitimate Daimyo.
His reason for cutting the budget was national hardship and the need to overcome it together.
On what grounds could Konoha object?
Were Konoha ninja not people of the Land of Fire?
Justice and legitimacy were in his hands.
Konoha had strength, but its limbs were bound.
"Then… what do we do? Just accept it?" Homura asked, unwilling.
Hiruzen fell silent.
He walked to the window, looking at the Village below and the stone faces that symbolized the will of the Hokage.
For a long time, he exhaled a heavy breath.
"No."
"We cannot just let it go."
He turned back, once again composed like a ninja hero.
"I will personally resolve this."
Danzo's cane struck the ground. "How?"
Hiruzen picked up the invitation. "Do not publicize this for now. I will speak with the Daimyo at the coronation ceremony."
(To be continued.)
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