Power didn't come from chakra alone.
Sometimes, it came from fear — carefully shaped and politely delivered.
The Fire Capital rose before me in layers of stone and red lacquer, banners snapping in the wind. Samurai guards watched my approach, hands resting near their blades as I stepped from the carriage, the Hokage cloak unmistakable.
I was young.
New.
Unknown.
And that was exactly why this would work.
The Fire Daimyo's court was… fragile.
Silk-robed nobles whispered behind fans. Advisors leaned close to one another, already weighing my value before I spoke a single word. At the center sat the Daimyo himself — soft hands, careful eyes, and a man who had never fought a war personally.
Perfect.
I bowed — not deeply.
Respectful, but not submissive.
"Hokage of the Hidden Leaf," I introduced myself calmly."I appreciate your time."
The Daimyo smiled politely. "Konoha is… newly established, is it not?"
There it was.
The doubt.
I nodded. "Yes. Which is why this meeting matters."
I didn't begin with strength.
I began with uncertainty.
I spoke of borders first.
"The shinobi villages are… unstable," I said, pacing slowly across the polished floor."New powers. New leaders. Ambitions not yet understood."
A noble scoffed. "You exaggerate."
I turned to him — Sharingan inactive, expression mild.
"Do I?" I asked softly."Tell me — which village would you trust to protect you if war began tomorrow?"
Silence.
I let it stretch.
Psychology 101: People fill silence with fear.
I continued.
"The Leaf Village sits closest to your capital. If chaos erupts… we will be the first line of defense."
The Daimyo's fingers tightened on his armrest.
I pivoted — gently — toward reassurance.
"But defense requires preparation."
I never asked outright.
I framed inevitability.
"Mission flow strengthens shinobi," I explained."Access to population increases recruitment.""Funding stabilizes loyalty."
Every sentence was neutral. Logical. Unemotional.
Then came the manipulation.
"If the Fire Country's strongest shield collapses," I said quietly,"another village will step in."
The room stiffened.
"And that village," I added, eyes flicking to the nobles,"may not be loyal to you."
Fear bloomed — subtle, but unmistakable.
The Daimyo exhaled slowly.
"What… exactly are you proposing, Hokage?"
I smiled — just slightly.
By the end of the meeting, the agreements were signed.
Not because I demanded them.
Because they believed they were choosing safety.
Fire Daimyo Agreement — Ratified
✅ Priority Mission Allocation to Konoha
✅ Open Recruitment Across Fire Country
✅ Biannual Monetary Fund (Class 2A)
✅ Political Backing in Case of Conflict
The system chimed immediately.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⭐ System NotificationMajor Political Achievement CompletedReward: +500 System PointsVillage Influence: Significantly Increased━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I didn't react outwardly.
Inside, I was already calculating.
On the return trip, the chat group lit up.
Lily: Wait. You did WHAT?Callum: You got MONEY already?!Elijah: That fast?!Shaden: …Isaac, you scare me sometimes.
I typed calmly:
Isaac: Nations fear instability more than weakness.We just positioned ourselves as stability.
There was a pause.
Then:
Lily: Remind me never to negotiate against you.Callum: Same.Elijah: He's going to win, isn't he?Shaden: Not if the God interferes.
I stared out the carriage window at the forests rushing past.
"Oh, he will," I murmured.
Back in Konoha, the system updated again.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🏯 Hidden Leaf Village — Updated StatusPopulation Growth: UnlockedRecruitment Pool: Expanded (Fire Country)Monthly Income: EstablishedOverall Power Trajectory: Rising━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
No legends.
No clans.
Yet.
But I had something far more dangerous:
Momentum.
And when the God got bored of watching villages grow?
That's when I'd give him something truly entertaining.
I opened the system menu and hovered my finger over one option.
🌌 Inter-World Portal — Marvel
"Soon," I whispered.