Akashi and his retinue arrived at the capital of the land of fire a few days later.
A few ministers and nobles of the land of fire were at the door when they received the Convo.
"Good morning Lord Uzumaki, Hope you had a safe journey," an obese minister in fine clothes asked politely as he greeted Kuroko
Beside him, Akashi, with his advanced mind eye, could feel that in truth, the fat guy and a few behind were disappointed to see them alive.
"Of course, the travel was safe, though I must admit that I am a little tired, those kinds of long journeys are not good for my old bones," Kuroko said with a smile.
Akashi had no doubt that the old man could also feel what he was feeling, but the way he responded with a smile and joked with the people who tried to kill them amazed him somewhat; he hadn't yet reached that level.
After a few greeting they made their way inside the capital.
The capital of the land of fire was at least ten times bigger than Konoha that Akashi had seen a few years ago.
The city was big, full of houses, shops, stalls, noble houses, and the castle of the Fire Daimyo in the center of the city.
The city, like Konoha, had a traditional beauty to it; it was obvious that Konoha was inspired by it.
Citizens and merchants were joyously bustling about in peace.
"It's really a beautiful city, no wonder Konoha copied it," Maric in the carriage with Akashi Kuroko and the delegation of the land of fire said
"Hahaha...yes indeed"
"True, true, the city is charming, we are proud of it, and we will continue to do our best to protect it,"
Maric's sentence instantly put the members of the fire delegation in a good mood, and the discussion flowed more easily.
'The city is indeed beautiful, but each city has its bad side,' Akashi thought with a sigh, with his mind's eye activated, Akashi could see the dark side of the city.
Not too far away, the slum where malnourished and abandoned children, women, and men lived in a precarious situation.
Even in the center of the city he could feel despair and pain.
Akashi's mind eye was growing with him, and he was starting to feel the rot in people's hearts, he was capable of controlling it.
During the few minutes that they spent on the road with the ministers serving as guides, they saw a little of the city, and they even saw a few establishments with the whirlpool of their clan on them.
Soon they arrived at the massive estate that the Uzumaki had in the capital
"We kept it as it was for our dear friends... Have a good day,"
The fat minister said before leaving with his comrades.
In the estate
"I am surprised that that estate hasn't been destroyed and looted," Akashi said comfortably seated on a cushion
"They did... They just rebuilt it later when we resumed cooperation," Maric responded
"Ah, yeah understandable," Akashi nodded, it was more logical
"So, what do you think of the city?" Kuroko from his tatami mat asked Akashi
"Well, I am surprised. I understand why Konoba had respect for the Daimyo and didn't just take over the land of fire"
Kuroko nodded slowly satisfied
"So you felt them, huh, the Samurais"
"How could I miss them...they are absolutely everywhere!!" he responded seriously.
During his journey, he had kept his mind eyes activated, and he was shocked by the sheer amount of Samurai present in the capital.
"About forty thousand samurai, monks, and ninjas were in the capital; this number is astronomical."
"Fourty thousands!!" Maric's eyes were about to pop out at that insane number
In comparison, Konoba, the strongest ninja village, had about twenty thousand ninjas.
He realized that the Naruto community of his previous life was full of shit, the people who thought that the Daimyo didn't have armies were completely wrong.
The Fire Daimyo was an idiot, but he was a rich Idiot, like all powerful nobles, he had his own private army, or they would have been torn apart by his own citizens and fellow nobles long ago.
"He has twice the number of ninjas that Konoha possesses,"
"This is just in the capital, there are other cities and nobles in the land of fire," Kuroko explained calmly
"This is the real power of a Daimyo, huh, not bad,"
"I always looked down on them, the Daimyos I mean, I thought that the only reason they remained in power was that ninjas are too stupid to effectively rule an entire nation, because of tradition. I guess I was the stupid one," Akashi confessed
"Yeah, now you know not to underestimate them, even though they aren't very powerful, the sheer number of people the Daimyo command is staggering, this is why the ninja villages are still subservient to the Daimyo, someone like Hashirama Senju could have changed that but... this isn't the kind of man he is."
"I understand,"
After that, they discussed other things, expanding Akashi's worldview before resting.
The next few days were very relaxing for Akashi and the rest.
Akashi explored the capital, and the atmosphere was festive after the Daimyo was about to take a new concubine.
Merchants could be seen everywhere preparing their stands for the days of the ceremony, while new faces could be seen arriving.
Even before the ceremony, taking advantage of their presence in the capital and the influx of people, the Uzumaki used their mind eyes and money to deepen their relations with the nobles from everywhere.
Akashi visited a few of the weapons shops that had been opened in the capital by his clan to see what could be ameliorated or changed, while using the astronomical amount of money that those shops gave to buy all sorts of food or souvenirs.
Sumarely Akashi was living a good life, something he rarely did as he spent most of his time training or dissecting people.
A few days later Akashi woke up to a bright and festive atmosphere.
The city was brightly lit, and the streets were festive and filled with happy people.
The stands were opened selling everything from food to souvenirs.
Some children even woke up unusually early and, with their families, could already be seen in their most beautiful attire.
"Isn't it a little too early to be so animated?" Akashi, standing on the second floor of his estate, in an exquisite kimono, looked at the people walking below.
"They don't enjoy much free time not a celebration in the year, so it's normal that they get excited," Kuroko seated not far away said
"True,"
In that world, holidays didn't exist.
"Let's go." Once everyone was ready, they boarded their carriage, and under the escort of the ninja of Uzushiogakure, Akashi, Maric, and old man Kuroko made their way toward the castle.
It didn't take long for the group to arrived to the castle.
The Daimyo palace was a massive, paragon of luxury and opulence, mostly traditional, but there was a touch of modernity in it; for example, there were electric lamps and a chandelier.
'Of course they have electricity,' Akashi thought, he would have been surprised if the Daimyo didn't have it, but he could also feel that it was a symbol of status.
After all, only noble houses could afford it in their houses.
Soon Akashi and the Uzumaki were approached by a group of nobles looking to deepen their relationship with them
"Good morning, my Lord, hope that you are doing well?" A middle-aged noble asked
"This is my daughter, Hinako, isn't she beautiful?!" He asked with a proud smile but Akashi could see the hidden glint in the man's eyes
'A honey trap, she is a little too small for that,' Akashi thought he knew perfectly well their intentions
" Good morning, my Lord," Hinako said performing a perfect bow
"Good morning, Hinako, Lord Makoto, I am Akashi Uzumaki, nice to meet you," Akashi responded with an innocent smile, acting like a well-behaved and ordinary polite child.
Soon they were surrounded by other nobles and Daimyos from other villages and their children, trying to establish a relationship.
Some were even openly trying to sell their daughters to Akashi.
Nothing changed the fact that old man Kuroko and Akashi remained polite after all, they too were trying to establish a good relationship with other nobles.
But of course, some looked at them with disdain, envy, disgust, or even hatred.
Even surrounded by people chatting Also sharp hearing allowed him to hear the insults directed at them
"Looked at them, they have no right to be here, they are mere ninjas,"
"Dirty tools,"
"Stupid monsters," they barked in anger
Akashi didn't mind or care about them he looked around, as his gaze scanned their room he saw
Another noble, another group of nobles, a pr
That continued for a while until
"So you are here, not too bored?"
The rough voice of Mikami Uchiha sounded behind Akashi.
"Good morning grandpa Mikami, it has been a few weeks," Akashi said hugging the old man
With the ameliorated version of the summoning technique, Mikami could sneak out of Konoba from time to time.
"I didn't expect to see you here?"
"I didn't plan to come; this kind of event bores me, but something happened."
Mikami's sentence just ended when
"Lords and ladies, fellow Daimyo I present to you the Fire Daimyo and the noble lady Sara,"
The powerful voice of a samurai sounded in the room, silencing it. The curtains opened, revealing the two stars of the day.
Lady was a great beauty, young, elegant, soft, and radiant, the perfect noble lady.
The Daimyo, however, was an ugly middle-aged man with seemingly nothing impressive, at least it was how he appeared, but Akashi could see that he had a hidden sharpness to him.
"Not bad... for an ordinary man!"
Not far away from where the couple was, another group of distinguished guests was present.
"Daimyos of the land of thunder, earth, and... The fat one the Daimyo of the land of wind!?"
Akashi questioned as the official ceremony started under the blessing of an official of the fire temple.
"Are you surprised that an obese man is the leader of a desert nation," Mikami asked his red-haired grandson
"I was surprised the first time I saw him. You will get used to it." He said before the old man's voice turned colder. His gaze turned toward a somewhat hidden corner of the room
"Do you see them?" Mikami asked
"I do!! Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimira Danzo!"
The presence of those two old geezers made his blood boil.