"Hokage, what do you mean?"
The eldest son of the Daimyō of the Land of Fire trembled as he stepped forward to ask.
His father had been killed by the Hokage—was he planning to wipe out the roots as well?
Even though he was terrified out of his mind, he still forced himself to remain calm.
"Everyone, don't panic. Just go back and wait quietly."
Danzō's expression was indifferent, as if he hadn't seen the horrific scene inside the hall.
The Daimyō's sons knew they had no way to escape and could only gather nervously at the center.
Renya sat leisurely in his seat, completely ignoring the Daimyō's corpse at his feet.
"Uuuu… Father… uuu…"
Several younger children burst into tears. Just as they were about to cry out loudly, a few older boys covered their mouths.
The moment the children noticed Renya's gaze, they immediately stopped crying, only sobbing quietly as they sniffled.
One could say Renya was terrifying enough to stop babies from crying at night.
"The Daimyō's children are at least well-trained."
"I do not know, sir, what is it that you want?" The eldest son stepped forward and bowed.
He could tell that the one who truly decided their fate was the young man seated on the chair—not the Third Hokage standing by the door.
In other words, only by pleasing him did they have a chance to live.
Whether his younger brothers lived or died didn't matter. As long as he survived, that was enough.
The one before him was the powerful shinobi who had killed his father; he didn't even have the courage to resist.
Rather than throw an egg at a stone, better to cling desperately to life.
"You're a bit smarter than your dead old man." Renya said with some appreciation.
Though… not exactly smart.
If the Daimyō had known his fate beforehand, he definitely wouldn't have acted so high and mighty.
Unfortunately, there were no 'ifs'.
He had run into someone who didn't give a damn about 'shinobi honor', and could only accept his terrible luck.
Fortunately, the Daimyō's children had seen their father's gruesome end—they wouldn't dare act recklessly.
Their dead father was lying right there.
Even the stupidest person wouldn't dare step forward and seek death now.
"Shinobi-sama, whatever orders you have, I will fulfill them as best I can."
The eldest son lowered himself as much as possible.
"Even if I can't, I will still do everything in my power…"
He just wanted to survive in front of this powerful shinobi—nothing more.
As long as he lived, no price was too high!
"It's nothing major." Renya said calmly. "As you can see, your old man was killed by me."
Everyone lowered their heads, bodies trembling. No one dared to speak.
—Afraid that saying the wrong thing would get them killed.
For a moment, the great hall became silent enough to hear a pin drop.
"Your father is dead. The next Daimyō will be chosen from among you, correct?"
"Y-yes, Shinobi-sama…" The eldest son forced down his terror as he answered.
He didn't know what exactly Renya wanted, but it was clearly related to the previous Daimyō.
Whether it would be a blessing or a curse, he had no idea.
"In that case, which of you will be the Daimyō? Step forward and let me see."
Immediately, everyone's gaze turned to the eldest son, who had already stepped forward earlier.
"Sir, in theory, with Father gone, I would succeed the position of Daimyō."
The eldest son smiled bitterly.
"Do you know why your father died?" Renya suddenly asked.
"I… I don't…" The eldest son lowered his head.
"He refused to provide Konoha Village with the large amount of funding we required."
Renya's eyes examined him as he asked with a light smile,
"I wonder, future Daimyō-sama, whether you'd be willing to allocate some funds to the village?"
"W-willing! I'm absolutely willing!"
The eldest son immediately lifted his head and spoke excitedly.
"Konoha's shinobi protect the Land of Fire from foreign invasion—naturally I wouldn't be stingy with a little money!"
"And how much would that 'little money' be?"
Shimura Danzō's raspy voice came from the doorway.
"Five billion—no, ten billion!" the eldest son blurted out loudly.
Renya's expression didn't change at all. He simply stared at him.
"No… twenty billion!"
Renya began idly picking at his nails, appearing not to hear him.
The eldest son instantly guessed Renya's true purpose.
Although he hated it deep down, if it was the price of survival, then so be it.
Thud—
He prostrated himself on the floor and shouted:
"Shinobi-sama! After I become the Daimyō, I am willing to put forth every bit of funding beyond the bare minimum expenses, all to support the development of Konoha Village!"
Renya finally stopped fidgeting. He enthusiastically helped the eldest son up, showing a rare smile.
"Thank you, Daimyō-sama, for supporting the village. Konoha Village will forever be loyal to the Land of Fire—loyal to Daimyō-sama!"
Absolutely loyal!!!
The eldest son: "…"
Forever loyal to the Daimyō?
Shall we ask the one lying dead on the floor whether he believes that?
If that were true, Father wouldn't be lying there in the first place.
"Hahaha, I naturally trust the village's loyalty!" The eldest son forced a smile as well.
Inside, he was cursing them all to hell, but outwardly he smiled happily.
The other children saw this and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Money? Fine. As long as they could stay alive.
"Right, Daimyō-sama." Renya lowered his voice, as if remembering something. "I hope that only you in the Daimyō's residence will know about this matter…"
The eldest son's smile froze. He instinctively looked toward his brothers behind him.
Renya gently patted the back of his hand and smiled.
"You understand what I'm saying, right?"
"I… I understand…" The eldest son seemed to have made up his mind.
As long as he lived, that was enough. The others… their luck was simply bad.
"Daimyō-sama is truly wise." Renya smiled. "I believe under your enlightened rule, the Land of Fire will surely prosper completely."
"You flatter me, sir."
"Don't… don't call me sir. You are the sir."
"You may call me Renya."
"G-got it, Renya-sama…"
"Daimyō-sama, we won't disturb you further. Please don't forget the agreement between us."
"Rest assured, Renya-sama!"
"Alright, let's head back." Renya said to his two companions.
Danzō and Hiruzen nodded and left with Renya.
As for the maids—they had already been dealt with by Danzō.
A few days later, news spread from the Daimyō's residence.
During a family banquet, the Daimyō and his sons had been poisoned.
Only the eldest son survived by sheer luck, though he was also severely injured.
Fortunately, after some time recuperating, his body gradually recovered.
The position of Daimyō naturally passed to the eldest son.
His first act after assuming office was to order a full investigation into the poisoner.
Unfortunately, the mastermind was never found.
"Tch, isn't this excuse way too flimsy?"
In the Hokage office, Danzō looked at the report and couldn't help complaining.
"I think it's fine. Poor eldest son. Not only did he lose his father, he lost all his brothers as well, and has no choice but to inherit the cold, lonely seat of the Daimyō."
Renya sighed with emotion.
Danzō: "…"