Hisakubo led the way, followed by the Palace Guard Captain. Haseo and Tsunade walked behind them. The four quickly arrived at the grand hall of the palace, now occupied by wandering ninja.
Some guards stood outside the main hall but chose not to provoke the ninja—it was clear they valued their lives.
At this moment, Hisakubo inwardly cursed the former Daimyo for "inviting a wolf into his house." This palace would now be *his* personal property, yet who knew what condition those wandering ninja would leave the main chamber in? Did he not have to pay for repairs? He had never felt this sense of ownership before, yet now his mindset had shifted—suddenly everything mattered because it was his to lose.
Of course, appearances still mattered. Hisakubo needed Konoha's support, so he wanted to leave a good impression on Haseo. As a result, his face wore an expression of concern for country and people all along—strange, considering he should have been grinning from ear to ear. Clearly, the man had decent self-control.
"Lord Haseo, we're here," he said once they reached the main hall. It was as if to say, "The rest is up to you now."
Truthfully, he still doubted Haseo's abilities just a little—he was such a young ninja after all.
There was always a gap between the world of civilians and that of ninja, and an even bigger one between the commoners in the Daimyo's Castle and those in Konoha. Haseo might be someone from the noble class, but in Hisakubo's eyes, an upper-level ninja like a Jonin should theoretically be the strongest type of ninja.
The soldiers parted to clear a path. As Haseo stepped forward, he saw how arrogant these rootless ninja were. They hadn't even bothered to shut the doors after taking over. From the entrance, the entire hall was visible.
Inside sat about a dozen or so ninja. Regardless of their actual strength, they struck quite impressive poses. Some were standing, some leaning, others sitting, with expressions ranging from cold indifference to open contempt. If you didn't know better, you might think they were part of the Akatsuki.
But the moment they spoke, their facade crumbled.
"Is anyone qualified to make decisions here? We only want the five billion ryo promised to us by the Daimyo earlier. Hand over the money, and we'll leave immediately. Otherwise… well, we can't guarantee what we might do next."
What a threat! They treated Konoha like nothing—truly absurd.
Ninja who could only intimidate ordinary people—what level did they really stand at?
These wandering ninja were asking for far too much. Even if you rounded up every last ancestor of theirs, they still wouldn't be worth five billion ryo. To be frank, that amount could practically hire the Third Hokage as a personal bodyguard. Even a Kage wouldn't consider it shameful to do guard duty for such a middle-tier sum. Did these clowns really deserve it?
"These people… why are they acting like this?"
Tsunade whispered quietly behind Haseo, struggling to understand why a bunch of wandering ninja would behave so dramatically, just like pretty boys posing around like pop stars.
Haseo mused to himself: Isn't this the same as someone in a casino who keeps gambling despite constant losses, always believing the next round will turn things around? That kind of thinking was even more ridiculous. But he couldn't say that out loud—never hit someone where it hurts most; saying such things might capsize the boat of friendship.
"They probably didn't expect Konoha's ninja could arrive this quickly. Against regular people, they could certainly afford to be arrogant, but only when facing regular people.
Just be careful when dealing with them. Don't kill anyone—half-dead is fine… at most, don't go beyond three-quarters dead."
The hell kind of description is that?
But the battle itself wasn't worth discussing much further. Haseo didn't even bother giving his usual cautious reminders. The two stepped into the main hall, and within two minutes there was a clatter of sounds—ding-dong, done-deed—and all the enemies were already lying on the floor.
It really felt like, "Didn't even break a sweat and you were already down."
"Lord Hisakubo, please temporarily lock up these people. They pose no threat anymore. Later I'll notify Konoha to send an interrogation squad… whatever they know, they'll have to tell eventually."
Haseo clapped his hands together, then walked out of the main hall and said to Lord Hisakubo.
The enemies really posed no threats anymore—each one paralyzed from the waist up. Ordinary guards would be more than enough to handle them… although, honestly, what intel could this group even have? Sending an interrogation team over was merely to show Daimyo's Castle how seriously Konoha took the matter. In reality, these wandering ninjas weren't even worth covering the interrogation team's travel expenses.
Hisakubo sucked in a cold breath. Those wandering ninjas had beaten the regular guards like they were helpless children, while Haseo and his young companion treated the wandering ninjas the same way—as if hitting helpless children. So then… Wasn't it obvious? Wasn't the previous Daimyo just plain crazy for not clinging tightly to Konoha's support? After all, the roles of the Daimyo and the Hokage weren't conflicting at all.
Lord Hisakubo was clearly the smart one. This very thought of his aligned perfectly with what Konoha and the Hokage most hoped for.
The Daimyo's first-in-line successor waved dismissively at the surrounding guards, signaling them to lock the idiotic group away. Then he also dismissed the Palace Guard Captain, leaving only himself, Haseo, and Tsunade remaining at the entrance of the main hall.
"Lord Haseo, now that matters have reached this point, I'll speak plainly. If we can't extract any intelligence from these wandering ninjas, then the cause of Lord Chiyo's death may prove difficult to trace. As you said, the crime scene offered far too little evidence."
Haseo nodded, signaling him to continue.
"Therefore, selecting the next Daimyo has become urgent… I won't beat around the bush. Right now, in terms of status and background, I should be the most suitable candidate for the next Daimyo.
However, the key factor lies in Konoha's stance—and particularly, the honorable Third Hokage's view. May I ask… how can I gain Konoha's support?"
Haseo chuckled. For a politician to be this open and direct was truly rare… mainly because Hisakubo held fairly orthodox views—he believed Konoha and the Daimyo had no fundamental conflict of interests, representing two sides of the same coin within a single nation.
"Lord Hisakubo, although I'm only a Jonin and cannot decide the Hokage's stance, gaining the village's support is actually very simple—it all comes down to one sentence: the authority of the Daimyo belongs to the Daimyo, and the authority of the Hokage belongs to the Hokage. As long as this principle is upheld, there's no reason for the Third Hokage not to support you. As you've said yourself, you're already the most suitable candidate for the next Daimyo."
"The authority of the Daimyo belongs to the Daimyo, and the authority of the Hokage belongs to the Hokage," said Haseo. "The previous Daimyo died precisely because he failed to understand this simple truth. The most likely conflict between the ninja village and the Daimyo is merely about budget allocation from the Land of Fire to the Hidden Leaf Village, but such issues are entirely negotiable. Under normal circumstances, bloodshed isn't even necessary."
"When the Land of Fire faces financial difficulties, any sane Hokage would avoid demanding more money from the Daimyo. If necessary, even the village's budget could be reduced… Fortunately, until now, the Hidden Leaf has never had funding problems. Thanks to the Land of Fire's prosperity, the Hidden Leaf has the largest budget of any ninja village."
"Compared to poor countries like the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire is fundamentally different."
Lord Hisakubo smiled. He harbored no hostility toward the ninja village, and as long as the Hokage channel existed, the ninja village could still serve the Daimyo. So why forcefully involve himself in village affairs? What if Konoha retaliated against him?
What Haseo had just explained— that principle — was something Hisakubo had never even considered violating.
"As for the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village, they were unjustly expelled previously. I hope the Third Hokage can send them back. As you can see, the Daimyo's Castle does require such a protective force."
"After the assassination of the previous Daimyo, the new Daimyo naturally pays more attention to personal security. In this aspect, ninja from the Hidden Leaf are definitely much more reliable than wild ninjas… Look at how strong these two kids are—just imagine how awesome the adults must be!"
The death of the former Daimyo clearly produced an excellent deterrent effect. Haseo suddenly had an idea and continued, "Lord Hisakubo, the guardian ninja will definitely return. The Third Hokage has no reason to leave the head of state vulnerable. However… despite their strength, the guardian ninja may still have blind spots. Security is no matter to take lightly."
"So, Lord Hisakubo, are you interested in a bit more security?"
Hisakubo blinked and replied, "What exactly do you mean, Lord Haseo?"
"A barrier, Lord Hisakubo. Would you like to set up a Defensive Barrier around the Palace? With both the Defensive Barrier and the guardian ninja working together, the Palace would become as secure as a fortress, matching the safety level of the Hidden Leaf Village itself."
That was nothing but outright swindling and trickery. Konoha doesn't have any real security worth talking about. Who knows how many times it would be invaded in the future?
"…Is something like that even possible?" Instantly intrigued, Lord Hisakubo asked. He was about to seize the highest power in the country, so investing in his own personal safety wasn't unreasonable, right?
"Of course we can do it. In Konoha, my department specializes in exactly this kind of work—we've handled this kind of task before for many top-secret departments. If needed, we can even offer three different plans: K-300, K-400, and K500.
The K-300's a bit dated but budget-friendly and solid enough. The K-400 is the most mature system—Konoha's standard protective barrier. And the K-500 uses cutting-edge technology. It's the strongest and most advanced system we have—the Hokage's personal residence uses this one.
The defensive power and pricing vary between the three systems."
Haseo Yu, a Konoha Jonin, was smooth-talking and unflinchingly dishonest—a perfect arms dealer.
But…should they charge money for this? Of course they should! Would the next Daimyo feel safe using an unpaid installation?
Tsunade was completely shocked. She knew Shadow Flow had many Uzumaki ninja, so setting up barriers wouldn't be a problem. What amazed her, though, was that Haseo was actually taking on private jobs like this for himself.
Lord Hisakubo began hesitating. These systems sounded expensive, and naturally he'd hesitate when considering his own wallet.
Until Haseo spoke the next sentence.
"If possible…I will arrange for the Third to personally visit the Daimyo's Castle, showing Konoha Village's proper attitude toward the new Daimyo's succession."
Without hesitation, Haseo offered up the Third Hokage himself.
"Deal.
Give me the most expensive one."
With just those words, Lord Hisakubo immediately agreed to Haseo's proposal.
See? Arms deals with political strings attached? Those are always the easiest ones to close.
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