The beautiful Senju Princess sat in the main seat. As Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi approached, she raised her hand and waved.
With a resounding "thwack," a thick stack of documents was slapped onto the ground at their feet.
Immediately after, the beautiful Princess from behind the desk spoke in a sweet voice, "Look... this is our Senju clan's casualty list from the past six months. If you want intelligence, there's no need to be so sneaky; you could have just asked me directly."
Tamayo Nara's expression was grim; she lowered her head, making no move.
Aburame Aoi silently knelt down, picked up the documents from the ground, and began to read them.
Unlike other ninja clans who recorded events on scrolls,
the Senju clan seemed to use a flip-page register.
Opening the casualty register,
they saw pages and pages of bound forms.
Neatly listed in the grids were names, specific addresses, and causes of death.
The format was simple and clear; apart from the names and specific addresses of Senju clan members, the 'cause of death' section was entirely blank.
Perhaps, with the rapidly changing situation on the battlefield, it was already difficult enough to retrieve the bodies of the deceased during cleanup, so few bothered to dwell on the cause of death.
But if that were the case, why specifically create a 'cause of death' category and leave such a large blank space for writing?
Tamayo Nara, knowing this beautiful Princess before her, was well aware that the Senju Princess would never do anything superfluous.
Clearly, this 'cause of death' section must have a purpose.
Aburame Aoi, unlike the calculating Tamayo Nara, innocently asked, "What is this?"
The beautiful Princess smiled genially, "This is our Senju clan's de-registration ledger. The Senju clan has special household registration; we record how many households there are in total, and how many people are in each household."
"This register will be submitted to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. The Senju clan pays taxes to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire based on our income-earning workforce."
"Therefore, establishing household registration is mandatory. And if someone within a household dies, naturally, de-registration procedures must be carried out to report to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire that this household's workforce has passed away, and thus their taxes will naturally be less than before."
"With such clear and concise records, His Excellency the Daimyo might not necessarily look at them, but we must ensure they are available when he needs them."
Upon hearing this, Tamayo Nara's brows furrowed.
Because the information revealed by the Senju Princess was a bit too abstract, too far ahead of its time.
What on earth was this about paying taxes to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire...?
What did this... mean?
Was the Senju clan paying protection money for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's patronage?
Would a clan as powerful as the Senju lower themselves to seek protection from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire?
Huh?
Weren't the Daimyo of various countries just wealthy, frail ordinary people?
Countless thoughts flashed uncontrollably through Tamayo Nara's mind. She suddenly understood something and froze.
They heard the Senju Princess continue with a laugh, "Of course, this de-registration ledger, submitted to His Excellency the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, is merely for confirming tax amounts and for auditing. But for the Senju clan, it holds another layer of meaning, which I don't mind telling you."
"You must be wondering, if the cause of death isn't important, why is 'cause of death' explicitly written at the back of the register, and completely blank?"
She paused after saying this, falling silent.
Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi also remained silent.
However, this eerie silence didn't last long.
The Senju Princess didn't let them ponder for too long. She chuckled, "Naturally, this item is useless in peacetime, but in times of war, it holds significant meaning."
Upon hearing this, both Aburame Aoi and Tamayo Nara's expressions turned exceedingly strange.
"If our Senju clan were to fall due to various uncontrollable reasons, and be annihilated by those targeting our clan, then the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, who has become our 'closest kin,' would take action, doing everything in his power to wipe out the ninja clan that massacred our entire household."
Indeed...
Tamayo Nara gazed deeply at the silver-haired beauty before her.
Perhaps the Daimyo themselves were seemingly frail individuals, but this group had dominated the Ninja World for a long time, especially the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. The Land of Fire was rich, and its lord was at least adept at management, possessing immense wealth.
The Daimyo themselves might have no combat prowess, but the wealth and power in their hands allowed them to acquire more strength.
The Daimyo didn't need to act personally; they could spend money to target a specific ninja clan through various means.
In the Ninja World, the base population of ordinary people was still too vast.
Furthermore, in recent years, ninja clans fighting each other had led to mutual attrition, leaving few truly strong individuals, and monsters like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were exceedingly rare.
Moreover, Senju Hashirama was now the Daimyo's 'closest kin.'
As the Senju Princess said, the annihilation of the Senju clan by another ninja clan was simply impossible.
To destroy the Senju clan, one would not only have to defeat the god-like Senju Hashirama but also Uchiha Madara, who fought alongside him. Most importantly, one would have to contend with the beautiful Senju Princess before them.
The mere thought of it was despair-inducing.
However...
Before the two young women could even fully process the first statement,
the Senju Princess spoke again, "Of course... this is merely a hypothetical. As it stands, across the entire Ninja World, no ninja clan is currently capable of defeating our Senju clan."
Upon hearing this, Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi involuntarily swallowed.
"Therefore, no matter what, it's always the other enemies who will lose, and this de-registration register will naturally find its purpose."
A brilliant smile appeared on the Senju Princess's face. "Any ninja clan I defeat, I will not allow them to be annihilated. I will demand compensation from them!"
"Compensation... means...?" Tamayo Nara stared blankly at the Senju Princess.
The Princess's red lips, stained with flower nectar, uttered a devilish whisper, "Exactly as you're thinking, the literal meaning: compensation. Compensation according to the casualty list, ten million ryo per person."
"And the 'cause of death' section, originally blank in this de-registration register, will uniformly state that they died fighting against the defeated ninja clan."
Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi shuddered.
This was no mere de-registration register.
It was clearly a thick list of extortion.
Tamayo Nara understood.
The deceased on this de-registration list might include those who died of old age naturally, or from everyday accidents; they certainly wouldn't all be battlefield casualties.
But as long as this list existed, however the Senju Princess declared they died, that's how they died. All of it traceable, just without a specific time.
The cause of death could be inscribed after the 'defeated dogs' surrendered, thereby generating data for subsequent compensation. It was about generating data, not evidence; no evidence was needed, just a number.
Other ninja clans targeting the Senju clan:
If they won, they would be targeted by the Daimyo, ultimately losing everything.
If they lost, they would be extorted by the Senju, ultimately losing their fortunes.
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