Of course, whether or not the daimyō of the Land of Fire would ultimately "dissolve in water" depended on the situation.
Although the current daimyō harbored ill will toward the Hidden Leaf, he had yet to take action. And given his personality, even if he did, it would be done with extreme caution—he would never take responsibility and would make sure to distance himself from any fallout.
A similar scenario occurred in the original Naruto anime, where the daimyō's subordinates suddenly accused the Hidden Leaf of being disrespectful and plotted to destroy it, aiming to claim all loyal retainers of the Land of Fire for the daimyō.
In the end, the villain failed, and he and his accomplices took the blame. The daimyō of the Land of Fire, as always, remained pristine and untouched, claiming no knowledge—"it was all the people below acting out of line." He remained pure as a white lotus.
Now that is the proper way a daimyō operates.
So even though Black Zetsu's manipulation had succeeded in stirring things up, it wouldn't yield results in the short term.
In fact, in some ways, what Black Zetsu did actually helped the Hidden Leaf begin to break free from the mental prison that had taken a thousand years to build.
That prison was the idea of daimyō supremacy—the deeply entrenched class hierarchy.
Even though the Hidden Leaf now seemed autonomous and possessed all the hallmarks of a complete and powerful independent government, most people still hadn't changed their mindset. They still viewed the nobility and the daimyō as naturally superior. The idea that the Hidden Leaf could not harm or challenge these nobles or their institutions persisted.
Under this kind of thinking, any call for revolution from the Hidden Leaf would provoke huge backlash—from both outside and within.
To change that, the old powers had to make the first move—by threatening the Leaf—so everyone would realize that these old forces would never truly accept coexistence. Everything the Leaf built would eventually be coveted and consumed by the daimyō and noble class.
Then, would they quietly surrender and give up their dignity and comfort, returning to the impoverished life of dogs? Or rise up in resistance?
Anyone who had tasted the benefits of the Hidden Leaf's version of shinobi-world industrialization would never want to go back.
And thus, a justified banner of rebellion would naturally fall into the Leaf's hands.
Don't underestimate the value of such legitimacy. Even in a cesspit like the shinobi world, a banner of righteousness could provide massive benefits—simplifying affairs and giving the Hidden Leaf's transformation undeniable legitimacy.
So when it came to the daimyō, Uchiha Kei simply had the White Zetsus keep watch and report any movements. Beyond that, he just needed to monitor Black Zetsu's actions.
Truthfully, Black Zetsu's movements were quite conflicted. He couldn't stray from the base beneath the Naka Shrine for too long. After all, Madara Uchiha had ordered him to remain there. Occasionally, he could slip away with an excuse, but being gone too long would raise suspicion.
So every time he left, he had to rush back quickly.
This time, for example, after tricking the daimyō of the Land of Fire, Black Zetsu had to hurry back to the Naka Shrine base.
It was clear he had other plans in motion, but time was short. He'd have to resume them after smoothing things over with Madara.
Incidentally, although Madara Uchiha was now hopelessly addicted to gaming, enjoying the joy of "spending time with his best friend's reincarnation," he never let go of his concern for the base. The Eye of the Moon Plan was still his obsession.
While his daily gaming sessions with "Muzi" had shaken his resolve a bit, there was no way Madara would abandon a dream he had clung to for decades.
So of course he kept monitoring the base, checking in regularly—sometimes even going in person.
That was the situation under which Black Zetsu had to carry out his scheming—deeply conflicted.
At present, there was no need to worry about Black Zetsu too much. The White Zetsus were watching him closely.
And just then, the Hidden Leaf received a new guest.
And this time, the guest's identity was far from ordinary—a guest of great importance to the Hidden Leaf.
It was the daimyō of the Land of Snow: Kazehana Sousetsu.
The daimyō, whose path had been changed by the Hidden Leaf's transformation, finally arrived at the village he had long yearned to see.
Originally, Kazehana Sousetsu should have arrived earlier with the escort from the Leaf. But due to an assassination and rebellion orchestrated by his brother, Kazehana Nadare—born of "world-shaking genius"—he had to delay his journey to clean up the mess.
After handling the aftermath and making necessary arrangements, he set off again and finally reached the Hidden Leaf.
Unlike other daimyōs, Kazehana Sousetsu had long been captivated by the transformations brought about by the Hidden Leaf. Upon arrival, seeing the innovations and learning of the Genjutsu Network's existence, he knew he had made the right decision.
He promptly submitted a proposal for deep cooperation to the Hokage's office.
Knowing the Land of Snow was a small nation, Kazehana Sousetsu understood he had to offer real value in exchange for cooperation. Without hesitation, he offered up their railway and train technologies—as well as other unique technologies not found elsewhere in the shinobi world.
It had to be said: the Land of Snow was the epitome of shinobi-world black-tech. Despite being a poor, small nation, they had developed train technology—something only industrial nations could manage. They had laid nationwide tracks and even developed weather control tech and chakra armor. Their tech tree was wildly advanced, though no one really knew how it had happened.
Frankly, Kazehana Sousetsu felt less like a daimyō and more like a researcher or engineer. When he introduced the Land of Snow's technologies, he was impressively professional—using technical jargon that surpassed even the understanding of most in the Hidden Leaf. Tsunade and the others had to call in a clone of Orochimaru to handle the negotiations.
Yes—a clone. The real Orochimaru was off in Rōran studying the Dragon Vein.
After a detailed conversation, Orochimaru's clone gave Sousetsu high praise. While not an unparalleled genius, the man was a top expert in his field.
If the Leaf could harness that kind of talent, it would be a massive boon for modernization.
When Uchiha Kei heard the news, he was stunned. He remembered this daimyō—though in the original, he was a complete background character, known only from flashbacks involving the movie heroine Kazehana Koyuki. He was a pure extra with no discernible talent.
Now that they had truly met, Kei realized the man was a technological genius. And unlike Sasori, his specialty lay in completely different fields. With his help, the Leaf could potentially create an entirely new technological system.
Unfortunately, he was still a daimyō. Even if he came seeking cooperation, there were limits. At most, they could exchange technologies—unless Sousetsu was willing to abandon his nation and come be an engineer in the Leaf.
Even if that didn't happen, the cooperation itself wasn't hindered. Sousetsu had offered enough sincerity, and his requests were reasonable—even beneficial to the Hidden Leaf.
For instance, the Hidden Leaf Game Guild would open branches in the Land of Snow, and the Leaf could purchase Snow's mineral resources at low prices. The Genjutsu Network could even expand to their country if the Leaf agreed.
Overall, the depth of cooperation was immense. When Kei read the proposed contract, he felt like he was looking at Gorbachev's policies—basically giving up everything but nominal sovereignty.
If this agreement went through, the Land of Snow's economy, culture, and politics would fall completely under the Leaf's influence—if not outright control.
Eventually, whether Kazehana Sousetsu remained daimyō would be up to the Hidden Leaf. It was shocking that such a plan came from Sousetsu himself.
Tsunade and the others were baffled but deeply impressed. Given his overwhelming willingness, they couldn't bring themselves to reject him.
Soon, the Land of Snow might well be renamed a vassal state—"Hidden Leaf Subdivision: Snow Province."
Honestly, no one could understand why Kazehana Sousetsu was doing this. Though he seemed more like an engineer than a daimyō, he clearly knew what he was doing—he wasn't some clueless political fool.
So why he chose this path... remained a mystery.
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