"Elder Statesman, what brings you here?"
Senju Tobirama immediately stood up and greeted the visitor upon seeing his face.
The Elder Statesman of the Land of Fire had come to Konoha in person. Even Senju Tobirama, who was second only to one and above ten thousand in Konoha, had to treat him with courtesy.
After all, although ninja were formidable fighters, their political status was low.
The Elder Statesman, on the other hand, was essentially at the pinnacle of a country's secular power, the first person under the Daimyō, truly second to one and above ten thousand... Moreover, Konoha's annual budget required the Elder Statesman's personal signature before the Land of Fire's Ministry of Finance would approve the funds.
How could the contractor not curry favor with the client?
As a veteran ninja, Senju Tobirama could tell at a glance that the Elder Statesman was clearly not in a good state.
Akatsuki Village's subsequent series of extremely "excessive" actions—purchasing land at low prices, providing disaster relief, winning the hearts of the people... had filled the Elder Statesman with rage.
This was blatant political meddling!
But Uchiha Makoto had left them with no evidence to grab onto.
All the bad deeds were done by Takigakure; it had nothing to do with Akatsuki Village. Until conclusive evidence was presented, whoever dared to throw mud at Akatsuki Village was courting death!
Buying flooded land at a low price was a normal business transaction... Praise be to the invisible hand of Hayek!
Providing disaster relief was because these farmers were employees of the Arasaka Corporation, and a company providing food and lodging for its employees was an even more normal business practice. Besides, rescuing disaster victims was an absolute golden signboard that no one could criticize.
As for winning the hearts of the people?
That was even more baseless. You couldn't blame Akatsuki Village just because the local old farmers said a few nice words of flattery.
If you can do it, you do it!
Could a merchant meddling in politics be the same as a warrior meddling in politics?
As long as Uchiha Makoto did not openly stand against the Land of Fire, did not blatantly reveal his identity to murder the nobles of the Land of Fire...
This paper-thin veil would never be broken.
For now, it was just the classic salami-slicing tactic.
So, although the Elder Statesman was full of anger, he had nowhere to vent it. Nevertheless, he maintained his composure and exchanged pleasantries with Senju Tobirama as usual.
Their relationship was actually quite good.
Ever since Konoha had been rebuffed by the Land of Fire's Daimyō and had been inexplicably disliked by him, Senju Tobirama had subconsciously wanted to build a good relationship with the country's high-level officials... You can offend anyone, but you can't offend the wealthy client!
The Elder Statesman was also a perceptive man. He tacitly played good cop, bad cop with the Daimyō, maintaining close communication with Konoha.
"Tobirama, you don't look too well."
"Ah... it's just some official business in Konoha... but it's nothing compared to you, Elder Statesman. You have the entire Land of Fire in your heart..."
Senju Tobirama silently averted his gaze, barely managing to respond. He was truly suffering... but he couldn't air his family's dirty laundry in public... His brother was, after all, his brother!
"You're too kind... it's not easy for anyone."
"But... Elder Statesman, what's wrong today? You came to Konoha so suddenly and unannounced... Is there something you need to entrust to Konoha?"
The Elder Statesman's appearance, and his unannounced arrival, clearly indicated a problem.
As the ninja village protecting the Land of Fire, Senju Tobirama immediately stepped forward, wanting to help the Elder Statesman with his worries and strive for a few more small goals next year!
The Elder Statesman's expression changed as the sore spot was touched. He looked at Senju Tobirama.
"A noble family of the Qinghua lineage in the Land of Fire was attacked by ninja. The entire family was tragically killed overnight, with no survivors..."
"The Daimyō is furious and demands that Konoha thoroughly investigate this matter. It is listed as an S-rank mission with a reward of one hundred million ryō. No matter what, these people must be found and made to pay the price!!"
The Elder Statesman angrily slammed his fist on the table to show his anger.
Senju Tobirama couldn't help but exclaim in his heart... a big order has arrived!
The Daimyō is truly a Daimyō, so rich!
To throw out one hundred million ryō, this was definitely the highest-paying mission Konoha had ever received!
And this mission was personally issued by the Land of Fire's Daimyō, specifically requesting Konoha to complete it. This was a test of Konoha's abilities.
No matter what, this mission had to be completed beautifully.
And so, Senju Tobirama frowned, roughly analyzing the situation based on the available information.
Logically speaking, the major figures of the Land of Fire were well-protected. They kept a group of elites who were ready to die for their masters at a moment's notice.
This was even more so for such a prominent family.
Overnight...
The entire family being killed was no ordinary assassination. It must have been the work of one, or even a group of, powerful ninja.
"Elder Statesman, do you have any clues on your end?"
"A Takigakure ninja's headband was left at the scene."
"That's great... ahem... I mean, the Takigakure ninja are simply heinous and unforgivable. Elder Statesman, rest assured, Konoha will complete this mission beautifully!"
Upon hearing the name Takigakure, Senju Tobirama's face immediately lit up with excitement and surprise, only to perform a lightning-fast change of expression... someone's entire family had been killed, and he was so happy. This was truly too rude.
But even with a sorrowful expression, the excitement in Senju Tobirama's words was hard to conceal. This was truly a pillow coming to a sleepy man.
He was just worrying about not having a reason to persuade his brother to attack Takigakure.
Now, the Takigakure ninja had gone a step further and slaughtered a great noble family of the Land of Fire.
To commit such an inhuman act...
They deserved to be punished by heaven!
This was a mission personally assigned by the Land of Fire's Daimyō. With pressure from the Daimyō, even his brother would have no reason to stop him now.
"Tobirama, don't jump to conclusions... a Takigakure headband being left behind doesn't necessarily mean it was a Takigakure ninja who did it."
The Elder Statesman's face couldn't help but darken, but he did not pursue Senju Tobirama's rude behavior and continued.
"Oh~ I was too excited. It is indeed possible that someone else was impersonating a Takigakure ninja."
Senju Tobirama nodded and continued to ask according to normal deductive reasoning.
"Then has this great noble family recently had a feud with the Land of Waterfalls..."
"As far as I know, their family has no feud with those barbarians from the Land of Waterfalls."
"Or has this great noble family offended someone recently..."
"A family that has been passed down for hundreds of years has offended many people... for example... recently... the newly established Arasaka Corporation of Akatsuki Village has had a significant business dispute with them."
The Elder Statesman pretended to think for a moment, then he listed a large number of factions that had had conflicts with this great noble family in the past, finally slowly saying the name of Akatsuki Village.
His tone couldn't help but become heavier.
"???"
Senju Tobirama took a deep breath after hearing this, the Elder Statesman's words swirling in his mind.
Did the Elder Statesman mean that Akatsuki Village did this?
If it was that guy Uchiha Makoto, with his personality, if a difficult business dispute arose, he might really do something like this.
Using physical means to eliminate business rivals, although immoral, was extremely low-cost—Akatsuki Village had plenty of ninja who weren't afraid to die!
But without conclusive evidence to prove that Akatsuki Village did this... this mission would be difficult to complete.
No wonder the Elder Statesman came to Konoha in person...
Even the Land of Fire couldn't hold Uchiha Makoto accountable without conclusive evidence... that bastard, in a fit of pique, was truly capable of doing something unspeakable!
Damn it... has this hot potato fallen into Konoha's hands?
But it was the same for Konoha.
Without conclusive evidence to prove Akatsuki Village's crime...
What could Konoha do to Akatsuki Village?
Nothing at all!
Before this matter was cleared up, if word got out, there was a risk of Akatsuki Village coming to find trouble.
Most importantly...
Even if they did find evidence, if Uchiha Makoto stubbornly denied it... after doing something like this, how could Akatsuki Village possibly admit it?
Was Konoha supposed to have its ninja forcibly carry out righteous punishment against the Akatsuki ninja involved in this matter?
Assassinate an ally's ninja?
Uchiha Makoto was definitely involved too!
The nature of this matter had risen to another level.
If his brother Hashirama fully supported him, then there would be no problem at all. He wouldn't even have to worry about Uchiha Makoto stubbornly denying it; he could just use his fists to teach Uchiha Makoto a lesson.
But his brother was so hesitant and soft-hearted even when it came to punishing Takigakure, which had clear evidence against it and had carried out an assassination attempt on him.
And the strength of Akatsuki Village and Takigakure were not on the same level... when dealing with the more dangerous Akatsuki Village, his brother's wishy-washy standards were always online.
In short... the bizarre and deformed system of the ninja world, and the peace fanatic Senju Hashirama, had nurtured the unselectable bug that was Akatsuki Village.
Senju Tobirama thought for a long time without saying a word.
He was even considering refusing this mission... but that was also impossible.
Konoha had no reason to refuse a legitimate mission from the Land of Fire.
"Tobirama, I know this is difficult for you... but the nature of this matter is extremely vile."
"The truth must be found, to give the victim's family an explanation, to give the Daimyō an explanation, and to give the Land of Fire an explanation."
"This... is a bit difficult."
Senju Tobirama felt as if he was constantly eating Uchiha Makoto's Great Fireball Technique, his heart burning with anxiety. He was in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat. He had never had such a difficult time dealing with the Uchiha clan.
"At the very least, you must save the Daimyō's face... face... as long as you can vent the Daimyō's anger... this mission will be considered completed by Konoha."
The Elder Statesman finally sympathized with Senju Tobirama's difficulty and spoke slowly.
His tone was full of bitterness and helplessness, and the emotions in his eyes were extremely complex.
Damn it!!!
The culprit behind this terrible situation is your Konoha!!
In the past...
A major figure of the Land of Fire like the Elder Statesman, an absolute high-level official, would naturally not worry about a ninja family extending its butcher's knife to a great noble of the country.
The day after it happened, numerous ninja clans would come to help him with his worries.
The Uchiha clan, the Senju clan, the Uzumaki clan, the Hyuga clan, the Kaguya clan... all sorts of powerful ninja clans were at the Elder Statesman's beck and call.
If you dared to make a move, you wouldn't even need conclusive evidence; they could be wiped out with a wave of the hand.
Back then, the Uchiha clan was hired by the wife of the Land of Lightning's Daimyō to annihilate the Chinoike clan, which possessed the powerful bloodline Dōjutsu—the Ketsuryūgan.
And the reason this bloodline clan suffered such a disaster was also abstract.
A woman from the Chinoike clan married the Land of Lightning's Daimyō as a concubine, but soon after, the Daimyō suddenly died.
The Daimyō's wife blamed everything on the Chinoike clan woman who was the concubine.
Perhaps there was also some story of Empress Lü and Consort Qi mixed in.
But in any case...
No matter what the real reason was...
The Chinoike clan was implicated, and such a powerful bloodline clan was completely destroyed.
This also reflected how powerful the daimyō and great nobles of the major countries were in the Warring States Period, and how weak the status of ninja was.
Even the bloodline families at the top of the ninja world's food chain were powerless against these major figures—they had plenty of money!
A single ninja clan, no matter how strong, could never stand against a group of ninja clans.
But now, the times had changed.
Monster ninja like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had appeared in the ninja world, and because of them, the very heavens of the ninja world had changed!
The organizational form of ninja had been updated, from individual, relatively weak ninja clans to individual, absolutely powerful ninja villages.
There was an absolute power gap between the strength of a single ninja village and a single ninja clan.
Now, Akatsuki Village had proven its own immense strength and the powerful destructive capabilities of a ninja village through the war with Kumogakure.
The high-level officials of the Land of Fire had to start thinking, worrying, and being forced to face the consequences of this infinitely magnified power.
Would the momentary pressure from the Land of Fire push Akatsuki Village to rebel?
And only a ninja village could deal with a ninja village... before Konoha could suppress Akatsuki Village, how many people would be killed by the rebelling Akatsuki ninja?
Facts have proven...
When you have the ability to rebel, and you are constantly rubbing against the edge of rebellion, then whatever you do is fine!
The Old Buddha once wanted to fight the whole world to save face, and what was the result... a mutual protection of the southeast provinces!
The principle was similar here.
When faced with a life-and-death crisis, the major figures who truly knew the inside story gritted their teeth and chose to compromise—so Hakuzawa Akira came to Akatsuki Village.
And the Daimyō also knew that he couldn't deal with the culprit, Uchiha Makoto, but he still had to save face.
This face could not be broken, absolutely could not be broken, must not be broken!
If it was broken, it was all over.
No matter how much money it cost, he had to buy back this face from Konoha!
If one hundred million ryō was not enough, then add more!
As long as Konoha could find conclusive evidence to prove that Akatsuki Village did it, forcing Uchiha Makoto to submit a written apology to the Land of Fire—admitting that it was the private actions of his subordinates, that he was unaware, and finally, Akatsuki Village would symbolically punish some ninja, the matter would be considered closed.
Everyone would be happy.
Akatsuki Village would still be unspeakably loyal!
The Daimyō would still be high and mighty, and the nobles would still be inviolable
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