Shizune steadied her heart and looked at the reclining Ryōsuke, speaking slowly.
"Ryōsuke, Sasaki, the messenger from the Land of Fire Daimyō, has arrived. He specifically requested to see you."
Ryōsuke, who was resting his head on Yugito Nii's lap, immediately felt a wave of displeasure. He was just about to take a noon nap, and now he was being disturbed. Did this guy think Ryōsuke would just go because he was summoned?
He refused directly, "I'm not going."
Shizune felt a bit helpless and tried to persuade him. "Ryōsuke, you should probably go. This messenger from the Land of Fire Daimyō seems to be looking for trouble this time."
"Although they agreed to Lord Tsunade's appointment as the Fifth Hokage, they want to reduce the funding provided to the Leaf Village. Clan Head Fugaku took a hard line and refused, which is why he sent the messenger back to tell the Daimyō to reconsider."
Ryōsuke sat up instantly upon hearing this. He was already dissatisfied with the Land of Fire Daimyō. Why did the choice for the Fifth Hokage require the Daimyō's approval in the first place?
'By what right?'
In truth, the only reason the Land of Fire remained so stable was due to the contributions and sacrifices of the Leaf Village shinobi. Otherwise, they would have been destroyed by the ninja villages of other countries long ago. How could they live in such comfort? Now, they actually wanted to cut funding? It was pure ingratitude.
He stood up and put on his clothes, ready to head out. "Morning, Shizune. Let's go."
Seeing the look on Ryōsuke's face, Shizune had a faint, bad premonition. From the first time they met, she knew that Uchiha Ryōsuke was an extremely dominant individual.
Inside the Hokage's reception room, the messenger Sasaki was enjoying his tea with great interest. Before long, he saw a powerful young man walk in. With a sturdy build and an undeniable aura of strength, he looked completely different from an ordinary person. This man had to be Uchiha Ryōsuke.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to offer a greeting, he saw Uchiha Ryōsuke staring right back at him. Ryōsuke knew everyone else in the reception room, so this man had to be the messenger from the Land of Fire Daimyō's estate.
Ryōsuke directly revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan. In an instant, his ocular power was fully unleashed, and his crimson eyes locked onto the messenger.
"So, you're the kid who wants to cut the Leaf Village's budget?"
Being stared at by those eyes, Sasaki instantly felt extremely uncomfortable. He couldn't even muster the thought of resistance; his hands and feet refused to follow his commands. His heart was filled with terror. How could such a powerful person exist? If they actually fought, he feared he would be killed instantly by those eyes.
Judging by the pattern in those eyes, it had to be the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan—the eyes with the strongest ocular power in the shinobi world. Back then, Uchiha Madara relied on these eyes to become the strongest person in the world. Someone who could be compared to the Ninja God, Senju Hashirama, was naturally deserving of the title of the world's strongest. Uchiha Madara had only lost by a single move back then.
Nara Shikaku was startled by the scene. Uchiha Ryōsuke had given the Daimyō's messenger a show of force right from the start. Although there was a reason for it, it was perhaps a bit too blunt. The man was a messenger of the Daimyō, after all; this was a blatant threat. It was a bit excessive to treat him with such little regard.
Fugaku was equally shocked. Ryōsuke's Mangekyō Sharingan could paralyze this messenger with fear through sheer ocular pressure alone. This meant Ryōsuke had likely mobilized the full power of his eyes. Fugaku couldn't help but marvel in his heart; Ryōsuke's Mangekyō was indeed much stronger than his own. After all, even when his own ocular power was at its peak, he couldn't have suppressed a man like Sasaki using only the pressure of his Mangekyō.
Fugaku could still sense the messenger's underlying strength; he wasn't some weakling.
Shizune felt equally helpless; her bad premonition had indeed come true. However, Ryōsuke looked quite imposing. It was certainly fine to teach a lesson to a messenger who proposed so many terrible ideas and wanted to cut their funding.
Tsunade was also a bit surprised. This fellow Ryōsuke had made a move the moment he arrived. He was still the Daimyō's messenger. If the messenger went back and filed a complaint with the Daimyō, wouldn't that affect the cooperative relationship between the Leaf Village and the Daimyō's estate?
The Leaf Village and the Daimyō had always collaborated, and their relationship had evolved into one of mutual interdependence. She couldn't let him cause a mess, so she immediately shouted a reprimand.
"Uchiha Ryōsuke, what do you think you're doing? You must not be so rude to the Daimyō's messenger!"
Facing Tsunade's roar, Ryōsuke felt a bit speechless. He merely wanted to intimidate the messenger to let him know that cutting funds was a very dangerous move. By the looks of it, the man was already scared out of his wits. Now, he had to give Tsunade some face, since she was one of his own.
He deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan and said with a smile, "I was just greeting the messenger. After all, the messenger himself requested to see me. Isn't that right, Messenger?"
As the Mangekyō Sharingan closed, the messenger felt the pressure on him vanish instantly. His breathing became smooth again.
'What a terrifying man. I must not make an enemy of him.'
He squeezed out a smile and said, "That's right. You truly are the strongest in the Leaf Village. With a powerhouse like you protecting the Leaf Village and the Land of Fire, there is no need to worry about invasions from other countries."
Ryōsuke was quite satisfied. Looking at Tsunade, he said, "Lord Tsunade, you see? Even the messenger said so."
Tsunade's face was grim. He had threatened the man right in front of her; how else could the messenger react?
"You brat, get out of here!"
She wanted to prevent this guy from causing any more trouble. He was completely ruining the image of the Leaf Village, leaving the messenger with the impression of an overbearing brute. Even she, Tsunade, wasn't that overbearing; she only struck out when someone provoked her.
Ryōsuke naturally agreed. He didn't want to stay there anyway; going back to sleep was more important. Did they really expect him to entertain a so-called messenger? Forget that.
Before leaving, he looked at the messenger and said, "When you go back, make sure to tell your Daimyō to consider this matter carefully. After all, if the money is too little, the Leaf Village might not have much fighting spirit when it comes to protecting the Land of Fire."
If there was no money, naturally, no work would be done. The entire border of the Land of Fire was protected by the Leaf Village. That was an incredibly difficult task; who would do it for nothing?
Hearing this, the messenger hurriedly replied, "Understood. I will convey the message to the Daimyō. I believe the Daimyō will certainly consider it very carefully."
This was a blatant threat. The Daimyō's plan was likely to fail this time. If they forced the plan through, the Leaf Village might develop other ideas. Not only might they become negligent in guarding the Land of Fire, they might stop protecting it altogether. That would be a massive disadvantage for the Land of Fire.
However, that wasn't for him to worry about. Even if the Daimyō's plan failed, his own treatment just wouldn't increase; it was still pretty good as it was.