Chapter 177: The Shifting Balance of Power
Land of Lightning, Asuka Castle
The moon was high in the sky, but the castle was still brightly lit, a grand banquet in full swing.
The capital of the Land of Lightning was filled with nobles and wealthy merchants. Banquets were an important part of their lives. There was a large-scale event almost every other day.
And the one who hosted the most, of course, was the Thunder Daimyo.
In the banquet hall, the nobles were laughing and chatting, their glasses clinking. Dancers and servants flitted through the crowd like swallows.
At the head of the hall, behind a silk screen, on a soft couch, the Daimyo was resting with his eyes closed. He was no longer young, and his energy was not what it used to be. He would often feel tired shortly after a banquet began. But he liked the atmosphere. His hand was tapping along with the music.
Just then, a servant came to his side and whispered a few words. He frowned, got up, and left with the servant.
Only a few had noticed his departure. But whether they had or not, the revelry in the hall continued.
He went to a study inside the castle. His minister, Jun'en Furuya, was already waiting.
"My lord Daimyo," he said, "a letter from the Third Raikage of the Hidden Cloud."
The Daimyo opened the letter. His expression was calm at first, then it gradually darkened, and finally, it was just a complex mix of emotions.
He handed the letter to his minister. "Take a look," he said.
Jun'en took the letter, written in the Raikage's own hand, and was also amazed.
"I never thought," he said, "that the Hidden Cloud would handle it this way."
In the letter, the Third Raikage had referred to their discussion at the Joint Chunin Exams, about the hidden power that was trying to consolidate the weapon industry in the Land of Lightning.
He said that he had investigated the matter, and that the seven merchant guilds in the capital and the surrounding area, including their associated blacksmiths, had all been taken over by the Cloud. And now, he was giving them, and all their assets, to the Daimyo.
And at the same time, he was formally discussing the wedding date.
"I did not foresee this," Jun'en said, stroking his beard.
To be honest, seven merchant guilds, even if they were just shell companies, their assets were not a small sum. From his initial suspicion to the probing at the exams, it had all been within his understanding.
But this move from the Cloud was completely unexpected.
"Lord Daimyo," he said, "what do you think they mean by this?"
"They're trying to tell me," the Daimyo said, his face grim, after a long moment, "that the balance of power... has shifted."
Jun'en said nothing.
They both knew what was going on. Even if there had been some uncertainty before, this letter made it all clear.
In the past, it had always been the hidden villages that had begged the Daimyo for more funding. A village had never given money to a Daimyo.
This was how the Daimyo of the various countries controlled their hidden villages. A village could not develop with just the small cut from their mission fees. They were very dependent on the Daimyo's support.
If the Daimyo tightened his purse strings a little, the village would suffer. If he loosened them a little, the village would become more aggressive.
But the real power of this method was in the "loosen then tighten."
First, you would increase your support, making the village ambitious, even aggressive. And then, you would find an excuse to reduce your support.
It was like giving a loan to a factory. When they had expanded their production, bought new equipment, and were ready to go all-in, you would suddenly cut off their funding.
The village, at this point, had already spread itself thin. They needed money for everything. Unwilling to see their good situation disappear, the non-productive ninja would have to find a way to solve the problem from the outside.
The turmoil in the ninja world had a not-insignificant connection to this hidden hand.
But in recent years, the Thunder Daimyo had felt his power slipping. The Cloud had won the war with minimal losses, which meant they had gained a large amount of tangible and intangible resources for expansion, and were no longer at his mercy.
And because their losses were so small, they didn't even need time to "recover."
This was far from the Daimyo's script. Even if they had won, it should have been a pyrrhic victory, like Konoha in the first war.
After the Second Great Ninja War, he had clearly felt that the Cloud was like a runaway horse. Its influence and strength were growing at an incredible rate.
And in proportion, his own influence over them was plummeting.
And now, the suspicion that they had a new source of funding had made him unable to accept the situation. It had even made him anxious.
The reason he had traveled all the way to the Land of Rain to watch the Joint Chunin Exams was to gauge the Cloud's future.
After all, he was getting old.
When he was gone, he would have to choose one of his stupid sons to face the fully grown Yotsuki Dana. The Cloud of that time would have even more geniuses, greater strength, and greater ambition.
The engagement from years ago was also a headache. It had just been an unfavored daughter, married to a bloodline cripple. And then the cripple had turned into the number one genius in the ninja world.
To have the wedding now would be complicated, and it would weaken his position.
"Lord Daimyo," Jun'en said, breaking the silence, "what should we do with these seven merchant guilds and their assets?"
The Daimyo wanted to say, "Who do you take me for?"
But in the end, he calmed down. "Send someone to take them over," he said.
He had to admit, it was a considerable fortune, and he could not refuse it. But it was also a declaration from the Cloud, a declaration that the "village-daimyo" relationship that had been maintained for 43 years was about to change.
But he was not willing to accept it.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He smashed a vase on the floor.
CRASH!
Jun'en rushed forward to console him.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door. "Your Excellency," a voice came from outside, "is everything alright?"
It was the Nine Samurai of the Thundercloud.
The Daimyo's face turned ashen, but with his years of experience, he had a certain degree of self-control. "It is nothing," he said, his voice calm. "You may leave."
He waited for a long time, and after confirming that no one was outside, he turned to his minister and said in a low voice, "The Nine Samurai of the Thundercloud must be disbanded!"
"To disband them all at once would not be good," he advised. "Why don't we gradually replace them with our own men? Let them become our own force. There are many skilled ninja in the world. We don't have to rely on the Cloud's people. The 'Nine Samurai of the Thundercloud' is just a name, after all."
The Daimyo nodded, his face grim. "I'll leave it to you," he said. "Be quick."
"Rest assured, my lord."