"Oh? It's Mū. Quickly, give Mū a seat! Please sit, please sit!"
The Land of Earth Daimyo smiled, extending his plump hand to gesture for Mū to sit down.
Soon, several servants brought a chair and placed it behind Mū.
"Lord Daimyo…"
Mū slowly sat down.
"Long time no see, long time no see. How is Ishikawa doing? I heard you went to Konoha a few days ago. What was the outcome?"
The Daimyo smiled, looking at Mū and asking.
"Lord Tsuchikage's health is still robust. I went to Konoha a few days ago, but Konoha had no intention of forming an alliance, so I had to leave it at that."
The two first engaged in a brief chat, and then Mū directly got to the point.
"Lord Daimyo, I am here today to request funds from you." Mū went straight to the subject.
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, the Daimyo's expression changed.
As soon as money was mentioned, the Daimyo's enthusiasm instantly waned.
"Ahem, Mū, I recall that you Ninja usually earn money through missions, don't you?"
"And each mission is worth thousands, even tens of thousands of ryo. Why come to me for money?"
The Daimyo looked at his fishing rod and asked nonchalantly.
"Lord Daimyo, things are different now."
"This is no longer the era of Ninja clans, but the era of Ninja Villages. Iwagakure needs funds for military expenses, and at the same time, we need to introduce some commerce to build a prosperous Iwagakure."
Mū said in a deep voice.
The Daimyo frowned slightly, then replied, "What is your Iwagakure trying to do?"
Mū didn't want to argue further and got straight to the point.
"I want power and money from the Daimyo. Allow us, Iwagakure, to take the lead!"
"Utilizing the unique nature of Ninja, combined with ordinary civilians, our Iwagakure will not only be a military group but also become a prosperous large town integrating military and civilian life!"
"Over the years, Iwagakure has been too tied down by missions. The entire Village has had to rely on missions to survive, which is not a long-term solution. So, we also need to engage in business and attract investment to set up industries."
"I can absolutely make Iwagakure not only capable of protecting the Daimyo but also transform it into a prosperous city."
Mū slowly articulated his vision.
"Hmm, indeed!" x3
At this moment, the Land of Earth Daimyo seemed possessed by the phrase "If life were only like the first meeting."
He kept repeating "indeed," but never mentioned military funds.
Mū felt speechless.
He understood that if he didn't offer the Daimyo some benefit, the Daimyo would definitely not invest.
So Mū continued, "The future is immense. The Daimyo only needs to provide us with military funds annually, and we can give back twenty percent of the Village's total revenue as taxes to the Daimyo!"
As soon as Mū said this, the Land of Earth Daimyo's eyes brightened somewhat.
"How much money do you want?"
The Land of Earth Daimyo asked calmly.
As a mortal family that had endured for thousands of years, the Daimyo's wisdom was also very profound, naturally belonging to the type who wouldn't rise early without profit.
"3.5 billion!"
Mū tentatively stated a number.
The Land of Earth Daimyo's expression changed, then he also named a price: "2.5 billion!"
Mū immediately sighed slightly: "Ah!"
Hearing the sigh, the Daimyo's heart skipped a beat.
"Lord Daimyo, although you are not a Ninja, you must have heard the saying, 'When war breaks out, financial resources are inevitably depleted!'"
"Do you know how much a single kunai costs now?"
"Five hundred thousand ryo, five hundred thousand ryo! A single carriage can't even hold it all!"
As he spoke, Mū's voice involuntarily rose, and he extended five fingers to indicate to the Daimyo.
The Land of Earth Daimyo couldn't help but start awkwardly digging his toes into the ground.
"Alright, alright, how about this: I'll go a step further, you take a step back. Three billion, I'll give you three billion!"
The Land of Earth Daimyo said directly.
Upon hearing this, Mū's face beneath the bandages broke into a smile.
"Good!"
The two immediately hit it off, then discussed matters of attracting investment.
The Daimyo agreed to send a portion of civilians to reside in Iwagakure, along with commercial shops.
Finally, the residents of Iwagakure could eat ramen, yakiniku, and other foods within the Village… "There's one more thing."
The Land of Earth Daimyo suddenly called out to Mū.
"What is it, Lord Daimyo?"
Mū raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Recently, there's a place in the border region of the Land of Earth that has declared independence. It has already established a country called the Land of Grass, and also founded Hidden Grass Village, which makes me very angry…"
The Land of Earth Daimyo said with a murderous expression.
Mū instantly understood the Land of Earth Daimyo's meaning.
It was nothing more than wanting his Iwagakure to act as muscle, to destroy Hidden Grass Village, and then incorporate the Land of Grass into the Land of Earth.
However, this was also understandable. The Daimyo was providing military funds, and since he had taken the money, he had to do the job. Destroying Hidden Grass Village was not a problem.
"Alright, I'll handle this matter."
Mū nodded directly in agreement.
The two completed a transaction.
The next morning,
Mū returned to Iwagakure, accompanied by various commercial shops and civilians who had relocated from the city.
Fortunately, Iwagakure officials were highly efficient; a few Earth Release techniques successfully opened two commercial streets.
Mū immediately arranged for merchants and civilians to move into the commercial streets.
That evening, the vast majority of Iwagakure residents came to the commercial streets to spend money.
Iwagakure residents enjoyed various delicacies from the city: char siu, ramen, dango, yakiniku.
These foods were extremely popular among Iwagakure residents, and the streets were completely packed.
Even Lord Tsuchikage Ishikawa came here to buy tobacco from the capital city.
At the same time, Mū also explained to everyone that Iwagakure was a place where Ninja and civilians coexisted.
Iwagakure residents shouted in unison, "Mu is brilliant!"
Mū also arranged special protection for civilians to prevent some low-quality Ninja from bullying them.
After arranging all of this,
Mū directly called upon ten Iwagakure Jonin.
"Hiss! Mu is actually leading the team himself!"
"This… this is too shocking! To be led by such a figure is simply my honor!"
"Mu is someone who can fight Uchiha Madara to a standstill in the Ninja World. This is great, I must perform exceptionally!"
"Mu, you are so handsome! You are simply me!"
The ten Iwagakure Jonin, discovering that Mu was personally leading the team, all showed excitement and awe.
There was no other reason.
Because the news of Mu confronting Uchiha Madara in Konoha these past few days had completely spread.
Under Ishikawa's covert promotion and deliberate exaggeration, Mu's combat achievements directly shocked all Iwagakure Ninja.
To be able to fight Uchiha Madara to a standstill and retreat unharmed.
This made all Ninja of Iwagakure extremely proud.
Initially, they felt a bit inferior thinking Konoha had two great deities.
When they heard that Mu could fight Uchiha Madara to a standstill, everyone felt much better.
"Alright, now follow me to Hidden Grass Village."
"Our objective is to eliminate all Ninja of Hidden Grass Village. Of course, if anyone is willing to surrender to Iwagakure, we can handle them at our discretion, as we are currently in need of personnel!"
Mū strapped on the two great swords he used during the turbulent era and prepared to depart.
"Yes!"
The ten Iwagakure Jonin shouted in unison.
They immediately departed for the Land of Grass to carry out the annihilation operation.
...Inside Hidden Grass Village, Land of Grass.
Two men stood side by side.
"Hidden Grass Village Leader, do we really not need to fear retaliation from the Land of Earth?"
The Land of Grass Daimyo spoke with a worried expression.
"Don't worry, the Land of Earth won't have time to mobilize troops, and Iwagakure has just been established, so they won't be able to concern themselves with us."
The leader of Hidden Grass Village said confidently.
"But…"
The Daimyo opened his mouth, wanting to say something else, but was directly interrupted by the Hidden Grass Village leader.
"Enough, Lord Daimyo!"
"Don't worry so much about it. I have already sent people to Konoha to establish good diplomatic relations with them. By doing so, we will use their prestige to our advantage, and Iwagakure won't dare to touch us!"
"Moreover, the nearby Fūma are preparing to join us. As long as we continue to develop and grow, perhaps I can also be worthy of the title of Kage! Then I will be the Kusakage!"
The Hidden Grass Village leader's face glowed with excitement, as if the Kusakage title was right before him!
The Land of Grass Daimyo looked strained.
To be honest, he just wanted to be a loyal subordinate of the Land of Earth. He was already uncomfortable being caught between Konoha and Iwagakure, so he didn't want to cause trouble.
He never expected that a few Ninja in his territory would immediately establish Hidden Grass Village.
What was even more unbearable was that these people dragged him along in their rebellion.
But faced with their semi-threats, he could only agree for the sake of survival, establishing Hidden Grass Village in the name of the Land of Grass.
It was clear that the Land of Grass Daimyo had no desire for independence, but rather wanted to remain a loyal subordinate of the Land of Earth.