After receiving Princess Chihime's assurance, Fumori Masaki began to make arrangements, sending news of the Daimyo's army's defeat to the sympathetic local lords, so they would be aware of the situation. As for the appointments of the Konoha combat forces, as he had discussed with Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Kagami were to be stationed between the Daimyo's residence and Konoha Ninja Village.
In addition to assisting Shimura Danzo in tracking Uchiha Kokuya, they also had a mission to deal with the chakra samurai who were roaming around.
After massacring towns, these chakra samurai scattered in small teams, slaughtering local residents wherever they went, acting completely like bandits, except this was a well-trained bandit force comparable to a regular army.
Fumori Masaki strictly ordered that all these chakra samurai be eliminated as quickly as possible to prevent them from further harming the populace. This was the public order, but there was also a secret directive sent to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Kagami.
Although he didn't know Uchiha Kokuya's full purpose in letting these chakra samurai roam freely, Fumori Masaki felt that Uchiha Kokuya might be trying to disperse Konoha's combat forces. Against such small, scattered units, it was naturally impossible to use bombardment methods like explosive cannons.
The best method was to deploy similar small units to pursue them. Although the number of chakra samurai was still large, in this situation, splitting into numerous small teams would negate the advantage of the samurai formation, and this was perfectly suited for ninja squads with strong individual combat capabilities.
This subtly hinted at Uchiha Kokuya's plan. Perhaps he intended to use this to make Fujimura Yuki move with the small units, making it easier for Uchiha Kokuya to deal with him.
Fumori Masaki decided to play along and intentionally lure Uchiha Kokuya out. Even if Uchiha Kokuya hadn't planned it this way, facing a situation where Fujimura Yuki was with a small unit, Uchiha Kokuya might still take the bait, even knowing it could be a trap. He only needed one more piece of Asura's chakra to go into hiding, and some risks were worth taking; otherwise, he might not get another chance.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was more or less aware of Uchiha Kokuya's objective. After Uchiha Ken revealed the truth last time, Fumori Masaki disclosed the parts that everyone could know. Both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Kagami approved of this method to lure Uchiha Kokuya out.
After issuing the orders, Fumori Masaki prepared to head to the Daimyo's residence, taking only a small contingent of troops. With Konoha's combat forces providing support along the way, there was no need for an excessive number of guards. Princess Chihime accompanied him.
The main priority now was to resolve the issue at the Daimyo's residence. Even if Uchiha Kokuya took the bait, it wouldn't be immediate; it might take some time for him to appear.
Fumori Masaki could use this time to attend to other matters.
To ensure the safety of the Hokage's route, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Kagami cleared any potential chakra samurai along the direct path to the Daimyo's residence, allowing the Hokage's party to pass through unharmed.
In the town where they were stationed, Fumori Masaki met with Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Kagami to discuss the current situation, stating, "For now, focus on eliminating the chakra samurai. I will deal with Uchiha Kokuya; there's no need for excessive pursuit, just gradually pressure him."
Then, the group left the town and headed towards the Daimyo's residence. By this time, the capital had already received news of the Daimyo's army's defeat, causing extreme panic.
The vast majority of officials in the capital did not support initiating war against Konoha Ninja Village. Now, upon hearing the news of Konoha Ninja Village's victory, they were somewhat relieved. The remaining officials, who sided with the Daimyo, were apprehensive and deeply worried about the unfolding situation.
Especially with Konoha's combat forces pressing closer, these officials who had previously opposed Konoha Ninja Village became increasingly terrified. Even other officials had faint worries, but they had some confidence in Konoha Ninja Village's past reputation and believed there would be no particularly outrageous actions.
However, their vague worries disappeared when they learned that Princess Chihime was accompanying the Hokage. As a member of the Daimyo's family and an advocate for the revival of the Shinobi Sect, Princess Chihime held significant influence in the capital. If she was present, Konoha Ninja Village should not act recklessly.
Since they believed Konoha Ninja Village would not take excessive actions, the officials then had to consider other issues, namely, who would bear responsibility for this civil war. Konoha Ninja Village was the victor, so it was naturally impossible to shift the blame to them. Moreover, there was nothing to criticize; Konoha Ninja Village had been in the moral high ground from beginning to end. In other words, the Daimyo's residence was responsible.
Now that Tobi (Uchiha Kokuya) was nowhere to be found, the scapegoat who could bear responsibility was gone. Although criticizing the monarch was not a good thing, it seemed there was no one else who could take responsibility. Regardless, the Daimyo became the one directly in the line of fire.
Some officials muttered to themselves: "We said before that we should just push Tobi (Uchiha Kokuya) out to appease Konoha Ninja Village. Now look, he's run off to who knows where, and the Daimyo has no choice but to face Konoha Ninja Village."
Although the officials thought this, there was no use in saying anything now. Moreover, they had already confirmed that the Daimyo had previously been controlled by genjutsu, but whether the Daimyo had been controlled by genjutsu in the past was anyone's guess. If he hadn't been controlled by genjutsu, then it was a case of appointing the wrong person, causing such a serious incident, and he must take responsibility!
At this time, the atmosphere within the Daimyo's residence was also heavy, not only because of the news of the Daimyo's army's defeat, but more importantly, because the Daimyo, who had been controlled by Uchiha Kokuya's genjutsu, had awakened!
Everything traced back to a few days prior. At that time, Uchiha Kokuya had just departed for the front lines. He had taken a large number of chakra samurai with him, leaving only guardian ninja and a small number of chakra samurai within the Daimyo's residence. Although Captain Tobi (Uchiha Kokuya) had gone to the battlefield, the guardian ninja still felt the situation was not optimistic.
Captain Tobi (Uchiha Kokuya) was indeed strong, but was he truly strong enough to reverse the situation on the battlefield? Not necessarily. High-level ninja still had a profound impact on the battlefield, but it was no longer decisive. The guardian ninja had fought for many years abroad and had witnessed wars between the Five Great Ninja Villages, so they understood this very well.
They suggested to the Daimyo that it wasn't strictly necessary to push Captain Tobi out and that other scapegoats could be considered, but the Daimyo was unyielding, firmly stating that they must fight to the end—appearing utterly deluded no matter how one looked at it.
Recalling the recent rumors, the guardian ninja wondered if the Daimyo might genuinely be under genjutsu control, but they couldn't examine the Daimyo. The curse mark from years ago prevented them from close-range examination of the Daimyo, as this could be perceived by the Daimyo as a hostile act. And if the Daimyo lost consciousness, it would be considered an act of harm. If they tried to approach while the Daimyo slept, they would be blocked by the Daimyo's guardian sorcerers—he didn't rely too much on ninja for his sleeping protection, instead using other chakra practitioners. They had no other means to check for genjutsu control, so they could do nothing.
If Hyuga Hiashi had been present, he could have directly used his Byakugan, without needing to touch the Daimyo's body, and without the Daimyo noticing, he could have determined if the Daimyo was under genjutsu control.
However, the guardian ninja soon wouldn't need to check whether the Daimyo was under genjutsu control, because the result would reveal itself.
One day, the chakra samurai within the Daimyo's residence suddenly rioted, indiscriminately attacking those around them. The guardian ninja, in order to protect the Daimyo's safety, went all out to stop the chakra samurai's actions.
Although the guardian ninja had previously sided with Uchiha Kokuya, ultimately, they primarily followed the Daimyo's orders and were merely indirectly used by Uchiha Kokuya.
They finally managed to quell the riot at the Daimyo's residence, but it had a very negative impact. The chakra samurai of the Daimyo's residence killed indiscriminately, which was even worse than having at least one charge in the past; this was utterly unreasonable!
The guardian ninja didn't know why this happened, why the chakra samurai suddenly lost control, and they had a bad premonition. They didn't know that on this very day, Uchiha Kokuya abandoned the city and fled, ordering the chakra samurai within the town to attack indiscriminately. The chakra samurai of the Daimyo's residence were, of course, also affected.
At the same time, the Daimyo suddenly lost consciousness and fainted, and the Daimyo's guardian sorcerers experienced the same. This left the guardian ninja at a loss, but soon, the guardian ninja understood why this had happened.
When the Daimyo woke up, it was as if he had experienced a long, dreamlike slumber. Many things he couldn't recall. All his memories stopped at the night he met Tobi (Uchiha Kokuya) after returning from the Lord Incident. The details were hazy, but he vaguely remembered that after Tobi removed his mask, there were scarlet eyes on that face.
"...Sharingan...Uchiha! That bastard, he's from the Uchiha!" The Daimyo, regaining his senses, yelled out in anger and terror.
Looking at the Daimyo, the guardian ninja confirmed one thing: the Daimyo had indeed been controlled by genjutsu, and the culprit was precisely Tobi, whom Konoha Ninja Village had accused. Furthermore, this person was indeed from the Uchiha clan; the Daimyo's angry, uncontrolled words had proven this point, and simultaneously proven that Konoha Ninja Village's accusations were all true. The problem had always been on the Daimyo's side. Even the guardian sorcerers providing close protection had been controlled, and ninja couldn't get too close, so it was no wonder no one noticed.
Uchiha Kokuya released the genjutsu at this time naturally because the Daimyo was no longer useful, so there was no need to expend chakra controlling him—Sharingan genjutsu control had to maintain a constant connection, consuming chakra at all times. Although the Daimyo was an ordinary person, including the guardian sorcerers, the amount would slowly increase, and the greater the distance, the more chakra required. People with less chakra might even lose control.
Although Uchiha Kokuya had a lot of chakra, there was no need to waste energy on a Daimyo who had already lost his usefulness.
After the Daimyo calmed down, he was filled with distrust towards the guardian ninja, but he soon learned from others what he had done while under genjutsu control.
Issuing a declaration to attack the Land of Demons, attacking the Konoha-affiliated guardian ninja, accusing Konoha Ninja Village, suppressing officials and lords, launching a civil war... A series of astonishing news caused the elderly Daimyo to faint. When he woke up again, he immediately burst into tears.
"I put my trust in the wrong person, I put my trust in the wrong person…" the Daimyo muttered to himself. He had originally intended to use Uchiha Kokuya to suppress Konoha Ninja Village, but he hadn't expected to be the one used. To achieve this goal, Uchiha Kokuya must have plotted for a long time.
Now, the Daimyo felt that from the moment Uchiha Kokuya appeared before him and offered his services, he had already planned to do this. He also didn't know how Uchiha Kokuya managed to break free from the curse mark's restraints.
The Daimyo was filled with regret. He also knew that the Daimyo's army was in a disadvantageous position. Although Uchiha Kokuya had gone to the front lines, judging from the release of the Daimyo's genjutsu, the situation on the front lines couldn't be good, no matter what.
Sure enough, the Daimyo soon received news that Uchiha Kokuya had abandoned the city and fled, and that the chakra samurai were roaming everywhere. He almost couldn't breathe—this meant a complete collapse of the front-line battle, and Konoha's combat forces would directly approach the capital.
Especially with Uchiha Kokuya having fled, Konoha's combat forces still didn't stop their advance towards the capital, which made people even more worried about what Konoha Ninja Village planned to do next.
The Daimyo thought to himself: "Having made such a huge mistake, Konoha Ninja Village has too many excuses. With their power, I'm afraid they will demand more power from me, and I can't even argue!"
"It's all because of that Uchiha Kokuya!" the Daimyo said bitterly, not considering his own problems.
Amidst his anxiety, the Daimyo received news that Fumori Masaki was already heading to the capital, accompanied by his younger sister, Princess Chihime. Because his own sister was present, the Daimyo felt that his life should not be in danger, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
However, his sister's stance was on Konoha Ninja Village's side, and she likely wouldn't say anything to prevent Konoha Ninja Village from gaining more power. After much thought, the Daimyo felt that he seemed to have no choice but to accept that he would lose more power.
Of course, at this time, the Daimyo did not yet know that Fumori Masaki intended to gain even more power than he imagined.
Sitting in his room, the Daimyo looked utterly crestfallen. He had previously been smug about Konoha Ninja Village suffering losses due to the Lord Incident, but unexpectedly, in just the span of a sleep and an awakening, the situation had undergone a drastic change.
Sometimes the Daimyo wondered if he was dreaming now, but the cruel reality told him that what was before him was real.