Chapter 47
Damn, it was worse than he thought. That new Daimyo from the Land of Rice Fields was quite cunning. She went straight to Hiruzen with her demands instead of presenting them to the Daimyo. She was justified in doing that. It became a lot more complicated than necessary, and Hiruzen didn't like it one bit.
She could have directly asked the Daimyo to lower taxes for trade or seek another form of compensation. The Daimyo would have agreed, if only to save face in the eyes of other countries, ensuring that others continued to view him as a peacekeeper while demonstrating that he had no involvement in the attack.
But no, she came to him. Hiruzen could not accept those conditions; they were too big a sign of weakness. And giving up secret information? That was too much for anyone. That damn Daimyo didn't even bother to hide her intentions. She wanted Hiruzen to reject the conditions so she could push the Daimyo of the Land of Fire even further.
Now here he was, caught between a rock and a hard place. The Official's anger was understandable. However, Hiruzen could also become unnecessarily angry and spout nonsense, but that wouldn't solve anything. So, Hiruzen simply looked at the man, trying to calm him down, and it seemed to work as he plopped back into his seat.
"You're tired," Hiruzen said, unable to think of anything else to say. "I will think about what you have said overnight, so why don't you rest up in our hot springs and try some delicacies? Or perhaps you would be interested in sightseeing the village?"
"Very well, I will accept your offer; it's getting late, too."
Hiruzen waited until the government dog hurriedly left before leaning back in his chair. What a coincidence that he shared the same name as the dog Haku had named. That was the only thing Hiruzen could think of to lighten the mood. Was there no way out of this situation? The best approach would be to let the Daimyo cut funding for the village and demonstrate that he was a bigger man, and accept that failure has consequences.
If only he had some system that dictated his life and could lend him a hand. Anything would be nice, a mission to point him in the right direction. But no, it remained silent, as it was useless. After all this time, he still had no idea what the point of the system was or what it wanted from Hiruzen, but he had no luxury to ponder it now.
…
He is going to die, isn't he? Saito soaked in the hot spring as he reflected on what he had done. Cutting funding, sure, the Daimyo needed to look strong and show that such failure wasn't accepted. So, he would cut the enormous funding they had been providing to Konoha by a third, maybe even less.
But taking away Konoha's autonomy was something he shouldn't have claimed. It would never happen. Konoha was the most powerful village in the world. Everyone knew that. Even after a monster almost destroyed it, it had already been rebuilt to this point in a year. He had seen projects to build a simple bridge over a river take more than three years to complete.
This was ridiculous, but Orochimaru's actions did scare many. They had almost forgotten what a shinobi was capable of. The Daimyo had his twelve guardians, but could they defend him against someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi? They could easily be killed. And there he was, provoking one of the most dangerous people in the world.
Once he returned to the capital, he would retire and hide in the countryside. He would let other fools play these dangerous games with monsters and literal gods. Hopefully, Hiruzen would not take drastic action and simply refuse to accept the conditions. Then his job would be done, and he wouldn't have to interact with the shinobi world anymore.
"Hehehe," at least there was some normalcy in the hot springs; perverts trying to peek into women's baths were common wherever he went. "Come on, just a little more to the right, just a bit. No, not the left. Damn it, so close."
Saito remembered his younger days when he did the same. Those were some sad times when he couldn't get a girlfriend, and the only way he thought he could experience true happiness was by peeping on them like a pervert. Just like this youth, from his long white hair, Saito could tell that he was a punk.
Or at least that's what Saito thought until the man stood up. He was a giant, towering above him, built like a boulder with muscles that had muscles. Saito knew he would be crushed to paste by that man's bare hands. And he was just a middle-aged man, not a youngster anymore, who was reckless with his actions. He was just on the verge of reprimanding the man for his actions, almost getting himself killed again.
They were all monsters. He could not let his guard down. He really disliked his job at the moment and just wanted to go home. Saito was on the verge of crying, so rather than accepting the invitation for dinner, he went straight to his bed. Hoping to end his journey sooner.
…
He lost, didn't he? Hiruzen thought all night, trying to come up with something, but nothing worked out. Hikari Saito cornered Hiruzen with no escape. Maybe he was more experienced in the political world; he could devise something, but he wasn't, and could only accept his defeat.
"Hokage-sama, I hope you rested well and have your answer."
Look at him. So smug, knowing well that Hiruzen hadn't had a moment to rest as he racked his brain. The moment he arrived, Hikari Saito saw through Hiruzen's plans to delay and didn't fall for them. He even refused dinner and drinks, not letting his guard down for a second. He was walking over Hiruzen, and the saddest part was that Hiruzen could do nothing. He was outclassed.
"Orochimaru is a criminal, a traitor, and not part of Konoha," Hiruzen replied. "His actions are his alone. I will deny any association with him and will only offer my condolences to the Land of Rice and the Daimyo's family. Nothing more."
"Very well, I will deliver your answer to Daimyo-sama, and he shall inform you of his decision."
Everything went as he thought it would, didn't it? This old man didn't expect anything from Hiruzen because he knew there was nothing Hiruzen could do. Damn monster, Hiruzen now realized that he had underestimated the old government dog. If there were anyone else, he might have been able to buy more time. But not with this old dog.
The dog left victorious, leaving Hiruzen utterly defeated. His funding would likely be completely cut, possibly leaving a portion intact as a reminder that Konoha still belongs to the Land of Fire. He had time only until next year to achieve some form of economic independence.
He would have to utilize Kusagakure to its full capabilities, along with the newly acquired businesses. How? He had no idea. Still, he had to believe that the village's autonomy wouldn't be stripped away. It would be detrimental not only to the village but also to the Land of Fire. If they tried to manage it, they would fail miserably and leave them all vulnerable to attacks from other villages.
"Shizune, call in Fugaku."
"Yes, sir."
He lost today, but he would not grovel on the ground in defeat. There were many other matters he needed to settle and prepare for. Lives were on the line, and he had no intentions of losing ever again. It was a costly wake-up call, even if Hiruzen felt he was receiving such calls a bit too often these days.
"You called for me, Hokage-sama," Fugaku entered the office moments later with a cold expression that suited him well.
"How is the hunt going?" Hiruzen asked.
"Not as well as I wished. The Akatsuki know how to hide their tracks. Most of the time, they avoid drawing attention, just appearing where needed and leaving before anyone can catch them."
"It won't be easy to have your members in other countries from now on," Hiruzen said. "We need to lay low for a while. We know they will attack Kusagakure. I need you to be ready to intervene at the right moment. So, I will have you patrol the area until the threat is dealt with."
"Very well," Fugaku replied. "I anticipated this; I will depart immediately."
With Fugaku, Hiruzen didn't need to worry about Kusagakure for now. He and the ROOT were more than enough to handle a few Akatsuki. Now he only had the Chunin Exams to think about. He had already considered the tests the genin would need to take; he just needed Shikaku's and Inoichi's opinions.
"Shizune, do we still have no response from Kirigakura and Sunagakure?" Hiruzen checked his table but couldn't find what he hoped would be there.
"No, sir."
"Well, I gave them a warning—that is far more than they should have expected."
He didn't need another political backlash, so he had sent out warnings to those villages that some of their members were collaborating with the Akatsuki, which he considered a terrorist group rather than a mere mercenary crew containing the most dangerous rogue shinobi. He would show no mercy to them, even if they were missing-nin from other villages.
This should be enough to protect him from any nonsense they might stir up if Fugaku managed to eliminate them. It also set Hiruzen apart from Orochimaru, as he viewed him as nothing but a criminal, and no action would be taken should other villages wish to confront him. Of course, Hiruzen knew no one would try their luck.
Firstly, Orochimaru was a Sannin, a recognized shinobi worldwide. Any attempt to capture or kill him would be risky—a risk no one really needed, especially while other villages believed Orochimaru was an enemy of Konoha. Hiruzen should find some way to use this, but he would prefer if Orochimaru buried himself somewhere deep and did nothing. Hopefully, this would be the last time Hiruzen heard of him.
…
Inoichi Yamanaka didn't know how to feel about his new patients. He loved helping his fellow shinobi in his free time, as his unique ability to enter others' minds was useful for treating trauma. However, receiving two new patients he never expected was quite a surprise. Both Tsume Inuzuka and Kakashi Hatake were deeply wounded individuals, whom Inoichi thought would rather endure their pain than ask for help.
"So, what do you think?"
On the other hand, he wondered whether he should agree with the Third's idea of a test. From his experience, betrayal was the worst thing anyone could face. He could see that many young shinobi could be traumatized by the test. It was heartless and brutal, yet not entirely out of bounds.
"Most people will choose their own lives over those of others, even their friends," Shikaku said. "They will experience firsthand that they can't trust anyone in the world, even their comrades."
"Or the opposite," Hiruzen replied. "They will see how far mutual trust can take them. A betrayal by those who trusted them will have consequences. Only the strong will be able to bear it."
"It will bring out the worst in them," Inoichi said. "But that is the only way to see if they are ready to enter the shinobi world fully."
What most concerned Inoichi was that most of them would be children whose dreams could be crushed and whose perspectives on the world could be warped. Those attending the exams will already be under immense pressure from their villages, and this first test could destroy most of them.
A.N., As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any worries.If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.