Sure enough.
Hearing that Terumi Mei, the Mizukage herself, would personally guarantee his safety, the Water Daimyo visibly relaxed.
In these Daimyos' eyes, the title of "Kage" still carried tremendous weight.
With the Mizukage personally protecting him, the Water Daimyo was finally at ease regarding his own safety.
He lightly rubbed his temples, a faintly sinister smile playing across his lips.
"In that case, let's go see that stubborn old fool."
The Water Daimyo chuckled and turned toward the door.
Terumi Mei and the others naturally followed.
Before long.
After passing through a corridor, the Water Daimyo and his group arrived before another room.
Two middle-aged men dressed as warriors stood quietly on either side of the door.
They glanced at each other upon seeing the Water Daimyo's party, then quickly pulled the door open.
The Water Daimyo strode in with an air of authority.
"Fujinuma Ai. Greetings, Your Excellency."
A beautiful woman in a kimono with wheat-colored skin rose from the center of the room and bowed respectfully.
The Water Daimyo glanced at her, then scanned the room. Finding no one else, he raised an eyebrow.
"Tch. I thought Hitoshi would come himself."
"So you're the one he sent to contact me."
The Water Daimyo's tone turned cold, a flash of displeasure in his eyes.
Fujinuma Ai's expression immediately turned solemn. She bowed to the Water Daimyo.
"For a matter of this importance, His Excellency naturally would not entrust it to an intermediary."
She explained quickly, but her voice was remarkably calm.
The "Hitoshi" the Water Daimyo had mentioned was the Daimyo of the Land of Earth.
"Oh? Then where is he?"
The Water Daimyo raised an eyebrow, his voice still cold.
"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency."
Fujinuma Ai spoke as her hands rapidly formed seals.
Moments later!
Under everyone's gaze, the flat floor began to sink. A hidden underground passage large enough for two people appeared in the room.
Fujinuma Ai gestured toward the passage entrance with a welcoming motion.
Terumi Mei's eyes narrowed slightly.
So that was how they had infiltrated the area. Using Earth Release to tunnel in explained why the Fire Country's forces hadn't detected them.
"Hmph!"
The Water Daimyo let out a dismissive snort and headed toward the underground entrance.
As a minister of the Land of Water, Kitagawa naturally followed.
One of the two Hidden Mist ninjas who had accompanied Terumi Mei remained at the entrance with Fujinuma Ai.
The other followed the Water Daimyo and Kitagawa into the underground chamber.
Terumi Mei and Ao stepped back out of the room and stood guard outside.
Their primary concern was protecting against the Fire Daimyo's forces. As for the meeting between the Water and Earth Daimyos, it had been mutually agreed upon, so the risk of danger was minimal.
After stepping out of the room.
"Mizukage-sama, having both nations' Daimyos involved in this–isn't that somewhat…"
Ao, who had been silent until now, spoke with a slight frown.
In Ao's view, this was a matter between shinobi. But the involvement of Daimyos added layers of unnecessary complexity.
Hearing Ao's words, Terumi Mei smiled, a mysterious light flickering in her eyes.
"What you're thinking is likely exactly what the Fire Daimyo is thinking right now. That's precisely why he hasn't yet grasped the true danger of this situation."
Terumi Mei's voice was calm. She paused briefly and turned to Ao:
"Remember, our goal isn't merely to conquer Konoha. Uniting the shinobi world is Lord Yuto's and the Hidden Mist's true objective!"
"Your vision is too narrow, Ao. The shinobi world encompasses far more than just a few hidden villages."
Ao's body jolted. A look of shame crossed his face.
The victory at Konoha had unconsciously made him forget that this was only the very first step!
"So… the Daimyos' participation…"
Ao still harbored some doubts.
Though Ao hadn't finished his thought, Terumi Mei understood what he was asking.
"The Land of Fire and every other nation possess vast territories and lands, while the number of shinobi remains far too small."
"Until we are fully prepared, letting our Daimyos take the forefront can deflect a significant portion of the pressure from us."
Terumi Mei's eyes held a cold gleam as she smiled.
Though every hidden village showed great respect to their nation's Daimyo, that was merely surface-level behavior.
The relationship between a shinobi village and its Daimyo's office was one of mutual dependence.
The Fire Daimyo's office and Konoha might have enjoyed a better relationship.
But when it came to the Land of Wind and the Land of Water, the relationships between those Daimyos' offices and their respective villages could be described as openly antagonistic.
Simply avoiding sabotaging each other was already remarkable.
The weaker a nation was, the more it feared the power residing within its borders.
This was an inherent trait.
Terumi Mei felt not the slightest guilt about manipulating her own Daimyo.
Moreover, at this point, it wasn't really a manipulation at all–it was an enormous gift.
In the underground chamber at that moment.
The Water Daimyo and the Earth Daimyo sat facing each other, a map spread on the table between them.
It was a map of the entire Land of Fire!
The Earth Daimyo was a stern-looking elderly man with a rough, commanding presence.
Compared to the somewhat effeminate Water Daimyo, the Earth Daimyo was clearly superior in both bearing and manner.
"Since we're both here, let's skip the pleasantries."
The Earth Daimyo got straight to the point, picking up a pen and drawing a line across the map of the Land of Fire, splitting it in two.
"Using this line as the boundary, the left half is mine and the right half is yours."
After drawing the line, the Earth Daimyo tossed the pen aside and declared bluntly.
The Water Daimyo's face turned slightly green as he looked at the line.
Two-thirds of the Land of Fire's territory had been claimed by the Earth Daimyo!
Under such an absurdly unfair division, the fact that the Water Daimyo didn't slam his fist on the table was testament to his restraint.
"Are you joking?"
The Water Daimyo's eyes narrowed, his voice cold.
"Your Land of Water is tiny. The portion I've given you is nearly twice the size of your entire nation."
The Earth Daimyo spoke with a cold sneer.
Of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Water had the smallest territory. The other four nations all harbored varying degrees of contempt for it.
Facing the domineering Earth Daimyo, the Water Daimyo took a deep breath and suppressed his anger. A faint smile played on his lips.
In the past, facing a major power like the Land of Earth, the Water Daimyo would never have dared to be so bold.
The Land of Water was situated on the islands. Without special circumstances, it generally didn't participate in continental conflicts.
But things were different now!
And the Water Daimyo had the confidence to back it up.
"Our Land of Water may be small, but our current strength is not to be underestimated. For instance, the First Mizukage–Yuto."
The Water Daimyo's eyes narrowed, his tone laced with mockery.
At the name "Yuto."
The Earth Daimyo's brow furrowed, and a flash of wariness crossed his eyes.
For Yuto and Uchiha Madara–two beings who were practically natural disasters.
Even Daimyos at the pinnacle of the power structure couldn't help but feel fear and apprehension.
Though the Earth Daimyo had reservations, he didn't let it show.
"Is that so? Our side also has Uchiha Madara."
The Earth Daimyo maintained his calm composure as he spoke.
"Oh?"
The Water Daimyo raised an eyebrow, feigning thought. "If I recall correctly, Uchiha Madara was born in the Land of Fire, wasn't he?"
"Your Land of Earth wouldn't happen to be relying on another nation's shinobi, would it?"
Watching the Water Daimyo's sardonic expression, the Earth Daimyo felt a vein throb in his temple.
With his fiery temper, if not for his genuine reservations, he would have flipped the table long ago.
Since when did a small nation like the Land of Water dare to provoke him?
Indeed!
In the Earth Daimyo's eyes, though the Land of Water was nominally one of the Five Great Nations, it was nothing more than a minor state.
Seeing that the Earth Daimyo appeared angry but made no move to flip the table, the Water Daimyo's eyes flickered with satisfaction.
"It seems we need to renegotiate."
The Water Daimyo narrowed his eyes, waved behind him, and smiled.
Kitagawa, standing respectfully in the rear, produced a fresh map of the Land of Fire and placed it at the center of the table.
Konoha Year 61, June 9th.
The Hidden Mist Village and Hidden Stone Village, under the leadership of Yuto and Uchiha Madara–two beings of beyond-Kage power–breached Konoha's defenses and invaded the Land of Fire.
Konoha Year 61, June 11th, dusk!
The allied forces of the Hidden Mist and Hidden Stone broke through Konoha's main gates. The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, fell in battle. The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, was captured by the Hidden Mist.
Konoha Year 61, June 13th, dawn.
The Hidden Leaf Village of the Land of Fire announced its demise!
The former Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, personally reassured all the civilians residing in the village, instructing everyone to return to their homes and guaranteeing that the Hidden Mist Village would not harm any law-abiding citizens.
Simultaneously, Tsunade announced that she had officially joined the Hidden Mist Village.
Immediately after.
The Hidden Mist Village issued bounties on the fleeing former Konoha shinobi.
The Hidden Mist also issued a second directive.
If the fugitive Konoha shinobi showed genuine remorse and defected, they too could join the Hidden Mist, just as Tsunade had done.
Whether this directive was sincere or merely a trap to lure the Konoha fugitives into a net remained unknown.
As this news spread outward.
The shinobi world was shaken to its core!
The Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Cloud Village, and every minor shinobi village received word of Konoha's destruction with absolute terror.
Konoha–the village that had stood at the apex of the shinobi world through three Great Ninja Wars–had fallen in a sudden, catastrophic collapse.
In just a matter of days!
The Hidden Cloud Village had harbored the secret hope of waiting until the three great villages exhausted each other before stepping in to aid Konoha. That plan was now shattered.
Without Konoha standing in the vanguard, the Hidden Cloud instantly recognized the perilous position they now occupied.
The Fourth Raikage A was rumored to have smashed yet another desk.
As for the Hidden Sand Village, they were surprisingly calm.
Ebizō, the village elder, seemed somewhat preoccupied with other matters, frequently slipping away to go fishing. Regardless of whether he caught anything, he always returned with heavy sighs.
The Land of Fire.
The former Hokage's office within Konoha.
Yuto sat in the Hokage's chair, rubbing his temples.
The previous night, he had spent the entire time in the Hyuga Clan's secret vault, poring over records this ancient family had accumulated about the shinobi world.
In the current shinobi world, if any clan possessed the most complete historical records, it was likely only the Hyuga.
After an entire night of studying scrolls and documents, Yuto hadn't obtained the specific intelligence he sought, but he had gained something.
According to the Hyuga Clan's records.
The entire shinobi world had been divided into five eras since antiquity.
These were: the Primordial Era, the Ancient Era, the Sage Era, the Warring States Era, and the current era of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
The Five Shinobi Villages Era and the Warring States Era required no explanation–Yuto had been born during the Warring States period and needed no further education on them.
What truly interested Yuto were the first three eras.
According to the scrolls.
In the Primordial Era, there was no chakra and no shinobi. Everyone appeared to be ordinary.
It was only near the end of the Primordial Era that a great tree appeared on the land.
Yuto speculated that this tree was likely the God Tree–the Ten-Tails.
In the Ancient Era, two powerful nations emerged on the continent. One was stronger, and the other was weaker.
Just as the stronger nation was about to destroy the weaker one, a goddess appeared in the small nation.
Her arrival helped the weak nation withstand the strong nation's attacks.
Faced with this stalemate, the powerful nation threatened to kill the goddess and then leave the small nation in peace forever.
What happened after that was not recorded in the scrolls.
Though the Ancient Era's records were sparse, Yuto had discovered several intriguing details.
First, the goddess who descended to the small nation was none other than Ōtsutsuki Kaguya–that much was obvious.
But that was precisely where things became interesting.
According to the records, Kaguya had helped the weak nation "withstand" the strong nation's attacks.
The fascinating detail lay in those words.
"Withstand!" That single phrase!
[
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