The Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools was over eighty years old.
He had ascended to the throne during the Warring States Period. In the turbulent late Warring States era, he tightly bound himself to the Uzumaki clan. That the Uzumaki clan did not merge into Konoha was partly due to his efforts.
During the era of "One Country, One Village," he fully supported the Uzumaki clan in building their own independent village. That way, his Land of Whirlpools wouldn't have to answer to others.
The special marital ties between the Senju and Uzumaki clans made life good for the Land of Whirlpools.
Unfortunately, the First and Second Hokage died one after another, greatly diminishing Uzushiogakure's value.
Later, Uzushiogakure was completely destroyed, and the Uzumaki clan was annihilated.
The Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools had no choice but, at over eighty years of age, to journey to the capital of the Land of Fire, bow his head to the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, and become a vassal state.
He originally thought that by lowering his posture enough, he could continue to have his clan rule the Land of Whirlpools.
However, a major incident last night made the Daimyō feel that something extremely bad was happening.
The samurai he sent to rescue his nephews had been slaughtered.
Those three nephews all had their problems.
One liked to levy heavy taxes within his territory.
One loved deep-sea sashimi, conscripting fishermen every month for deep-sea fishing, resulting in many fishermen's deaths.
The last one liked women. Any woman with even a bit of looks in his territory, regardless of age, was seized and taken to his mansion.
But those three were his nephews. Because Konoha and Kirigakure were at war, they were hiding in the capital. He couldn't let anything happen to them.
He had even dispatched six Guardian Ninja.
Yet, the Guardian Ninja had not returned last night either.
The Daimyō sat in the great hall, awaiting his subordinates' investigation results.
A subordinate hurried into the hall. Someone from Konoha had arrived and entered the Tenshu Castle.
Doors throughout the Tenshu Castle swung open one after another. Rows of servants knelt on either side of the path, the Daimyō's way of showing his regard for the Konoha ninja.
Apart from missions and Guardian Ninja duties, Konoha ninja rarely left the village.
The nobles sustained the ninja with missions, and the ninja helped the nobles kill commoners who dared to rebel. Both sides had always cooperated well.
Yokoshima followed behind Lord Hidan, looking at the kneeling servants lining the path. He gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.
The village chief had once said that if one could become a noble's servant, one could eat their fill.
He had once dreamed of being chosen by some noble.
These servants didn't dare look up. Their lives weren't as good as Yokoshima had once imagined.
The Daimyō stood at the foot of the hall's steps. He saw the Konoha visitor was wearing a mask.
That fox mask was very famous. The visitor was Konoha's Anbu Commander, Fox.
As for the Daimyō's own Guardian Ninja, they were all following behind Fox, showing no intention of protecting him.
After brief formalities, everyone entered the great hall.
The Daimyō looked at Fox, Guardian Ninja Captain Yamanaka Kari, and the young man with the triple-bladed scythe on his back, unsure what Konoha truly intended.
Yōkō slid a scroll toward the Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools. The Daimyō's servant hurried over, took the scroll, and with a bowed back and lowered head, presented it to the Daimyō.
The Daimyō opened the scroll and glanced at it, unable to help reading aloud: "Termination of Guardianship Agreement? Freedom of Passage Agreement?"
"Yes," Yōkō said.
"I am the Commander of Konoha's Anbu, and also the leader of the Three Gods Religion.
The Three Gods Religion is establishing temples or altars in major towns.
Any place with a temple or altar allows ninja, using the Three Gods Religion's Flying Altar scrolls, to achieve instant teleportation.
From now on, the previous guardian relationship between Konoha and the inability will end.
Konoha ninja will no longer confine themselves to Konoha. They will move freely through any town in the shinobi world.
Before, if something happened in the capital of the Land of Whirlpools, we either relied on Guardian Ninja or had to send ninja from Konoha, taking nine days of travel to reach here.
In the future, if something happens here, Konoha ninja can arrive instantly.
Therefore, the Guardian Ninja system for the Daimyō is no longer necessary."
"Impossible!" The Daimyō panicked, then immediately said sharply,
"Konoha will no longer protect the nobility?
The Land of Whirlpools is fully supporting Konoha's war! To defeat Kirigakure, my Land of Whirlpools has suffered immense losses too.
How can you simply decide to stop protecting the nobility?
Does the Hokage of your village know about this?
Does the Daimyō of the Land of Fire know about this?"
Yōkō said, "The Hokage certainly knows. In fact, the Hokage clearly supports me. The signature on this scroll is that of the Third Hokage, Lord Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Yamanaka Kari only felt a wave of unease.
Before, whenever Konoha made a major decision, Lord Nara Shikaku would be among the first to know.
Such a massive reform in Konoha, and because Lord Nara Shikaku is serving as the front-line commander, he knows nothing about it.
Now, the only high-ranking officials in the village are the Hokage and Lord Fox. The two of them have actually made such a huge decision.
Yamanaka Kari glanced at Hidan.
Lord Fox had secretly founded the Three Gods Religion outside the village. This religion could actually allow ninja to teleport instantly—mysterious and powerful.
No wonder the Hokage agreed to such a major change. If the Three Gods Religion truly allowed ninja to appear instantly in any town, Konoha's influence would rise to a whole new level.
The Daimyō gasped for breath and said, "Commander Fox, aren't you afraid I might turn around and hire Kiri-nin as my Guardian Ninja instead?"
Yōkō stood up and said, "It's a deal! I'll await your good news."
"You!"
The Daimyō was speechless, watching helplessly as Fox led his people out of the great hall.
After the Konoha group left, the hall fell into a silence that was extremely quiet, frighteningly so.
The Minister of the Left shuffled forward on his knees, slowly moving behind the Daimyō. He said,
"Your Highness, the reason we can rule the Land of Whirlpools, the reason we can do as we please here, is that even if commoners rebel, they are powerless against ninja and their jutsu.
If... if Konoha ninja no longer protect us nobles... wouldn't that mean if we face a commoner rebellion, and Konoha remains neutral, we could be overthrown by those low-born scum?"
The Daimyō remained silent.
Fox's so-called Three Gods Religion and altars had completely altered the power dynamics of the Land of Whirlpools.
The Daimyō sighed and said, "First, contact the Daimyō of the Land of Fire. See what his stance is.
If the Daimyō of the Land of Fire has any ideas, we will follow his lead.
If even the Daimyō of the Land of Fire can do nothing about Konoha's reforms, what can we do?
Can we really go and hire Kiri-nin..."
Inside the temple in the capital, Yōkō stood before the altar in the temple courtyard with Yamanaka Kari and the other twelve former Guardian Ninja.
Yōkō said, "I've stationed a follower in this temple.
This follower manages the Flying Altar scrolls. As long as one has Konoha's permission or pays a usage fee, anyone can use the Flying Altar Technique to travel to other altar locations.
Jōnin Kari, why don't you all try using the Flying Altar Technique to return to Konoha first."
Yamanaka Kari found it incredible. He first asked, "Lord Fox, what about you? Aren't you returning to Konoha?"
Yōkō said, "I underestimated the difficulty of reform. We've encountered quite a bit of resistance.
I need to ask Section Head Nara Shikaku for help in dealing with the resistance and troubles facing the reform.
Therefore..."
Yōkō looked toward the direction of the sea and said, "The war in the Land of Whirlpools should end. We don't have time to waste with the Kiri-nin."
Yamanaka Kari asked, "Lord Fox, are you going to the front lines?"
"Yes. It's time to let the Kiri-nin feel what despair is."
Yamanaka Kari watched as Commander Fox left with several Anbu members. He then turned his puzzled gaze to the follower of the Three Gods Religion.
The follower took out a scroll and said, "Please stand within five meters of the altar, Konoha ninja. I will help you teleport instantly."
A sealing formula glowed on the altar, and formula patterns spread across the ground around it.
An instant later, Yamanaka Kari's vision changed. He saw the Hokage Rock!
He had returned to Konoha. Looking around, he was inside a temple.
This temple was the former Uzumaki clan's Nademon Hall, which had now become a temple of the Three Gods Religion.
Yamanaka Kari said, "Lord Shikaku really shouldn't be commanding the war anymore. The Flying Altar Technique is more important for Konoha."
(End of Chapter)