"Lord Kakashi, what should we do with the people in the cave next door?" Uchiha Inahime changed the subject. In another cave not far from this one, the families of these officials were being held captive.
"Take good care of them. We're not devils." Kakashi coldly smiled at the nobles trapped in the terror of genjutsu. "These are all our future partners."
"Yes!" Uchiha Inahime nodded and withdrew, while Kakashi sat in a chair, slowly waiting for the nobles under the genjutsu to wake up.
As an elite among the younger generation of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Inahime's mastery of genjutsu was naturally superb. The genjutsu used on each person present was controlled by him to just reach their limit of endurance, but not to the point of mental breakdown. Kakashi waited slowly, listening to the screams around him, his face showing no emotion.
After confirming that the masked man was indeed his former best friend, Uchiha Obito, Kakashi spent the entire night pondering the test tube containing Obito's last possession—the Mangekyō Sharingan—given to him by Uchiha Touhuan. He couldn't understand why the once cheerful, hot-blooded, and somewhat foolish boy had become like this.
However, when Kakashi recalled what Uchiha Touhuan had once told him, he reluctantly came to a conclusion: this ninja world was definitely afflicted with a serious illness.
"Obito, rest in peace."
Kakashi took out the test tube, silently watching the Mangekyō Sharingan floating in the nutrient solution, his face expressionless, only the flickering flames reflecting on his features.
"So that no one else in this world will repeat our mistakes, let our generation bear all the sins."
Kakashi thought to himself. At that moment, Kikuchi Tomoyuki, the first to be affected by the Naraku Sight Technique, had finished his genjutsu. Seeing this, Kakashi put away the test tube and approached him.
Kakashi crouched down and gently wiped the cold sweat from Kikuchi Tomoyuk's face with a kunai.
The icy touch of the sharp kunai against his face sent a chill down Kikuchi Tomoyuki's spine.
"Does the Minister of Construction understand his current predicament?" Kakashi asked calmly and gently.
"Yes, yes," Kikuchi Tomoyuki hurriedly replied.
At this moment, the others also broke free from the genjutsu, all of them panting heavily, looking as if they had escaped death.
Kakashi sat back down in the chair by the campfire, looking down at these people who were usually so high and mighty.
"Tell me, why did you petition the Daimyo to interfere with the appointment of the Fifth Hokage?" Kakashi said coldly.
The people in the cave exchanged glances, none daring to speak up.
"Do you think that just because you've taken money from a few treacherous Konoha ninja clans, you can do whatever you want?" Kakashi toyed with his kunai, then continued, "Tell me, what do you think the Daimyo would do if he knew you had secret connections with Konoha ninja clans?"
The nobles and officials present immediately showed fear and panicked.
They knew that, out of respect for their status, the man before them probably wouldn't dare kill them, but if the Daimyo found out about their secret connections with Konoha ninjas, their entire families would be doomed.
"My lord, spare me! This is all a misunderstanding!" A minor nobleman emerged from the crowd, his hands and feet bound, yet he still banged his head against the ground repeatedly. "Those ninjas forced their way into this; I didn't dare spend a single penny!"
"Yes, yes, we have nothing to do with those people; they forced it upon us." The others quickly echoed.
"Is that so? Then the appointment of the Hokage..." Kakashi said with a cold smile.
"It's all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding," Kikuchi Tomoyuki hurriedly said. "When we get back, we'll submit another petition supporting the Uchiha clan head to become Hokage."
"So it was a misunderstanding?" Kakashi laughed. "Then, shouldn't you all express your apologies? After all, it wasn't easy for us to come all the way from Konoha."
With that, Kakashi took out sheets of paper, threw them into the air, and then tossed out a series of kunai, each kunai precisely attaching a list to the front of everyone present.
Kikuchi Tomoyuki took a closer look and saw that the list on the form represented 70% of his current assets.
"This..." Kikuchi Tomoyuki looked up at Kakashi.
"I will send someone back to you all in a bit. You only have one night to gather everything on the form. Otherwise, if I don't see it by tomorrow morning, the heads of your entire families and evidence of your collusion with the Konoha ninja clans will be on the Daimyo's table."
The people present looked at each other, somewhat hesitant.
At this moment, Kakashi suddenly looked at the campfire and said with a light laugh, "Oh dear, this fire is a bit small. I can't let you esteemed lords catch a cold."
As he spoke, Kakashi took out a series of small personal items, such as amulets, from the sealing scroll on his body and threw them into the fire.
"What is this?" Kikuchi Tomoken couldn't hold back when he saw a talisman among the things Kakashi had taken out. This talisman was something he had specially gone to the Fire Temple to get for his son, and now that it was in Kakashi's hands, its significance was self-evident.
Among the items, the others discovered their family members' personal belongings, their faces immediately showing horror.
"What did you do to Taro?" a nobleman from the Land of Fire hurriedly asked.
"Don't worry, everyone, your families are resting well," Kakashi said. "However, I can't guarantee what will happen if you fail to complete the mission by tomorrow morning."
"Guards! Escort these officials home!" Kakashi shouted. Outside the cave, Uchiha Inahime and Shiranui Genma led a squad of elite guards in, pairing off the officials and nobles and dragging them back.
...
The night passed, and the next morning, Kakashi held a stack of scrolls, satisfied, and nodded.
"Go and invite your families here," Kakashi ordered, then returned to the officials.
"You gentlemen are all quite wealthy," Kakashi said. "With so much wealth, how can you not have powerful ninjas protecting you? From now on, your safety will be the responsibility of the Uchiha clan. This is a privilege even the Daimyo doesn't receive."
"Yes..." Kikuchi Tomoyuki and the others nodded hastily.
"The Uchiha clan is currently the strongest ninja clan in the ninja world. Hiring them as your bodyguards will naturally be more expensive," Kakashi said with a smile. "It's reasonable for us to take 70% of your income as a guarantee of your safety, isn't it?" Kikuchi
Tomoyuki and the others wanted to say something, but when they looked down, they saw the kunai held to their necks, so they could only nod hastily and say, "Reasonable, reasonable."
"What about the Hokage appointment?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"We will submit a petition today supporting the Uchiha clan head to become Hokage," Kikuchi Tomoyuki said hastily.
After leaving most of his men in the Fire Capital as guards for the officials, Kakashi, Genma Shiranui, and the other two immediately returned to Touhuan Uchiha's office using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"You're back," Uchiha Touhuan greeted with a smile.
"Yes, the matter is settled." Kakashi approached Touhuan's desk, placed the scroll containing sealed money in front of him, and sat down, saying, "It's all here, a total of 4 billion." Touhuan casually picked up one of the scrolls and tossed it to Genma Shiranui, saying, "You three have worked hard; take this and spend it."
"That's too much," Genma Shiranui and the other two were taken aback. Kakashi had treated them to a good life and given them plenty of food and drink during this time, but this was the first time they'd seen money being given out scroll by scroll. There must be at least two or three hundred million in it.
"Just keep what the Hokage gave you," Kakashi said with a smile.
"Yes! Loyal!" Seeing this, Genma Shiranui and the other two could only nod and salute.
"Alright, you can go ahead and get busy. I'll handle the rest with the Fifth Hokage," Kakashi said.
Soon, Genma Shiranui and the other two left Uchiha Touhuan's office with smiles on their faces.
Uchiha Touhuan brewed some tea and handed a cup to Kakashi.
After drinking the tea, Kakashi began to explain his recent actions to Uchiha Touhuan.
After listening, Uchiha Touhuan nodded and then commented:
"Not bad, but some aspects are still a bit rough."
"Rough?" Kakashi was puzzled. Wasn't all of his actions copied from Touhuan?
"Yes, the method of making money is fine, but your decision to have them withdraw their petition was a bit ill-considered," Uchiha Touhuan explained. "They just submitted a joint petition not long ago, and now they're withdrawing it all at once. It's too conspicuous. If our daimyo is even a little smart, he might figure something out."
"Then what should we do?" Kakashi's expression turned serious upon hearing this.
"Forget it, don't worry," Uchiha Touhuan said with a smile. "It's not a big problem. Even if the daimyo figured it out, it won't matter. That old man won't live much longer anyway."
Kakashi was taken aback.
"By the way, how's the investigation into that old man's offspring going?"
"The daimyo has two sons. The elder son has already been made crown prince and is very popular among the people of Fire City. Everyone in Fire City says he will be a benevolent ruler in the future," Kakashi said.
"Is that so? What about the daimyo's younger son?" Uchiha Touhuan asked.
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