When the envoy delegations from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure arrived at Konoha and saw the smiles on the villagers' faces, they all felt strange. They didn't see the expected smugness. Instead, there was only curiosity. And this curiosity wasn't even directed at them, but at the newly appointed Fifth Hokage.
"How do you think he'll arrange things?"
"This was a massive victory, they'll definitely have to pay reparations."
"Even the Fourth Raikage died in battle, what else is there to say?"
"The question is just how much they'll pay."
"Don't forget, behind their villages stand the Five Great Nations."
"I expect the Daimyos of their countries have already reached a compromise with our Daimyo. After all, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure lost miserably this time."
"With reparations being paid secretly to the Daimyo, the village definitely won't get much more."
"Hiss... If you put it that way, won't they barely pay anything at all?"
"Doesn't that mean this war was won for nothing?"
"The bottom line should be signing a non-aggression pact for several decades. After all, in this war, those villages haven't put forth their full strength yet. If a real war breaks out, even if we win, Konoha would likely be destroyed."
"Yeah, at most there will be just a little bit of extra compensation."
Without the villagers who used to insult the Uchiha clan, the current villagers were very rational and had no intention of trying to please these envoys just to make the agreement go smoothly.
Shikaku led the envoy delegations of Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure to the Envoy Guesthouse.
"You all must be exhausted from your journey. Rest for a day at the guesthouse. Please do not wander around at will during this time, lest another envoy dies here in Konoha." Shikaku said with a smile, glancing at the Kumogakure Envoy Delegation.
Kumogakure Envoy Delegation: "..."
The Kumogakure Envoy Delegation this time included members from the previous one. They shrunk their necks back, looking somewhat afraid.
They weren't stupid. Last time, the situation in Konoha was chaotic, but this time the Uchiha were in charge, and A had been killed. Would they dare to act recklessly?
Forget leaving the guesthouse, they didn't even dare to step out of their room doors, for fear of being retaliated against by the Uchiha because of the previous envoy delegation's incident.
The envoy delegations from Iwagakure and Kirigakure were both visiting Konoha for the first time, and they were all somewhat worried and uneasy. But once they thought about how their own Daimyos and Tsuchikage/Mizukage had said things were already coordinated and they only needed to sign the truce, they felt at ease.
—
Uchiha Clan Compound, Hiromi's home.
While brewing tea, Shisui remarked with emotion, "I didn't expect the Daimyo to pull this move."
Two hours before the envoy delegations from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure entered Konoha, he had received a handwritten letter from the Daimyo. It stated that reparations had already been coordinated with the Land of Lightning, Land of Earth, and Land of Water, and Konoha only needed to sign the truce.
Looking at the envoy delegations from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure, it really seemed like they were just here to go through the motions. Clearly, those so-called reparations had already been pocketed by the Daimyo.
So after this great victory for Konoha, the final result was merely signing a truce.
How would the entire Ninja World view Konoha then?
They certainly wouldn't think Konoha was a soft target.
Obviously, this was a warning from the Daimyo.
"I expect there's some sort of military advisor by his side." Hiromi laughed.
Shisui also laughed, shaking his head slightly.
This advisor has some brains, but not much.
Anyone who knows the character of Konoha's tyrant, Hiromi, would know.
Make him suffer a loss?
Even Hiruzen, who possessed both power and strength, couldn't do it. You, a Daimyo with only power, think you can?
This kind of suppression will only have one consequence.
"Send someone to take control of him." Hiromi said.
"Alright." Shisui agreed immediately without hesitation.
Moving against a Daimyo wasn't a huge problem. Even though those Daimyos were surrounded by many ninja bodyguards, to the truly powerful, they were nothing special.
The important thing was that once exposed, it would violate the Ninja World's rule that one must not move against a Daimyo. When that time comes, the tragedy of one would cause others to mourn. The Daimyos of other nations would surely be enraged. At that point, there would be two possible shifts in the Ninja World.
First, other villages, wary of Konoha, would respond to the Daimyos' rage and rise up in a mass attack, with tens of thousands of ninjas besieging Konoha.
Second, other villages would follow Konoha's lead, turning the tables to become their own masters and choosing not to be enemies with Konoha.
During the Sengoku era, the distribution of various forces was complex, and the status of ninjas was very low. They were like mercenaries, their lives precarious every day.
It was only after Hashirama unified them into Konoha that they began to stand up a bit.
The ninjas, who had always been slaves before, felt that this was already very good.
But now that decades have passed, the former slaves have grown old, and the current ninjas must find the existence of the Daimyo irrational and irritating.
Therefore, following option one, if they successfully destroyed Konoha, the other villages would surely plan carefully to become their own masters, making the Kage the Daimyo.
Whether it was the first or second option, those so-called Daimyos were doomed to die. Thus, regarding the Daimyo, not only did Hiromi not care, but even Shisui didn't care.
After all, who cares about a dead man?
"Um..."
Yahiko, who was nearby, cautiously raised his hand. "Should I... go out?"
He really didn't mean to eavesdrop. He thought Shisui had come in just for small talk, he didn't expect the conversation to go straight to controlling the Daimyo.
Shisui glanced at him, then looked toward Hiromi.
Hiromi had a smile on his face. "Yahiko."
"Present!"
Yahiko's heart trembled, and he stood up straight with a reflexive nervousness.
These past few days, he had been following the Uchiha Root Members on missions. Although he hadn't come into contact with classified information, he had gained a general understanding of the current landscape of the Ninja World. He had also come to realize just how powerful the boy he slept in the same room with every day was.
Activating Susanoo in the village, hunting down A, killing Yagura...
Now his bounty at the Bounty Station had reached a staggering one billion. He was not a Kage, yet he was already the strongest Kage.
"How have you been lately?" Hiromi asked with a smile.
"Uh... alright, I guess?"
Hiromi narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Mm, Nagato and Konan are still alive."
"Really?" Yahiko was pleasantly surprised.
Intelligence regarding Amegakure was scarce, and while there was news about the Akatsuki, this brutal mercenary version of Akatsuki was certainly not the organization he once knew. Therefore, hearing news of Nagato and Konan brought him great joy.
He was delighted and began to ponder in his heart what price he would have to pay to get information about the two of them from Hiromi.
Unexpectedly, Hiromi spoke directly, "Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, is a puppet controlled by Nagato. Konan is right by his side."
Yahiko felt as if he had been struck by lightning, staring blankly at Hiromi.
"The leader of the Akatsuki is... Nagato?!"
He unconsciously held his breath, eyes wide, staring fixedly at Hiromi. It was as if he wanted to see if Hiromi was lying to him.
Hiromi narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Do you know why your hair was dyed black? Do you know why you're required to wear a mask whenever you leave the Uchiha Clan Compound?"
Yahiko's pupils constricted violently, the shock in his heart impossible to calm.
Because... he is Nagato's puppet, Pain...
The moment he reached this conclusion, the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. He lowered his head in a suppressed silence, his gaze appearing very gloomy.
The smile remained on Hiromi's face as he observed him intently.
Time passed second by second, and the room was deathly quiet.
Shisui did not make a sound, watching calmly.