Daimyo

As the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, anyone who could sit in that position for so long was naturally no worthless fool.

Look at the Twelve Guardian Shinobi—every one of them had the strength of a jonin.

Asuma had returned to the Hidden Leaf Village, but that did not mean everyone had left. Serving as guards at the Daimyo's side came with excellent treatment and benefits. What ordinary ninja would be willing to leave?

Not every ninja was like Asuma, with the Sarutobi Clan to inherit, nor were they like Chiriku, a monk of the Temple of Fire with a wealthy foundation who did not need to scramble for money.

Most ninja in this world were still poor.

Take Zabuza, for example. A man who could go toe-to-toe with Kakashi had still been hired by Gato for money.

So, was it not perfectly normal for the Daimyo to have a few jonin guards at his side?

"You can send word to Danzo and tell him to hurry up and think of some terms. Otherwise, I have no interest in indulging his nonsense!"

"Leave!"

The Root ninja still wanted to say something, but he saw the Daimyo reclining on his side while a maid behind him eagerly fed him grapes. Faced with that scene, the Root ninja had a string of curses he did not know whether he should say aloud.

"Yes, sir. This subordinate will take his leave!"

Seeing that the Daimyo did not wish to speak, the Root ninja could only leave obediently.

When someone left, someone else arrived.

A ninja whose entire body, aside from his eyes, was covered in black cloth appeared and dropped to one knee.

"Master, Hidden Leaf jonin Kurenai Yuhi has appeared at the Daimyo's Mansion. Though she tried to conceal herself, this subordinate still discovered her!"

"Oh? Kurenai Yuhi... I remember she and Asuma were quite close. She must be a beautiful woman, then." The Daimyo swallowed a grape and made a teasing remark.

Though he was smiling, his gaze had turned even colder.

"Yes, Master!"

"I should never have allowed Asuma to serve as my guardian ninja. I painstakingly nurtured them for over ten years, only for them to split apart from within in the end. Mū, do you think that is not laughable?"

The black-clothed man, Mū, lowered his head without speaking, kneeling there and listening quietly.

He called the Daimyo his master, which meant he was the Daimyo's household servant. Unlike guardian ninja, his wealth and life were entirely tied to the Daimyo. So long as the Daimyo was displeased, he could take his life at any time.

Of course, so long as the Daimyo was not an idiot, he would basically never do such a thing.

At the thought of Asuma, the Daimyo's stomach was full of resentment with nowhere to vent it.

The Twelve Guardian Shinobi were jonin cultivated with vast resources. They were true jonin who could stand alongside those of a major ninja village like the Hidden Leaf Village, not the inferior goods from some minor ninja village.

More than ten years of painstaking effort had actually ended in an internal split last year.

What a ridiculous reason.

Yet because of such a reason, there was nothing the Daimyo could do to Asuma.

In the Daimyo's estimation, someone capable of such deep scheming could not have been Asuma. That man was, at most, a pawn. Among the old men of the Hidden Leaf Village, Hiruzen Sarutobi had the ability to do it, so he counted as one.

Shimura Danzō counted as half. As for Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, the two of them together counted as half.

Of the four, Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō were the most likely.

And between those two, Hiruzen was far more likely than Shimura Danzō.

When the Fourth Hokage Minato had died in battle, the Third Hokage had shamelessly come to the Daimyo's Mansion, hoping to become Hokage again and take control of the Hidden Leaf Village. The Daimyo had been unwilling a hundred times over.

But he had no choice. That old fox Hiruzen had offered conditions the Daimyo could not refuse.

It was also because of Hiruzen's support that the Twelve Guardian Shinobi at the Daimyo's side had been cultivated so quickly.

And yet, not long after their training was complete, this problem had arisen.

Only after this painful lesson did the Daimyo become even more sinister. He understood why he had ended up like this.

The Daimyo controlled finances, titles, and such matters, while the Hidden Leaf Village controlled the most important force of all: ninja combat power.

The Twelve Guardian Shinobi might not have seemed numerous. Compared to the more than one hundred jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village, they were completely outmatched.

The Daimyo had once thought the same way. He had believed that old Hiruzen would not care about the few men under his command. But because of that very thought, ten years of his hard work had been ruined overnight.

Ten years. How many decades did a person have in a lifetime?

The Daimyo was a few years younger than Hiruzen, yet in the ninja world, he was already considered to have lived to an advanced age.

He had originally wanted to pave a path for his son, but now even the foundation of that road had been ripped up.

Even if he was unwilling to accept it, what could he do?

"Keep watch on her for now. The Hidden Leaf Village is still my support. If we truly push them too far, it will not benefit me either!" After saying that, the Daimyo waved his hand, indicating that he did not wish to see him.

Mū immediately vanished.

The Daimyo continued savoring his fruit. His narrowed little eyes rolled about as he pondered something unknown.

Daimyo's Mansion.

Kurenai Yuhi put on an act and entered the city half-concealed. Sure enough, she was quickly discovered.

Seeing this, Kurenai Yuhi breathed a sigh of relief and began strolling through the Daimyo's Mansion.

Compared to the Hidden Leaf Village, the Daimyo's Mansion was several levels more prosperous. The street vendors, the shops along the roadside, and the pedestrians all wore contented smiles of abundance.

Thanks to the Hidden Leaf Village, the Ninja Wars had mostly been fought village against village.

Unless necessary, ninja rarely plundered civilians of another major country. That was considered an unspoken rule.

This was the Daimyo's Mansion. Because of the ninja village, it had not seen war for many years. With no war, the people here naturally lived far more prosperously than those in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Kurenai Yuhi now looked as though she had come here to shop, buying things from time to time.

Food, drinks, pretty things, entertaining things—so long as she liked them, she bought them all.

Before long, she had more than a dozen bags in her hands.

The ninja following behind her could not help widening his eyes.

What was this supposed to be?

Could their tracking skills really be so poor that they had already been discovered?

Or had this woman simply come to the Daimyo's Mansion for sightseeing?

Though they thought about it, without orders from above, the several ninja could only continue following in silence.

Not long afterward, Mū appeared among them and made a hand signal, calling two of them away.

In an alley.

Mū looked at the two subordinates before him and asked softly, "Has Kurenai Yuhi done anything unusual?"

The two subordinates exchanged glances, then shook their heads.

"Boss, this woman looks like she is just out shopping. Ever since entering the Daimyo's Mansion, she has barely concealed herself. Look at all those bags in her hands—she is practically like some spendthrift woman."

Mū considered far more than his two underlings.

In his view, this situation was very likely a disguise.

She was using herself as an obvious target to draw the enemy's attention, allowing her companions to sneak into the city and investigate the intelligence they wanted.

But the problem was that Kurenai Yuhi was a jonin, while his subordinates were merely ordinary chunin. If he assigned too few people, they would not be able to keep watch over her at all.

In some ways, it was an open and straightforward strategy.

Even if he saw through it, he had no way to counter it.

"Continue watching her closely. See where she stays and who she comes into contact with."

"Yes!"