Daimyo Manor of the Land of Fire.
"How did the investigation go?"
The daimyo's lazy voice rang out.
The advisers below did not dare slack off in the slightest.
"My lord, the Chinese Cuisine stores that spread from the Land of Rice Fields originated with the Uchiha in Otogakure."
"The Uchiha from Konoha?"
Although the daimyo was not very familiar with matters of the Shinobi World, he had still heard of the renowned Uchiha Clan.
"Yes, my lord. There are also Uchiha clansmen running such stores in Konoha. The Uchiha in the Land of Rice Fields split off from the Uchiha Clan."
"Split off? Did they defect from the village?" The daimyo grew curious.
The adviser wiped away his sweat and produced two reports.
"My lord, the accounts given by Konoha's Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō differ. The Third Hokage plainly said they left, while Lord Danzo said the Uchiha defected from the village."
The daimyo accepted the two reports presented to him. One recorded what the Third Hokage had said publicly.
The other was a letter Danzo had submitted as a special report.
At the sight of all that writing, the daimyo frowned and instantly lost interest.
With some irritation, he tossed both reports aside.
Whether the Uchiha had split apart or defected from the village had little to do with him.
The Uchiha Clan fell under Konoha's jurisdiction, and Konoha was nominally in a cooperative relationship with the daimyo.
Whatever happened to the Uchiha was beyond the daimyo's authority.
But the Third Hokage had actually made such an oversight.
The daimyo snorted coldly.
"Forget it."
"Were all those food businesses created by the Uchiha?"
"Yes," the adviser answered truthfully.
The daimyo felt somewhat annoyed. There was a hierarchy of contempt even among daimyos.
What kind of place had