Digging a Hole to Bury Myself

Ming Jing was currently considering a possibility: what was the likelihood of him eliminating the current Daimyo here and installing a new ruler? This guy in front of him clearly didn't know his place!

"Mr. Ming Jing, if you were to manage the Land of Fire, what would you do? How would you deal with the refugees and bandits?" The Daimyo took a bite of dessert, a blissful expression on his face, and then asked casually.

The Daimyo is really direct! Ming Jing sighed inwardly, then perked up and said, "According to the Daimyo, the current difficulties facing the Land of Fire are natural disasters, bandits, refugees, miscellaneous taxes, and corrupt officials. The top priority should be disaster relief, and we cannot let the scale of refugees expand."

"Oh!!!" The Daimyo looked at Ming Jing with a surprised expression. Is the Daimyo a master of expressions?!

"As expected of Mr. Ming Jing! My retainers discussed this for days without reaching a conclusion, yet Mr. Ming Jing pinpointed the key issues in just a few sentences. You're truly amazing!"

Oh, really?! Amazing my foot! Any middle schooler in China would know this!

"You flatter me, Daimyo," Ming Jing said, accepting the praise with a thick skin as he looked at the Daimyo's sincere admiration.

"It's decided!" The Daimyo clapped his fan and pointed at Ming Jing, saying, "Mr. Ming Jing, you will manage the Land of Fire!"

What?!

Ming Jing was stunned.

There must be something wrong with how I'm approaching this. How can someone hand over the management of a country so easily?

So, Ming Jing closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the Daimyo was still sitting there with a satisfied look on his face. This kid was clearly pleased with the idea he had just conjured up!

Ming Jing sighed and said, "I truly appreciate the Daimyo's trust, but I have no experience managing a country. Furthermore, I am still young and fear I cannot shoulder such a great responsibility. I ask that the Daimyo find someone more capable!"

"No, no, no, age is not an issue," the Daimyo shook his head, his expression serious. "There's nothing in this world that people are born knowing. From your ability to pinpoint the key issues just now, Mr. Ming Jing, it's clear you are a person of great talent. I can rest assured leaving the Land of Fire to you. I believe you can do it!"

This sounds quite sincere!

Ming Jing stroked his chin. Could I really be an unparalleled genius who has been hidden away? I write a couple of books and suddenly I have a large group of devoted fans. Besides, managing the Land of Fire sounds like the job of a prime minister! Being a prime minister and enjoying the admiration of the people? That sounds pretty appealing! The key is that the plot hasn't started yet, so playing as a prime minister wouldn't be bad! Should I cosplay as Zhuge Liang then? Or Zhang Juzheng? Chen Ping would also be good! And Di Renjie, Kou Zhun, Fang Xuanling – all of them were figures with both high attractiveness and intelligence!

No, no, no!

Ming Jing suddenly remembered that he had a mission in this world. He had to defeat Tsukuyomi and prove that The Goose Illusionary Book was the ultimate Illusion Technique! And in the Naruto world, the strongest form of Tsukuyomi was the "Eye of the Moon" state in Shippuden, an incredibly powerful, wide-ranging illusion technique that could only be avoided by hiding behind Sasuke.

Wait a minute!

Naruto was sixteen in Shippuden, but he was only three years old now. If he calculated it that way, he had thirteen years to play around! To be honest, compared to the heavy fighting at the beginning, Ming Jing preferred to stay in the background and manipulate things using the plot!

"How about this!" Seeing Ming Jing's hesitation, the Daimyo added another incentive. "I can promise you, Mr. Ming Jing, that I will never violate any decisions you make. I will always abide by our agreement and will never interfere with your work without your consent!"

Ming Jing looked at the Daimyo in surprise. With these three conditions, it would be incredibly easy for Ming Jing to sideline the Daimyo!

But Ming Jing wouldn't completely trust the Daimyo. As the saying goes in China, "Accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger." He didn't believe that the Daimyo would still adhere to these promises when the time came. However, there was one thing he wanted to clarify: "I'm actually very curious, why do you trust me so much, Daimyo?"

The Daimyo thought very seriously for a moment, then said with a very serious expression, "A feeling!"

Ming Jing's eyes conveyed: Is your brain malfunctioning, Daimyo?

"Oh dear... Mr. Ming Jing, that look is quite hurtful," the Daimyo said, covering his eyes with his fan.

It's rare that the Daimyo can read my expression! Ming Jing thought sarcastically, then sat up straight and said, "I still thank you for your trust, Daimyo, but as a ninja of Konohagakure, I must follow the rules of ninja!" Refusing like this is both tactful and easy to understand. It's perfect!

"Hmm..." The Daimyo squinted and thought for a moment, then suddenly tapped his fan and, with a joyful expression, said, "I've got it! Mr. Ming Jing, you can't escape. Just think about how you'll help me manage the Land of Fire! Hahaha..."

Ming Jing was slightly taken aback. He carefully recalled what he had just said and felt like he had fallen into a trap! Ming Jing had already guessed the Daimyo's plan.

Seeing Ming Jing's frustrated look, the Daimyo grinned and said, "It seems Mr. Ming Jing has guessed my intentions. Then I won't disturb you further! Please guide me in the future, Mr. Ming Jing! Oh ho ho ho..." With a strange smile, the Daimyo stood up and left the Kurama Clan's residence.

Tsukishiro Yuexi watched her Young Master's frustrated expression and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Did something happen, Young Master?"

"I dug a pit, and then I jumped into it myself," Ming Jing sighed, adjusted his mood, and then asked, "How is Hinata? Did Yakumo bully her?"

"No, Miss Yakumo and Miss Hyuga are getting along very well!" Tsukishiro Yuexi said gently. Ming Jing looked up at Yuexi, who tilted her head cutely, looking bewildered.

"Notify the kitchen to prepare more ingredients! We might have guests tonight," Ming Jing said slowly, his gaze shifting away from Yuexi.

"Understood." Tsukishiro Yuexi nodded and quietly withdrew to relay the message.

There was a reason why the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had come to Konohagakure. Meeting Ming Jing was one reason, and another was to see the Third Hokage. After all, the Raikage had already spoken of war, and as the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, he naturally had to be concerned.

Upon arriving at the Hokage's office building, the Third Hokage was already waiting at the entrance. The Daimyo emerged from a palanquin that looked like a small roadside shrine and greeted the Third Hokage warmly, "It's been a long time, Third Hokage."

"Welcome to Konohagakure. It has indeed been a long time, Daimyo," the Third Hokage said, bowing slightly to show respect. He moved aside and gestured with one hand, "Please, Daimyo, come in for a chat."

The Daimyo didn't refuse and walked into the Hokage's office building first. He looked around and couldn't help but ask, "Hmm... Third Hokage, why didn't you ask Mr. Ming Jing to design and decorate the Hokage's office building? Your current decor is quite ordinary!"

"Heh heh... I'm an old man, rather nostalgic. Let the younger generation handle new things!" The Third Hokage smiled kindly, as if he never tired of looking at everything here.

"Don't say that, Third Hokage, you're still young!" The Daimyo flattered the Third Hokage slightly. Having worked together for so many years, they understood each other quite well.

"Thank you for your kind words, Daimyo." The Third Hokage calmly accepted the compliment. After entering the office and sitting down, they got down to business.

The Daimyo asked first, "Has the matter with the Land of Lightning been resolved? Are they really going to fight?"

"It has been handled properly. There will be no war," the Third Hokage shook his head.

The Daimyo breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great. This is the first good news I've heard today. For the second piece of good news, I hope the Hokage can grant my request!"

"Please, Daimyo," the Third Hokage said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. The old fox never made promises lightly.

"Well, I hope the Third Hokage can lend me Mr. Ming Jing for a few years," the Daimyo said with a casual smile, not seeming to care. He didn't think the Third Hokage would refuse him.

"Lend??" The Third Hokage was slightly taken aback. How should he interpret this word?

The Daimyo nodded. "Mr. Ming Jing is currently a ninja of Konohagakure. I will issue a special mission here, requesting Konohagakure to send Mr. Ming Jing to assist me in managing the Land of Fire. Let's designate this special mission as SSS-rank."

"What?!" The Third Hokage was truly shocked this time. He stared blankly at the Daimyo. The idea of a ninja managing a country was so outlandish, only the Daimyo could come up with it!

"Cough, cough..." The Third Hokage regained his senses and said, "Daimyo, Ming Jing is still young and is a ninja. I fear he may be unable to handle managing a country!"

"No, no, no," the Daimyo repeatedly shook his head. He said with a serious expression, "Mr. Ming Jing will surely give us a surprise!"

Are you sure it's a surprise and not a shock??

The Third Hokage glanced silently at the smug Daimyo. He finally understood. This Daimyo had hit a wall with Ming Jing and was now trying to rope him into it. What's worse, the Third Hokage couldn't refuse because the Daimyo was, in fact, following ninja protocol.

What's been going on lately? Why does it feel like nothing is going my way? A few more age spots appeared on the Third Hokage's melancholic face