"No. I came here to make a deal with you."
"A deal?" The daimyo's voice was hoarse with tension as he subconsciously tightened his grip on the folding fan in his hand. "Who exactly are you? You trespassed into this place, yet you still dare to speak so brazenly of a deal?"
"Besides, why should I make a deal with you? What reason do I have to trust someone who cannot even show his true face?"
Obito Uchiha was unmoved by the questioning. He merely took two slow steps forward, his footsteps completely silent, and said calmly, "You may call me Madara Uchiha. I am a member of Akatsuki."
"Akatsuki is a mercenary organization... dedicated to maintaining peace in the Shinobi World."
"Akatsuki?" The daimyo frowned deeply.
He vaguely remembered the name. It seemed to be a rogue ninja organization active in the shadows, one that worked for money and would do anything.
Apparently, the Land of Earth especially liked hiring this organization for unsavory missions.
But the daimyo of the Land of Fire had always dismissed them. He provided Konoha with a large military budget every year. Why would he seek out some other mercenary organization? Whenever something came up, he could hire Konoha's more legitimate and trustworthy ninja at a relatively lower price.
Obito seemed to see through his doubts and explained, "There is no need to be nervous, Lord Daimyo."
"As I said before, I came here to cooperate. We share the same... concerns, do we not?"
"The same concerns?" the daimyo repeated instinctively.
"Konoha, and its newly appointed Fifth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki." Obito directly laid out the matter and watched the subtle changes in the daimyo's expression. "Surely you are also troubled by this increasingly uncontrollable Konoha and Hokage?"
The daimyo's gaze flickered. He did not