Joining His Most Beautiful Daughter

Late at night, within the Daimyo's mansion of the Land of Fire, the current Daimyo was suddenly startled awake. He sat up and touched his back, his clothes already soaked with sweat.

Recalling the nightmare he had, the Daimyo couldn't help but furrow his brow, filled with anxiety and unease.

"A divided Land of Lightning."

"Konohagakure within my own territory, the Uchiha and the Senju."

"Past experiences are lessons for the future; I must guard against this."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire's rising and mumbling woke his beautiful concubine beside him. Facing her delicate hand reaching out and her sweet, soft voice, the Daimyo, whose body had been hollowed out by wine and women, had no extra energy to conquer the little vixen. He got out of bed directly and walked slowly through his mansion.

The clear, cold moonlight shone upon the land. As he reached the courtyard, the Daimyo waved away the attendants by his side. Feeling the cold wind blowing against him, his mind cleared considerably.

Facing the perplexing situation in Konohagakure, the Daimyo both detested Konohagakure and had to rely on it.

Without Konohagakure to protect his territory and rights, he would not be able to hold onto the vast and fertile Land of Fire, rich in resources and blessed with outstanding people.

He felt mostly displeasure towards Hashirama Senju, who had established the system of one village per nation.

Without the animosity and distrust between ninja clans, the nobles and dignitaries could no longer maintain their former high and mighty status.

Back then, if he disliked a particular ninja clan, he could hire other clans to fight them with money. Now, facing a ninja village, a collective entity of ninja, was entirely different.

The Daimyo of the Five Great Nations all felt a sense of stifled frustration.

(I cannot treat the Uchiha and Senju like that brute idiot in the Land of Lightning. I need to employ a strategy of appeasement, co-optation, and pressure, ensuring I don't get directly involved while maintaining my transcendent status.)

Ninja are tools that can be controlled with money.

This was a consensus among all the nobles and dignitaries, and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was no exception. However, the power of ninja also made the clear-headed dignitaries wary.

Especially after the Uzumaki Clan established the Land of Whirlpools, their apprehension reached its peak. The thought of ninja establishing a nation and sitting as equals with their noble imperial descendants made the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations unhappy.

They wanted to send troops to conquer it, but then they remembered the Uzumaki Clan's blood-sworn distant relatives, the Senju of the Forest. The Daimyo could only place their hopes of destroying the Land of Whirlpools onto the next generation.

"The Land of Lightning, with its self-proclaimed cleverness, and its useless Daimyo."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire knew very well that the first war between nations in the Ninja World was secretly instigated by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning. One goal was to weaken Kumogakure within his own country, preventing it from becoming too powerful and uncontrollable. The other was to test Konohagakure's strength and prepare to annihilate the Land of Whirlpools.

The former was undoubtedly a great failure. The Land of Lightning was thrown into disarray, directly sowing the seeds of rebellion in the hearts of the ninja.

The only good news from the latter was that the strength of the Senju of the Forest was greatly depleted, making it highly unlikely they could still protect the Land of Whirlpools.

When he heard that the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning was demanding that the other four nations send ninja to eliminate Kinkaku and Ginkaku of South Cloud Village, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire couldn't help but want to laugh and feel indignant. How could he possibly care about the Land of Lightning?

"He who starts the trouble, shall he not have offspring?"

With Konohagakure sharply divided into two factions, and the Senju of the Forest greatly weakened, could they still suppress the Uchiha Clan?

If they were to emulate Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and Konoha directly split into North and South, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire wouldn't be able to sleep soundly. Those bloodthirsty mad ninja of the Uchiha, if they lost their heads, wouldn't care if you were an imperial descendant or a sacred, inviolable descendant; they'd hack you down with a single blow, and you'd still die.

"My own ninja forces must be trained with greater urgency. The ninja scattered among the populace also need attention. The former samurai and monks are ultimately relics of the past when facing colossal ninja villages."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire pondered for a moment and decided to arrange for his heir to form an envoy to Konohagakure to observe and understand the attitudes of the major ninja clans, especially the Uchiha Clan.

Continuing in confusion, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire felt a vague sense of unease.

"I heard that Uchiha Takeyasu already possesses the Mangekyo, making his strength likely the strongest in this era. He also holds the position of Young Lord within the clan, and he is not yet married this year..."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire immediately added his most beautiful daughter to the envoy. He also decided to make Tsunade Senju his adopted daughter, bestowing upon her the title of a noble princess of the Land of Fire, thereby deepening the connection with the Senju of the Forest. If a marriage alliance could be formed, it would be even better.

Once they became relatives, no matter how much animosity existed, there would be a point of compromise for negotiation, rather than immediately resorting to open conflict.

The worried Daimyo of the Land of Fire gazed at the moon in the sky and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

The notion that the position of Hokage required the personal approval of the Daimyo was simply a lie to fool the common people.

Hashirama Senju did not need his approval, nor did Senju Tobirama. The Third Hokage likely wouldn't need his approval either.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire felt like a cash machine. Konoha would just notify him, and he would have to provide money and supplies. Their usual respect was like a rag, picked up and wiped with when needed.

"If the successor to the Hokage position were not a powerful and dominant Uchiha or Senju, would the situation be any different?"

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was amused by his own thought. Apart from the Uchiha and Senju, who else could hold the position of Hokage steady?

He shook his head, his spirits waning, and returned to his chambers. Embracing the waist of his beautiful concubine, he fell into a deep sleep.

The moon set and the sun rose. Just as the sky began to show the first hint of dawn, Mito Uzumaki arrived at the Hokage Building and took her seat at the Hokage's desk.

After a night of careful consideration, Mito Uzumaki, in her capacity as a high-ranking elder of Konoha, temporarily assumed the position of Hokage and issued an important document that caused ripples throughout the village and even the Ninja World.

"Due to the unfortunate sacrifice of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, during his battle with Kumogakure, Konoha Hidden Village will hold a public election for the Third Hokage in seven days!"

In the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Takeyasu was in the living room on the first floor, eating meat buns and white porridge brought by Uchiha Shikata. They were watching the broadcast of the Konoha official news announcer on television together.

Shortly after, Uchiha Setsuna and Kaku Uchiha, having missed Uchiha Shikata, went directly to where Uchiha Takeyasu was with the newspaper. The four of them sat in the living room, with Uchiha Shikata speaking first, "Young Lord, what do you think?"

Uchiha Takeyasu, who had never seen a pig run but had eaten pork, found the actions of the Senju of the Forest understandable. He organized his thoughts and said, "The Senju of the Forest's move is simply because they see that our Uchiha Clan is powerful but unpopular and unlikely to gain widespread support. They want to eliminate us in the public election."

"Young Lord speaks the truth."

Kaku Uchiha, who was close to the Senju, nodded in agreement. "Although I hate to admit it, in terms of external approachability, we are indeed inferior to the Senju."

"Ninja battles aren't about who is more likable."

Uchiha Setsuna said with indignation, "Those Senju ninja won't go any easier on us when killing. They're all butchers who kill without restraint. Now they're putting on a bright and sunny facade, which is sickening to look at."

"No matter how unhappy we are, we have to face reality."

Uchiha Shikata clapped his hands and said in a deep voice, "We'll block the soldiers when they come and cover the water when it floods. We should make some moves. Let's see if the former affiliated Ninja Clans are willing to come back."

"Affiliated Ninja Clans? I've never heard of them before."

Uchiha Takeyasu, who had a rather one-sided understanding of the Uchiha Clan, asked curiously, "What if they're not willing?"

"They're all opportunistic fellows. Whether they're willing or not doesn't really matter."

Setsuna Uchiha waved his hand, signaling Uchiha Takeyasu not to worry about it, and said meaningfully, "If we don't get elected, Kinkaku and Ginkaku from South Cloud Village have set a very good precedent."

"Although we're reluctant to leave Konoha, the worst-case scenario is nothing more than this."

"The current Senju of the Forest no longer has the capital to drag us down with them."

"The other Ninja Clans aren't idiots; they won't blindly sacrifice themselves for the Senju of the Forest."

"If we want to leave, no one can stop us, and no one dares to stop us."

"Let's give it one last shot in Konoha!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the four Uchiha leaders looked at each other in silence. Even the conservative Kaku Uchiha tacitly agreed – Uchiha Takeyasu had given them ample confidence.

After the higher-ups reached an agreement, Uchiha Takeyasu thought for a moment and took out his [Paradise].