"Your Majesty, the Kumogakure envoys are making a huge fuss. By now, not only the councilors but even the mid-level officials know why they came. What do you think...?"
Right Red waited for instructions.
Yet after waiting for quite a while, His Majesty merely waved a hand. "Ignore them. Let them make a fuss. There are only so many people who'll jump out in the end—heh, someone was willing to be the bird that sticks its head out, and a whole flock of crows came flying out."
Shiraishi Yoshijo yawned and continued, "How are things in the Land of Lightning? Have you chosen a proxy yet?"
"Your Majesty, those rebel leaders don't seem particularly intelligent, one after another. And frankly, building up a proxy from nothing would require resources enough to wage a war. The gains wouldn't outweigh the losses."
"Oh?" Shiraishi Yoshijo narrowed his eyes with a smile. "Then what do you think we should do?"
"If Your Majesty truly doesn't want the Land of Lightning, you could choose Kumogakure instead. Their system is mature, and they are deeply trusted by the people of the Land of Lightning. They are far more reliable than those rebel leaders who are practically bandits."
"Are you teaching me how to do things?"
Right Red instantly broke out in a cold sweat and immediately dropped to his knees, kowtowing. "I wouldn't dare."
Shiraishi Yoshijo snorted coldly. "You bastard, if I don't beat you for three days, you start tearing up the roof. You've followed me for so many years, yet you've only grown older, not wiser. If I hadn't lacked suitable people, I'd have chopped you up and fed you to the dogs long ago!"
Right Red kowtowed frantically, misery filling his heart.
It was not that he had failed to learn his