The next morning
The full moon banquet is about to begin. The ceremony will start at 6 p. m., and the morning will be used to entertain the envoys from various villages.
With a smile on his face, Uchiha Kō set up a temporary shelter under the Hokage's office building. He and Nara Rokumei sat inside chatting, with a bottle of beverage on their table.
Meanwhile, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were also in the pavilion. They were in charge of receiving the young ninja village. Shimura Danzō was still teaching at the Ninja Academy at the moment, since the full moon celebration was not a holiday day for the Ninja Academy.
"Daimyo of the Land of Grass, Kusagakure has arrived!" the Konoha gatekeeper shouted.
Inside the pavilion, everyone stopped chatting. Uchiha Kō looked up and gestured for Utatane Koharu go. Utatane Koharu obeyed, stood up, and said with a serious expression, "Elder Konoha, Utatane Koharu welcomes the Daimyo of the Land of Grass and the Kusagakure."
Although she needed to be reserved and respectful in front of Uchiha Kō, she didn't need to be when facing these small ninja villages, and all of this was with Uchiha Kō's tacit approval.
When dealing with ninja villages and nations outside, one must know how to use both kindness and severity to inspire awe and genuine admiration.
Now that she's already exerted her power, let's see how Utatane Koharu shows her kindness!
The Daimyo of the Land of Grass corresponds to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. In terms of political status, he does not need to lower his status to Utatane Koharu Land of Grass Konoha. However, Konoha previously came to the aid of the Land of Grass and saved it. Therefore, the Daimyo of the Land of Grass did not rely on his status this time, but was very humble.
"I have long admired the name of Konoha's advisor elder, Utatane Koharu. Meeting you today, I can confirm your extraordinary bearing." The Daimyo of the Land of Grass bowed slightly. Speaking to people in a way that suits them is the most basic quality of a Daimyo.
The Kusakage of Kusagakure, standing to the side, also bowed slightly. This shows that the Daimyo is the actual leader of the Land of Grass and Kusagakure, while the Kusakage is merely a puppet.
Seeing the Daimyo of the Land of Grass so humble and polite, Utatane Koharu, saying, "Please Lord Hokage in, both of you. The Hokage has ordered that you be well received, Daimyo." With that Utatane Koharu personally led the group from the Land of Grass to an inn for a short rest.
The Daimyo of the Land of Grass extended his hand and said, "Please!" Then he followed Utatane Koharu towards the inn.
Uchiha Kō nodded. Not bad. Koharu's actions in Utatane Koharu were passable enough for Uchiha Kō to see.
The group continued their conversation, which revolved around the little princess Uchiha Rou. Praise and envy each accounted for roughly 50% of the conversation.
Uchiha Kō responded positively to their goodwill; after all, what father wouldn't want his daughter to be popular?
Not long after, another group of people arrived at the gate. This time, Uchiha Kō recognized them clearly; they were the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!
His pupils contracted as he spoke, "Gentlemen, please come with me to meet the Daimyo of our Land of Fire!"
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and stood up, following Uchiha Kō towards the door.
Before the gatekeeper could even announce his identity, Uchiha Kō walked out with a smile, "Welcome, welcome! Your Daimyo, Daimyo, brings honor to our Konoha!"
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire laughed heartily, "Owl, you're being too polite!" Though he said it was too polite, he secretly approved of Uchiha Kō's actions.
That's incredibly kind of them. Aside from the Kage of the other four major hidden villages, it's him who gets to be received by the Konoha elite team.
"I am truly delighted that the Daimyo, despite his busy schedule, was able to take the time to attend my daughter's full-month celebration." Uchiha Kō wore a formulaic smile.
The Daimyo feigned displeasure, saying, "Oh! What are you saying? The Lord Hokage knows about the relationship between our Daimyo and the Senju Clan. You are Tsunade's husband, so we are relatives after all!"
"My relative's daughter is having her one-month celebration, how could I not come!" The Daimyo of the Land of Fire laughed heartily.
Everyone present smiled gently. After exchanging a few words with Uchiha Kō, he suddenly said, "Lu Ming, you take charge of the reception. I'll personally escort the Daimyo to the VIP reception area!"
Nara Rokumei stepped forward, "Yes, Lord Hokage!" After saying this, Hokage Uchiha Kō smiled and said, "Daimyo, come with me. The VIP reception area is specially prepared for people of noble status."
"Then I shall accept!" The Land of Fire Daimyo laughed heartily, then pointed to the civil officials behind him, "You all should learn from him! Look how eloquent and diplomatic Owl is!"
The civil official lowered his head, inwardly scoffing, "If I weren't outmatched, I would have definitely impeached him."
"You flatter me, Your Excellency. I see that your forces are full of talented people. In terms of Daimyo and military achievements, among the Five Great Nations, if you claim to be second, no one would dare to claim to be first!" Uchiha Kō didn't mind flattering his own people.
"Hahahaha~" The Land of Fire Daimyo's laughter became even more unrestrained. The civil officials were shocked, their expressions complicated. If Uchiha Kō were not the Hokage but a civil official, he would probably be the head of the civil officials!
Nara Rokumei continued organizing the reception at the entrance, waiting for Uchiha Kō to return.
Uchiha Kō arranged the best room for the Daimyo, and then arranged superior rooms for the Land of Fire delegation, instructing them to take good care of them, before heading towards the village entrance.
Rin, the Kazekage of Sunagakure, entered wearing a green divine robe and accompanied by his guards. Beside him was a young boy, about seven or eight years old, holding a puppet in his right hand that resembled the Kazekage.
Holding Kazekage Rin's hand with his left, a naive smile appeared on his face. Due to Uchiha Kō's intervention, Hatake Sakumo did not kill Rin and his wife as in the original story.
Therefore, Scorpion had a complete childhood and did not turn evil as in the original work; he was a typical cute boy.
Upon seeing the Kazekage arrive in person, Uchiha Kō quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Kazekage, thank you for gracing us with your presence. It's incredibly exciting to have you join my daughter's full-moon celebration."
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Kazekage Rin extended his hand and smiled, "Lord Hokage, now that Sunagakure and Konoha are sworn brothers, how could we, Sunagakure, not come when our brother has good news?"
Uchiha Kō smiled and held hands with Lin. Suddenly, Sasori looked up at Uchiha Kō, blinking his big eyes, which attracted Uchiha Kō's attention.
"Brother Lin, who is this?" Uchiha Kō already knew the answer in his heart, but this was his first time meeting Sasori, so he naturally couldn't appear familiar with him.
"Oh, Brother Xiao, this is my son, named Scorpion. He has an exceptional talent for puppetry. At eight years old, he can already control five puppets to fight at the same time!" Lin smiled, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.
Everyone present, including Nara Rokumei, gasped. The strength of a puppeteer's talent lies in their ability to control several puppets simultaneously.
A prime example of this is Chiyo, who currently holds the record for controlling ten puppets simultaneously, also known as the Ten-Puppet Unit of the Kishino.
Sasori is only eight years old now, yet he has already reached half of Chiyo. He will surely become a Kage Level fighter in the future.
Kage Level! Countless people in the Ninja World stop at Jonin. If Konoha didn't have such a strong foundation and so many talented people, they would definitely be wary of the Kazekage's son.
However, in Konoha nowadays, when people see Kage Level shikigami, they'll say, "Oh, Kage Level, that's impressive."
Uchiha Kō's strength can no longer be simply evaluated using the rank of Kage.
"Congratulations, Lin! You have a fine son. You have a worthy successor!" Uchiha Kō said sincerely.
Those who came to his daughter's one-month celebration today are all friends. We won't talk about politics today, only about romance.
"Brother Xie, but in my opinion, your daughter will surely become an outstanding person in the future!" Lin said with a smile, and they were very amicable.
Then Lin patted his son's head and said, "Call him Uncle Xiao!"
Scorpion looked up and his eyes lit up. Even children like handsome men. When his father told him to greet him, he quickly said, "Uncle Xiao~" His childish voice was sweet and endearing.
"Haha, Sasori, hello there~ Uncle is very happy to see you!" Uchiha Kō smiled.
"Handsome uncle, hug~" Although Sasori was very shy, he had an inexplicable sense of closeness to Uchiha Kō.
This is the power of cause and effect. Uchiha Kō made Hatake Sakumo conceal his sharpness and deliberately fail, so that Hayashi could survive and Sasori could have his parents by his side throughout his life.
So the scorpion has obtained this fruit, and it will have to repay it in the future.
Uchiha Kō was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Okay, Uncle will hug you, Uncle will hug you!"
As he spoke, Uchiha Kō squatted down and picked up Sasori. Lin had a smile on his lips, looking at Sasori as if he were looking at the future hope of Sunagakure.
It's stable!
Scorpion was smiling; to him, the handsome old man's embrace felt warm and comfortable.
"Alright, Scorpion, come down now. You're all big kids now, your uncle's arms will get tired soon," Lin said with a smile.
Finally Uchiha Kō put Sasori down. Sasori looked like he hadn't had enough; he only felt the warmth of his uncle's embrace.
Scorpion is such a lovable kid. Who would have thought that in the original story he would be a cold-blooded and ruthless person who turned himself into a puppet?
But before this cozy moment could last long, a voice boomed like thunder!
"Get out of my way, all of you! You've delayed the Third Raikage of Kumogakure from delivering a gift to the Hokage, Uchiha Kō. Can you few guards bear the responsibility?" The Kumogakure envoy roared, causing the Konoha leadership team inside the village to frown. Kazekage Rin immediately found an excuse.
"Well, Brother Xiao, we'll go find an inn first. You guys go ahead with your work." Lin smiled.
"Wait a moment, let Elder Mitokado take you there. I apologize for the commotion. I will resolve this matter as soon as possible," Uchiha Kō said calmly.
And so, the people of Sunagakure followed Mitokado Homura into the village. After the group had gone some distance, Uchiha Kō said, "Let's go, let's go out and take a look."
The others all agreed, and then followed Uchiha Kō to the gates of Konoha.
The envoy from Kumogakure shouted and pointed at the Konoha, who gripped their weapons tightly and endured the situation.
Today is the full moon celebration for the daughter of Konoha's Hokage, Uchiha Kō. It is a very important event for Konoha and for the Lord Hokage. As Konoha's gatekeepers, they naturally have to think about the Lord Hokage and ensure that nothing goes wrong.
"Aburame Ikki, Inuzuka Hayakumo, teach that foul-mouthed bastard a lesson!" Uchiha Kō's voice rang out, and the two guards' eyes lit up, then they could no longer hold back!