With the matter at the Daimyo Palace in the Land of Fire settled for now, Xingzhuo didn't dispel his Shadow Clone. Instead, he stayed with Hyuga Yumiko to handle the follow-up matters.
They had only reached a preliminary agreement with the daimyo. No one knew whether he might go back on his word or lash out in desperation, so it was essential to leave a Kage Level fighter there to keep things under control.
Xingzhuo even sent out another Shadow Clone to leave plenty of Flying Thunder God Marks along the road.
If anything unexpected happened at the Daimyo Palace, he could get there immediately.
The matter wouldn't be completely settled until Senju Tobirama arrived with his people from Konoha to sign the official contract.
Something major had happened at the Fuma Clan's compound over the past couple of days, too.
Their move to the Land of Fields, originally scheduled for today, had been called off.
Fuma Nagayo had come to see Xingzhuo, hoping he could get in touch with Konoha. He wanted to discuss joining the village with the Konoha High Command.
The three of them had been stunned by the news.
Was there something wrong with the Fuma Clan's heads?
When the village was founded, every other ninja clan in the Land of Fire had been willing to join. Only the Fuma Clan had insisted on being different and refused.
A few years had passed, and they probably regretted their decision. But they were too embarrassed to approach Konoha, so they had gone to the daimyo of the Land of Fields, hoping to establish a ninja village there.
So why had they suddenly changed their minds and decided against going to the Land of Fields? Did they want to crawl back to Konoha?
The Fuma Clan couldn't really