But neither Konoha nor the Office of the Grand General seemed to know the wishes of the entire Land of Fire. Even after the state mourning ended, they made no decision whatsoever.
Since the entire matter had been caused by Konoha's upper ranks, they could not conveniently intervene in order to avoid suspicion. Many even believed it would be better without a Daimyo, since that would make the Hokage the highest leader of the Land of Fire.
Although Nawaki had his sights set on the position of Daimyo, the matter could not be rushed. It still needed time to ferment; once the time was right, everything would naturally fall into place. Thus, he made no moves.
Furthermore, the series of incidents caused by Danzo had halted his and Orochimaru's cloning experiments for some time. This period of preparation was therefore the perfect opportunity to resume their research. In some ways, the clones were even more important than the position of Daimyo. If not for the need to follow the changing times, Nawaki would never have set the experiments aside in the first place. Before long, he and Orochimaru once again devoted their energy to the experiments.
This time, however, Nawaki no longer needed to put on an act and fish for lawbreakers. To prevent any accidents, he left a True Clone in the capital to oversee the overall situation.
Konoha's upper ranks also shifted the focus of their work to the capital. Advisor Koharu in particular was in the capital almost every day, receiving diplomatic delegations from various countries.
Although everyone was busy, no one had any objections to Nawaki and Orochimaru's actions. After being sold on the idea, everyone understood the enormous benefits contained in the clones. Naturally, they could understand the two of them, and even hoped they