Negotiation

Chapter 47: Negotiations

Time rewinds to just after the battle at the canyon ended...

Location: The Land of Fire capital, Pingjing City, inside the Guardian Pavilion at the heart of the main citadel.

"The Senju Clan broke through and escaped?"

"Master Yamashita and the warrior monks of the Fire Temple were captured by the Uchiha Clan?"

"The Ninja Guard, including Captain Masai Shoichi and Vice-Captain Okune Daisan, were killed to the last man?"

"Useless, you are all completely useless!"

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had bloodshot eyes, looking like a furious lion as he stared intensely at his Grand Minister, Nishida Toshio.

"Nishida, what do we do now?"

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire stepped down from the imperial dais, walking toward Grand Minister Nishida Toshio, forcing him to take a stand.

To be honest, this generation's Daimyo of the Land of Fire was quite ambitious and enterprising; as soon as he took office, he actively reformed the administration and vigorously developed the people's livelihood.

Because the Land of Fire was located in the very center of the entire continent.

No matter which country merchants came from, if they wanted to cross the continent, they had to pass through the Land of Fire.

The Land of Fire could even be called the most important transportation hub on the entire continent.

Because of its status as the continent's most vital hub, a massive number of merchants from various countries gathered and interacted in the Land of Fire, using it as a transit point to travel to other nations for trade...

Under this unique geographical backdrop, a highly developed commercial system was born within the Land of Fire.

Coupled with the fact that the terrain within the Land of Fire was flat with few mountains, and it bordered the sea to the east, the monsoon climate ensured mild temperatures and abundant sunshine, which was favorable for crop growth.

Furthermore, the Land of Fire was the only one of the Five Great Nations to possess a peninsula.

Although this peninsula was located in the southeast of the Land of Fire, and the country only occupied about half of its total area, in reality, the Land of Fire controlled the entire peninsula.

Moreover, this peninsula was tightly connected to the mainland and difficult to isolate; once a war broke out, it held an absolute military advantage, with constant supplies and a position easy to defend but hard to attack.

Therefore, under such a uniquely safe geographical environment, the agriculture of the Land of Fire was also quite advanced.

Thus, there were reasons why the Land of Fire could become the superpower at the head of the other four great nations.

Ever since this generation's Daimyo of the Land of Fire took office, he had promulgated many decrees conducive to the development of the country.

The living standards of the commoners under the rule of the Land of Fire had improved significantly compared to the previous Daimyo's reign.

However, just as this Daimyo of the Land of Fire wanted to govern the country with even greater effort, the various ninja clans within the Land of Fire kept engaging in constant warfare.

This made the Daimyo of the Land of Fire very annoyed.

But the conservative samurai forces led by the Daimyo did not have enough power to stop them.

For a country to develop, it must have a relatively peaceful internal environment, yet these ninja clans were constantly fighting "bang" and "boom," beating each other until their brains were splattered.

"Knights use martial arts to defy the law"—this was the most troublesome problem for every ruler.

Therefore, this generation's Daimyo of the Land of Fire, under the advice of Grand Minister Nishida Toshio, decided to implement a plan to use ninja clans to defeat other ninja clans.

Because there were too many ninja clans within the Land of Fire.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire decided to kill the monkey to warn the chickens, so the first ninja clan chosen for suppression was the top-tier Uchiha Clan.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire believed that as long as the Uchiha Clan could be thoroughly crushed, the other ninja clans within the Land of Fire would surely know how to choose under the influence of this warning.

After all, logically speaking, no single ninja clan could ever possibly stand against a nation.

The logic was simple: war is about money. No matter how rich a ninja clan is, can they be richer than the Daimyo of the Land of Fire?

So, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was full of confidence, and with Grand Minister Nishida Toshio running about...

He not only contacted the Senju Clan, who were similar in strength to the Uchiha but much more compliant.

He also contacted the Fire Temple, which had always been on good terms with the Daimyo, and added his own Ninja Guard.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire believed that under the encirclement of these three forces, the Uchiha Clan would have no way to escape, even with wings, and was destined to be crushed.

Moreover, in order to thoroughly destroy the Uchiha Clan, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire even opened his own armory, contributed a large batch of standardized weapons and equipment, and sent people to contact the Great General of the samurai forces in the Land of Iron.

He had originally thought everything would go according to his plan, but who would have known he would now receive news that the Senju Clan had broken through and fled, the Fire Temple monks had been captured, and his own Ninja Guard had been wiped out.

Most importantly, that large batch of standardized weapons and equipment had also been seized by the Uchiha Clan.

Furthermore, according to intelligence, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire learned that precisely because of this battle at the canyon, the Hagoromo Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans were now preparing to form an alliance with the Uchiha Clan!

The Uchiha Clan alone was already hard enough to deal with, and now, adding the third-ranked Hagoromo Clan within the Land of Fire...

Thinking of this, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire felt his headache worsen.

"Nishida, what exactly are we supposed to do now?"

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire stared intensely at Grand Minister Nishida Toshio with a face full of rage.

Grand Minister Nishida Toshio felt beads of cold sweat the size of beans instantly break out on his forehead...

He bowed his body, lowered his head, his heart in utter panic, his face looking exceptionally ghastly.

Grand Chancellor Nishida Toshio allowed the spittle of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to splash onto his face, his mind already actively racing to consider how to cope with the retaliation of the Uchiha Clan.

In Uchiha Shin's previous life, there was a saying that when a common man flies into a rage, blood will splash five steps away, and within ten steps, one can become an enemy to the entire state.

That was even more true in this ninja world where martial power was raised to infinite heights.

Although the Daimyo of the Land of Fire ruled the Land of Fire, and although he was very wealthy and had many subordinates, he truly did not have any particularly powerful ninjas under his command—no, really, he had none at all.

And the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, along with the Grand Chancellor and their entire cohort, were all ordinary people!

A genin could kill an ordinary person as easily as playing a game, let alone the top-tier ninja clan of the Land of Fire, the Uchiha Clan.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was certain that if the head of the Uchiha Clan were truly determined to assassinate him at any cost, the defensive forces of Pingjing City might not necessarily be able to stop them.

But weren't there still the Senju Clan?

Pah, they had already been beaten by the Uchiha Clan and fled like dogs; what use was there in counting on them?

"Your Highness, this humble minister believes that the Uchiha Clan..."

"They certainly wouldn't dare to turn against us, after all, Your Highness is the dignified Daimyo of the Land of Fire."

"For a mere ninja clan to oppose a nation is absolutely impossible."

"Therefore, as long as Your Highness temporarily swallows this insult, negotiation is still possible."

"The Uchiha Clan is merely looking to propose some conditions, nothing more."

"If they aren't too excessive, what harm is there in agreeing to them for the time being?"

"We failed this time, but that doesn't matter..."

"We can secretly accumulate ninja strength and wait for the next opportunity."

"But the Uchiha Clan cannot afford that; if they fail once, the surrounding ninja clans will pounce like hunting dogs and devour them until not even their bones remain."

"So Your Highness need not worry, nor need you be angry."

"This humble minister believes that we will eventually be able to eradicate all these domestic ninja clans."

"Furthermore, this time, I can represent Your Highness to go and negotiate with the Uchiha Clan, and while I'm at it, probe the bottom line of the Uchiha Clan."

Grand Chancellor Nishida Toshio wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, bowed, and cupped his hands as he spoke thus to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

Hearing the words of Grand Chancellor Nishida Toshio, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire thought it over carefully.

It was true; the Land of Fire could fail countless times...

But once the Uchiha Clan failed even once, they would fall into an abyss from which they could never recover.

Therefore, the Uchiha Clan did not dare to turn against the Land of Fire right now, and there was no need for him to force the Uchiha Clan and make them desperate enough to turn against him.

That would be bad for everyone.

As long as he secretly accumulated ninja strength, he would eventually achieve the goal of eradicating all ninja clans within the borders of the Land of Fire.

"Very well, since you suggest it."

"Then this Highness shall entrust this matter to you..."

"Do not let this Highness down again, Grand Chancellor!"

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire patted the Grand Chancellor on the shoulder, then said with a pointed tone.

"Yes."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness."

PS: Requesting recommendation tickets, collections, monthly tickets, and investments. Thank you. Still owe one chapter; I will make it up tomorrow. My apologies.