Officials Invite
Konoha
Top floor of the Hokage Building
Directly in front of Naraku stood fifty squads of Konoha Ninja, a total of two hundred Konoha Ninja standing like javelins, filling the top floor of the Hokage Building to capacity.
At the forefront were seven ninjas carrying weapons. Although they remained silent, one could sense the fierce aura emanating from them.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I have some unfortunate news to tell you."
The king of the Land of Fire, Daimyo who had been missing for a month, has been found; his body is already decomposing...
Naraku paused here, raised his right hand to cover his eyes, and took a breath through his nose, seemingly overwhelmed with sorrow. After a few seconds, Naraku lowered his right hand and continued:
"The remains were found in the Land of Forests! The Prajna Group of the Land of Forests have been opposing Konoha ever since they rebelled against Konoha!"
Given the international situation, we, Konoha, are a great power and do not wish to be a brutal and immoral nation that bullies smaller countries. However, we never expected that a moment of mercy would lead to such a disaster!
Now, I have summoned you to pacify the Land of Forests! Find the Prajna Group and annihilate them all!
"Not a single ninja from the Land of Forests can be spared! Do you understand?!"
Finally, Naraku roared.
"Understood!" X200
The angry roars of the Konoha Ninja echoed from the top floor of the Hokage building.
"Alright! This operation will be led by Uchiha Shisui of the Konoha Seven Ninja Swords. You must all work together! Let the Land of Forests vanish from this world! Disperse!"
With a wave of his hand, Naraku cleared the rooftop, which had been packed with ninjas. A gust of wind rustled their robes, and the rooftop was instantly empty, with only the spot where the ninjas had stood remaining, still rippling in the breeze.
The Hannya Prajna Group of the Land of Forests only numbered a few dozen people. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Blade could have wiped them out, let alone the Konoha elites who outnumbered the Prajna Group. It was a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
"The grief of these ninjas seems genuine. It appears the Daimyo still holds considerable prestige, with a bloodline passed down for millennia and a being who is half-human Demigod. It was indeed the right thing to do to play it safe."
Naraku recalled the court's previous attempts to persuade him to ascend the throne. Fortunately, he had refused decisively; otherwise, ascending the throne with suspicion would have caused even more trouble.
The nobles of the Land of Fire were repeatedly attacked and killed by missing-nin. The Konoha Ninja they hired failed to provide protection. Among the nobles killed, most were members of Daimyo's royal family, and those closely related to the Daimyo by blood were all killed.
Now that the Daimyo has been assassinated, the position of Daimyo king is vacant, and the thousand-year-old Land of Fire has lost its lineage. Under these circumstances, the most qualified person is the Hokage, the leader of Konoha, the military organization of the Land of Fire.
No matter how Naraku is dealt with, he will always be a suspect, so he needs to put on a show.
Naraku and walked to the edge of the railing on the top floor of Konoha, his hand on the railing, his eyes flashing.
"The matter of urging someone to ascend the throne requires the joint efforts of the court and the people. At least three requests and three refusals are necessary. One must not hastily assume the throne, nor should one show any interest in the position of Daimyo."
After thinking for a while, Naraku went down the stairs and returned to the Hokage Office.
One week later
Hokage Office
Kurama Ryota, the Hokage's assistant, rushed into Naraku's office and shouted:
"Yondaime-sama, Yondaime-sama!"
"What's with this flustered behavior? What's wrong?"
Without knocking, the assistant Kurama Ryota, opened the door and entered. Naraku, sitting in the Hokage's seat and handling administrative affairs, had a somewhat serious expression and spoke with a hint of reprimand.
"I'm sorry, Fourth Hokage! Nearly a thousand officials have arrived from the Capital City. They've already entered the village; they... they want to pay their respects to you!"
Kurama Ryota hurriedly explained the reason, and the numerous high-ranking officials and nobles of the Land of Fire presented their visiting cards and went straight into the village.
Konoha has always been open to the outside world and is very tolerant of tourists and business travelers. It is even rarer for a group of thousands of people to come at once than for the gathering of business travelers Chunin Ninja Exams.
Most visitors and merchants attending the Chunin Ninja Exams arrive in batches, eventually forming large groups. It's extremely rare for someone to come all at once.
"Officials from the Land of Fire? Thousands?"
Naraku frowned slightly.
Bang! Bang!
"Come in."
A knock sounded on the door, Naraku responded in a deep voice.
The four Hokage Advisor– Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Fugaku, Hatake Sakumo, and Mitokado Homura– arrived together, followed by numerous Konoha from Jonin. Leading them were the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Utatane Koharu, who were no longer in the upper echelons of politics.
"The Fourth Daimyo of the Land of Fire was assassinated. Due to the attack by missing-nin, there are no close relatives of the current Daimyo going back five generations. Mr. Nishio Masanami and a group of court officials hope that you can go to the Capital City to serve as the Daimyo..."
Namikaze Minato succinctly explained the current situation: numerous court officials were about to arrive at the Hokage Building.
"Four generations, given the current situation, it seems this is the only option."
"The Daimyo Hokage is the last of the Daimyo's line. Apart from the Hokage, probably no one else is suitable to take the position."
The numerous ninjas in the arena were all talking at once, leaving Naraku somewhat bewildered and unsure how to respond. Before the court officials could even urge him to ascend the throne, these Konoha Ninja had already begun to do so.
"Lord Hokage! We request that you take over the Capital City!" X99
Loud shouts echoed down the corridor outside Naraku's office in the Hokage Building. To Naraku's surprise, his Anbu guards did not stop these officials from the Land of Fire who had broken into the Hokage Building.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Footsteps echoed outside Naraku's office, and a large number of officials in official robes poured into the Hokage Office. The group of officials, led by the Prime Minister of the Capital City, Nishio Masanami, walked straight into the Hokage Office 'Hokage Office, making it suddenly crowded.
"Lord Hokage, your Nishio Masanami, having served as the Prime Minister of the Capital City, hereby leads the Capital City's officials to request that you take up residence in the Capital City and assume the position of Daimyo!"
Nishio Masanami walked into the office and knelt down without saying a word, performing a rather feudal-style courtier's salute. After kowtowing, he respectfully made a request.
"Please come and rule the Capital City, and become the Daimyo!" X99
Voices of agreement immediately rose around Nishio Masanami and outside the corridor, with many Capital City officials pleading in unison.
Naraku was somewhat stunned. He glanced at his assigned Anbu guard, Uchiha Tekka, who was wearing a mask, and looked at him with a questioning expression.
Wearing a mask, Uchiha Tekka stood tall like a javelin, ignoring Naraku's gaze, appearing as a loyal and devoted guard.
Naraku withdrew his gaze, guessing what they were thinking. After a moment's hesitation, he said in a deep voice:
"Mr. Zheng Nan, this is absolutely impossible! The Land of Fire has never had such a precedent before. This is absolutely unacceptable!"
Naraku's refusal surprised many of the Konoha High Command present, who looked at the Hokage Uchiha Nara, with confusion.
Nishio Masanami remained kneeling, and in response to Naraku's refusal, he cried out loudly with a sorrowful expression:
"Lord Hokage, a country without a lasting ruler will inevitably descend into chaos. Lord Hokage, are you truly going to abandon the hundreds of millions of people in the Land of Fire?!"