Daimyo's Mansion Delays Funding, Hiruzen Sarutobi Can No Longer Sit Still

Among the intelligence Yan sold was a report aimed at the Daimyo.

It was not as if Danzo had never threatened the Daimyo of the Land of Fire before.

Once this intelligence was released, it would definitely stir up quite a misunderstanding.

The Land of Fire was not the Land of Earth, nor was it the Land of Lightning.

The daimyo of the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning could be as close as family with their Tsuchikage and Raikage, but the Land of Fire could not.

No one would allow the daimyo to extend his reach into Konoha.

Among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Fire's daimyo was in the most awkward position.

His relationship with Konoha was neither particularly good nor particularly bad, yet he was always trying to poach from Konoha, making Konoha's upper ranks constantly wary of him.

On top of that, Danzo's past threat against the daimyo could be put to use.

So Yan decisively fabricated a piece of intelligence and tossed it out.

As for how much he could gain from it, that depended on how much the daimyo hated Danzo and how dearly he valued his own life.

"Daimyo, you cannot confront them like this."

The aide immediately grew anxious and hurriedly advised him.

"Never mind whether the intelligence is real or not. Even if it is true, you still cannot confront him like this. What if you force him into a corner and he lashes out?"

"Then tell me, what should I do?!"

The daimyo angrily flung his sleeve aside and sat down in his chair, fuming.

Whenever he recalled the way Danzo had looked at him back then, panic rose in his heart. He was terrified that Danzo might chop him up one day.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the aide voiced the suggestion he had been holding back.

"Daimyo, confronting him directly will not do. Since Shimura Danzo dared to threaten you and harbor such improper thoughts, it means he may truly act. We should not confront him directly. We should pressure him instead.

"I recall that the time for the Daimyo's Mansion to allocate this year's funds to Konoha is approaching."

The village's development could not be separated from vast sums of money.

Even if Konoha could keep itself running, shinobi were expensive to train and even more expensive to maintain.

The money Konoha earned through its own operations was nowhere near enough to support so many people.

The funding allocated by the Daimyo's Mansion was of utmost importance.

One only had to look at the Hidden Sand Village. Because its daimyo was displeased by its repeated defeats, he reduced its funding, forcing the Hidden Sand Village to tighten its belt, repeatedly cut surplus shinobi, and take the elite route.

"First, we delay the money. Then we summon Hiruzen Sarutobi to the Daimyo's Mansion, pressure him, and make him deal with Danzo."

A direct confrontation might provoke Danzo into retaliating, but having the Third Hokage pressure him was another matter entirely.

If you do not handle this properly, I will not give you the money!

After all, you would not dare kill me.

At worst, he could expose the intelligence and let the entire shinobi world see just how ugly Konoha's true face was.

The higher someone's position, the more they cherished their life. And the more they cherished their life, the more suspicious they became.

Sure enough, because of a piece of unverified intelligence from an unknown source, the daimyo had already begun to suspect Danzo.

After all, Danzo had threatened him before and truly intended to make a move against him.

"Good. We will do exactly that. If Hiruzen Sarutobi does not give me a reasonable explanation, I will make everything public!"

Konoha had suffered severe losses during the Third Shinobi World War. Then came the devastation of Nine-Tails Night, undoubtedly making Konoha's financial situation even worse.

Even after several years, Konoha had yet to recover.

Every day, the Third Hokage worried over the village's financial deficit.

Konoha lacked money—desperately lacked money.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in."

Hearing the knock, the Third Hokage set down the document in his hand and rubbed his sore, weary eyes.

When the door opened and he saw who had entered, the Third Hokage smiled and asked,

"Koharu, what brings you here?"

"I mainly came to ask why the date has already passed, yet the funding from the Daimyo's Mansion still has not arrived."

They were old friends and longtime comrades, so their conversation was direct and relaxed, as though she were merely asking a friend whether he had eaten.

"The money has not arrived?"

The Third Hokage could not help frowning. The Daimyo's Mansion had always been punctual every year.

"Perhaps something delayed it. If it still has not arrived in a few days, I will send someone to ask about it."

"Remember to press them on it. There are plenty of places in the village that need money."

Koharu Utatane also reminded the Third Hokage not to forget. Then she left directly. As an elder advisor, she had piles of work on her hands as well, unlike Danzo, who had so much leisure.

What the Third Hokage never expected was that the delay in funding from the Daimyo's Mansion would stretch on for half a month without a word.

After Koharu Utatane urged him several times, the Third Hokage finally realized that things were not so simple.

If it had merely been delayed, someone from the Daimyo's Mansion would surely have come to inform them.

Yet half a month had passed without the slightest word. Something was clearly wrong.

The Daimyo's Mansion had begun to exert pressure.

On the Uchiha side, Yan, who had rested for half a month, could no longer stand it and finally returned to his post.

"They said they would discuss reorganizing the Police Department half a month ago. Half a month has passed, and there has not been the slightest movement."

Just as expected, they could not be relied upon.

Yan could already imagine Fugaku, the clan head, and the elders bickering back and forth, rambling about everything under the sun while being unable to settle the actual matter.

Having several elders with overly selfish motives was Fugaku's misfortune as well.

Being clan head was not so easy either.

"Captain, do we need to go out on patrol?"

It was not just Yan who felt stifled. Even Izumi wanted to go out for a walk.

Unfortunately, for the past half month, she could only obediently stay by Yan's side every day and be dragged into studying each day.

"Wait for the clan head's notice."

Although he no longer needed to remain cooped up at home, Fugaku still required Yan to stay at the Police Department as much as possible rather than go out on patrols or handle various public security incidents.

Yan knew Fugaku was doing this for his own good. He feared Danzo would take a shot at him from the shadows.

"Bring out all the files in the cabinet."

Rest was rest, but the documents that needed handling still had to be handled.

He had been resting at home, but the Third Squad's patrols and duties had not fallen behind.

As for the various cases, they could only be put aside for now and dealt with after his return.

At the Hokage Office Building, the Third Hokage could no longer sit still.

The village needed money everywhere, yet there had not been the slightest response from the Daimyo's Mansion. The people he had sent over had not even been allowed to see the daimyo.

There was definitely a problem here.

The Third Hokage decided to make the trip himself.

"Kakashi, I will have to trouble you for the time being."

The Hokage would naturally have people accompanying him for protection when he traveled. This time, as he headed to the Daimyo's Mansion, the Third Hokage decided to bring Kakashi and the Anbu squad under his command.

Kakashi, wearing an Anbu mask, slightly lowered his head without speaking.

"Oh, right. Notify Uchiha Fugaku and have him come see me."

At the end, recalling the report from the Anbu shinobi assigned to monitor the Uchiha that morning, the Third Hokage decided to meet Uchiha Fugaku. He felt it necessary to verify some information.

Upon receiving the notice, Fugaku immediately set aside what he was doing and headed to the Hokage Office Building.

What Fugaku had not expected was that after exchanging a few casual remarks, the Third Hokage shifted the topic to Yan.