The Will of Fire Fails to Spread, the Daimyo Questions Hiruzen

The rambling was bad enough, but what made Yan roll his eyes was that the Third Hokage kept going on and on about the Will of Fire the entire way.

Was he being treated as Shisui Number Two?

Listening to the Third Hokage speak of the village's greatness and the inheritance of the Will of Fire, not only Yan and Fū found it unbearable—even Izumi, who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy and whose heart was full of love for the village, was starting to struggle.

If she had not been afraid that Yan would give her a harsh scolding, Izumi would have wanted to shake off the goosebumps covering her body.

"Kagami was my comrade, my friend, and my teacher's disciple. It's just a pity that he... sigh."

"..."

The Anbu ninja following in the shadows all turned to look at Kakashi.

They really wanted to ask: Since when had the Hokage become so fond of reminiscing about the past?

The Third Hokage rambled on all the way until nightfall before finally stopping.

Would the Third Hokage really transfer Yan to his side for no reason, then spend an entire afternoon rambling at him?

Obviously not.

There was naturally a purpose behind it, but the results were not particularly satisfying.

After an afternoon of testing, the Third Hokage could confirm that Yan was different from ordinary Uchiha.

Though he could not become Shisui Number Two or Shisui's replacement, Yan's greatest difference from the other Uchiha was that he harbored no resistance toward the village.

Even though the village and the Uchiha were currently full of mutual distrust.

"The Uchiha belong to the village. We will always be members of the village. I firmly believe that."

Of everything Yan had said, that was one of the few remarks that satisfied the Third Hokage.

Aside from that, what the Third Hokage found difficult to accept was that Yan seemed utterly unmoved by the Will of Fire.

No matter how much he talked, Yan still showed little reaction.

Clearly, Yan was an Uchiha who acknowledged the village but kept the Will of Fire at arm's length.

"Captain, if there's another good thing like this next time, please don't bring me along."

During their patrol, Fū could not help pouring out his grievances.

If the Third Hokage's endless talking had not frightened him that badly, he would never have said something like that with his personality.

After all, his usual attitude had been: If I don't want to listen, I can just ignore it.

That showed just how formidable the Third Hokage's mouth was.

Did you think I wanted this?

If he could, Yan would rather disgust himself by grabbing a lump of shit with his own hands and stuffing it into the Third Hokage's mouth to make him shut up sooner.

"Bear with it. Tomorrow should be quieter."

If Yan had not guessed wrong, the Third Hokage's endless stream of nonsense had definitely been deliberate, perhaps even intended to test him.

Once the test was over, he naturally would not continue spouting so much nonsense.

They could barely stand listening to it, and the Third Hokage was already an old man. After talking so much, his throat certainly would not feel good either. It was the classic case of killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own.

Our ears can't take it, and your throat can't hold up. No one gets to have an easy time.

Sure enough, the Third Hokage did not want to say another word now. He had talked too much during the day, and his throat was practically on fire.

The night passed without incident. Yan and Fū knew that Anbu ninja were protecting the Hokage from the shadows during his travels, so they did not put much effort into patrolling and keeping watch around them.

Izumi, on the other hand, remained fully focused, afraid that enemies might suddenly appear from somewhere to assassinate the Third Hokage.

Just as Yan had guessed, the Third Hokage fell silent the next day, remaining nearly mute throughout the journey. The group arrived at the Daimyo's Mansion that afternoon.

The group headed straight for the palace where the daimyo lived.

In the Land of Fire, the daimyo and the Hokage were theoretically equals.

Unfortunately, the Third Hokage did not have the backbone of the First and Second Hokage. Thus, he still had to announce himself before he could meet the daimyo.

For someone who needed money, it was hard to stand tall.

Watching the Third Hokage stand patiently before the palace with his hands behind his back, it was difficult to imagine that this old man was someone who held absolute power in Konoha.

"Hmph, he finally decided to come?"

After receiving the report, the daimyo complained unhappily, "Let him in. I want to see how Hiruzen Sarutobi intends to explain this matter."

"You may enter, sir, but you cannot bring so many people with you."

The attendant glanced at Yan and the others beside the Third Hokage. They were going to meet the daimyo; guards could be brought along, but they could not all enter the palace.

"Mm."

The Third Hokage expressed his understanding. "Yan, come in with me."

"Yes."

Yan said to Izumi and Fū, "You two find somewhere to rest first. Once I'm done here, I'll come find you."

As he spoke, he made a gesture that only they understood. Fū nodded slightly and led Izumi away from the palace.

The Hokage could not bring too many guards to meet the daimyo, nor could he carry weapons. Who knew which idiot had come up with such bizarre rules?

Yan felt that Hashirama Senju, that fool, was definitely involved.

Only he would think the Hokage was too powerful and posed a grave threat to the daimyo.

Compared with the Hokage Office Building, the daimyo's palace was truly luxurious. Even though Yan had mentally prepared himself, he was still dazzled by it. It had to be said, money really did let people do whatever they wanted.

Following the attendant into the palace's main hall, they saw the daimyo sitting there with a face as long as a horse's.

The daimyo seemed to be in a bad mood?

Filled with doubt, the Third Hokage stepped forward, nodded slightly, and spoke first. "Daimyo."

"Hmph!"

The daimyo answered the Third Hokage with a dissatisfied snort.

Since when had the daimyo become so temperamental? Was this still the same daimyo who had nearly shrunk into his chair when Danzo merely glared at him?

What was this about?

Yan was somewhat surprised.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you still have the nerve to come? Don't you feel ashamed?"

The daimyo did not even bother calling him Hokage, directly addressing the Third Hokage by name as he struck first.

The Third Hokage was utterly bewildered. What had he done? Why should he feel ashamed? Why could he not come to the Daimyo's Mansion?

"I do not know what you mean, Daimyo. Have I offended you somewhere?"

Looking at the situation, if he did not first calm the daimyo's anger, there would be no point discussing this year's funding allocation.

"See for yourself."

Too lazy to explain, the daimyo directly threw the scroll lying beside him at the Third Hokage.

Didn't you say you hadn't offended me?

Then take a good look. Look at what Konoha has done.

It had frightened this old man so badly that, these past few days, he had needed to find somewhere to hide before he could sleep peacefully.

Thinking of the grievances he had suffered over the years, the daimyo's expression grew even uglier.

Could it be that the intelligence they had released had reached the daimyo?

Yan raised a hand to catch the scroll, handed it to the Third Hokage, then continued standing there to watch the show.

Today's drama looked quite entertaining. Even Yan had not expected that a piece of intelligence with barely any truth to it would make the daimyo this angry.

Sure enough, the better someone was at enjoying life and living extravagantly, the more afraid they were of death. The daimyo was the perfect example.

The Third Hokage frowned as he opened the scroll. He desperately wanted to know why the daimyo was so angry.