Uchiha Shunichi soon found Tsunade and obtained more accurate information from her.
The other Kage had actually already left, but they had left some shinobi behind to handle the finer points of communication. Although the agreement between the shinobi villages had been finalized, they still needed to notify the daimyo.
After all, all shinobi nominally served the daimyo. In reality, however, the daimyo were more like employers, and the shinobi merely needed financial support from them and the nobility.
During the Warring States Period, the great clans had fought independently. They had likewise pledged nominal allegiance to the daimyo, but the daimyo had virtually no control over these shinobi.
The shinobi had not rebelled against the daimyo during the Warring States Period because they did not engage in production. Without the daimyo's funding, they would fall on hard times. Worse still, if a daimyo supported their enemies, their entire clan might be wiped out.
And so, this custom had endured for a long time. There was a tacit understanding between the daimyo and the shinobi: the daimyo would not try to control the shinobi, and the shinobi would not involve themselves in conflicts between daimyo.
Things had changed somewhat when Hashirama Senju founded his village. The cohesion and fighting strength of a shinobi village posed a threat to a daimyo's rule.
Despite this development, however, the overall situation had not changed much. Aside from routinely paying to hire shinobi, the daimyo had each taken somewhat different approaches.
For example, the daimyo of the Land of Wind was dissatisfied with his country's shinobi village. He frequently found excuses to cut its funding and often diverted missions to Konoha.
It was precisely this situation that had forced the Fourth Kazekage to dig up gold to cover his village's funding shortfall.
The daimyo