The news of Konoha's victory greatly relieved the Daimyō.
Victory was better than defeat, after all.
The people of the Land of Lightning were not easy to deal with, especially their ordinary army. The Land of Lightning's soldiers were all strong and sturdy, but their weakness was their free-spirited, undisciplined nature. Otherwise, the Land of Fire would have had a hard time dealing with them.
But Konoha's defeat would also have caused serious problems. It would have placed Konoha even further beyond the Land of Fire's control.
To those in power, balance was crucial. Even if Konoha was a force in the Land of Fire's hand, they did not want to see it grow too powerful.
The common people's feelings? Past favors? Or promises once made?
Sorry, none of those mattered more than power and rule. To preserve their rule, those in power would question and suspect everything!
"Why don't we have a proper talk? About the Land of Fire and Konoha."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Daimyō before him and finally spoke.
"Let the irrelevant people leave first."
The Daimyō fell silent for a moment, then signaled for his attendants to leave.
Though they were reluctant, the attendants understood that if Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to harm the Daimyō, they had no room to resist.
"What do you think of the current Shinobi World?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, his gaze studying the man before him with great amusement.
One could tell from his face alone that the Daimyō's body had been hollowed out by drink and debauchery.
"Hasn't the Shinobi World always been like this? Conflicts and wars between nations, and ninjas fighting and killing each other..."
The Daimyō did not understand what Hiruzen Sarutobi meant by his question.
Naturally, he had no opinions on the Shinobi World. As a Daimyō