After seeing off the Daimyo's messenger, Hashirama sat in his office in silence for a long while. Then, the window suddenly opened, and Tobirama leaped inside.
"Big Brother..."
"Tobirama, I can't understand why the Daimyo made this move. Is he wary of us?"
"No."
Tobirama shook his head, sat down on the sofa nearby, and planted one foot where Uchiha Gen had once sat.
"It doesn't look that way. The Daimyo should understand that his military strength isn't equal to ours. We're like a blade in the Land of Fire's hand. If the Daimyo cripples his own weapon, I don't need to tell you what will happen to him."
Hashirama nodded. That was true. Konoha and the Land of Fire had always shared the relationship of lord and retainer. Neither side interfered with the other politically. When war broke out, one side provided resources while the other provided military force. That was the unspoken understanding.
"I think this has something to do with what that Daimyo intends to do next."
"Oh? Did you find something?"
"Chirp chirp chirp—"
Whoosh!
At the sound of the special signal, an Anbu ninja immediately appeared in the Hokage's office.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Advisor."
"Mm. White Fang, tell the Hokage about the results of the Anbu investigation."
"Yes!"
The white-haired Anbu took a scroll from his weapon pouch, placed it on the floor, and unfurled it.
"Release!"
Boom...
"According to the investigation conducted by Root and the Anbu, there has been a large-scale transfer of Land of Fire officials over the past month. Nearly half of them appeared abruptly. According to reliable intelligence, they most likely came from the Uchiha..."
"Following that lead, we traced the matter further and discovered that the current Land of Fire has already been taken over by the Uchiha Clan.