"The Bounty Exchange Office?"
At Shinhiko's mention of the organization, Madara began searching his memories for information about it.
It was a mysterious intermediary organization that primarily posted bounties for assassination missions and paid out rewards to the ninja who completed them.
This mysterious organization had branches throughout the shinobi world. Rumor had it that even the Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had openly listed prices on their heads. The money and influence behind it were anything but ordinary.
"If I'm not mistaken, the backers of this organization must be the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations."
Madara was exceptionally sharp. Shinhiko Kōzuki had given him a lead, and he had successfully deduced the truth.
Seeing that Madara had grasped this himself, Shinhiko and Genshin nodded as a matter of course.
In their eyes, if Madara lacked even that much insight, he could never have become Hokage, nor would he deserve to sit at the same table as them.
"The Five Great Shinobi Villages are the military arms of the Five Great Nations, but the villages and their countries are relatively independent. Their relationship is more a partnership than one of subordination."
Seeing how quickly Madara understood, Genshin picked up where Shinhiko had left off.
"Lord Shinhiko and I wield too much influence, so the Daimyo is wary of us. Still, we are his retainers, and our armed forces are limited in strength. The ninja in a ninja village are another matter entirely."
Genshin took a sip of tea, then smiled.
"Compared with ministers whose backgrounds he knows inside out, a Daimyo fears rebellion from the Kage far more. At court, he can use his ministers to keep one another in check. Outside the court, he likewise has no wish to see the ninja villages grow too powerful.