At the Hokage Cabinet meeting, Kazemori Masaki placed copies of the material collected by the Intelligence Department before everyone. Apart from Shimura Danzō, who oversaw the department and already knew its contents, everyone studied the documents carefully. After a while, they exchanged glances, each seeing astonishment on the others' faces.
"Isn't this just the hostage arrangement from the Warring States Period?" Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately pointed out the true nature of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. He would not be fooled by the Daimyo's stated reasons.
For people like them, who had lived through the Warring States Period, hostage arrangements were all too familiar. They were seasoned enough to recognize the implications behind this proposal, and for a moment, they were rather surprised. None had expected the Daimyo to make such a move out of nowhere.
In their minds, the Daimyo had always been a ruler whose ambitions far exceeded his abilities. Otherwise, he would never have watched Konoha Ninja Village grow to its current size. For him to employ such a tactic now was truly unexpected.
Unlike other schemes, the Daimyo's move was an open one. Wanting his country's Shinobi Village to protect him was perfectly natural, and the village ought to send people to do so. Even if his true purpose was to hold them hostage, the village could hardly refuse—if Konoha Ninja Village would not even accept a hostage arrangement intended to strengthen mutual trust, did that mean it had no loyalty to the country?
In the past, Konoha Ninja Village had been able to avoid following every order from the Daimyo because it held the moral high ground. This time, however, taking hostages was hardly unacceptable among the nobility. Indeed, by traditional standards, accepting such an arrangement made mutual trust easier to establish. If Konoha Ninja Village refused,