The Daimyo of the Land of Wind was undoubtedly a clever man, but he was also an exceptionally arrogant one.
Like countless other nobles, he saw shinobi as crude brutes who relied on nothing but strength, habitually treating them with contempt or ignoring them outright. His disdain for shinobi had long since taken root in his very bones.
It was precisely that arrogance and ignorance that became his fatal weakness, sending him straight into an abyss from which there was no return.
Using economic means against shinobi was undoubtedly unprecedented. If he had been a shinobi himself, or had previously learned something about their tracking and interrogation methods, he would certainly have been an extremely troublesome opponent.
But he was not a shinobi, nor was he willing to learn just how powerful ninjutsu could be. Once stripped of the aura of his title, he was merely an ordinary man.
No matter how annoying or troublesome an insect was, it could still be crushed with a pinch.
After returning to Konoha, Tobirama tossed the Daimyo of the Land of Wind into the laboratory, leaving him to soak alongside the Senju Clan elder. What awaited them would surely be hellish days filled with endless torment, where even death was an unattainable luxury.
Naturally, the scroll containing the wealth amassed by generations of the Land of Wind's royal family also fell into Konoha's hands as spoils of war. When Tobirama solemnly and slowly unfurled the yellowed Sealing Scroll, the enormous fortune a nation had accumulated over centuries nearly blinded everyone present.
"Master, that's... that's so much gold! We're rich!"
Having stayed in the rear to oversee the entire operation, Shingetsu had never had the chance to see the mountains of gold, silver, and jewels in the nobles' possession.
Now, faced with mountains of