Chapter 176: Conflict at the Jonin Meeting
Aside from Uchiha Fugaku, Nawaki, and others who went to the battlefield, a considerable number of people attended the second Jonin meeting. Among them, the entourage of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire occupied the front-row seats. Aside from the Daimyo and the Minister of the Land of Fire, ten Guardian Ninjas followed behind him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was extremely unsightly. He had not expected the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to be so serious about this, treating the private signing of a peace agreement with the Sand Ninja as if it tarnished the centuries-old reputation of the Land of Fire.
This was unreasonable!
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been pondering this ever since the messenger from the Daimyo's Mansion delivered the notice. His first suspicion pointed toward Orochimaru and Karn, but after deep thought, he felt the two of them were unlikely candidates.
He admitted that Karn held considerable influence in the Land of Fire, but Hiruzen Sarutobi knew the Daimyo very well. The Daimyo had ambition without backbone; using the momentum to vent some dissatisfaction toward Konoha was fine, but if it came to standing on the opposite side of Konoha, the Daimyo absolutely lacked the courage.
Then, with the Daimyo rushing aggressively to Konoha this time, who had given him the courage?
The Guardian Ninjas?
Aside from Sakumo, only one person was a ninja sent by Konoha, while everyone else had been recruited from the Shinobi World by the Daimyo's Mansion. Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself that the Daimyo had also developed quite a bit of power over the years, and he had certainly recruited many people simply through the Guardian Ninjas, but did a few chunin and jonin really give him the confidence to oppose Konoha?
Aside from Hiruzen