Hiruzen's face alternated between anger and pallor at those words.
The Land of Fire's Daimyō silenced the indignant crowd, then continued his reprimand.
"Hiruzen, if the Uchiha were so important, why did you drive them away in the first place?"
"The Uchiha now have an excellent reputation throughout the shinobi world!"
"I hear that many great nations' daimyōs are now willing to entrust escort missions to them!"
"And you? You've led Konoha for decades, yet its reputation declines by the day!"
Hiruzen lowered his head, unable to utter a single word.
"Now Konoha's ninja are busy fighting a war."
"Even I have to turn to the Hidden Xuan Village to commission a mission!"
The more the Daimyō spoke, the angrier he became.
"The Uchiha have flourished since leaving Konoha!"
"What does that prove? It proves they're better than you!"
A portly noble immediately chimed in:
"His Lordship is right!"
"Not long ago, I transported a shipment from the southern Land of Fire to the Land of Hot Water. The route crossed the borders of several countries, where banditry was rampant. I originally wanted to hire Konoha, but they refused, saying they were short of manpower."
"Later, I approached the Hidden Xuan Village. They sent just three ninja as escorts, including a child who had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy."
"We encountered three groups of bandits along the way, but when those bandits saw the Uchiha's fan emblem, they didn't even dare fight. They simply ran!"
"Exactly!"
Another merchant stood up, his eyes full of admiration.
"The Uchiha's escort missions have a success rate of nearly one hundred percent."
"Those rogue ninja, wandering samurai, and bandits all steer clear when they see the Uchiha flag."
"That's strength! That's reputation!"
"If only the Uchiha were still ninja of the Land