The reception hall of the Palace, in the Land of Rice Fields.
The smile on the daimyo's face stiffened.
He pressed both hands against the low table and slowly leaned back.
"You must be joking, Hyuga Clan Leader," the daimyo said with a dry laugh, his gaze wandering. "The Land of Rice Fields has been perfectly peaceful these past few days. What could we possibly need 'saving' from?"
"The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan have joined forces to establish Konoha. You already know that, Your Highness?" Shinichi asked.
The smile on the daimyo's face faded a little, and he slowly nodded.
"The daimyo of the Land of Fire is now providing money and land, giving Konoha his full support." Shinichi watched him, his tone calm.
The daimyo's expression darkened at once.
His fingers slowly tightened against the low table, curling into fists.
"The Senju and the Uchiha fought for centuries without either being able to wipe out the other. Now they've joined forces to establish a shinobi village." Shinichi's voice remained even, as though he were discussing something that had nothing to do with him.
"Hashirama Senju. Madara Uchiha," he continued. "Either one of those two alone would have few worthy opponents in the entire shinobi world. Now they're on the same side."
"And on top of that, the daimyo of the Land of Fire is providing money and land, pouring the resources of his entire country into them."
Shinichi raised his eyes to the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields. "Within the Land of Fire, there is now no force capable of stopping Konoha."
The daimyo sat behind the low table, his expression growing uglier. His fists trembled slightly against the tabletop, and he could not say a word.
"The Land of Rice Fields lies directly north of the Land of Fire, with only a single valley between them." Shinichi spoke slowly, lifting a hand to tap lightly on the low table.
"Konoha has only just been established. Right now, it's busy bringing together the major ninja clans of the Land of Fire."
"Once it has sorted out its domestic affairs and gained a firm foothold, it will eventually expand outward."
"And Konoha's first target will be the Land of Rice Fields."
Before he had finished speaking, a sheen of fine sweat sprang up on the daimyo's forehead.
His throat bobbed. Instinctively, he tried to raise his sleeve to wipe it away, only for his hand to freeze in midair.
"When that day comes, what will the Land of Rice Fields have to resist them?" Shinichi watched the daimyo as he asked calmly.
The daimyo opened his mouth but could not get out a single word.
"The Land of Rice Fields doesn't have a single decent ninja clan within its borders," Shinichi continued. "Whenever war breaks out, all it has to rely on are wandering ninja hired with money."
"When I entered the city today, I saw two wandering ninja squatting outside a tavern, drinking."
Watching the daimyo's trembling hands, Shinichi said evenly, "They come when they're paid and run when the fighting starts. When Konoha's ninja reach the city walls, do you think they'll fight to the death for the Land of Rice Fields, Your Highness?"
The daimyo shrank back, his face deathly pale, even his breathing growing heavier.
"The Land of Fire has set the precedent of establishing a shinobi village. Now that it has Konoha, the other great nations certainly won't just stand by and watch." Shinichi withdrew his hand, his tone level. "The Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Water-sooner or later, they will all follow suit and establish shinobi villages of their own."
He was not being alarmist. This was precisely how the shinobi world's political landscape had evolved in the original work from his previous life.
The Five Great Nations each possessed a massive shinobi village, dividing up all the resources of the shinobi world among themselves.
"When that happens, every great nation will have its own shinobi village backing it." Watching the flustered daimyo, Shinichi spoke unhurriedly. "The great nations will have shinobi villages to protect them. In their eyes, small nations without shinobi villages will be nothing more than easy prey they can destroy at will, helpless to resist."
The daimyo looked at the boy before him, his throat bobbing. He wanted to say something, but not a single word came out.
Everything Shinichi had said was precisely what had kept him awake these past few nights-thoughts he had only pursued halfway before becoming too frightened to think any further.
Now, a boy in his teens had calmly laid it all bare, setting each matter before him one by one.
The daimyo glanced sideways toward the reception hall's entrance.
Two guards stood outside, dressed in iron armor with long swords at their waists. They were the only personal guards he had.
Yet those two struggled even against wandering ninja. If they truly encountered Konoha's ninja, they probably would not even have a chance to draw their swords.
As for those wandering ninja outside the city who only worked for pay, the daimyo knew better than anyone that they would probably all be long gone before the fighting even began.
None of them could be relied on.
Cold sweat soaked the clothes at his back, leaving them clinging icily to his spine.
The daimyo slowly raised his head and stared blankly at Shinichi seated opposite him, his dry, thin lips moving a few times.
"Leave us." The daimyo waved a hand, his voice dry and hoarse.
Several attendants hurriedly bowed and withdrew, gently closing the doors behind them.
Only the daimyo, Shinichi, and Scarface and the others standing behind him remained in the reception hall.
With the outsiders gone, the daimyo could no longer bother maintaining the dignity of a ruler.
He abruptly leaned forward, gripping the edge of the low table tightly with both hands.
"Then, in your opinion, Hyuga Clan Leader..." The daimyo gazed at Shinichi pleadingly and asked urgently, "What should the Land of Rice Fields do from here on?"
Shinichi's expression did not change. Even his gaze remained steady.
Looking at the daimyo's anxious, dry face behind the low table, he said slowly, "The Land of Fire has Konoha. The Land of Rice Fields must have a shinobi village of its own as well."
The daimyo jolted at those words, his expression freezing.
Then a bitter smile touched his lips, and the light in his eyes faded completely.
"The Land of Rice Fields doesn't even have a proper ninja clan within its borders. What could we possibly build a shinobi village with?"
Yet halfway through those words, the daimyo suddenly seemed to choke on something, his voice cutting off abruptly.
He snapped his eyes up to the boy before him.
The daimyo remembered. A secret letter from the Land of Fire a few days earlier had mentioned in passing that the Senju and the Uchiha had paid a joint visit to invite the Hyuga Clan to join Konoha.
Wasn't the person standing before him the chief of the Hyuga Clan?
"Hyuga Clan Leader..." The daimyo's voice was soft, as though he were testing the waters, his eyelids trembling slightly. "I heard the Senju and the Uchiha previously visited you in person to extend an invitation. Why... why didn't the Hyuga join Konoha?"
Shinichi lowered his eyes to the teacup on the table, his tone utterly calm.
"Better to lead the small than serve the mighty!"
"The Hyuga won't play little brother to the Senju and the Uchiha."
Shinichi raised his eyes to the daimyo before him and stated it plainly.
"The Hyuga Clan has over three thousand members, including more than three hundred ninja, every one of whom possesses a pair of Byakugan."
"If the Hyuga Clan settles in the Land of Rice Fields, the Land of Rice Fields will have its own shinobi village."
Shinichi watched him and delivered his final words evenly. "The Land of Fire has Konoha. The Land of Rice Fields has the Hyuga."
After hearing him out, the daimyo froze completely.
The panic in his eyes gradually faded, and his fingers slowly loosened their grip on the edge of the low table.
The daimyo drew a deep breath and sat bolt upright.
He stared fixedly at Shinichi across from him, his dry, thin lips pressed tightly into a line.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, nor did benefits simply fall from the sky.
The Hyuga Clan refused to go to Konoha and serve under others, yet had come knocking at this precise moment. They certainly had an enormous appetite.
The daimyo's hand trembled slightly against the low table. The panic vanished entirely from his eyes, replaced by a grave, resolute expression.
"Hyuga Clan Leader..." Lowering his voice, the daimyo asked, enunciating every word, "What does the Hyuga Clan want?"
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