Konoha: Uchiha Shisui's Strategist Alliance

Chapter 198 Actions of All Parties

On January 17th, in the 52nd year of Konoha, although the weather was cold, the hearts of Konoha's leaders were warm.

"Hahaha, it seems we misunderstood the Daimyo. I heard the banditry in Kyoto isn't over yet, but the Daimyo has already sent people to risk crossing dangerous areas to deliver this year's funds. Not only that, there's also the reward for the bandit suppression mission, plus the stolen money the Hokage mentioned earlier. It seems Konoha's funds will be plentiful this year!"

"What misunderstanding about the Daimyo? You don't know, do you? I heard that the Hokage sent someone to negotiate with the Daimyo, and only then did the Daimyo agree to allocate funds. It seems that since the Third Hokage, the Daimyo has been taking Konoha less and less seriously. Sigh, if we end up like the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, how will we survive in the future?"

"The government keeps cutting funding; I think that's unacceptable."

The group discussed the matter, but most of the ninjas' information came from merchants from Kyoto, and they knew little about what was happening in the vicinity of Kyoto. Shisui and Suzaku Nara couldn't tell them either, so they could only speculate wildly.

However, under Shisui's deliberate guidance, negative comments about the daimyo are increasing.

Meanwhile, at the Hokage Building, Danzo, having learned that funds had been allocated to the village, immediately went to the Hokage's office.

"Funding for the root department? The root department only has a dozen or so people. If we give too much funding, the other departments probably won't be willing to accept it."

Shisui did not refuse immediately, but his expression was very hesitant.

Danzo had only come to test the waters, but he hadn't expected Shisui to not immediately refuse. A thought flickered in his mind, and he quickly said, "Although the Root forces are few, the mission is arduous, especially now that the war is over. Other ninja villages are intensifying their infiltration of Konoha, and there are also some ninjas within the village who could potentially harm Konoha. I need to eliminate them beforehand; it's all for Konoha's sake!"

Danzo said with a serious expression, and Shisui paused and remained silent.

Frankly, Danzo's reasons were hardly convincing to Shisui, but...

"What Advisor Danzo said makes sense; there are indeed some spies in the village. However, I need to use this money for other things, so I can't give you too much."

"It doesn't matter, it's all for Konoha!"

Danzo's convictions were still very strong. Shisui chuckled dryly, approved the funding application, and let him leave.

Then Suzaku Nara went into his office.

"I have selected the squad for bandit suppression. Here is the list. Please confirm, Hokage."

"Let's cut some people. We don't need too many, but we must make sure they understand the purpose of this operation. Remember to remind them to control the time well."

"Yes."

After giving some instructions, Shisui saw that Suzaku Nara was still standing there.

"Is there anything else?"

Nara Suzaku hesitated for a moment, then said, "Hokage-sama, there is something I need to tell you, concerning Advisor Danzo."

Shisui's expression shifted, and he asked curiously, "What did Danzo, the advisor, do this time?"

"Since Danzo returned last year, he has been intentionally selecting Chunin from the village and teaching them ninjutsu. It was originally a small matter, but Danzo showed no restraint in his actions and taught ninjutsu for several months in a row. As a result, many Chunin in the village have acquired ninjutsu outside of the proper channels, which has caused dissatisfaction among many clans."

Shisui was not surprised by Danzo's exposure; with so many people involved, it was only a matter of time before he was discovered.

"Spreading ninjutsu, what's your opinion on this, Suzaku-senpai?"

"Lord Hokage, Danzo may be trying to win over Chunin, expand Root, or have other motives, but whatever the reason, his actions will cause dissatisfaction among all the ninja clans. Those clans have already begun to find ways to curb Danzo's behavior in private."

Shisui was already quite satisfied that Suzaku Nara had revealed these things.

He said with a smile, "I heard from Danzo that it is difficult to replenish the root group's personnel, so it seems that they have no other choice."

However, the village can't be in chaos. Here's what I'll do: I'll find some time to warn Advisor Danzo, and you help me appease those families.

"clear!"

As the conflict between the ninja clans and Danzo gradually came to light, news of the daimyo's compromise spread throughout the Land of Fire, but this was not what the nobles cared about.

A month later, after the Konoha ninjas had wiped out more than half of the mountain bandits in the capital region, a piece of news caught their attention.

Someone reported that a noble family in the capital was privately training its members to become ninjas, which was a violation of the daimyo's orders. The daimyo was furious and fined them 300,000 ryo. He also reiterated that the private training of ninjas was prohibited, as it was a threat to the stability of the Land of Fire and a provocation against Konoha!

The news spread throughout the Land of Fire within days, and nobles from all over the country fell into an eerie silence after repeatedly confirming its authenticity.

"My chance has come! My chance has finally come! Hahaha!"

On the west side of the river, Yamazaki Takuya was overjoyed as he looked at the intelligence in his hand. Although he had not invested too many people in the Ninja Academy in Calabash Valley, as the middleman designated by the Uchiha, he had made a lot of money when recruiting people for the academy. With money, how could he not be afraid of training ninjas?

He immediately summoned his trusted aide and instructed, "Make preparations. Collect a list of all eligible children in the territory, including those from your families. Also, take some money and personally go to Calabash Valley to discuss with the Dean. I need fifty places!"

"yes!"

Yamazaki Takuya has his own sources of information. He knows the situation in Kyoto and the daimyo's dissatisfaction with Konoha. He has a premonition that as long as the Yamazaki family has enough ninjas in the future, they will be able to gain enough influence in the Land of Fire. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Not only him, but the nobles of the entire Hexi Road were in an uproar. They were ahead of many nobles and had already invested a lot of manpower and resources in the Ninja Academy, but now it seemed that it was far from enough.

Although the training of the first batch of ninjas has not yet ended, they can't wait any longer and have been sending their trusted confidants to Yamazaki Takuta, hoping to increase their investment. This will be an excellent opportunity for them to take another step forward.

Meanwhile, in Kyoto, at the Matsuno residence.

Matsuno Yoshiyuki was shocked by the daimyo's idea, and then became excited.

"The Daimyo has actually started encouraging nobles to train ninjas. It seems the Daimyo is becoming increasingly intolerant of Konoha's actions. This is an opportunity. With the financial support of my Matsuno clan, we can provide Jiro with more military support. Perhaps one day, it wouldn't be so bad!"

Matsuno Yoshiyuki's breathing became increasingly rapid as he pondered, but he did not lose his composure. Instead, he summoned his trusted aides and ordered, "Summon the heads of those vassal families to see me immediately!"

"yes!"

Although the daimyo hinted that he could train ninjas, this was, after all, the capital city. If he conducted large-scale training, it would easily displease the daimyo, so he had to disperse the personnel.

"However, if we're going to train ninjas, we'll need to find some more instructors. But the average rogue ninja and samurai are only so-so; they probably can't train any skilled ninjas. Should we hire some privately?"

Matsuno Yoshiyuki quickly thought of Sasori and Izayoi. Although Izayoi was a member of Konoha, dealing with Konoha was the Daimyo's business, and it had nothing to do with him.

"Let's give it a try first. If it doesn't work, we can go to the Fire Temple or hire some ninjas from Konoha, as long as we don't get discovered by the Daimyo."

Matsuno Yoshiyuki rubbed his forehead. A lot had happened recently, giving him quite a headache. He had a feeling that someone was up to something in the dark.

"You will personally visit these families tonight. I have already found incriminating evidence against them. You do not need to reveal your identity. Just use this information to threaten them into covering for us and give them some money."

Outside the capital, the nameless manor that originally concealed the gambling arena was given the name "Juxian Manor" by Yan Shifan.

Inside the manor, Yan Shifan took a sip of tea and then gave a loud order.

"Elder, the list consists of ordinary people, and their families are not powerful, nor do they have much influence in or around the capital. Why not just let me use my Sharingan to control them? Why give them money?"

Hearing that he would have to pay more, Izayoi was puzzled. He had personally taken action and hadn't killed those people or taken their money, which was already a good sign that they were far away. Why was he being asked to pay out of pocket?

"Superficial! What good will threats do us? The people around the daimyo are not to be trifled with. If you try to control so many people, you might make a mistake at any time."

A combination of kindness and strictness is the way to go in the long run. We need to get them to work for us willingly. As long as they are willing to do their jobs with peace of mind, why be stingy with some benefits?

We need to have a long-term vision!

Yan Shifan shook his head. These older generation guys who didn't study at the clan school were a real problem, but they were also very strong in martial arts, and everything depended on them.

And that damned Sima Yi, that ruthless guy, he even took the enhancement points and activated the Mangekyou Sharingan, making him feel very insecure in the Uchiha clan.

Thinking of Sima Yi, Yan Shifan had to soften his tone. Before strengthening himself, he needed to win over a powerful Uchiha to protect him. Izayoi, a guy with some brains but not much, was just right.

"The daimyo's hints have already spread, and nobles in various places are secretly training ninjas. But we are not nobles, and this place is too close to the capital. If we train troops here directly, it will inevitably attract attention and may even force the daimyo to send a large army to wipe us out."

Only by getting these nobles to help us train ninjas can we deceive others.

Furthermore, we can use them to win over other nobles and even influence political discourse, so voluntariness is crucial.

"Hiss~"

Izayoi chewed slowly and then gasped; he really hadn't thought about these things.

"The Third Elder is wise!"

Feeling foolish, Izayoi spoke in a much softer voice.

"Haha, no need for that. Izayoi-kun is exceptionally capable, and everything in Kyoto depends on you. With the two of us working together, we will surely achieve great things here!"

"I will obey the elder's orders!"

Izayoi was thrilled by what he was saying, but he wasn't good at such pleasantries, so he could only kneel down to express his feelings.

Yan Shifan quickly got up and helped him up, gave him some more instructions, and then let him set off with the list.

The most vehement reactions to the daimyo's hints did not come from the local nobles, but from Danzo, Mitokado, and the bedridden Third Daimyo.

Konoha, Hokage's office.

There were only five people in the office at the moment: Shisui, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, Nara Suzaku, and Sarutobi Hikari.

"Fifth Hokage, the Third Hokage didn't mean anything by it. This matter is truly of utmost importance. The Daimyo's intention is clearly to allow those nobles to train ninjas. Those guys have money and connections. If they are allowed to train ninjas without permission, it probably won't be long before the Daimyo completely abandons Konoha!"

Ninjas do not engage in production and rely on mission rewards for their livelihood. However, the majority of missions come from nobles. If the nobles no longer need them, Konoha will either have to find a new job to survive, such as the Kazekage who is forced to seek his fortune, or it will have to adopt an elite force policy, such as Kirigakure.

As for the idea of ​​rebelling against the daimyo, it almost never appears in the minds of ninjas.

"It's time to teach the daimyo a lesson and make him behave!"

Danzo snorted coldly, extremely dissatisfied with the Daimyo. As proud as he was, he had compromised with the Daimyo for the sake of Konoha's future, yet the Daimyo had failed to help him become Hokage. What a waste!

"Hokage, we must take some action this time. If we let the Daimyo continue like this, Konoha will have no future."

Even Mitokado Homura, who was already lying down, couldn't help but speak up to offer advice.

Shisui pondered for a moment, then looked at Suzaku Nara and asked, "How's the bandit suppression mission in Kyoto going?"

"The bandits are difficult to track down, and so far only half of them have been driven away."

Shisui nodded and looked at the other three, saying, "A daimyo is a daimyo after all, and we have no reason to cause trouble since he did not directly allow the nobles to train ninjas."

"this"

Mitokado Homura was helpless. The daimyo had indeed not allowed it. Not only that, but he also fined the nobles who trained ninjas 300,000 ryo. But this punishment was simply child's play.

"We can't just do nothing. We have to send someone to Kyoto to assassinate the daimyo. Whether it succeeds or not, we have to let the daimyo know that Konoha is not a place that anyone can mess with! Let me handle this matter!" Danzo said in a deep voice.

These words shocked everyone present, and they quickly tried to stop him.

Assassinating a daimyo would, if exposed, trigger an attack from the entire ninja world, making Konoha's situation even worse than the Third Shinobi World War.

"No, Danzo, please calm down. Things haven't gotten to that point yet."

Shisui's forehead was covered in cold sweat. Danzo had never succeeded in anything he did. This time, he was trying to drag the Uchiha and Konoha down with him!

"Hmph, you're too weak, that's why you're being manipulated by the Daimyo!" Danzo said with dissatisfaction.

"What the Hokage said makes sense. We have no reason to hold the Daimyo accountable. We just don't know how to resolve this matter next," Sarutobi Hikari quickly said, changing the subject.

"I don't have any other options for now, but I think as long as the village's growth rate surpasses that of the nobles, it will be fine."

"Strengthening the village's power? That's one way, but the village needs money to make him famous."

"We've only wiped out half of these bandits, haven't we? Why not drag it out and let the daimyo keep sending money? That would be a considerable income!" Mitomon Homura suddenly said, struck by a sudden idea.

Shisui and Suzaku Nara paused, exchanged a glance, and then looked at Homura Mitokado.

Shisui exclaimed in amazement, "Advisor Yan truly lives up to his reputation as a pillar of Konoha. He has come up with such a brilliant idea. Senior Suzaku, please remember this and we will do as Advisor Yan says later."

"Yes."

Being praised by Shisui, Mitomon Homura felt somewhat pleased, but knowing his situation, he did not become complacent and simply smiled and said a few humble words.

"Enhance the village's strength"

Danzo narrowed his one eye. He thought about what he was doing. Was money important, but ninjutsu wasn't?

Passing on his ninjutsu to the Chunin he values ​​is also helping Konoha improve its strength!

Given Konoha's reserves of ninjutsu, what can the ninjas trained by those nobles use to compete with them?

"As expected, only I am truly devoted to Konoha!"

Upon realizing this, Danzo immediately stood up and said solemnly, "I will use my own methods to improve Konoha's strength, all for the sake of Konoha!"

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving the group of people looking completely bewildered.