I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 662 Everyone has a tendency to take chances; they won't know to turn back until they hit a wall.

For three consecutive days, banquets were held in the Daimyo Palace. Singing troupes, acrobatic troupes and other performers from all over the Land of Fire performed one after another. Even maidens, priestesses and courtesans came in batches.

Some even speculated that the daimyo's lavish banquet was not because the Fourth Hokage, Sakamoto Tatsuma, had come to visit, but rather because the Kunimochi daimyo was taking the opportunity to enjoy himself. Otherwise, why would there have been no political discussions for three consecutive days?

"Gentlemen, if this drags on any longer, I fear rumors detrimental to Daming Prefecture will spread widely. Does anyone have any good ideas?"

In a dimly lit meeting room, the daimyo of the Land of Fire, who was constantly being slandered for indulging in pleasure and having sex with a hundred women a day, was now filled with anxiety, his face covered in sweat, and he kept using a folding fan to cool his head.

During these three days, he dared not indulge in any pleasures. The geisha troupe and skilled women he had recruited were all there to delay Sakamoto Tatsuma, so that Tatsuma wouldn't come to him to discuss political matters so soon, and at least he could buy himself some more time.

Tatsuma seemed to have been tricked, attending any performances without showing any resistance or eagerness to discuss politics.

Meanwhile, Tatsuma did not avoid seeing the maids sent to him, but always said "change the batch". In one day, he had seen all the employees in the daimyo mansion.

This forced the Daming Prefecture to urgently draw personnel from surrounding towns. If they couldn't hold off Tatsuma any longer, they would either have to negotiate or draw personnel from other countries for Tatsuma to choose from.

Even as a daimyo of the country, Matsushita had never received such treatment! Moreover, Matsushita knew that it was impossible to actually transfer professionals from another country.

If that were the case, the reputations of Tatsuma, him, and the entire Daimyo government would be utterly ruined. Even Tatsuma, with his countless war achievements, might be the one whose reputation would suffer the least.

After all, while outrageous rumors of endless revelry in the Daimyo's palace were circulating, many people also said, "The Fourth Hokage has fought for the Land of Fire for so many years, what's wrong with indulging a little?" Some even clamored for the music and dancing to continue.

Compared to the young and accomplished Fourth Hokage, who was unmarried and had made numerous military achievements, Matsutsuki, who had no outstanding accomplishments and was merely a successor to his father, received countless insults.

If this drags on any longer, everyone's reputation will be tarnished. After this incident with Tatsuma, he can probably wash away the stain by fighting any Kage from any ninja village.

But what about his loosening of discipline? Changes in governance are always subtle and gradual, never dramatic. Therefore, no matter how well he does next, he will probably never be able to shake off the stigma of having sex with a hundred women a day.

Therefore, while Tatsuma is not in a hurry, Matsushita is. He must get rid of this label before his stigma is confirmed.

"When the Third Hokage came before, he was forced to use force against the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Why not let the Twelve Guardian Ninja exert pressure again today?"

Upon hearing Songjie's question, an elderly official asked in confusion. He was an official from the previous generation who had retired after Songjie took office, but recently he and his fellow old comrades had been called back.

Therefore, they are completely unaware of the current situation in the Land of Fire, or rather, of what happened in the Daimyo's palace a few days ago.

Upon hearing the old minister's words, the Twelve Guardian Ninja standing to the side all showed expressions of shame. Why didn't they put pressure on the Fourth Hokage? Was it because they didn't want to?

It's impossible!

As guardian ninjas completely independent of the ninja village and entirely dependent on and obeying the daimyo's command, they were once arrogant. Although they knew that one person could not defeat the Hokage, the twelve of them together could still pose a certain threat to the Hokage.

It refers, of course, to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi has always been a respectful person; he'll discuss things amicably, and if necessary, he'll compromise and ask for less funding.

But Sakamoto Tatsuma clearly didn't give them any face. Three days ago, they had tried to "clearly" tell Tatsuma not to go too far, but they lost their ability to resist without even having to resort to force.

That feeling of being conscious but completely unable to control your body is truly terrifying.

At that time, let alone Tatsuma, any maid on the scene could easily slit their throats. In front of the Fourth Hokage, their protection of the Twelve Ninja Warriors was nothing but a joke.

They finally realized just how powerful this Hokage was, who could take on the other four ninja villages in turn. He was so powerful that the entire Daimyo Palace, no, the entire Daimyo Prefecture's defenses were insignificant.

Therefore, using force to coerce the Hokage into making concessions, a tactic that had always been successful during the Third Hokage's reign, is completely unworkable.

Matsushita glanced at the group, then shook his head helplessly. But considering their feelings, he said, "We are in the middle of a battle, so we can't offend the Hokage."

Moreover, over the past three years, Konoha has defended the territory of the Land of Fire without yielding an inch. Compared to the other four great nations, the Land of Fire has won a great victory. How can we damage the morale of our ninjas at this time?

Moreover, the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning have suffered repeated defeats in war, yet their daimyo have not treated the ninja villages harshly. Our Land of Fire has been reporting successive victories; how can we act perversely and punish instead of rewarding?"

Upon hearing Matsushita's words, the twelve guardian ninjas' expressions softened considerably. If Matsushita revealed the truth, then the fault lay with the twelve of them; they were simply too weak.

Matsushita used the greater good of the nation to cover for them, thus saving face for them. Moreover, the daimyo's words were the final verdict, even if they knew the inside story. No, after Matsushita said this, there was no inside story left.

They didn't try to put pressure on the Fourth Hokage; they were just too tired that day and accidentally fell asleep.

When the old minister heard what Songjie said, he did not doubt it. He simply nodded and said, "That makes sense. All the countries have only raised the white flag of truce. The Ninja War is not over. It would indeed be unwise to offend the Hokage at this time."

However, this time the Hokage's demands were too harsh, even threatening the very foundation of the nation! Although it was only about controlling the economic power of a village, this was clearly not Konoha's only ambition.

If Konoha achieves economic freedom, then the relationship between the Daimyo government and Konoha will no longer be one of equality and mutual dependence, but rather the Daimyo government will have to beg for Konoha's protection.

Tan He also said with concern, "Yes, if the Hokage's goal is just money, then even if it's several times more, we can afford it, but his pension deposit policy..."

My suggestion is that we proactively increase military spending, and even raise the pensions established by Konoha. However, Konoha must abandon its village debt system. If the villagers of Konoha are willing to invest, then it can be converted into national bonds. What do you all think?

The Land of Fire isn't afraid to spend money, but they are afraid of Konoha holding onto cash. If Konoha holds a large amount of cash flow, it will be detrimental to the Daimyo government.

These officials, who had spent half their lives dealing with the economy, how could they not see Konoha's intentions? It's just that who would dare to refuse Tatsuma?

Matsushita then said quietly, "What if the Hokage refuses?"

Tan He kept his mouth shut. He was in charge of the economy, but discussing this matter with Tatsuma was not his responsibility. It was the daimyo's job, and he dared not take on this responsibility.

"But this happened precisely when the war was not yet over."

Matsushima fanned himself even faster. If it were peacetime, and Tatsuma dared to make such a request, he could easily transfer a portion of the Daimyo's mandate to other ninja villages as a threat.

But now it is wartime. If he, as the daimyo, dares to do that, then the Konoha ninja will dare to retreat directly into the Hidden Leaf Village and will not fight until the village gates are reached.

Moreover, Chenma's attitude these past few days has also indicated that he has no intention of negotiating.

For the Daimyo government, they only had two choices: to agree or to refuse; there was no third option.

If Tatsuma's conditions could be changed, he would request discussions in the next few days instead of indulging in pleasure within the daimyo's palace; he was simply waiting for the daimyo government's answer.

Unless the Daimyo government has the means to completely control Konoha, the talks cannot proceed at all.

"or."

At this moment, an elderly minister with missing teeth slowly spoke, his voice trembling, "Contact the other daimyo and end this ninja war ahead of schedule?"

Upon hearing this, Matsushita stopped fanning himself, frowned, and said, "War is a drain on resources and manpower. Other countries are not as wealthy as the Land of Fire, so they are probably unwilling to continue investing in military spending."

Moreover, in this ninja war, all countries have lost half of their ninjas. Aside from public opinion, withdrawing now is actually a good option.

The current difficulty lies in the fact that the war is not over yet, and the Daimyo government has no leverage to negotiate with Konoha. What if the war ends?

No one dared to readily agree, but their exchanged glances conveyed the same message: perhaps it was feasible. The incredibly aged old minister spoke again:

"In my humble opinion, the Land of Wind most desires to end the war. Why not have Lord Kunimoto begin here?"

Matsushita looked thoughtful, then said hesitantly, "But if we end the war now, public opinion will be uncontrollable, and Konoha may not be willing to accept it."

"How could they possibly be unwilling? Would they sell everything they own to start a war? Besides, Konoha has suffered heavy casualties. Kunimochi Daimyo's move is to allow Konoha to recuperate and prepare for the next upheaval in the ninja world."

As for the public opinion to invest more in people's livelihood construction, it will be enough to quell public grievances within a year or two, and people will even feel grateful for Germany's great benevolence.

Since the money will be allocated to Konoha anyway, even if it's not invested in public welfare, and the Land of Fire won't benefit from it, it's better to develop public welfare.

"That makes sense. Why don't we first test the waters and see what the Land of Wind's intentions are?"

Matsushita nodded, and the other ministers also nodded in agreement. Only Tan He, who had interacted with Tatsuma the most in the past few days, looked worried.

Three more days passed, but the entertainment activities in the Daimyo Palace were reduced considerably during these three days, with only a few activities that conformed to etiquette remaining. However, Tatsuma still did not make any moves and rested in the Daimyo Palace.

Before he came, he already knew that this time was destined to waste a lot of time. Since the Daming government was not giving up, he was willing to let them do some useless work.

Everyone has a tendency to take chances; they won't know to turn back until they hit a wall.

On the same day, Konohagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure also received diplomatic letters from Sunagakure.

The Fourth Kazekage, Yekura, called for a Five Kage Summit, arguing that for the sake of peace in the ninja world, the five Kage should gather together, put aside their conflicts and prejudices, and hold talks to end the war.

(End of this chapter)