Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Daimyo's frankness startled Jiro, who had been unable to get a word in edgewise, causing him to widen his eyes in astonishment.

No, the surprise was real, but it wasn't because the daimyo knew about Kazuma and the others' words and actions. He was surprised because the daimyo admitted that he knew everything. At the same time, an indescribable anxiety also rose in his heart. Since he knew what Kazuma and the others had done, why, why did he let them act recklessly?

He used all his strength to suppress the urge to question the daimyo.

Doing so would not change the fact that Beigen and the others had already passed away; on the contrary, it would only put him in an awkward situation. If it were just his own predicament, that would be fine, but if his impulsiveness implicated the Fire Temple, that was definitely not what he wanted to see.

“I know what Ma and his group are thinking, their ideas, and some of their underhanded tactics.”

The daimyo seemed to see through Jiraiya's thoughts. He looked over and said, "And I... to be honest, I was indeed tempted by their proposition. To seize real power in the ninja world and become the unique 'jewel' of the Land of Fire—that's an extremely tempting offer!"

He sighed.

The so-called "Jade" is the King in Shogi, a unique and crucial piece. When the Jade is checkmated, it signifies defeat.

However, the Land of Fire now has two jades.

His name is Hokage.

Nominally, the daimyo holds a higher rank, but in reality, the Hokage, who commands the strongest violent group in the Land of Fire, Konoha, is not under the jurisdiction of the daimyo. The relationship between the two is not one of superior and subordinate, but more like that of partners.

"And then what? Do you plan to disband Konoha, abolish the Hokage position, and seize real power over the ninja?"

Zongxian still had that faint smile on his face, as if he was talking about something very interesting, but what he said was really not interesting at all to Jiriku. He felt his scalp tingling. Not only Jiriku, but also Gekko Hayate, Yuhi Kurenai, and the guards standing next to the daimyo all had obvious changes in their expressions at that moment.

"Ho ho!"

Daimyo suddenly laughed and shook his head vigorously. "Do I really look that stupid?" At this moment, Zongxian sensed an aura he had never felt before from this very old-looking man, a kind of majesty that came from a superior.

but--

"Whether one is smart or not is irrelevant; the saying 'blinded by greed' is not without reason." Zongxian remained unmoved by the change in the daimyo's aura and fearlessly expressed his thoughts.

"Alright! It seems I have to take back what I said before. Your sharpness is already sharp enough." Daimyo chuckled, his majesty vanishing as a result, as if the change he had sensed earlier was just an illusion. "That's true, but I'm not that stupid. I have never supported Kazuma and the others, whether openly or secretly. I just chose to be an observer."

This was yet another unexpected answer.

But his intuition told Zongxian that this was probably the truth.

"Stand by? Knowing full well that they were spreading those ideas that would damage the relationship between the Daimyo and Konoha, you chose to stand by?" Zongxian continued, his words still sharp and uncompromising, showing no regard for subtlety.

"In the Land of Fire, there is no rule against punishing people for their words. In the past, Kazuma and the others were only talking, and at least as far as I know, they did not do anything out of line. Of course, they have crossed the line recently, so the Oniwaban has been collecting evidence and preparing to take them down when the time is right. But I did not expect that they would dare to commit such a big crime and defect."

At this point, the Daimyo's expression became very serious. He turned to look at Chiriku, "Chiriku, don't blame me for not telling you these things. Because you are all members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, I can't be completely sure if you are a group. Even if it seems that there are always conflicts between you, but... it's just an appearance, especially after Sarutobi Asuma's relationship with you recently soured."

Di Lu was silent for a moment, then said in a hoarse voice, "Then Bei Gen and the others... did they die in vain?"

“As I’ve already said, I never expected them to do something like this. Beigen and the others… I’ve already put a bounty on their heads. Whether they live or die, as long as they are brought back, I will pay them a substantial reward. In addition, the Daimyo Prefecture will provide a subsidy from Shiramine Village.”

Baifeng Village

This is where they were born, their hometown.

Di Lu had nothing more to say. Even though he was still feeling resentful, it was already quite good that the daimyo had done this much. If the daimyo wasn't lying, it was obviously difficult to blame the daimyo for the deaths of Bei Gen and the others. The real culprits were indeed He Ma and his gang of scoundrels.

Zongxian coldly watched as Jiriku was "persuaded" by the daimyo.

He scoffed at what the daimyo said. His so-called bystander attitude was, in other words, condoning. Of course, that wasn't a big problem. It would be quite difficult to make things difficult for the daimyo because of this. And most importantly, this daimyo was a 'smart person'.

Regardless of whether what he said is true or false, even if it is all a lie, it is clear that this daimyo is not the type to gamble everything. He understands the importance of self-preservation and is not the kind of person who would do something so desperate.

That is,

As long as Konoha doesn't become so weak that the Daimyo feels he has an opportunity to exploit, there's no need to worry that the Daimyo will actually do anything detrimental to the relationship between the Daimyo's residence and Konoha.

In this way,

There's no need to think about replacing Huo Daming; if we replace him with a radical young man, it might only cause more trouble.

"Shouldn't the ninjas of Konoha be able to accept this bounty?"

Zongxian asked the question that was almost a foregone conclusion.

"Of course, rather than saying that this bounty was originally intended for Konoha's ninjas to do their part. Although I also sent Oniwaban to hunt down Kazuma and the others, it is clear that they failed. Compared to Konoha, Oniwaban is still very inexperienced. For such an important task, Konoha's ninjas are more reliable."

Daiming's answer was as expected.

Of course, it was somewhat surprising that he so blatantly belittled the Oniwaban and elevated Konoha, but such trivial matters were not important.

"In that case, I'll have my men keep a close eye on things. It's quite a coincidence, but at the beginning of this year, I made some changes to the Konoha Police Department and formed a fairly strong squad. However, I found that they were really useless in the village, and I was wondering what to do with them... Now it seems that I don't have to worry about them having nothing to do and just loafing around all day waiting for the workday to end."

"Then I'll leave it to you. The compensation will definitely not disappoint."

Da Ming answered frankly.

"By the way, Your Excellency, I would like to stay in Daming Prefecture for a few days. Is that alright?" Zongxian's smile remained unchanged. "If we're lucky, we might be able to capture Kazuma and the others. I'll keep the money for myself."

"As long as they are not criminals, Daming Prefecture does not restrict anyone's comings and goings."

Speaking of which,

There was nothing more to say for the time being, so Zongxian simply took his leave. Just as the Daimyo had a special embassy in Konoha, Konoha also had its own 'embassy' in the Daimyo's territory. Konoha ninjas who came to the Daimyo's territory on official business would generally choose to stay at the embassy.

Jiriku did not linger. After obtaining permission from the daimyo to participate in the investigation and tracking of Ma and the others, he left with Sogen.

Daimyo sat calmly in the quiet room.

After a long time,

He then asked, "Genpachiro, Zenjubo, how is it? What are your thoughts? This youngest Hokage's assistant, and supposedly the youngest clan head in the history of the Uchiha clan." Beside him, one of the two guards standing by was none other than the old man responsible for guarding the forbidden library, Genpachiro.

"Very strong!"

Genhachiro uttered this brief, somewhat daunting comment.

The daimyo was left speechless, both amused and exasperated. He looked helplessly at the other person and said, "Zenjubo, what about you? I know that Uchiha Sogen must be very strong to become the youngest clan leader of the Uchiha clan, but I want to know, what level of strength does he possess? How do you and Genpachiro compare to Uchiha Sogen?"

Zenjubo is a man with bright eyes; his sharp gaze seems to see through all obstacles in front of him.

only,

Faced with the daimyo's question, the sharp-eyed man couldn't help but show a hint of difficulty. He and Genjiro exchanged a glance and saw each other's helplessness. "There's no way to compare. We can't tell just how strong that Hokage's assistant is without testing him. However, my intuition tells me that if we dare to attack him, it will definitely be a death sentence."

"Me too."

Genpachiro then chimed in with a comment.

"Just now, I only made eye contact with him, and in that instant, it felt like I saw mountains of corpses and seas of blood... In the battle of wills, I was completely defeated. If he had used Sharingan genjutsu, I probably wouldn't have had the slightest chance of resistance. Even if Zenjubo and I joined forces, we wouldn't have seen the slightest chance of winning."

Da Ming remained silent.

He thought that Uchiha Sogen might be very, very powerful!

However, Genpachiro and Zenjubo's answers were somewhat beyond his expectations. Of course, to be honest, he was not a ninja after all, and he could not fully understand how strong Uchiha Sogen really was. He could only vaguely understand that Uchiha Sogen was stronger than Genpachiro and Zenjubo combined.

"So... with Ma? Is there a chance?"

“In a head-on confrontation, there is absolutely no chance.” This time, Genpachiro answered very quickly and decisively. “As for Kazuma taking a shortcut… to be fair, I don’t think he has much of a chance of winning. The strength of Konoha cannot be shaken by just five or six people. Of course, it’s not that there is absolutely no chance, but the hope is very slim.”

Shanzhufang remained silent.

Having said everything to Genpachiro, he had nothing more to say.

His opinion was completely in line with Genjiro's; he didn't have much faith in Kazuma and his group. How could Konoha fall so easily? Did they really think the Sand, Mist, Cloud, and Iwa ninja were all useless?

"That's it!"

Daming sighed softly and said nothing more. He simply raised his head and gazed at the clouds drifting in the clear blue sky outside the room, as clear as a glass mirror.

[274. Chapter 272 The Traveler]

Why stay in Daming Prefecture?

Hayate Gekko didn't quite understand the Hokage's decision to assist the Lord. The excuse of pursuing Kazuma and the others was really not convincing. He didn't think those people would be stupid enough to return to the Daimyo's residence at this time.

but--

As a bodyguard, he couldn't make decisions for the Hokage; he could only obey orders.

Fortunately, the days spent in the Daimyo's capital were not boring. In fact, this period of time was very beneficial. The Hokage's assistant, who also had nothing to do, spent most of his time training every day, which made people wonder if he was escaping the complicated and busy work in the village.

In the remaining small portion of time,

The Hokage's assistant would also give them some pointers. Although he and Kurenai were considered seniors in terms of age, unfortunately, age cannot be directly equated with strength. In front of Uchiha Sogen, Hayate Gekko and Kurenai Yuhi were undoubtedly his juniors.

Over the past month or so,

Under Sogen's guidance, Hayate Gekko, who had previously felt he had reached a bottleneck and was unlikely to make progress in his Konoha-style swordsmanship, achieved another breakthrough. Kurenai Yuhi also had the opportunity to hone her genjutsu skills by directly facing the Sharingan's genjutsu. In addition, they were fortunate enough to witness the Hokage's assistant sparring with one master after another from all over the Land of Fire, greatly broadening their horizons.

Yes,

Zongxian has been staying in Daming Prefecture for more than a month and a half.

During these days, Zongxian was not truly immersed in cultivation every day. After all, if he were to focus solely on cultivation, returning to Konoha would be more comfortable and carefree. During his month and a half in Daimyo Prefecture, he also accomplished quite a bit. Every few days, he would try to invite people to spar and compete.

Daimyofu, as the capital of the Land of Fire,

Not only is it economically prosperous, but it also attracts the best ninjas from all over the Land of Fire's ninja villages and clans to gather here. As the saying goes, "Having mastered both literary and martial arts, one can serve the emperor." Ninjas are not people who are detached from worldly affairs.

On the contrary, the ninjas, who did not engage in production, were extremely dependent on the support of the state.

Therefore, in the Daimyo's mansion, you can see many ninjas from ninja villages and clans that you would never see in Konoha. Moreover, those who dare to venture into the Daimyo's mansion and make a name for themselves are all experts, and they are not unknown even in Konoha.

Zongxian was sparring with these strong individuals.

Achieving overwhelming victories in one-on-one, even one-on-two or one-on-many battles, and through repeated triumphs, demonstrating Konoha's unassailable strength to the ninja villages and clans of the Land of Fire, thus forcing those ambitious individuals to honestly restrain their outdated ambitions.

after all,

As the saying goes, hearing something a thousand times is not as good as doing it once.

No matter how many rumors you hear about how powerful Konoha is, nothing beats experiencing the Uchiha clan's reputation for yourself!

However, during his sparring with others, Zongxian also received some unexpected surprises. Most of these ninja villages and ninja families have been passed down from the Warring States period. Their current situations are different, but without exception, they all have their own heritage and trump cards. He has never seen something as rare as bloodline limit, but he has already seen many wonderful secret techniques and forbidden techniques.

correct,

Zongxian's actions were permitted by Huo Daming.

Just as Sogen intended to use absolute power to subdue the numerous ninjas from the Land of Fire who did not belong to Konoha, the Daimyo also wanted to have a clearer understanding of just how strong Sogen was. Without the Daimyo's secret support, to be honest, Sogen might not have been able to invite so many masters to spar and compete so easily.

only--

As the sparring matches went by, Sogen consistently emerged victorious with overwhelming superiority. This outcome left the Daimyo with mixed feelings. The prosperity of Konoha meant that the Land of Fire would enjoy a long period of peace, but it also meant that the chances of Kazuma and the others succeeding were extremely slim.

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