Uchiha's personal opinion

They unanimously submitted to the Tokugawa Shogunate the accounts of the population and taxes of their fiefdoms.

This was also a veiled act of surrender.

Just as he had done when he took over the eight eastern districts of the Land of Fire, Uchiha Tokumitsu first offered words of comfort, promising to protect the personal safety and property of the nobles and that certain treacherous forces within the Land of Fire would not pose any threat to them. At the same time, he accepted the account books handed over by the nobles without hesitation and set tax caps for them according to the tradition of the shogunate. As for the people in the fiefdoms, they were now theoretically granted the right to move freely.

In addition, Uchiha Tokumitsu also granted these astute northern nobles an extra right: they were allowed to retain their original samurai troops, but they had to bear the military expenses themselves within the share of taxes, and they could even decide how many troops they could maintain.

This can be considered as lifting the restrictions on nobles—originally, they could only recruit a certain number of warriors and form private armies according to their respective rank.

However, in this era where ninjas swept across the ninja world, the government army, composed mainly of samurai, had long been deemed a huge waste of resources and utterly useless, so most nobles were not particularly interested in it.

However, some astute lower- and middle-class nobles, skilled at discerning the emperor's intentions, sensed something else amiss. Connecting this with the rumor that Uchiha Tokumitsu had inquired about the value of the curved jade in front of the daimyo's envoy, they gained a different understanding.

...Perhaps, being a sword for the shogunate wouldn't be so bad!

Although they understood that this knife was most likely intended to be stabbed into the nobles and officials of the Daming Prefecture, those intelligent middle and lower-ranking nobles who were not from collateral branches of the Daming family did not care.

For them, trading a sword for the chance to truly join the ruling group of the shogunate was a gamble that was absolutely worthwhile.

Even at the very least, the shogunate wouldn't allow its own vanguard to die so easily, would it?

It must be said that after the massive rescue of Josuke Uchiha, even though only a few days had passed since the incident, the Shogunate and Konoha's emphasis on their ninjas was subtly changing some people's perceptions.

……

"When will our ninja army be able to fight the shogunate?!"

The daimyo, his mouth practically bubbling with anxiety, summoned his attendant, Hattori Heiji, and launched into a barrage of interrogations.

"Currently, we lack the strength to fight..."

Upon learning of the envoy's humiliation, Hattori Heiji, knowing he would face such questioning sooner or later, immediately replied.

Although saying this would surely draw various "greetings" from the daimyo, Hattori Heiji had no choice but to say it.

Otherwise, it would be bad if the daimyo became too confident and made the impulsive decision to go to war with the shogunate!

"Then what's the point of me spending so much of my personal funds to support this ninja army!"

Although he knew his attendant Shinobu would answer in this way, the daimyo still angrily picked up the vase next to him and smashed it!

"Our numbers are far outnumbered by the Shogunate's ninja army and even Konoha's. No matter how brave and skilled the samurai ninja are, they cannot fight ten against one!"

Heiji Hattori still used his usual rhetoric.

In the past, whenever the shogunate took over a county, the daimyo would always summon him and give him a good scolding. Then Hattori Heiji would explain his own difficulties, and in the end, the government would usually lift the torch but let it go.

"Next, it's almost time to increase military spending..."

Although he maintained a respectful demeanor, Hattori Heiji was already lost in thought, merely responding according to habit.

"Just how many people has Shinobu trained?"

As expected, the daimyo followed up with his usual question: "If the Uchiha traitors rebel, how many loyal and righteous ninja soldiers will fight to the death for your nobility!"

"All my servants, from the lowest rank to the highest, will serve His Highness the Daimyo to the death!"

Hattori Heiji immediately raised his voice several octaves, his voice filled with fervent sincerity.

Of course, it's just a habit.

Having acted in so many plays, he had long since memorized all of Da Ming's reactions and appropriate responses, to the point that they had become muscle memory.

"I'm asking you! How many servants do you actually have?!"

But this time, things took an unexpected turn.

Suddenly, the daimyo jumped up and grabbed the fruit plate on the table, throwing it at Hattori Heiji!

"The ninja army comprises a total of 2,280 people, including 80 Jonin, 1,200 Chunin, and 1,000 Genin."

Hattori Heiji, who had been hit on the head and was bleeding profusely, did not dare to be negligent and immediately replied.

The reason why the registration and allocation of attendant ninjas is so balanced, and even the number of people at each level is a whole number, is entirely because Hattori Heiji wanted to control military expenditures so that he could line his own pocket. Therefore, most of the eighty Jonin were wealthy people who could afford to pay, and there were also many mediocre people among the 1,600 Chunin. As for the Genin, there were even more unlucky people who had decent strength but did not get the opportunity to be promoted.

However, Hattori Heiji also had his own reasons. After all, the prices of various ninja tools and weapons from the United Company were getting more and more expensive. In addition, in order to appease the daimyo and nobles, they had to purchase directly, and then go through middlemen to resell the equipment. Finally, the equipment was packaged as weapons produced by the Arms Workshop directly under the Land of Fire. With so many links in the chain, how could they not be skimmed off?

Besides, while the daimyo's private treasury allocation was indeed quite substantial, there were also many nobles eyeing this sum of money! They would send their trusted confidants to "make connections," and sometimes, Hattori Heiji, despite his low rank and great power, had no choice but to "go along with them"; it's just that after tasting the benefits, Hattori Heiji himself also took a tiny bit.

"The preparations for the ninja army must not be neglected!"

His Highness, the noble and sacred lord, emphasized this again.

"This is the goal that I, your subject, will strive for as always!"

Hattori Heiji breathed a sigh of relief as he finally regained his familiar feeling and answered quickly and well.

"Tomorrow, I will send messengers to the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning; I wish to meet with both princes..."

The daimyo ignored Hattori Heiji and instead summoned a palace attendant to give him instructions.

"Yes, sir!"

The eunuch immediately responded excitedly in a high-pitched voice.

Hattori Heiji suddenly felt a chill run down his spine!

In the past, in order to ensure the secrecy of information exchanged between daimyo, the affairs of communicating with foreign daimyo were handled by Hattori Heiji! How come such an important task has been given to a mere eunuch this time!

It should be noted that although Hattori Heiji was in charge of the ninja army directly under the daimyo, his official position was only that of a mere attendant commander, and his rank was at most equivalent to that of a district governor. Compared with the nobles, he was nothing at all!

If this were to get out, the high-ranking officials would immediately see it as a sign of their loss of power, and then they would all rise up against them...

Thinking of this, Hattori Heiji couldn't help but shudder.

To demonstrate his absolute loyalty, Hattori Heiji had never placed many trusted confidants among his retainer ninjas. Furthermore, after his fall from grace, he embezzled large sums of money, so apart from ninjas from his own clan, he didn't actually have many capable men. Even if he wanted to "dissolve the daimyo into the water," he couldn't find any!

"Inform the master of the Fire Temple to come to the palace to preach..."

The daimyo ignored Hattori Heiji's reaction and continued to give orders.

The Fire Temple is located in the Kinki region, and the distance from the Daimyo Prefecture is not significant for the ninja monks. It is estimated that the head priest and the warrior monks of the Fire Temple will enter the Daimyo Prefecture within about two hours...

Hattori Heiji began to feel despair.

At this moment, he didn't dare to move an inch.

Several powerful auras firmly locked onto his every move, and he was afraid that even wiping away a little sweat would invite a thunderous attack.

"It was the guardian ninja from back then..."

Heiji Hattori also sensed who was watching him from the shadows.

Although the Daimyo's Guardian Ninja, who had been ordered to disband by Uchiha Tokumitsu, no longer existed on the surface, the strong members were secretly retained by the Daimyo...

"Such methods..."

Heiji Hattori didn't know what he had done wrong.

Everything was fine before, so why did it escalate to this point?

So what if he's just flipping through arms, collecting some bribes, and holding some fair-weather auctions of official positions? Is it really worth treating himself like this?

Hattori Heiji was both terrified and somewhat resentful.

All his actions were learned from those high-ranking officials and military commanders! Why could they act so openly and freely, while he had to suffer?

Heiji Hattori couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought about it.

After the daimyo sent his eunuch out, he ignored Hattori Heiji, who was standing below the hall, and simply closed his eyes to rest.

Hattori Heiji's beads of sweat dripped onto the gold bricks, soon soaking the ground.

After an unknown amount of time, the head monk of the Fire Temple strode into the hall and bowed to the high-ranking daimyo.

"Your Highness, this humble monk has arrived with five hundred ninja monks from the Fire Temple!"

Hattori Heiji, on the contrary, calmed down at this point.

Whether to kill or torture is just a matter of whether to stick one's head out or not.

"Please have a seat, Master..."

After inviting the high priest to take his seat, the daimyo turned his gaze back to Hattori Heiji, who was pale but composed.

"Heiji-kei..."

"exist!"

Hattori Heiji immediately responded.

"The Attendant Ninja Army is the very foundation of the Land of Fire, and must not be treated lightly..."

"It is a name," he said slowly and deliberately.

"Your subordinate understands. There have been many shortcomings in the past command of troops. I hope Your Highness will punish me!"

Hattori Heiji resigned very decisively.

He had to admit defeat. After all, since Uchiha Tokumitsu led his troops to breach the gates, the Fire Temple had secretly trained its ninja monks for many years. Even he, as the commander of the samurai ninja, was unaware of the extent of their accumulated power. However, the fact that they could so quickly mobilize five hundred ninja monks to Kyoto showed that the Fire Temple's strength was not to be underestimated, and might even surpass that of the samurai ninja army!

"Considering your many years of loyalty to the country, even if you haven't achieved great things, you have certainly put in a lot of hard work, so the punishment will be waived..."

The daimyo's "Crane's Voice" was drawn out and echoed in the empty palace, making the atmosphere even more eerie and sinister.

"So, why don't you go home and immerse yourself in Buddhist practice to improve your state of mind? As for the wealth you've accumulated, it's probably more than enough for the entire Hattori family to enjoy..."

"Wouldn't that be wonderful!"

"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness!"

Without saying a word, Hattori Heiji bowed down.

At least we landed safely...

Hattori Heiji, relieved to have escaped the bloodshed in the palace, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the daimyo was just an ordinary man, his political maneuvering truly alarmed Hattori Heiji, who possessed the power of a Jonin.

As for dismissal and house arrest, they are insignificant compared to one's own life.

……

After returning to his residence in a daze, Hattori Heiji couldn't help but shiver when a cold wind blew on him.

Only then did he realize that his clothes were so wet they could be wrung out.

"Sir, the head guard..."