Uchiha's personal opinion

"The ninja forces stationed in the south are not your private property! Nor are they tools for those high-ranking ninjas to fight for power!"

Onoki said coldly, "There is never any room for leniency in front of me!"

The loess can only bow down to the earth.

"You have until tomorrow!"

"Have all the Jonin who are in charge relinquish their military command and return to the village. I will send someone else to take over the ninja army. Do you have any objections?"

Ōnoki, seizing the opportunity, continued to shout angrily.

"...Yes, sir!"

Huang Tu could only kowtow repeatedly.

Seeing this, the ministers exchanged knowing glances, some of them itching to make a move.

"Yet you insects are still spouting nonsense and engaging in pointless displays that do nothing to help the country!"

"When there's nothing to do, they idly discuss righteousness; when danger strikes, they risk their lives to make a name for themselves! Such are the most despicable rats in the world!"

"If that's the case, what use are you cowards!"

Having said that, Onoki brandished his kunai and lunged forward to kill the group of insect nobles.

"Lord Tsuchikage! No, no, no!"

The Jonin from Iwagakure were shocked and rushed to restrain the impulsive Onoki, offering words of comfort and advice until Onoki calmed down a little.

"Lord Tsuchikage's actions stem from a deep love for his country and a profound concern for the people. All of you must remember not to hold a grudge..."

At this point, Daimyo started trying to smooth things over again.

"Don't dare, don't dare..."

"I understand, I understand..."

The still-shaken officials bowed repeatedly.

"However, just as Lord Tsuchikage said, the nation is at a critical juncture of survival..."

"Da Ming said, drawing out his words."

"I am willing to sacrifice my family to relieve your suffering!"

"Me too!"

Any slightly clever nobleman knew what to do at this point. They then made various declarations of determination and stance, generously donating money, and soon raised a large sum of military funds.

This unexpected turn of events left even the Iwagakure Jonin who had been desperately trying to stop Onoki from acting rashly completely dumbfounded.

These bastards! They're incredibly rich!

This was the first thought that popped into the minds of the Iwagakure Jonin!

Why didn't you do this sooner? If you had money, just hand it over! Did you have to threaten me? You're such a spineless coward!

Thinking of this, the hands that had been tightly gripping Onoki's clothes loosened involuntarily.

However, Ōnoki did not impulsively rush forward and slaughter all the nobles as they had expected.

"You are all indeed virtuous and loyal ministers, but let's disperse for now..."

The daimyo waved everyone away somewhat lazily, "I'm tired today, let's talk again tomorrow..."

He then turned to the dumbfounded Fukasaku and said, "I apologize for making you laugh... Would tomorrow be a convenient time?"

"Alright..."

"I am a hermit," the hermit replied mechanically.

Then it turned into a wisp of smoke and returned to Mount Myōboku.

Just as the others were about to leave, the Daimyo added, "Would you please stay a moment, Lord Tsuchikage?"

"Alright!"

Onoki said coldly.

Before long, the hall became deserted.

"...It's rare to have such peace and quiet."

The daimyo sighed softly, "The nation is in decline, yet Mr. Onoki is causing us worry."

"Your Highness is too kind. This is merely my duty."

At this moment, Onoki's tone softened. He then bent down to pick up the scattered cups and dishes, took the teapot from the next table, poured himself a cup of tea, and silently sipped it.

"By the way, remember to collect all the military funds they promised to donate. If any of them dare to back out later, I will have the secret service investigate them!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Onoki, this matter won't be delayed; the treasury has already been almost emptied, and if there weren't absolutely no other way, I wouldn't want Mr. Onoki to ruin his reputation by putting on such a show..."

Daming shook his head, looking quite helpless.

"Actually, we've already started a war with the Shogunate..."

Onoki placed the cup back on the low table, put his hands on his knees, and said seriously, "However, what we are facing now is the shogunate's economic strangulation!"

"This soft knife is indeed very effective at killing..."

Daming could only shake his head helplessly.

"Anyway, at this point, there's no point in saying more. It's better to train more ninja soldiers than to treat the gold as reparations..."

Onoki's words were tinged with helplessness: "Besides, those guys in the shogunate might not give us the chance to cede territory and pay reparations! So even if we die, we should die gloriously! Only in this way can we uphold our will to never give up!"

"...Is there really no chance?"

Daming paused for a moment before asking the question.

"I don't know, but if we don't adopt a do-or-die attitude, then we'll have absolutely no chance."

Onoki's answer was also very straightforward.

His name left him speechless.

This kind of dialogue had been conducted countless times by the already conflicted Daimyo Tsuchikage, but every time Onoki's answer was exactly the same.

The nature of a daimyo is relatively weak.

Although he was violent, he was easily influenced; although he was greedy and lustful, he had his limits; although he had many conflicts with Iwagakure, he basically had less military funding than Iwagakure... In short, Tachibana no Daimyo was a contradictory yet real person.

Both he and Onoki were well aware of this.

The reason they are now willing to put aside their past grievances and sit down together to secretly plot is simply because the pressure from the shogunate is too great!

For Onoki, Uchiha Tokumitsu was practically a reincarnation of Uchiha Madara! He would always recall the memories of being defeated and humiliated by the "Shura of the Ninja World" along with his teacher, the Second Tsuchikage Mu.

As for the daimyo, they were terrified by the fates of the daimyo of the Land of Wind and the Land of Water.

If I were to lose power one day, I might as well die before I lose it completely!

"In other words, perhaps the common people of the Land of Earth don't care, ordinary Iwagakure ninjas don't care, and even some nobles who have deep ties with the United Company don't care..."

Onoki decided to give Daiming, who had once again succumbed to "intermittent rickets," some fresh and potent medicine: "But I am unwilling to surrender. As the second generation, Master Mu is unwilling to surrender, and as the first generation, Master Ishigawa is unwilling to surrender either!"

Daming straightened his back even more.

"Furthermore, commoners can surrender, nobles can surrender, ninjas can surrender..."

"But Your Highness, as a daimyo, are you willing to surrender?"

Chapter 434 The Weakest Link in the Shinobi World Order

"Theoretically speaking, the One-Tailed Beast's chakra is inexhaustible, and as long as you don't extract too much at once, its tailed beast chakra will only take one or two breaths to recover after it is depleted. Therefore, extracting tailed beast chakra should not be a problem..."

"You all know the One-Tail's personality; it's the most petty of all! If we extract its chakra, and it holds a grudge and deliberately causes trouble for us... after all, the Fourth Hokage can't be guarding Bunpuku every day..."

"Moreover, the lifespan of Bunpuku is only about ten years at most, but we have not yet found a suitable Jinchūriki."

Inside the administrative conference hall of the Land of Wind's government, a group of high-ranking officials from Sunagakure were discussing with the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, the matter of Uchiha Tokumitsu's proposal to exchange tailed beast chakra for aid.

However, as is typical of Sunagakure, the content and direction of the meeting unsurprisingly veered off course once again.

"It's not just about choosing a Jinchūriki; the sealing technique is even more important!"

A high-ranking member of Sunagakure pointed out: "Our Cloth Sealing Technique is unique, but it also has very obvious drawbacks; I think instead of asking for aid supplies, we should try to exchange it with Konoha for the Uzumaki clan's Tail Sealing Technique."

"Come on! Even a fool's dream has its limits!"

Sunagakure Inspector General Yekura mercilessly mocked, "Even the village's sealing team doesn't have the money to buy ninjutsu materials these days. If they were to get even more expensive sealing techniques from Konoha, the finance department would probably have to go out of business! Right, Your Excellency Kazekage!"

Of course, while Sunagakure's financial situation is poor, it's not so bad that it can't even afford to purchase basic ninjutsu materials for a professional organization like the Sealing Team. The Sealing Team's current predicament stems from the fact that its current leader is a supporter of the former Sunagakure Elder, Ebizo. After Ebizo stepped down, Ebizo defected to the Sunagakure Inspectorate and recently used various means and pretexts to expel the ninjas from headquarters who supported the Fourth Kazekage, thereby currying favor with Pakura and showing loyalty. This has incurred Rasa's dissatisfaction and retaliation.

Originally, Rasa was unwilling to provoke infighting within Sunagakure, but now it seems that some people, after being quiet for a while, are starting to stir again!

"Commander Yekura! Watch your words!"

The Fourth Kazekage's Shadow Guard Captain, Yura, immediately jumped out and questioned, "The Kazekage is the supreme leader of Sunagakure, your actions are..."

"What are you barking about, you dog?!"

Yekura interrupted Yura's words fiercely, "The dual-court system established by the Third Hokage and Elder Ebizo was precisely to check and balance treacherous villains like you!"

"As the Director-General of the Inspectorate, do I not even have the right to speak?!"

"And another thing! When... did our leader become so supreme? How come I had no idea about this?"

A barrage of criticism enraged Yura, but he dared not retaliate in court.

The reason he was able to rise to the position of captain of the Shadow Guard was not because of his strength, but because of his long-standing loyalty to Luo Sha.

But for the Sand Village's strong members, who are used to being unruly, they will only obey the strong, and they don't care about status or wealth at all—especially Yokura, who is the most obvious example of this!

"What we're discussing today is whether or not to use the One-Tailed Beast's chakra to exchange for the Shogunate's aid."

After a brief awkward silence filled with their banter, Luo Sha slowly broke the ice: "Let's set aside other trivial matters for now..."

"How is the funding for the sealing team considered a trivial matter!"

But having finally found a topic to discuss, Yekura continued to press the issue: "This matter absolutely must be addressed today..."

"From this day forward, there will be no more sealing teams in Sunagakure!"

Luo Sha said without hesitation.