Tsunade Can Hear My Inner Voice novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34 - 34: Daimyo

As the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, he couldn't have remained in this position for so long if he were just an incompetent figurehead.

Look at the Twelve Guardian Ninja—each one of them is at least at the jōnin level.

Asuma may have returned to Konoha, but that didn't mean everyone had left. Serving as the Daimyo's guards provided excellent benefits, and not every shinobi would be willing to give that up so easily.

Not all shinobi were like Asuma, who had the Sarutobi clan to inherit, or like Chiriku, a monk from the Fire Temple with a wealthy background and no need to worry about money.

Most shinobi in this world were poor.

Take Zabuza as an example. A man capable of going toe-to-toe with Kakashi, yet he still had to work as a hired blade for Gato because of money.

With that in mind, it was only natural that the Daimyo had jōnin-level guards at his side.

"You can send a message to Danzo, tell him to come up with his terms quickly. Otherwise, I have no interest in entertaining his nonsense."

"Dismissed!"

The Root shinobi hesitated as if he wanted to say more, but upon seeing the Daimyo reclining sideways while a maid eagerly fed him grapes, he swallowed his words. This scene left the Root shinobi speechless, not knowing whether to curse out loud or stay silent.

"Yes, I shall take my leave."

Sensing the Daimyo's disinterest in further conversation, the Root shinobi had no choice but to leave obediently.

As one person left, another arrived.

A shinobi, completely covered in black cloth except for his eyes, appeared and knelt on one knee.

"Master, Konoha jōnin Yūhi Kurenai has appeared in the city. Though she attempted to remain hidden, I still managed to detect her."

"Oh? Yūhi Kurenai... I remember she was quite close with Asuma. She must be a beautiful woman, right?" The Daimyo chuckled as he swallowed a grape, his tone playful.

Though his words carried humor, his eyes grew colder.

"Yes, Master."

"I shouldn't have let Asuma become one of my guardian shinobi in the first place. After spending over a decade training him, he ended up causing internal division. Mu, don't you think that's laughable?"

The black-clad man, Mu, remained silent, kneeling and listening quietly.

Addressing the Daimyo as 'Master' meant he was no mere bodyguard but a devoted retainer. Unlike the Twelve Guardian Ninja, his life belonged entirely to the Daimyo. If the Daimyo so willed, his life could be taken at any moment.

Of course, unless the Daimyo had lost all sense, he wouldn't do something so foolish.

Thinking about Asuma, the Daimyo was filled with unvented frustration.

The Twelve Guardian Ninja had been carefully nurtured into true jōnin-level warriors, strong enough to rival those of Konoha, a major shinobi village. They were not the inferior kind seen in minor shinobi villages.

Over ten years of effort, only for internal strife to tear them apart last year.

Such a ridiculous reason.

Yet, despite knowing how absurd it was, there was nothing the Daimyo could do about Asuma.

From the Daimyo's perspective, Asuma wasn't the mastermind behind the division. At most, he was just a pawn. The true schemers were the old foxes of Konoha—Sarutobi Hiruzen was certainly capable, and he counted as one.

Shimura Danzo accounted for half.

As for Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, together, they made up another half.

Among the four, the biggest suspect was undoubtedly Hiruzen.

Back when the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, died in battle, the Third Hokage had shamelessly come to the Daimyo's residence, seeking to reclaim the title of Hokage and control over Konoha. The Daimyo had been completely unwilling.

But there was nothing he could do—Hiruzen had presented conditions the Daimyo simply couldn't refuse.

With Sarutobi Hiruzen's backing, the Daimyo had been able to rapidly develop the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

Yet, just as they had finally reached completion, this crisis emerged.

This painful lesson had only made the Daimyo more ruthless. He had come to understand why things had turned out this way.

The Daimyo controlled finances and official authority, but Konoha held the true military power—shinobi.

On paper, his twelve shinobi didn't seem like much compared to Konoha's hundred-plus jōnin. The Daimyo himself had once believed Sarutobi wouldn't take such a small force seriously. But precisely because of that underestimation, over ten years of effort had been wiped out overnight.