Chapter 141: The Storm Is Coming

In the center of the capital city of the Land of Fire, at the supreme Daming Mansion.

In the past, the daimyo was aloof, and every movement he made radiated aristocratic temperament.

But today, everything had changed. His face was dark, and he looked like a raging beast.

"In just one month, so many riots... What happened?!"

The daimyo looked at the densely packed riot reports in front of him, his expression grim.

Even his cousin had been tried in one of these riots...

That's right, the damn guy was "tried."

Of course, the daimyo wasn't angry that his cousin was whining about it.

But how dare these pariahs!

How dare they attack the nobles?

The ministers below also looked solemn.

"My lord, we must not allow this riot to continue. Otherwise, it will have a huge impact on this year's tax revenue. Without taxes, the nobles won't pocket much."

The daimyo glanced at the noble who spoke and replied coldly, "I know I can't let them go, but what should I do?"

The noble rolled his eyes and suggested, "Why don't the guardian ninja troops take action?"

The daimyo narrowed his eyes slightly. "The guardian ninja army, huh? It's not impossible. But I'm worried about sending them in—Zero. They've already lost too much. What should we do?"

After all, the guardian ninja force was the most important weapon he used to check and balance Konoha. If a huge loss occurred, the gain might not be worth it.

Another noble, noticing the daimyo's hesitation, took the initiative to speak.

"How about letting Konoha's people take action? On one hand, it can suppress the rebellion, and on the other hand, it weakens Konoha's strength."

This idea was indeed a good one, offering the best of both worlds—assuming Konoha agrees.

The daimyo frowned slightly and looked at the minister in charge of communicating with Konoha.

The minister bowed and said, "I've already sent someone to contact Konoha. They said that Konoha is preparing for war with Iwagakure and Sunagakure at the moment. They cannot spare enough troops to suppress the rebellion."

The daimyo's face grew ugly.

"I think Konoha just doesn't want to help and is trying to ask us for military funds!"

"But if we don't provide military funds to Konoha..." the minister below hesitated to continue.

This was the crux of the matter.

If they didn't provide military funds, they would have to fight on their own, risking everything.

If they provided Konoha with military funds, although it could kill two birds with one stone, there was a real concern that Konoha would continue to grow stronger through this support.

"My lord, I think we can let the Guardian Ninja try it first," said one noble.

"As far as I know, the organization responsible for the riots, [Hi], is composed of wandering ninjas and taijutsu experts who don't know where they came from. Although their momentum is huge, their high-end combat power is seriously lacking."

"It shouldn't be a problem for the Guardian Ninja troops to handle them."

"In comparison, Konoha's potential is the most serious problem."

"The current Konoha doesn't care about the Daming Mansion's orders at all. If this continues..."

The noble didn't finish his sentence, but everyone knew what he meant.

The daimyo rubbed his eyebrows, just about to make a decision when another minister suddenly spoke.

"My lord, Konoha isn't monolithic. Why don't we invest funds in Danzo's side?"

The daimyo's eyes lit up.

Danzo's roots were more aggressive than Hiruzen's. If they could get Danzo's help, they would be more confident in suppressing the rebellion.

The most important thing was that supporting the roots instead of the leaves would create a rift between the two.

After all, Danzo had made it clear more than once that he wanted to be Hokage.

If they could make good use of that...

Meanwhile, in the Hidden Leaf Village...

Simu had just finished dinner with Mikoto and walked out of the room.

A figure emerged from the shadows.

Silver-haired, black mask—it was Kakashi.

"Teacher Simu, the information is here."

Simu took the information from Kakashi and asked casually, "Did you eat?"

Kakashi scratched his head. "I came in a bit hurriedly, I haven't had time to eat yet."

Simu placed an arm around Kakashi's shoulder. At a height of 1.9 meters, his arm hung comfortably over Kakashi's body.

"Then eat here."

He brought Kakashi into the house and said to Mikoto, who was packing up in the kitchen, "Mikoto, warm up the meal and ask Kakashi to finish it."

Kakashi's face twitched at the thought of cleaning up the leftovers.

Mikoto stuck her head out from the kitchen and smiled softly.

"It's Kakashi! Let me make you a bowl of ramen."

Kakashi rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed.

"It's okay, my wife. I can just eat the leftovers."

Simu slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Well, Kakashi is not an outsider, so don't be so polite."

"Right, Kakashi?"

Kakashi said helplessly, "Yeah."

Faced with such a troublesome teacher, what else could he say?

Soon, Mikoto served the meal.

Simu was lying on the sofa, reviewing the information passed by Kakashi.

"The daimyo is working with Danzo?"

Over the years, the Aster Flower Merchant Association has done business with the nobles in the capital of the Land of Fire.

Therefore, he secretly connected with many of them.

Of course, no one knows about the relationship between the Revolutionary Organization (Day) and the Aster Flower Chamber of Commerce for now.

Kakashi, eating as he spoke, added, "There's no way Konoha can continue developing like this."

Today's Konoha is different from the original timeline. With the Sannin, the Golden Trio, Kato Dan, and many other powerful figures, the strength of Konoha's ninjas is undoubtedly the strongest in the ninja world.

Of course, the Daming Mansion couldn't simply watch its power diminish from the sidelines. Suppressing Konoha was inevitable.

Simu asked, "I wonder how far Danzo will go in helping the daimyo."

"Third Generation should know about this too, right?"

Kakashi nodded. "I may have accidentally leaked the information to some of Anbu's people."

As Anbu is directly under the Hokage, this news must have reached the Third Generation's table.

Simu looked over the information in his hands and suddenly smiled. "I didn't expect to even get the marching route of the guardian ninja troops."

The intelligence clearly outlined the plan for the guardian ninja troops this time.

Kakashi smiled too when he saw this. "For those nobles, as long as they have money, wine, and women, there's no information they can't gather."

Simu put away the information and said lightly, "In that case, have Lujiu gather strength. You and Kakuzu will lead the team, and teach those guardian ninjas a lesson..."

According to the information, the vanguard of the Ninja Guardians would be led by Ji Sanzang, one of the Twelve Warriors of the Ninja Guardians. He was a special ninja who had mastered secret techniques and was quite powerful.

Kakashi nodded. "Understood."

After these days of experience, Kakashi had undergone significant changes. He had matured from his original immaturity, and his strength had also reached a higher level. Not only had he mastered advanced Armament Haki, but he had even begun developing his Observation Haki.

It could be said that Kakashi was not just skilled in ninjutsu. He was also a genius when it came to Haki.

Kakashi was now strong enough to defeat a normal Jōnin if he gave it his all. Adding Kakuzu to the team would make it even easier. He also had a clone of Katsuyu attached to him. If necessary, he could use Reverse Summoning to ensure his safety.

Of course, unless it was absolutely necessary, Kakashi probably wouldn't need to ask for Simu's help.

Meanwhile, deep in Konoha, in the darkest corner, the Root headquarters.

Danzo sat in a chair, listening to Aburame Ryoma's report.

"The materials and funds from the daimyo have arrived. The first installment is 500 million taels."

Danzo opened his eyes slightly, and a hoarse, dangerous voice emerged from deep in his throat.

"What does the daimyo want us to do?"

Danzo wasn't opposed to cooperating with the Fire Country daimyo. After all, the daimyo had provided a total of two billion taels for this operation, not to mention plenty of supplies.

With these resources, he could cultivate a large number of root ninjas, which would strengthen his influence within Konoha.

Danzo, an old fox, could naturally see the daimyo's true intentions, but he didn't care. The little malice the daimyo harbored would be swallowed by the darkness of his ultimate plan.

Aburame Ryoma kneeled.

"The Daming Mansion wants us to send at least 50 root ninjas to assist the vanguard and retake the seven towns in Liangshan."

Riots have been rampant in the past month, and the guardian ninja troops had already sent vanguard units to deal with the most severe situation in Liangshan. It would also serve as a warning to the rioters.

Danzo closed his eyes again. "In that case, choose fifty ninjas to go. Pay attention to safety."

Aburame Ryoma, having served as Danzo's guard for many years, instantly understood what Danzo meant: don't overdo it. After all, if the rebellion were quelled in one sweep, how could they ask the daimyo for more funding in the future?

Meanwhile, in the Hokage building, the aging Third Generation lightly tapped his fingers on the table.

Konoha's finances were in a dire situation. The suspension of confessions from the Daming Mansion, combined with the wars that had broken out over the years, had drained enormous resources. Even the rewards for Ye Cheng's tasks weren't enough to cover the costs.

Rumors had begun circulating in the village, with some people saying the Third Generation was incompetent and unable to lead Konoha to a brighter future.

However, due to the Third Generation's authority, these words weren't enough to undermine his position.

He leaned back in his chair, and two figures appeared before his eyes.

"Shimura Danzo..."

"Hanyu Simu..."

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