350. The Daimyos Lose Their Deers

[The Daimyo of the Land of Fire Issues an Edict of Self-Reproach, Appoints General Danzo as Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Responsible for All Affairs in the Capital.]

In just two days, this earth-shattering news spread throughout the entire ninja world.

Many were filled with anxiety, believing that recklessly dismantling the "one nation, one village" system established by the First Hokage would invite disaster and trigger a new Great Ninja War.

However, others were excited, seeing Danzo as ushering in a new era.


While there might be initial chaos, such chaos presented an opportunity for ambitious individuals to rise to power!

In any case, this event undeniably stirred up the ninja world, which had only just enjoyed two years of relative peace.

---

Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office.

"That bastard Danzo, is he trying to start a new war?" Ōnoki once again slammed the newspaper onto his desk with a loud *bang*, venting his frustration. His mood was terrible.

Iwagakure had finally managed to recover some of its economy by doing business with Konoha.

Now, Danzo was trying to drag the ninja world back into the abyss of war?

This infuriated him!

The Land of Earth's resources were already limited.

How could they endure another war so soon after the last one?

Even the wealthiest village, Konoha, couldn't withstand two large-scale wars in a row.

Did Danzo, known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi," think he was a fool?

No, Danzo had likely chosen this precise moment to act.

How cunning!

But Danzo's actions had provoked the extreme anger of the daimyos of various nations.


Even the Daimyo of the Land of Earth had issued a strict order, demanding that Iwagakure cooperate with other villages to form a coalition and teach Konoha a harsh lesson.

The problem was, Iwagakure was short on funds!

Their largest source of income came from Konoha—how could they possibly go to war with them?

Unless the daimyo was willing to bleed his wallet dry and send a massive amount of funds and resources to Iwagakure.

With this in mind, Ōnoki sent his son, Kitsuchi, to the Land of Earth's capital to request approval for a large budget.

However, the result left Ōnoki utterly disappointed.

"Father, the daimyo rejected our request, citing insufficient funds. He hopes we can reduce our budget and has once again urged us to send troops," Kitsuchi reported cautiously.

"Moreover, when I arrived at the capital, I noticed that the daimyo had many new guards around him—seemingly newly recruited ninjas..."

Hearing this, Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage, was furious.

Insufficient funds?

How could the daimyo claim to lack funds while spending money to recruit new ninjas?

At that moment, Ōnoki wished he could hit the daimyo, who was thousands of miles away, with a *Dust Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu*!

But after his anger subsided, he quickly calmed down, demonstrating the basic qualities a leader should possess.

"It seems Danzo has outmaneuvered us again," Ōnoki muttered through clenched teeth.

Once he calmed down, he immediately realized Danzo's true intentions.

Not only did Danzo want to consolidate power, but he also aimed to sow discord between the daimyos and their respective villages.

If Danzo could lead Konoha's ninjas to overthrow the daimyo, couldn't other villages do the same?

Even if these villages showed no such intentions, the seeds of distrust had already been planted.

In such a situation, how could the noble lords approve large budgets for their villages?

What if the villages, once strengthened, turned against the nobles?

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was a prime example!

Adding to this, Konoha's spies in the capitals of various nations had begun vigorously promoting the theory of the "ninja village threat."

This further widened the rift between the daimyos and their villages.

Some nobles had even started spending large sums to train their own private armies.

This was what Ōnoki feared most.

Once the nobles had their own armed forces, what purpose would the ninja villages serve?

If this trend continued, it wouldn't be the daimyo who lost power—it would be him, the Tsuchikage!

And this was Danzo's scheme.

No... this was an *open conspiracy*—an unavoidable, superbly crafted plan.

While both the villages and the daimyos knew this was a situation Danzo had deliberately created, who dared not take precautions?

Who could entrust their lives to the whims of others? Ordinary people couldn't do it, let alone the inherently suspicious and privileged noble lords.

It completely shattered the authority of the noble class in the eyes of the people, tearing apart the long-held belief in the daimyo's supreme status.

Danzo showed the world that nobles were just people—ordinary people who could bleed and be killed!

Especially for the major ninja villages, Danzo made them realize one thing: *strength is the ultimate truth!*

These so-called daimyos and nobles were nothing but paper tigers.

As long as you took them down, you could gain unimaginable benefits.

This was the essence of an open conspiracy—it was unsolvable.

Even if Danzo openly revealed his intentions, there was no way to counter it.

This wasn't just true for Iwagakure but for all the major villages.

---

Sunagakure didn't need much explanation.

Due to their defeat in the Third Great Ninja War, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had already been deeply disappointed in Sunagakure.

He had repeatedly cut their military budget, forcing the Kazekage, Rasa, to mine gold to make ends meet.

Now, with this situation, the daimyo was even less likely to allocate funds.

He'd rather use that money to build his own private army...

With insufficient funds, Sunagakure couldn't possibly participate in any multinational coalition.

For them, it was better to wait for the other villages to fight while they profited from selling mineral resources.

As for Kirigakure, their internal tensions were so high that they might be on the verge of civil war.

Asking them to send troops against Konoha? They'd probably fall apart before the battle even began.

Among the four great nations besides Konoha, only **Kumogakure maintained a relatively good relationship with its daimyo.

Even after this incident, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning still trusted Kumogakure.

But could they, alone, defeat Konoha? The reparations from their last crushing defeat hadn't even been fully paid yet.

Were they going to start another war now?

Even if they managed to form a coalition with other villages, how could they easily set aside their deep-seated grudges?

What if they just went through the motions and didn't put in any real effort?

Thus, as Danzo had predicted—forming a coalition to attack Konoha was an impossible task from the start.