The Uchiha clan, which was wiped out entirely, lacked vision.

Chapter 220 From Pretense to Reality

Chapter 220 From Pretense to Reality

After taking a hard line and unexpectedly reaping rich rewards, Jiraiya seemed to have found the knack for dealing with the ninja clan.

In the days that followed, he acted swiftly and forcefully introduced one policy after another, compelling many ninja clans to relinquish a large amount of benefits to the common people and ninjas at the grassroots level.

With continued financial investment, Konoha Village finally began to show some signs of recovery. The number of people in the village slowly increased, and smiles gradually returned to people's faces.

However, while he was ambitious and enterprising, he also offended a large number of ninja clans.

Nara Shikasuke had repeatedly hinted and explicitly told him not to be too forceful and that he should give the ninja clan some benefits when appropriate.

But Jiraiya, full of high spirits, was not going to listen to any advice at this moment.

He only saw the village recovering little by little, and he only wanted the village to recover faster. How could he possibly stop exploiting the ninja clan?

Therefore, the ninja clan's backlash came very quickly.

On this day, Jiraiya was discussing matters with Nara Shikasuke when a ninja suddenly came to report.

"Lord Hokage, a messenger from the Daimyo has arrived."

"Okay, I understand. I'll go greet them now."

Jiraiya immediately stopped the meeting and led everyone out to greet them.

As soon as he stepped outside, Jiraiya recognized the identity of the daimyo's envoy in the lead; it turned out to be a comrade-in-arms who had fought alongside him before.

Previously, Konoha Village was weak, and it was only with the help of the Daimyo's "Twelve Guardian Ninja" and monks from the Fire Temple that they were able to barely withstand the combined attack of the other four countries.

The leader of this delegation was Kazuma, the leader of the "Twelve Guardian Ninjas" at the time.

"Oh, it's Kazuma-kun. It's so good to see you again."

Jiraiya laughed heartily and stepped forward to hug Kazuma.

"Ah, it's Jiraiya-sama! It has indeed been quite a while!"

Kazuma also smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Jiraiya.

After exchanging a few words, Kazuma stepped aside and introduced a nobleman-looking man behind him: "This gentleman is the daimyo's envoy, also of noble birth, named Gentani Shingo."

"Ah, it's Lord Xugu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Jiraiya hurriedly led everyone in bowing.

Shingo Uroguchi, dressed in a kimono and with his face heavily made up, held his head high, waving a folding fan to shield his eyes, and arrogantly said, "Alright, let's go inside and talk!"

"In the sweltering summer heat, standing outside, you're completely soaked in sweat."

Jiraiya quickly agreed and invited the envoys into the hall to sit down.

As soon as he sat down, the envoy complained about the heat, repeatedly saying, "Why isn't the air conditioning on in the middle of summer? It's unbearably hot!"

Jiraiya could only smile apologetically and explain, "Lord Utsugu, you may not know this, but many of Konoha's infrastructure facilities were destroyed in the war."

"Although production has begun to resume, priority is still given to ensuring basic needs are met."

"Although the power supply has been restored, air conditioner production is not yet ready to resume."

"Tsk, what's wrong with this!" Shingo Uroguchi frowned in disgust, waved his fan, and urged, "Then hurry up and find some Wind Release ninjas to blow on us, how can we live in this heat?"

Jiraiya had witnessed the depravity of nobles over the years and knew that there was no reasoning with such people. Helpless, he gave a wink to the ANBU next to him, who quietly got up and went out.

A moment later, two child-like ninjas entered, each holding a huge folding fan. They stood on either side of the hall and began to wave them vigorously.

As they danced, the air in the hall began to circulate, carrying away the summer heat.

Fortunately, they didn't inject chakra into it, otherwise Lord Xugu would probably have been blown away.

"That's more like it."

Xu Gu Zhenwu nodded in satisfaction, picked up the tea offered in front of him, and began to drink it slowly.

Seeing that the envoy was satisfied, Kazuma turned around and said with a face full of regret, "On my way here, I heard about Lord Hiruzen. I never imagined that our last parting would be forever. It's truly a great pity!"

Jiraiya also sighed and said sadly, "Although it is inevitable for ninjas to die on the battlefield, the passing of my teacher has truly surprised and saddened me."

3

"The reconstruction of the village should have been carried out under the guidance of the teachers, but instead, I, a novice, have to do all the work."

He scratched his messy hair and said with a wry smile, "I had no idea how to be Hokage before. I'm really being forced into this role!"

To his surprise, no sooner had he finished speaking than Master Xugu slammed his teacup on the table and coldly shouted, "..."

"Naruto?"

"What Naruto?"

"Wasn't this position abolished?"

"Where will there be any more Hokage after this?"

"From now on, all ninjas of Konoha Village must swear allegiance to the Daimyo!"

"Huh?" Jiraiya was taken aback, only then remembering that his teacher had made a promise about this during the Five Kage Summit.

When Jiraiya left the Land of Iron, he had asked Hiruzen Sarutobi about this matter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also explained his ideas to him in detail.

In a village, it doesn't matter whether the leader is called Shadow or something else.

Only those who are recognized by the majority of the villagers can become leaders.

Does that mean that just because Hiruzen Sarutobi isn't called Hokage anymore, the villagers won't listen to him?

The daimyo wants all the ninjas to pledge their allegiance to him, no problem!

Let's all swear allegiance!

However, it's not so easy for the Daimyo to manipulate Konoha.

For Konoha Village, the Daimyo is always an outsider, and the Daimyo's orders can only be carried out through the leader of Konoha Village, namely the Hokage.

If you bypass the Hokage, the Daimyo's orders are completely ignored.

In that case, the so-called direct control by the daimyo would be impossible to achieve.

In fact, the daimyo was a seasoned politician and certainly understood this principle. Therefore, this condition was merely an explanation to the outside world, allowing the blame for signing such a treasonous treaty to fall on Hiruzen Sarutobi's head.

It was Hiruzen Sarutobi's incompetence as Hokage that led to the loss of power and national humiliation. The Daimyo only learned of this afterward and was furious, so he dismissed the Hokage from his post.

This is a tacit understanding between two seasoned politicians.

In other words, this matter will not actually be implemented.

But now, judging from the tone of Lord Xugu's words, it seems that the Daimyo wants to make this a reality and actually depose the Hokage.