"Sorry to keep the Hokage waiting."
No one knew how much time had passed before the Daimyō of the Land of Fire finally arrived—slow and leisurely, as if this were all beneath him.
Although he said "sorry," there wasn't the slightest trace of guilt on his face.
The Daimyō prided himself on his noble status. From the bottom of his heart, he looked down on others—especially those violent, sword-wielding ninja.
"No problem. Daimyō-sama must be very busy," Danzō said with an emotionless expression.
The more arrogant the Daimyō acted now, the more miserable he'd be later.
Danzō subconsciously glanced at Renya, whose face was dark, and couldn't help the slight curl of his lips.
"So, what brings the Hokage all the way here today?"
Unaware of Danzō's look, the Daimyō swaggered over and sat in the main seat like he owned the place.
"It's like this, Daimyō-sama. The village's current funds are insufficient to meet daily needs, so I was hoping that you might—" Danzō began cautiously.
"You came here for money?"
The Daimyō's smile instantly faded, his eyes narrowing.
He already allocated billions of ryō to the village every month, and yet these damned ninja still weren't satisfied? They even had the gall to come begging him for more?
"That's right, Daimyō-sama," Danzō nodded, explaining patiently.
"At present, Konoha is in a phase of rapid development, and everything requires financial support. The funding you've provided is indeed rather tight…"
He deliberately avoided mentioning that the Daimyō had recently reduced the village's funding. Some things didn't need to be said out loud—everyone already knew.
"Hmph. I think the amount I give Konoha is already plenty." The Daimyō gave a cold, mocking smile.
These ninja really were greedy.
Even billions of ryō every month weren't enough for them.
"Daimyō-sama, you may not be aware…"
Danzō continued, carefully detailing where each portion of the funding went.
The Daimyō idly dug at his ear, clearly not listening at all.
"Alright, I get the gist of it," the Daimyō interrupted impatiently, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"So, Hokage—how much money do you want from me?"
Seeing the Daimyō's lofty attitude, Renya actually let out a laugh in disbelief.
A mere ordinary man dared to bark orders and lecture a ninja?
If it weren't for his title, someone like him would've been chopped into pieces and fed to dogs long ago.
Renya had already sentenced him to death in his mind.
So what if a Daimyō died?
If he died, they could just replace him with another one.
But Renya didn't plan to make a move yet. He wanted to see just how arrogant this man could get.
"Daimyō-sama, after careful calculation, you'll need to increase the monthly funding by three billion ryō on top of the existing amount," Danzō said, presenting the document Hiruzen had prepared.
"Oh? Three billion ryō?"
The Daimyō glanced at the document being offered but didn't even bother to reach for it.
Danzō's expression froze.
Now he understood why Renya couldn't stand this man.
He was utterly insufferable.
Right now, Danzō wanted nothing more than to kill the arrogant bastard sitting in front of him.
"Hokage, isn't your appetite a bit too large?" the Daimyō said with mock amusement.
He doubted the Hokage was really spending all that money on village development.
No ninja could be trusted.
"What do you mean by that, Daimyō-sama?" Danzō's anger flared.
Not only was this man pompous, he was utterly disrespectful—he didn't even take the Hokage seriously!
Since becoming Hokage, Danzō had never been humiliated like this.
The Daimyō sneered. "Nothing special. I just think the Hokage is asking for too much money."
Every year, he had to fork over a fifth of his income to support Konoha's ninja.
Over time, resentment naturally built up.
So, he began cutting down the funding bit by bit.
The less he gave to Konoha, the more he could spend on himself.
But after only a few months, these greedy ninja were already back, begging for money again.
Yes, the Daimyō was rich—but he had no desire to spend his money on others.
Even if Konoha claimed it was to "protect the Land of Fire's security," he didn't care.
If possible, he wouldn't give them a single coin.
All of this was the fault of that damned Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara!
If those two hadn't founded Konoha, he wouldn't be wasting his fortune like this.
During the Warring States period, ninja fought among themselves. That had nothing to do with him or the other rich lords.
All they had to do was pay a little to hire ninja when needed—no strings attached.
But now? They had to pour massive sums into maintaining a hidden village?
If not for Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, none of this would have happened!
The Daimyō's wealth had been steadily shrinking, devoured by Konoha's endless demands.
If you asked who hated Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara the most, there was no doubt—it was the Daimyōs of the Five Great Nations.
Ever since those two created the first ninja village, all the other countries followed suit, and the Daimyōs had been fuming ever since.
Danzō's face twisted with rage, his hand twitching toward his kunai. He wanted nothing more than to slit the man's throat right there.
But he forced himself to hold back.
He was the Hokage now. This kind of task should be left to Renya anyway.
After all, that man had hated the Daimyō for a long time.
Taking a deep breath, Danzō steadied himself.
"Daimyō-sama, I assure you, every single ryō goes directly into village development. Not one coin is embezzled!"
The Daimyō merely chuckled, not bothering to reply.
Who would believe that nonsense?
"Hokage, even if you sound so confident," the Daimyō said with a shake of his head and a smile, "I still think three billion more is far too much."
He might be rich, but he wasn't stupid.
There was no way he'd take Danzō's word at value. Even if Danzō was telling the truth—it didn't matter.
He simply didn't want to give that much.
"Daimyō-sama, then how much more can you provide?" Danzō asked.
The Daimyō slowly raised one finger.
"One billion?"
"Hehe… ten million!"
The veins on Danzō's forehead bulged instantly.
He had been talking himself hoarse for half an hour—and all the Daimyō was willing to add was ten million ryō!
Danzō laughed, but it was a laugh born of fury.
The Daimyō still didn't realize the danger he was in.
"Ten million. Not a ryo more! And that's only because the Hokage came all this way in person."
"Daimyō—you'll regret this!"
Danzō cut him off, rising to his feet in anger.
"Danzō, what are you doing?!"
Hiruzen was startled by his friend's sudden outburst.
He actually dared to threaten the Daimyō inside the great hall?!
If he enraged the Daimyō, the consequences could be catastrophic.
"Hokage, what's the meaning of this?" the Daimyō narrowed his eyes. "Are you showing me your displeasure?"
Hiruzen's face turned pale.
It was over—completely over.
Danzō had gone too far this time!
No, he had to step in before things spiraled out of control.
Just as Hiruzen was about to rise and smooth things over, a strong hand pressed down on his shoulder.
He turned in surprise—
Only to see Renya's calm, expressionless face.
"Let me handle this."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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