Thanks to his expensive "godson" Kabuto smoothing things over—and because the follow-up work was handled cleanly—Yōrin's blood pressure and mood finally stabilized.
The envoys had already been sent, but this wasn't a video game. Replies didn't arrive instantly.
So he set that issue aside and dealt with other matters. A few days passed. Then the response finally came.
And Land of Bird's reply made Yōrin laugh out loud.
How should he put it…
The Land of Bird ruler, Ōwashi, didn't dig in and stubbornly fight to the end. He offered a "diplomatic solution."
Land of Bird was willing to bow to Uchiha Yōrin as a subordinate—an outside daimyo vassal—paying tribute year after year, swearing loyalty forever. And on top of that, he'd marry off his daughter, Princess Toki, to Yōrin.
That way, the land stayed intact, Ōwashi kept his throne, everyone supposedly walked away happy. Right?
Yōrin: "Happy? Yeah, no."
The man really thought "become a tributary and it's all good" was some brilliant fix.
Sure—by the standards of the old era, that approach might've worked.
But, sir… the times had changed.
What Yōrin wanted was centralization, not feudal enfeoffment.
So Yōrin rejected Ōwashi's proposal immediately.
But he still didn't do what the hardliners wanted—storm in screaming "WAAAGH" and wipe them out.
Whatever else, Land of Bird had chosen a diplomatic route too. If both sides were talking, then they could negotiate.
No need for blades and blood.
Land of Bird did have some animal resources—especially rare flying-type summon beasts.
But for today's Shinobi Republic, that was basically pocket change. Not a real bargaining chip.
Even bird guano stone—excellent natural organic fertilizer—wasn't worth building policy around.
It wasn't renewable. Birds could spend tens of thousands of years building deposits, and humans could strip-mine them in a few years and leave the place ruined—like Nauru.
So Yōrin preferred chemical fertilizer.
After all, he had the world's strongest genius scientist, the world's biggest research complex, and the world's biggest chemical plants.
Making fertilizer should be easy and routine.
Orochimaru: "Wait—so you're just going to work me to death, huh?"
When Orochimaru heard Yōrin's new orders, his expression went complicated.
He felt like Yōrin wanted to grind him down until he collapsed—and then Edo Tensei him and make him work 24/7 anyway.
Just look at Tobirama, Hiruko, Shinnō—brilliant minds, all "valuable talent."
They died, got brought back, and now they labored nonstop with no salary.
And lately, Yōrin had been recruiting even more scientists and research-talent people into the Shinobi Republic's Science & Research Department.
Orochimaru was the Department Head.
Not just the living. Even famous dead inventors and jutsu creators were getting added.
Orochimaru was starting to suspect that when the Third "old man" and the Fourth "young one" died, Yōrin would drag them back too.
The Third was the so-called "Professor." The Fourth, naming quirks aside, invented the Rasengan—obviously gifted.
Orochimaru: "Tch."
Yes, synthesizing fertilizer counted as invention too.
Chemistry was deep and vast—arguably deeper than ninjutsu.
Yōrin even felt Orochimaru had a better chance of "finishing" ninjutsu than finishing math-physics-chemistry.
Of course, he wasn't going to say that out loud.
If Orochimaru took psychic damage and stopped working, where would Yōrin find another research workhorse like him?
Sure, he'd also found talents like Tōno Katasuke through recruitment…
But the old saying held: old partners beat new hires.
So yes, he still trusted Orochimaru the most.
Orochimaru: "So that's why you dump ten thousand research projects on me?"
From spaceflight all the way down to basic N-P-K fertilizer—everything came to Orochimaru. He was about to laugh from sheer outrage.
But that wasn't the main point.
The main point was: once even bird guano couldn't be sold at a meaningful price, Land of Bird really had nothing worth bargaining with.
Maybe Ōwashi thought his tomboy, cross-dressing daughter could be "valuable," since Uchiha Yōrin had a reputation as a skirt-chaser…
But Yōrin wasn't interested.
So the Shinobi Republic's second diplomatic mission to the Land of Bird was far less polite than the first.
The envoy delivered an ultimatum: Land of Bird had only two options.
1. Surrender. Yōrin would provide compensation. The ruler could continue living peacefully in the Land of Bird—or relocate elsewhere. Both were acceptable.
2. Refuse again, and get erased.
No one believed the Land of Bird had the strength to fight the Shinobi Republic. Even fools understood that if Yōrin wanted them gone, it would take no effort.
The only reason Yōrin was still talking at all was because the current public theme was "peace."
He needed the world to relax—to buy time for growth.
But, as always, reality refused to cooperate.
Even Uchiha Yōrin—world's strongest—couldn't control something as slippery as fate.
And Land of Bird was the perfect example.
While Yōrin waited for Land of Bird's answer, the final news he received was a shock.
The Land of Bird's ruler Ōwashi had been assassinated.
A group of wandering ninja had killed him.
They seized the capital, declared themselves the new government, and even sent an envoy to the Shinobi Republic—asking to negotiate as the "legitimate ruler" of the Land of Bird.
They said they were willing to hand over the Land of Bird's territory. All they wanted was a recognized seat within the Shinobi Republic system.
Yōrin almost laughed from disbelief.
Even more ridiculous was watching some idiots slap on a "sudden realization" face and say:
"So this is why the Supreme Leader told us not to act. He had it planned all along!"
Yōrin finally snapped.
If he'd done it, it wouldn't have been this sloppy.
And it was too easy to suspect.
He knew the world had no shortage of fools—plenty would immediately assume these wandering ninja were his agents.
Then people would start thinking: "So much for peace and negotiation—this guy uses dirty tricks the moment there's resistance."
And then Yōrin would be stuck with a reputation problem he didn't deserve.
It was infuriating. He couldn't even defend himself cleanly.
What was worse: those wandering ninja seemed to think they could leverage him.
The logic was basically:
"Everyone knows we're 'working for you.' If you kill us, what will people think? Who will ever do things for you again?"
If that was really what they believed, Yōrin wanted to laugh—because it was so absurd.
He'd been in power long enough to be the Shinobi Republic's dictator in all but name, and some nobody still thought they could "negotiate" by holding reputation hostage?
He was tempted to Flash-Step over and kill them on the spot.
But he forced himself to calm down.
First: evidence.
He could assume the worst, but he didn't have proof yet.
So he ordered an investigation:
"Go find out the truth. Send people—now. I want the full story.
If they're just idiots, I can show mercy.
If they're not… then let them learn what it looks like when the Uchiha get truly angry."
The Shinobi Republic deployed investigators immediately. They reached Land of Bird quickly—and the answer came back just as fast.
Those wandering ninja were the "bad faith" type.
No one understood how their brains worked, but they genuinely believed they could play games with Uchiha Yōrin.
At that point, Yōrin couldn't let them live.
If he pretended nothing happened—worse, if he rewarded them—people would conclude Yōrin was fake and two-faced.
That possibility made his blood boil.
He almost teleported there and erased them personally.
But he stopped.
Again: calm.
He took a breath, then made a decision.
For now… Land of Bird could continue to exist a little longer.
But not as a tributary "vassal kingdom."
As an autonomous territory under the Shinobi Republic.
It was annoying.
But in Yōrin's eyes, diplomatic credibility was a more valuable asset than a patch of land famous mainly for birds and droppings.