"A daimyo is rebelling?"
That was practically unheard of.
The moment Teizawa said it, the entire grand hall fell into dead silence.
Everyone was stunned.
Kankurō stared at Teizawa's back, shaking with excitement.
Pointing at the daimyo's nose and asking the daimyo why he was rebelling.
That was what a Kazekage was supposed to be.
That was the dominance a village's Kage should have, the tyranny of the strongest in a nation.
Thinking back on it now, the way his own father, Rasa, had flattered and groveled before the daimyo was honestly painful to remember.
Whether they were Sand shinobi or samurai who had switched sides halfway…
Every single one of them looked at that figure with fever-bright eyes.
This was the Kazekage they wanted to serve.
Ignoring the daimyo, who stood there like a wooden statue, Teizawa shouted in a clear, ringing voice:
"Starting today, everything that happens in the Land of Wind: what the daimyo dares not manage, the Sand Village will manage. What the daimyo dares not do, the Sand Village will do."
He swept his gaze over the assembled officials.
"Any objections?"
No one dared make a sound.
"You're insane… insane…" the daimyo wheezed, his hair disheveled from fury. He finally couldn't hold it back anymore.
He shoved past the officials in front of him and staggered toward Teizawa.
"The Land of Wind has always been governed by the daimyo! Ever since Senju Hashirama founded the shinobi villages, the Five Great Nations have maintained the one-nation, one-village system together. Your Sand Village dares commit such treason!"
"Aren't you afraid other nations will use this as an excuse to invade and punish us?!"
"Go to hell." Teizawa couldn't be bothered. He lifted his leg and kicked.
"Ow—!"
The daimyo went flying.
He hit the floor and cried out again and again.
Teizawa sneered. "If other countries want to start something, I'll carry it on my own shoulders."
Honestly, he didn't even mind if this lit the fuse for war.
He was a transmigrator.
And deep down, he'd inherited that old, violent instinct to settle things with force.
His ancestors had fought wars for five thousand years. It was practically tradition.
Faced with Teizawa's boundless tyranny, no one dared speak.
He killed when he felt like it, and he even dared to kick the daimyo.
Since when did the Sand Village produce a monster like this?
Then Teizawa's eyes flickered, subtle but unmistakable.
His System bubbled up again.
[ Ding! The host's domineering image has terrified the Land of Wind's leadership. Please make your choice… ]
[ 1. "Are kings and nobles born with it?" Overthrow the daimyo and shoulder everything yourself. Reward: S-rank ninjutsu "Puppet Art: Hundred-Unit Performance." ]
[ 2. Support a puppet daimyo and control the Land of Wind from behind the scenes. Reward: a complete seawater distillation and desalination process. ]
Hmm?
Overthrowing the daimyo fit his tyrannical persona better on paper, but…
The "daimyo" name had already been ruined by these useless parasites.
Even if he toppled him, Teizawa had no intention of becoming some damn daimyo himself.
It left a bad taste in his mouth.
And puppetry as a reward didn't matter much to him.
After a brief pause, Teizawa made his decision.
He walked over to the young man in court robes.
The one who'd been the first to point at a camel and call it a horse.
The daimyo's son.
Which son, who knew.
Teizawa didn't believe the old bastard only had one.
"Do you want to be daimyo?" Teizawa asked, and casually tossed a kunai at the young man's feet.
"Only one daimyo walks out of this hall today."
The implication was so blatant it might as well have been shouted.
"Gulp…"
The young man swallowed hard, heart hammering.
Even his breathing turned ragged.
He couldn't help looking toward his father, the old daimyo sprawled on the floor.
"Bastard… y-you… you dare…" the old daimyo snarled, clearly reading his son's hesitation.
But that only hardened something in the young man's eyes.
At this point, even if he didn't act…
His father would never let him live afterward.
And with so many siblings, the daimyo seat might never be his anyway.
So instead…
A decision snapped into place.
The young man bent down and gripped the kunai.
Then he looked at his father with vicious, shaking hatred.
Teizawa nodded, satisfied.
He didn't bother paying attention to the coming "family dispute."
He turned back to the officials and smiled.
"You're all ministers of the Land of Wind. I'm sure every one of you has a well-funded household."
"I'll give you time to notify your families. Ten billion ryō each, to buy your lives."
"Deadline: tomorrow morning."
Then Teizawa glanced at the six corpses on the floor and spoke to Maki behind him.
"Send word to the families of those six officials. Ten billion ryō per household as well, to buy back the bodies."
"If they refuse, we confiscate their estates."
"Y-Yes…" Maki swallowed hard and hurried to carry out the order.
Ten billion each?
There were more than a dozen of them in this hall.
That was an absurd sum.
The Sand Village's yearly budget was only ten billion ryō.
"Aah—!"
A scream suddenly came from a shadowed corner behind them.
At the same time, the System's notification chimed inside Teizawa's mind.
[ You have chosen: support a puppet daimyo and control the Land of Wind from behind the scenes.]
[ Reward granted: a complete seawater distillation and desalination process. ]
In an instant, Teizawa's mind filled with the full sequence of steps for distilling seawater into drinkable fresh water.
With that…
If they built a few distillation plants along the Land of Wind's southeastern coast…
The Sand Village might stop being thirsty forever.
Teizawa felt a surge of excitement he didn't bother hiding.
He looked toward the scream.
The young man was standing in a pool of blood.
Behind him, the old daimyo had a kunai buried in his chest, his breaths shallow and fading fast.
Teizawa immediately barked at the officials, who were staring in shock.
"What are you all standing around for? You have a new daimyo. Why aren't you bowing?"
After a brief silence…
One person. Then two. Then more.
Unable to withstand the pressure, the officials dropped their heads and began to bow to the young man.
Watching it, the young man's face flushed a sick, feverish red.
He basked in the sudden glory, then walked up to Teizawa.
Without a moment's hesitation, he dropped to his knees and pressed himself fully to the floor in a five-body prostration.
"B-Bow… bowing to the Kazekage-sama!"
Teizawa accepted it easily.
Not bad. The kid was smart.
Kankurō and the other shinobi watched with blazing eyes.
The impact of that scene was enormous.
In the past, the Kazekage knelt before the daimyo to receive the daimyo's "appointment."
Now?
The daimyo was kneeling before the Kazekage.
The meaning was obvious.
The Land of Wind's future belonged to the Sand Village.
Kankurō felt his blood turn molten.
In his chest, something kept roaring.
This was what shinobi were supposed to be.
This was what a true strong man looked like.
With the daimyo matter settled for now, all that remained was collecting ransom.
Teizawa ordered everyone to stay in the daimyo's estate and wait to count money.
That night…
The daimyo's estate looked, on the surface, like it had returned to its usual calm.
But under that calm, undercurrents churned.
Even with three thousand Sand shinobi sealing the estate until it was airtight…
There were still spies and planted agents inside.
Using special methods…
They sent out information that was destined to shake the entire shinobi world.
(End of Chapter)
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