The refusal from the Daimyo's mansion was unacceptable to the capital officials and the Daimyo's army. It now seemed that defeat on the battlefield was inevitable. Given this, why insist on protecting Tobi, who made the wrong decisions, instead of bowing to the Konoha Ninja Village?
All blame would fall on Tobi. As long as the blame was skillfully shifted, the monarch's reputation would remain somewhat intact. However, if they refused to back down, when the Konoha combat troops arrived at the capital, it wouldn't be as simple as just pushing Tobi out.
Because of the Daimyo's mansion's actions, the slogan of the Konoha Ninja Village once again resurfaced in everyone's minds: "Tobi, the captain of the Guardian Shinobi Squad, controlled the Lord Daimyo with genjutsu, intending to manipulate the country, a sin unforgivable! We must cleanse the court and restore clarity to the Daimyo's mansion!" Although there had been suspicions before, no one dared to delve deeper. Now, with the battlefield situation rapidly deteriorating, local lords had no choice but to consider this point.
"If the Lord Daimyo was really controlled by genjutsu..."
"Then wouldn't we have to fight the Konoha Ninja Village to the end? How can that be? There's no army that can contend with them now, and the Chakra Samurai in the Daimyo's mansion are useless!"
"Damn it! We were truly foolish to get involved in this mess!"
The local lords could no longer see any hope of victory in the civil war, and the idea of compromise gradually arose. They were now very suspicious that the Daimyo's mansion was controlled by Tobi, and making such a decision felt justified, without any guilt—there was naturally no need to obey a Lord Daimyo controlled by genjutsu.
Of course, publicly, the local lords dared not say anything, but secretly sent people to contact the Konoha combat troops, revealing their intentions.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others received news that the local lords in the Daimyo's army intended to surrender, and they all laughed, happy that the civil war was about to end and also mocking these local lords.
"If only they had known, why did they bother in the first place?" Danzo Shimura snorted, saying, "Do they think they can escape now by pushing all the responsibility onto Uchiha Kuya?"
"They probably think that our Konoha Ninja Village still won't interfere in national politics, and as long as all responsibility is pushed onto Uchiha Kuya, there will still be room for manipulation in their noble affairs. We have no reason to defeat all of them—after all, they were deceived, weren't they? Ignorance is bliss, and they weren't sincerely opposing the village—that's probably what they're thinking," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"However, Masaki doesn't think that way, and I'm afraid they will be disappointed," Uchiha Kagami gently shook his head, expressing sympathy for the naive thoughts of those local lords—of course, those who needed to be fought still had to be fought. These guys were not good people to begin with. However, if they weren't members of the Hokage's inner cabinet, they wouldn't know what kind of political system Fumori Masaki intended to establish, so it's no wonder these nobles thought that way.
"Let them be happy for now; there will be a time for them to cry later. Our current goal is to quickly end the civil war and not give other countries a chance," Akimichi Torifu said, warning everyone not to forget that other countries were also watching covetously.
"That makes sense, but when will Uchiha Kuya make his move?" Hiruzen Sarutobi whispered, "According to intelligence, he should still be in the Daimyo's mansion."
"It's hard to say. Intelligence personnel can at most gather some general information. Some placed in key positions can provide secret information, but Uchiha Kuya's specific actions cannot be fully understood," Danzo Shimura said. "If the one in the Daimyo's mansion is just a shadow clone, and the real Uchiha Kuya has gone somewhere else, it wouldn't be surprising."
"If we can't deal with this guy, he'll always be a threat. Although his reputation is completely ruined after this battle, we can fully put a bounty on him. There's no place for him in the Land of Fire, and even if we can't catch him, he won't be able to do anything to the village," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"But Masaki insists that this person must be dealt with. He needs to show himself," Uchiha Kagami said with a serious expression.
"With the Daimyo's army in such a tense situation, he should at least show up," Danzo Shimura paced thoughtfully in the tent. "How about this? We'll lure him out. Since he could plan this far, he must be somewhat intelligent. We can create a somewhat unusual atmosphere. If he's truly smart, he should be able to spot something fishy."
"Are you planning to let him see that there are people in the Daimyo's army who are defecting, and then have him come personally to deal with it?" Uchiha Kagami asked, "Will it be that smooth?"
"Not necessarily with just us, but we can get some people in the Daimyo's army to help," Danzo Shimura smiled. "They know we want to deal with Uchiha Kuya. Since they want to defect, they definitely need a 'pledge of allegiance.' Although we can't make the Daimyo's mansion push Uchiha Kuya out as a scapegoat, getting Uchiha Kuya to come personally shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"In other words, this is your old trick," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a chuckle.
The others also laughed. The Konoha combat troops could be commanded by everyone, but contacting people in the Daimyo's army and releasing certain messages in the capital had to rely on Danzo Shimura.
Danzo Shimura smiled slightly: "You don't have to worry, I will definitely lure Uchiha Kuya out!"
After the discussion, everyone proceeded to make arrangements according to the agreed-upon methods. Danzo Shimura assigned personnel to contact the Daimyo's army and convey their intentions. On the battlefield outside, the Konoha combat troops also halted their advance and began to persuade surrender, stating: "The Daimyo's army cannot possibly win. Their goal is only to remove the treacherous officials around the Lord Daimyo. The Daimyo's army has merely been deceived. For the sake of this country, it's best to abandon darkness and embrace light soon!"
Some individuals within the Daimyo's army, upon receiving the intelligence conveyed by Danzo Shimura's men, felt there was room for maneuver and understood that the Konoha combat troops' actions were a delaying tactic. They then agreed to the Konoha Ninja Village's demands, deciding to lure Tobi (Uchiha Kuya) out of the Daimyo's mansion.
The reason was naturally grandiloquent: with the Daimyo's army in such a difficult situation, wouldn't it be perfectly reasonable for Tobi, as the captain of the Guardian Shinobi Squad and the one who personally trained the Chakra Samurai, to come and direct the battle himself? And the Daimyo's army, abandoning its previous wavering, publicly displayed a firm resolve to fight, the purpose of which was to mislead the enemy.
Under Danzo Shimura's covert manipulation, the situation was rife with undercurrents. On the surface, nothing seemed amiss, but Uchiha Kuya could discern certain issues. He believed that the morale of the Daimyo's army was gradually losing its will to fight, and there must be someone among them in contact with the Konoha Ninja Village. Although the nobles in the Daimyo's army put on an act and expressed their commitment to fighting, he detected some clues from their request for him to come personally.
Uchiha Kuya guessed that it was a covert demand from the Konoha Ninja Village. He also possessed knowledge of ninja techniques and understood certain ninja methods quite well. Perhaps the Konoha Ninja Village was trying to lure him out. Coincidentally, Uchiha Kuya intended to go to the front lines himself, so he would fulfill the Konoha Ninja Village's wish. Of course, the outcome might not be what the Konoha Ninja Village imagined.