Konoha: Tsunade, I am the Hokage

Chapter 160 Land of Water: We also need Guardian Ninjas!

Half a month later, in the capital of the Land of Water.

The Matsuyama family's caravan crossed the ocean and arrived in Kyoto.

"Mr. Koji, welcome to the Land of Water! You must be tired from your long journey. Please, have a seat inside!"

"Thank you, Mr. Hattori."

Matsuyama Koji got out of the car and followed the other person into the clubhouse.

Many nobles were sitting inside.

When they saw Koji Matsuyama, they all turned their gazes toward him, and upon seeing the family crest on his chest, their faces lit up with warm smiles.

Koji Matsuyama felt it was absurd.

Even if he were the eldest son of the Matsuyama family, he might not have received such a warm welcome in the Land of Fire, yet he received such treatment in the Land of Water.

These people...

He felt inexplicably nervous.

However, Matsuyama Koji quickly calmed down.

He was already very familiar with social interactions among nobles; the only thing he wasn't familiar with was that he was the center of attention this time.

After a round of insincere small talk, it becomes a free occasion to make friends and get to know each other.

Hiroyuki Hattori introduced them one by one.

Unbeknownst to him, he led Matsuyama Koji into a small room.

"Kouji-kun, our two families have had many transactions and dealings before, so we're acquaintances. These are all my friends; they are all nobles from Kyoto."

Hattori Hiroyuki laughed.

"Greetings, everyone."

Matsuyama Koji was respectful and courteous.

These people are likely part of Hattori Hiroyuki's own circle, but they may not be there for business.

After a few more drinks, one of them finally revealed his true purpose.

"Kouji-kun, I've heard that in your Land of Fire, there have recently been Guardian Ninjas. I wonder what the significance of these Guardian Ninjas is?"

"The main duty of the Guardian Shinobi is to protect the Daimyo, but since we are in Kyoto, we nobles can also benefit from it, and we are safer than before."

Koji Matsuyama answered with a smile.

Then he exclaimed, "Thanks to this, we have more wealthy merchants coming to the capital of the Land of Fire than before."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Hiroyuki Hattori delivered the message, discreetly digging for information.

Koji Matsuyama sipped his drink and nodded slightly: "Yes, as you all know, I used to manage the casinos more, and recently the number of wealthy people coming in has increased three or four times!"

"Three or four times?"

Everyone was secretly astonished.

You can't squeeze much profit out of a poor person; casino customers, apart from a few big spenders, ultimately come from the wealthy.

These people are the main force.

Turning through so many pages...

That's amazing!

Why is this happening?

"With the Guardian Shinobi, what more do we need to say about Kyoto's security? What kind of vagrant thugs would dare to cause trouble in Kyoto?"

Koji Matsuyama chuckled softly, "Once we establish a reputation, clients will naturally feel more comfortable coming to the Land of Fire."

They exchanged glances and nodded to each other silently.

That makes sense!

In recent days, they have heard from merchants that doing business in the Land of Fire is safe, but at first they did not understand.

Later I learned that it was related to the guardian ninja of the Land of Fire.

They guarded the ninja, protected the daimyo, safeguarded Kyoto, and were also responsible for clearing out bandits in the surrounding area, bringing peace and tranquility to the Land of Fire.

and so.

They had an idea in mind, so they went through a channel to have Hattori Hiroyuki invite Matsuyama Koji over.

Matsuyama Koji was somewhat drunk.

He smiled smugly: "We're all friends, and to be honest, we've been giving fewer requests to Konoha lately!"

"Oh? Then Konoha can tolerate it?"

Hattori Hiroyuki exclaimed in surprise.

Matsuyama Koji looked at him strangely: "Why not? We're the ones paying, we're the ones in charge, it's our freedom to give to whomever we want! Why should we have to worry about what they think?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

This……

That's true, but since the ninja village possesses formidable strength, they still don't dare to confront them head-on.

After chatting for a while longer and realizing that Matsuyama Koji really didn't have any more information, they ended the banquet.

Inside the small house, everyone sat facing each other.

"Protecting the ninja, protecting the daimyo, that's certainly a good title. I heard they've expanded recently and recruited several clans."

"But they have Danzo."

Some people have raised questions.

Without Danzo, the Guardian Shinobi would never have been able to carry out such a large-scale operation.

"But we also have the Kaguya clan and the Yuki clan."

Hattori Hiroshi said.

The combined strength of the Kaguya and Yuki clans is definitely not weak, and the fact that the two clans are now on their side is a clear indication that they have long since broken ties with Kirigakure.

Protecting the ninja is a good title.

and.

A ninja team belonging to a daimyo and nobles!

How tempting!

So what if they're ninja villages? They're the ones who pay for it, and all they're doing is supporting a few loyal ninjas.

"You can give it a try."

"agree!"

"Let's work on things at home first, and then we'll all work together to try and get the 'Guardian Shinobi' arrangement finalized as soon as possible."

……

Back at his lodgings, Matsuyama Koji breathed a long sigh of relief.

Pretending to be drunk is not difficult.

but.

Pretending to be drunk, and making others believe that you are genuinely drunk and that you are telling the truth, is indeed very difficult!

"Mr. Takesaku, are you still there?"

"Yes."

A deep voice sounded.

Koji Matsuyama breathed a sigh of relief.

This is the country where the Blood Mist resides!

He only agreed to come to the Water Kingdom because he had someone following and protecting him; otherwise, he would never have dared to come to this godforsaken place.

It's profitable, but also dangerous.

He sat down and said, "Is this all you need?"

"Um."

……

In Konoha, Tsunade looked at the report with amazement.

"You really have a way with things!"

Jingyan's methods left her in awe!

It's still about public opinion.

but.

This time, the main targets changed from ninjas to the daimyo, nobles, and wealthy merchants of Kyoto, who were the main force behind the ninjas' commissions.

We are not afraid that the Land of Water will not take the bait. When that time comes, the Hidden Mist Village will face a situation similar to that of the Leaf Village.

"These are just some measures in terms of public opinion, at most they can guide the situation, but they cannot directly interfere with their decision-making. The main thing is that the Land of Water has its own ideas."

Jingyan shook his head.

The attitude of Kirigakure is clearly different from that of Konoha.

The situation in the Land of Water is quite different from that in the Land of Fire.

At least in the Land of Water, there is no daimyo as enlightened and intelligent as in the Land of Fire.

Furthermore, putting everything else aside, Kirigakure has already shown hostility towards the Kaguya and Yuki clans.

She added fuel to the fire, not believing that Kirigakure could sit idly by.

Tsunade wholeheartedly agreed and nodded approvingly: "That's right. We have to thank the Matsuyama family for their cooperation in this matter; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for our people to infiltrate."

In addition, she discovered that the abilities of the Ibri clan were indeed very useful!

Not just as an intelligence ninja.

As bodyguards, they can protect their employers in real time, allowing them to enter even business settings while avoiding dangerous areas.

Tsunade couldn't help but say, "Kyohiko, after the problem with the Ibri clan is resolved, they have great potential and there are many areas where they can be utilized, not just in intelligence."

She was extremely envious.

Such ninjas can also be used as bodyguards, especially after their abilities have stabilized.

"I understand, but at the moment, the curse seal is not very stable, and the other ability also needs further verification and training. It may take several years to see the results."

Kyohiko understood Tsunade's thoughts.

However, the current situation is indeed not suitable for further spreading the Ibri clan to other areas.

"That's the only way."

Tsunade sighed, but she understood the reason behind it.

She didn't urge her.

For safety and humanitarian reasons, further experiments are prohibited. This seal requires multiple layers of testing before it can be applied to humans.

and so.

It's normal to be slower.

If things suddenly get fast, she'll worry that Kyohiko has been corrupted by Orochimaru.

……

Jingyan has been planning the events in the Land of Water for half a month. Now that public opinion has begun to ferment, there is no need for the Dark Division to operate anymore. All they need to do is wait.

The Water Kingdom will run into internal problems.

and so.

Many of the members of the secret service have already withdrawn.

The Ibri clan's debut was undoubtedly a success; even though they took a shortcut, they still demonstrated their abilities.

This ability is unique to this family in the village, and no family would be hostile to them or think that Konoha has infringed on their interests.

The inclusion of the Ibri clan was quite successful.

but.

The issue of cursed seals remains a pressing problem.

"Senior, how is the situation?"

"Disaster!"

Orochimaru frowned.

He has recently been studying Kurokawa's physique.

This special immortal body aroused his great curiosity. He had wanted to study it before, but he had never had a good experimental material.

If the old man were still in power, he would probably just let himself go, but now that Tsunade is the Hokage, her policies and attitudes on many things are completely different.

He didn't want to ruin the relationship.

However, this inevitably slows down the progress of the experiment.

Orochimaru said, pointing to one of the monkeys.

"Look at it."

The monkey has been transformed into a terrifying monster, completely unrecognizable, and now it is frantically charging at the fence.

"Out of fifty, only it survived, and it went mad. Even though I tried various methods to suppress and improve it, it was all in vain."

Orochimaru sighed.

The power of immortals.

This was the most difficult problem he had ever encountered.

"Ryuchi Cave is also one of the sacred sites, so it should have methods for cultivating immortal power, right?"

Jing Yan said.

Orochimaru nodded, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Ryuchi Cave is completely different from your Mount Myōboku. People like Manda have no access to the Sage Mode training methods."

Even if he did, that guy wouldn't teach it.

Orochimaru said, "Given the nature of Ryuchi Cave, even if it were there, obtaining it would be extremely difficult. But perhaps, when I have some free time, I'll go and look for it."

Jingyan didn't say anything more.

Ryuchi Cave's style is indeed more cruel, and they don't care about human life at all. Moreover, given Orochimaru's suspicious and life-loving nature, he might not be willing to let Ryuchi Cave teach him Sage Mode.

In the original timeline, Orochimaru missed out on Sage Mode.

"What's up?"

Orochimaru turned around.

Jingyan said, "Things are going relatively smoothly in the Land of Water. I believe we'll have results in a month or two at most. After that, we'll probably need everyone to get involved."

"No problem, but are you sure you can handle Danzo's side?"

"Yes, once things get chaotic in the Land of Water, I will go to Kyoto and have a proper talk with the Daimyo."

Jingyan nodded.

He then said, "I've also exchanged letters with the Hyuga clan."

"That guy, Hiashi..."

Orochimaru stopped what he was doing, then chuckled, "Never mind, the Hyuga clan won't cause any trouble anyway."

The Hyuga clan's main family system ensures that the main family possesses absolute authority, making it impossible for the clan to descend into chaos.

"I don't know what they're up to, but I hope nothing goes wrong at this critical juncture."

……

In the Hyuga family, Hizashi and Hizashi sit opposite each other.

The two brothers have gatherings like this several times a month, and their relationship seems to be getting better and better over time.

"Hizashi, remember to bring back a few children with the Corpse Bone Pulse from the Land of Water this time. Also—"

Hiashi's facial muscles twitched slightly as he said, "Be careful. If things really can't be done, then forget it. The Hyuga clan may not need the Shikotsumyaku."

"I'll bring back a few seedlings!"

Hiashi spoke solemnly, "As Kyohiko said, our clan has indeed not produced anyone comparable to the Tennin of yesteryear for a long time, and moreover..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Hiashi knew what his younger brother wanted to say.

There wasn't even one that came close to the level of a Shadow.

Is Hinata not diligent enough?

Every member of the Hyuga clan is incredibly diligent, honing their physical strength and taijutsu from childhood to maintain their current Byakugan activation rate.

Our ancestors were able to achieve such strength through gentle fists and white eyes, while we can only achieve it through unorthodox methods.

It is clear that the Hyuga clan is indeed in decline.

If this continues, will the Hyuga clan decline in a hundred or two hundred years?

This is a problem that both of them are very worried about.

and so.

The Corpse Bone Vein technique is indeed extremely important!

"Then I'll leave it to you."

When Hiashi got up, he was about to bow to Hiashi.

The Japanese officer quickly tried to stop him.

"I was just helping... never mind, anyway, you don't need to thank me, I was doing it for the family."

After saying that, he stood up.

"I've sent the letter and am waiting for a reply before heading to the Kaguya clan."

"Come back alive."

The rare emotional outburst from the Japanese player revealed his inner feelings.

Ri nodded and turned to leave.

……

Jingyan estimated that it would take one or two months for the news to develop, but in reality, his secret agents found out the information in just half a month.

Kyoto has announced that it will establish a guardian ninja group belonging to Kyoto, the Land of Water.

Their duties are similar to those of the Fire Country's Guardian Shinobi, and their purpose is also to protect the safety of the Water Country's Daimyo, but the Hidden Mist Village has yet to respond.

Both sides adopted a very tough stance.

Thus, Hizashi embarked on his journey to the Land of Water.

but……

He did not embark on this journey alone.

Hizashi glanced around and couldn't help but say, "Isn't that unnecessary? I'm a Jonin, after all. Do I really need your protection to go to the Land of Water?"

"It's not about protecting you."

Jingyan shook his head. "It's a cover."

"cover?"

"Um."

Jingyan nodded.

After thinking for a while, Richa realized something.

It's not about covering up for himself, but about using his name to cover up his own direction of action.

Kyoto?

Hizashi, reflecting on the darkness of the ninja world in Kyoto and considering Kyohiko's recent actions, gradually came to understand the other party's scheme and subsequent plans.

This is an attempt to eliminate Danzo!

Hiji was shocked, but he didn't ask too many questions. After thinking for a moment, he said, "How can I cooperate with you?"

"We'll stay in Kyoto for a few days, you don't need to worry about anything else."

(End of this chapter)