The chamberlain couldn't help but widen his eyes. A chill surged in his heart.
'The Hokage, the leader of the Land of Fire's military organization, was openly rebelling against the Daimyo?'
"You... you are Chiaki Setsuna? You are not the Hokage yet!" The chamberlain pointed at Setsuna with trembling fingers. "Without the Daimyo's approval, you will never become Hokage!"
Setsuna smiled, but to the chamberlain, the smile felt bone-chilling: "What is the Daimyo? How dare he decide the Hokage's position?"
Setsuna looked past the chamberlain, addressing the samurai shivering behind him: "You return and relay a message to the Daimyo. I give him three days to hand over all military forces and finances to Konoha. Otherwise, he won't be alive."
"You... you would commit regicide?" The chamberlain stepped back in terror, his pointing hand trembling.
"He is merely a parasite sucking blood from the Land of Fire's body." Setsuna said indifferently.
The chamberlain almost fainted but quickly reacted: "Wait... why are you talking past me to them?"
"Because of course, you won't be going back." Setsuna looked at him with genuine surprise. "You didn't think you could come here, spout such nonsense, and still return alive, did you?"
The chamberlain's crotch warmed. He screamed: "You can't kill me! Wait, the greater good! Didn't you willingly go alone to Kirigakure for the greater good? Betraying the Land of Fire now means abandoning the greater good, destroying this hard-won peace!"
Setsuna almost laughed out loud. He was amused to find they really thought he did it for the greater good.
"What is the greater good? I am the greater good." Setsuna said calmly. "As long as I am here, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure will not dare to start wars again. As for the Land of Fire, what right do they have to even speak of war with us?"
Konoha's crowd listened, hearts surging with emotion. The fate of the world rested on one person's shoulders… this was the greatest good of all.
"Alright, take him away and execute him."
Before Konoha's people could act, the samurai swarmed forward and apprehended the chamberlain, leaving the Konoha's people somewhat dumbfounded.
"We'll deal with this idiot immediately. We'll make sure he doesn't trouble the esteemed lords anymore." The leading samurai bowed and scraped. They genuinely wanted to kill this fool, after all, he had almost gotten them killed too.
Setsuna was speechless, then chuckled, waving his hand: "Take him out."
Under everyone's complex gazes, Setsuna placed the Hokage Hat on his head, crowning himself.
"Everyone, I know you might feel somewhat disoriented now. After all, you've grown accustomed to this mode of survival. But this world shouldn't be like this. The capable should rise, the mediocre should fall… this is a universal truth. By what right are those nobles born to be high above?"
Hearing Setsuna's words, everyone felt as if a new world's door had opened.
Right. This was indeed a simple truth.
Even though many among them came from great Ninja Clans, they became Jonin through their own efforts, growing through countless life-and-death experiences.
They had never been like those nobles, whose rule was predetermined at birth.
The ones who felt this most deeply were the Hyuga Clan's branch family's Jonin. They could understand the Caged Bird's protection of the Byakugan. But why should the branch family's life and death also be controlled by the main family? Why wasn't the most excellent person the one to become the main family's head?
Setsuna summarized: "In short, the days of letting those parasites suck blood from the Land of Fire are gone forever. I will establish a new order."
Many inwardly grew excited. If Konoha's power expanded, wouldn't that also mean their own power would expand?
…
After the meeting at the Hokage Building ended, news swept through the entire Ninja World like a storm.
The newly appointed Fourth Hokage, Chiaki Setsuna, had openly challenged the Land of Fire's rule.
Not only was the Land of Fire's Daimyo furious, but the Daimyos of the Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning were also enraged. After all, if the Land of Fire was overthrown, wouldn't that also shake their rule?
Though slightly puzzled by the Land of Water's Daimyo's lack of statement, the four Daimyos couldn't be bothered to care further. They immediately jointly issued a decree, demanding the Ninja Villages of each country send troops to attack Konoha, determined to punish this 'act of rebellion'.
However...
"Iwagakure refuses to send troops." Onoki sat in the Tsuchikage's office, sneering at the Land of Earth's envoy. "We just signed a peace treaty with Konoha. I don't want to seek death."
"Sunagakure has no intention to participate." Pakura looked at the decree in her hand, casually tossing it into a brazier. "The new Daimyo wants to court death… don't drag us along."
"Kumogakure has no time." The new Fourth Raikage, A, crossed his arms, snorting coldly. "Compared to attacking Konoha, we have a more urgent need to deal with that monster."
"A bunch of idiots." The Land of Water's Daimyo sneered coldly. Having yielded to the Third Mizukage's oppressive power for years, and not even daring to resist the Third Mizukage, how could he dare oppose Setsuna, who killed Madara?
The Land of Water's Daimyo sighed ruefully: "Actually, being a wealthy commoner isn't bad either."
-No one responded.
Of the four great Ninja Villages, not a single one mobilized troops.
The Daimyo in the Land of Fire's palace felt fear, 'They were just dealing with a measly Ninja… why hadn't any of the other countries' Ninja Organizations responded?'
"It's all that idiot's fault!" The Daimyo inwardly hated the chamberlain he sent. He just wanted to borrow the revival ability, so how did things escalate to this point?
The Daimyo summoned his general: "Shin'ichi, I intend to gather a great army to flatten Konoha. Can you guarantee victory?"
Kobayashi Shin'ichi brimmed with confidence: "Daimyo-sama, rest assured. Ninjas are merely assassins hiding in darkness. Assassination is their forte, but when it comes to frontal, large-scale combat, we samurai are stronger. I only need three days to flatten Konoha and bring the rebel leader before you in chains."
Hearing his general say this, the Daimyo nodded in satisfaction: "Excellent. Go organize the army."
After the general left, the Daimyo summoned the leader of his Twelve Guardian Ninja: "Yukinari, if you were to deal with that Chiaki Setsuna, how confident are you?"
Chiba Yukinari sighed: "We are one hundred percent certain... to lose!"
When the Daimyo heard the first half, joy appeared on his face. But hearing the last two words, displeasure was almost written on his face: "Chiba Yukinari, are you mocking me?"
"I dare not." Yukinari forced a bitter smile. "It's just that the Twelve Guardian Ninja now consist of only me."
"What?" The Daimyo was shocked and furious. "How could this be?"
Yukinari sighed deeply: "Only Ninja can understand the terror of the title [God of Ninja]. None of them wanted to die, so they fled overnight."
"Useless! All useless!" The Daimyo loudly berated, masking his inner fear.
"I'm leaving too. I stayed until now only to tell you one thing, Daimyo-sama..." Yukinari advised earnestly. "If you surrender now, perhaps in the future you could still be a wealthy commoner."
The Daimyo flew into a rage: "Go! All of you, go! I shouldn't have trusted you treacherous Ninjas. It's fortunate the Land of Fire still has more loyal samurai!"
Yukinari didn't try to dissuade him further, turning and leaving.
In the empty palace, the Land of Fire's Daimyo felt a chill he had never experienced before.