"Every household has been settled now."
Kazuto looked at the report in his hand before placing it on the table.
"When will Grand Elder and Kohaku return?"
He muttered.
It had already been two weeks since the two of them had left for the Capital.
At first...
Things had been easy.
But after they left...
Almost the entire burden had fallen onto Kazuto's shoulders.
Fortunately...
The Hokage had been busy with the peace talks.
Nothing major had happened that specifically targeted the Uchiha.
"I spoke with them."
"They won't be back until next week."
Toyoma replied calmly.
He rubbed his forehead.
"Tsunade and Orochimaru have been causing some trouble over there."
A trace of frustration appeared on his face.
Kazuto frowned.
"How much have they copied?"
"Not much."
Toyoma shook his head.
"But that's not the problem."
"They've already developed medicines that can replace ours."
"They even approached several Noble Houses, offering to sell them for half the price of Uchiha medicine."
Kazuto's expression immediately became serious.
"They accepted?"
Toyoma shook his head again.
"No."
"The Noble Houses rejected the offer."
"Instead..."
"They demanded the prescriptions..."
"...as compensation."
Silence filled the room.
Toyoma continued.
"And because of that..."
"A new saying has started spreading."
His expression turned grim.
"Murderers are trying to become saviors."
Kazuto let out a helpless sigh.
The campaign had damaged the Uchiha's reputation within merchant circles.
Fortunately...
Their reputation among ordinary civilians hadn't changed much.
People still trusted Uchiha medicine.
But financially...
Their profits had been shrinking day by day.
Toyoma noticed the worry on Kazuto's face.
"Don't worry too much, Elder."
"It was bound to happen."
Kazuto nodded slowly.
He let out another sigh.
"Those Noble Houses are far more cunning than they appear."
"They're afraid as well."
"If they openly support Konoha..."
"...they'll be swallowed along with it."
Toyoma silently nodded.
It was true.
Ever since the Root incident...
Fear of shinobi had spread throughout the Noble Houses.
The incident had left a lingering shadow over all of them.
"Kekeke..."
A strange laugh suddenly echoed through the room.
"Kekeke..."
The two turned at the same time.
Raizen was sitting in the corner with a letter in his hand.
His shoulders trembled as he desperately tried to hold back his laughter.
"Kekeke..."
Kazuto looked at him in confusion.
"What are you laughing at?"
Raizen looked at Kazuto.
The moment their eyes met...
He couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Elder..."
"You won't believe what happened."
He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes as he spoke.
"Here."
"Read this."
He handed the report to Kazuto before clutching his stomach, trying to stop himself from laughing.
Kazuto gave him a strange look before taking the report.
As he read through it...
His expression became increasingly complicated.
Now he understood why Raizen had been laughing.
"What happened, Elder?"
Toyoma asked.
Kazuto let out a long sigh before lowering the report.
"As you guessed..."
"They refused to pay any compensation."
"They even threatened to restart the war."
Toyoma wasn't surprised.
The report clearly stated that all of the Great Villages had reached an agreement against Konoha.
Instead...
They had tried to pressure Konoha into backing down.
With no other choice...
Homura and Koharu had taken the matter directly to the Fire Daimyo.
"Hehe..."
Raizen couldn't help laughing again.
"And then Danzo said..."
"'If you refuse to compensate us..."
"...then Konoha is not afraid to restart the war.'"
Raizen took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
"Do you know what the Raikage replied?"
Toyoma became interested.
Raizen burst into laughter again.
"'When both of your eyes start working properly..."
"...come talk to me.'"
"Kekeke..."
Raizen almost fell off his chair laughing.
"And the Hokage wasn't spared either."
"Hahaha..."
"Both eyes..."
Raizen laughed so hard that he couldn't breathe.
"Damn..."
"What do you think Danzo's face looked like after hearing that?"
Bang!
He lost his balance and fell off the chair.
Toyoma and Kazuto looked at him before silently shaking their heads.
Meanwhile...
The peace summit had become increasingly difficult for Homura and Koharu.
Every village had begun putting pressure on Konoha.
"What are you two waiting for?!"
Danzo slammed his hand onto the table.
"Tell Hiruzen!"
"We can't let those bastards off so easily!"
"How dare that bastard Raikage think we're afraid of him?!"
With a furious kick...
He sent a chair flying across the room.
"If neither of you knows how to handle this—"
"Sit down..."
"...silently, Danzo."
Koharu interrupted him.
Her eyes were wide with warning.
She was already in the worst mood imaginable.
Not a single village had shown Konoha the respect.
Instead...
They even tried to blackmail them.
"What do you mean by that?"
Danzo shouted.
"You two are actually discussing what to do?"
He looked at them in disbelief.
"I can't believe it."
"They've insulted us this much..."
"And your blood still doesn't boil?"
He sat back down, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"So, what do you suggest?"
Homura looked directly at him.
"Restart the war?"
"And with whose support?"
Danzo fell silent.
Homura had brought him along so Hiruzen could remain in Konoha and stabilize the village.
Yet somehow...
Danzo was still making things more difficult.
"The Fire Daimyo and the Noble Houses are already waiting for another chance to pressure us."
Koharu looked at Danzo coldly.
"Thanks to you..."
"Who exactly do you think will stand with us?"
Danzo glared at her.
But this time...
Koharu didn't back down.
Homura rubbed his forehead before speaking.
"One thing is clear."
"They planned to play dirty long before the peace talks even began."
"They already knew what happened to the Hokage."
"And now..."
"They're taking full advantage of it."
The room fell silent.
Even Danzo couldn't refute that.
Homura looked at both of them.
There was something he hated saying.
But there was no longer any point in avoiding it.
"We don't have another choice."
"If we agree to their demands..."
"Then someone other than Hiruzen will have to take responsibility."
He paused for a moment before finishing.
"But..."
"Even that probably won't change much."
Koharu and Danzo remained silent.
The difficulty written across their faces...
Said everything.
Hiruzen had already lost most of his authority and reputation.
There was little point in making him shoulder another burden.
Even if one of them took responsibility...
It wouldn't be enough to satisfy the clan in village.
"Homura..."
"No."
"We can't return empty-handed."
Koharu spoke with a worried expression.
"Otherwise..."
"The clans will tear us apart."
Just thinking about it made her shudder.
The clans inside Konoha had been waiting like hungry wolves.
And right now...
Their prey was them.
Homura remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"There is one more option."
"But..."
"I don't think it'll work either."
Koharu immediately looked at him.
"What is it?"
At this point...
Even a small chance was better than none.
Homura took a deep breath.
"We can use the Fire Daimyo."
"We pressure the other nations through him."
"If they refuse to compensate us..."
"Then there won't be another peace treaty in the future."
His expression turned grim.
Koharu looked at him in shock.
"...Wouldn't that only make things worse?"
There was fear in her voice.
Doing that would be the same as burning the bridge between both sides.
For a long moment...
No one spoke.
Danzo, who had remained silent until now, suddenly let out a sigh.
"...Do it."
The two elders turned toward him.
"And if it still doesn't work..."
"I'll take responsibility."
His voice was low.
But firm.
For a brief moment...
Neither Homura nor Koharu spoke.
In all the years they had known Danzo...
They had never imagined they would hear those words from him.
"Do you even understand what you're saying, Danzo?"
Homura asked quietly.
Everyone knew what that meant.
Danzo's reputation was already in ruins.
If he took responsibility now...
There would be no recovering from it.
Danzo merely snorted.
"Don't make me change my mind."
With those final words...
He turned and walked out of the room.
The door slowly closed behind him.
Homura and Koharu silently watched his departing figure.
Neither of them looked relieved.
Only concerned.
Danzo walked out of the tent.
He looked up at the clear sky.
Taking a deep breath...
He slowly lay down on the grass.
For a long time...
He simply stared upward.
"We're even now..."
"Hiruzen."
He muttered to himself.
Back inside the tent...
Homura and Koharu had already begun writing the letter to the Fire Daimyo.
It was the only card they had left.
Whether it would work...
Neither of them knew.
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