Naruto: With Favorabiltity System

Chapter 248: Just Replace the Daimyo

666

Shikaku could barely hold back the urge to exclaim "666."

What kind of bandit logic was this? Yet the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense!

Still, Konoha's long-standing respect for the Daimyo left Shikaku instinctively concerned.

To him, the Daimyo was an indispensable figure.

"Lord Hokage, even if we manage to rob them once, it's not like we can rob them every time!" Shikaku said.

"If the Daimyo shifts allegiance to another shinobi village, like how the Wind Country did, what will Konoha do then?"

Haneda had anticipated this and replied bluntly:

"Isn't it simple? We just replace him with a more obedient Daimyo."

"Replace... him?"

Not only Shikaku but even Kakashi was stunned.

Haneda was truly a genius. After all, they were shinobi—killing an ordinary person was child's play.

They could easily fabricate a reason, eliminate the current Daimyo, and install someone more compliant.

Shikaku and Kakashi exchanged glances, then turned to look at Haneda, who remained calm and nonchalant.

Under the Fifth Hokage's leadership, Konoha was truly aiming to turn the world upside down!

Haneda snapped his fingers, and several ROOT shinobi appeared in the office in an instant.

Haneda ordered, "Follow the Daimyo of the Land of Fire in secret, and also keep an eye on the people from Kumogakure."

"Yes, Lord Haneda."

The ROOT shinobi accepted their orders and swiftly left.

Their decisive and efficient behavior made Haneda feel fortunate that he had spared Danzo's life.

"Oh, Danzo, you naturally wicked old ghost. The ROOT shinobi you painstakingly trained now all work for me!"

Suddenly, the office door was kicked open.

Tsunade appeared in the doorway.

"Haneda, what exactly are you doing? The Daimyo is crucial to Konoha. How can you—"

Haneda interrupted her, saying, "What's so crucial about him? Konoha is the Land of Fire's military force."

"We're the ones managing the weapons, so why should we bow and scrape to the ones controlling the money?"

"But—"

Tsunade tried to mention the one-country-one-village system her grandfather had established with the Daimyo, but Haneda cut her off again.

"Konoha is the real boss here. The Daimyo? He's nothing."

Tsunade was startled by Haneda's crude words. Reflexively, she said,

"You—you! You'll regret this, Haneda!"

"I am the Hokage!"

Hearing this, Tsunade, furious, stormed out of the office.

Yet when she calmed down, she couldn't shake a lingering sense of unease—something felt off.

Especially Haneda's last few sentences…

Still, the thought of the Daimyo cutting off Konoha's funding worried her deeply.

"That naturally wicked Uchiha brat… how did he end up becoming Hokage?"

"Although… some of what he said does seem to make a twisted kind of sense."

...…

Meanwhile, on the Daimyo's side.

Ever since the genjutsu was lifted, the Daimyo had been in a state of shock. It wasn't until nightfall that he regained some semblance of composure.

Kawashimo Hikozaemon, one of the ministers, said indignantly:

"Lord Daimyo, we cannot let today's events slide!"

"If the Fifth Hokage continues to act this way, and future Hokage follow his example, how will the Daimyo's office maintain any authority over Konoha?"

Another minister, Matsunaga Hisahide, chimed in:

"Indeed, Lord Daimyo. If today's humiliation goes unchallenged, the Fifth Hokage will only become more brazen!"

The Daimyo, naturally unable to swallow his anger, replied, "Let me think…"

He had suffered not only from Haneda's genjutsu but also from being humiliated in front of everyone.

He could already imagine the Daimyo of the Wind Country spreading word of today's disgrace throughout the other Daimyo offices.

At that moment, another minister, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, proposed:

"Lord Daimyo, Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning is currently at war with Konoha. Why not use this as leverage?"

The Daimyo pondered the suggestion, and a brilliant idea flashed in his mind.

"Then we'll cut off Konoha's funding and secretly inform Kumogakure of what happened!"

At this point, the Daimyo began laughing coldly, clearly pleased with his plan.

"I'd like to see how long Konoha can hold out without support from the Daimyo's office!"

Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu and the other ministers quickly flattered him:

"Brilliant as always, Lord Daimyo!"

"Of course. Under my leadership, that damned Uchiha Haneda will have no choice but to bow before me!!"

The Daimyo grinned smugly. In this world, the Kage's position had always been subordinate to the Daimyo's!

This system, established with the one-country-one-village policy, had held for decades!

And now, a teenage brat like Uchiha Haneda wanted to overturn it?

When he finally hit a wall and came crawling back, begging for forgiveness, the Daimyo would make sure to make him pay!

...…

Meanwhile, at Konoha's prison.

Since being captured by Haneda, Danzo had been confined here.

The warden, either intentionally or unintentionally, had placed Danzo in his old cell.

Familiar drops of water dripped from the ceiling.

Danzo didn't even bother to look. His spirit was already broken.

That naturally wicked Uchiha brat had left a Flying Thunder God seal on him.

Danzo knew there was no escaping this prison.

To make matters worse, Haneda had become the Fifth Hokage, and even his old comrades had sided with the brat!

Click, click, click…

The sound of familiar footsteps echoed in the corridor. Danzo knew it was his old friend Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Why are you here again? Didn't that naturally wicked Uchiha brat already tell you everything about me?" Danzo asked in a low voice.

Hiruzen looked at Danzo's increasingly gaunt face, concern evident in his expression.

"You've lost weight, Danzo."

"I brought you chicken soup that's been simmered for two and a half years. Take care of yourself."

Hiruzen ladled the soup into a bowl.

Danzo snorted in annoyance but reluctantly took the bowl. Under Hiruzen's watchful gaze, he drank it all.

After finishing, Danzo asked, "Anything new in the village?"

Mentioning village affairs, Hiruzen let out a long sigh.

"Haneda is too young. He organized a coronation ceremony this afternoon, but it turned into a public humiliation for the Daimyo."

"What did he do, Hiruzen?" Danzo's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing Haneda's antics.

Hiruzen explained, "Haneda snatched the Hokage hat from the Daimyo's hands."

"He also used genjutsu to humiliate the Daimyo in front of the foreign envoys, leaving him utterly disgraced."

"It's over, Hiruzen! This year's funding from the Daimyo is gone!!"

Danzo immediately envisioned the Daimyo's reaction.

That naturally wicked Uchiha brat would surely face severe consequences!

Without funding from the Daimyo, Konoha's finances were doomed. Even if the brat groveled, future funding would still be reduced!

Konoha would weaken.

"Hiruzen, I told you this would happen!"

"You should've handed that naturally wicked Uchiha brat over to me from the start!"

"With that fool in charge, Konoha is bound to collapse sooner or later!"

"Have you seen what's happened to Sunagakure and Kirigakure?"

"Both were crippled when their funding was cut—one had to reduce its ninja training, while the other adopted the Bloody Mist policy."

"With that idiot Haneda, Konoha will only continue to decline!"

Hiruzen sighed, not refuting Danzo's words.

Now, he could only hope Haneda would quickly bow to the Daimyo, minimizing Konoha's losses.

...…