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The Daimyō wouldn't normally agree to the Third Hokage's request just because Kenshi might become the next God of Shinobi in the future.
But the Third Hokage was, after all, a qualified politician.
Exaggerating Kenshi's strength was just to get the Daimyō's attention. The real trump card was Kenshi's terrifying ability to possess and reincarnate.
Upon seeing the Third Hokage mention that Kenshi knew the Third Raikage's exclusive Lightning Release, Black Lightning, as well as Konoha's secret jutsu, Super Beast Imitation Painting, and that Kenshi's current body, Kimura Yō, was a result of possession,
An image of a being with immense strength who could continuously possess and reincarnate, an immortal, instantly entered the Daimyō's mind.
"Demon!"
"This is a demon!!!"
The Daimyō's hand holding the letter trembled violently uncontrollably. He shouted "demon" without regard for his image, his eyes filled with a deep, lingering fear.
"Your Highness!"
"Your Highness!"
Hearing the Daimyō's panicked words, the ninjas protecting him quickly entered the side hall, surrounding the Daimyō. Their hands gripped their sword hilts, and they looked at Homura Mitokado with vigilance.
The two ANBU ninjas who had come with Homura Mitokado also appeared on either side of him, looking at the Daimyō's protective ninjas with vigilance.
These ninjas were the Daimyō's personal guards. They were trained and recruited by the Daimyō himself and were only loyal to him. The ninjas dispatched by Konoha were only responsible for the outer protection of the Daimyō's mansion. The core was these twelve guardian ninjas.
If any enemy appeared to attack the Daimyō, even if that enemy was a Konoha ninja, they wouldn't hesitate. They would immediately attack and eliminate the enemy.
Of course, the same went for the Konoha ANBU. They were only loyal to the Hokage. Anyone who posed a threat to the Hokage was an enemy. Even if that enemy was the Daimyō's ninja, they wouldn't hesitate either. They would kill the enemy.
The entire side hall fell into a tense atmosphere, as if a fight was about to break out at any moment, due to the Daimyō's sudden excitement.
Homura Mitokado, who was completely dumbfounded, came to his senses and immediately said to the two ANBU ninjas beside him, "Retreat. This is the Daimyō's mansion of the Land of Fire, not a battlefield. With me here, no one can harm the Daimyō."
Homura Mitokado immediately established his position. Konoha and the Daimyō's mansion of the Land of Fire were on the same side. He wouldn't allow anyone to harm the Daimyō. At the same time, he explained the ANBU's actions as protecting the Daimyō. As expected of the Hokage advisor, his political response was quick.
"Yes, sir."
The two ANBU members retreated, but they remained vigilant, ready to intervene if the situation changed.
"Whew... you can retreat too."
The Daimyō took a deep breath and waved his hand, dismissing the twelve guardian ninjas.
"Your Highness..."
Homura Mitokado bowed slightly, his eyes flickering with curiosity and a hint of confusion.
To be honest, he still didn't understand what had happened.
What had that guy, Hiruzen, written in the letter to the Daimyō that made him so scared and angry?
Could it be that Hiruzen was dissatisfied with the meager funds and wanted to use some unknown methods to intimidate the Daimyō?
Homura Mitokado had various guesses.
The Daimyō ignored Homura Mitokado and asked him to go out and wait for a while.
After Homura Mitokado left, the Daimyō asked the secretary to bring him pen and ink. He said that the secretary would write.
"I agree to the proposal to team up with other countries to kill Kenshi. But just the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning isn't enough. I will write to the Daimyō of the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Water, asking them to personally lead their respective ninja villages' Kage to join you. We must kill Kenshi. We must not let him live."
"Otherwise... the Daimyō's mansion will not recognize the legitimacy of Konoha, and naturally, there will be no more annual support funds."
This time, the Daimyō was truly ruthless. He even wrote words that directly tore off the mask, saying that he wouldn't recognize Konoha's legitimacy.
It showed how much he feared Kenshi. It had completely surpassed Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi.
To ensure that Kenshi was eliminated, the Daimyō even felt that teaming up with the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning wasn't enough. The Five Great Nations had to work together for it to be safe.
All of this told a truth.
Compared to Senju Hashirama, the Daimyō feared Kenshi's existence more.
No matter how strong Senju Hashirama was, he would still die after a hundred years. The Daimyō's family could still continue to rule their country for thousands of years.
But Kenshi was different. An immortal who possessed the power of the God of Shinobi and could continuously possess and reincarnate. That was a true god.
No one wanted to have a god watching over them all the time. What if the god was in a bad mood and crushed them like an ant? How unfair would that be?
Especially when they thought about what if, one day, the god was in a good mood and possessed the heir of the Daimyō's mansion, replacing the Daimyō's family name and becoming the new ruling family, wouldn't their family be cut off?
Just thinking about these possibilities made the Daimyō anxious. He wanted to kill Kenshi immediately.
But the Daimyō also knew that they needed ninjas to kill Kenshi.
"Homura Mitokado, the advisor of Konoha, come in."
"This is a secret letter for the Third Hokage."
After finishing the letter and sealing it with the Daimyō's mansion's exclusive seal, the Daimyō allowed Homura Mitokado to come in. He asked him to return to Konoha as quickly as possible and personally deliver the letter to the Third Hokage.
One day later.
The Third Hokage was dumbfounded as he read the Daimyō's reply at home.
"This..."
The Third Hokage was very surprised. He felt that the Daimyō was even more eager to kill Kenshi than he was.
"Is Kenshi's ability to possess and reincarnate so terrifying?"
"Uh... it seems a little terrifying."
"But..."
The Third Hokage never imagined that the Daimyō would be so afraid.
He had said that Kenshi's ability to possess and be immortal was just to emphasize the danger that Kenshi posed to Konoha, the Land of Fire, and even the ninja world.
He thought that if the Daimyō wanted to protect the Land of Fire, he should kill Kenshi as soon as possible to prevent him from growing stronger.
He didn't expect that the Daimyō had seen a greater danger in Kenshi, and he was so eager to kill him quickly.
Teaming up with the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning wasn't enough. He wanted the Five Great Nations to work together.
He even specified that the five Kage had to work together.
And if they couldn't kill Kenshi, they would even revoke Konoha's legitimacy in the Land of Fire.
This... was completely beyond the Third Hokage's expectations. He hadn't expected the Daimyō to react so strongly.
But... heh heh!
The Third Hokage smiled. A strong reaction was good.
In his original plan, Sarutobi Tsukishi activating the Eight Inner Gates was the key to ensuring that Kenshi was killed. It was indispensable.
Now that the Five Kage were teaming up, he didn't need to sacrifice Tsukishi, that kid.
Among the Five Kage, he had Katō Dan's spirit to protect him, so he didn't have to worry about Kenshi's genjutsu.
The Third Raikage had fought Kenshi before, so Kenshi's genjutsu probably wouldn't work on him either.
The Third Tsuchikage possessed Dust Release, a kekkei tōta that was even higher quality than kekkei genkai Chakra. Kenshi's genjutsu probably wouldn't work on him either.
The higher the Chakra nature transformation strength, the stronger the resistance to genjutsu.
Like himself, although he didn't have a kekkei genkai, he had been refining his basic nature transformations for many years, and his nature transformation strength was much higher than that of ordinary people.
So, ordinary genjutsu didn't work on him.
But unfortunately, basic nature transformations, unless their strength was raised to the level of the Black Lightning that the Third Raikage had developed, wouldn't be able to withstand powerful genjutsu.
This was why the Third Hokage himself wasn't confident in blocking Kenshi's genjutsu.
Fortunately, he had Katō Dan. He didn't have to fear Kenshi's genjutsu in this battle.
The other two Kage... the Third Hokage frowned slightly.
The Third Kazekage was fine. He had the powerful kekkei genkai, Magnet Release. He could control all iron objects with magnetism. His Chakra nature transformation strength was also very high. Combined with the mental fortitude of a Kage-level ninja, he should be able to withstand Kenshi's genjutsu.
Only the remaining Third Mizukage made the Third Hokage hesitate.
After the last Ninja World War, the Land of Water... no, the Hidden Mist Village had completely entered a state of isolation.
Now, more than a decade had passed. The Third Hokage wasn't sure how strong the Third Mizukage was.
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