Inside a brightly lit office in Konohagakure.
Hashirama was sitting in a chair.
On the table in front of him were formal diplomatic documents from various countries scattered like snow crystals.
Some of the visits were simple, but others expressed wariness and distrust toward Konoha, suggesting that Hashirama was plotting something behind the scenes.
Some wanted to take advantage of Konoha’s current reconstruction situation to build some kind of cooperative relationship with Konoha and exchange resources.
“Thirteen delegations have arrived in Konoha so far.
Among them, the delegations from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth are the most important and require strict monitoring.
However, the daimyos of both countries did not come themselves and instead dispatched other high officials as proxies.
The ninjas accompanying them were all extremely powerful.”
Tobirama briefly explained the current situation.
Accepting so many delegations from various countries at once would be a major challenge for Konoha.
However, in Tobirama’s view, some countries could not even be called countries.
On the map, their territories were nothing more than small dots, and it would not be surprising if they suddenly disappeared or were destroyed.
Recently, there were many men who built cities and called themselves famous figures.
There was no need to cooperate with these countries.
Tobirama was concerned that if they cooperated, those countries might suddenly disappear and damage the interests of Konohagakure and the Land of Fire.
“In addition to the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, we must also be wary of the Night Kingdom to the north.
The ruler of this country is called the ‘Shogun’ and is the supreme leader who oversees both the civil administration and military of the country.
Hmm, it is unusual for someone who is not a daimyo to have influence greater than a daimyo.
It is just like the distant western Land of Demons, where a shrine maiden rules the country.”
The Shogun of the Night Kingdom and the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons were both leaders without titles, each ruling their respective countries.
According to Tobirama, the leaders of these two countries — whether Shogun or shrine maiden — were both individuals who completely controlled military and political power, a type of daimyo.
“…Hey, are you listening?”
Since there was no response from Hashirama, Tobirama furrowed his brows.
“Huh?
Ah, of course I’m listening.
Then let’s do that.”
Hashirama immediately straightened his back, his drowsiness vanished, and he nodded solemnly.
Tobirama: “…”
Did he not hear anything?
“Are you so tired that you fall asleep at this level?
Have you been slacking off lately, Brother?”
“This isn’t my fault.
When I was entertaining them today, I laughed so much I almost choked.”
When this topic came up, Hashirama would become extremely displeased.
Why those delegations were so talkative, he could not understand.
They kept talking endlessly about trivial matters, which was more hypnotic than a ninja’s genjutsu.
Especially when Tobirama asked him to handle the guests, he should have opened his mouth as little as possible, simply smiled and nodded, and let Tobirama do the talking.
Therefore, the only responses Hashirama had given to the delegations from various countries were short words like “Um,” “Understood,” and “That’s sufficient.”
Looking back, he realized he had laughed so much that the muscles in his face were twitching.
What was even worse was that Madara had seen it and teased him for a long time.
“That’s all because Brother makes foolish mistakes as soon as he opens his mouth.
This is an important window for building connections with other countries.
If the leader suddenly makes a foolish mistake, it will have a serious impact on the reputation of the country and the village.”
Tobirama sighed.
“Yeees~”
Hashirama’s tone was drawn out long, clearly showing that he was not taking Tobirama’s preaching seriously.
“I’m telling you, Brother…”
“In short, from now on I will properly handle the reception duties.
Is there anything else you want to add?”
“Regarding this, there is indeed a very important issue.
On the Hyuga clan’s side, while some elders want to join Konoha, there are also many opponents within the clan… I have heard that the discussions are extremely intense and could even escalate to armed conflict.”
Tobirama stroked his chin and explained the current situation of the Hyuga clan.
Around this time, Konohagakure was accepting more and more ninja clans.
Under Hashirama’s influence, many large and small ninja clans in the Land of Fire had undergone peaceful evolution, and the integration process had been completed with almost no bloodshed.
However, there were still resilient people in the Land of Fire, and among them, the Hyuga clan was the most tenacious.
“Like the Senju clan, the Hyuga clan has a long history, but it is an extremely strict clan.
They employ a dual system of main family and branch family, with branch family members branded with a curse mark like a ‘Caged Bird’… I don’t know the specific reason, but considering the current situation of the Hyuga clan, it is a difficult situation to handle.”
Tobirama took a deep breath.
In his view, the Hyuga clan’s problem was second only to the Uchiha clan’s in severity.
Their strict family traditions and rules remained unchanged, stubbornly clinging to ancient customs with almost no flexibility.
Every time he interacted with members of the Hyuga clan, he would see their intimidating expressions that reminded one of death.
“Is that to prevent bloodline limits from spreading outside?”
It was only natural for powerful ninja clans like them to have exchanges.
“If that’s the case, then the ‘Caged Bird’ curse cannot be prevented.
There must be a deeper reason why the ‘Caged Bird’ was born.”
“It doesn’t seem easy to persuade them.”
Hashirama rubbed his temples.
“Negotiating with those stubborn old men is exactly the same as when I negotiated with Father in the past.
But just recently, I heard they formed a marriage alliance with the Night Kingdom, and the daughter of the Hyuga main family became the wife of the Shogun of the Night Kingdom.”
Tobirama recalled the rumors that had circulated a while ago and thought that a marriage alliance might be an effective method.
This tactic was common during the Warring States period, and marriage alliances between ninja clans like the Hyuga clan and national leaders like the Night Kingdom were by no means isolated cases.
Even between different clans, cross-marriage was often necessary to maintain connections.
For example, his older brother Hashirama had married a woman from the Uzumaki clan and gained the clan’s support.
Konohagakure had initially intended to invite the Uzumaki clan, but after consideration, the Uzumaki clan had declined to participate.
It seemed they planned to found a nation in a vast undeveloped area they had discovered on the southeastern border of the Land of Fire.
Tobirama thought this was a good idea.
Even if the Uzumaki clan encountered some danger in the future, Konohagakure would be able to respond quickly and provide support.
“So, does that mean the Hyuga clan intends to migrate to the Night Kingdom?”
Hashirama blinked.
“No, if they had wanted to, they could have migrated directly like the Aburame clan.
However, even after Konohagakure was established, they remained in the Land of Fire… Besides, since half the clan opposed joining Konoha and the other half supported it, they might be waiting for better conditions.”
Tobirama twisted his lips.
If the Hyuga clan truly had this plan, they were being far too optimistic.
“Then I’ll go take a look later.”
Hashirama planned to visit the Hyuga clan after the Hokage inauguration ceremony.
In such a situation, face-to-face negotiation would be better.
“Yes, the Hyuga clan also dispatched people to this ceremony.
Later, I will send someone to probe their position.”
“Thank you for your help, Tobirama.
With you here, I’m truly grateful.”
Hashirama approached and lightly patted Tobirama’s shoulder, showing his agreement.
“Haaah… If only you could suppress your impulsive personality a little, things would be much less troublesome.”
Whether it was the alliance with the Uchiha clan or the current alliance with Konoha… from Tobirama’s perspective, neither seemed like a plan Hashirama had come up with after careful consideration.
Rather, it felt like something that had suddenly occurred to Hashirama, and he had made the decision in an instant.
Without his help, this village would have perished sooner or later.
However, it was precisely because of this sentimental style that the ninja clans were able to lower their guard toward each other.
Hashirama set the overall direction of the village, arbitrated conflicts between various clans, and allowed them to communicate on equal footing.
And on this foundation, he improved the village’s structure and realized his own dream.
…
The day after arriving in Konoha.
As the Shogun of the Night Kingdom, Yayoi first received a visit from the Hyuga clan.
This time, the person the Hyuga clan dispatched to Konoha was not Kichou’s father, Hyuga Hiden, but Hyuga Akajin, an elder of the main family.
He was in his sixties, had a serious expression, and wore his ninja attire meticulously in every detail, which suited the Hyuga clan’s old-fashioned style very well.
According to Kichou, this elder Akajin had also been a powerful ninja who charged into battle in his youth.
Most importantly, he was also the grandfather of Aoi Hyuga, one of Kichou’s maids.
However, since Aoi was from the branch family, she was an unimportant, marginalized existence within the Hyuga clan, and there was almost no affection between her and her grandfather, Hyuga Akajin.
Rin’s situation was similar.
All of her ancestral relatives had produced main family members, but since she was not the eldest daughter and her talent was average, she had been born into the branch family.
Hyuga Akajin had not come here with any particular purpose.
It was simply a visit to maintain necessary contact.
After all, since the cooperative relationship between the Night Kingdom and the Hyuga clan was being maintained rather than severed by Kichou’s presence, this extra step was unnecessary.
When Akajin left, Yayoi had repaid the favor with symbolic gifts.
For this trip, Yayoi had brought many gifts as return presents, which would be useful for establishing diplomatic relations with various countries.
“Father, a visit letter has arrived from the lord of the Land of Songs.”
Then, Irori temporarily entered the quiet room being used for meetings, holding a letter in her hand, and handed it to Yayoi, who was sitting cross-legged on a soft cushion.
“Huh?”
Yayoi was dumbfounded.
Land of Songs?
Which country is that?
Is this country on the map?
It’s not just a dot on the map, right?
Yayoi had some knowledge of the various countries in the ninja world, but small countries that were not even on the map were not within her scope of knowledge.
Every year, several such countries appeared and then suddenly disappeared — it was a very strange and inexplicable phenomenon.
To avoid damaging the Night Kingdom’s reputation among other countries, Yayoi agreed to the meeting.
As expected, they had come to side with them and seek help.
The Land of Songs was currently under attack by foreign forces and could be destroyed at any time.
At the same time, Yayoi also pinpointed where the Land of Songs was located in the ninja world — it was in a place separated by most of the continent from the Night Kingdom.
It would take several days for a ninja to travel from the Night Kingdom to the Land of Songs at full speed without sleep.
What was most important was that this country had no special products.
It was just forests and mountains, two cities, and a few villages — desolate and unbearable to look at.
Furthermore, whoever came for negotiations would be accompanied by several princesses.
The daimyo of this Land of Songs understood that.
It was truly heartbreaking to see her forced into a situation where she had to sell her daughters.
In the end, Yayoi had no choice but to promise to send a mixed unit of ninjas and samurai.
That way, in the unlikely event of defeat, the lord of the Land of Songs could peacefully settle in the Night Kingdom and avoid the fate of her entire clan being killed.
As for suppressing the rebellion, it was impossible.
The distance was too far, and there were too many uncertain factors.
The most Yayoi could do was protect the daimyo’s family.
Even so, Yayoi received a large sum of money from the daimyo of the Land of Songs.
After all, after the Night Kingdom was founded, the ninjas and samurai of the Night Kingdom no longer operated as mercenaries and had completely submitted to the nation’s defense forces.
The salaries of ninjas and samurai were not mission rewards but paid monthly according to rank.
Furthermore, if they achieved excellent results in missions, their salaries would increase.
In other words, it was he, the Shogun, who was supporting all the ninjas and samurai in the country.
Besides patrolling and maintaining order, the most common thing ninjas and samurai did on a daily basis was training their techniques.
After the issue with the daimyo of the Land of Songs was resolved, people from several countries visited.
Although Yayoi was usually introverted, the Night Kingdom, a rising star in the ninja world, had been developing rapidly in recent years and would undoubtedly attract the attention of many countries.
Kichou, as the Shogun’s wife, naturally sat beside Yayoi, watching the exchanges and cooperative relationships between the two countries.
Occasionally, she would open her mouth, sometimes hitting the nail on the head, and sometimes easing tense situations.
She was performing her duties as a virtuous wife splendidly.
After this incident, her intelligence and beauty would probably become widely known among people around the world.
This was undoubtedly a great honor for her husband, Yayoi.
Anyone would be happy if their partner was a woman who was intelligent, beautiful, understanding, and would fight alongside them when the time came.
…
And so, three days passed quietly.
As delegations from various countries arrived in Konoha one after another and people moved one by one into the reception courtyard, an atmosphere mixed with tension and liveliness filled the air.
Ninjas and samurai were everywhere, guarding the delegations from various countries.
They were wary of each other, but everyone was acting with extreme self-restraint.
During his stay in Konoha, Yayoi received delegations from fifteen countries, and negotiations with six of those countries were conducted by the daimyos themselves.
During this period, Yayoi made an official visit to Senju Hashirama, who was about to become the First Hokage.
“Hello, Lord Hashirama.
It is an honor to hear so much about you.”
After Yayoi and Hashirama lightly shook hands, they immediately separated.
The first impression Yayoi had of Hashirama was… a man who always smiled but did not say much.
In most cases, he stood beside him while his younger brother, Senju Tobirama, handled communications.
It seemed like the muscles in the face of the Senju clan head were twitching slightly… or was it just his imagination?
Judging only by appearance, he seemed like a kind and easy-to-get-along-with person.
Otherwise, it was difficult to tell what was actually happening.
His chakra was completely suppressed and not leaking out at all.
He looked like an ordinary human.
As for Uchiha Madara, Yayoi also witnessed him.
He was leaning against a wall near the meeting place, his gaze vaguely directed at Hashirama.
As for the others… in his eyes, they were probably no more important than air.
Except for Senju Hashirama, he didn’t take anyone seriously.
Yayoi’s emotions were extremely complex.
When he meet again Uchiha Madara, he had initially thought of approaching, greeting him, becoming friendly, and then making plans for the future.
However, after thinking it over carefully, he decided to stop.
Even if he went there now, he would probably just be treated indifferently and it would only cause trouble.
The exchange with Hashirama was short and ended in just a few words.
After all, diplomats from other countries were scheduled to come later, and Yayoi did not have much time to spare.
When they returned to the courtyard provided by Konoha, it was already noon.
Yayoi and Kichou finished lunch, and in the afternoon, Yayoi took a nap with Kichou.
He had been busy these past few days and was a little tired.
During the afternoon nap, they did nothing and spent a very simple time together.
As night fell and after dinner, at Irori’s invitation, an unexpected person came to visit.
Yayoi appeared in the meeting room accompanied by Kichou.
There, several people had been waiting for a while.
The person dressed in black ninja attire, with sharp eyes and white hair, was none other than Senju Tobirama.