This time, the collective extortion of the daimyo's entire court was Teizawa's biggest "business deal" since transmigrating.
But what he hadn't expected was that this job really wasn't something you could finish in a single day.
After all, the daimyo's ministers were truly, absurdly wealthy.
And yet…
Just as Teizawa was drowning in a sea of money, everything happening in the daimyo's capital finally made its way back to Sunagakure.
On the sixth day after Teizawa left Sunagakure…
...
Inside the Kazekage's office.
Chiyo and Ebizō, the two elders, were present, along with Temari, Satetsu, and several others.
Even Gaara was there, though his face looked worn and haggard.
Worth mentioning…
That night when Temari knelt before Teizawa and 'nodded' again and again in submission, her "payment" finally yielded results.
Teizawa really had agreed to release Gaara.
But he hadn't removed the seal on Gaara's body.
That was why Gaara could appear in the Kazekage's office now.
And the reason Sunagakure's upper brass had gathered again this time…
Was because the covert agent Suna had originally planted in the daimyo's court had sent back word.
That agent was under Chiyo's direct chain.
He still didn't know the village had changed hands.
When he saw Suna shinobi surrounding the daimyo's palace, he immediately realized something was wrong.
He only thought something had happened in Sunagakure.
So he found a way to escape at once.
Luckily, since he was a Sunagakure shinobi, he didn't meet much resistance while fleeing.
That was how he managed to travel all that distance and deliver the intelligence.
Right now, Chiyo's face was dark enough to scare children.
When everyone had arrived, she looked at a lean, wiry shinobi in the room and said coldly:
"Tell us everything you know."
"Yes, Elder!"
The lean shinobi forced down his panic and began.
"Teizawa, he… he led troops to surround the daimyo's palace. He…"
"You should address him as Kazekage-sama."
Temari's eyes narrowed as she cut in, voice crisp and unyielding.
"Huh?"
The man blanked for a second, then instinctively looked toward Gaara.
Wasn't Gaara the Kazekage?
How had Teizawa become Kazekage-sama?
But Gaara didn't refute it. Neither did Chiyo or any of the others.
So the man swallowed and corrected himself obediently.
"Ka… Kazekage-sama led troops to surround the daimyo's palace… The daimyo's samurai turned on him and surrendered…"
The moment she heard that, Chiyo's face sank further and she snapped:
"That bastard. I knew he wasn't the kind to take his punishment quietly. This isn't 'admitting fault' at all… This is going too far."
Ebizō picked up the thread with a grim sigh. "Now he's offended the daimyo to the bone. If the daimyo decides to come after us, this year's funding is going to get tight."
Temari's brow furrowed. She looked at the messenger. "Keep going."
The shinobi's expression turned even stranger. He glanced at Chiyo, grit his teeth, and said:
"Elder… the daimyo probably won't be able to 'come after' anyone."
"…Hm?"
Chiyo narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Ghk…"
Remembering what he'd heard just before he fled the palace, the man swallowed hard and forced the words out:
"Before I left the daimyo's residence, news came out from inside. The daimyo's son has taken the seat and become the new daimyo."
After he said it, he clenched his jaw and added:
"It was Teizawa… no, it was Kazekage-sama who appointed him."
"What?!"
Chiyo slammed her palm on the desk and shot to her feet, her face full of shock.
The others reacted a half-beat slower.
Then realization hit them too.
Even Gaara's expression turned strange. "Teizawa appointed a new daimyo?"
This…
He still remembered when he had become the Fifth Kazekage.
He had knelt before that old Wind Country daimyo and accepted the formal appointment.
That was the symbol of the Kazekage's legitimacy.
So why was it completely different with Teizawa?
Satetsu, Otofu, and the rest of Teizawa's inner-circle shinobi stared, stunned at first.
Then, one by one, their eyes grew feverish, almost fanatical.
Yes. This was exactly what Kazekage-sama would do.
Why should the Kazekage, the strongest in the Land of Wind, have to accept an appointment from a daimyo?
That was an insult to the strong.
Temari bit her lip, and a shiver ran through her for no reason she could explain.
She'd always been strong-willed.
And she was the type who admired strength more than anything.
Teizawa's dominance only made her crave him more.
"This is reckless," Ebizō finally snapped as he caught up, voice sharp. "Then what about the previous daimyo?"
To them, what Teizawa had done…
Was overturning centuries of Wind Country tradition.
How were they supposed to stay calm?
"Th-the previous daimyo…"
The messenger stammered for a long moment before he finally said:
"They say the previous daimyo was assassinated… and died on the spot."
"And… six ministers were also killed by the assassins' blades."
"Kazekage-sama didn't arrive in time. All he could do was kill the assassins… and then appoint a new daimyo to succeed…"
Silence.
The instant those words fell, the entire Kazekage's office dropped into a dead hush.
Chiyo and Ebizō slumped back into the sofa as if they'd aged ten years in a breath.
Assassins?
Both elders knew, in their bones, that this had Teizawa written all over it.
Maybe he'd even done it himself.
But the question was… how could he dare?
That was the Wind Country daimyo.
The head of the nation. The highest ruler.
And just like that…
Dead?
It was absurd. A farce.
And the daimyo was supposed to appoint the Kazekage.
Now it was the Kazekage appointing the daimyo?
Was that even how the world worked?
It was completely upside down.
For people like Chiyo and Ebizō, who had been raised from childhood on the belief that "the daimyo is supreme," it felt so unreal it was almost grotesque.
Temari fought to steady her quick, ragged breathing.
And suddenly, all she could think was that she missed him.
She bit her lip, and only after a long time did she speak, voice low but blazing with conviction:
"Sunagakure's era is coming."
…
Land of Fire, Konohagakure.
Afternoon sunlight filtered through the glass windows of the Hokage's office, casting sharp, geometric blocks of light and shadow across the polished floor.
As the wealthiest and most powerful hidden village in the shinobi world…
Konoha's Hokage office carried a solemn weight.
Wooden walls displayed portraits of the past Hokage.
A broad desk was stacked high with scrolls and documents.
The newly appointed Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, sat upright behind the main seat.
Her hands were clasped in front of her on the desk.
Today she wasn't wearing her usual green haori.
Instead, she was dressed in more formal Hokage attire.
Her golden hair was tied back, exposing her forehead and a stern, focused expression.
Shizune stood quietly behind her to one side.
She held a stack of files, her face just as solemn.
She hadn't even brought Tonton, her little pig, today.
That alone showed how heavy the atmosphere was.
On the sofa to the left sat the two elders, Koharu and Homura.
On the right, and around the desk, the core figures of Konoha's major clans had gathered: Shikaku, Inoichi, Hiashi…
In addition, elite jōnin like Kakashi, Asuma, and Guy had taken their seats as well.
It was no exaggeration to say that Konoha's most central concentration of power and intellect was assembled here, in this room.
After a long silence, Tsunade finally spoke, her voice steady and clear:
"According to the latest intelligence returned by our line inside Sunagakure, the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, has been placed under house arrest. The position of Kazekage…"
She paused, gaze sweeping across the room.
"…has a new candidate."
A few faint inhales sounded.
"It's a shinobi named 'Teizawa,'" Tsunade continued.
A thin ripple of commotion moved through the room.
For most of them, the name was unfamiliar.
They traded confused looks and murmured quietly among themselves.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]