The Daimyo clapped his fan shut, nodded slightly, and said, "Good, in that case, I will entrust Tobi, Asuna, and Mizuki with this task. The others will remain in the capital."
Asuna had just stated that they would accept any command from the Daimyo, so she naturally nodded in agreement. Asuna also felt that she needed to investigate this matter personally. She had a premonition that the local lord was indeed innocent, and if others were allowed to handle it, the village might face trouble.
Just as Tobi had mentioned, this local lord was very close to the Konoha Ninja Village. If Tobi were to make an issue out of this, the Daimyo would have a legitimate reason to restrict the Konoha Ninja Village. Unless Konoha Ninja Village intended to rebel immediately, they could only play within the rules.
To prevent such a situation, Asuna believed it needed close attention. However, she suspected that Tobi might have other schemes, not against the local lord, but against herself and Mizuki.
Over the years, Asuna had long felt that, compared to other Konoha ninjas, Tobi held more animosity towards her and Mizuki. This time, Tobi specifically requested that she and Mizuki go together, which inevitably led to negative suspicions.
However, even if Tobi laid a trap before them, they could only choose to step into it. It was not yet time for a direct confrontation, so the Daimyo's command still held significant weight. They couldn't risk completely offending the Daimyo by refusing.
The Daimyo also understood deep down that the Konoha ninjas who came here to serve as Guardian Ninjas were both hostages and informants for the Konoha Ninja Village, secretly conveying the Daimyo's intentions, thereby maintaining a subtle balance through unspoken understanding.
If they completely fell out with the Daimyo, the Konoha ninjas might not receive any important information, which would also have a significant impact on the village.
Regarding the Daimyo's appointment, the others had nothing to say and simply nodded in agreement. Seeing this, the Daimyo had no other matters. He glanced at the corpses on the ground, his expression subtly showing disgust, and said, "Take them away."
The Daimyo was not a monarch who had lived in military life since childhood. Only the founding generation or monarchs with similar experiences could naturally connect with samurai. The Daimyo, raised in the deep palace, naturally possessed the aristocratic fastidiousness, and had no liking for corpses, even those of the samurai from families who served him.
The Daimyo was by no means a magnanimous ruler. On the contrary, he was somewhat harsh towards his subordinates. Compared to his father, there was indeed a considerable gap. If their positions were swapped, he wondered if he could support Hashirama as the previous generation did.
After the bodies were taken away, the Daimyo kept Tobi behind, stating that he wanted to speak with him.
This situation was commonplace. Tobi was a favored minister in the Daimyo's mansion, with direct access to the Daimyo. The others took their leave.
After leaving the hall, the Konoha ninjas and the other Guardian Ninjas recruited from the common people departed separately. Although they worked together, their relationship wasn't particularly good. Of course, this was due to Tobi's instigation, and within the Twelve Guardian Ninja, they were subtly divided into two factions.
Returning to their living quarters, the group could finally speak freely. As ninjas, they would set up traps or barriers in their residences to prevent unauthorized entry. In such an environment, they could speak without restraint.
Although highly skilled ninjas could use certain secret techniques to bypass defenses, Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan possessed extremely high observational abilities, and its development within the Hyuga clan was relatively advanced. With him present, there were practically no means of deception that could escape his notice.
"That lord must have been framed. I wonder what Tobi's true intentions are," Fujimura Yuki said first.
Everyone was certain that the lord was innocent. Although they hadn't received the secret medicine of the Chakra Samurai, they had received intelligence from the village, which allowed them to connect the Chakra Samurai's secret medicine with the secret medicine obtained from the Jashinists. The secret medicine Tobi had presented earlier was already being consumed, while the secret medicine that showed no abnormalities had been swapped.
"Although we can guess his motive, we don't know what he plans to do." Everyone could guess that Tobi intended to weaken Konoha Ninja Village's allied forces, which is why he chose to frame the local lord. However, how Tobi planned to make this accusation stick was beyond their guesses.
"Right now, the opponent is in an active position, and we can only choose to respond. Whatever he plans to do, it will surely begin once we reach the territory. We can only try our best to thwart their schemes," Asuna said.
"That's true, but Asuna, you and Mizuki need to be careful. That guy specifically asked for you two to go, so you might also be part of his scheme," Hyuga Hiashi said.
"What's there to be afraid of? We'll have to confront that guy sooner or later. Let's just consider this a preliminary skirmish," Mizuki snorted softly from the side.
"The escaped leader of the Jashinists might also be involved. The enemy is in the dark, and we are in the open, so we must be careful," the usually silent Aburame Shibi rarely spoke up.
"Shibi-kun and Hiashi-kun are right. To be honest, it's a bit dangerous for you to go with that guy. I suggest you go with people from the village. That way, you can look out for each other and not have to worry about that guy playing any tricks in the dark," Hyuga Hiashi nodded.
"Hmm, Shibi-kun and Hiashi-kun both make sense," Asuna thought for a moment and said, "I will include it in my report to the village."
That night, Asuna wrote a report detailing the day's events and sent it to Konoha Ninja Village through a secret channel. After sending the report, Asuna lay on her bed, contemplating what Tobi's scheme might entail.
Although Asuna had been trying to uncover Tobi's true identity for years, especially how Tobi had evaded the massive explosion during their first meeting, it had always been a knot in Asuna's heart.
Asuna believed that Tobi might have escaped by using some kind of secret technique. If she couldn't discern the true nature of this secret technique, it would be very troublesome when she eventually had a real confrontation with Tobi.
In battles between ninjas of similar strength, the amount of information often determined the outcome. As long as one could formulate a counter-strategy based on the opponent's information, there would be a fairly high chance of victory. Even with differences in their abilities, there was a good chance of preserving one's life and retreating safely.
However, Tobi had rarely taken action. In the capital, there had been almost no instances requiring the Guardian Ninjas to intervene. As the location of the strongest nation in the ninja world, not just anyone dared to cause trouble there, and experts from other ninja villages would not easily act during the current period of peace.
The current Twelve Guardian Ninjas served far more as hostages than as guards.
As Asuna was thinking, she felt someone lie down on the bed—it was Mizuki. They lay in opposite directions, and with a slight upward shift of her gaze, she could see the other's face.
"Are you thinking about what kind of scheme the opponent is planning?" Mizuki asked.
"Yes," Asuna turned her head to look at the ceiling, "Speaking of which, this is probably the first time we've been so close to Tobi. To be honest, I feel a little uneasy deep down."
"I feel the same way. Although I don't like this guy, I have to admit, he's very strange," Mizuki said, "If we can't uncover his secrets, we might not be able to defeat him. At most, we can only ensure our own safety."
"Just that isn't enough. We must completely deal with this guy," Asuna said seriously.
"I think so too," Mizuki mused, "Asuna, what kind of secret do you think that guy might have?"
"I don't know. Do you have any clues?" Asuna turned her head to look at her.
"Although it's just a feeling, I think that guy seems to have something he doesn't want me to see," Mizuki said.
"Hmm? Why do you say that?" Asuna was a little curious.
"Because I noticed that whenever I use my Sharingan, that guy seems to deliberately avoid my gaze, preventing me from seeing clearly behind the mask's holes," Mizuki replied.
In the past, Mizuki had also used her Sharingan, and at first, she hadn't paid attention. But later, she realized that whenever Tobi was present, Tobi would make some unnatural movements, precisely angled to avoid her direct gaze. If it were only once or twice, it would be fine, but with more occurrences, coupled with the keen observational power of the Sharingan, Mizuki felt something was amiss.
"You mean, there's something about that guy's face or eyes that he doesn't want you to see?" Asuna inferred, following Mizuki's words.
"Logically speaking, that's the case, but what exactly the reason is, I don't know—why he can't let me see it," Mizuki whispered.
Although they had deduced this far, it was as if a layer of window paper was blocking them. If they couldn't pierce through this layer, they wouldn't be able to see the truth behind it.
"In that case, we can try to find out what secret lies behind that guy's mask," Asuna paused, then said.
At the same time, Asuna's report was quickly sent to Konoha Ninja Village, until it reached Fumori masaki's desk. Fumori masaki, as usual, used Senjutsu to break the seal woven with natural energy on it and began to carefully read its contents.
After reading for a while, Fumori masaki murmured thoughtfully, "He's made his move."
After learning that Black Zetsu had appeared in the Jashinist village and escaped, Fumori masaki felt that Tobi might have received the news. If Tobi was smart enough, he might act preemptively before his situation became critical.
Now, the opponent had indeed made a move, and it was like this. Fumori masaki thought that the opponent slandering Konoha Ninja Village might not be what he hoped for, because the situation he anticipated was for the Daimyo's side to start oppressing Konoha Ninja Village, and to affect the entire country's situation.
As long as Konoha Ninja Village could prove the Daimyo's unreasonableness, they could gain the moral high ground. He also saw that there was a higher probability of the local lord being innocent. Konoha Ninja Village had started making arrangements early on, and they were very clear about the character of the lords they were friendly with.
"In other words, this is the battle before the official start, right?" Fumori masaki thought for a moment, looking at the report which stated that the Daimyo requested the Daimyo's mansion and Konoha Ninja Village to investigate together. He couldn't help but ponder who should be sent.
Not long after, the official order from the Daimyo's mansion came down, and the Konoha high-ranking officials once again held a Hokage Cabinet meeting to discuss the matter.
"From a logical standpoint, if Tobi intends to affect us with this matter, he will inevitably have to falsely accuse the lord of having connections with the Jashinists. In that case, no matter what methods they employ, their basic goal will be consistent," Shimura Danzo said.
"For example, placing Jashinist items in the lord's mansion, making it impossible for him to defend himself?" Sarutobi Hiruzen had barely spoken when he immediately overturned his own conclusion, "No, if it's just that, it shouldn't be enough. Only the dead can truly be unable to defend themselves. They might be planning to kill the lord."
"That's very possible! If it were me, I would definitely do that," Shimura Danzo said without hesitation.
"So, the opponent might leave evidence in the lord's mansion and kill the lord, making it impossible for anyone to prove otherwise, forcing people to accept it?" Mitokado Homura said, "But would that truly convince everyone?"
"It's best if they're not convinced, that way our village has room to maneuver," Fumori masaki said, "However, it's best to preserve the lord's life. He's most beneficial alive."
"Hmm, but since Tobi himself is going this time, I think we also need to carefully select our personnel," Uchiha Kagami said.
"I suggest sending Hatake Sakumo. Isn't he in charge of related missions? He's close by, and his strength is formidable. Even that Tobi might not get the better of him, right?" Utatane Koharu said.
Hatake Sakumo was one of the strongest among the younger generation in Konoha Ninja Village. His name, White Fang, commanded respect, and many in the village, including some high-ranking officials, saw him as a potential successor to the Hokage.
"Sakumo is indeed a good choice," Fumori masaki mused, nodding slightly in agreement with everyone's suggestion.
Uchiha Kagami breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had heard that Asuna and Mizuki were actually representing the Daimyo's mansion with Tobi, and he was somewhat worried. But if Hatake Sakumo went to meet them, he could feel more at ease.
Since Fumori masaki had given his approval, Hatake Sakumo would be the main person in charge this time. The other two were Inuzuka Shigeru and Yamanaka Takuma, both trusted subordinates who had previously carried out missions with Fumori masaki. They were experienced and skilled in handling such matters, making them suitable candidates for assistants.
After deciding on the personnel, Fumori masaki wrote out the appointment letter and had it sent to Hatake Sakumo, informing him of the matter. According to Asuna's request, people from Konoha Ninja Village would go to the vicinity of the capital to rendezvous before proceeding with the investigation together, which would maximize the safety of Asuna and Mizuki.
Even if Tobi had any intentions, it would be impossible for a battle to erupt at such close range, as they could easily flee into the capital. It was possible during the long journey midway, but since Hatake Sakumo and others were going to meet them, it was unlikely to happen.