The moment Mito Uzumaki finished speaking, the smile on the daimyo's face froze stiff.
To the Land of Fire's daimyo, the wars between shinobi villages didn't actually affect him much.
Most daimyos across the Five Great Nations—and even the smaller countries—were related by blood.
Even if his own village lost a war, it would just be a matter of losing face in front of the winners. No real losses would come from it.
But face was just face. Money, on the other hand, was real.
And war was all about money. Konoha had suffered no small losses in this conflict.
If the daimyo had to foot the entire bill, he'd be eating dirt by next year.
But there was no way around it. The contract had, indeed, been signed by his father.
Back then, Konoha had the Twin Gods walking the earth—it was a force that dominated the era.
Their founding of Konoha could have happened inside the Land of Fire—or outside it.
To keep them in place, the former daimyo had made many concessions, signing all kinds of agreements like this one.
He had been generous at the time. After all, who could have predicted those two would end up killing each other, leaving Konoha without its guardians so soon?
The daimyo understood one thing clearly: Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, could still be bluffed—but Mito Uzumaki wasn't one to waste time on pleasantries.
'Should've just sent an envoy. Why did I have to come in person?'
With that thought, the daimyo kept a straight face, though inwardly, he was squirming. Still, he tried one last act of resistance.
"The Fourth must be joking. That contract was signed by the previous daimyo—it has nothing to do with me."
Mito Uzumaki gave him a faint smile and stared at him silently.
She didn't speak until sweat was visibly forming on his brow.
"I heard the scenery in the Land of Whirlpools is beautiful. Peaceful mountains and clear waters… very suitable for shinobi to live in."
Upon hearing that, the daimyo started sweating even more.
While the outcomes of war might not impact a daimyo directly, whether or not Konoha existed absolutely would.
Times had changed. A country without shinobi couldn't even protect its own borders.
Even if Konoha had lost this war, as long as it hadn't been completely wiped out, the Land of Fire would at most lose some territory and mission quotas.
But if the Land of Fire lost Konoha entirely, by the next day only the capital would remain.
He wouldn't even have time to cry.
So Mito's words had indeed struck at his vital weakness.
The daimyo gave a hearty laugh—outwardly generous, inwardly bleeding. "But the Fourth is right. The former daimyo was still a daimyo. The most important thing in life is integrity."
"Konoha's losses this time—I'll make sure the funds are sent. It's getting late. May I take my leave?"
Extorted for a huge sum, the daimyo was afraid of more twists. He quickly made to excuse himself.
But before he could even stand up, Mito Uzumaki somehow pulled out another contract.
"Hold on. I still have one more matter."
"The former daimyo also promised noble titles to the descendants of me and Hashirama. I wonder… is the daimyo aware of that?"
The daimyo had just gotten to his feet when he froze in place.
The fake smile he wore disappeared, replaced by a stony scowl as he glared at Mito Uzumaki.
Uchiha Hikaru, watching from the side, couldn't help blurting in his heart, Well damn.
He had been wondering what could possibly be more important than Medical Tags, and sure enough—money.
Money was always better in larger amounts.
After a war, Konoha was bound to be broke.
Compensation and rewards for shinobi had to be paid in full, or else when the next war came, no one would be willing to fight.
Mito Uzumaki's demands, one after another, had him munching on popcorn in his mind—it was a great show.
Unlike the Third Hokage, Mito Uzumaki had real backbone. She might as well have stamped the words "SEND FUNDS" across the daimyo's forehead.
But then she said something that made Hikaru understand why she brought both him and Tsunade to meet the daimyo today.
While Hikaru was internally amused, the daimyo was now genuinely furious.
To him, granting noble status wasn't that big a deal.
But there's a saying: I can give it—but you can't demand it.
Mito's aggressive stance made him feel threatened.
The Land of Whirlpools had once been a nation founded by the Uzumaki clan.
If they dared to demand nobility today, would they be demanding the daimyo's throne tomorrow?
He couldn't help but wonder.
Mito Uzumaki's thinking was actually quite simple.
Whether it was about making the daimyo cover the war costs or giving Uchiha Hikaru or Tsunade a noble title, it all served one purpose—
To send a signal.
The Land of Fire would fully support Konoha, and Konoha had the strength and confidence to keep fighting.
Even though things had fallen eerily quiet on the battlefield, no one could be sure peace had truly arrived.
Mito Uzumaki was powerful—but not yet at the level of suppressing the entire shinobi world alone.
If the other four nations grew wary and formed an alliance against her, even if their unity was shaky, they could still give Konoha a serious problem.
This would also help the village settle down after the sudden death of the Third Hokage.
As for what the daimyo thought—did that matter?
The Uzumaki had once founded their own country.
As one of the strongest women of that clan, Mito Uzumaki held no reverence for the daimyo.
As for the belief that daimyos were descendants of the gods? She scoffed at it.
To her, if the daimyo refused to listen—she'd just replace him.
Perhaps sensing her attitude, the daimyo's face slowly returned to calm.
"In that case, I'll leave it all to the Fourth."
"Once you've decided who should take the title, you can inform me at the inn."
"I'm feeling unwell. I'll be taking my leave."
With that, he turned and left without looking back.
Mito Uzumaki didn't pull out another contract—after all, one shouldn't push too hard.
Once the daimyo was gone, she turned to the stunned Tsunade and thoroughly entertained Uchiha Hikaru.
"You two. Who's taking the noble title?"
Uchiha Hikaru answered immediately.
"Give it to Tsunade. I don't need that kind of thing. Besides, Tsunade-hime just sounds nice."
Tsunade finally came back to her senses. She really had been shocked.
The image of Mito Uzumaki she had in her mind shattered in an instant.
This domineering, overwhelming version of her—Tsunade had never seen it before.
And when she heard what Hikaru said, a little flutter stirred in her heart.
Hehe… he said my name sounds nice.
But being the tsundere she was, she didn't show it. Instead, she huffed and said:
"He doesn't want it, and I don't want it either. I'm going to be Hokage like Grandma—I'm not going to be some noble."
Mito Uzumaki chuckled at that.
She had watched Tsunade grow up. She knew her personality like the back of her hand.
So she understood—Tsunade had already accepted it. She was just being stubborn out of pride.
Uchiha Hikaru, meanwhile, hadn't given it much thought. He genuinely didn't care.
After all, in the future, he might end up hanging quite a few nobles upside-down.
So neither of them said anything else. They just silently looked at Tsunade.
Under their combined gaze, she squirmed uncomfortably for a while… before finally giving in.
She glanced at them, lowered her head, and muttered softly:
"I'll listen to Grandma. Tsunade-hime does sound kinda nice."