Chapter 229: Konoha Village Splits
Jiraiya had made himself perfectly clear—these were voluntary donations, completely unrelated to yesterday's incident.
In other words, this fundraising didn't target only Mizuto and his group. It included every clan that had jumped ship yesterday as well.
Sure, they could refuse to donate a single ryo. But when every other clan contributed and yours didn't? Once word spread, what kind of backlash would that create?
They had no choice but to donate. And they couldn't donate less than the others either.
Within moments, the recorded donations before Jiraiya reached ten billion ryo.
Jiraiya glowed with excitement, face flushed with triumph. Mizuto and the other former rebels wore expressions of profound relief at their narrow escape. Only the clans who'd abandoned their allies yesterday looked distinctly uncomfortable.
By "showing mercy" to Mizuto's group, Jiraiya had naturally antagonized their opposition—that entire other faction of ninja clans.
Yesterday, those clans had successfully "betrayed" their rivals and returned home celebrating, convinced the village wouldn't miss this opportunity to bleed the troublemakers dry.
That way, the clans who'd "chosen the right side" might not earn Lord Hokage's praise, but they'd at least catch their breath financially.
Who could have known this Hokage's brain was clearly somewhat "defective"? He'd actually staged this ridiculous performance about "mutual understanding between village comrades" and let those guilty bastards off with barely a slap on the wrist.
If this were Jiraiya's "political maneuvering," the other clans might have accepted it.
Acknowledging that Lord Hokage outplayed them wasn't exactly humiliating!
But Jiraiya's actions weren't political strategy at all—just pure, random chaos following his whims. Now they'd forked over all this money for absolutely no benefit whatsoever.
No rewards for loyalty. No punishment for rebellion. The entire nature of these payments remained murky and undefined.
Moreover, while ten billion ryo seemed substantial, it was still a drop in the bucket for village reconstruction.
Which meant the village would need even more resources going forward. Where would those come from? Most likely carved from these same ninja clans' hides.
Once this realization dawned, their gazes grew decidedly unfriendly. Everyone turned to stare at Hokage Advisor Shikaku Nara, who should have played a "constructive role" in all this.
Facing the crowd's accusatory eyes, Shikaku Nara could only shrug helplessly, maintaining his poker face though now tinged with profound resignation.
Our new Lord Hokage is just this capricious. What can I possibly do about it?
Only the civilian jonin remained unburdened by such complex considerations. They simply had to firmly support Lord Hokage and watch the village's available funds grow ever larger. Simple as that.
Amid this bizarre atmosphere, Jiraiya raised his next agenda item.
"Everyone, regarding that daimyo messenger's demands—Advisor Nara and I have discussed this thoroughly."
"Personally, I believe the village's current state means we still desperately need resources. We can't do without the daimyo's financial support."
"Therefore, the conditions Teacher Hiruzen promised the daimyo and nobles must be honored."
"We'll all pledge loyalty to the daimyo together and secure those supplies first. Everything else comes after."
"As for the Hokage position? If it needs abolishing, then so be it!"
"Going forward, Lord Sora Tani will nominally lead Konoha Village. Everyone will follow his commands as appropriate."
"However, in actual practice, I imagine Lord Sora Tani won't want to bother with such mundane administrative details. The specific work can still be decided by me on his behalf."
The moment those words left his mouth, every face in the room twisted with peculiar expressions.
Sure, everyone knew Lord Jiraiya held no attachment to the Hokage position. And yes, they genuinely needed support from the daimyo and nobles—pledging loyalty was an inevitable consequence of current circumstances.
But capitulating this easily, without even negotiating better terms? Wasn't that somewhat... excessively hasty?
At least haggle for more benefits from the nobles!
Yet this time, not a single person objected. Everyone nodded respectfully in agreement.
Mizuto and his group even rushed to pledge their loyalty:
"Rest assured, Lord Hokage—we'll firmly support your leadership and help completely sideline Lord Sora Tani."
"Exactly! Nobles are simple creatures. Just assign someone to keep them entertained with food, drink, and pleasure. Very easy to manage. Leave this matter to our Tenzuki clan."
"Oh, thank you so much." Jiraiya detected no issues whatsoever, cheerfully concluding the meeting and seeing everyone out.
After the room emptied, Jiraiya turned to Shikaku Nara with a proud smile: "See? I told you—our village comrades are reasonable people."
"As long as we understand and support each other, no obstacle can defeat Konoha Village!"
"Hehe..." Shikaku Nara felt his brain throbbing, mouth dry as sand. He genuinely had no idea what to say, managing only a hollow laugh before falling silent.
Anyway, the Nara survived by using their brains. Regardless of which Hokage held power, they'd always need Nara clan advisors.
Let Lord Hokage do whatever he wants! Maybe someday everyone in the village really will achieve "mutual understanding"!
Right?
Shikaku Nara prepared to stop trying so hard.
That evening, another secret meeting convened.
This time, however, the conspirators weren't Mizuto's group—but rather the clans who'd jumped ship the previous day.
After everyone settled into their seats and glanced around, they immediately noticed something wrong.
"Hey, why didn't we invite Ino-Shika-Cho this time?"
"Invite them for what?" The meeting's host wore a dark expression, hands tucked in his sleeves. "They're not our kind of people."
"There's a saying: 'Hokage come and go like water, but the Nara advisor stands like iron.'"
"No matter who becomes Hokage, they'll always depend on Nara clan counsel."
"As long as they perform their duties competently, they never need to worry about decline."
"With Ino-Shika-Cho bound together, they have nothing to fear."
"But we're different!"
"Without Hokage support, we'll easily fall behind through successive power struggles."
"I've figured out our Fifth Hokage—he's a complete idiot!"
"In his mind, there's probably no concept of 'our people' whatsoever."
"He'll treat everyone equally—ninja clans and civilians alike."
"That's not what we need!"
"I'd rather he chose to favor other clans. At least if he showed preference, we could find ways to win his approval."
"But the way things are now, with him refusing to court anyone's favor—how are we supposed to profit from village politics?"
Everyone exchanged glances for a long moment, finding this reasoning sound. They hurriedly asked: "So in Inuzuka-jonin's opinion, what should we do?"
"Direct confrontation with Lord Hokage isn't wise. But fortunately, there's now a ready-made opportunity sitting right in the village."
"You mean...?"
"Exactly. Lord Sora Tani. From now on, we need to align ourselves much more closely with him."