As the younger sister, Ichihime, however, was called the 'young lady'.
Asuka felt that Raidenmaru was becoming more and more like a loyal dog wagging its tail at its master.
The favoritism was too severe.
"By the way, Father asked you, young lady, to visit his study, it seems there's been a little incident in the Land of Waves."
Raidenmaru remembered something and spoke to Ichihime.
"Land of Waves?"
Ichihime furrowed her brow, pondering for a moment, still uncertain what change had occurred in the layout of the Land of Waves.
"I see, then I'll go ahead."
Ichihime quickly left the group and headed into the villa, walking towards the study on the second floor.
In front of the study door, Ichihime first knocked, and soon a voice from inside said, "Come in." Ichihime then turned the doorknob and pushed the door open to enter the study.
The study was spacious, with no less than a hundred thousand books placed here, and it also had a workspace area.
On the desk, important confidential files were categorized and organized neatly.
"Old man, are you looking for me?"
Upon entering, Ichihime asked directly.
Sitting in the office chair, Hakushi was looking out the window at the scenery, only turning his head to look at her after Ichihime spoke.
"Yes, there's been a minor situation in the Land of Waves. Although it's not very important, I wanted to give you a heads-up."
Hakushi said.
"What situation? The Isolated Island Merchant Alliance has been eradicated, with not even a remnant left, and sent to labor reform at the construction site. I don't think the Land of Fire would dare do anything excessive now."
Ichihime speculated.
"Times have changed. Earlier this year, the Third Hokage secretly carried Jonin Squad Leader Nara Shikaku to privately visit the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. We are unaware of their conversation, but the decision to cooperate was made then. Moreover, within Konoha, there is a harder-to-deal-with hardliner leader, Shimura Danzo. With us and the Land of Lightning pressing closely, the Land of Fire is likely to adopt a different approach to engage us."
Hakushi explained.
Though hard to believe, that the Third Hokage would also have such an assertive day, but the assertive turnaround by the Land of Fire was always a possible option on the contingency list.
Unlike Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and Root leader Shimura Danzo are ambitious figures.
If these two agree on an aggressive external plan, then the Third Hokage, for domestic and Konoha balance considerations, would inevitably have to compromise their decisions.
Political affairs are always about continuous compromise and adjustment to each other.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, are childhood friends, well-acquainted and thoroughly aware of each other, thus a complete alliance among them would be a troublesome matter.
Most importantly, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, unlike the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, is not subject to any coercion from the Land of Demons, like an old fox wrapped tightly, not giving the Land of Demons any infiltration opportunity.
It's basically impossible to dismantle the collaborative alliance from within.
"The informants in Konoha Village can't restrain the Third Hokage?"
"True, not to mention it's unfeasible for now, even if they could, this isn't the time for them to step forward."
Hakushi shook his head.
"So, what exactly happened in the Land of Waves?"
"This morning, the branch of the Worker Cooperative in the Land of Waves was sealed off by the troops from the Daimyo's Mansion. The reason being it was deemed detrimental to the national defense security of the Land of Waves."
"..."
National defense in the Land of Waves?
Does that country truly possess any defense capabilities?
This is something even the nationals clearly know, as the Daimyo's Mansion can't even solve the pirate issue; what forces can possibly be considered national defense?
Isn't this just speaking nonsense?
Ichihime was slightly speechless.
"Although the Worker Cooperative is just in its infancy, it has gained positive feedback among the Land of Waves citizens and aided many impoverished families through this challenging winter... Alongside, I have acquired numerous workers. Causing such chaos, is the Land of Waves intending to push all their people to our side?"
Ichihime knitted her eyebrows and stated.
She could foresee that sealing the Worker Cooperative stirred significant public sentiment in the Land of Waves.
The impact isn't just on thousands of people, but on thousands of families.
For a small country like the Land of Waves, this combined public opinion from thousands of families can be quite troublesome for the Daimyo's Mansion, and if the situation spirals out of control, it could easily lead to worker and farmer riots.
Originally, due to combating pirates, the Land of Waves has suffered loss of many young men, and taxes have been rising annually, yet worker and farmer incomes haven't increased yearly.
This also contributes to the poverty in the Land of Waves.
Making the already not affluent Land of Waves become even poorer.
Through the Worker Cooperative, they could hardly make a living, and now being sealed by the troops from the Daimyo's Mansion, they're surely going to struggle after being oppressed for so long.
"Behind all this, it's hard to say the Daimyo of the Land of Fire isn't giving instructions."
"I don't believe the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is such a fool."
Ichihime remarked.
Though the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was quite greedy in dealing with the Isolated Island issue, attempting to swallow it whole without giving other countries a chance, but that also proves, the Land of Fire has the ability to manage subsequent impacts. Just the Land of Demons intervening unexpectedly and pulling in other major countries has thwarted the Land of Fire's scheme.