Chapter 65: The New "Strongest Duo" in the Land of Fire
The Daimyo's heart was a storm of conflicting emotions.
On one hand, he felt the dizzying relief of a survivor. When Hiruzen had fallen silent moments ago, the Daimyo was certain his life was over—that he was about to become a footnote in a history book titled The Fall of the Fire Dynasty.
On the other hand, he felt a suffocating sense of helplessness. He wasn't a fool. He knew Hiruzen was asserting absolute dominance.
And yet, what could he do? At most, he could try to sabotage the Leaf's budget or tie up their paperwork. It wouldn't stop the Hokage, but it might make him stumble. It was a petty way to vent his frustration, and he knew it.
"Danzo, the Sovereign Sage Pills," Hiruzen said flatly.
Danzo Shimura stepped forward. Without a word, he placed an exquisitely crafted crystalline box on the desk. He then retreated, standing like a dark sentinel behind Hiruzen's shoulder, his expression a mask of cold malice.
The Daimyo swallowed hard. A tiger is fierce, but the man who can keep that tiger on a leash... he is the one to truly fear.
"Your Excellency, I believe Koharu and Homura have already briefed you?"
"These were developed using biological materials from the Three Great Sage Regions, refined by Lady Mito and Tsunade herself," Hiruzen said, sliding the box toward the ruler. "You've been working late. You must be exhausted."
The Daimyo stared at the box. For a second, he wondered if it was poison. But his rational mind kicked in: if Hiruzen wanted him dead, he wouldn't bother with a fancy box and a midnight chat.
"I... I appreciate the Hokage's concern," the Daimyo stammered, his voice finally steadying.
Hiruzen's eyes glinted with approval. He's composed. He's analytical. Good. I need a competent partner, not a trembling puppet.
Hiruzen's focus was on Konoha and his own power. He had no interest in managing the day-to-day bureaucracy of a civilian nation. He needed a CEO for the Land of Fire—someone who would follow his "strategic direction" while handling the messy details.
The Daimyo opened the lid.
A thin, ethereal mist of dry ice spilled out, swirling across the desk like a silken shroud. Inside the box, three milky-white pills rested on a bed of velvet. Each was engraved with a symbol of the Three Sages: the Slug, the Snake, and the Toad.
The underside of the lid featured the Konoha crest intertwined with the Fire insignia, etched into the quartz with such detail that the clouds in the carvings seemed to move in the flickering candlelight. Though the box was made of simple quartz, the craftsmanship made it look more valuable than the crown jewels.
"This is..." The Daimyo's doubts evaporated. The "Vibe" alone shouted that this was a divine treasure.
"Please," Hiruzen smiled. "Try one."
The Daimyo hesitated for a moment before selecting the pill engraved with the Snake.
The moment it touched his tongue, he felt a sharp, cooling bitterness that instantly transformed into a rich, lingering sweetness. It was a sensory "Reversal" that made his brain tingle.
As Tsunade's formula dissolved, a wave of warmth spread from his throat to his extremities. The exhaustion that had been weighing down his bones for years seemed to evaporate along with the mist on the desk.
His mind cleared. The fog of stress vanished. The chronic ache in his lower back and joints—his constant companions since middle age—simply ceased to exist. He felt light. He felt powerful. He felt... young.
Hiruzen watched him, silent and satisfied.
By shifting the "Value Proposition" of chakra from Violence to Vitality, Hiruzen had performed a "Dimensional Strike" on the civilian economy. This tonic was useless to a ninja whose body was already tempered by combat, but to a decadent noble? It was the Elixir of Life.
"This... Lord Hokage... this is a miracle! A gift from the Sages themselves!" The Daimyo gasped, hurriedly slamming the lid shut. He looked terrified that even a single molecule of the "Holy Mist" might escape into the room.
The Daimyo felt a sudden, sharp sting of guilt.
Hiruzen broke into my room at midnight, yes... but he brought me the Fountain of Youth. He showed me his sincerity!
"The raw materials are sourced from the Sage Regions, but the industrial process is entirely a Konoha innovation," Hiruzen said with a chuckle. "Tell me, Your Excellency... what do you think the production capacity is?"
"I... I don't know. A hundred? A thousand?"
"Thirty-six thousand pills per year," Hiruzen replied calmly.
The Daimyo's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"At a dosage of three pills per month, that's exactly enough to supply one thousand people for a full year."
Hiruzen leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. "That matches the number of High Lords and Central Bureaucrats in the Land of Fire quite perfectly, doesn't it?"
"It does," the Daimyo whispered. His political brain was firing at 100% capacity now.
He saw the future: every noble in the country would be clawing at each other to get a slice of this quota. And Konoha—the producer—would hold the ultimate leash over the entire aristocracy.
"And the price," Hiruzen added. "One hundred thousand Ryo per pill. Is that fair?"
"It's... it's a bargain," the Daimyo said, his voice tinged with a hint of despair.
In this world, the purchasing power of one Ryo was roughly equivalent to half a dollar. For a Great Lord, spending three hundred thousand Ryo a month—roughly the cost of a luxury car in Hiruzen's past life—was nothing. It was a "Must-Have" expense.
"The Land of Fire's tax revenue is a joke compared to the private hoards of the local Lords," Hiruzen noted.
"The richer they get, the poorer the nation becomes. The farmers suffer, the infrastructure rots, and eventually, that rot weakens Konoha's military potential. It's a systemic cycle of failure."
"So," Hiruzen smirked, "I'm going to take their money back. What do you think?"
The Daimyo looked down at the crystalline box, then back at the Hokage. He gave a slow, defeated nod. The logic was ironclad.
"For the first year, we'll sell them at a 'Promotional Rate' to break their psychological defenses and seize the market."
"But from the second year onward, buying a 'Sage Pill' becomes a privilege. It will be tied to Performance Metrics."
Hiruzen's eyes turned cold. "Only the Lords who ensure their citizens are prosperous, their lands are productive, and their infrastructure is modern will be allowed to buy the tonic. We're going to use their own greed as a whip to make them govern properly."
The Daimyo let out a long, shaky breath. He closed his eyes. "Lord Hokage... when you kill me, please make it quick."
He realized that Hiruzen was so far ahead of him that if the Hokage wanted the throne, it was already his. Resistance was a waste of breath.
"What are you talking about?"
The Daimyo opened his eyes to find Hiruzen bumping his shoulder in a friendly, casual gesture. The Hokage was wearing his signature, boisterous grin.
"I don't want your throne, Your Excellency. I want a partner."
"Determining the 'Governance Metrics,' selecting the worthy nobles, and establishing the distribution and currency-exchange channels... I can't do that. I'm a ninja. I need a Sovereign to handle the civilian side of the operation."
The Daimyo's pupils dilated. He... he wants to collaborate?
The Third Hokage is actually... a man of honor?
If he were in Hiruzen's position, he would have removed the rival. But Hiruzen was exercising restraint. He was choosing the prosperity of the nation over the expansion of his own ego. And he was still calling him "Your Excellency."
The sheer "Humanity" of the gesture made the Daimyo's eyes sting.
"Lord Hokage... you are older than me by a few years, I believe," the Daimyo said softly. "Calling each other 'Excellency' and 'Lord' feels... distant. Unfitting for partners."
Hiruzen smiled. "I agree. But how should we bridge the gap?"
"May I call you... Big Brother?" the Daimyo asked with total sincerity.
"It would be an honor, Little Brother," Hiruzen laughed, clapping the ruler on the back.
"I have one goal: that you and I, the Daimyo and the Kage, act as two sides of the same coin. We will bleed the corrupt nobility dry, use their gold to build the Land of Fire into a superpower, and drag this nation into the future!"
"There's no money in the pockets of the poor. If we want to get rich, we harvest the wealthy—and we make them bring the commoners up with them."
"That is how we become legends. What do you say?"
The Daimyo took a deep breath, his face flushing with a sense of purpose he hadn't felt in his entire reign. "Big Brother... if you believe in me, then let's do it!"
"That's the spirit!"
Hiruzen and the Daimyo gripped hands firmly. "Between the two of us, is there any force in this world that can stop us?"
"None! Absolutely none!" the Daimyo cheered.
Behind them, Danzo Shimura watched the scene with a perfectly blank face.
Lies. Pure, unadulterated lies, Danzo thought.
He was wondering exactly how many people Hiruzen had said the "Strongest Duo" line to.
First, he tells me we're the best team. Then he tells the Hyuga he sees them as brothers. Now he's 'Big Brother' to the Daimyo?
Danzo felt a strange, nagging sense of being the "third wheel."
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you