Chapter 60
Title: Daimyo
Editor: GB
When Akabane got up the next morning, he was baffled by the crowd of people outside the place he was staying at. To put it precisely, almost the entire village had gathered up.
He went out to check what's going on, and everyone outside immediately took notice of him.
"There he is, Akabane from Kurama Clan!"
"The author of the drawings! Oh, I mean comic!"
"My children love to read it, but alas, this makes me feel sad about their departure. But later when they go to Konoha, they might have a good time there with more comics to read."
The parents' presence today was because they will send off their children. The atmosphere was a bit gloomy, but Akabane found out that the most popular topic among them was about him and his comics.
Akabane looked at them curiously and a little sluggish, still having a pillow mark on his cheek from his peaceful sleep.
Suddenly a figure squeezing out from the crowd ran towards him.
"Nii-san, shall we go to Konoha today?"
Tomiko's hands were full, holding what seemed like everything she owned. It seemed that her father didn't plan for her to return to the Uzumaki Village in the future.
Akabane pat her head, smiled lightly, and said, "Yes, we will. You go inside to play for a while."
"Okay..."
Tomiko responded nervously, but she wasn't timid.
"Where's your father?" Akabane glanced around, looking for her father, including Hiruzen that he had also not seen among the large crowd.
"Dad is very busy, he said, so he can't come over to see me off. So I decided to take my things and go to see you Nii-san."
Tomiko looked so mature at such a young age.
She seems to be very independent, different from other children. Moreover, today she is dressed beautifully, like a princess.
Akabane felt something was missing, but couldn't say specifically, and couldn't recall for a while.
Seeing Hiruzen, Akabane tried to think of what it was as he walked over to him.
When he looked upon the way, he saw a few mothers coming to send their children, and he secretly thought in his heart – where is Tomiko's mother? I just realized I've never seen her before.
During this time, he was too occupied to pay much attention to other issues, his thinking taking up his entire mind.
"Ah, all I remembered was I've been tricked by those two old men!"
Akabane still felt that he was pushed by their agenda, and got fooled.
And there is no way that Tomiko only stays in Konoha for a while. With the current situation here, they are only sweet-talking their children to make them think that everything is okay.
Well, I guess that's what a parent should do. To make sure that their children can live a peaceful life, even without them around.
He fastened his pace and hurried to the place where he last saw Hiruzen.
"Well, everyone, you can all go back. Now that we have everyone here, we are ready to go."
Hiruzen waved his hand and motioned to the parents to deliver their goodbye, which might be their last.
"Sensei, Akabane is here. Let's set off, it will take much more time to get to Konoha with all these civilian children." Orochimaru informed Hiruzen that everyone had gathered.
"Okay, let's set off!"
Kazama left a farewell and shouted for the caravans to depart .
From start to finish, he didn't give Akabane time to speak at all. Before he arrived, he saw Hiruzen only looking to the front without looking back.
Urgh!
Afterward, Akabane glanced at Tomiko who was following with a flustered look.
It's… nothing.
Akabane touched her head, and at the same time sighed lightly.
"Are you okay Nii-san?" Tomiko looked up at him, confused by the sudden contact.
"Yeah, let's go."
Even if his blood was boiling, he can only appease Tomiko. Since her father hasn't come, he can't leave her halfway.
On the way back, Hiruzen directly defeats all the enemies that try to ambush them.
This is a warning, which "Invader Ninja" dares to fight with them, and they will taste the anger of the "God of Shinobi".
The First Ninja World War has just ended, and Hiruzen's reputation is at its peak, which reaches the level of Kage. Few ninjas dare to provoke him, so everyone who came with them in their caravan from Uzumaki Village back to the Fire Country will be guaranteed safe and sound.
However…
When everyone arrived at the Fire Country's border and arrived at the side of the Fire Temple, Akabane saw a massive and splendid caravan.
The eye-catching banner, clearly from an army escort, instantly made it clear at a glance who he was – That was the Daimyo of the Fire Nation!
Hiruzen was baffled.
He knew that the Daimyo would oppose his plan, but he never expected that the Daimyo would be bothered to stop them himself.
This is too sudden!
When the two convoys met, Kazama didn't dare to stand in the way, quickly withdrew to the sides, kneeling respectfully.
Orochimaru and others stood aside, half-kneeling respectfully.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Hiruzen salutes.
He may be Hokage of Konoha, but he was considered to be a subordinate of the Daimyo.
"Oh~ It's you Hiruzen. I've just come from the Fire Temple. I didn't expect to meet you. It's been a long time since we last met, why not come up for a cup of tea." Daimyo's voice came from the carriage.
His voice was gentle and elegant and had a peculiar persuasive power that made people feel as if they were in a spring breeze. Akabane was afraid that these people from the Uzumaki Village would unconsciously believe the Fire Daimyo's words just by listening to his voice.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Hiruzen accepted and slowly approached the Daimyo carriage.
Before the Daimyo's carriage took off, Hiruzen nodded and smiled at his own head guard. The head guard paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Hokage-sama, please!"
Then, he put down the wooden ladder, lifted the curtain, and motioned Hiruzen to step forward.
Akabane watched the Hokage go up, then lowered his head in thought.
Coincidence?
He didn't believe it.
It is by no means a coincidence!
Perhaps it was a warning, or perhaps it was just a power move, but in any case, the Daimyo's intentions were already obvious. But whatever he did, he just didn't want to make the relationship between the Fire Country and Konoha too rigid.
After weighing the pros and cons, he chose to visit the Temple of Fire and meet Hiruzen by chance.
...
"Hiruzen, during this time you led a team for a mission. I heard about some of it. They said that it was quite thrilling. It made me worry about your students. I happened to see them all safe today, and I felt relieved." Back in the expensive looking carriage, the daimyo poured a cup of tea and smiled gently.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Fortunately, the students that I took were amongst the best, thus, they could protect themselves until I arrived." Hiruzen said.
"Is that so?" The Daimyo smiled with a carefree air around him. He looked back up to Hiruzen, "Well, tell me then. Who are all these children you brought along?"
"The patriarch of the Uzumaki clan took an interest in Akabane Kurama, and wants to arrange a marriage between the Kurama and Uzumaki clan, Your Majesty. Which is why he sent me and my students to escort the children to Konoha." Hiruzen continued to explain.
"Oh, speaking of Akabane Kurama… I have heard his name before. He was well-known for his artwork. I wonder which of those students is he?" Daimyo nodded his head with the same smile and looked curiously out the window of the carriage.
"Have you seen the eye-catchingly dressed, red-haired girl? The boy next to her is Akabane Kurama." Hiruzen pointed him out straightforwardly.
Tomiko was clinging to Akabane. Although not to the point of being inseparable, in a crowd, the pair was outstanding enough to identify at a glance.
The Daimyo curiously glanced at them, chuckled, then retracted and said, "The last time an Uzumaki married an outsider was with the Senju in exchange for a close bond with the Uzumaki village. This time it's the Kurama clan… it is a good match."
"Thanks for your praise, Your Majesty." Hiruzen said with a smile.
"Marriage is the rise and fall of clans. The Uzumaki clan has always been a good candidate for it, this time will be no exception, so I wouldn't worry about it. Alright, I still have to go to the temple to burn incense, so I won't delay Hokage's trip any longer." As the Daimyo finished, he took one final sip of tea.
"Yes. Thanks for your time, Your Majesty."