Shiroken's senses could reach far and wide, but not wide enough to know what happened with Rakumatsu. So he was clueless and focused on making things in the Wind Country better.
However, a storm was brewing now, since nobody knew how Shiroken would react to what happened to the much-loved member of his clan.
...
Konoha,
Tsunade was talking with the head of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi Hyuga. The man had a stoic expression, something always present on his face. He had long black hair and featureless white eyes like all members of his clan. He was known to be very stern and strict. He openly believes the Hyuga is the strongest clan of Konoha..
The Hyuga clan was known to have its own internal problems. With basically more than half of the clan population having the cursed seal, that placed their fates in the hands of the ruling family.
Even Hiashi's brother was a victim of this seal. But nobody really talked about it, as it was in Konoha's code of law for the Hokage administration to never meddle in the business of the clans. This, although made the clans happy, also made the village weaker since it was never able to become united.
And Tsunade was here to stop a civil war or rebellion. "Lord Hiashi, I don't know what Danzo told you, but you should understand that everything he said was a lie, it shouldn't be hard to understand since the Sarutobi clan still stands with us."
"Are you telling me that Lord Dama didn't take over the village? Didn't he ban Konoha from participating in the politics of the Fire Country? Didn't he take over the finance of the village?" Hiashi asked. He would have probably vomited blood if he also knew that Shiroken had taken over the Daimyo too. But, for now, the previous Daimyo was being a good little kid for his clones to control.
Tsunade awkwardly answered, "Those are all true. However, he has not taken over the village. All the things that happened were because of prior contracts. It was a condition for Lord Dama's help in resolving what Orochimaru did. Without him, there wouldn't be a village, since the three Hokage had enough power to destroy everything. But he saved us. Then, it was his Akatsuki's attack and for help, he asked for finances, since he was already an elder.
"You should be smart enough to know why Lord Third made him an elder."
Hiashi scowled, "I know that, to save our village from his expansionist dreams. We would have had to fight him if we rejected his rule. But, you took all the decisions without consulting the clan heads. Why should we trust you and not Lord Danzo?"
"Do you really want to trust a man who secretly runs an illegal organisation? Who has constantly harmed the village in the name of keeping it safe? He is using you like a puppet. As we speak, he is planning a coup, it's his dream to become the Hokage and he will not stop. He has done much more harm to this village than good, lord Hiashi, but I don't have the freedom to tell you all that. Know this, if you side with him, I will not shield your clan from Lord Dama." She outright went offensive from defensive when she saw the unruly expression on Hiashi's face.
This however irked him, "Are you threatening my clan, Lady Tsunade?"
"No, I'm just speaking facts. Lord Dama loves peace, he wants to bring the world together and make it one single unit. For this, he's ready to fight. Now you can think what will happen when Danzo provokes him foolishly. Of course, Danzo will lose, but the question is, who will he take down along with himself." Tsunade said in a threatening tone.
Hiashi thought about it for a second. He didn't want war, that only brings deaths and misery. But he did want some benefits. Did he care about Danzo and his games? Absolutely not, but he cared about using such opportunities. He'd be a fool not to do it. Many others were doing it too.
"I can change my decision to support him if the village shows its trust and friendship to my clan." He spoke.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "What exactly do you mean?"
"My clan has grown big now, there have been no large wars and the headcount has increased. It's getting cramped here, so perhaps new land can be helpful. We have plenty of it since a large compound of a previous clan still remains empty." Hiashi revealed his intentions.
Tsunade sighed, "Lady Monari, the current oldest living Uchiha Clan member has claimed the Uchiha compound. Sasuke Uchiha is the current caretaker of that area. The clan still lives, and it's against the village's policy to force itself on clans."
*BAM*
The door was slammed open and Jiraiya walked in. Before Hiashi could raise objections, he spoke to Tsunade, "We have a problem. In the forest east of here, someone murdered a few men from Dama Country, as well as a member of the Nidama Clan. The only surviving person told me the attackers wore Konoha's Anbu clothes."
Tsunade stood up with a frown, "This is bad. If Lord Dama takes this as an act of war, Konoha is done. Where is the surviving man?"
"In the Hokage office. I tried to calm him down as much as I could. He's very... shaken up." Jiraiya responded.
"Let's go then. Lord Hiashi, you better think about this. Danzo most likely has a hand behind this, so understand what kind of a man he is. He's trying to create a conflict between Konoha and Lord Dama, hoping I would perish fighting him." She said her last words and walked out with Jiraiya.
Hiashi was left alone, he was a bit shaken. He had seen the crazy strength of Shiroken in Orochimaru's attack as well as Pain's assault. It was no joke, and the news Jiraiya revealed told him how serious this was.
...
In the Hokage's office,
"YOU MURDERERS! YOU KILLED GRANDPA RAKU!" the man, or say, boy, shouted. He was just 19 and this was his first job outside Dama Country. Never had he thought the world outside the Dama country's boundary was so barbaric?
Tsunade tried to calm him down, "We are as clueless as you are, we have no idea who attacked them. Can you tell us who Lord Raku is?"
They were trying to check the waters and learn how deep in trouble they were. When the boy revealed the identity of the old man, they knew they were done.
"Grandpa Rakumatsu is the oldest member of Nidama Clan. He is beloved by all people, including Lord Dama, who sees him as a grandfather figure. Grandpa was the kindest man in the world... a man who would rather die starving than let someone else starve. We were on our way to help a village in the Fire country. But it was a set-up. THEY WERE YOUR ANBU!" he shouted angrily.
They gave him some water and talked on the side. Jiraiya asked her, "How should we tell Lord Dama?"
"We tell the truth. It's important that he gets the news from us, rather than from someone else. We need to tell him the right order of events." She pressingly planned.
Jiraiya agreed, "Then, I will head out. Otanim(Minato) can probably help me get there as fast as possible through reverse summoning by the Toads."
Tsunade agreed. It was the best they could do. Meanwhile, she would send Shikaku Nara to get Rakumatsu's body and also investigate the fight scene.
*BAM*
However, the door was opened and Danzo walked in. Covered in bandages and wearing loose robes, he looked as scared as them, "What happened? Who ordered the Anbu?"
Tsunade sneered, "Don't try to fool us anymore, Lord Danzo, we know it was you. We know what you have been doing these days."
Danzo clearly denied, "No, Lady Tsunade. I might be ambitious, I'm not foolish. I have nothing to do with what happened. I would be the last person to underestimate Lord Dama. In fact, I appreciate Nidama Clan coming here and establishing trade, it helps the village grow."
Tsunade and Jiraiya could not feel any lies in his voice. It scared them to think that even if Danzo didn't do it, then it was a third party, and this made things worse.
"Jiraiya, you go. Lord Danzo, you better pray to god that Lord Dama listens to you first and not just simply chops you up." She warned the man and walked to the witness.
"We have called for Lord Dama. He shall find out what happened. Please, have rest until then."
Sending the boy with Shizune, she called all her trusted Shinobi. "Shikaku, Kakashi and Guy. I want you three to go to the forest east of here. I have marked the location. An attack on a Dama Country's caravan took place there by men who were dressed as Konoha Anbu. Bring the bodies back and investigate, I believe we are being framed. Go right now."
After that, she called more Jonin, "Spread around the village. If you see any suspicious activity, inform me. Try to stop anyone from spreading any bad rumours."
*CRASH*
The window of the Hokage office shattered into pieces with a loud sound. Tsunade was shocked and looked outside. It was people who threw stones inside. There was a huge crowd gathered outside.
...
It was too late. 5 Nidama clan members had come from Dama Country. Rakumatsu was missing, the remaining four quickly found the surviving boy before he even reported to the Hokage.
They were angered when they found out everything. Understanding the storm brewing. They quickly announced their decisions.
"DUE TO KONOHA'S ACT OF MURDER OF DAMA COUNTRY'S PEOPLE AND LORD RAKUMATSU, WE ARE LEAVING!"
All one thousand carriages packed up and started to go back home, leaving behind the giant empty space that used to be the bustling market. The people who saw this were shocked, and those who read the reason were angered.
Shiroken was a god to them, Dama Country was a utopia, a perfect state in their eyes. Attacking them was dumber than a cat challenging a lion. In large numbers, the civilians of Konoha gathered around Hokage's office to get some answers.
...
Sunagakure,
Shiroken was watering the fields merrily. ~Hehe... I guess Saiken's farming craze is taking over me as well.~
"SHIROOO...!" Monari came leaping to him. She had a worried look on her face.
Shiroken knew it couldn't be anything good. "Who attacked? Iwa or Kumo?"
"None... Jiraiya is here. He said... Grandpa R-Rakumatsu was killed by an unknown group of ninjas." She dropped the bomb.
Truly, it was a bomb. Without waiting, Shiroken just closed his eyes for a second, as if sensing something. His brows were creased into a frown.
*BOOM*
The next moment, he flew away faster than anything and left without even saying anything. Monari knew where he was headed.
She returned to the village and called Minato, "Drop me off at Konoha. Shisui, you're in charge of the village. I will return with Shiro soon."
Minato quickly dropped Jiraiya and Monari outside the village and returned to Suna. He could not meddle in whatever happened in the village. That was his contract.
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