To be honest, Tsunade's cooking was quite good.
The stir-fried extras were also delicious.
In the Hokage office's dining area.
Muzake slurped his noodles.
Across from him, Tsunade wore a solemn expression.
Muzake put down his bowl.
It started peeling garlic.
"What's wrong?"
"You're in a bad mood?"
Tsunade spoke with resentment, "Why is the Daimyo treating Konoha like this!"
She had already figured it out.
There must be some conspiracy or understanding between the Daimyo and the attackers.
The Daimyo had sent a batch of missions, drawing away the village's main forces.
The attackers then struck immediately.
Tsunade wasn't naive.
She had been around the gambling scene for years.
I have seen all sorts of schemes.
The Daimyo was definitely up to something.
Muzake chuckled.
"What's there to be angry about?"
Tsunade: "You're just making light of it. If you were in my place, wouldn't you be furious?"
Muzake shook his head.
"Honestly, no."
"This is a common tactic among competitors."
"If I were successfully ambushed, I'd blame myself for being too naive, for thinking too highly of my opponent."
Tsunade was taken aback.
"You're saying competitors?!"
"We're not competitors with the Daimyo!"
Muzake sighed.
Tsunade was still from the era when Daimyo and ninja villages cooperated.
Times they had changed.
She hadn't caught up.
Muzake felt the need to educate her.
"How are you not competitors?"
"Ninja villages possess the strongest military power, and the Daimyo holds the ruling authority."
"Traditionally, the Daimyo provides funding, and the ninja villages provide military power."
"Now that you're starting factories and doing business, you're gradually gaining control over your own resources and funding."
In political terms, from Muzake's homeland, this was akin to a powerful frontier army moving towards controlling military finances and forming an autonomous regime.
If the Daimyo weren't concerned, that would be strange.
But the idea of destroying Konoha was extreme.
Muzake hadn't expected that.
It was like someone cutting off a hand to prevent an infection.
Tsunade thought over Muzake's explanation.
She was silent for a while.
I was thinking deeply.
She realized Muzake made a lot of sense.
If she were the Daimyo, her country's ninja village would become economically independent.
She, too, would be uneasy.
"Should I dismantle the factories then?"
Wait.
Muzake had already dismantled them for her.
Muzake laughed coldly.
"Impossible."
"You've already found this path or at least seen it."
"There's no turning back."
Muzake placed three garlic cloves on the table.
"This is Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure."
"If Konoha doesn't act and develop its industry, do you think other villages won't?"
"I don't know about other villages, but I'm sure Kumogakure will develop."
"By then, other villages will have grown strong."
"What will Konoha do then?"
"Could there be a Fourth Great Ninja War in the Land of Fire?"
Tsunade felt increasingly uneasy.
In Muzake's casual words, she sensed the powerful force of era change.
Yes.
If she didn't act.
Wouldn't other villages?
Tsunade held her head in her hands, staring at the table for a long time.
She suddenly looked up, staring intensely at Muzake.
"Did you plan all this?"
"Getting Danzo to build the factory."
"Creating a rift between Konoha and the Daimyo."
Muzake shook his head.
"You give me too much credit."
"I'm not a god; I can't control everyone's actions."
"I just know a bit more history than most."
"I know that the general trend of the world, those who follow it prosper, and those who resist it perish."
"I merely nudged the wheel of history slightly."
"The rest, everyone acted according to their roles and interests in the grand tide of the times."
Tsunade sincerely sought advice.
"So what should I do?"
Muzake didn't give a direct answer but told the story of Konoha's founding.
"In your grandfather Hashirama Senju's time, ninjas were divided into clans, fighting independently."
"Hashirama created the era of ninja villages."
"Then other countries followed, establishing their own villages."
"Why?"
"Could your grandfather control all ninjas?"
"Of course not. It was the era of change; a thousand years of war made people yearn for stability, and ninja villages were what the people wanted."
"So, the primitive clans were replaced by the united ninja villages."
"Even Uchiha Madara, with all his abilities, could only fail in the face of this tide and people's will, becoming nothing but a failed relic."
"Era change is the strongest jutsu in the world."
"You should study it, learn it, master it."
"Not ignore it."
After finishing, Muzake resumed eating his noodles.
Opposite him, Tsunade fell into deep thought.
Muzake finished his noodles and garlic.
I was drinking water.
Tsunade slammed her hand on the table.
A loud bang.
Startling Muzake.
"I'm determined to develop Konoha's industry."
"The Daimyo can shove it."
"You."
Tsunade pointed at Muzake.
Muzake was stunned.
"We agreed, a thirty percent price reduction."
Muzake (｀･д･′)
I thought you should have remembered.
"And the roads and railways in the Land of Fire will be funded, constructed, and managed by Konoha."
Muzake (‧̣̥̇꒪່⍢꒪່).
Damn.
I told you to study it, learn it, master it.
And you use it on me first.
Right.
Tsunade lifted her leg onto the table.
I am striking a pose like a casino boss.
"So!"
"You disagree?"