Uchiha Patriarch !

The guest who arrived was the Fourth Mizukage, the current nominal leader of the Hidden Mist Village.

Yagura, the Mizukage, sat down without speaking immediately. After glancing around, his eyes lit up when he saw the board game set in the display cabinet. Without asking, he eagerly grabbed it and set up a game on the coffee table between the sofas. Watching this, Sōgen couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly.

"Can someone really be addicted to Gomoku?" 

The thought flashed through Sōgen's mind as he personally made two cups of tea and then sat down across from Yagura.

The battle on the game board began in silence. 

"Uchiha Clan Leader, how do you feel about your visit to the Hidden Mist Village?" Yagura asked after making his move.

"It's just as bad as I expected," Sōgen replied bluntly, twirling a pitch-black piece between his pale fingers. "Honestly, can you guys even get any missions in this state? I'd imagine most clients are too afraid to come to the Mist Village."

The mission system is the foundation of a ninja village.

Clients issue requests, and ninjas take on missions based on the difficulty and their own abilities, earning rewards upon completion. No missions mean no income, and when ninjas have no income, it's not hard to imagine what desperate measures they might resort to in order to survive.

As for why ninjas don't simply seize control of countries by force instead of relying on missions, the reasons are complex. Part of it has to do with traditions that date back to the Warring States period. Back then, ninja clans were hired by various countries to wage wars, forming the early version of the current mission system.

There were times during the Warring States era when ninja clans directly overthrew local lords, ruling regions by force. However, these clans met disastrous ends, as other noble families would unite, hiring powerful ninja clans to destroy them, erasing them from history.

Unless ninjas could unite—at least a significant portion of them—to stand together, they would never truly replace the ruling nobles.

To give an example:

If the Uchiha Clan overthrew the Daimyō of the Land of Fire and took their place, the Uchiha wouldn't receive blessings from other countries. Instead, the nobles of those nations would spare no expense in hiring ninjas to wage war and eliminate the Uchiha.

At that point, the Uchiha would either need unrivaled power or the ability to win over most of the world's ninjas so that the nobles couldn't hire them. The former is straightforward—if Senju Hashirama had wanted to, he could have wiped out all the old noble families and buried the past rulers, establishing a unified empire.

But due to his limited vision and overly kind nature, Hashirama never considered such a thing. Instead, he merely turned the chaotic, lawless battles of the Warring States into the more regulated wars we now see between the Five Great Nations and the Five Great Ninja Villages.

As for the latter option, can ninjas, who hold such deep grudges against one another, truly set aside their old hatreds and work together for a better future for all?

Almost impossible!

Put simply, being a ninja is just a profession, and a highly competitive one at that. Ninjas lack any sense of solidarity—they only care about the interests of their own clans, at best extending that care to their villages.

For example, when Cloud Village ninjas see Leaf Village ninjas being treated like dogs by the nobles, they'll laugh—they won't express any sense of shared empathy.

That's just how ninjas are.

All of these factors have led to the current situation:

Nobles don't interfere with the internal affairs of ninja villages. They simply hire ninjas to do their bidding by issuing missions. In return, ninjas don't attack or harm the nobles on their own initiative but instead rely on these missions for payment. This dual-track system—one country, one village—was the creation of Senju Hashirama, and the mission system is at the core of this setup, serving as the bridge between the country and the village.

"There are still a few. The aristocrats of the Land of Water are numerous, and the conflicts between the smaller lords on the islands never cease. They've been regular clients. As long as we complete the missions well, they don't care about the village's condition. Additionally, the village occasionally issues internal missions, but we're barely holding on. To be honest, I'm not sure how long we can keep it up with morale so low," Yagura said with a sigh, not bothering to hide the dire situation in the Mist Village.

"Seeing your miserable state, I almost feel bad asking for compensation," Sōgen said, pressing his piece down onto the board.

Yagura glanced at the board and replied, "Almost feel bad? That's a shame. I thought we might be able to lighten the load a little."

The regret in his voice was genuine.

"If this were a personal matter or something to do with the Uchiha Clan, I might consider it as a favor between friends. But this concerns the village. Even though the Hokage has given me decision-making authority, I can't just give up the village's interests. Whatever was agreed upon, that's what it is. Not a penny less," Sōgen said firmly.

Yagura's true purpose had become clear—he was there to negotiate the large war reparations owed. It wasn't that Yagura wanted to break the original agreement; he simply wanted to make Sōgen aware that the Mist Village was financially incapable of paying such a large sum at the moment. Even repaying it in installments would take an uncertain amount of time.

Yagura hoped that Sōgen might feel sympathetic or find it troublesome and reduce the amount. That was his plan. He wasn't trying to break the agreement but rather hoped that if Konoha took the initiative to reduce the compensation, it wouldn't be considered a breach of contract.

That's why Sōgen had made it clear that he wouldn't help reduce the compensation, as that would mean betraying Konoha's interests.

*Click!*

The sound of the piece landing on the board echoed crisply.

Yagura's youthful face showed a hint of helplessness.

He asked cautiously, "Is there really no other way?"

"Mizukage-sama, there's no room for negotiation on this. If I were to yield here, it would become a stain on my reputation that I could never wash away," Sōgen said, his eyes scanning the board. "As the leader of the Uchiha Clan, any dishonor I carry would also disgrace the clan."

Yagura sighed again. Though he had mentally prepared himself for this outcome, it was hard not to feel disappointed.

"However, there might be a way," Sōgen added, twirling a piece between his fingers, dangling a thin thread of hope before Yagura's complete despair.

Yagura's eyes lit up, and he stared intently at Sōgen. "Clan Leader Uchiha, please speak plainly. As long as it's within reason, I don't care if it costs me my life."

"Your life isn't necessary. If I were interested in that, it would've only taken one swing back then. As for my solution... Mizukage-sama, ninjas have value," Sōgen said with a meaningful smile, placing another piece on the board.

Yagura furrowed his brow.

"Ninjas have value?" 

Of course ninjas have value, but what's the point of saying that? Could he possibly be suggesting selling Mist ninjas to Konoha?

"The situation in the Mist Village isn't great, and Konoha is also in a tight spot. Both Cloud and Stone ninjas seem to think Konoha is weak right now, and they're making moves. While it's manageable for now, if a real war breaks out, Konoha will likely be short on manpower."

Although Sōgen was no longer in the village, he still had contact with it. Any major movements in Konoha would be relayed to him, albeit with some delay. For instance, the news about the return of a certain Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku was only now on its way to him. However, the latest updates were enough for Sōgen to grasp the situation.

He was well aware of the skirmishes happening on the borders with the Cloud and Stone villages.

Sōgen didn't mind revealing Konoha's difficulties to Yagura. Holding the Three-Tails, he wasn't worried about the Mist Village doing anything reckless—if it came to it, he could sweep through the village with the Three-Tails by his side.

"I... I can't make a decision on this right now," Yagura Karatachi did not immediately give a clear answer to Sōgen.

What Sōgen suggested wasn't impossible. Currently, Konoha and Kirigakure were no longer in an adversarial relationship. In fact, they would soon cooperate due to that one-eyed bastard, so the two villages could roughly be considered allies. If it was under the banner of aiding an ally, mobilizing manpower was feasible.

However, just as Sōgen mentioned, ninjas are valuable.

Kirigakure's revival also relies on the support of manpower, this precious resource. Konoha might be stretched thin, but wasn't Kirigakure in the same situation? Aside from the casualties from the previous great war, the port incident took the lives of many more, not to mention the population decline Kirigakure has been facing over the years.

"No worries, Konoha's situation isn't dire yet. We still have time to discuss this thoroughly," Sōgen said, pointing at the chessboard, signaling Yagura to make a move.

Yagura shook his head, setting aside his thoughts for now. This was not something that could be decided in a short time. He still needed to discuss it with Genji and the higher-ups of the village. For now, his attention should be on the game at hand.

(End of Chapter)