Chapter 267

After Yeyue finished speaking, he left immediately!!!

"My thoughts are the same as Yeyue's… I hope my lord prepares soon."

"I feel the same way…"

"My lord… I also withdraw from this operation…"

Right after Yeyue left,

right behind him,

Bai Lian, Shihe, and Liedu also left this place!!!

Watching the four depart,

the expressions on the four daimyo's faces turned as black as soot!!

They never expected,

that these four would show them such blatant disrespect!!

They had sincerely tried to persuade these people to stay,

yet these four turned and walked away,

with not the slightest hesitation!!

And they truly had no way to stop them!!

After all, they were merely ordinary people,

but these four were the strongest ninjas in their nations!!!

"Hah!! How ridiculous!!"

"I thought you were all so powerful!"

"Turns out you're just a bunch of cowards!!"

"Give up after one failure!"

"A bunch of useless wastes!!"

Slapping the table in front of him in fury,

the Raikage's face twisted with rage.

He could not understand their choice at all!!

Why would they give up after just one failure?

They still had many strategies prepared specifically for Hashirama Senju!

【Jiraiya: It seems these four have been terrified by the First Hokage… so they have no desire to face him again.】

【Orochimaru: Any normal person would make the same choice. Their strength pales in comparison to the First Hokage's by more than ten thousand li. This time, the First Hokage spared their lives—next time, they may not be so lucky!】

【Madara Uchiha: This Hashirama is still too soft. If it were me, I would have killed these four outright! If they came here prepared to challenge him, they should have been ready to die!】

【Tobirama Senju: Hmph, your Uchiha clan is always so extreme and lacks any sense. Doesn't letting them go serve a greater purpose than killing them?】

【Shikamaru: So the First Hokage spared their lives… to let them return and act as a warning?】

【Hiruzen Sarutobi: Perhaps the First Hokage is simply kind-hearted and unwilling to abuse his power…】

【Minato Namikaze: Third Hokage, stop pretending. We all know the First Hokage's true intent—why can you still say such hypocritical words?】

【Fourth Raikage: That old man Hiruzen Sarutobi is truly hypocritical—his own words probably don't even convince him.】

【Omoi: Hmph… Hiruzen Sarutobi has held the position of Third Hokage for so many years—he must have his own unique strengths… In all of ninja history, he has held the position of Kage longer than anyone else!!】

【Kaguya: Even after all these years of Hiruzen's mismanagement, even with so many talented ninjas leaving Konoha, Konoha remains incredibly strong… truly enviable.】

【Rasa: Hmph!! It's only because Hiruzen Sarutobi got lucky! If he weren't Konoha's Hokage, how could he have reached this point? If any one of us had become Konoha's Kage, our achievements would be no worse than his!】

…

The four daimyo believed,

even if these four withdrew from the operation,

it meant nothing!!

Their war against the Land of Fire had only just begun,

this did not mean it was over!!!

Even without these four's help,

they were still the daimyo of their own nations,

the highest-ranked and most powerful men in their countries!!

So they believed,

they could simply select other suitable people to deal with Hashirama Senju!!

As for the four's suggestion to abandon fighting Hashirama Senju

and defect to the Land of Fire…

they completely ignored this proposal!

What nonsense!!

They were the highest-ranking men in their own nations!

Once they defected to the Land of Fire,

someone else would immediately rise above them!!

How could they possibly accept that!

Moreover,

Hashirama Senju had deposed the daimyo of the Land of Fire,

and established an entirely new system!!

He replaced the daimyo,

making himself the emperor of the Land of Fire!!

These few people of theirs had truly pledged allegiance to him,

and it was uncertain whether they could even retain their position as daimyo!!

Therefore,

the four daimyo decided to hold off for now.

They would wait until they selected a suitable candidate and the right moment before deciding!!

But contrary to the four daimyo's expectations,

after Yeyue and the other three left,

on the very day they returned to their own countries,

Yeyue and the other three brought their nations' ninja straight to the daimyo's residence to force them to decide!!

Yeyue demanded that the four of them submit to Hashirama Senju,

and merge the Land of Lightning, the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Water into the Land of Fire!!

The four daimyo naturally refused,

and they were confident

that Yeyue and the others would not dare to truly harm them!!

At the same time, the daimyo secretly committed this incident to memory!

They all resolved

that once the dust settled on this matter,

they would make these four pay dearly!!

But the four daimyo could never have imagined

that Yeyue and the others showed not the slightest hesitation,

and immediately ended their lives,

giving them no chance to speak!!

The daimyo died without understanding

how Yeyue and the others dared to make such a decision,

didn't they fear rebellion from other forces within their nations?!

They had become daimyo precisely because

behind them lay countless vested interests!!

It was precisely these networks of interests that had propelled them to this position!