Chapter 196: Dealing with the One Who Raises the Problem

……

Qianshou Feijian's words made the Raikage clench his fist, a flash of resentment and anger passing through his eyes.

"I have no other choice!" he growled low. "After the war the Village's vitality is severely damaged! If we cut the military budget again, what will we use to train the next generation of ninja?!"

His voice carried suppressed fury, but more so resignation.

With such a foolish Daimyo on the table, what can they do?

"If that's still hard to handle, and the problem can't be solved, then we solve the one who raised the problem..." Lian Ye offered his view.

Since the Lord of Lightning Country doesn't support Cloud Hidden Village, why not replace him with someone who does and make them the Daimyo?

Anyway, to ordinary people of Thunder Country, who holds the Daimyo title makes no difference.

Then why not swap in a Daimyo favorable to Cloud Hidden Village?

Cloud Hidden Village's strength makes such a move easy.

The Raikage was startled, as if hearing this viewpoint for the first time, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

It truly is a good suggestion!

As long as the Lord of Lightning Country dies, no one can cut Cloud Hidden Village's military budget!

Unfortunately, he no longer has the chance to carry it out.

Thinking of that, his gaze instantly dimmed.

……

"Lian Ye!"

Lian Ye hadn't finished speaking when Qianshou Feijian harshly cut him off.

He looked at Lian Ye in shock, not expecting the kid to utter such heretical words.

Killing a Daimyo is something unthinkable!

Of course, if a similar situation arose in Fire Country, it could indeed follow the kid's line of thought.

Lian Ye curled his lip and, understandingly, said nothing more.

That old kid is still too conservative...

If we truly followed his suggestion, the Village's development could be even faster.

Qianshou Feijian turned to the Raikage and continued, "Do you know why Konoha became the leader of the Five Great Nations?"

The Raikage was taken aback, not understanding why the Hokage would ask that.

Why is Konoha the head of the Five Great Nations?

That question needs no answer; of course it's because of superior geography and abundant national resources.

Otherwise, why would they attack Fire Country?

Isn't it because they covet Fire Country's rich resources?

……

"It's not because my Ninjutsu is especially strong, nor because we have many ninja," Qianshou Feijian said calmly, "but because we understand that true power does not come from killing and plundering."

The Raikage was stunned.

What on earth is this guy saying?!

The main cause of war erupting in the Ninja World is that a nation's resources cannot meet its people's needs, prompting external war.

By attacking other nations to seize resources, they aim to alleviate their own problems.

They lack resources, which is why they need to attack Fire Country.

Otherwise, who would have idle time to go to war?!

Cloud Hidden Village does have two war zealots, but they already died on the Battlefield.

He wanted to vent, yet seeing his own situation, the words stayed unsaid.

Right, right, right, you won; everything you said is correct.

"You just became the Raikage, and should be leading Cloud Hidden toward prosperity, not being used as a cannon by the Daimyo," Qianshou Feijian said lightly. "Killing you brings me no benefit."

Lian Ye and the Raikage both showed shocked expressions, seemingly not expecting Qianshou Feijian to say such words.

Lian Ye stared at Feijian with a strange expression, wondering what the old kid was up to.

Logically, only Senju Hashirama would say that; someone as ruthless and decisive as Qianshou Feijian shouldn't display such a Holy Mother act...

Could the grilled mushrooms this time really be Poison?!

Or perhaps he's scheming for greater gain!

"What do you want?" the Raikage asked warily.

He would never believe the Hokage would let him go so easily!

Lian Ye likewise looked curiously at the old kid, wanting to know his purpose.

"Because compared to a dead Raikage, a Raikage who owes Konoha a favor... is more valuable," Qianshou Feijian said, looking at the distant sky.

Lian Ye suddenly realized, knowing the old kid wasn't that kind-hearted.

Having the Raikage owe Konoha a favor means Cloud Hidden Village won't wage war on Konoha in the short term.

After all, the Raikage still owes Konoha a life.

Hearing this, the Raikage fell silent.

After a long while, he gave Qianshou Feijian a deep look and finally whispered, "... I will remember today."

Qianshou Feijian's mouth corner lifted ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly.

"Very good."

The Second Generation Raikage was about to gather his subordinates to leave when Yuanfei Rizhan and others arrived nearby.

It goes without saying that the five Elite Jonin have been completely wiped out.

Those five were practically the last backbone of Cloud Hidden Village.

After the war, the village can only summon that many Elite Jonin.

As a result, they were all lost here…

What a huge loss!

If the Daimyo hadn't acted unilaterally, things wouldn't have turned out like this.

At that moment, Raikage couldn't help but recall the words Lian Ye had just said.

"If a problem can't be solved, then eliminate the one who raised it…"

As long as he kills the Daimyo and takes his place, he won't have to worry about the village's funding any longer.

When he came to his senses, he was startled by his own dangerous thought.

This act undoubtedly breaks the unwritten rules of the Ninja World…

If it were exposed, Cloud Hidden Village would be jointly boycotted by the nations.

The other Daimyos would unquestionably cut off trade with Thunder Country without hesitation.

Such behavior already threatens their personal safety; to prevent other Ninja Villages from following suit, the Daimyos would unite to boycott—or even attack—Thunder Country.

As Raikage, he naturally doesn't want to see such a situation.

But high risk means high reward; as long as he silently eliminates the Daimyo and replaces him with one of his own,

the Cloud Hidden Village will surely develop rapidly!

After Lian Ye's reminder, he suddenly realized that the Daimyo is merely the person responsible for providing financial support.

Anyone could fill that role…

Raikage finally resolved that, for the village's development, he would handle this himself!

He plans to act after the Konoha Delegation leaves Thunder Country.

Even if it later gets exposed, he can shift the blame onto Konoha, claiming the former Daimyo's death is inseparable from Konoha!

That claim is fine, because the suggestion was actually provided by Konoha's Deadly Poison Master Youqing.

At that moment, Lian Ye didn't expect that his offhand remark would lead Raikage to actually plan to kill the Daimyo, and he had already prepared to pin the blame on him.

If he knew, Raikage would be lying on the ground right now.

Unfortunately, he doesn't know.

Lian Ye and the others, after a brief rest, took the gravely wounded Raikage to the Daimyo's Residence.

Qianshou Feijian had originally intended to strike Thunder Country hard, but when the Daimyo sent Raikage to assassinate them and failed, they were caught in the act, and now they must make a huge demand.

This time they will make Thunder Country bleed heavily!

Lian Ye is already contemplating,

how to make the Daimyo lose everything, not even a pair of underpants left?