Minato tapped his seat twice and in front of him an Anbu appeared. "Go find the Daimyo" Minato ordered.
Everyone in the room was silent waiting for the Daimyo's arrival.
While the Daimyo still did not appear Minato began to think about the possible consequences of a war against all the great nations.
'A war against all the great nations would be possible to win if I involve the Uzumaki clan in it. But should I do it? Why would I lead my family to fight a senseless war? Fighting against the great nations for this coward's life wouldn't be worth it. Besides, I don't want to change the timeline too much, if I decide to go to war the whole future would change even more and I would no longer have the advantage of knowing the future. Another problem would be that with war everyone would be more vulnerable and the Akatsuki would achieve their plans earlier.
No, I will not enter a war at the moment, I need to have some control over the future and Naruto needs enemies to face in the future. A war now would only lessen our chances of surviving the arrival of the Otsusukis in the future. I have already interfered too much with the timeline, I will slow down my movements for now to avoid too many variations of the timeline' Minato thought as they waited for the Daimyo's arrival.
A few moments later someone knocked on the door "The Daimyo has arrived Hokage-sama."
"Come in" said Minato
The door opened and the Daimyo walked in, but unlike the last time he saw him, the Daimyo had a confident posture and a smile on his face
"You're not going to get me a seat Minato-san" Said the Daimyo with a smile.
Minato seeing the Daimyo's confident attitude thought 'You already had it all planned out didn't you' Minato thought as he signaled an Anbu to bring a chair to the Daimyo 'Now it all makes sense. From the day he was told I planned to take over the fire country he made a plan. He held a meeting with the other Daimyo and probably told them I planned to conquer their territories, then told them he was coming to Konoha to negotiate peace, but said we were likely to take him prisoner. The other Daimyos probably told him that if that happened they would join in a joint war against Konoha.
He planned it all from day one, that explains his previous attitude, he was acting like a coward and a mediocre leader so that I would lock him up to complete his plan.
But, why would you do that? Did he come up with this whole plan because some Danzo soldiers told him we were planning to rebel? No, I don't think so. 'I'm sure there's more to it' Minato thought as he watched the Daimyo sit confidently in a chair in front of Minato.
The Daimyo smiled and said "I guess the scrolls of my friends have arrived" Said the Daimyo in a mocking tone.
Minato looked at him and said "Yes, we have received some rather unpleasant messages" Said Minato with a smile 'Since you want to play this game, let's play' thought Minato
"And what's your answer Minato-san?" asked the Daimyo
"What answer Daimyo-san, if we will release you or if we will go to war against the other nations?" Minato-san said
"Isn't it all the same answer? If you don't release me you will automatically go to war against the other great nations" Replied the Daimyo
"No Daimyo-san, we were not planning to hold you captive. weren't you threatened by Danzo's followers to do what you have done? Why on earth would we hold you captive in Konoha? That would be totally disrespectful to you and respect and loyalty is something Konoha values. That can't be said about other people," Minato said with a smile.
The Daimyo was angered by Minato's response that clearly said he was not a trustworthy person, but he quickly calmed down "Well, that's good news. There will be no unnecessary bloodshed" Said the Daimyo.
Minato smiled and said "Yes, that's good news. It would not be good for Konoha to be the cause of the destruction of the other great nations, that would give us a bad reputation that we do not like to have" Minato said. Minato looked at the Daimyo and said "Would you like a Shinobi guard to escort you safely to the fire capital, Daimyo-san?" Minato asked.
The Daimyo was stunned for a few moments upon hearing Minato's answer. He didn't know if he was bluffing or if he really had the ability to make his words true. Moreover, those words carried a hidden message from Minato as if he was saying, I am conceding now, but don't force your hand because I am not afraid to respond to the same level.
The Daimyo shook his head and said "That won't be necessary, I will wait for my personal escort to return to the capital" Said the Daimyo as he stood up and turned to leave.
But suddenly the Daimyo stopped, turned and looked at Minato "Oh, I almost forgot. I've heard rumors of people lurking in the whirlpool country the former home of your clan. I'd recommend you go investigate in case someone plans to take over the place" The Daimyo said with a smirk.
Minato was immediately enraged 'So that's what this is all about. How did he find out we're rebuilding the country? That should be almost impossible' Minato thought. He inadvertently let out a bit of murderous intent which he quickly contained.
"Oh, that's an unpleasant surprise. I'll send members of the Uzumaki clan to investigate, it's not nice to have inconvenient people meddling in matters they weren't invited to. The whirlpool country belongs to the Uzumaki clan and it would be bad if it was invaded by uninvited people" Minato said with a neutral expression.
The Daimyo trembled as he sensed Minato's murderous intent, but quickly regained his composure "Well, that's it, I'll take my leave. Goodbye Minato-san" Said the Daimyo before leaving the room.
Minato sat back in his chair lost in thought as a commotion broke out in the room
"This cannot be allowed."
"He has come to threaten us inside the village."
"He disrespected us."
"We should have kept him prisoner"
"All this has happened because of him and we let him out, just like that!"
Argued the people in the room angry at the Daimyo's attitude and why he was walking away unpunished
Shikaku stood up and said loudly "Order, Order. Keep order in the room" Said Shikaku who was also dissatisfied but did not show it.
Minato was lost in thought 'So that was why you did all this. Somehow you found out that we have started to rebuild the country, but why are you doing all this? To antagonize Konoha just to prevent the Uzumaki clan from rebuilding the whirlpool country? No, that would be stupid there must be something else' Minato thought.
Minato raised his head and looked at the situation in the room 'It doesn't matter why you are doing this. If this is how you want to play it you leave me no choice, since you are afraid of losing your kingdom, I will make it happen'
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What will Minato do? What is the Daimyo planning? Why is he doing this?
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