The curtain on the carriage was opened, revealing a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes sitting inside.
This is an extremely luxurious motorcade, with hundreds of people waiting in front and behind it, and around the most luxurious chariot, there are twelve people dressed as ninjas, each with a loincloth with the word "fire" tied around their waists.
The middle-aged man stepped down from the carriage and looked at the Konoha gate in front of him. Compared with ordinary towns, it was really quite impressive.
"Lord Source."
The Third Hokage led a group of ninjas who had already been waiting here. After seeing this middle-aged man, Sarutobi immediately came forward to greet him.
"The Third Hokage, long time no see." The middle-aged man said with a smile.
"The daimyo came to Konoha in person to make Konoha shine."
This middle-aged man is the current famous name of the Fire Nation.
Sarutobi was very surprised when he heard the news that the daimyo was going to visit Konoha, but he immediately made preparations to welcome it.
"No need to be so polite." Mr. Yuan waved his hand, holding a folding fan in his hand.
He turned around and looked at the team that came with him behind him, "Konoha is financially tight now, so I won't entertain you. Go to a nearby town to rest."
Sarutobi was a little embarrassed to hear such words.
Except for the twelve guards, the accompanying convoy just changed direction and left here.
"Let's go, Sandaime, you have to show me around Konoha."
"It's natural."
The news that the Fire Country Daimyo came to Konoha quickly spread throughout Konoha, which made many people doubtful.
Why would a daimyo with his noble body come to a remote place like Konoha and say that he wanted to pay homage to a hero who sacrificed his life for the country? This was the first time that such a situation had occurred.
Except for the Hokage and a small number of Konoha senior officials, people from Konoha's major families rarely have close contact with the daimyo. Their feelings for the daimyo are also very subtle. They only regard the other party as a high-ranking monarch of the country, ruling a huge country.
The Kingdom of Fire also governs such a country.
But being able to get close to the daimyo is naturally a good thing for Konoha, especially at this time.
At the daimyo's request, the Third Hokage took him directly to the memorial monument.
Looking at the surrounding tombs and the densely packed names on the commemorative monuments, Master Yuan was filled with emotion. He stood there quietly with his hands behind his hands, opening and closing the folding fan in his hand.
"Sandaime."
"Lord Source."
"I heard that Konoha originally had an advantage in the war with the Iwa Ninja."
Sarutobi was suddenly startled when he heard this, and had a bad feeling in his heart.
He could only say: "Master Yuan should also understand that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and a temporary victory or defeat means nothing."
"Really?" Master Minamoto turned around and looked at Sarutobi, the meaning of the smile on his lips was unclear.
"How did I hear that Konoha suffered so many defeats because of evil spirits?"
Sarutobi could no longer feel the kindness in these words, so he responded with a hard-headed response: "Master Minamoto is truly a man of insight."
Master Minamoto continued to ask: "Sandaime, how would you feel if these sacrificed people knew that they died because of this? Who should bear the responsibility?"
Sarutobi's heart sank, and then he said: "I am responsible for my lax governance. I will be relinquished as Hokage after defeating Kirigakure, and then I will punish you, Master Minamoto."
Master Minamoto just watched Sarutobi block all the blame. After watching for a while, he suddenly smiled and said: "The Sandaime is too strong. No one wants to see such a thing as a mole. How can we use it?"
If you use other people's tricks to punish yourself, isn't this playing into the enemy's hands?"
"Konoha Village still needs you to lead, and the war with Kirigakure depends on you, Sandaime."
"Thank you Minamoto-sama for your understanding." Sarutobi bowed.
Mr. Minamoto walked up to Sarutobi with a kind smile on his face: "It's just that it's better to settle the matter of this traitor as soon as possible. Otherwise, if it affects the war with Kirigakure, it will really be fatal.
It’s my fault.”
"Don't worry, Mr. Yuan, we are fully investigating the traitor."
"That's good." Master Yuan nodded with satisfaction.
He stood there and looked at the scenery around him. The tombs were surrounded by dense and lush forests. Looking behind him, he could see the main road of Konoha through the red torii gate.
"Sandaime, I plan to stay in Konoha for a few days, what do you think?"
"Master Yuan is joking. Konoha is also under your rule. You can stay here as long as you want. You don't need to ask my opinion. I'm afraid that you will condescend to a small place like ours."
"Hahaha, it's settled."
A giant Buddha came to Konoha Village, which made Sarutobi deeply uneasy. He didn't know why the daimyo had to put aside his own affairs of state. When he came to a small village like his, he couldn't show any slightness.
Kirigakure's war can rely entirely on Minamoto-sama to support him from the rear.
As for the inner ghost, Sarutobi didn't have many clues. What was certain was that this person had a high status in the village, and all traces were dealt with very cleanly, leaving him unable to start.
He sifted through the list of senior officials in the village countless times in his mind, and he put and took down some names in suspicious positions.
Someone had also hinted to him in private as to who was involved in this matter, but he did not want to believe it without the slightest evidence.
Now that the big names are putting pressure on him because of this matter, he must come up with the results as soon as possible.
News came back from the front line that Minato's troops had encountered the Mist Ninja, but they were only a small force and they were easily defeated.
Minato took the initiative to lead an attack to find the enemy, but the Kiri Ninja went around in circles with him, avoiding a head-on battle with Konoha.
Unlike the Iwa Ninja, the Mist Ninja has the sea behind them, which also prevents Minato and the others from going deep, and they play a cat and mouse game with the Mist Ninja on their own border.
Although the Kirigakure ninjas have been hiding in the east, they are not easy to deal with. The famous Kirigakure Seven Swordsmen in the ninja world have brought great trouble to Konoha ninja. Minato has not been able to touch them many times.
An ordinary team would be in trouble if they encountered them. They were no match for these seven people.
This situation made Minato feel like he was powerless.
He wrote back to the village, saying that he planned to set up a temporary camp on the border and ask the village to provide support.
This letter reached the hands of the daimyo, and without saying a word, Lord Minamoto sent someone to ask the ministers to prepare supplies.
This also made Sarutobi feel a little emotional. Maybe it was a good thing that the Daimyo came. In the past, when he asked for something from him, he was embarrassed to ask in letters, but now he can explain the situation to him directly.
The daimyo did not participate in Sarutobi's command of the war or the village's internal affairs, and only served as a money bag and mascot in Konoha.
But when he was bored, he would occasionally call some theater troupes, geishas and dancers into the village.
Sometimes he even called Sarutobi to enjoy the singing and dancing together, which made Sarutobi sometimes lament the corruption of the rulers.