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But should he really go to the Leaf Village? No matter where the Daimyo went, he could enjoy his existing lifestyle without disruption. However, going to the Leaf Village would carry an intangible sense of being a head shorter than everyone else. After all, within the Leaf Village, he, the Daimyo, could only be considered a glorified mascot and walking wallet.
His status would remain nominally exalted, but his freedom of movement would be subject to considerable restrictions. After all, even the Daimyo couldn't casually access the village's classified secrets. At least, that was how it worked in the Leaf Village.
Seeing the Daimyo begin to waver in hesitation, Shisui decisively chose to remain silent. Whether the Daimyo decided to stay put or to reside in the Leaf Village for a short while, it wasn't his place to offer any casual input. The principle that one's position dictates one's perspective was a truth Shisui had long since come to understand. Ultimately, the Daimyo failed to summon the resolve to move to the Leaf Village for a period. He chose instead to remain at his residence.
Since the Daimyo was unwilling to stay in the Leaf Village, Shisui, his mission complete, had no choice but to withdraw with his men from the Daimyo's residence and return to the Leaf. As for whatever Mei Terumi would do next, that was largely no longer his concern.
Back in the village, Shisui went to the Hokage building to report the matter to Kazuki. "The Daimyo initially seemed somewhat moved and considered coming to the village to stay for a while. However, he later changed his mind and ultimately decided to remain at his residence."
"You're puzzled?" Kazuki asked with a knowing smile.
"..." Shisui hadn't expected the counter-question, but honestly nodded in admission. Although he wouldn't speak out of turn, he consistently felt that, at a precarious juncture like this, it would be better for the Daimyo to obediently come and reside in the Leaf Village for a spell. To put it bluntly, it was to lie low and avoid being targeted by the Akatsuki.
Kazuki set down the official seal, properly filed the stamped documents, and explained, "He did want to come. Unfortunately, he couldn't set aside his pride. There will be a considerable amount of upheaval in the Mist Village next. As long as the Daimyo of the Land of Water isn't a complete fool, he won't choose to return to the Land of Water but will instead remain here at the Land of Fire's Daimyo residence. Since the Daimyo of the Land of Water is staying, do you think our Daimyo could shamelessly come to live in the Leaf Village?"
So it boiled down to a matter of face... Shisui was instantly speechless. Was face more important than his own life? Surely it couldn't be that extreme.
"Moreover, the Daimyo staying at his residence won't encounter any danger. Even the Akatsuki wouldn't lightly make a move against a Daimyo."
"Is that because of some bottom line?" Shisui asked.
"No..." Kazuki chuckled, teasingly. "It's because moving against a Daimyo is utterly useless and completely meaningless. The Akatsuki controlled the Mizukage and could thereby indirectly manipulate the Mist Village, but even that had to be done without excessive fanfare. If they instead controlled the Daimyo of the Land of Water, aside from applying a modicum of pressure on the Mist Village, what purpose would it serve? It's essentially meaningless. The Akatsuki wouldn't engage in such a thankless, futile endeavor."
Shisui: "..."
Kazuki offered an analogy. "For example, if the Akatsuki were to control me, they could seize the initiative. They could even use me as a foundation to launch wars and carry out all manner of actions beneficial to the Akatsuki. As long as they didn't go completely off the rails, do you think anyone in the village would step forward to oppose it?"
Shisui didn't even need to think; he shook his head immediately. The Leaf Village indeed had numerous higher-ups. However, when facing Kazuki, these higher-ups were each more obedient than the last. So long as Kazuki didn't act completely irrationally, whatever he wanted to do, they would choose to support him – for instance, launching a war. Though he wasn't the Hokage, the power Kazuki currently wielded far exceeded that of the controlled Yagura.
When the Akatsuki controlled Yagura and wanted to start a war, they still needed to use the Daimyo as a shield to enrage the village's higher-ups. Kazuki didn't need to do any of that. If he wanted to launch a war, the higher-ups wouldn't oppose him. There was certainly no need to use the Daimyo as a scapegoat. It could be said that at this moment, the Leaf Village, from top to bottom, was firmly gripped in Kazuki's hand. Kazuki could achieve this; Yagura could not.
"Another example: if the Akatsuki controlled the Daimyo of our Land of Fire and demanded that the village go to war, do you think anyone would obey the Daimyo?"
"..." They'd be lucky if they didn't curse the Daimyo for being an idiot. Obey him? Absolutely impossible. Shisui shook his head again.
"Thus, controlling a village's Kage is far more direct and, more precisely, far more advantageous than controlling a nation's Daimyo. That's why the Akatsuki won't fixate on the Daimyo. After all, if something were to happen to a Daimyo..." Kazuki trailed off, leaving the remainder unsaid, for it was far too starkly pragmatic. If a village's Kage met with misfortune, the village would experience some degree of upheaval – that was already the best possible outcome. A single misstep could trigger countless calamities, even war.
But if a nation's Daimyo met with misfortune, a replacement would quickly be found to sit in that position. It wouldn't bring about any truly significant impact. More precisely, the impact would be considerable, but it wouldn't cause a nation and its village to be fundamentally shaken. Take the Land of Fire, for example: as long as the Leaf Village remained stable, could the Land of Fire truly descend into chaos? Absolutely not.
"To narrow the scope, take our own Uchiha Clan. If Fugaku, as the clan head, were to die, the clan would merely select a new head to take his place. But if something were to happen to me, what kind of impact do you think that would have on the clan?"
"..." Shisui stood frozen in place, his mind nearly exploding. If the Uchiha lost Fugaku as their clan head, they'd simply elect a new one. The impact wouldn't be catastrophic. But if something happened to Kazuki... the ensuing repercussions didn't require much guesswork to make one's scalp crawl with dread. By the same logic, if one were to scale the family up to the level of the village... then if the Daimyo met with trouble, the Leaf Village would remain the Leaf Village. But if Kazuki met with trouble, the Leaf Village would absolutely be consumed by chaos upon chaos. And if the Leaf Village fell into chaos, how could the Land of Fire possibly remain stable?
"My lord, I understand now."
"Mm. Go and rest. Before long, you and Itachi will need to begin rotating shifts. There's no need to worry about the Daimyo's residence. The Akatsuki isn't that foolish."
After Shisui left, Kazuki sat in his chair and mused to himself, Was that just shamelessly singing my own praises there?'
Knock, knock, knock! "Enter."
Shikaku entered, his arms laden with a pile of scrolls. He deftly deposited them onto the desk, completely ignoring the murderous glare Kazuki directed at him. Ever so considerately, he even helped organize the scrolls properly, and didn't forget to ask, "I just ran into Shisui. What did you say to him? That kid's expression was a bit too grim."
"We were just chatting about family matters," Kazuki replied with a smile, then proceeded to recount the conversation that had just taken place in the office.
Shikaku couldn't help but let out a heavy and defeated sigh. "Lord Advisor, please have a clear understanding of your own standing. What you just described can hardly be called 'family matters.'"
"Ha ha ha! I was just afraid you'd accuse me of harboring disloyal intentions!" Kazuki burst out laughing.
Shikaku was speechless. Did you not have a clear understanding of your own position? Did you even need to sing your own praises? Did you still need to fear that others would question your intentions? Please – right now, everyone is hoping that you'll quickly discard any inappropriate notions you shouldn't be harboring and promptly assume the position that rightfully belongs to you, giving everyone a clean resolution and not dragging this out any further.