“The Uzumaki seat seems to have been mispced.” Mito made a show of looking around for the seat that should have been at the table, even if empty, as a representation of her cn’s Konoha branch.

  Not even the speech loving Third Hokage could think of what to say.

  Even if a cn head did not show up to a meeting, their seat remained in the room as proof that their people are still in the minds and thoughts of those at the conference and that they will show consideration.

  Naturally, this was just nonsense for appearances since if the head of a cn dared not to appear, their people would be getting the short end of a stick without question. In the event that they are absolutely unable to attend, a representative would still be sent.

  So, despite it being just for show, not upholding that facade was still a slight.

  The Uzumaki in Konoha was just Mito so there was really no need for her to attend or even send a representative because she had no cn to manage and did not need to fight over resources.

  Despite this, she was the bridge between Konoha and Uzushio.

  So long as her home vilge stood tall, with their monopoly over seals, wealth and significant military power, Mito’s word had immeasurable weight.

  Uzumaki seals were high quality, powerful, efficient and reliable. Their mastery over fuinjutsu brought immense wealth to Uzushio, making them a powerful ally for Konoha.

  Mito had the power to drastically change the attitude of Uzushio towards Konoha with a word and that alone gave her great influence, she had merely chosen not to use it so far.

  As the wife of the te First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, the redhead’s word also held significant weight with the Senju cn and finally, as the Jinchuriki of the strongest Tailed Beast, she could quickly make all of her problems the entire vilge’s problems.

  The Uzumaki matriarch had always avoided these conferences like the pgue. The filth she could sense in the hearts of those present was particurly intense in such instances so no one ever took her into account when pnning for the meetings.

  Now that she was here though, everyone was worried.

  The Uchiha never had a good retionship with the Uzumaki who were the Senju’s long term allies so Uchiha Fukutsu was worried their situation would become even worse as Mito could unhesitantly suppress them in an above board manner.

  Hyuga Hiroshi was worried as well since despite having no enmity with the Uzumaki, Mito, despite not showing up at the conferences, was considered a silent support for the Hokage because she had supported Hiruzen’s appointment according to Tobirama’s wishes.

  What they did not know however, was that the Hokage faction, particurly Hiruzen and his advisors, were the ones sweating the most.

  ‘Mito-sama never actively supported me after acquiescing to my appointment to the seat of Hokage but her existence always provided legitimacy and since she never spoke out, I had taken her silence as approval of my leadership but . . .’ The Third Hokage truly was worried.

  And he was not the only one. As the realist or perhaps pessimist of the duo Danzo was even more concerned than Hiruzen.

  ‘Although we have worked to build our own powerbase, at this point, this old woman’s support is still critical. This is why you should have been more ruthless in fleecing the cns Hiruzen!’ His gaze seemed to bore into the Third Hokage.

  ‘If you had, we would not be so vulnerable that she could swiftly destroy everything we’ve built!’ Danzo internally raged.

  Hiruzen seemed to catch on but ignored Danzo.

  ‘Pushing the cns further would have destabilized the vilge too much and there is no need to worry too much. Even if she is dissatisfied, there is no reason for Mito-sama to stand against us.’ The Third Hokage thought.

  Despite this he was still worried, Mito showing up unannounced without informing him was a clear sign for the other cn heads that her support for his faction might not be as ironcd as most believe.

  The first to notice this was, non-surprisingly, Nara Shikai.

  ‘Dealing this venerable dy will definitely be troublesome but if done properly, the vilge’s internal conflicts might be pacified but her ck of coordination with Hokage-sama does not paint a pretty picture for our side.’ He pondered.

  Little did he know, Mito did not come to solve problems but create more.

  ‘Starting to get a little too comfortable on that seat Monkey? Time to change that.’ Mito put her instigation cap on.

  Turning towards Tsunade who was trying her best to avoid attention, the redhead spoke with authority.

  “Since you are just decorating your seat you might as well let me use it. Don’t you think so Tsuna?” The Uzumaki matriarch gravely spoke.

  Tsunade abruptly stood up, making her rge breast bounce from the sudden motion.

  “Yes Obaa-sama!” She instantly responded, ceding her seat.

  Her grandmother’s obvious displeasure over her attitude made her dread what would be in store after the conference was over.

  For once, Tsunade wished the meeting duration was extended as much as possible.

  With Mito who seemed to have no intention of supporting anyone repcing Tsunade who was just there to lend the strength of the Senju to her sensei’s words, the various cn heads sensed the shift in the room.

  “Well, I seem to be slightly te, so how about someone expins what was already discussed?” The redhead requested in a tone that suggested there was only one option.

  Everyone in the room knew that Mito came to the meeting with a clear purpose and that their showing would greatly influence how things proceeded so avoiding getting on the Uzumaki matriarch’s bad side and trying to earn her favor was paramount in their minds.

  With the Third Hokage’s position less stable than he presented, the cn heads saw a chance to escape the current deadlock and, even if there was a risk of further worsening their situation, they could not simply stand by and not take the opportunity.

  Hiruzen on the other hand, was not keen on losing the pilr of support Mito represented and moved to control the damage to his standing by sending a gnce towards Nara Shikai.

  Immediately getting the message, Shikai stood up before anyone could say anything and concisely expined the matters already discussed to the Uzumaki matriarch.

  “. . . So now we were about to discuss cn contributions towards our war preparation.” He concluded his piece.

  Mito internally scoffed.

  ‘It seems the Monkey and his clique have done quite well for themselves since his appointment as the Hokage. His subordinates seem competent and the other cns are under pressure.’ She thought.

  ‘But still . . .’ The redhead internally sighed with disappointment.

  ‘In a discussion of the vilge going to war, they are all trying to find the best way to shirk their duty. When Tobirama was in charge, every cn stumbled over themselves to be the first to offer their support for the war effort.’

  ‘Now however . . . The cns thought their time had come when a Hokage that cked the absolute position of the others took office and the Monkey took advantage of the initial support he received to squeeze the cns for benefits and strengthen his position.’

  ‘He likely wants to rule as Hashirama and Tobirama did, with absolute authority but he is not them, he cks the strength even if he has some charisma.’

  ‘Since he could not achieve the level of strength necessary nor could he accept giving more say to the cns in order to maintain cohesion, he decided to weaken the entire vilge to make it easier to control.’

  ‘The little bastard Danzo is definitely the one who took care of the details. A fool that wants to believe he is the true successor to my brother-in-w despite cking the strength, the charisma and the judgment.’

  ‘The other two little rats are just benefiting from association, siding with Danzo or Hiruzen according to whatever benefits them the most.’

  ‘Such wretched weakness in both body and spirit.’ Mito pushed down the disgust as she figured out the state of things.

  ‘It seems I really do have to take matters into my own hands . . .’ The redhead thought.

  +++++

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