_________ POV Narration_________

As soon as Ken left the room Yuichi sighed and looked at everyone else at the table.

"So that was the red dot, huh?" One of the elders said as he tapped the table with his finger.

"Or Ken, which might be either his real name or an alias," Yuuko said as she smiled a bit.

"It might just be his real name... Not that it tells us anything. It's highly unlikely that someone like him is recorded anywhere." Yuichi said as he crossed his fingers and looked at everyone at the table through that golden veil of his.

"Indeed, from his demeanour, we can at least assume that he wishes to have a fruitful relationship with our Land of Iron." Mifune sighed as he rubbed his long bread.

"Still... Having an organization that big acting independently from us in our own territory... It's certainly not a good look." One of the nobles said as he finally regained his bearings.

"It really can't be helped. The Red Dot has already proven that he's able to waltz in here at any time... At this point, we're lucky he didn't make any outrageous demands." Yuichi could only sigh once again when thinking about it.

The Daimyō was a smart man, he understood that they had little to no leverage over Ken, especially since he had decided to show himself in such a way.

It was obvious that the Daimyō would now be forced to tighten the security around his castle. Maybe even look into hiring a few shinobi guards to keep by his side.

Mifune was also already thinking about hiring the Uzumaki Clan to create a few seals around the castle. It was certainly going to be needed at the end of the day.

"He won't be able to waltz in here like that again... We'll make sure of it," Mifune said as he pondered on his idea more and more.

The Land of Iron was certainly a rich country, so they could afford to hire the Shinobi. The only issue was whether or not the shinobi were willing to help them in such a way.

There was also the issue with the fact that the Uzumaki clan was being targeted by everyone currently, and it was only a matter of time before the forces that feared them banded together to destroy it.

Mifune was only aware of it because he had connections with the shinobi world, but there was really nothing that he could do about it.

"He'll find a way. Even if we do detect him, are you confident in stopping him, General Mifune?" Yuichi had clearly lost all trust in the capabilities of his guards to defend him, and Mifune couldn't really blame him.

"W-well... If more of my men were here, then we would certainly be able to stop him, or at least route him." Mifune was still rather confident in his answer, though he had stumbled a bit at the start when finding his words.

"It is not normal for a Daimyō to have an army raised in his palace at all times..." Yuichi simply shook his head. He understood that just a group of Samurai wouldn't be enough to stop the Red Dot from taking his head.

"Well, we don't need to have the army in the castle at all times, but it will be a necessity if we do decide to antagonize him eventually" Mifune was well aware of the logistics of housing an army inside their castles.

The resources needed would also cause a bit of a drain on the capital, so it would likely remain as a last resort when or if they decided to wage war against the 'Dark Brotherhood'.

"You're really thinking about antagonizing him after this stunt?" Yuuko asked as she once again unfolded her fan and started slowly fanning her face.

"We need to prepare for every possible outcome..." Mifune nodded as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the fox-like woman in front of him.

"There might be no need to antagonize them though..." The Daimyō spoke, reaching underneath the golden veil with one of his hands and scratching his chin.

"Hmm?" Mifune looked at the Daimyō with quite a bit of confusion.

"Oh, you have something planned already?" Yuuko smiled as she spoke, immediately perking up.

"Indeed... You see, the Red Dot's organization only has one source of income currently. And that completely relies on our bounties, correct?" Yuichi couldn't help but feel a smile creeping on his lips as he spoke as well.

"Wait... You don't mean..." Mifune immediately became uneasy.

"No. We are not going to obstruct his business. However, he will eventually run out of bandits to hunt in his proximity, which will eventually lead to him running out of money." The Daimyō's smile became more and more pronounced as he spoke.

"... So you're playing a game of attrition then?" Yuuko narrowed her eyes as she continued smiling under her fan.

"Indeed... When he eventually runs out of money or is close to doing so, I will be there to provide his organization financial support... In exchange for a small part of the organization, of course."

Yuichi felt a bit scummy saying it out loud, but it was really the only feasible way he could think of when it came to gaining control of Ken's business.

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Yuuko simply nodded.

'That might just work, dear lord... But you're just assuming that the Red Dot's organization won't expand at all in the meantime... That is a large mistake on your part.'

The Noblewoman was not about to let such a thing happen. She already deemed Ken to be a highly capable diplomat and assassin. His sense of business was not something she was privy to, but she already decided to look for ways to ally herself with him.

That alliance was bound to bring more funds to the Dark Brotherhood, and Yuuko was well aware of that. But she didn't tell Yuichi or anyone else at the table.

"It's an interesting idea... But we might also have to put fewer bounties on bandits. We just need to not make it noticeable." One of the nobles at the table felt the need to add that, and most of the other nobles seemed to agree.

"... I don't think that's a good idea. We're already playing with fire, trying to stick our hand in it doesn't seem like a good idea." Mifune was firmly against it.

He didn't care if Yuichi attempted his scheme to buy out the Dark Brotherhood, as it wasn't something that directly harmed them and could antagonize the Red Dot.

But actually hampering their one source of income would 100% cause the Dark Brotherhood to come for their heads.

Mifune wasn't scared, sure, but he hated even thinking about the chaos that would ensue afterwards. Many civilians would have to suffer if all of the nobles were to die.

They were, after all, the one thing that upheld the law in their own cities and neighbouring villages.

If they were killed systematically and quickly enough, then crime was bound to run amok in every village...

"Well, we are already taking a risk with this entire situation... I say we wait for now, wait for them to naturally run out of resources and then our delegation can offer our help..." Yuichi also seemed to be against the idea of lowering Ken's revenue manually, as he also wanted to avoid a conflict.

The nobles seemed to be discouraged, but they couldn't argue with the Daimyō, so they just stopped speaking.

One person was not scared to argue with the Daimyō though.

"The plan is indeed good, lord Daimyō" Yuuko's melodious voice rang throughout the throne room. Causing everyone to look at her with confusion.

"However, what are we going to do if the Dark Brotherhood aims for bounties of other countries as well?" Yuuko was the head of a merchant clan. She decided to at least let her experience be known when it came to her area of expertise... Which was making money.

"That is indeed a possibility. However, bandits in general will stop posting up anywhere near their organization. And news will spread about the Dark Brotherhood soon." Yuichi didn't mind having his ideas challenged or questioned. He responded in kind, with a patience befitting of a lord.

"The more bandits avoid their area, the more the Dark Brotherhood will have to spread out their forces, and the slower their income will come in. Which will eventually lead to the same results." Yuichi had already thought about that aspect as well, rather, he expected it to happen.

He expected the Dark Brotherhood to hunt bounties around the elemental nations after all. Just like the Red Dot himself had hunted down bounties wherever he could, chasing rumours and listening in on whispers.

Yuichi was still confident that the Dark Brotherhood would eventually still reach the point where they would no longer be self-sufficient, to him it was just a matter of when.

"Understood my lord. It seems you have thought of everything already." Yuuko smiled and bowed slightly towards the Daimyō.

A few nobles could be heard muttering about the noblewoman, saying that she once again spoke out of line.

Alas, being a young woman among a group of old men was rather difficult. Yuuko somewhat struggled to have everyone treat her like an equal.

"I thank you all for gathering here... I shall start making arrangements for the inspectors that will visit the Dark Brotherhood monthly from this day onward.

The rest of you can continue business as usual, I shall summon you all if something requires your attention." The Daimyō waved his hand and all of the nobles and samurai present bowed and left.

Mifune remained, as the two of them would still need to discuss the security of the castle.

And while all that was happening, the person that was the cause for all of that stir was simply strolling around the city without any stress.

Ken lazily walked around in the capital of the Land of Iron, having just left the meeting.

It had gone much better than he had expected, but he had also prepared for it. It was clear that his entrance had a lot more impact on the nobles present than he had expected.

Ken was a bit reluctant to do it at first. But at the end of the day, it was a subtle threat of sorts, a form of manipulation that he needed to use in order to tilt the scales in his favour.

'Petty tricks' like those were his bread and butter at the end of the day. Though he had never been too used to diplomacy, especially the state of affairs in what he considered a medieval/backwards society.

Even then, the Land of Iron was a lot more 'modern' than the surrounding lands. As they absolutely abhorred using child labour or child soldiers.

Their techniques and powers were also impressive. From what Ken had felt in that throne room, just the few dozen samurai lining the hall would've been enough to burn the Grass Village to the ground.

Ken only gathered that from the way they had carried themselves when he had made his presence known. Most of them had already placed their hands one their blades, there was no hesitation and no wasted movement.

All of them were prepared to fight Ken to the death at the flip of a coin. It was rather commendable.

Mifune himself was also powerful. The General of the Land of Iron had an aura of his own, but Ken was still confident if he were to face them.

'I might need to train a bit more... Everyone in that room could've likely injured me even in my 'Scaled Sage Mode'...'

Trained samurai were always able to coat their blades in chakra. And their cutting power usually differed on ranking, but every samurai there gave Ken the feeling that they would be annoying to fight.

'Normal Ninjutsu and Genjustus are quite ineffective against me... Fighting an army of samurai might actually be more difficult than three Grass Villages at the same time...'

That small meeting helped give Ken some perspective, so now he simply strolled the streets, listening in on some interesting news and just casually studying the defences of the capital.

The Capital itself was a rather large town, with the castle being built in the centre of it.

It was built in a rather scenic spot, being right in the 'mouth' of one of the 'Wolf' mountains. The three large mountains that formed the 'Three Wolves'.

The city itself was covered by snow thanks to the strange shape of the mountain, which almost acted like a roof against the rain and snow above.

The mountain itself was massive and stable, so there was no danger of it falling either. Everyone walked on the streets with smiles on their faces.

No one even recognized the Red Dot, as he was really only well-known in the Shinobi World.

'This is rather peaceful...'

Ken took a deep breath, moving his mask slightly to the side to uncover his mouth as he exhaled a small cloud of fog and smiled a bit.

The sound of children playing in the distance. The sound of merchants doing business. The sound of drunkards singing, it was all so pleasing to the ear...

But there was one sound that didn't sound like the others.

'The sound of blades clashing...'

Ken immediately turned his head in that direction. Tilting his head slightly, before instantly disappearing from his location. shocking a few of the people nearby that had been looking towards him.

'Might as well check it out....'