Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

Although all the ninja villages knew that this was a trick by Hozuki Shingetsu to manipulate public opinion, after carefully examining the list, they suddenly realized that it did not seem to be entirely unfounded.

Putting aside other things, Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha and his three comrades-in-arms, as well as the elders of the Hyuga, Uchiha and other major ninja clans, are in their prime, while young talents such as Sakumo Hatake, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru are also rising to fame.

If we calculate it roughly, there are more than two hands' worth of well-known masters in Konoha alone, so the ranking on this Heavenly Ranking might not actually be fake.

After careful consideration, even the stubborn Hidden Cloud Village had to admit that, at this point, Konoha was indeed not a force that could be shaken by a single party if they did not unite.

Therefore, both villages expressed their intention to cooperate in this alliance.

"Excellent, Father! With the combined strength of three ninja villages, Konoha is doomed to defeat in this battle! After Konoha is defeated, we will make the Uchiha clan, who once humiliated you, pay the price!"

After watching the envoy from Sunagakure depart, Huang Tu excitedly approached his father.

"Idiot, do you think this alliance can succeed?"

Onoki wasn't as happy as Huangtu had imagined. He flew up and smacked Huangtu on the head. "And don't mention the Uchiha clan again!"

Looking at his son's silly smile, Onoki explained helplessly:

"If our three ninja villages cooperate seamlessly and without any discord, then even if Mito Uzumaki and Tobirama Senju were alive, they still wouldn't be able to stop our alliance."

"But think about it carefully, is it really possible for us to be completely without any misunderstandings?"

Onoki looked at his son with disappointment and frustration. How could he possibly hand over Iwagakure to him with such a brain?

"Then what's the point of us agreeing? It seems like this alliance is completely useless."

Looking into his son's clear yet foolish eyes, Onoki sighed and once again looked enviously at Hozuki Zangetsu in the distance.

Everyone is the same age, and the children are the same age, so why is there such a big difference?

"First of all, we definitely have to fight Konoha; we have no choice."

Onoki flew to the huge ninja world map hanging on the wall and pointed to the location of Konoha to educate his son.

"Konoha is powerful and its land is so fertile. If we don't take this opportunity to cripple it, the gap between us and Konoha will only widen if we rely solely on development."

"So at least in the early stages, this alliance still has some significance. But when Konoha suffers too many casualties and we invade the Land of Fire, this alliance will no longer have any significance."

"Because when we reach their doorstep, Konoha will definitely fight to the death. At that time, no one will think about going head-to-head with Konoha and letting the other ninja villages take advantage. Everyone will just try to shrink back as fast as they can."

Onoki's mind was constantly rehearsing the battle situation and simulating all sorts of possibilities.

"By then, the alliance's ultimate goal—to cripple Konoha—would have been achieved, rendering the alliance meaningless. Since it would lose its meaning, they would no longer be our allies, and therefore we could..."

"I know! That means we can go home!"

Huang Tu interrupted Onoki and answered, then proudly raised his face to look at his father.

"...Therefore, we can go and steal the backsides of the other two ninja villages!"

Onoki suppressed the urge to unleash his Dust Release, laughing in exasperation. He finally understood that the problem lay in his own expectation of this guy.

Compared to my own stupid son, it would be more reliable to hurry up and urge him to get married, and then raise my grandchildren!

Chapter 104 Hanzo the Salamander: Do you know how much a rice ball costs outside?

Just as Onoki had completely lost faith in his son and was starting to think about how to bypass his son and cultivate the next generation of successors.

The Third Raikage, far away in Kumogakure, was also worried about his son.

When not blinded by anger, the Third Raikage was quite wise; he clearly saw the fragility of the alliance, just like Onoki.

"Dad, I heard there's going to be a war? That's great! When will the war start?"

The Third Raikage looked at his son, who had burst through the door with an expression that said, "I don't know who I am, I don't know why I'm here, but I know I'm going to go on a killing spree," and couldn't help but throw him to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.

"Fighting, fighting, all you do is fight all day long. Look at Hozuki Shingetsu from the next village, he's the same age as you! What does he do all day? And look at you!"

"Want to fight? Fine, go find Hozuki Shingetsu and fight him!"

After venting his anger, the Third Raikage revealed the purpose of bringing his son here: "You will also participate in this battle."

Seeing the joyful smile on his son's face, the Third Raikage quickly added:

"Remember, obey Tu Tai's orders in everything, and do not rush in rashly! Otherwise, you can expect to stay in Yunlei Gorge until the end of the war!"

The future Fourth Raikage readily agreed; as far as he was concerned, he would do anything as long as he was allowed to fight.

"What a pity! It seems that Hozuki Shingetsu won't be participating in this battle, otherwise I would definitely have a match with him! I would have shown Dad who was really stronger!"

Ever since Hozuki Shingetsu became the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and defeated Ren, he has become the "other people's child" that the Third Raikage often uses to educate his own son, which naturally makes him rebellious.

This time, his frantic application to participate in the competition was also driven by the desire to prove himself.

"Lord Raikage, isn't it inappropriate for you to use Hozuki Shingetsu to spur on the young clan leader like this?"

After watching the person leave, Tsuchikage asked the Third Raikage.

"I didn't want to either, Tu Tai..."

The Third Raikage stood up and looked down at the entire Hidden Cloud Village through the window. From this angle, the village, built among the misty mountain peaks, was completely visible.

"Right now, the entire ninja world considers Konoha to be the strongest, and Kumogakure to be the second strongest. But if we close ourselves off and think about it seriously, how big is the gap between us and Konoha?"

The Third Raikage's voice rarely revealed weariness.

Sometimes, the most desperate one is not the third or fourth child, but the second child who is closest to the eldest.

Since the rebellion of Kinkaku and Ginkaku and the death of the Second Raikage, the Third Raikage has paid special attention to the overall development of the village.

You can call him reckless, but you absolutely cannot call him stupid.

It was from him that, for decades afterward, no high-ranking ninja in Kumogakure became rogue ninjas.

Under his leadership, Kumogakure's strength rapidly recovered, solidifying its position as the second strongest ninja in the world. However, precisely because of this, he also became more aware of how formidable Konoha was.

After all, the overall strength of a village depends not only on the older generation of pillars, but also, and more importantly, on the younger generation and their future potential.

Even if we use this war as an opportunity to cripple Konoha, as long as it is not completely destroyed, Konoha may be able to climb back to the top of the ninja world in another ten years or so.

So what should we do then?

Are we going to start another Ninja World War?

You have to understand that with war, anything is possible until the outcome is decided.

There is a possibility that Konoha will be defeated again, and there is also a possibility that Kumogakure will be defeated.

As the Raikage, his vision cannot be limited to the present; he must look to the future.

Currently, among the rising stars of the entire Hidden Cloud Village, there are only a handful who are truly outstanding.

What about Konoha?

Putting aside other things, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans were not completely wiped out, so how can you say that Konoha is desolate and has no more talents?

Even the Hidden Mist Village, whose strength had been greatly diminished, produced a young man with exceptional talent and skill like Shingetsu Hozuki. Add to that the Uzumaki Clan, who had previously established a nation with their own clan, how could he not feel immense pressure?

Therefore, given that it was clear that it was impossible to wipe out Konoha in one go, he had to consider the future and squeeze out as much value as possible from this war.

"Therefore, we must take advantage of this war to cripple Konoha while also giving our young people plenty of experience. After all, war is the best way to hone people..."

"No matter how hard we try, this is about all we can do in our lives. If we can leave a solid foundation for future generations, I'll be content."

"But the next generation must be carefully nurtured, and we must strive to surpass Konoha on the stage of the next generation!"

Looking out at the white clouds, the Third Raikage couldn't help but imagine the future when Kumogakure would truly become the number one ninja village.

-

After the three kingdoms officially signed this non-aggression pact and agreed to a joint attack, the situation in the Land of Rain did indeed stabilize instantly.

Although the balance maintained by this alliance is fragile, it has, at least for now, effectively created a pincer movement against Konoha.

To be even more certain, the three-nation alliance also set its sights on Amegakure, hoping to drag Hanzo of the Salamander into the fray and join forces against Konoha.

In their view, the strength of the Three Kingdoms Alliance was undeniable, and as long as Hanzo of the Salamander did not want Amegakure to be destroyed, he would have no choice but to submit obediently.

However, they did not expect that their previous actions in the Land of Rain had thoroughly enraged Hanzo of the Salamander. So when the envoys from the three countries arrived in Amegakure with arrogance on their faces, what awaited them was not a mouthful of promises, but a scythe stained with blood.

-

Hanzo the Salamander initially wanted to tolerate the fact that his own territory had been chosen as the designated battlefield and that ninjas from various countries were wreaking havoc on his land.

After all, they were outmatched in strength, and any resistance would only bring them humiliation. In any case, the other party wouldn't last long, so let them have their fun if they wanted to.

With a "let it all go" mentality, Hanzo of the Salamander ordered all the Rain Ninja in the Land of Rain to retreat to the Rain Village, effectively handing over most of the Land of Rain to the enemy—since most of the Land of Rain was worthless anyway, it was no big deal if it was destroyed.

However, his retreat only resulted in the other four great nations intensifying their attacks. Whether instigated by Hozuki Shingetsu or with the intention of completely crippling the Land of Rain's war potential, the ninjas from each nation began targeting small villages.

In an instant, villages large and small scattered throughout the Land of Rain suffered devastating blows, and a large outflow of the population from the Land of Rain made the already impoverished Land of Rain even worse off.

What annoyed Hanzo the Salamander even more was that at this time, there were still people hoarding goods in the Kiju, and the price of grain was rising day by day. Upon inquiring, he found out that they were all merchants with backgrounds in the five great nations!

Therefore, when the envoys from the villages of Kumo, Iwa, and Suna arrived at Amegakure and asked Hanzo of the Salamander to cooperate with the Kumogakure ninja in attacking Konoha, Hanzo of the Salamander was completely enraged.

"So, if I don't attack Konoha as you demand, then you'll unite and destroy my Amegakure first, is that it?"

Hanzo, the salamander, wore a mask and knelt on the tatami mat, his head bowed so his expression was obscured.

In the dimly lit front hall, apart from the patter of rain outside the window, only the voices of the envoys from the three kingdoms could be heard.

"That's right, and the ninjas of Amegakure must fight under our command and cannot act on their own. I hope Lord Hanzo will consider the bigger picture and not make a mistake!"

The dark-skinned envoy from Kumogakure sat casually on the ground and answered nonchalantly.