Hokage: Unable to persuade Madara, I chose to build my own ninja village.

Chapter 88 What a coincidence, Lord Madara thinks the same way you do!

Hidden Cloud Village...

The First Raikage sat in the first seat.

He was surrounded by a group of burly, dark-skinned men, their bodies piled high with "dead muscle," each with an exaggerated physique that represented terrifying power. In comparison, the First Raikage's physique appeared surprisingly small.

However, no one dared to speak first.

Because the First Raikage was silent and had a gloomy demeanor, like a low-pressure center, all the big guys subconsciously held their breath when they saw the First Raikage's gloomy face, revealing expressions of fear and respect.

Kumogakure Village is not like Konoha. The people here are tough and like to fight. In order to compete for the throne of the First Raikage, every one of these people here was violently beaten by the First Raikage sitting in front of him.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was incredibly oppressive.

"asshole!"

"Do you really think my Hidden Cloud Village is made of mud?"

The First Raikage was furious, his body crackling with constantly leaping lightning. As his anger grew, his aura began to rise steadily, and his originally thin and frail figure, which appeared small among the group of strong men, suddenly grew larger.

Splat!

The sound of clothes tearing was heard.

"It has appeared."

"That's incredible!!"

Even though they had witnessed the First Raikage in this form more than once, the group of strong, muscular men still looked horrified.

Traditional Kumogakure ninja constantly hone their bodies, training their muscles to increase their muscle mass daily, resulting in a continuous growth in physique and strength.

The First Raikage had been practicing the unique secret techniques of the Yotsuki clan. He constantly trained and honed his body, but his physique did not change significantly. All his strength and muscles were constantly compressed and confined to a certain range. Only when it came to battle would he unleash his original form.

This secret technique is extremely difficult, and only two people have successfully mastered it to date: one is the creator of this secret technique of the Night Moon Clan, and the other is the First Raikage.

The others are too impure to meet the requirements for cultivation.

At this moment, the First Raikage had reached a height of nearly 2.5 meters, resembling a small giant, with his muscles sculpted as if by the hand of nature.

Even more outrageous is...

If someone were to look at the back of the First Raikage now, they would see two deep ravines forming the outline of his eye sockets—the infraspinatus and teres major muscles knotted together, forming two arc-shaped cliffs below his shoulder blades. Meanwhile, the teres minor muscle in the center bulges out like a bloodshot eyeball, its muscle fibers twisted into spiral iris patterns, pulsating with a bloodthirsty dark red with each breath.

This is the hideous face of a demon that crawled out of the abyss and manifested in the human world, like a bronze demon mask that was sewn into flesh!

"Ghostback!!"

That's what the burly men around them called him.

"Ah, Konoha, Akatsuki Village."

"One plays the good cop, the other the bad cop; they're birds of a feather!"

The First Raikage's eyes glowed red as he tore the two statements in his hands to shreds.

The compensation terms offered by Akatsuki were nothing short of surrender terms. Not only did they demand over 100 million ryo from Kumogakure, but they also wanted Kumogakure to send their ninjas to Akatsuki for trial and execution. They even wanted Kumogakure to go to Akatsuki to repent and admit their mistakes.

How could such a thing be possible!

He could not possibly agree to any of these three conditions!

Konoha only offered empty words: "Adhere to the correct attitude, remain restrained, do not escalate the incident, and propose reasonable negotiation terms."

Konoha and Akatsuki are allies, and not just any allies. Uchiha Makoto is a member of the Uchiha clan, the founding family of Konoha!

How could Konoha not have known about the compensation terms proposed by Akatsuki beforehand?

They're all cut from the same cloth!

The First Raikage had already figured it out completely.

Akatsuki and Konoha are playing good cop and bad cop, respectively, and have no intention of properly handling this matter. They just want to take this opportunity to extort money from Kumogakure!

"Lord Raikage, what should we do now?" asked the fair-skinned Golden Horn.

"What should we do?"

"Issuing a direct statement is absolutely unacceptable to Kumogakure! Besides, Kumogakure also lost two Chunin; don't Konoha and Akatsuki need to compensate them too?"

"Make me a copy exactly according to the Akatsuki's format, so that his so-called 'light and shadow' can also come to the Hidden Cloud Village to repent and make amends!"

"Remember not to bring Konoha with you."

The First Raikage's temper was truly volatile.

But he did not lose his mind.

It's acceptable to target Akatsuki, but Konoha should not be involved unless absolutely necessary.

The Hidden Cloud Village is not powerful enough to defeat both the Hidden Leaf Village and the Akatsuki Village in a two-against-one battle. If the Hidden Leaf Village wants to play the good guy, then let them play the good guy.

The Hidden Cloud Village concentrates its firepower against the Akatsuki Village!

Compared to Konoha, Akatsuki is easier to deal with. Konoha's Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama are already well-known strongmen in the ninja world, while Uchiha Makoto's strength, although his reputation in Akatsuki is legendary, is still unknown in the ninja world, just a stray dog ​​on the roadside, with no notable achievements.

Of course, you should choose the softest persimmons to squeeze.

Although the First Raikage found this behavior somewhat distasteful, he certainly wanted to include Konoha as well, but lacking the strength, he could only temporarily avoid the limelight.

For the Hidden Cloud Village.

This is a necessary sacrifice for me as the Raikage.

"What if Konoha and Akatsuki investigate?" Silver Horn, whose skin was darker than average, asked as well.

"This is their extortion. As long as we take equitable countermeasures, the Akatsuki will definitely back down!"

"Hmph, do you think they'd wage war against Kumogakure over a few Chunin? At worst, we'll fight them to the death! We'll meet force with force!"

The First Raikage was completely unconcerned about the pursuit by Konoha and Akatsuki.

This is just a bluff!

Konoha only wanted Akatsuki to act as a pawn in their extreme pressure tactics. If Kumogakure was weak, Konoha and Akatsuki would take advantage of the situation. However, Kumogakure was resolute and would retaliate in kind.

Akatsuki Village would be helpless. This matter is a common task-related conflict like those in the Warring States period, and it will never escalate to the point of war because it would be a losing proposition.

Konoha, as the mastermind behind the scenes, will back down and order Akatsuki to change their tune, only then will there be a chance to resolve this matter properly.

"Lord Raikage is wise!!" Xn

The First Raikage broke down the essence of the whole matter and explained it to the strong, muscular men present. They listened with rapt attention, looking as if they had suddenly understood.

As expected of the Raikage!

Not only are their muscles better developed, but they also possess extraordinary political skills.

The future of Hidden Cloud Village is promising!

Xiaoren Village.

"Why does everyone think I'm bluffing? Do they really believe the Akatsuki ninja village won't dare to start a war?"

Uchiha Makoto grinned as he looked at the statement from Kumogakure; he had already begun the final confirmation of war supplies.

Having endured intense ninja battles during the Warring States period, the ninja clans possessed considerable experience in this matter. Each clan had its own set of templates, which could be modified and used as a strategy for ninja village operations.

However, based on this...

Uchiha Makoto added a lot of things to it. The ninja clan's money was earned penny by penny through hard work. Adhering to the spirit of saving every penny, they mostly advocated frugality and avoided unnecessary expenses, so as to spend the money wisely.

But Makoto Uchiha didn't care about any of that.

Pay more!

Fill it to the top!

The wartime supply chain system that I spent so much money on was not built for nothing; I made full preparations for everything that the ninjas could use.

That's how the funds should be spent.

Especially at such a crucial time.

This is the first war that Uchiha Makoto has launched against all odds, and he must win decisively. This is a war to establish his authority!

If they lose the battle, or if the ninja clan suffers too much loss, even with Madara Uchiha as a backup, Makoto Uchiha will most likely have to abdicate and apologize.

After issuing all the orders for the day, Uchiha Makoto checked the time.

The two visitors should be arriving soon.

Shinji Uzumaki and Setsuna Uchiha, one the head of the Uzumaki clan and the other an envoy from Konoha, both agreed to meet with me this afternoon, whether it was pre-arranged or by coincidence.

The two arrived at the Light and Shadow Building almost one after the other, with less than ten minutes between them, so Uchiha Makoto decided to entertain them together.

"You two have come from afar; I am so sorry for not greeting you properly!"

"Cheng, it's been a long time." x2

Although Uchiha Makoto had already guessed their intentions, both of them were persuaders to convince him, which contradicted his own goals.

However, Uchiha Makoto greeted the two of them very warmly.

After all, Uchiha Setsuna was a member of his own clan, and Uchiha Makoto had fought alongside him in the same trenches, killing Senju clan members. They were comrades who had fought together. According to the storyline, Uchiha Setsuna would also launch a righteous trial against Senju Tobirama and restore order to Konoha.

They'll have plenty of opportunities to collaborate in the future!

And Shinji Uzumaki.

Needless to say, they have a relationship worth 38.6 billion taels of silver.

Makoto Uchiha poured them each a cup of hot tea. This time, there was no unnecessary small talk; the two of them chose to get straight to the point.

"Makoto, the Hokage believes that the compensation terms between Akatsuki and Kumogakure are far too harsh. For the sake of the ninja world and for the sake of peace, the Hokage hopes that you will make concessions and resolve this matter peacefully as much as possible."

"Yes, Makoto, you were far too reckless in this matter. I've seen those compensation terms. I've also heard about the strength of Kumogakure; they're a powerful ninja village that dominates the entire Land of Lightning. There's no benefit in making enemies with them."

Uchiha Setsuna spoke up to state his purpose, while Uzumaki Shinji chimed in from the side.

"I understand everything you're saying, but I did it on purpose. This war, if we don't fight it today, we'll fight it later. Since we're going to fight it sooner or later, we might as well fight it sooner. Besides, Akatsuki, Konoha, and Uzumaki are allies. Now, three ninja villages are against one ninja village. The advantage is on my side!!"

Uchiha Makoto spoke frankly about his views on the future of the ninja world. He believed that conflicts between the various ninja villages would inevitably arise due to mission friction, which would eventually lead to war. Therefore, he suggested that while his side was strong, he should eliminate or weaken any ninja villages that dared to offend him.

Uchiha Setsuna fell silent.

He also participated in the emergency meeting that day. Makoto Uchiha's views were exactly the same as Madara's, except that Madara's methods were more extreme. He planned to directly eliminate the other ninja villages in the ninja world and eventually unify the ninja world!

Shinji Uzumaki looked thoughtful. He had to admit that Makoto Uchiha's view was correct, but the cost of launching a war was simply too high. Even though the Uzumaki clan had been given a huge boost by the Akatsuki, they still had to think it over carefully. After all, war is not just about burning money; it also requires deploying ninjas to fight.

If Akatsuki wanted to start a war, and Konoha could join in, then the Uzumaki clan would definitely go all in. However, Konoha's attitude...

"Although Tobirama Senju issued a gag order, you're not an outsider... um..."

Uchiha Setsuna subconsciously glanced at Uzumaki Shinji beside him. After the meeting that day, Senju Tobirama not only gave the order to cover their mouths, but also instructed the ninja clan representatives who attended the meeting not to disclose the contents of today's meeting, especially Uchiha Madara's "bold words." However, Uchiha Makoto was a member of the Uchiha clan, so it was fine for him to say it.

Makoto Uchiha noticed this and added, "Shinji Uzumaki is no outsider either, so feel free to say whatever you want."

"Then I'll be frank. Lord Madara shares the same view as you, but the Hokage disagrees. The two even had a big argument in a meeting. Ultimately, the Uchiha's influence in Konoha is not as strong as the Senju's. So if you insist on going to war with Kumogakure, Konoha probably won't send troops. If your Akatsuki were to fight Kumogakure alone, not only would the outcome be uncertain, but you would also likely suffer heavy losses!"

Uchiha Setsuna spoke the truth: Konoha is currently ruled by the Senju clan, and although the Uchiha clan is also one of the founding clans of Konoha, they do not have the final decision-making power.

Hashirama Senju made his stance clear that day: Konoha would absolutely not start a war over this matter. At most, they would help Makoto Uchiha when Akatsuki couldn't hold on any longer, but Akatsuki's final fate would definitely not be satisfactory.

Makoto Uchiha just smiled; he had already anticipated this outcome. Then he looked at Shinji Uzumaki, who was in considerable discomfort.

If the powerful figure from Konoha doesn't follow, but the Uzumaki clan does...

Fortunately.

A few seconds later, Makoto Uchiha looked away, not giving Shinji Uzumaki a chance to make a decision immediately.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Akatsuki will definitely win!"

"Makoto, are you really not going to reconsider?"

"This concerns the future of your Akatsuki Village!"

Uchiha Setsuna and Uzumaki Shinji were still trying to persuade him, not wanting Uchiha Makoto to do anything foolish in a moment of impulsiveness.

"It seems you have some misunderstandings about the strength of Akatsuki Village."

Do you know what "money power" means?

(End of this chapter)