The Uchiha clan, which was wiped out entirely, lacked vision.

Chapter 289 Countdown to the Destruction of Konoha

Nighttime in Nara.

The leaders of the three families—Pig, Deer, and Butterfly—sat together for another secret meeting.

"I didn't expect that the compatibility between Wood Release cells and the Akimichi clan would be so poor, that not a single one was successful."

"This was my mistake, I'm so sorry."

Nara Shikasuke bowed deeply to Akimichi Choji on the other side to apologize.

"Ah, that's too serious." Qiu Daoding hurriedly returned the greeting solemnly, "No one wants this kind of thing to happen. It's all fate, and we can't blame anyone."

After some pleasantries, the three got down to business.

Shikasuke explained the situation: "We have already made contact with Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, and they are all willing to accept us into their ranks."

"Among them, Sunagakure is the weakest, so the conditions offered are the most generous."

"Luo Sha agreed that we could retain our family's lands and secret techniques, but those caravans and floating wealth must be handed over."

"In Iwagakure, Grandpa Onoki has no successor and is very willing to let us outsiders go there to assist Kyoto in taking over as Tsuchikage. The conditions he offers are also quite good."

"No matter what, we'll be outsiders after we get there, and we won't be able to threaten the Tsuchikage's position."

"Onoki values ​​people and loyalty, and doesn't care about money or secret techniques, but in order to give something back to the village, he still has to hand over some things."

"The Hidden Cloud Village is much more demanding. The Raikage requires us to hand over all our clan's ninjutsu and secret techniques, and also demands a marriage alliance with the Hidden Cloud Village. That's all they ask for."

"As for Kirigakure, I didn't even contact them. Although their 'Bloody Mist Village' policy was canceled by the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, the environment is still too terrible, and there's no need to go there at all."

After listening, both Akimichi and Choji nodded, clearly unable to understand the ninja environment of Kirigakure.

"Shikasuke, in your opinion, which side should we choose?"

Nara Shikasuke analyzed, "Actually, in terms of the environment of the ninja villages, Kumogakure should be the best."

"They are powerful, and the village has relatively harmonious internal relations."

"But it is precisely because the Hidden Cloud Village has such a great advantage that their conditions are the most demanding."

"But the family secrets are the foundation of our three families, Ino, Shika, and Cho, and we absolutely cannot hand them over. Marriage alliances are secondary issues."

"That's precisely why I'm willing to take enormous risks to push our three families to participate in the village's Trial of the Brave," so that our three families will have more leverage.

"Now that we have Wood Release ninjas, I don't believe the Hidden Cloud Village won't be envious."

"If we use this to negotiate, the Hidden Cloud Village should relax some of their demands."

"Um—" Yamanaka Inozo suddenly spoke up, "So, our current migration destination has been confirmed as Kumogakure? All other villages have been ruled out?"

"That's right." Shikasuke nodded.

He knew that his two old buddies needed detailed reasons to go back and persuade their clansmen, so he explained earnestly, "Actually, the conditions offered by Sunagakure and Iwagakure are also quite good, and they could negotiate even better terms than Kumogakure, but in the end, I still chose Kumogakure."

"My main considerations are not only the conditions we obtained through negotiations, nor just whether our clansmen can easily integrate into the new village. In fact, my biggest concern lies in the future landscape of the ninja world."

"The ninja world's格局 (structure/structure)?" Akimichi Choji and the other person were completely bewildered, having no idea what to do.

"Yes, the balance of power in the ninja world." Shikasuke sighed, a worried look on his face. "Once Konoha is destroyed, the balance of power among the five great ninja nations will be immediately broken."

( ).

"Have you thought about what the ninja world will be like then?"

"Uh—" Akimichi and Choji exchanged a glance, scratched their heads, and said, "The Fifth Shinobi World War?"

"That's right, a ninja world war is bound to break out, and its scale will probably be unprecedented."

"The land occupied by the Land of Fire is the most fertile in the ninja world. All countries want it, and the other four countries will definitely fight another big battle."

"And the situation is probably far more complicated than that."

"In order to connect their own territory with the territory seized from the Land of Fire, those small countries sandwiched between the five great powers will likely suffer annihilation."

"Intelligence indicates that friction has already occurred between various countries and some smaller nations due to the cession of territory and payment of reparations. However, the acceptance and assimilation of these enclaves will take time, which is why they haven't officially erupted yet."

"But once something happens to Konoha, and a new Shinobi World War breaks out again, even if it's just to shorten supply lines, the countries will definitely annex the small country sandwiched between them."

"Hiss—" After a moment's thought, Akimichi Tō and the other person gasped.

They were all Jonin, so they had a basic understanding of strategy and could understand Shikasuke's words after a little thought.

Seeing their expressions change drastically, Shikasuke knew they had figured it out, so he continued to explain: "The important reason why we didn't choose Sunagakure or Iwagakure is that their villages are too weak."

"Sunagakure is a notoriously weak village; if a real fight broke out, it would definitely be the weakest of the four kingdoms."

"Although Iwagakure is not weak now, it has no successors. In the future, we surrendered generals will inevitably have to step up and put on a show, which is not in the interests of our three families."

"The Hidden Cloud Village is different. Those barbarians are all incredibly warlike and have plenty of fighting power. We just need to send some people to the battlefield to show our stance."

Akimichi and Ding Wu both agreed that it made a lot of sense and nodded repeatedly.

Shikasuke sighed heavily and continued, "The situation I just described is not the worst-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is that the four countries will be dominated by the law of the jungle, and another major country will be destroyed."

"When the time comes, the ninja village of the weakest country will most likely be wiped out first."

"If we choose the wrong village, are we just going to have to choose another one?"

"Ah!" Qiu Dao and Ding Wu immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly waved their hands, "This is enough. We can't let it happen a second time, or no one will continue to trust us."

"Of course, that's only one reason," Shikasuke continued, "Another important reason is that Sunagakure and Iwagakure are too close to Amegakure."

"If the Hidden Cloud Village wants to attack the Land of Fire, it only needs to pass through small countries like the Land of Frost, the Land of Rice Fields, and the Land of Hot Water. It's very safe."

"But if Sunagakure and Iwagakure want to connect their territories, then the Land of Rain is an absolutely insurmountable obstacle."

"No one knows better than our Hidden Leaf Village just how strong Amegakure is."

"Although I've heard that Uchiha An and Orochimaru have both defected from Amegakure, Nagato hasn't been idle lately either."

"According to intelligence, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, died mysteriously, which is most likely related to Nagato."

"The Hidden Mist Village's ninja teams have clashed multiple times with Akatsuki members stationed outside the village. There are reports that Nagato has taken the Three-Tails and Six-Tails from the Hidden Mist Village, but it is unknown whether this information is true or not."

"If we go to Sunagakure and Iwagakure, we will inevitably have to confront Amegakure in the future, which is not a wise move."

"Shikasuke, you're right." This time, Akimichi and Choji had no more doubts and solemnly stated, "After we return, we will persuade all our clansmen to choose Kumogakure."

"We'll leave the specific terms to you, Shikata. We just want to benefit from what you offer."

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