Naruto Online: Hyuga Branch Family? Let's go all out!

Chapter 223 The Third Generation Ai's Questioning

While Onoki was meeting with the elders, negotiations between Kumogakure and the Central Army of the Guining Army also began.

Location: Thunder Valley in the Land of Thunder, a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, where thunder roars constantly, with only an open space in the middle.

A temporary pavilion was erected in the valley, with a rectangular conference table underneath. Although it was built overnight, the construction quality was quite good.

This is the productivity of ninjas.

At this moment, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan were sitting on either side of the conference table, while the Third and Fourth Generations of A were on the other side, along with Zaku.

"Indeed, heroes have always emerged from among the young!" The nearly fifty-year-old Third Generation Ai, looking at the dashing young man before him, sighed, thus beginning the peace talks: "Seeing you all, I always get a sense of the fleeting nature of time and the changing seasons. People really do age easily!"

"You don't look that old!" Yahiko chuckled. "The medical advancements in our Ning Organization are quite rapid. With your physical condition and the combined effects of our medical expertise, living another sixty or seventy years shouldn't be a problem!"

"Is that so!" The Third Generation Ai chuckled, but then he realized that even after defeating the Ning organization, he would still need to keep this medical department.

Who wouldn't like something that can extend lifespan?

Hiruzen Sarutobi drove Orochimaru away because he saw no hope. If he had seen hope for longevity, he probably would have poured all his wealth into supporting Orochimaru long ago.

After all, how could making his son Hokage be better than being Hokage for all eternity?

"We didn't come here to talk about this!" The Fourth A slammed his fist on the table and demanded sharply, "Tell me, what do you want in return for your withdrawal?"

"Retreating is impossible!" When the topic turned serious, Yahiko's expression turned solemn; he was no longer the naive child he once was.

Having witnessed Ning Yuan's application of revolutionary ideology to the ninja world and then personally served as its governor for three years, Yahiko has matured in both strength and insight.

"We've come here to bring the Land of Thunder under the control of the Ning Organization, thereby permanently eliminating war. We will not withdraw until our objective is achieved!"

"So, you're that confident you can defeat us?" The Fourth Hokage, A, was instantly enraged. They were treating the Land of Lightning like pushovers! "You should know that the Second Hokage was nothing more than a defeated foe of our Hidden Cloud Village!"

The Second Hokage was killed by the rebels from Kumogakure, but the rebels from Kumogakure were still Kumogakure's troops, weren't they?

Although they also killed the Second Raikage, this did not prevent later Cloud Village ninjas from admiring them.

"The Second Hokage is the Second Hokage, and we are us! What he couldn't do, we can certainly do!" Yahiko laughed. "I believe that what future generations must do is to surpass their predecessors. Otherwise, if each generation is worse than the last, wouldn't our world and our civilization be regressing?"

"You!" Fourth Generation Ai pointed angrily, but for a moment he couldn't think of any suitable words to refute her.

He certainly respected his father, but he might also have had thoughts of surpassing him, so this statement actually suited his mind quite well.

Seeing that his son had nothing to say, the third-generation Ai immediately reached out and pressed down on the fourth-generation's arm, saving him some face.

"What a sharp-tongued brat!" Third Hokage A laughed. "Yahiko, I've read your resume in this book. It says you were once a citizen of the Land of Rain, and that you founded an organization called Akatsuki there, wanting to save the Land of Rain and bring peace to the world!"

"Yes!" Yahiko nodded, but with a hint of embarrassment on his face. "It's just that I was young and ignorant, and did some rash things!"

"That's not reckless at all!" The Third A shook his head and said, "I read that you were only 15 when you founded Akatsuki, and only 12 when you conceived the idea of ​​changing the world. What was I doing when I was 12?"

He thought for a moment, then shook his head: "I had just graduated then and was still doing D-rank missions; I didn't have the mind to think about these things!"

Yahiko smiled and said, "Having such an idea isn't anything special. Our organization's leader had the idea of ​​changing the world when he was only five years old!"

"Yes!" Third Generation Ai nodded in admiration. In fact, he quite admired that kid named Ning Yuan on this point.

How did this child's brain develop, and how was it made?

The book only mentions that Ning Yuan persuaded Tsunade and Orochimaru, but doesn't describe the specific persuasion process.

This made the third generation of Ai somewhat puzzling.

Imagine a five-year-old boy suddenly running up to him and saying, "I've started an organization with the goal of changing the world," and then inviting him to join.

Will he join? Absolutely not!

So how were those two legendary Sannin of Konoha convinced? They actually believed it!?

They actually got it done for them?

Oh, we're here to negotiate, not to flatter the other leader!

The Third Generation Ai immediately snapped out of his daze and continued, "I see that your Guining Army is entirely composed of people from the Land of Rain?"

"Yes!" Yahiko nodded. The Land of Rain is not suitable for farming. Although it is very suitable for developing industry, the Land of Rain's industry is just starting out and does not need that many people.

In order to accommodate the huge unemployed population, the Rain Kingdom not only carried out work relief but also drew on the Song Dynasty's method of dealing with displaced people, namely, incorporating disaster victims into the army.

However, the Guining Army only included adult males. But the Guining Army soldiers were paid well, and one soldier could support his whole family without any problem. So the actual effect was much better than that of the Song Dynasty.

"You now have 60,000 soldiers, which is more powerful than the Land of Rain during Hanzo's time!" Third A asked. "With your strength, you could have changed the Land of Rain long ago, and with this kind of strength, no single country could possibly defeat you."

"So, why didn't you ever consider independence and instead chose to follow that Ning organization?"

This was indeed something that puzzled him. If I had an army of 60,000, I would definitely attack the Fire Kingdom first and take control of the most fertile land!

Yahiko smiled slightly and shook his head, saying, "Have you forgotten? Our initial goal in establishing the Akatsuki organization was for world peace. How could I, just because I possess great power, initiate a war?"

The third generation of Ai fell silent.

Yahiko continued, "Furthermore, without the Ning organization, there would be no Rain Province today! So please, Raikage-sama, stop making such divisive remarks!"

"The Land of Rain no longer exists, and no one misses it!"

The pavilion was quiet for a while.

Yahiko's tone remained calm, but everyone could hear the determination beneath it.

The Third A, the Fourth A, and Zaku were all veteran ninjas, and they could discern the profound potential hidden beneath the young bodies of these three individuals.

So they became even more curious.

Is that Ning organization really that powerful?

And then there's Ningyuan, according to the description in the book, he's only 9 years old this year!

Could he have used some kind of illusion magic? Otherwise, how could he gain the loyalty of so many people?

That doesn't make sense. Ning Yuan is from the Hyuga clan, not the Uchiha.

"Hearing you say that, I'm starting to wonder about the leader of your Ning organization. What makes him so special that he deserves your loyalty?" the Third Generation Ai exclaimed.

This statement comes from the heart.

Despite being the Raikage, there are still people in Kumogakure who don't respect him. Kumogakure isn't a monolithic entity; they're just more united than other hidden villages.

He was able to stabilize the situation in Kumogakure only because he was stronger.

If a stronger ninja were to appear, those opponents would immediately push that person forward to challenge him.

Of course, this kind of competition is considered healthy, but healthy competition is still competition. If possible, who wouldn't want their subordinates to be 100% loyal to them?

Ning's organization did just that.

As the third-generation Ai recalled the contents of the book, he confirmed that there was indeed no record of Ning Yuan's actions in it.

Oh no, it wasn't that he didn't. He made a move once when facing Hanzo in the Land of Rain, using the Mutual Multiplication Explosion Tags.

However, this was the Second Hokage's ninjutsu, and it relied on external aids.

Who would think that someone who can press the nuclear button is very capable?

Not just anyone can press this button!

Although the book describes Ning Yuan as a genius, there is no record of him ever making a move. The only time he did make a move was by using a multiplicative detonating tag.

It's hard not to think that Ning Yuan is actually a fraud, the kind who exposes himself as soon as he makes a move.

Otherwise, why not show off your talent? Which genius doesn't yearn for fame and fortune?

What? You're saying that Hiruzen Sarutobi is suppressing geniuses?

Isn't Hiruzen Sarutobi already dead?

Following the Third A's line of thinking, now that Hiruzen Sarutobi is dead, Ning Yuan should be able to unleash his full power without restraint. He should personally lead the attack on Kumogakure.

But he didn't come!

Does this mean that Ning Yuan actually has no real strength, and that his claim of being a genius is all just hype?

He was indeed very intelligent; he was able to discover Hiruzen Sarutobi's true nature at the age of five and even persuaded the Sannin to create the Ning organization.

But that only shows that he is very smart, not that he has a talent for ninjutsu or training!

Ironically, Ning Yuan, despite his own shortcomings, managed to win the admiration and loyalty of these three young geniuses.

How did you do that?

(End of this chapter)