Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 192 30-strong army

Nagato's words undoubtedly affirmed the views of the radicals, and for a moment, the radicals, who already constituted the majority of the Akatsuki organization, showed excited smiles on their faces.

As for the moderates who believed in peaceful dialogue, they all looked dejected, and some of the ninjas even looked at Nagato with disappointment and resentment in their eyes.

However, besides the radicals and moderates, there were also a few mature and prudent centrists, or rather, steady individuals, within the Akatsuki organization. One very old ninja frowned and said:

"Lord Nagato, it's alright among us high-ranking members, but the ordinary ninjas will probably find it hard to accept your views... after all, they're too far removed from the original principles of our Akatsuki organization!"

That's true. Jonin who manage to rise to the top are, to some extent, beneficiaries of the system. Most of them are quite pragmatic and naturally don't care much about Akatsuki's idea of ​​exchanging peace through dialogue.

Most of the Akatsuki's Jonin worshipped Nagato's power far more than they cared about the so-called concept of peaceful dialogue. They obeyed Nagato, the leader of Akatsuki, not the entire Akatsuki organization.

However, for ordinary ninjas, the Akatsuki's pursuit of peace is not only deeply ingrained in their minds but also has a strong following. Many Akatsuki ninjas are true idealists who are willing to give their lives for the Akatsuki's concept of peaceful dialogue.

If the ratio of idealists to realists among the upper-level ninjas is about three to seven, then among the lower-level ninjas, this ratio is basically reversed, with about 70% of the lower-level ninjas being idealists!

"It's alright... Those ninjas who can't accept my point of view are all at the bottom level in terms of strength. My plan doesn't require them to play any role anyway. They just need to quietly guard the headquarters."

Nagato spoke coldly, and what he said was not wrong. The weaker the ninja, the more they pursued so-called peaceful dialogue, while the stronger ninja preferred to use violence to subdue others.

Therefore, within the Akatsuki organization, the moderates make up about 60% of the total members, but in terms of strength, they only account for about 10% to 20%.

Upon hearing this, the elderly ninja nodded slightly, and then spoke again:

"We also need to be careful; some ninjas might do something rash when their ideals clash with reality..."

"I have high hopes for them. If they win a few more times in a row, even the more conservative Akatsuki members will change their attitude."

"With my strength, those ordinary ninjas have no chance of hindering my plan. In cases where the gap in strength is too large, the casualties will actually be smaller."

"Lord Nagato, you know what you're doing. I hope you understand that whether you seek peace through dialogue or want to rule the entire ninja world, in the end, you can only rely on your strength... In this regard, our Akatsuki organization can't offer you much help. At most, we can help you clean up the mess after the war, sweep the battlefield, and maintain order."

The old ninja's words were quite unambitious, and many of the younger ninjas glared at him angrily. However, some of the older and more composed ninjas nodded slightly in agreement.

Although the Akatsuki is now known as the sixth largest organization in the ninja world, it still has an insurmountable gap compared to the five great ninja villages. It is only because Nagato's own strength made up for this deficiency that the strength of these people combined would not be more than one-fifth of that of any one of the great ninja villages!

Although it has tens of thousands of ninjas, which is almost half the number of those large ninja villages with 10 ninjas, in comparison, almost every large ninja village has thousands of Jonin, while the Akatsuki only has more than 100 Jonin, and their average strength is weaker than that of the Jonin of the large ninja villages.

It can be said that the Akatsuki organization is now like a large wonton with a thin skin and a big filling, relying entirely on its appearance, but in reality it is seriously unworthy of its name.

However, because of Nagato Uzumaki's leadership, other major ninja villages used to give Akatsuki some leeway. But if they didn't know their own strength and took Nagato's strength as their own, then these Jonin present would probably be taught a terrible lesson.

"I understand that perfectly well, so don't worry. You, my direct subordinates, don't need to actually fight directly against other ninja villages—that's all my job. To put it bluntly, if I were to lose, all of you here could just surrender."

"Lord Nagato, why would you say such a thing! We can't possibly surrender..."

"I'm telling the truth. If I really lose the battle, surrendering is your best option to minimize your losses."

Seeing that his subordinate ninja seemed about to say something more, Nagato simply waved his hand:

"Alright, that's settled then. Let's draft a battle plan!"

"There's no need to pursue efficiency in surprise attacks; we can openly declare war on the other ninja villages—this time, I will use my own strength to completely conquer the other major ninja villages and let them understand that times have changed!"

Regardless of the thoughts that might have been on the minds of the Jonin present, after Nagato personally announced the order, they had only one choice:

"Yes, I understand!"

……

It was as if a thunderclap had struck in the clear sky, shaking the entire ninja world.

The Akatsuki has declared war on the Five Great Ninja Villages! They've also announced their intention to unify all ninja and establish a vast nation unlike any other!

When this news came out, almost all the ninjas in the ninja world, and even ordinary civilians, were completely dumbfounded. In addition to being shocked by the news, they also felt a sense of unreality about the Akatsuki's actions.

Over the years, the Akatsuki organization has indeed accumulated a great reputation in the ninja world, but only half of this reputation comes from Nagato's strength, while the other half comes from the Akatsuki organization's ideal of peaceful dialogue and resolving all disputes through communication.

Although ambitious people feel that such a pursuit is too idealistic, they have to admit that the more idealistic the pursuit, the more it can attract ordinary people at the bottom.

The Akatsuki organization was able to grow and expand in such a short time largely due to this kind of idealistic propaganda. So now, the Akatsuki organization has suddenly declared war on all five great ninja villages and announced that it will unify the ninja world. To be honest, it's just as shocking.

Putting everything else aside, the Akatsuki organization had just declared war when hundreds of ninjas defected. These were all ninjas who couldn't accept such a huge change in the Akatsuki organization. Nagato didn't send his subordinates to hunt them down; he simply removed their names from the Akatsuki organization, indicating that they were no longer members.

Meanwhile, the other five great ninja villages and five great nations in the ninja world are condemning the Akatsuki's transformation and have even begun to unite to form a ninja alliance to jointly attack the Akatsuki.

This time, it wasn't just the ninja villages that were involved; the five great nations also mobilized their armies. Eight years had passed, and the armies of the five great nations had all become chakra-based. Every soldier could extract chakra, and now there were even certain requirements for joining the army in terms of chakra.

However, because they already have ninja villages as their main military force, the armies of the five great nations are more like internal police forces for maintaining stability than for fighting against external enemies, and their strength is far inferior to that of the ninjas in those ninja villages.

The chakra level of an ordinary soldier is roughly equivalent to that of an eleven or twelve-year-old ninja trainee. Those who possess the chakra level of a genin can become squad leaders commanding a dozen or so people.

However, in terms of numbers, these armies are about two to three times the size of the ninja villages. For example, the Land of Fire, which has the largest population, has as many as 50 soldiers.

Considering that the Land of Fire has a population of approximately 3 million, this so-called army can really only function as a police force.

However, no matter how these troops are police forces, their numbers are considerable, totaling approximately 200 million. Just by sheer numbers, they could overwhelm any ninja village before the nationwide chakra plan was implemented.

In the Akatsuki's meeting room, Nagato glanced at the intelligence report in his hand, then placed it on the table and spoke calmly:

"It seems these people have been really shaken. Leaving aside the Five Great Ninja Villages, even the Five Great Nations have joined forces!"

"It's quite surprising that such an arrogant daimyo would value our Akatsuki organization so much."

"After all, Lord Nagato, you have already announced your intention to unify the five great nations. No matter how short-sighted those daimyo are, they should be able to see the threat posed by Akatsuki, right?"

A high-ranking member of the Akatsuki organization spoke up, but another Akatsuki member immediately shook his head:

"Those daimyo and ninjas are from two different circles. They have no idea how powerful Lord Nagato is. Perhaps in their eyes, the so-called Shinobi World War is simply about having the most ninjas under your command!"

"For example, the daimyo of the Land of Earth has absolutely no intention of joining forces with other ninja villages and countries. It is said that he has already assembled an army and is preparing to attack the Land of Rain!"

Nagato was well aware that the Land of Earth's daimyo was the only one who wasn't being controlled, so his behavior was perfectly normal. On the contrary, the actions of the four daimyo who were currently uniting—the daimyo of the four lands of wind, fire, water, and lightning—were truly abnormal.

After all, as that Akatsuki leader said, the true strength of the Akatsuki—or rather, Nagato—was something only some high-ranking ninja could understand. As for the daimyo, they always felt that so-called powerful ninjas could be completely overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

The situation where the Akatsuki declared war and the other four great daimyo joined forces is simply a case of Uchiha Touya gathering all the heads of the enemy to facilitate the harvest.

"Since the Land of Earth is being so hospitable, our Akatsuki organization can't be impolite. I'll personally send these Land of Earth's army on their way, and then take over the entire Iwagakure village while we're at it!"

After Nagato finished speaking with a relaxed expression, he didn't discuss it with the others any further. After a spatial fluctuation, he disappeared without a trace.

"Has Lord Nagato learned space-time ninjutsu again? As expected of the prophesied child who awakened the Rinnegan."

"Excellent! With space-time ninjutsu, Lord Nagato is now capable of both offense and defense. Even if the Land of Earth or the Hidden Stone Village has any traps, they definitely won't be able to trap Lord Nagato!"

Seeing Nagato abruptly disappear using a space-time ninjutsu, many Akatsuki ninjas became excited. With a space-time ninjutsu, Nagato had countless chances to start over. With his strength, wouldn't the Akatsuki be in the bag this time?!

Nagato arrived quickly, only to find that he had come too early; the Land of Earth's army had not yet fully assembled.

The Land of Earth's army didn't assemble as quickly as the ninjas, but since they were all super-powered soldiers with chakra, and the ninja world's technology had advanced to near-modern levels, it didn't take months to gather enough troops like in the era of cold weapons; it only took a dozen days.

After waiting for almost half a month, Nagato finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the army had finally assembled. Then he began to wait for the army to set off.

The Land of Earth has assembled an army of 300,000, which accounts for about 80% of the Land of Earth's total forces, clearly preparing to show off its power.

After all, the Land of Earth was the only country not controlled by Uchiha Hiu. The country's leaders still held stereotypes about ninjas. The Land of Earth's daimyo felt that with 30 troops at his disposal, the advantage was in his hands. Wouldn't it be easy for him to wipe out the Akatsuki organization?

However, deploying the same 30-strong army was also a very troublesome matter, as their movement speed was much slower than that of the ninjas. Nagato Uzumaki waited for another seven or eight days on the prepared battlefield before he finally saw the shadow of the 30-strong army.

Looking at the army encamped in the distance, Nagato Uzumaki, holding a Sharingan crystal ball in his hand, let out a long sigh:

"These ninja armies are utterly inefficient! I don't know where that Daimyo of the Land of Earth got the audacity to think that having these armies would be enough to take action against the Akatsuki."

Putting aside combat ability, just in terms of agility and mobility, soldiers simply cannot compare to ninjas. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here waiting anxiously for so many days!

He casually tossed the Sharingan crystal ball into the sky, and the Sharingan crystal ball that flew into the sky instantly burst into red light.

A powerful wave of illusion swept across, quickly taking control of all the soldiers of the Land of Earth. The whole process was incredibly smooth, with almost no resistance felt.

There was no other way; among the 30 troops from the Land of Earth, there weren't even seven or eight Jonin to be found. Their resistance to genjutsu was almost zero, so they were easily controlled.

(End of this chapter)