They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 112 Departure, the Earth Spider Clan

Meanwhile, deep underground in the distant Land of Grass, Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu were making a series of meticulous arrangements to ensure the safety and growth of the Rinnegan, targeting Nagato Uzumaki.

In Kirigakure, Hozuki Shingetsu and the others finally completed their preparations for departure, ready to search for the Tsuchigumo clan and officially begin their Sage Mode training.

Since it's uncertain whether the intended goals can be achieved during this trip, Hozuki Shingetsu's plan is limited to three months.

After all, if he wanted to persuade the Earth Spider clan to willingly sacrifice themselves to pave the way for him, he couldn't just rely on coercion and power; appeasement was also necessary. So he gave himself three months.

Furthermore, the special ability of the cheat system allows him to quickly learn Sage Mode using the "Raging Heaven Technique." Therefore, Hozuki Shingetsu plans to learn Sage Mode on the spot after finding the Tsuchigumo clan, and then return to Kirigakure after mastering it, in order to avoid any accidents on the way.

If the Tsuchigumo clan remains unmoved or their Sage Mode training encounters obstacles within three months, then there's nothing more to say. We'll simply make it a done deal, bring them back to Kirigakure, and then slowly prepare them.

"So, you've remembered everything I just said? After I leave, just prepare to implement those plans."

Hozuki Shingetsu stood at the entrance of Kirigakure and gave Akiba Masanobu a series of instructions.

Over the course of a year, Oni-no-Shingetsu discovered that Akiba Masanobu was indeed a perfect tool. He knew when to advance and retreat, knew how to flatter, kept his mouth shut, and had excellent qualities. He could be said to be a perfect secretary buried in the profession of ninja, and was in no way inferior to the secretary of Kumogakure.

Well, aside from not being pleasing to the eye, the pleasing aspect can be entirely handled by Yukinagi. The combination of the two makes it equivalent to his secretary from Kirigakure being stronger than his secretary from Kumogakure.

So Hozuki Shingetsu simply delegated all the minor matters to him and let him handle them.

In this way, when he goes out, with his father, Hozuki Cangetsu, leading the council of elders to oversee things, and Akiba Masanobu in charge of the specific work, there are basically no surprises.

As for what the other secretary, Yukinagi, does... Just kidding, when the boss goes on a business trip, where else would the personal secretary go if not to follow and serve him?

"I promise I will not let you down!"

Akiba Masanobu was clearly thrilled by this trust, as it meant he was one step closer to reviving his family's fortunes.

"New Moon, I want to go with you!"

Just as Hozuki Shingetsu finished explaining the issues left behind after his departure, he was entangled by Uzumaki Kushina, who insisted on going with him to the Ninja World Continent to find the Tsuchigumo clan.

She will turn nine this year and has just entered puberty. Her height is only up to Hozuki Shingetsu's chest. She snuggled into Hozuki Shingetsu's arms and said coquettishly.

Thanks to the early education she received in the ninja world, she gained a more thorough understanding of the meaning of being engaged. In addition, with Hozuki Shingetsu's occasional teasing, her heart had already taken the shape of Hozuki Shingetsu.

"The ninja world is in chaos right now, how could I bear to let you suffer even the slightest danger? Don't worry, I'll take good care of myself while I'm out here."

Hozuki Shingetsu uttered all sorts of sweet words to soothe Kushina Uzumaki in his arms.

"Yes, Kushina, don't worry! I'll take good care of Shingetsu, and I definitely won't let him lack anything."

At this moment, Yukinagi also stepped forward to comfort her, but the emphasis she placed on certain words clearly showed her ill intentions.

As Hozuki Shingetsu's personal clothes hanger, Yukinagi's outfit today is also a manifestation of Hozuki Shingetsu XP system.

Her overall outfit today was mainly black and white. She wore a white tight-fitting sleeveless vest that tightly covered a certain unremarkable area, revealing her toned abs.

Wearing black short-sleeved arm protectors and fingerless gloves, she looked even more youthful and beautiful;

Her lower body was covered by tight shorts that hugged her shapely buttocks, revealing a snow-white "absolute territory" between them and over-the-knee socks, and she finished the look with red ankle boots.

The main theme is youth, sports, and liveliness, which complements Yukinagi's own carefree personality.

Kushina Uzumaki glanced up at Yukinagi, then buried her head in Shingetsu Hozuki's arms again and ignored her.

For her, it was the existence of Yukinagi, a woman who was like a childhood friend to Hozuki Shingetsu, that made her change her previously fiery personality and try to use gentleness to influence Hozuki Shingetsu.

After all, in a sense, Yukinagi and Kushina Uzumaki have too many overlapping attributes, which makes her think twice and regard Yukinagi as her main rival.

In terms of status, Yukinagi is the daughter of the head of the Yuki clan, and is in no way inferior to her;

From an emotional perspective, they have grown up alongside Hozuki Shingetsu for over a decade, so there is a deep emotional foundation between them.

In terms of appearance, Yukinagi has no flaws except for being too flat-chested. However, this flat-chestedness is also a weakness of the underdeveloped Kushina Uzumaki, so it is not enough to win.

Her only chance of winning is Hozuki Shingetsu's personal admission of being her fiancée, so how could she not hold onto this identity firmly?

"I don't care, if this woman goes, I have to go too!"

Kushina Uzumaki wisely chose to take advantage of her young age and pretended to be unreasonable as she continued to act cute towards Shingetsu Hozuki.

Faced with this scene, everyone present kept their eyes down and pretended to be indifferent, but in reality, they had already pricked up their ears to listen carefully, ready to watch the birth of this hellish scene.

In this situation, even if Hozuki Shingetsu could easily come up with a hundred ideas to disrupt the ninja world, he would still be overwhelmed by the situation.

Although he was a despicable person, that's human nature: the more one lacks something, the more one hopes to make up for it from those around them.

The more petty a person is, the more they crave genuine emotions and the more they desire that everyone around them be a virtuous person.

Therefore, he prefers to use a conciliatory approach to resolve conflicts with those around him unless it is absolutely necessary. Moreover, he has a unique tool to prove his "intentions".

So, after a simple fist bump to prove that his feelings "hadn't changed"—and it's unclear whether being a womanizer counts as being true to oneself in another sense—Hozuki Shingetsu finally calmed down Uzumaki Kushina.

Hozuki Shingetsu put a lot of effort into selecting the personnel for this trip to the Tsuchigumo clan.

At this point, Yagura Karatachi had already become the Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails, so it was obvious that he couldn't go out with him. After all, from any perspective, two Jinchūriki of the Tailed Beasts could not leave the village at the same time.

Since the main purpose of this trip was not to fight, Hozuki Shingetsu, after some deliberation, chose Yukinagi, Uzumaki Muneto, and Ao as his companions for this trip.

As her personal secretary, Yukinagi's main task is to be beautiful and lighten the monotony of the journey.

Uzumaki Muneto was used by Hozuki Shingetsu as a template to demonstrate to the Tsuchigumo clan how vibrant and fulfilling the lives of Konoha's former allies were in Kirigakure.

Moreover, Uzumaki Muneto is also a leading young figure in the Uzumaki clan of this generation. He almost became the candidate for the Six-Tails Jinchuriki during the Blood Mist Rebellion. Bringing him out was also intended to cultivate relationships with the core members of the village.

As for the reason for bringing Qing, it's even simpler: this establishment is located outside, so it always needs someone to do odd jobs, right?

This trip to the Tsuchigumo clan is not expected to be smooth sailing, so at crucial moments it will be his turn to play the good cop, while Hozuki Shingetsu will play the bad cop.

After calming Kushina Uzumaki and gathering everyone together, Shingetsu Hozuki and the three of them officially set off on their journey to find the Tsuchigumo clan.

As an ally of Konoha, the Tsuchigumo clan's secluded residence is located on the border of the Land of Fire, facing the Land of Whirlpools across the sea.

Therefore, this trip must be kept completely secret, otherwise, if it attracts the attention of Konoha, it's hard to say whether this matter will succeed.

The four set off from Kirigakure, traveled by water to the Land of Water, and landed at a secret base of the Uzumaki clan in the former Land of Whirlpools. They then planned to use their transformation jutsu to take a shortcut directly to the secluded residence of the Tsuchigumo clan.

"That's... Uzushio Village?"

During a break, Qing glanced into the distance and suddenly noticed a city appearing on the edge of his vision.

In the Land of Whirlpools, there is probably no other place besides Whirlpool Village with a city of this size.

Hozuki Shingetsu stood up and looked in that direction. A city stood silently deep in the wilderness, exuding a stench of decay. Although it was far away, Hozuki Shingetsu could still sense that the city was deserted and the entire city was "dead."

"That's right, that's Wochao Village."

Uzumaki clan leader looked at the dilapidated Uzumaki Village in the distance with a complicated expression.

"Are you being reminded of someone by seeing this object?"

Noticing the unnatural expression on Uzumaki Sōjin's face, Hozuki Shingetsu thought for a moment and knew what he was thinking. Out of consideration for deepening his relationship with the genius of the Uzumaki clan, he took the initiative to start a conversation.

"...More or less."

Uzumaki clansmen replied in a low voice, "The main thing is that we feel somewhat sorry for the villagers here if our clan leaves so suddenly. After all, they trusted us and chose to live here, but we left without a word..."

The total population of the Whirlpool Clan is only a little over a thousand, but the permanent population of Whirlpool Village has reached tens of thousands.

Of course, not everyone here is a relative of the Uzumaki clan. There are also many people who admire the reputation of the Uzumaki clan and believe in their strength, and who have chosen to settle in Uzumaki Village.

When the Lei Tu Alliance attacked Wochao Village, some people chose to leave, while others chose to stay.

However, when the Uzumaki clan chose to go to Kirigakure, Uzumaki Village was inevitably left vulnerable due to the lack of defenses.

In the war-torn ninja world, nothing is more terrifying than a wealthy city losing its defenses. Those who remained fled, each seeking their own way.

That's why Uzumaki Muneto felt so emotional when he saw the dilapidated state of Uzushio Village from afar.

"Don't worry, what's rightfully yours will always be yours."

Hozuki Shingetsu comforted him, "Believe me, it won't be long before you set foot in the Land of Whirlpools again."

After all, the Land of Whirlpools is in such a strategic location that it would be a waste not to take it over and use it as a forward base for attacking the Shinobi World.

(End of this chapter)