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

Chapter 123 Black Zetsu: Madara, don't contact me anymore, I'm afraid Kirigakure will misunderstand.

Half of Senju's sacrifices occurred on the battlefield, and the other half on the operating table.

This slogan undoubtedly had a huge impact on Konoha's positive image.

It can be said that the impact of this kind of slogan on Konoha is even far greater than the "Konoha threat theory" and "Uchiha human rights report" proposed by Hozuki Shingetsu before.

The Senju clan holds a very special position in Konoha.

The current Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was a student of Tobirama Senju, and every single one of Konoha's current high-ranking officials can be considered a member of the Senju lineage.

Unlike the Uchiha clan, the Senju clan's plight under these circumstances serves to further highlight the wolfish ambitions of the current Konoha leadership.

As is widely known, the general public has a simplistic conspiracy theory about events that occur between high-ranking officials, namely that the actions of those in power must have a special purpose.

These high-ranking officials' "retirement" is not a true retreat, but rather a way to avoid trouble after setbacks in political struggles or other events.

As for the noble and righteous act of disbanding the clan name in order to strengthen the bonds between villages, it has nothing to do with their class attributes at all.

Therefore, as soon as Hozuki Shingetsu's conspiracy theory emerged, it immediately gained the approval of many onlookers, which further changed their impression of Konoha.

Even within Konoha, ordinary villagers who were unaware of the truth were discussing it privately, gaining a new understanding of these high-ranking officials.

These changes are gradual and imperceptible; they may not have any impact at this moment, but if a sudden event occurs, these impressions may become crucial influencing factors.

-

Office of the Ninja Academy Principal in Kirigakure.

Hozuki Shingetsu sat in his seat for the first time in a long while, watching the students training tirelessly below the window and listening to Akiba Masanobu's report.

"...That concludes the recent developments in Kirigakure."

Before leaving Kirigakure, Hozuki Shingetsu entrusted three things to Akiba Masanobu.

The first thing to do was to appoint him as the vice principal to oversee the daily operations of the ninja academy and ensure that nothing went wrong.

As the Ninja Academy is a crucial link in Hozuki Shingetsu's implementation of his policies, he cannot allow any mistakes to occur.

According to the feedback from Akiha Masahiro, everything is normal and there were no surprises.

The second thing is to urge those scientific research talents to achieve efficient utilization of steam and electricity as soon as possible.

All the scientific research talents recruited from the Eastern Continent and the Ninja World Continent were all assigned to the Chakra Research Institute by Hozuki Shingetsu to study how these new energy sources could be efficiently utilized in industry.

Previously, Hozuki Shingetsu was worried that Kirigakure was not strong enough to protect its share of the economic market, so he had not urged these people to make progress in their research.

It wasn't until he left Kirigakure to practice Sage Mode, knowing that his strength would greatly increase after mastering Sage Mode and that he could basically dominate the ninja world, that he instructed Akiba Masanobu to urge those people to speed up their progress.

Based on current understanding, these technologies have made significant progress and are fully capable of being industrialized.

With the ninja world currently engulfed in war, and considering the First World War, this is the perfect opportunity for Kirigakure to vigorously develop its domestic economy.

Therefore, the industrial revolution in Kirigakure can now be put on the agenda.

The third thing... is related to his next move against Black Zetsu.

He had never forgotten how Black Zetsu had tripped him up during the Blood Mist Rebellion!

How could someone as petty as him not think of returning the gift to Hei Zetsu?

To this end, he did not hesitate to release Modibi and exchange him for the unfinished chakra cannon technology from Kumogakure, all in order to lure Black Zetsu into taking revenge on him!

The process was quite simple: after the four Shinobi World Wars in the original story, the chakra cannons of the Hidden Cloud Village had the ability to actually destroy the moon.

In the original story, after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kaguya Otsutsuki had already left the moon, so the destruction of the moon wouldn't have been a problem. But what if it were now?

If the moon is shattered now, will Kaguya Otsutsuki be able to break free from her seal?

If a weapon capable of destroying the moon were suddenly placed in front of Black Zetsu, what would Black Zetsu do?

After a thousand years of waiting, painstakingly instigating the struggle between the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra, hiding behind the scenes of the ninja world for a thousand years, constantly plotting and scheming, what is the purpose?

Isn't it all just to rescue his mother?

And now there is such a great opportunity. Without waiting for a thousand years, without the Rinnegan, without having to act like a grandson in front of his nephew's reincarnation, and without having to do any complicated Infinite Tsukuyomi, he can realize his ideal. What do you think Black Zetsu will do?

Of course, the chakra cannon developed by Hozuki Shingetsu certainly wouldn't be powerful enough to shatter the moon, but as long as its potential is proven, there's no need to worry about the haters falling for it.

Then, by using the need for subsequent research and development as an excuse, wouldn't we be able to keep Black Zetsu firmly under our control and let him do whatever he wants?

After all, it could plan for a thousand years for a mere ethereal Rinnegan, and even now it remains as elusive as a flower in water or the moon in a mirror.

Compared to that, the chakra cannon from Kirigakure is incredibly down-to-earth, isn't it?

He'd already come up with the slogans to fool Black Zetsu:

No need for a thousand years, no need for a hundred years, just ten years, just ten years, and Mom will be brought home!

With this thing dangling Black Zetsu around, how could it not submit?

Black Zetsu: Madara, stop contacting me. I'm afraid Kirigakure will misunderstand.

Moreover, Hozuki Shingetsu is not afraid that Black Zetsu might sneak into the village and steal it away. Could it operate such a sophisticated weapon as the Chakra Cannon on its own?

If it can be operated, then who will upgrade and develop the weapon?

Almost all the talents in the ninja world who are related to chakra weapons have been wiped out by Kirigakure, except for a small number that are still retained within each ninja village.

Even if Black Zetsu steals it in this situation, what can he do?

As for finding someone to forcibly take these people away... he's not joking. With even Uchiha Madara unable to stop him, Hozuki Shingetsu really isn't afraid of anyone in the ninja world!

Unless it can force the four ninja villages to unite and attack Kirigakure, it will have no choice but to obediently fall into Hozuki Shingetsu's hands.

"My lord, the research on that chakra cannon is progressing very slowly. Although I have urged the craftsmen many times, the research data on chakra technology is currently scarce. Judging from the current progress, it will take at least two years to achieve initial practical application."

Akiba Masanobu nervously reported to Hozuki Shingetsu, fearing that he would be penalized for being too slow.

Hozuki Shingetsu didn't care about the slow progress of the chakra cannon research. In his opinion, it would be enough if it could release energy to destroy a small mountain and verify its potential. He didn't have any expectations about how powerful it could actually be.

After all, the charging time of this thing is too long, so it is not useful in actual ninja battles and can only be used to hit stationary targets.

If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to lure Black Zetsu, he wouldn't have even glanced at this chakra cannon, which has such a low cost-performance ratio.

"Two years... that's enough time."

After assessing the current progress of the Ninja World War, it's estimated that in two years everyone will be severely weakened, and it will be time to stop fighting and negotiate peace.

And that was precisely the time when he wanted to make the chakra cannon public.

After all, something like a chakra cannon can't just be taken out casually, or fired a blank shot and then made a big fuss about it.

That would yield too little profit, which is completely in line with his penny-pinching nature.

Therefore, whether from a publicity perspective or from the perspective of fishing for Black Zetsu, a reasonable appearance plan must be designed for it.

From a propaganda perspective, what could be more attention-grabbing and better for enhancing the village's positive image than proposing a ceasefire and promoting peace?

In ancient times, Lü Bu shot the halberd at the gate of the camp to stop the war between Yuan Shao and Liu Bei. Today, he fired cannons outside the Ghost Lantern Crescent Mountain to persuade four countries to make peace. Isn't this a wonderful thing?

After all, they are both adopted sons, so it is reasonable for them to follow the example of their predecessors, right?

Moreover, Hozuki Shingetsu wasn't worried at all about the four great ninja villages not showing up, because he might actually be helping them by doing this!

Judging from the current situation in the ninja world, although the three major ninja villages have united, they are unable to defeat Konoha due to various reasons.

This war will inevitably evolve into a protracted war, a war of attrition.

At that point, aside from exchanging corpses and losing positions every day, the front lines will have no real significance whatsoever.

Therefore, after a prolonged war, each ninja village must have considered a truce. After all, no one's money is easily spent, and no one would invest their limited funds in such a meaningless war of attrition.

However, who should propose peace talks first is another question.

Logically speaking, whoever proposes peace first is the one who can't withstand the pressure and is considered inferior in terms of presence.

After all, if you weren't about to give up, why would you want to negotiate peace?

However, neither the Sannin Alliance nor Konoha could bear such a label, so this was the time for Hozuki Shingetsu to make his dazzling debut.

In terms of status, Kirigakure is one of the five great ninja villages, with equal status and did not participate in the Fourth Shinobi World War, so it has the qualifications to act as a peacemaker.

In terms of location, Kirigakure is situated overseas, surrounded by the sea, so there is no need to worry about being ambushed, making it an ideal place.

From a face-saving perspective, the Hidden Mist Village bringing out such an unexpected weapon is an opportunity that will save face for everyone.

In conclusion, isn't this also a win-win situation?

How could the Four Ninja Villages refuse?

Besides, who could guess that Hozuki Shingetsu's original purpose in bringing out the chakra cannon for the sake of promoting peace was to lure out Black Zetsu?

At that time, public opinion throughout the ninja world will surely spread the word that Lord Hozuki Shingetsu is compassionate towards the suffering of the ninja world and cannot bear to see the people suffer. Under his influence, all the major ninja villages will cease hostilities.

He had even prepared his words of advice for when he stood before the envoys of the four nations to mediate peace:

"Give me some face. If this cannon can destroy that mountain, how about we shake hands and make peace?"

(End of this chapter)