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

Chapter 194 Another Attempt at a Diplomatic Approach with Nearby Attacks & Dragon Vein Chakra

"A new market: Sunagakure Village, the Eastern Continent!"

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the red dot that Black Zetsu had marked on the ninja world map, his face calm as still water, but in reality, he was already extremely excited.

With the Grell Stone, the aerial fortress seized from the Sky Ninja Village could be used without restraint. It could be used to carry a large number of Mist Ninja across the treacherous ocean storms and eastward to colonize the Eastern Continent.

According to the intelligence gathered by Hozuki Shingetsu when he sent people to the Eastern Continent, there are no ninja professions in the Eastern Continent.

Their use of chakra is similar to that of the samurai of the Land of Iron, and they even have some strange secret techniques that use chakra to transform into beasts.

According to the report from the Jonin sent by Hozuki Shingetsu after personally engaging in combat, the beast transformation technique can temporarily enhance physical attributes and even possess unique abilities such as flight, burrowing, and body enlargement, depending on the target of the beast transformation.

(before animal transformation)

(After transforming into a beast)

However, overall, the combat strength of the Eastern Continent is still significantly weaker than that of the Ninja World Continent.

According to Hozuki Shingetsu's estimate, as long as everything goes smoothly, Kirigakure will be able to swallow up the Eastern Continent and take over the entire Eastern Continent in five to eight years.

At that time, with an entire continent as a colony and dumping ground for Kirigakure's goods, Hozuki Shingetsu couldn't even imagine how much Kirigakure's strength could develop.

All of this is predicated on the Grell Stone.

That's why Hozuki Shingetsu was so excited when he heard Black Zetsu say that the Grell Stone had been found.

Moreover, since the Grell Stone mine is located within the Land of Wind, while sending people to find the exact location of the mine, they also sent envoys to Sunagakure to discuss the alliance.

A year ago, when the peace talks were about to end, Hozuki Shingetsu expressed his intention to form an alliance with Sunagakure.

Unfortunately, something seemed to have happened in Sunagakure, which caused Chiyo, Ebizo, and the others to leave Kirigakure in a hurry.

At that time, Hozuki Shingetsu was focused on deceiving Danzo and Black Zetsu and did not pay attention to the changes in Sunagakure, which did not leave Hozuki Shingetsu enough time to negotiate.

After all, from the perspective of the ninja world map, the most suitable villages to ally with Kirigakure are Iwagakure and Sunagakure.

The remaining villages, Konoha and Kumogakure, are located near Kirigakure. These two ninja villages are Hozuki Shingetsu's next key targets, so they are definitely not suitable as allies.

While Sunagakure and Iwagakure could attack Kirigakure by sea, ... unless those two villages are completely out of their minds, they definitely wouldn't do it.

The Hidden Mist Village would be overjoyed to be fighting a war at sea with them!

As for Iwagakure, it has a deep-seated blood feud with Kirigakure and cannot be chosen as an ally.

The Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage perished together in the Land of Earth, a fact that Hozuki Shingetsu surely hasn't forgotten.

Moreover, aside from that, Onoki is a cunning and treacherous fellow who is not suited to be an ally.

When it comes to allies, it's definitely best to choose forces whose leaders are not very quick-witted, but who still have some foundation, like... Sunagakure.

During this period, Sunagakure lifted its guard, which led to some internal news leaking out.

Hozuki Shingetsu also took this opportunity to finally learn why Chiyo and Ebizo had rushed back—the Second Kazekage of Sunagakure, Shamon, was dead!

The death of this pillar of Sunagakure, who had survived from the Warring States period to the present, also signifies the death of the last Second Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. With Hozuki Shingetsu not becoming the Fourth Mizukage, the entire shinobi world officially entered the era of the Third Kage's rule.

In fact, Shamon's death is quite related to Hozuki Shingetsu.

As a ninja who survived from the Warring States period, Shamon experienced countless battles, both large and small, throughout his life, and naturally had many old wounds on his body.

In the past, when he was in good spirits, it wasn't a big deal, but precisely because he knew he didn't have much time left to live, Shamon went to the front lines many times during this Shinobi World War, further increasing the burden on his body.

Adding to his growing anxiety was the fact that even a three-on-one attack couldn't defeat Konoha, and he feared that Konoha might use this as an opportunity to retaliate.

The peace talks that Hozuki Shingetsu convened to scheme against Black Zetsu were the final straw that broke Shamon's back.

When news of the war's end arrived, the monk's pent-up anger dissipated.

The loss of his breath caused his injuries to worsen, and he, who had been waiting for the war to end so he could announce his successor, fell seriously ill and eventually died suddenly.

The reason Chiyo and the others were in such a hurry to return was because Shamon died suddenly, without a clear successor for the village.

Of the few who were capable and qualified to compete for the Kazekage position, Chiyo, Ebizo, and Aogan (the Third Kazekage) were all serving as envoys in Kirigakure, even though Monzaemon had made it clear that he would not participate in the Kazekage election. This is why they were in such a hurry to return without saying anything.

All the candidates for Kazekage were in Kirigakure. If the envoys from the various ninja villages present at the time had been ruthless and wiped them out, Sunagakure's high-level fighting force would have been reduced to almost half!

Now, after nearly a year of nomination and competition, Qingyan, the Third Kazekage who is considered the shame of the Five Kage in the original work, has finally stepped into the spotlight.

This Third Kazekage is quite capable, after all, he is a ninja who inherited the Magnet Release technique, but he is far from politically astute.

Moreover, Sunagakure has another unique characteristic: since most of its territory is desert, the development of the entire country is extremely dependent on imported goods.

Compared to other ninja villages, isn't this a huge natural market for Kirigakure?

There's no need to worry about the local merchants of Sunagakure using any underhanded tactics, because they simply don't have the capital to establish related industries there! So how could they possibly obstruct the dumping of Kirigakure's goods for profit?

So, in Hozuki Shingetsu's opinion, who in the current ninja world is more suitable to be an ally than Sunagakure?

From its leaders and national import needs to its geographical environment, there is simply no other ninja village besides Sunagakure that meets Hozuki Shingetsu's requirements better!

"Konoha, Sunagakure, the Eastern Continent... If things are handled properly, the village will have at least three markets to dump its goods in. That way, we won't have to worry about not being able to sell what we produce..."

As Hozuki Shingetsu pondered, he suddenly remembered a peculiar aspect of the Land of Wind.

"If I remember correctly, that dragon vein capable of reversing time and containing immense chakra seems to be located within the Devil's Desert of the Land of Wind?"

(End of this chapter)