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

Chapter 205 Vertical and Horizontal Alliances (Two Chapters Combined)

Despite harboring resentment towards Hozuki Shingetsu, Minato Namikaze tried his best to calm himself down.

Because he knew that, in terms of both status and strength, he was far inferior to Hozuki Shingetsu.

So all I can do now is be patient, seize every opportunity to improve my strength and status, become the Fourth Hokage according to the original historical process, and then, with the help of Konoha, have a chance to complete my revenge.

However, after delving into the sudden memories in his mind, he discovered that apart from the training experience in ninjutsu, which was helpful to him, the memories of major events in the "future" seemed to have little effect.

The reason is simple: due to the existence of Hozuki Shingetsu, the history of the ninja world had already changed drastically by this time.

The most crucial point is that the Uzumaki clan not only did not perish, but instead fled to Kirigakure.

The most significant change in this series was the change of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Konoha, from Kushina Uzumaki to Michiko Uzumaki. As a result, his girlfriend changed from Kushina Uzumaki in his memories to Michiko Uzumaki.

The anger he felt earlier gradually subsided as the two memories merged. After all, Minato Namikaze knew that the "future" could change, and the most important thing was to seize the present.

Moreover, because he received fragmented memories, Minato Namikaze gradually calmed down over time and broke free from the resentment and bitterness he felt towards his future self.

Besides this difference, there was also the Second Shinobi World War. Originally, it was a four-way war between the Lightning, Earth, Wind, and Fire nations, but it turned into an alliance of the Lightning, Earth, and Wind nations fighting against Konoha. This resulted in Konoha suffering far more damage in this war than we remember.

"The current state of the ninja world is very different from what I remember, so we need to carefully consider the changes in the future that I remember."

Minato Namikaze pondered to himself, if he followed his future memories, then the next major event concerning Konoha would be Sakumo Hatake's suicide. He could use this event to determine whether the future had been affected.

"But that seems a bit unfair to Kakashi..."

Minato Namikaze glanced at Kakashi, who was clearing the way ahead. It didn't seem right to use his disciple's father's life and death for experiments.

"Forget it, let's observe for a while first! After the report is over, I'll first learn that so-called 'Sage Mode' based on my memory of the experience... Only when my strength improves can we talk about other things."

-

After careful consideration, Minato Namikaze briefly explained what had happened to everyone. Although everyone was skeptical about the events of "Hozuki Shingetsu," "time travel," and "the Nine-Tails being stolen in the future," the injuries on Minato's body were undeniable.

In addition, everyone knew Minato Namikaze's usual character, so the group didn't say anything and just quickened their pace back to Konoha Village.

And so, after two days of trekking, the group finally returned to the village and went to the Hokage's office to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"future?"

As expected, when Hiruzen Sarutobi heard this word, a look of doubt immediately appeared on his face.

After all, even the legends left by the Sage of Six Paths don't contain any stories about time travel.

And right now, the only person who can corroborate Minato Namikaze's testimony is Shingetsu Hozuki. With such a sci-fi event happening here, it's impossible for him not to have any doubts.

"Hmm... let's put things about the future aside for now! Minato, judging from your tone, when you arrived at the Dragon Vein, Hozuki Shingetsu was already there, and he even subdued that Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from the future and extracted the Nine-Tails from his body?"

Hesitant and uncertain, Hiruzen Sarutobi abandoned his thoughts about the future and went straight to the part of Minato Namikaze's words that was most important to Konoha.

"Yes, I saw all of this with my own eyes."

Minato Namikaze answered affirmatively.

"Hmm... In that case, Danzo, what do you think?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe, thought for a moment, and then asked Danzo Shimura, who was sitting to the side with his eyes closed.

"Hozuki Shingetsu appeared there, so he must have gone there for the Dragon Vein. Even if we don't mention the Nine-Tails, Hozuki Shingetsu must have another chakra energy source comparable to a tailed beast. That's the problem we need to consider..."

As someone who had once come into face-to-face contact with Hozuki Shingetsu, Shimura Danzo knew very well that Hozuki Shingetsu was not someone who acted without a purpose.

Since he appeared in the Loulan Kingdom, he must be heading towards the dragon vein. In fact, given Hozuki Shingetsu's habit of thinking three steps ahead before taking any action, this dragon vein must be related to some of his future plans.

In that case...

"Hiruzen, contact Iwagakure and Kumogakure and form an alliance!"

Danzo Shimura opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and said.

"An alliance?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. Given that he had just been soundly defeated by the combined forces of the Wind, Lightning, and Earth factions, Danzo Shimura's proposal for an alliance was undeniably audacious.

Minato Namikaze and the others in the office stared in shock at Danzo Shimura, stunned by his audacious idea.

"There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."

Danzo Shimura deeply understood this sentence from his deal with Shingetsu Hozuki. Although he and Shingetsu had a good working relationship, it did not prevent him from proposing an alliance against Kirigakure as the Hokage's assistant.

"Since Hozuki Shingetsu came to power, Kirigakure has undergone a complete transformation and has experienced a new period of development. Its strength has greatly increased compared to the past."

"However, in the process, Kirigakure inevitably developed conflicts with other ninja villages."

Danzo Shimura stood up and began to recount the rise of Kirigakure.

"Among them, let's not talk about the conflict between Konoha and him; we're all on the same side, so we all know that."

"In Iwagakure, the Five-Tails was sealed away by Kirigakure, and nobody knows where it's sealed to this day. During the peace talks, I heard that Onoki wanted to reconcile with Kirigakure to get the Five-Tails back, but he was ultimately rejected by Hozuki Shingetsu and left in anger!"

"Leaving aside the matter of Moody, the Raikage's sworn brother, being captured by Kirigakure, let's just talk about the incomplete chakra cannon technology that Kirigakure obtained from Kumogakure. It has now become a symbol of Kirigakure, renowned throughout the countries. Do you think Kumogakure will harbor resentment towards Kirigakure?"

"After all, in the eyes of those barbarians from Kumogakure, they're always the ones taking advantage of others. How could they possibly be willing to accept being taken advantage of so greatly by Hozuki Shingetsu?"

"As for Sunagakure... well, Sunagakure has just gone through the Kazekage handover and has also signed an economic alliance with Kirigakure, so let's skip it for now."

After thinking for a moment, Shimura Danzo realized that there were no obvious conflicts between Kirigakure and Sunagakure that could be exploited, so he could only gloss over the matter vaguely.

"These three villages, along with our Konoha, all have clear conflicts with Kirigakure. Thus, our three villages have the basis for an alliance—a common enemy."

"Besides the conflicts between the aforementioned families and Kirigakure, there is another very special reason. During the Second Shinobi World War, Kirigakure not only did not participate in the war, but also took the opportunity to make a fortune from it."

"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Kirigakure's business environment is now the best in the ninja world."

"Now that our various ninja villages have just recovered, it doesn't make sense for Kirigakure to be so wealthy, does it?"

Danzo Shimura's intention was clear: to gather people together with hatred and lure them with benefits.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes lit up.

"That's a good idea. Once this method is used, regardless of the future or the present, regardless of whether he has the Nine-Tailed Fox or has obtained any dragon vein, he will have no choice but to obediently admit defeat..."

Regardless of what Hozuki Shingetsu obtained in Loulan, and regardless of what he wanted to do with the dragon vein, this side directly used its power to suppress him, forming a three-nation alliance.

"Moreover, this technique actually has another fundamental purpose: to lift the hostility and blockade imposed on Konoha by the ninja world!"

Shimura Danzo's words immediately caught the attention of Sarutobi Hiruzen and everyone present, who involuntarily calmed down to listen to his detailed explanation.

"If you carefully recall the path of Kirigakure's rise to power, it is not difficult to see that Kirigakure only began to change after Hozuki Shingetsu came to power."

"Everyone knows what Kirigakure was like before. Hozuki Shingetsu's core idea is definitely to develop Kirigakure, and there is no doubt about that."

Danzo Shimura looked around and was quite satisfied with the respectful attitude of everyone present.

"But if he wants to develop himself, he must have a stable external environment. So all his foreign policies actually have only one purpose, which is to try his best to provoke hostility from various countries towards Konoha, so that they will ignore the development of Kirigakure."

"To this end, he used methods such as the 'Konoha Threat Theory,' the 'Uchiha Human Rights Report,' and the 'Ninja World Ranking' to smear and slander Konoha, and to exaggerate the strength of Konoha."

"You could say that Kirigakure contributed at least half the effort that led to Konoha being besieged by three nations during the Second Shinobi World War!"

"With the attention of all nations focused on us, and combined with Kirigakure's geographical advantage of being located overseas, Hozuki Shingetsu has actually managed to develop Kirigakure in the past six or seven years."

Everyone present remained silent. After Shimura Danzo's review, they realized that Kirigakure's current development was indeed built on the blood and tears of Konoha.

"However, what does this have to do with resolving the crisis in Konoha?"

Kakashi Hatake, the youngest and most impatient person present, thought for a moment before speaking first.

Danzo Shimura glanced at Kakashi Hatake, his mind racing as he pondered when to kill Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, while calmly answering his question.

"Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a harbinger of misfortune. Can everything in the world be as Ghost Lamp Crescent Moon imagines?"

"Young man, let me ask you a question. If five crickets were fighting, do you think the strongest one would be eliminated first, or the smallest one?"

"I would naturally choose the one who is physically weaker..."

Kakashi stopped abruptly, as if he had understood something.

Shimura Danzo snorted and explained, "Looking back at Hozuki Shingetsu's previous strategies, it can be said that they all revolved around one idea: unite the weak to resist the strong."

"But now we're doing the opposite: allying with the strong and eliminating the weak. Do you think this has any potential?"

"Of course it's worthwhile! As long as we ensure that Iwagakure and Kumogakure don't perish, and that there are at least three major ninja villages in the ninja world, they'll naturally agree to it!"

Minato Namikaze picked up where Danzo Shimura left off, responding with a hint of excitement.

With his intelligence, he could naturally understand the reasoning behind it, but he really didn't expect that before he could become the Fourth Hokage and deal with Hozuki Shingetsu, Shimura Danzo would make the first move.

"It seems I still had some prejudice against Elder Danzo... I didn't expect him to be such a wise person..."

Upon realizing this, Minato Namikaze's gaze towards Danzo Shimura softened involuntarily.

"However, to achieve the shift from 'allying with the weak to resist the strong' to 'allying with the strong to eliminate the weak,' several specific conditions are still needed. Fortunately, we have already met these conditions."

Danzo Shimura, of course, had no idea what Minato Namikaze was thinking at that moment, and he continued to speak to everyone according to his own train of thought.

"That was... a draw in the Second Shinobi World War!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi excitedly slapped the table in response.

"That's right! It's a draw from the Second Shinobi World War! Three ninja villages against one of us and still couldn't win, so you can imagine how difficult it would be to defeat us."

"Therefore, at this time, they will inevitably change their mind. We can seize this opportunity to unite with them, leveraging Kirigakure's wealth and our conflict with Hozuki Shingetsu, to jointly deal with Kirigakure and Sunagakure, and we will surely succeed!"

Danzo Shimura slammed his cane heavily on the floor, ending his speech.

"Excellent. Once we get back, have Root spread this plan. How can such a magnificent plan remain unknown?"

Danzo Shimura was very satisfied with his plan and immediately thought of spreading it to make a name for himself.

"Good, very good! Danzo, I knew I wasn't wrong about you; you really do have some skills!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paced excitedly around the room, reviewing the entire plan once again.

God knows how he survived all those years when Konoha was targeted by the ninja world. Back when the three great ninja villages joined forces to attack Konoha, probably only he knew how much pressure he was under.

Now that there is finally a way to resolve this hostility, and the trouble can be shifted to Kirigakure, the instigator, how could he not be excited?

"However, the Second Shinobi World War has only been over for less than two years. The various clans are probably just catching their breath, so they probably wouldn't be willing to send troops now."

As Hiruzen Sarutobi walked along, a question suddenly came to mind.

"It doesn't matter. Hiruzen, you must first understand that the primary purpose of our alliance with them is to dismantle their hostility towards us, and only secondly to deal with Kirigakure. Don't forget this order."

Danzo Shimura responded with an indifferent expression.

Moreover, at this time he needed Kirigakure as his economic support to help him gain prestige and become Hokage, so he naturally wouldn't want Kirigakure to be destroyed.

As for whether Hozuki Shingetsu will continue to support him after this alliance against Kirigakure is formed...

In other words, once this alliance is formed, Hozuki Shingetsu will be even more determined to support him.

The more pressure Hozuki Shingetsu puts on Kirigakure, the more he wants Shimura Danzo to become Hokage, and the more he wants Konoha to experience internal strife, thus giving Kirigakure a chance to breathe.

Danzo Shimura understood this very well.

"Alright, Danzo, since you proposed this plan, you're in full charge! Just let me know what manpower and supplies you need!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to his desk, calmed himself down, and then gave instructions to Danzo Shimura.

"Heh... Now I don't have to go through the trouble of making a name for myself. With this name on my head, everyone will know that it was I, Shimura Danzo, who changed Konoha's terrible international environment."

Danzo Shimura nodded, thinking to himself with delight.

"Lord Danzo... he's really amazing!"

Danzo Shimura's strategic planning left an indelible impression on young Kakashi Hatake.

At the age of five, when his mind was not yet mature, Shimura Danzo's ability to influence the ninja world with ease was exactly what he aspired to be.

He had no idea that this man would target his father and exploit his mother in the near future.

At that moment, he felt only boundless respect for Danzo Shimura.

"It's fine that we can't directly wage war against Kirigakure... It's more satisfying to avenge this grudge ourselves in the end."

On the other side, Minato Namikaze, after a brief moment of sadness upon hearing that war against Kirigakure could not be waged, quickly adjusted his mindset and secretly resolved to do his utmost to master the Sage Mode, sealing techniques, and elemental Rasengan training from the future memory fragments.

The Hokage's office is a small space, yet it can be said to be filled with a thousand different people, each with their own thoughts.

-

Soon, with Konoha's support, the alliance of the Fire, Earth, and Lightning nations was formally established, and Konoha's harsh border conditions were greatly alleviated.

Upon hearing the news, Kirigakure and Sunagakure quickly upgraded their previous economic alliance into a military alliance.

The fact that the top three of the five great ninja villages in the ninja world joined forces against the latter two instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the ninja world.

If a war were to break out, there's nothing more to say; even if Hozuki Shingetsu were there, Kirigakure would only face defeat.

Fortunately, having just experienced war, all the ninja villages except Kirigakure have only just caught their breath. If a real fight breaks out, even if the Three Kingdoms Alliance wins, it will be a Pyrrhic victory. Therefore, at this stage, the main method of attack between the two alliances is to use all non-war means.

Thus, on the map of the ninja world, the Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Sand Village, located at the eastern and western ends of the ninja world continent, formed an alliance to jointly fight against the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Stone Village, and the Hidden Cloud Village, located in the central part of the ninja world continent.

For a time, an unusual international confrontation of alliances and counter-alliances took place on the Ninja World continent.

(End of this chapter)