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

Chapter 228 Progress of the Eastern Continent Conquest and the Formation of the Puppet Army

"Danzo, you'll regret this!"

"Hiruzen, I am the Hokage!"

boom!

After the two exchanged heated words, the sound of the Hokage's office door being slammed shut followed by the sound of the door being closed.

Cool!

After saying those words to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura felt as if he had lost several pounds, and was so light on his feet that he felt like he was about to take off.

This kind of dialogue about how fortunes change has been in his mind for decades, and now it has finally come true. It feels like he just ate some super chewing gum.

I'm so incredibly excited.jpg

However, before Shimura Danzo could fully savor the joy of victory, his mood was ruined by the words of Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

Upon overhearing the ambiguous conversation between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, it seemed as if some button had been flipped within Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.

Upon hearing the keywords "you regret my shadow," the two of them, as if suffering from PTSD, reflexively began to smooth things over.

"Hey, Hiruzen, don't take Danzo to heart, that's just how he is..."

"Yes, Hiruzen, Danzo has his reasons. Don't you understand him? He's just addressing the issue, not the person..."

"……Um?"

As they were casually talking, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado suddenly realized something was wrong.

What did we just say?

Should Hiruzen forgive Danzo?

But isn't the current Hokage Danzo Shimura?

Was that person who just left Hiruzen Sarutobi?

So, did we just reverse the roles of the people we were trying to smooth things over with?

The two looked at each other, carefully recalling what they had just said, their faces gradually filled with embarrassment.

A deathly silence filled the Hokage's office.

"Go on, keep going! What's wrong with Danzo?"

Danzo Shimura slowly sat back down in his chair, placed his cane across his knees, and looked at Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane with a blank expression, seemingly very interested in their unfinished conversation.

"Oh? Haha, I say, Hokage-sama, you're very insightful... Danzo, what exactly was the reform you mentioned?"

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, chuckled awkwardly and changed the subject very abruptly.

Danzo Shimura cursed his two old teammates for being opportunists, but he also knew that he couldn't do without their help if he wanted to carry out the plan. So he patiently began to deal with them using various means.

As the first of Shimura Danzo's three major reform plans for Konoha Village, it was imperative that his efforts be fully implemented.

However, these are ultimately just superficial phenomena.

"When my followers of the Miroku sect are all over Konoha, that will be the day you old fogies step down!"

Shimura Danzo watched the two people struggling in front of him, suppressing his displeasure, and vented his anger in his heart.

Danzo Shimura was no fool; he knew that this reform plan would affect the interests of most ninja clans and would encounter great resistance.

His purpose in implementing this reform was simple: first, to demonstrate his strength from the very beginning of his term.

Having served in Root for many years, his style of doing things was ruthless and unscrupulous, and the new Hokage naturally wouldn't change that style.

Secondly, he would use the reform plan, which only existed on paper, as leverage to make a deal with the major ninja clans, forcing them to hand over more of their elite troops to him.

Do you want to prevent civilian ninjas from gaining more ninjutsu privileges?

Sure!

The purpose of this reform plan is to strengthen the village. Since you disagree, send more of your clan's elite ninjas to the Anbu. That way, the plan can be discussed. Otherwise... Hmph!

The most crucial third point is that, under the guise of this reform plan, they secretly and extensively developed the Maitreya religion.

The Miroku sect was already growing rapidly among ordinary ninjas. As the living Buddha of the Miroku sect, Shimura Danzo had already become Hokage, so the Miroku sect naturally had to expand as well.

Over the past two decades, Shimura Danzo's core support base has been the Roots.

Undeniably, under Danzo Shimura's tutelage, the members of Root were all elites. However, since Root was essentially an ANBU ninja training institution, the number of Root ninjas that could be controlled by Danzo Shimura was destined to be limited.

Danzo Shimura, on the other hand, wanted to become a Hokage with absolute power, and these Root ninjas alone were absolutely unable to control Konoha.

In this context, the Miroku sect became a very effective tool for Danzo Shimura to control Konoha.

Once all the commoner ninjas or those frustrated ninja clan members joined this sect, it meant that Shimura Danzo gained actual, bottom-up power control.

Although the Miroku sect was originally founded by Hozuki Shingetsu, its unique doctrines meant that Shimura Danzo was not afraid of Hozuki Shingetsu taking credit for his work.

"However, the Maitreya Cult is growing stronger, and ultimately, a representative must be chosen from within the cult..."

While dealing with Koharu Utatane and Homura Mito, Danzo Shimura pondered the situation.

Actually, if Ryoma Aburame were still around, this guy would be a good choice.

Unfortunately, Ryoma Aburame was already killed by Shingetsu Hozuki in Uzushio Village six years ago when he was sent by Danzo Shimura to deal with Shingetsu. By then, his bones were probably mostly rotten, so it was impossible for him to come out and help him take control of the Miroku sect.

"Orochimaru... no, Orochimaru still needs to conduct Wood Release experiments and improve the Impure World Reincarnation technique, so he's not a good candidate either..."

Danzo Shimura then thought of Orochimaru. Since he became Hokage, Orochimaru could finally conduct experiments openly without fear of being caught off guard.

That is why Orochimaru's research is progressing smoothly and he is unable to spare the time to help him manage the Miroku Cult.

But aside from these two, he really couldn't find many capable and loyal people for the time being.

Suddenly, Danzo Shimura remembered Kakashi Hatake's lifeless gaze and immediately made a plan.

"Hmm... but after a few years, Kakashi would be a good choice."

Having experienced the loss of both parents and the shattering of his faith, Kakashi is now practically a perfect tool.

With exceptional talent, no worries, a heart as cold as ashes, and a mission-oriented mindset... Kakashi like this could really help him manage the Miroku Cult in a few years.

-

In Kirigakure, Hozuki Shingetsu had just finished reading the Eastern Continent strategy report sent back by Yagura Karatachi.

Two months have passed since Hozuki Shingetsu established the Hidden Mist Company in the Eastern Continent and entrusted Yagura Karatachi with full authority to lead the first batch of several hundred elite ninja clans in the colonization plan of the Eastern Continent from the air fortress.

Excluding the two weeks spent on the road, Yagura Karatachi has been in the Eastern Continent for a month and a half.

For the past month and a half, relying on the vast difference in chakra utilization between the Eastern Continent and the Ninja World Continent, the overwhelming combat power of the elite ninja clans of Kirigakure, and the rapid support capabilities of the aerial fortress, Yagura's offensive has been unstoppable.

In accordance with Hozuki Shingetsu's prior plans and schemes, Yagura Karatachi carried out targeted strikes on the capitals of the seven original indigenous nations of the Eastern Continent the moment he arrived there.

Utilizing the high mobility of the aerial fortress and the ninjas' formidable assault capabilities, they captured the capitals of seven indigenous nations in just three days.

All the high-ranking officials and royal family members of these seven countries were captured by Yagura Karatachi.

Originally, he had planned to use his great name to command the feudal lords, but unexpectedly, when the cities of these countries heard that the royal family members were under control, they became more like invaders than Yagura Karatachi, and raised their banners to resist in front of the capital's envoy.

The fact that these countries can cause their subordinates to become so disloyal and alienated is a testament to the exceptional talent of their leaders.

Left with no other choice, Yagura Karatachi had to change his strategy, shifting from indirect to direct control, allowing his ninjas to take over the cities of the Eastern Continent.

In this era, don't expect the people of the Eastern Continent to have any national consciousness or patriotism. Basically, once they fall to the enemy, as long as the exploitation isn't too excessive, the people here have no interest in avenging their former masters.

After all, even if Master Zhang leaves, there's still Master Zhao. Whichever master comes, the taxes still need to be paid.

In that case, it doesn't matter who you work for.

Since Hozuki Shingetsu's ultimate goal is to use the Eastern Continent as a source of cheap raw materials and a dumping ground for goods, he naturally won't do anything to these poor people below.

If they really were to take action, they would only find an excuse to kill a group of wealthy people, since poor people only have a few ounces of oil on them.

Without being engulfed by a vast sea of ​​people, the Hidden Mist Company of the Eastern Continent often only needs a few ninjas to guard a city.

After all, even the British in his previous life could suppress the entire India with less than a thousand soldiers. Although limited by road and transportation issues, a few ninjas working together with shadow clones were enough to guard a city.

Therefore, under these circumstances, the entire Eastern Continent conquest plan can be said to be in excellent shape.

However, while the overall situation was looking good, the rapid pace of the advance at the front lines, and the unprecedented level of technological difference in combat tactics, meant that Yagura Karatachi had no experience to draw upon, and some problems eventually surfaced.

"It's mainly a matter of numbers..."

Hozuki Shingetsu quickly skimmed through the entire situation report, focusing on the issues that Yagura Karatachi had mentioned at the end.

Because of the rapid pace of expansion, the area occupied by the Eastern Continent Fog Shadow Company has now exceeded expectations.

Although only a few ninjas are needed to occupy a city, the Eastern Continent is ultimately a continent roughly the same size as the Ninja World Continent. With the gradual division of forces, the troops currently stationed at the front lines by Yagura Karatachi are much weaker than before.

Moreover, the aftereffects of this division of forces are gradually becoming apparent.

Although the natives of the Eastern Continent could not win on the main battlefield, they had far more people than the ninjas, and under the leadership of some generals, they had learned to fight guerrilla warfare without any formal instruction.

"Although Lord Yagura's forces are all elites from Kirigakure, and their combat strength is enough to crush those natives from the Eastern Continent, their numbers are ultimately too small."

Having spent years by Hozuki Shingetsu's side, Akiba Masanobu's theoretical knowledge of military strategy had naturally improved by leaps and bounds, and he had naturally noticed this shortcoming.

"But Lord Shingetsu, the current batch of ninjas are all elite ninjas drawn from various clans. Given the current situation, it is estimated that no major ninja clans are willing to send any more people from their clans... If we are to provide support, we can probably only support some genin and graduates who have just graduated from the ninja academy."

As the chief steward of Kirigakure, Akiba Masanobu was naturally very familiar with the current troop strength of the village.

The total number of ninja clans in Kirigakure is probably no more than a thousand. Now, a third of them have been transferred. Not to mention whether the ninja clans would be willing to continue transferring more, the key point is that Kirigakure also needs to retain a considerable number of elites for entrusted tasks and guard duties.

Although we are currently in a truce period, we still need to be prepared for any eventuality.

Although the resistance forces in the Eastern Continent were like stray dogs under the blows of the Hidden Mist Village's elite troops, the Eastern Continent is still a vast continent, and its armed forces still have their merits.

Those mechanical puppets, which are different from the ninja tool puppets of Sunagakure, would inevitably cause great casualties if ordinary genin and ninja academy graduates were to deal with them.

"Notify Yagura Karatachi to have the air fortress brought back."

After thinking for a while, Hozuki Shingetsu finally began to issue orders.

"Select one thousand civilian ninjas to accompany the aerial fortress to the Eastern Continent!"

Hozuki Shingetsu does want to support the power of civilian ninjas, but that doesn't mean he's a nice guy who will just give them ninjutsu for free. This is, after all, the ninja world, and what he needs are the elite among the civilians.

Moreover, with ninja academies now built in every village of the Land of Water, talented commoners from all over the Land of Water are continuously pouring into Kirigakure.

Therefore, Hozuki Shingetsu took advantage of the Eastern Continent to raise Gu worms and hone the spirit and combat power of these commoner ninjas.

He always believed in one principle: an iron-blooded army must be forged in the fires of war.

"Furthermore, the rules for the graduate preparatory period have been secretly modified! All graduates must serve in the Eastern Continent for two full months before they can become official genin!"

Hozuki Shingetsu naturally didn't forget Tsunade and Pakura, who were active in the village. In order not to expose the existence of the Eastern Continent, this order would naturally not be known until the graduates graduated from the Ninja Academy.

"Then notify the Eastern Continent's Misty Company that all contribution points earned from missions completed in the Eastern Continent will be doubled!"

Since they were far from the mainland, these ninjas naturally deserved high-level treatment, and Hozuki Shingetsu would never do something like asking a horse to run without giving it any grass.

"Finally, use a summoning beast to deliver this note to Yagura Karatachi!"

Hozuki Shingetsu quickly scribbled a few lines on the paper, cursing Yagura as he wrote:

"What an idiot! With overwhelming combat power, he still got trapped by manpower."

Akiba Masanobu took the note and glanced at it out of curiosity. He saw that the first line contained several large characters:

The formation and use of the puppet army (the Fog Shadow Co-Prosperity Army).

(End of this chapter)