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

Chapter 244 Abundant Resources, Well-trained Soldiers, and Ample Generals: Taking the Initiative!

"Your progress is too fast. At ten years old, you've already set a new record for Jonin promotion. Even with the Chakra Research Institute's specially designed training program for you, your strength at this age is still somewhat unrealistic."

"So for the next period of time, your goal is to lay a solid foundation and consolidate your strength as much as possible."

In Kirigakure, at the Mizukage Building, Hozuki Shingetsu is educating his adopted son, Yakushi Kabuto.

Six years have passed, and the twenty-four-year-old Hozuki Shingetsu has now fully grown up. Standing at over 1.8 meters tall with a heroic face, coupled with the demeanor he has cultivated in Kirigakure over the years, he is no longer the boy he once was, but rather the image of a leader.

With his stature and similar white hair, standing in front of Kabuto, Hozuki Shingetsu could easily be mistaken for Kabuto's biological father, let alone his adoptive father.

"Yes, Lord Crescent Moon."

Kabuto nodded obediently in response to Hozuki Shingetsu's instruction.

Six years have passed. Through Hozuki Shingetsu's various schemes and tactics, and through Yakushi Nonou's constant persuasion, Kabuto has long since abandoned his hostility towards Hozuki Shingetsu and has come to regard himself as a true member of Kirigakure.

People in the ninja world are naturally precocious, let alone a genius like Kabuto Yakushi, who is a rare find in the ninja world.

Even if he couldn't reach the level of Itachi Uchiha's mindset when he was three years old, at this age he knew who was good to him and who wasn't.

Knowing which place is more beneficial for oneself, for Yakushi Nono, and for the development of everyone at the orphanage.

During his years in Konoha, he never experienced the legendary "Will of Fire," and even the orphanage's funding couldn't be guaranteed. How could he possibly have any affection for Konoha after living in Kirigakure for six years?

Moreover, during those six years, Hozuki Shingetsu had been incredibly devoted to him.

He would frequently take him to the Chakra Research Institute, introduce him to many highly classified projects, and have people systematically tutor him on chakra research and science and technology.

In terms of ninja training, he not only taught him the Water Release chakra mode that he created, but also often took him to experience Sage Mode and learn about related knowledge.

Despite being limited by his physical development and chakra reserves, Kabuto Yakushi did not truly master Sage Mode. However, his expanded understanding of chakra, coupled with Shingetsu Hozuki's unwavering support, was enough to make him a Jonin at the age of ten.

Upon hearing the address "Yakushi Kabuto," Hozuki Shingetsu frowned slightly.

"Kabuto, you won't even call me godfather... Has our relationship become so distant?"

Under the pressure of Hozuki Shingetsu's gaze and the snickers of Terumi Mei and the others around him, Yakushi Kabuto hesitated for a moment, but finally managed to call out "father."

"Hmm, very good... I've already said everything I needed to say during the Jonin Promotion Tournament and over the years we've spent together, so I won't repeat myself."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the Jonin promotion candidates standing in a row in front of him, his expression serious. "I only have one thing to remind you of."

"What I said at the Jonin Promotion Tournament, 'Abandon illusions and prepare for war,' was not unfounded."

Under the watchful eyes of all the geniuses of Kirigakure, Hozuki Shingetsu laid out his judgment.

"The situation in the ninja world is becoming increasingly tense. The strength of the anti-Konoha alliance has been growing stronger over time, and its overall strength has long surpassed that of Konoha by a great margin."

"So whether it's us who can't suppress our desire to drag Konoha, the number one ninja in the world, into the war, and want to take the initiative to start a war, or Konoha who doesn't want to sit idly by and want to take the initiative to start a war, this war is already inevitable."

"Therefore, I request that you avoid going out on missions alone as much as possible during this period."

Looking at the group of Kirigakure's elite, whom he had painstakingly nurtured for nearly ten years, Hozuki Shingetsu solemnly gave them his instructions.

After all, for him, loyal people are easy to find, and capable people are also easy to find, but people who are both loyal and capable are not so easy to find.

He had spent ten years painstakingly cultivating this elite team that truly belonged to him, and naturally he didn't want them to get into trouble at this sensitive time.

He didn't want anyone present to become Grand Duke Ferdinand, and he himself didn't want to become Franz Joseph, the catalyst for the Third Shinobi World War.

Given his various grudges with Konoha, Danzo Shimura, and the Uchiha clan, if Konoha chooses to take the initiative and gain the upper hand, the probability of Kirigakure being chosen as the trigger is extremely high.

Everyone present had been trained by Hozuki Shingetsu, so naturally they wouldn't object to his opinion at this time. Besides, they knew that Hozuki Shingetsu was protecting them, so they readily agreed.

"Lady Shingetsu, Lord Yagura of Karatachi has returned."

Just as Hozuki Shingetsu finished talking with the group of newly promoted Jonin and they filed out, Akiba Masanobu quickly walked up to Hozuki Shingetsu and bowed to report.

Hozuki Shingetsu looked up in surprise and saw his childhood friend, whom he hadn't seen for many years, standing proudly at the office door, looking at him with a smile.

"Haha, Yagura, it's been a long time!"

Instead of inquiring about the Eastern Continent, Hozuki Shingetsu looked delighted and hugged Yagura Karatachi to express his excitement.

"Looking back, it's been almost six years since we last saw each other since you went to the Eastern Continent, hasn't it? Time really flies!"

Faced with Hozuki Shingetsu's heartfelt outpouring, Yagura Karatachi was naturally deeply moved.

Seeing this scene, the rest of the office staff naturally knew what the two were going to talk about, so they all quietly left the office, leaving the two enough space to talk.

"Yes... It's been six years. I didn't expect you to be married already."

Yagura, also looking on with emotion, said, "Back then, those natives of the Eastern Continent happened to unite and launch a large-scale guerrilla war, which is why I couldn't come back in time to congratulate you. You won't blame me, will you?"

"How could that be... You were working hard for the village, how could I blame you!"

Over the past six years, the biggest change in Hozuki Shingetsu has been that he went from being unmarried to being married.

As the saying goes, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may," and six years have passed. Kushina Uzumaki is no longer the red-haired girl who stood up for others in Uzushio Village.

Kushina Uzumaki has now grown into the image in Shingetsu Hozuki's mind. Her long, bright red hair tied in a ponytail is just too much to Shingetsu Hozuki's liking.

So when Kushina Uzumaki turned eighteen, the two held a grand wedding in front of everyone in Kirigakure.

Well, it's worth mentioning that Kushina Uzumaki's bridesmaids were not from the Uzumaki clan, but were chosen by her own hand.

And whether intentionally or unintentionally, she designated three women as her bridesmaids: Yukinagi, Sara, and Yakushino.

So objectively speaking, there were actually quite a few funny moments at Lord Hozuki's wedding.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Yagura Karatachi began to give a serious report on the current situation of the Eastern Continent's Kirigakure Company.

"Militarily, as of now, we have occupied all the major cities and towns in the Eastern Continent. In other words, we have controlled about 80% of the population of the Eastern Continent."

"Under our strikes, those guerrilla armies loyal to the former royal family and those ambitious individuals have been reduced to a ragtag force, forced to live in scattered, remote areas. The Eastern Continent is now firmly in our hands."

Hozuki Shingetsu nodded in agreement. After all, the Eastern Continent's population and area were comparable to the Ninja World Continent. It was unrealistic to think that the thousand or so people sent by Kirigakure could completely control this continent.

Even if Ghost Lantern Crescent had orchestrated the creation of those Fog Army and traitorous legions, it wouldn't have been realistic. There would always be inhabited areas in remote mountains or dangerous places; controlling all the major cities and transportation routes would have been sufficient.

After all, Kirigakure's goal was not to occupy the area, but to dump goods and plunder raw materials.

But Yagura did not stop talking; instead, he continued his explanation:

"In terms of resources, thirteen large gold and silver mines and dozens of medium and small gold and silver mines have been discovered in the Eastern Continent. Many large mines such as copper, iron, and coal have also been discovered... Thanks to the successful development of the iron-framed warships in recent years, the natural barrier between the two continents can no longer hinder exchanges between them. The Eastern Continent is now capable of undertaking the important task of supplying raw materials and selling goods to the village."

At this point, Yagura's face was filled with pride.

After all, to be honest, expanding colonies is not difficult. The strength of the Hidden Mist Village ninjas is undeniable, and the generational difference in combat power between them and the Eastern Continent is enough for them to seize large swathes of territory like autumn leaves in the wind.

The challenge lies in ensuring the colony's operation and maintaining its crucial role in providing continuous financial support to Kirigakure.

Kirigakure is located in the Land of Water, an island nation characterized by a lack of mineral resources.

Back when the world was in chaos, we plundered countless mineral resources from the land of China and sank them all to the seabed near the island. Wasn't that all for the sake of the long term?

The Third Shinobi World War was an attack on Konoha. With the support of the three kingdoms of Wind, Earth, and Lightning, Kirigakure was naturally not afraid of losing its overseas resource channels.

However, according to Hozuki Shingetsu's idea of ​​unifying the ninja world, as Kirigakure's strength and ambitions grow, the Fourth Shinobi World War will inevitably involve an invasion of Kirigakure.

At that time, Kirigakure, isolated overseas, will inevitably have its resource supply to the Ninja World cut off by the Allied Forces. Therefore, Hozuki Shingetsu must plan ahead and ensure that the Eastern Continent can provide a sufficient supply of raw materials.

Although Hozuki Shingetsu was confident in his own abilities, he would never underestimate any hero in the world, after all, there were far too many times in history when resources were exhausted and battles were lost.

Germany in World War I and World War II are the biggest examples.

Therefore, Hozuki Shingetsu is naturally full of praise for Yagura Gokugi.

"Then there's education. Thanks to our strong support and promotion, all the cities in the Eastern Continent are now covered by Ninja Academy."

"After six years of effort, according to statistics, the number of people in the Eastern Continent who can refine chakra has now reached over 100,000 (those who know how to refine chakra but not ninjutsu). Based on the standard of recommending one genius per ninja academy per year, the Eastern Continent can now send 97 outstanding ninja students to Kirigakure every year."

Hozuki Shingetsu nodded, quite pleased with the number.

With Kirigakure controlling 80% of the population of the Eastern Continent, this can be roughly regarded as selecting these 97 talents from tens of millions of people in the Eastern Continent every year. The probability is more than one in ten thousand.

It's one in a million!

With the addition of ninja academies set up throughout the Land of Water, it's no exaggeration to say that anyone randomly selected from Kirigakure's ninja academy would be incredibly precious to the leaders of those smaller ninja villages, considered a once-in-a-decade genius in their respective villages.

In other words, it's still early days. The first batch of students just graduated this year. If it were more than ten years later, Konoha would be nothing but trash in front of Hozuki Shingetsu. There would be no need for them to feign friendship with Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, or to form some kind of anti-Konoha alliance in a roundabout way.

At that time, relying solely on their raw strength, Kirigakure will be able to take on four opponents at once and shout that everyone here is trash.

That covers the basic situation of the Eastern Continent. However, there's one last thing Yagura Karatachi hasn't mentioned yet: the plan to foster bloodline limits.

"Under the influence of the concubinage and childbirth order, the ninja clans who went to the Eastern Continent, as well as the bloodline limit holders that you, Xinyue, have been sending to the Eastern Continent over the years, basically spend all their time mating with native women, except for eating, sleeping, and necessary training. They are having an average of ten births per person per year."

"Over the past six years, eighty-six new bloodline ninjas have been added to the Eastern Continent."

As Yagura Karatachi spoke, a hint of excitement flashed across his face.

Bloodline limit ninjas are already rare, and these eighty-six bloodline limit ninjas are comparable to large and medium-sized ninja clans in Kirigakure.

This is equivalent to Kirigakure gaining a large or medium-sized ninja clan every six years, which greatly enhances Kirigakure's combat strength.

Actually, this last point also involves the ninja clan's division plan, but due to the impending war and the fact that the plan had just begun and the newborns had not yet grown up, the two sides tacitly refrained from mentioning this matter.

"Eighty-sixth place..."

Hozuki Shingetsu muttered to himself, quickly calculating the current strength of Kirigakure.

"The total number of ninjas is over 20,000, including 890 Jonin, over 3,000 Chunin, and 20,000 Genin... Among them, there are over 500 Bloodline Ninja, and over 360 who are capable of fighting..."

"The village now has a surplus of 50 billion taels of silver, and its stored resources are enough to sustain the village in a full-scale war for four years..."

As Hozuki Shingetsu silently recited the number, a hint of pride flashed across his face.

"We've done everything we could, there's no point in waiting any longer... In that case, let's take the initiative!"

Hozuki Shingetsu turned around and looked towards the western direction of Konoha, a fierce glint flashing across his face.

"Twenty-four years have passed, and the plan to unify the ninja world has finally become a reality... So it's time to start with Konoha!"

(End of this chapter)