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

Chapter 270 The Witch and the Demon

After this Fourth Shinobi World War, the strength that Kirigakure had developed under Hozuki Shingetsu's various manipulations could no longer be concealed.

The mere fact that one ninja village alone occupies an entire eastern continent is enough to make the other ninja villages green with envy. Not to mention that Hozuki Shingetsu also displayed extraordinary strength during this Ninja World War, not only defeating Uchiha Fugaku, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Shimura Danzo in succession, but also killing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and Uchiha Madara, and finally obtaining the Rinnegan.

This led everyone in the ninja world, including Hozuki Shingetsu himself, to know that the next Shinobi World War would inevitably be a joint siege against Kirigakure.

Therefore, Hozuki Shingetsu completely let loose and stopped trying to hide anything. Under the watchful eyes of many ministers, he forcefully announced his recommendation for the position of Daimyo of the Land of Water.

After glancing at the warrior nailed to the pillar, his eyes wide open in death, all the ministers present rose in unison to pay homage to Mizuki Yuuko and praise Hozuki Shingetsu's wise decision.

These ministers have survived to this day thanks to the wise decisions of two successive generations of Daimyo of the Land of Water; there are very few fools left.

Thus, with the "willing" support of the ministers, Mizuyuko officially became the first female daimyo in the history of the ninja world.

As expected, Hozuki Shingetsu has taken another step closer to his true goal.

Hozuki Shingetsu's long-term plan was to have Mizuki Keita's daughter, Mizuki Yuuko, become the daimyo, and then Hozuki Shingetsu himself, in the dual capacity of being both the daughter and son-in-law of the former daimyo.

Of course, as a time traveler, Hozuki Shingetsu, due to Chinese customs, must still follow the fine tradition of "three refusals and three concessions" during this process.

However, all of this can only be done after Mizuki Yuko takes over and the situation stabilizes for a while.

Fortunately, given the nature of the two daimyo before and after them, Princess Yuuko and Princess Rena Mizuki were very clear-headed and did not look down on Hozuki Shingetsu Ninja in the slightest.

On the contrary, it is precisely because of the changes in recent years that they have an extraordinary understanding of the current situation.

To know who is truly in charge of the Land of Water now, and to know the current status of Hozuki Shingetsu in the Land of Water.

Therefore, they were quite satisfied with Hozuki Shingetsu, their future husband, who possessed great martial prowess. This was simply because the capital had experienced too many upheavals recently, making them have an urgent need for security.

In this turbulent era, Hozuki Shingetsu perfectly met their standards in every way.

The two sisters' tactfulness greatly pleased Hozuki Shingetsu.

After the fight at Hozuki Shingetsu's palace, it was practically common knowledge that "Hozuki Shingetsu's true intentions are known to everyone."

Everyone knows this thing is a puppet, but if she were someone like Emperor Xian of Han, and produced something like an imperial edict, then she would eventually cause some trouble for Hozuki Shingetsu.

Now, both sides are satisfied, and it couldn't be more perfect.

After Mizuki Yuuko ascended to the throne as daimyo, Hozuki Shingetsu stayed in the capital for a while, supporting Mizuki Yuuko while also issuing orders to transfer administrative talents cultivated and deployed by Kirigakure over the years to the capital, preparing to truly seize power in the country.

With that short-sighted minister still around, and with Hozuki Shingetsu's complete abandonment of pretense of power, no one dared to stop these administrative personnel from Kirigakure from taking over the entire country.

And so, within just one month, the entire Land of Water, apart from the daimyo on the surface, secretly belonged entirely to Hozuki Shingetsu.

If we also consider the purely physical relationship between the Daimyo and Hozuki Shingetsu, then the entire Land of Water could be completely renamed Hozuki.

With the capital now pacified, Hozuki Shingetsu once again crossed the ocean and arrived for the first time at the colony on the Eastern Continent that had nurtured Kirigakure's growth, to begin his inspection.

Although the Third Shinobi World War had just ended, signs of a joint blockade of Kirigakure by various ninja villages had already emerged.

The fact that the prices of various supplies that Kirigakure is currently purchasing have not decreased at all compared to the wartime period is undoubtedly a very abnormal thing.

It is important to know that during wartime, the prices of all kinds of goods continue to rise due to factors such as blocked roads and increased labor costs caused by war.

However, with the end of the war, this abnormal price inflation should have stopped. But it's been a month, and the prices of supplies procured by various parts of the ninja world for Kirigakure are still at the original wartime prices.

Moreover, according to feedback, all countries have raised tariffs on goods from Kirigakure, which has brought sales of Kirigakure goods to a standstill.

This also made Hozuki Shingetsu realize that the unseen Fourth Shinobi World War had actually begun the moment the Third Shinobi World War ended.

At such a time, the Eastern Continent, a crucial dumping ground for goods and a source of raw materials for the Hidden Mist Village, must not be allowed to suffer any mishaps.

While ordering increased secrecy and technological blockade on ironclad warships, Hozuki Shingetsu also increased the number of ships traveling between the two continents on a single trip to guard against possible attacks.

His visit to the Eastern Continent was warmly welcomed by the indigenous people of the Eastern Continent.

After years of governance by Kirigakure, all resistance forces on the Eastern Continent have been basically wiped out.

With the help of Kirigakure, the native inhabitants of the Eastern Continent successfully abandoned their past "barbaric" and "uncivilized" low-class life and ushered in a "civilized" and "affluent" upper-class culture.

After years of brainwashing and cultural invasion, everyone in the Eastern Continent, from nobles to commoners, takes pride in learning the clothing style of Kirigakure and speaking fluent ninja language.

Especially under the implementation of the "national extinction and racial extinction" plan of Kirigakure, children born on the Eastern Continent now basically no longer know their original language and writing. Apart from their bloodline and physical bodies, everyone has been assimilated into "spiritual Kirigakure people".

In order to catch a glimpse of Hozuki Shingetsu, the being who stood above them like a celestial being, some people even offered high prices. Unfortunately, none of those who managed to secure a spot were fools; no matter how much money they offered, they would never resell it.

When Hozuki Shingetsu noticed this scene, he knew that the soil of the Eastern Continent had been nurtured to maturity, for culture is the foundation of a nation and a country.

When these people no longer identify with their own culture, the country, even if it exists, is in reality already extinct.

Therefore, in order to promote and encourage this idea, Hozuki Shingetsu specially established a medal of honor for these natives of the Eastern Continent, awarding them the title of "Honorary Mist Hidden One" to certify their purity of Mist Hidden One status.

Each year, only the three most outstanding performers can receive the title of "Honorary Mist Hidden One".

In the struggle for this title, a trend of desperate and reckless struggle even emerged on the Eastern Continent.

In short, the most cost-effective method is to use empty titles to spur these guys to work hard for the esteemed Lords of Mist, in order to satisfy their pitiful vanity among their own kind.

While PUA these noble natives of the Eastern Continent, Hozuki Shingetsu finally took advantage of this time when nothing was happening to truly subdue the negative emotions accumulated within him by the Shinigami over thousands of years, becoming the first Shinigami Jinchuriki in the true sense of the ninja world's history.

The biggest impact of being a Shinigami Jinchuriki on Hozuki Shingetsu is probably that his soul power has become more than twice as strong as before.

If the boosts that the Tailed Beasts bring to Jinchūriki are mainly physical enhancements such as chakra and physical attributes, then the boosts that the Shinigami brings to Hozuki Shingetsu are more focused on the soul.

Now, Hozuki Shingetsu's mind is much more active than before. No matter how tired he is the day before, he only needs three hours of sleep the next day to maintain his energy for the whole day.

The range of the Soul Astral Projection Technique has been expanded more than three times compared to before.

Moreover, their control over their bodies has reached a new level.

Now, with his eyes closed, Hozuki Shingetsu even has the illusion that he can sense the very skin of his body, such as the tips of his fingers, and that he can easily control the muscle groups in those areas with just a thought.

It can be said that Hozuki Shingetsu's identity as a Shinigami Jinchuriki truly matched his soul with his increasingly powerful body, greatly amplifying his invisible physical weaknesses.

Besides the boost from the Grim Reaper's side, Indra's side also brought a great surprise to Hozuki Shingetsu.

As the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths, Indra naturally inherited some of the Sage of Six Paths' secret techniques in addition to the Sharingan.

A significant portion of these secret techniques affect the soul.

This is also the fundamental reason why the Sage of Six Paths was able to remain in the ninja world after his death, and why the chakra of Indra and Ashura did not dissipate for thousands of years after their deaths.

With the blessing of this secret technique, Hozuki Shingetsu can even briefly "astral projection"—unlike the soul projection of the Spirit Transformation Technique, under this secret technique, Hozuki Shingetsu's soul can not only exist independently of his physical body, but can even use ninjutsu with a certain degree of lethality.

This further confirmed Hozuki Shingetsu's guess: by combining the powers of Shinigami, Mouryou, Satoru, and Jashin, it was highly likely that he could indeed reach the Six Paths level.

If one can achieve the Six Paths of the physical body through the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki method, then perhaps one can achieve the Six Paths of the soul by combining these four different entities with the Sage of Six Paths' secret techniques.

With this in mind, after inspecting the Eastern Continent and resolving the aftermath with the Grim Reaper, Hozuki Shingetsu set his sights on the northwest of the continent, towards the Land of Demons.

Because of Minato Namikaze, demons and monsters ravaged the northwest of the continent. The reason why Iwagakure and Sunagakure were in such a hurry to return was because the reputation of this undead army was too great.

As a truly neutral country in the ninja world, the fact that the priestess of the Land of Demons can hold such a transcendent position in the ninja world is enough to show just how great a threat these demons pose to the ninja world.

Even with the help of the priestess of the Land of Demons, Iwagakure and Sunagakure spent three months only managing to limit the harm to a certain extent, and still failed to reseal the demon.

This is why the general reaction from the various ninja nations to Hozuki Shingetsu Tachisui Yuko becoming a daimyo was not very strong.

Iwagakure and Sunagakure are preoccupied with the demons and have no time to attend to the Land of Water here;

Konoha had just experienced major events such as war, the tragic death of the Hokage, and the departure of the Uchiha clan. The new Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had just been elected and naturally had no energy to get involved in this matter.

In the Land of Lightning, there was also Satoru, who was released from the Box of Bliss and caused chaos. The entire ninja world was in turmoil. In addition, since Hozuki Shingetsu himself did not usurp the throne, he naturally did not react very strongly to the first female daimyo of the Land of Water.

It was against this backdrop that Hozuki Shingetsu traveled alone westward to the northwest of the continent, to the Swamp Country, the stronghold of the demons.

"My lady, we have already sacrificed too many lives for this sealing. We must seal the demon this time no matter what."

Onoki floated low in the air, looking at the Wraith Temple not far away, which was surrounded by a large number of undead legions, with a serious expression on his face.

Beside him were Chiyo, Rasa, Yokura, and Oshiki, all dressed in military attire, as well as Miroku, the current priestess of the Land of Demons, who was dressed in a magnificent priestess outfit.

Faced with the Wraiths who can continuously summon an undead army from another world, they have come to realize, after this period of fighting, that only by eliminating the Wraiths, the true culprit, can this disaster be truly resolved.

It was for this purpose that they specifically organized this special squad to protect Maitreya and carry out decapitation tactics.

Now we've reached the final step. Once we open this temple of demons, we'll be able to meet the true master, and then Maitreya will perform the sorceress's magic to completely resolve this disaster.

Everyone present naturally understood the significance of this battle, and even Chiyo and the other people from Sunagakure all expressed their agreement without any objection.

"Dust Release: Particle Style - Detachment Technique!"

As a white light shone from Onoki's hand, the final battle for sealing began.

Under the cover of the elite troops from the two ninja villages, the squad quickly passed through the formation of the undead legion and arrived at the Temple of the Demon God.

"Alright, everyone, I'll handle the rest of the journey myself."

Miroku straightened his crown and bowed deeply to those around him. "After I leave, I hope you will take good care of Shion to the best of your ability."

After wreaking havoc for so long, the amount of negative energy absorbed by the demon is unknown. Miroku knew that the only way to seal it was to rely on his own life, which is why he asked the two leaders of the ninja village to do it at the last moment.

Faced with the main force's request, Onoki and Rasa naturally wouldn't refuse, since the Land of Demons has been a "land that cannot be conquered" since ancient times, so agreeing to this condition wouldn't be a problem.

With everyone's assurances, the Miroku priestess took one last look in the direction of the Land of Demons before resolutely entering the Temple of the Demon God.

Unbeknownst to everyone present, a milky-white figure simultaneously "merged" into the Wraith Temple from the other side.

(End of this chapter)