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

Chapter 272 The True Lineage of Konoha Lies in Kirigakure!

No one present had any doubt about what Maitreya said.

After all, both the records circulating in the ninja world and the experiments conducted by ninjas from various countries have clearly shown that only the power of a priestess can harm the demon; the power of a ninja is completely ineffective against the demon.

This is determined by the nature of power. Even Madara Uchiha or the reincarnation of Hashirama Senju must abide by the basic laws of ninja in front of Moryo.

It was rather strange that the priestess, who had looked so dead before and was thinking of using her life to seal the demon, was now standing here unharmed, seemingly without any injury.

However, this was of no importance to the various ninja villages, and their curiosity flashed through their minds and then dissipated.

At this moment, they were all eager to leave this place and return to their homeland to use the secret techniques and reparations obtained during the Third Shinobi World War for domestic development.

After confirming that the demons had been dealt with, Onoki, Rasa, and the others bid each other a brief farewell and quickly began their journey back.

"The Land of Water..."

Maitreya stood before the deserted temple of the demon god, lost in thought as he recalled the scene that had just unfolded.

The fact that the demon was sealed by the god of death rather than the priestess means that the heavy responsibility that had weighed on the priestess lineage for thousands of years has now been lifted.

In the days that followed, her daughter could enjoy a leisurely daily life like a normal shrine maiden...

"However, the foundation of all this lies in the Land of Water, and in Hozuki Shingetsu... If something were to happen to him, the shadow of the demon that has shrouded the priestess for a thousand years might strike again."

The thought that his young daughter might follow in his footsteps made Maitreya steel his heart and he made a firm decision.

"Since I'm already prepared to sacrifice myself to seal away the demon, why not leave the Land of Demons and head to Kirigakure to assist that person?"

In order to protect his daughter and allow her to live a normal life, after taking a deep look at the northwest direction of the continent, Miroku resolutely turned around and embarked on the road eastward.

-

Three days later, in Kirigakure, in the Mizukage's office.

"You said you want to join Kirigakure?"

Hozuki Shingetsu, who had already returned to Kirigakure, looked at Uchiha Mikoto standing in front of him with a strange expression on his face.

Although Fugaku Uchiha did not kill himself, he was ultimately killed by Danzo Shimura because of his own actions.

So in a sense, he and the beautiful woman in front of him also had a "husband-killing feud".

Regardless of how the Uchiha clan came up with the idea of ​​joining Kirigakure, the mere fact that they sent Mikoto Uchiha, a beautiful woman who had a blood feud with Shingetsu Hozuki, as an envoy was something Shingetsu Hozuki could never even dream of.

He swore to God that although this was a scene he had always dreamed of, none of this was something he had orchestrated behind the scenes.

"No, it's not so much joining, but rather establishing a military alliance treaty with Kirigakure..."

Mikoto Uchiha was clearly very uncomfortable with her new identity. Despite her best efforts to be polite, her deep-seated hatred for Shingetsu Hozuki was still evident in her eyes and brows.

To be honest, life wasn't as easy as one might imagine after the Uchiha clan became independent.

After the Uchiha clan separated from Konoha, they moved to their clan's territory from the Warring States period and established a ninja village unique to the Uchiha clan.

Everyone was filled with deep joy as the Uchiha clan, having finally escaped Konoha's oppression and now had their own vast world, were overjoyed.

However, this joy quickly dissipated.

They discovered that suspicious-looking ninjas frequently appeared outside the Uchiha ninja village.

Although these people were quickly arrested and their identities as ninja villages were discovered thanks to the power of the Sharingan, the number of unidentified ninjas in the vicinity increased day by day.

The Uchiha clan then realized:

Times have changed.

This is no longer the time when the Warring States period had just ended and the various ninja villages had just ceased to exist.

After decades of development, the ninja world has basically formed a new situation with the five major ninja villages as the leaders and various small and medium-sized ninja villages developing side by side. Even though the Uchiha ninja village, which has become independent at this time, is arguably the strongest after the five major ninja villages, what can it do under this international situation?

Even Uzushio Village, if it weren't for Hozuki Shingetsu, wouldn't it have been destroyed more than a decade ago?

The allure of the Sharingan from the Uchiha clan is in no way inferior to the sealing techniques inherited from the Uzumaki clan, and in some ways, it may even be superior.

Especially now that the international environment is very different from that of more than ten years ago, the existence of Kirigakure's unique position forces all the other ninja villages to try their best to find ways to strengthen themselves. At this time, wouldn't the Uchiha clan, which has become independent, be the best elixir for them to improve their strength?

With no strong external support and a small internal population, it also possesses immense practical value due to its organ bloodline inheritance.

Thus, without needing any reminders, the three ninja villages of Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure tacitly sealed off and surrounded the outer perimeter of the Uchiha ninja village.

The Uchiha clan, amidst the increasing number of hostile ninjas around them, are gradually realizing that they and Konoha are mutually supportive entities!

Nowadays, ninjas have lost the foundation for their independent existence.

Konoha provided them with a place to live, and they contributed to Konoha's hegemony. This was a mutually beneficial thing in itself. However, due to the actions of two successive Hokage of Konoha, as well as some unforeseen events, they drifted further and further apart from Konoha, eventually going their separate ways.

After losing several members of their clan, the Uchiha clan finally realized the situation and had to start thinking about the future of the Uchiha clan in the post-Konoha era.

However, the first thing to be clear is that they definitely won't be going back to Konoha.

Whether considering their pride or the discrimination they've endured over the years, there's no way they can go back to Konoha, the place where they've suffered so much humiliation. Especially given the current circumstances, they can't afford to lose face, so Konoha is the first option to be ruled out.

Secondly, there's Iwagakure. The feud between Onoki and Madara Uchiha is well-known throughout the ninja world, so the Uchiha clan naturally wouldn't want to invite trouble.

Furthermore, the collectivist culture prevalent in Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) and its emphasis on ruthless execution machines is a form of torture for the emotionally rich Uchiha clan.

In addition, the prevalence of collectivism has led to a serious seniority system within Iwagakure. If this is the case even among their own people, then for outsiders who joined later in life, there is no way they can expect to be treated this way; they will inevitably face a lot of exclusion.

In Kumogakure, the Yotsuki clan held absolute power, and given the patriarchal style of the Raikage lineage, the Uchiha clan would inevitably have to obey the Fourth Raikage if they joined Kumogakure, which was something the Uchiha clan certainly did not want to face.

They don't even want to go back to those days in Konoha, so how could they possibly be in a situation even more miserable than Konoha?

That leaves only Sunagakure and Kirigakure.

For the Uchiha clan, Sunagakure was indeed an ideal choice.

The geographical environment of Sunagakure allows the Uchiha clan's Fire Release techniques to be fully utilized. Moreover, Sunagakure does not have any powerful ninja clans within its borders, and its strength is currently ranked at the bottom among the five great ninja villages. The addition of the Uchiha clan would be a powerful alliance for them, and Sunagakure should warmly welcome it.

However, the situation was quite the opposite; Sunagakure expressed extreme reluctance when faced with the Uchiha clan's request to join.

The key reason is simply that the strength of Sunagakure at this time was far too weak.

After the death of the Third Kazekage, Sasori of the Red Sand defected, leaving only Chiyo Ebizo, Rasa, and Yotsuya as the four most capable fighters available.

And what about the Uchiha clan?

A Uchiha with three tomoe must be a Jonin. Shimura Danzo's final dance in front of Konoha Village also allowed the world to witness the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan once again. Coincidentally, during the Third Shinobi World War, Uchiha Shisui's name, "Shisui of the Body Flicker," resounded throughout the shinobi world...

This situation is truly worrying for the high-ranking members of Sunagakure. After bringing the Uchiha clan into Sunagakure, will they be usurped and their story repeat itself, like Hozuki Shingetsu in the Land of Water?

Therefore, under such concerns, the Uchiha clan could only turn their attention to the last option: Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village).

If we set aside our prejudice against Hozuki Shingetsu, objectively speaking, Kirigakure might not actually be a bad choice for the Uchiha clan now.

With the Uzumaki clan as a prime example of a promising young master, the Uchiha clan gained a clear understanding of their future treatment.

Then, after the Third Shinobi World War ended, Kirigakure had the most bloodline ninjas in the shinobi world, with a large number of shinobi clans of all sizes, so there was no risk of usurping their territory.

Furthermore, the system of rewarding based on contribution points is extremely favorable to the Uchiha clan, whose members possess exceptional individual strength.

Hozuki Shingetsu himself has never heard of any news about acting arbitrarily (because such news simply cannot be spread)...

All of these factors led the Eighth Hokage of the Uchiha clan, the current head of the clan, to finally make up his mind.

After inquiring about the various rumors surrounding Hozuki Shingetsu in the ninja world, whether to show his "sincerity" or to indicate that the Uchiha clan had given up on this hatred, he actually thought of having Uchiha Mikoto represent the Uchiha clan as an envoy to persuade Hozuki Shingetsu to agree to the Uchiha clan joining Kirigakure.

Mikoto Uchiha was naturally unwilling, after all, Hozuki Shingetsu had a "humiliation for killing her husband", how could she possibly endure such humiliation and go to Kirigakure?

However, when Uchiha Hachimokuk appealed to her emotions and reason, and even subtly used Uchiha Itachi's future to persuade her, Uchiha Mikoto finally gave up her insistence and agreed to the matter.

Even so, she did not reveal the Uchiha clan's decision at the beginning, but instead prepared to use the pretext of a "military alliance" to test Hozuki Shingetsu.

"A military alliance? If it's a military alliance, then forget it. I don't think the Uchiha clan is worth allying with Kirigakure right now."

Hozuki Shingetsu would never sign such an alliance with the Uchiha clan. To him, Schrödinger's allies were meaningless, and Kirigakure, destined to be an enemy of the ninja world, had no need for allies.

However, it was precisely because of Mikoto Uchiha's words, combined with some information he had previously gathered, that he guessed Mikoto Uchiha's true purpose for coming here.

"The Uchiha clan joining Kirigakure... this is going to be interesting!"

Hozuki Shingetsu couldn't help but get excited at the thought of the Uchiha clan joining Kirigakure.

The Fake Konoha: The Uchiha have left, the Senju have perished, the Nine-Tails has disappeared, and the strong are no more.

The real Konoha (Hidden Mist): The Uchiha and Uzumaki clans still exist, the Nine-Tails still lives (obtained from the Kingdom of Loulan), the Wood Release has been passed down (through White Zetsu's cell experiments), the leader is the strongest in the ninja world, and the number of bloodline limit ninjas is unparalleled in the ninja world...

This can be considered the true lineage of Konoha in Kirigakure!

"However, if your clan is willing to join my Hidden Mist Village, then I would be very willing to offer some 'dowry' to show my sincerity."

Under Mikoto Uchiha's shocked gaze, Shingetsu Hozuki smiled and pulled a glass tube from under his desk. Inside, a pair of eyes with strange patterns in their pupils rose and fell in the liquid, watching his wife and enemy in the same room.

"These are... Fugaku's eyes?"

With a jolt, Mikoto Uchiha instantly recognized the source of the eye.

"How about it? This Mangekyou Sharingan? If you're willing to join my Hidden Mist Village, I'll exchange these Sharingan with you, or rather, I'll specifically exchange them with Itachi Uchiha. What do you say?"

Looking at Uchiha Mikoto's bittersweet expression, Hozuki Shingetsu let out a devilish murmur.

A simple kaleidoscope is completely meaningless to Hozuki New Moon now.

So it would be better to just return it to the Uchiha clan. That way, when Itachi grows up and awakens the Mangekyou Sharingan, he might be able to obtain a pair of Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and thus get a pair of Rinnegan again.

If you plant a pair of Kaleidoscopes today, you can reap a pair of Rinnegan the next day. Hozuki Shingetsu would never give up such a highly profitable opportunity.

A kaleidoscope for his own son?

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Mikoto couldn't sit still any longer and couldn't help but step forward to take the test tube and bring it back to her son.

However, seeing Mikoto Uchiha's trembling fingers about to touch the glass tube, Shingetsu Hozuki abruptly withdrew them and chuckled:

"However, if this is specifically for Uchiha Itachi, then it will be at a different price... You'll have to pay extra, Madam."

Hozuki Shingetsu gently stood up, pulled a piece of paper from her desk, wrote an address on it, and handed it to Uchiha Mikoto:

"My lady, would you be willing to share my bed tonight?"

(End of this chapter)