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

Chapter 275 The Hidden Mist Village will never cease fighting until the last drop of blood is shed on the Eastern Continent!

The fact that Hozuki Shingetsu became a daimyo had a far greater impact on China than it did on foreign countries.

Within the Land of Water, from nobles to commoners, everyone has gained a full understanding of Hozuki Shingetsu's ambitions through his various actions over the past few years.

From his initial role as the daimyo's son, to his later acquisition of the Nine Bestowments during the coup in Mizutofu, including privileges such as not being called by name, not having to bow when entering the court, and being allowed to wear a sword and shoes in the palace, to his forceful promotion of Mizuyuko to the throne two years ago, becoming the daimyo's husband himself, and now his actions of controlling both military and political affairs, it can be said that he has fully demonstrated his deepest ambition.

Within the Land of Water, a saying even emerged to describe this phenomenon: "Hozuki Shingetsu's heart is known to all."

Therefore, compared to the people in the Land of Water, or even the uninformed ninja community, they were even more shocked by Hozuki Shingetsu's sudden change of identity.

After all, since the Sage of Six Paths founded the Ninja Cult, the ninja world has always upheld the tradition of keeping to themselves and the ninjas separate, and even the tradition of the nobles being superior to the ninjas.

Hozuki Shingetsu's actions not only challenged the conventional ninja values ​​of the ninja world, but also provoked the millennia-old power dynamic between ninjas and nobles.

Adding to this the personal strength that Hozuki Shingetsu has revealed in the ninja world, and the boost that the Eastern Continent has given to the overall strength of Kirigakure, all these factors combined finally became the last weight on the scales when Hozuki Shingetsu usurped the title of Daimyo, completely igniting the hostility of all the ninja villages and Daimyo towards Kirigakure.

At this moment, not only did the various ninja villages see the enormous threat posed by Kirigakure, but the daimyo of each country were also extremely angry at Hozuki Shingetsu for his overstepping authority. They summoned the leaders of the ninja villages of each country to express their dissatisfaction with Kirigakure and their opinions on Hozuki Shingetsu.

Besides these rather abstract verbal opinions, the various daimyo also stated that they would take the lead in organizing an anti-Hidden Mist Alliance and would provide ample financial support for the upcoming battle between the various ninja villages and the Hidden Mist Village.

With this biggest concern resolved, the establishment of the Anti-Mist Alliance naturally followed.

-

In the capital of the Land of Iron, the former headquarters of the International Ninja Organization, the four major ninja villages and some peace-loving "ambitious individuals" all gathered to discuss various matters concerning the anti-Hidden Mist Alliance.

In the two years following the Third Shinobi World War, due to the unprecedented clarity of the international situation, the role of this international ninja organization for Kirigakure was practically negligible.

Regardless of the content, the topic of each meeting was always the collective suppression of Kirigakure by the various ninja villages. Therefore, after experiencing several such incidents, Hozuki Shingetsu simply announced his withdrawal from the international ninja organization, giving up the opportunity to expand his international influence and fully shrinking his power to prepare for the upcoming war.

Therefore, since the withdrawal of Kirigakure, the current international ninja organization can be said to have completely transformed into a stronghold of anti-Kirigakure forces.

However, the atmosphere inside the main camp was not harmonious despite the appearance of a powerful enemy; it was tense and on the verge of conflict.

"Lord Onoki must be almost 60 years old now, right? Still haven't retired? Among the Kage of all the ninja villages, you're probably the oldest now. At this age, why haven't you stepped down? Are you clinging to power, or is there no one to carry on the legacy of your village?"

Upon their first meeting, the Fourth Raikage launched an attack on Iwagakure, addressing the village's age and successor issues—topics he always brought up during their meetings.

Although the Third Raikage did not die at the hands of Iwagakure in this world, the adjacent land area and the slight difference in strength between the two still made their words full of hostility.

"There's nothing we can do about getting old; we all have to accept it, right? As for the issue of succession in my Iwagakure village, I don't think it's a big problem. After all, compared to some people, I'm still alive, aren't I? As for how a person talks while they're alive, let's not discuss that for now, but once a person dies, it's all over, isn't it?"

Onoki was not angered by the Fourth Raikage's provocation. Instead, he looked at the other party with a smile, never mentioning the deceased Third Raikage in his words, but mentioning him in every other way.

"You old geezer..."

When it comes to eloquence, the Fourth Raikage was no match for the cunning and shrewd Onoki. In just a few words, he not only failed to provoke Onoki's anger, but instead became agitated by him.

"Ahem... Let's leave those old matters aside for now. Everyone, please don't forget our main purpose in coming to the alliance meeting this time."

A handsome, blond young man stood up to smooth things over, his red and white Hokage robe fluttering in the wind behind him, with the five large red characters "Fifth Hokage" printed on it.

"Ha! The new Hokage of Konoha, I haven't even settled accounts with you for all the misdeeds you committed after the Third Shinobi World War!"

"I just wonder if your current strength still matches Konoha's former status?"

The Fourth Raikage didn't respect Minato Namikaze, or rather, deep down he still harbored a strong sense of wariness towards Konoha at that time.

Konoha held the title of the strongest ninja in the world for decades, and was backed by the wealthiest country in the world, the Land of Fire. Even though it suffered heavy losses in the Third Shinobi World War, it was still a formidable force.

In addition, with the Fifth Hokage Minato Namikaze's outstanding achievements in the Third Shinobi World War, it can be said that Konoha still poses a great threat to the other ninja villages.

"Alright, this childish bickering is pointless for our meeting. Let's get down to business and discuss how to deal with Kirigakure!"

Rasa from Sunagakure tapped the table impatiently. Perhaps it was ignorance that made him fearless, but Rasa, who was the weakest of the four in terms of both personal strength and the ninja village behind him, appeared unusually tough at this moment.

"If you ask me, what's the point of tactics? Just like when we besieged Konoha last time, the four of us can attack from the four directions simultaneously. Not only is it simple to operate without needing to coordinate with each other, but it also saves us the trouble of unified command... Or is someone interested in the position of alliance leader?"

The Fourth Raikage slammed his fist on the table, disregarding Minato Namikaze's feelings, and directly proposed to emulate the tactics used by the previous alliance during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

However, he soon realized something was wrong—the inherent geographical location of Kirigakure, the isolated island characteristics, meant that this kind of encirclement warfare gave them a great guerrilla advantage.

Although several countries are located near the ocean, when it comes to naval warfare, Kirigakure is definitely the most skilled.

There's no other reason than that it's determined by the innate geographical environment.

Whether in terms of the number of water-style ninjas, experience in naval battles, or the performance of ships, Kirigakure is definitely far ahead of other ninja villages.

Unlike Konoha, which is located in the heart of the ninja world, in this situation, if Kirigakure were to be surrounded on all sides, they would definitely use their expertise in naval warfare to outnumber the enemy and wage guerrilla warfare.

Moreover, no matter how unwilling he was, he had to admit that Hozuki Shingetsu had, in fact, become the strongest ninja in the world.

If the four of them were to face off one-on-one, aside from Minato Namikaze, who possessed space-time ninjutsu, and Onoki, who could fly, the other two would probably not even be able to escape with their lives.

It's safe to say that whoever encounters this person will die.

Therefore, in this situation, it is definitely not advisable to divide the forces, especially in naval operations, where it is necessary to concentrate forces and rely on numerical superiority to carry out the operation.

As expected, the Fourth Raikage was immediately met with a barrage of sarcastic remarks from Onoki. The Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage perished together, demonstrating that Iwagakure was the country most familiar with Kirigakure's naval combat capabilities.

Onoki mocked the Fourth Raikage, saying he was indeed a barbarian from the mountains who had never seen the ocean and did not understand its complexity.

The Fourth Raikage immediately retaliated, implying that the other party was interested in becoming the leader of the alliance. Finally, with the mediation of Minato Namikaze, Rasa, and others, the group managed to come up with a plan.

Economically, they blockaded major ports and strictly restricted the import of goods into the Water Kingdom.

In terms of military matters, the first step was for each ninja village to concentrate its forces and coordinate operations during the sea crossing operation. After landing in the Land of Water, the chunin and genin were divided into four positions according to their organizational structure and fought independently.

This unit does not seek to advance, but only to disperse the hidden forces and delay the enemy.

On the other hand, they gathered all the elite Jonin to form a special operations team, which, under the unified command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, launched a long-distance raid on the capital of the Land of Water to capture the kingpin.

All four ninja villages understand that, despite the current booming development of the Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village, the key to all their problems actually lies with Hozuki Shingetsu alone.

If Hozuki Shingetsu is dealt with, Kirigakure will collapse on its own amidst various internal and external troubles.

"Therefore, the key to everything now lies in how to solve Hozuki Shingetsu."

Minato Namikaze briefly reiterated the information about Shingetsu Hozuki, focusing on his Sage Mode and Rinnegan.

"Kakashi Hatake has a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, which can be considered as part of his combat strength."

Minato Namikaze, by throwing out a brick to attract jade, revealed one of his trump cards.

Given their past master-disciple relationship, the fact that Minato Namikaze had tried to persuade Sakumo Hatake before his suicide, and the shared enemy Shingetsu Hozuki, the two eventually made contact through Minato's efforts.

"We can try to win over Hanzo of the Salamander by using the future development of the Land of Rain as leverage."

Luo Sha tapped the table lightly with his finger, suggesting an idea.

"Recently, a mercenary organization has appeared in the ninja world. Its leader has mastered space-time ninjutsu, so we can lure them here with money."

Onoki opened his eyes and revealed some information.

Thus, with the collective wisdom and efforts of all the Kage, all the ninjas with some strength in the entire ninja world were included to form elite teams to carry out decapitation operations.

Meanwhile, as the anti-Hidden Mist Alliance was in the midst of its heated discussions, Hidden Mist Village also received the news and began preparations for war.

-

"Although the four ninja villages of Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Fire have formed an alliance, considering the past hatred between the four villages and their respective positions, it is clear that it is impossible for them to put aside their grudges and unite to form a coalition army. Even if they did form a coalition army, it would only be a disorganized mess, with absolutely no cooperation among them."

In Kirigakure, at Hozuki Shingetsu's nod, Akiba Masanobu stood up and began to speak eloquently to the huge ninja world map hanging on the wall.

"Strategically speaking, there is a fundamental difference between concentrating forces in one place and dividing them into four groups, and between unified command and fighting independently."

"Therefore, in this operation, tactics such as infiltration, flanking maneuvers, and besieging a point to intercept reinforcements are definitely key areas we need to focus on."

"What's even more special is that we are fighting on our home turf this time, and the vast ocean is our strong backing. So this first naval battle is particularly special in this battle."

"Because of the Eastern Continent, our ironclad warships are ahead of the ninja world in technology, and the number of water-style ninjas is the highest among all ninja villages. We can definitely get off to a good start in naval battles and let the other side see what naval warfare is all about."

Upon hearing this, Hozuki Shingetsu raised his hand to interrupt Akiba Masanobu's statement, stood up, looked around, and said:

"Since we are fighting on home ground, we must make full use of this advantage... Once the war begins, we will issue an order that Kirigakure supports any righteous person who attacks the Alliance transport ships. Kirigakure will resolutely support such righteous acts, will purchase the cargo on these transport ships at high prices, and these warriors can rest and recuperate at any port under Kirigakure's jurisdiction at any time."

Privateering licenses were key to England's victory over Spain and its rise to maritime supremacy.

Given the same geographical location, Hozuki Shingetsu naturally wouldn't forget this tactic.

Once this decree is issued, it is foreseeable that, with Kirigakure as their backing, even if the opposing coalition forces outnumber them by dozens of times, some of the wandering ninjas in the entire ninja world will inevitably succumb to their greed and take risks.

With so many eyes watching, even with the Allied Forces' tight security, something is bound to happen. And if Kirigakure had offered a higher price, someone might have even stolen from them.

Seeing Hozuki Shingetsu sit down, Akiba Masanobu thought for a moment before speaking and adding:

"The lord's decision just now not only dealt a heavy blow to the Allied forces' logistical supply lines, but also broke the Allied forces' blockade of our supplies to a certain extent."

"Once war breaks out, it is foreseeable that the entire continent will block our supply lines, so the exchange of supplies with the Eastern Continent will become our lifeline and must be taken seriously."

"You could even say that our supply lines with the Eastern Continent are crucial to whether we can win this war."

"In short, Kirigakure will not cease fighting until the last drop of blood is shed on the Eastern Continent!"

(End of this chapter)