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

Chapter 36 The Storm Is Brewing

This gathering, besides discussing the upcoming mission to Wochao Village, also aimed to deepen the bonds between everyone.

So after Yagura deliberately avoided this heavy topic, the atmosphere in the room began to liven up again.

"I've heard that once you become a Jinchuriki of a Tailed Beast, your life is bound to the Tailed Beast. Once the Tailed Beast breaks free, the Jinchuriki will surely die."

As Yukinagi said this, she glanced worriedly at Yagura Karatachi. Their bond, forged since childhood, was genuine, and Yagura Karatachi had proven himself with his own strength. Yukinagi naturally didn't want to see someone like him die because of a tailed beast.

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at Yagura Karatachi, also pondering this matter. Undoubtedly, from the village's perspective, making Yagura the Three-Tails' jinchūriki was a very worthwhile move.

In the original work, Yagura Karatachi also proved with his actions that he was very talented in this area, which is one of the reasons why Shingetsu Hozuki wanted to take him to Uzushio Village, to see if there was an opportunity for him to acquire the technology, thus laying the foundation for him to become a perfect Jinchūriki.

"Alright, there's no point in arguing about this now. After all, we're not even sure if we can get to Wochao Village, so there's no point in discussing this here."

The awkwardness was successfully resolved, and Yukinagi returned to her usual carefree self, starting to discuss her fishing techniques with Hozuki Shingetsu. Amidst their playful banter, the youthful energy was on full display.

However, this kind of life won't last much longer.

-

Three days after the gathering, Ren formally summoned Hozuki Shingetsu. As expected, it was about sending him as an envoy to Uzushio Village. Moreover, not only the Mizukage and he were present, but also Elder Genshi.

In order to make things a done deal, Lian visited Master Yuan in advance, hoping to get his help.

Of course, he wouldn't reveal his true intentions. He only said that he wanted to send Hozuki Shingetsu to Uzushio Village to strengthen the village and hopefully obtain the sealing technology for the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki. For various reasons, it was best for Hozuki Shingetsu, as the foreign affairs officer, to carry out this initial contact. However, he was afraid that Hozuki Shingetsu and the Hozuki clan might be unwilling to put in the effort due to personal grudges.

Upon hearing this, Genji was naturally willing to lend a hand to Ren. As the right-hand man of the First Mizukage, Genji, now over sixty years old, was one of the few remaining elders in the village who had survived since the Warring States period, and his prestige in Kirigakure was immense. With him involved, as long as it didn't involve their core interests, everyone in Kirigakure would give him face, and this small matter was no problem for him.

The fact that Master Yuan was willing to help was mainly due to information asymmetry.

In Yuan Shi's eyes, although Ren and Kaguya's side had conflicts with the Hozuki clan and the Yuki clan, it was at most on par with the conflicts between the Uchiha and Konoha clans. In the face of major issues, the two sides could still cooperate, and it was far from reaching the point of life and death fighting. He naturally could not have imagined that in the original work, Ren would open the "Village of Blood Mist" and launch a heavy attack on the various ninja clans.

In this situation, he would naturally be willing to act as a peacemaker and mediate the conflict between the two parties.

Sure enough, when Ren saw Hozuki Shingetsu initially reluctant but then reluctantly agree to go to Uzushio Village after being persuaded by Genji, she knew she had made the right choice.

Although a "make do" document was signed at Hozuki Shingetsu's request, everything is fine as long as the person is appeased.

"Then the next step is to notify Konoha. Hopefully, Danzo will live up to his title of 'Dark Ninja'!" Ren watched the departing Anbu members, his mind filled with endless reverie.

Meanwhile, Hozuki Shingetsu, watching his departing subordinate, shared the same sentiment. However, his feelings were entirely different from Ren's.

"Hopefully, the Third Raikage and Onoki will realize this golden opportunity!"

The task Hozuki Shingetsu entrusted to the ninja was very simple: to inform Onoki and the Third Raikage through various means that Konoha was actively pushing for Kirigakure to learn the sealing techniques of the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki in exchange for Uzushio Village teaching Kirigakure the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, in order to win over Kirigakure and prevent them from being isolated and attacked from both sides by Kumogakure and Iwagakure in the upcoming Shinobi World War.

The current situation in the ninja world may seem chaotic, but it's actually quite clear. Five nations dominate the ninja world's power dynamics, and with Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village) currently in seclusion, the relationships between the four nations of Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Fire determine the overall situation. Furthermore, after Hozuki Shingetsu's propaganda about the "Konoha threat," Konoha has been portrayed as the strongest nation in the ninja world.

Although various countries subsequently released a large amount of false information to confuse the public, Konoha's strength was an objective fact. Its numerous bloodline clans, largest military budget, and vast pool of intermediate ninja were undeniable facts. This led insightful individuals to realize that if the Second Shinobi World War were to break out, Konoha would likely face a combined attack from various nations.

In this situation, it makes perfect sense for Konoha to seek out Kirigakure, the only "neutral force." Although Kirigakure was the first to initiate the "Konoha threat" theory, it is quite possible that Konoha would abandon these conflicts under the pressure of survival.

As for Kirigakure, they do need the control techniques for the Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts. If Konoha were to use this as an excuse to form an alliance with them, they would indeed have a very good chance, and a very high chance at that.

If Kirigakure and Konoha were to unite, it would become a factional conflict between Earth, Wind, and Lightning against Fire and Water, inevitably leading to a stalemate. No one with a modicum of foresight would want to face such a situation.

So, in order to wait for the right news, Hozuki Shingetsu went to great lengths to postpone his trip—he would only set off for Uzushio Village when the exact timing was right.

He went to so much trouble, devising so many intricate plans; if it were just for fishing, it would be a huge waste of time. His plan was simple: he wanted to use this opportunity to take over Wochao Village in one fell swoop!

Relying on transactions to acquire the tailed beast jinchūriki technology? If you can just bring everyone over, why would you need to make transactions?

The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish. Only by pushing the situation in Whirlpool Village to the extreme can the most fruitful results be achieved—even if it requires him to get involved himself.

-

Because it was a point-to-point information transmission, Shimura Danzo was the first to receive news that Hozuki Shingetsu was about to go to Uzushio Village.

"What a golden opportunity!"

The moment Shimura Danzo saw this information, his intuition told him that it was true and definitely came from inside Kirigakure.

He was all too familiar with this method of cleverly using others to eliminate dissidents—because that's how he killed Uchiha Kagami back then.

"This news... no, we can't tell Hiruzen."

Danzo was about to go out and discuss with Hiruzen Sarutobi how to kill Shingetsu Hozuki, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Due to his inappropriate remarks during the Uchiha incident, he had been placed under house arrest for three months by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and was still under house arrest.

Of course, everyone knew that this confinement would not have any effect on him, but Danzo used it to realize the huge difference between him and Hiruzen Sarutobi—Hiruken Sarutobi, as the Hokage, valued stability too much.

He didn't know if Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, upon learning this news, would risk incurring the wrath of the Hozuki clan and starting a Second Shinobi World War by killing a twelve-year-old child. Although the boy was currently displaying extraordinary talent, and disgusting to everyone in Konoha, that was all. Konoha had no shortage of geniuses; possessing the most top-tier ninjutsu lineages in the world, they feared no challenge from any prodigy. In this world, strength ultimately prevailed.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi stated, Shingetsu Hozuki can currently do nothing more than spew saliva in their faces. Although his "Konoha Threat Theory" has caused Konoha a great deal of trouble, it's only because Konoha itself is very strong that it has aroused the vigilance of others; Shingetsu Hozuki's remarks merely added fuel to the fire. The same applies to the "Uchiha Human Rights Report"—Konoha itself has loopholes, and Shingetsu Hozuki is simply using them to his advantage, leveraging their strength against them.

Scabies is a minor ailment.

But Shimura Danzo saw it differently. It was simple: like repels like. He saw his own reflection in Hozuki Shingetsu's actions—that way of hiding one's true intentions through various behaviors was all too familiar to him.

"If we could get an elder of the Uzumaki clan to use 'Reaper Death Seal,' that would undoubtedly be the simplest way... but without Hiruzen, we definitely can't get Uzumaki Village to agree. So, we'll have to get Root to do it..."

Danzo thought for a moment and then ordered Ryoma Aburame to lead three Root squads to ambush Hozuki Shingetsu on his way to Uzushio Village.

-

Through the skillful intermediaries, the message delivered by Hozuki Shingetsu finally reached Onoki and the Third Raikage.

The real challenge with messages isn't how to deliver them, but how to convince the recipient. After all, messages are everywhere; finding the right information, making the right judgments, and taking the right actions from this vast sea of ​​information is a true test of a leader's abilities.

When this news was placed on the desks of Onoki and the Third Raikage, they immediately analyzed the logic behind it.

Well, although the Third Raikage analyzed it with Tsuchikage's clever "reminder," he still managed to figure out Konoha's "intention" to use Kirigakure as a way to break the deadlock.

Both of them, who harbored ambitions for the rich lands of the Land of Fire and their status in the ninja world, naturally could not stand idly by and watch this happen. So, they made the same decision without prior agreement—to destroy Uzushio Village!

In their view, although this was an agreement reached between Konoha and Kirigakure, the key was Uzushio Village.

Without Uzumaki Village, this plan will never be feasible unless Kirigakure transports the Tailed Beasts and potential Jinchuriki to Konoha for Mito Uzumaki to teach them personally, or Kirigakure starts from scratch using ninjutsu scrolls, sacrificing a large number of talented individuals to develop the technique themselves. Without Jinchuriki sealing technology, Kirigakure has no reason to ally with Konoha; in other words, what Konoha can offer is temporarily insufficient to entice Kirigakure.

Moreover, eliminating Uzushio Village before the war even begins would cripple Konoha, so why not? During the First Shinobi World War, the Uzumaki ninja resolutely stood by Konoha's side when the village was in turmoil, risking their lives to help stabilize the situation. Back then, a Uzumaki clan elder even used the "Reaper Death Seal" to forcibly exchange one enemy expert for another. Now, of course, they must learn from the lessons of the last Shinobi World War and wipe out Uzushio Village first.

Of course, in addition to the reasons mentioned above, there is another very important reason, which is that the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki technology is coveted not only by Kirigakure, but also by Kumogakure and Iwagakure!

As the only Jinchuriki of a Tailed Beast in the current ninja world, Mito Uzumaki's combat power was evident during the First Shinobi World War. Naturally, they also hoped that such a person would appear in their village, instead of having to spend a lot of manpower and resources to seal a time bomb that could not be used.

Therefore, taking advantage of the current chaotic situation in the ninja world, the most important thing is to send experts to cross the Konoha cordon, launch a surprise attack on Uzushio Village, and obtain the tailed beast sealing technology!

However, considering the "Corpse Demon Sealing Technique" of Vortex Village, and fearing that they would be forced to exchange one for one, resulting in the loss of their own experts, the two villages unanimously thought of the other side and hoped to join forces with them. With the mentality of "better to die than lose myself," they took advantage of the other side's entanglement with the Vortex experts to sneak up from the rear and steal some kills.

As for Sunagakure... they all want to sell their tailed beasts for land, so there's no point in calling on that village. Besides, the high-end combat power of the two ninja villages is more than enough to launch a surprise attack on Uzumaki Village. Although the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques are formidable, they are a clan-run village with a small population, and Sunagakure Village would have to share the spoils with another village, so naturally, neither of them would notify Sunagakure Village.

Similarly, they would not notify Kirigakure, and because Uzushio Village is relatively close to Kirigakure, they would deliberately try to hide it from Kirigakure's vigilance.

When the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Stone Village first made contact, they were still pulling at each other and testing each other. However, after learning that the other had heard the same information and had the same thoughts, they became more convinced of the authenticity of the information and accelerated the negotiation process.

Soon after obtaining approval from the Third Raikage and Onoki, Kumogakure dispatched its elite force, led by Moody, the "B" of the current "AB combination" and partner of the Third Raikage. Iwagakure, on the other hand, sent its demolition squad led by Hunter, the leader of the demolition unit.

After the two forces successfully met up in the Land of Hot Water, they also headed south along the coastline, preparing to find an opportunity to annihilate Uzushio Village in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, just as Ren was growing impatient, Hozuki Shingetsu finally received news that the high-ranking ninjas from the two villages had not shown up for several days. After instructing his subordinates to send several secret letters and supplies towards the Land of Fire, he finally embarked on his journey to Uzushio Village under Ren's repeated urging.

(End of this chapter)