The Avengers of the Uzumaki Family

Even in Konoha Village.

It seems that Tsunade relies on Nara Shikaku's wisdom for many decisions, but the final decision-making power still rests in Tsunade's own hands. Shikaku has never truly made a decision, and that is the difference.

Ah Jun wanted to say something, but ultimately held back.

The reason is simple: it seems that only Menma can make this decision; Shibuki doesn't have that ability.

"Hearing Menma-kun say that, I feel a little relieved. So, the next step is to set up basic defenses while searching for the Three-Tails' location, right?"

Shibuki seemed completely unaware of what was happening, and asked with a slightly relaxed expression.

"Do we need to send more personnel to participate as well?"

"There's no need for that. I've entrusted Orochimaru to handle this. We shouldn't make any rash moves here, or it might cause unnecessary trouble."

Mianma shook his head, then continued.

"And we have more important things to do!"

"More important things?"

Shemu and Ajun were both taken aback at first, and then their expressions turned serious in unison.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 264 Target: Kusagakure!

Chapter 264 Target—Kusagakure Village!

Since it's something more important that came out of Menma's mouth.

That must be something at least as important as searching for the Three-Tailed Fox.

"What is that? Menma-kun!"

Shemu also subconsciously straightened his body and asked with a slightly serious expression.

"That means taking action against Kusagakure! Forcibly annexing Kusagakure!"

Mianma's eyes flashed, and he spoke in a very cold tone.

"What!?"

"To annex Kusagakure!?"

Let alone Shemu and Ajun.

Even Yu Gao, who was sitting diagonally behind Menma, showed a look of shock at this moment.

Kusagakure is no ordinary ninja village. In terms of strength, it can be considered on par with Takigakure and Amegakure in the ninja world, and its number of ninjas is as high as nearly three thousand.

Although they were nearly killed by Iwagakure and Konohagakure during the Third Shinobi World War, their fundamental strength remained.

They are not to be underestimated.

If one of the five great ninja villages wanted to annex Kusagakure without external interference, it would indeed be possible, but Takigakure...

"Menma, you're not kidding, are you? Swallowing Kusagakure? Us? Kusagakure isn't much weaker than Takigakure, and doing this would easily attract the attention of the major ninja villages even faster, wouldn't it?"

"I can't believe it," Shibuki said.

I initially thought it was some kind of special preparation, but I didn't expect Menma to just pull off such a powerful move right from the start.

If they want to annex Kusagakure, what will Takigakure use to do so?

Isn't this a complete fantasy?

Ah Jun also shook his head decisively, his face clearly showing strong disagreement.

“I’m not joking, Shibuki-san, A-jun-san, and this isn’t just a spur-of-the-moment idea of ​​mine. I started preparing for it last year!”

Mianma replied with a very certain tone.

He defected from Konohagakure.

During his time at Orochimaru's base in the Land of Fields, Menma kept considering which ninja village would be the most suitable to start with.

The terms "Cloud Hidden," "Iwa Hidden," "Sand Hidden," and "Mist Hidden" only briefly crossed Menma's mind before being abandoned by him.

As for the remaining ninja villages.

Weak villages like Yugakure and Hoshigakure are out of the question.

Amegakure is now under Nagato's control again.

Looking at it from all angles.

The only villages to consider are Takigakure and Kusagakure.

The reason for ultimately choosing Takigakure Village was not only because it had the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki and the Hero's Water, but also because its leader, Shibuki, was a very young and kind-hearted person, which was very suitable for Menma to integrate into the village and for securing a future position.

However, Kusagakure also has its own advantages.

For example, in terms of the quality of ninjas.

Over the years, the Grass Ninja, who have fought frequently, are on average only slightly inferior to the Leaf Village, Cloud Village, and Rock Village in terms of combat skills. They are on par with the Mist Ninja and Sand Ninja, and they also possess the Paradise Box, a treasure inherited from the Sage of Six Paths!

That was a true weapon of war!

It is absolutely comparable to a tailed beast, and could even be said to be a powerful existence that can suppress the One-Tailed to the Seven-Tailed Beasts. However, the risk is also very high.

This is also based on this point.

Even after joining Takigakure, Menma didn't give up her investigation and infiltration of Kusagakure. Judging from the original story, this ninja village wasn't a monolithic entity.

At the very least, it's a blatant division into the 'Ninja Village Faction' and the 'Ghost Castle Faction'!

The former refers to the regular ninja group led by Yano Kisuke, the leader of Kusagakure. The latter refers to the group that resides in Hozuki Castle, led by several leaders of Kusagakure and Mui, a Jonin from Kusagakure who currently oversees Hozuki Castle, which is known as the largest prison in the ninja world.

When Menma first considered Kusagakure, he planned to start from this point to divide Kusagakure's power and then gradually control it. However, the difficulty of doing so was obviously very high.

Moreover, regardless of which side's leader it is, they are all seasoned old foxes, unless they really have no other choice.

Otherwise, Mianma wouldn't want to play mind games with these old guys.

That's really not Mianma's forte. If he's not careful, he can easily fall into other people's traps. He has to outsmart those who aren't cunning and fight them head-on with those who aren't strong.

Different strategies are needed for different situations and different people.

Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses!

This is the right thing to do.

"Now is the perfect time to take action against Kusagakure. I've already made initial contact with the villagers..."

Then Mianma told Shemu and Ajun in detail about all the preparations she had made over the past six months.

Furthermore, he also told Shemu and Ajun about all the plans he had made.

After all, it involves the overall military operations of Takigakure Village.

This is different from an annihilation battle. The goal is to annex the Hidden Grass Village. Therefore, it is necessary to have a large number of troops to restrict the actions of the Grass Ninja when necessary. No matter how strong Menma, Utakata and others are, they can at most kill more enemies, but they are not capable of capturing them.

Dispatching a corresponding number of Takigakure troops during the opportune moment is a matter of course, and naturally requires the approval of both Shibuki and Agun.

Secondly, the low combat quality of ninjas stems from both a lack of training and a lack of necessary combat experience.

If the Takigakure ninjas were to immediately engage in battle with the Konoha ninjas, Kumo ninjas, and Iwa ninjas, it would be an immense challenge!

But Kusanagi Shinobu is the most suitable candidate.

Both sweeping operations and prisoner-of-war battles can improve one's combat skills and techniques.

The grass ninja are the best whetstone for their Takigakure village!

As Mianma continued to explain and arrange things, the shock on Shemu and Ajun's faces gradually subsided.

Plan before you act.

This is a quality that an outstanding leader must possess.

Of course, the dough hasn't reached that level yet.

However, doing one's best and considering all aspects before making arrangements is the direction that Menma has always strived for.

As Menma himself said.

Every step we take now must be flawless.

One wrong step could plunge you into an endless abyss of hell.

"This is my plan. I can't say it's 100% successful, but as long as we seize the opportunity and take down Kusagakure before the other ninja villages react and intervene, we have a 70-80% chance!"

Mianma paused for a moment, then said with a serious expression.

I understand it now.

I do indeed feel this is the right time.

The probability of success is quite high.

But to take action against a ninja village almost the same size as their own Takigakure village, and not just a small-scale attack, but to annex the entire Kusagakure village in the shortest possible time, Shibuki and A-Jun still felt it was a bit outrageous.

Not to mention that they are currently in an uncertain situation where they could be monitored by several major powers at any time and then launched an invasion.

"I still think it's too risky. If the plan is thwarted, or if we attract the attention of Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure ahead of time, we could easily find ourselves in a very dangerous situation. Let's think it over carefully, Menma-kun."

The temptation is certainly there.

If it really succeeds.

Even if it's impossible to win back the hearts of the annexed Grass Ninja in a short time, and internal conflicts may arise, at least on the surface, Takigakure's size and scale will directly expand to a level comparable to Sunagakure and Kirigakure.

At that time, if we added high-end combat forces such as Mianma...

Takigakure Village can truly be called the sixth great nation.

Since the leader can now be openly referred to as Takigakure, it's a big question mark whether the major powers would dare to directly declare war on Takigakure.

The prospects are undoubtedly very bright.

But this is all on the premise that everything goes smoothly.

If Kusagakure resists even slightly, if the resistance lasts even longer, or even if, after being defeated, they continue to maneuver and refuse to join Takigakure, problems will inevitably arise over time.

If Konoha, Kumogakure, or Iwagakure intervene...