Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

Fortunately, he still cares about his people and his daughter.

When you have severe frostbite, it's bound to feel unpleasant to move forward in the snow and ice; it's like walking on a knife's edge. But he did it anyway.

Conversely, he would do anything to ensure the safety of his daughter and the people.

To put it bluntly, he's just a stupid dad who created a large-scale environmental transformation machine because his daughter wanted to see spring... "If you had this treasure, you should have told the Land of Fire earlier. You could have named any price, and the Land of Fire would never have to haggle."

The Land of Fire is willing to be his number one benefactor, and they pay incredibly fast.

The natural energy in the Naruto world is so abundant that every winter is a disaster.

Everything was a vast expanse of white, and the road was so slippery that even centipedes would find it difficult to walk on.

Just thinking about it makes it clear how detrimental this is to vehicle transportation.

Especially for the Land of Fire, which has already started to ramp up production but is extremely short of transportation capacity... not being able to transport goods for an entire winter would cause so much trouble.

However, Hiruko also knew that, regardless of whether such a thing was completed or not, even if it was completed, it would be at the level of a national treasure, and it was impossible to just give it away.

At the very least, it would be presumptuous to say it when the relationship between the two sides is not yet at a certain stage.

So Hiruko simply stopped mentioning it and instead focused on solving the immediate problem.

Two days before the New Year, Konoha held its first press conference to address some recent events.

The reporters were very accommodating, and a large group of them came.

However, not everyone inside is one of their people... That's fine too.

"Lord Hokage, I heard that you had some unpleasantness with the Land of Snow not long ago, is that true?"

"No, no, no." Biluhu immediately struck out with the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, denying the reporter's statement.

"As everyone knows, Mr. Feng Hua Zao Xue and I are the best of friends in the world. He even treated me to sweet soup last time."

The reporters immediately looked at Kazayuki Fuuka, who was sitting to the side.

“Yes, that’s right…” After all, he was born into a royal family, so Fuuka Shoyuki wasn’t very good at catching jokes, let alone the nonsense coming from Hiruko’s mouth. Fortunately, he still knew how to answer these kinds of questions.

"Our Land of Snow has always been a friendly country with the Land of Fire, and I personally have always admired the daimyo of the Land of Fire."

However, being stationed on the frontier and being the ruler of the country, he truly cannot travel far.

"My younger brother was blinded by greed and rebelled against me, trying to drive a wedge between me and the Hokage."

"I then asked the Hokage for help."

Thankfully, the Hokage reacted in time and set things right... It was all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Please don't be misled by the rumors spread by villains.

The reporters instinctively didn't believe it, after all, the details of the Five Shadows Conference had already been leaked by certain people.

But... since the ruler of the country has already said so, what can the reporters do? The Hokage said so.

The ruler of the Land of Snow has said so, so it must be true.

All other rumors are false.

Ask again and I'll sink into Tokyo Bay.

The reporters didn't dare to really offend Konoha. Since both sides had already agreed on a story, they stopped asking questions and instead inquired about another issue.

If it really comes down to dealing with Konoha, the other major ninja villages will naturally step in; there's no need for these reporters to court death.

"Your Excellency, I've heard that someone recently saw a new type of aircraft appearing in Konoha. Is that true?" "Of course it's true."

This is a new type of vehicle developed by Konoha to better protect the Land of Fire. It has already been patented and is of international top-tier standard.

"Oh, really? I don't believe it." The reporter conducting this Q&A session was one of their own.

Hiruko immediately began his explanation.

"Our aircraft is small and easy to carry..." Hiruko explained the advantages of the aircraft simply and vividly.

He knew, of course, that doing so would give his enemies advance intelligence, preventing them from launching a surprise attack in actual combat—but it was just a 1.0 version of the technology, and it would soon be updated and replaced.

More importantly, he interrupted the continued attacks of the Hidden Mist and other potential enemies.

No matter who causes trouble, I have the ability to shit on your head within a few hours.

If you're not afraid of dying, then keep playing.

In the end, ninjas still have to rely on their fists to decide the outcome; once a punch lands, there are no more punches to follow.

However, if we do this, the arms race next year will inevitably escalate again... Isn't that a good thing?

If he controlled the most powerful ninja village, Konoha, had the most powerful industrial nation, the Land of Fire, behind him, and knew the plot, yet still lost to other ninjas in the arms race... then he has nothing to say.

This is Konoha's area of ​​strength, and it should be fully utilized.

Moreover, Hiruko was willing to bet that before their technology caught up with Konoha's, their internal structure would definitely explode first.

Productive forces and relations of production are a pair of little devils that torment each other.

The ninja system is really outdated.

The only thing he couldn't be sure of was whether Kumogakure or Iwagakure would be bombed first...

After Hiruko finished speaking, the reporters were still confused, but they were at least certain of one thing—Konoha had indeed persuaded the Land of Snow, and the two countries had reconciled.

Everything before was a misunderstanding; let's just laugh it off.

Some reporters were unwilling to give up and wanted to sabotage the relationship between the two sides one last time.

"Then may I ask, I've heard that Konoha intends to station troops in the Land of Snow, is that true?"

Chapter 297 Making Rice Cakes

"How is that possible? Our Konoha has always been a solid bulwark for the Land of Fire, how could we possibly station troops in the Land of Snow? We've merely signed a long-term, large-scale trade contract with the Land of Snow." Hiruko seemed to offer an answer to the question, yet it was as if she had said nothing at all.

The press conference concluded under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

As Hiruko had predicted, the previously poised follow-up offensive quietly came to a halt.

Now, he can finally focus on his "grass dumpling" project with peace of mind.

……

"The Land of Snow and Konoha have reached a peace agreement. At the same time, Konoha has developed powerful strategic tools... We should no longer continue the offensive, but should switch to a strategic defensive phase!" As Konoha and the Land of Snow shook hands and made peace, and Konoha's aircraft soared in the sky, Mei Terumi knew that there was no point in continuing this battle.

No matter how much money and influence you invest, it's difficult to win.

No one will support them anymore, and no one dares to support them anymore.

If any small ninja village dared to object, Hiruko would bring a group of experts to "visit" the very next day.

If they persist, it will only expose Kirigakure completely, and it will eventually be swallowed up by Konoha.

It has lost all meaning.

Seeing this, Mei Terumi decisively terminated the plan and wrote another long letter of explanation to the Mizukage.

The Water Shadow's attitude seemed to have softened, and she was no longer so tough.

But Mei Terumi still felt something was wrong.

"No, that's not right... This isn't Yagura-sama's style..." "If he doesn't do something, fine, but once he decides to do it, he'll stick to it to the end... I wrote such a long letter of explanation, he should at least reply with an even longer one..." "Something must have happened to Yagura-sama! I have to see him with my own eyes!"

……

In a cave somewhere in the Land of Earth, an ugly, hunched old man is cutting up the body of a recently deceased Iwagakure.

"This is really troublesome... I never thought that after all these years, I would still be recognized by those people from Sunagakure."

"What's worse, Iwagakure is actually willing to investigate the deaths of Sunagakure ninjas..."

"Although I defeated them, I obviously can't stay here anymore... The five great ninja villages have all changed recently... Where should I go next?" Sasori of the Red Sand pondered this question, when he suddenly felt a suffocating atmosphere coming from not far away.

He looked in the direction from which the aura came and saw a man with strange eyes.

“My name is Pain,” the man said, extending his hand to Sasori of the Red Sand.

"Perhaps you need some help?"

……

Kakuzu sat on a rock by the sea, happily doing his accounts.

He hasn't invested or made any money recently, but he has gained a lot of new and interesting knowledge.

With someone's guidance, he has developed a complete plan and is ready to give it a try.

Of course, not now.

After all, that person hasn't made a move yet.

Kakuzu doesn't mind being an apprentice, as long as it's profitable.

But just then, he noticed a man in tattered armor being swept ashore by the waves, badly injured and seemingly on the verge of death.

"Save me..." Kakuzu had no interest in saving people; he only liked making money.

"Give me ten million taels, and I'll save you." Nowadays, the head of a top-tier Konoha ninja is worth around tens of millions of taels, but they are not easy to obtain.

Moreover, that person will definitely get angry.

Kakuzu had already guessed the other party's identity, but he didn't care.

He had already seen through everything; the only thing in the world that remains constant is money.

However, Kakuzu still felt that saving one person for ten million taels was already a bargain.

He had assumed that the pitiful man in front of him wouldn't be able to come up with any money.

Unexpectedly, he actually reached out his hand.

"Okay... I'll give you... this little bit of money, I, Feng Hua Nu Tao, can afford it... please save me..." Huh, I've run into a fat sheep? "Oh... I see... then I'll raise the price now, it'll be twenty million taels."

……

Meanwhile, at Orochimaru's base, Kabuto Yakushi arrived before Orochimaru with several hungry and cold children.

Orochimaru lay on his side, his legs curled up, one hand supporting his chin, his golden snake eyes slightly open.

"Is everything here?" "Yes, Lord Orochimaru, everything is here!" Kabuto replied calmly.

Not long ago, Orochimaru suddenly sent Kabuto out to collect children.