Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

If someone has the ability to build their own army, who would want a wandering ninja?

Furthermore, Hiruko has done the Land of Birds such a great favor, so why shouldn't they even give them the courtesy of delaying the formation of their own ninja village? If the Land of Birds makes a move on this two or three years later... what does that have to do with Kirigakure? Let the Daimyo of the Land of Water and the ruler of the Land of Birds deal with each other yourselves; we ninjas won't get involved.

That solved the problem perfectly.

Once the matter of the Bird Country is resolved, they can continue their slow search for the Tenseigan... Hiruko always felt that his greatest advantage was not his bloodline limit, nor his system, but the knowledge he had gained from Earth—a dimensional reduction attack on the rules of this world.

Kisame has seen it all in his life.

This is truly the first time I've encountered such a stubbornness... It's a kind of pure persistence that makes it impossible to get angry.

But no matter what, if it's a task, it must be carried out.

After analyzing the current situation for a while and giving Kisame orders, Hiruko suddenly felt a bit hungry.

So he said goodbye to the two of them and went straight to the secret room to eat—in the eyes of outsiders, he had already left and it was not appropriate for him to swagger back into Kirigakure.

While Hiruko was having a meal in the secret room next door, Kisame secretly slipped the stone he had picked up earlier to Mei Terumi.

"……What's this."

"I don't know either." Kisame shook his head and lowered his voice. "I found it when I was out for a walk to clear my head."

It contains a lot of chakra, but I don't know how to use it... Perhaps you have a way.

The Naruto world is filled with many strange and powerful objects and creatures.

For example, the immortals in various secret realms, and the Six Paths Ninja Tools scattered everywhere.

It is quite dangerous to use and study these things without understanding them.

Kisame was never a researcher, so he chose to hand this strange thing over to the village.

—The relationship between Hiruko and the Mizukage faction is very ambiguous. Some say that Hiruko has ulterior motives, while others say that the two sides are on good terms and will soon get together.

After much deliberation, Kisame, knowing he had zero points in politics, still didn't bring this thing out in front of Hiruko.

"Hmm...it's really strange." Mei Terumi glanced quickly at the strange stone, confirming Kisame's suspicions.

It is indeed a powerful and strange thing; I don't think I've ever seen anything like it in any books...

"Wait, where did you find this?"

Kisame revealed the location where the strange stone was found.

Mei Terumi quickly went through the place in her mind and was certain that Hiruko had never been there before—after all, he was the Hokage and couldn't possibly wander around Kirigakure; the places he went to were quite limited.

When Hiruko returned earlier, she said she had lost something, but the positions on both sides don't match up at all now... Perhaps there have been some changes that she's unaware of...

After a few seconds of contemplation, Mei Terumi chose to seal the strange stone with a sealing technique and put it into her sealing scroll.

If what Biluhu is looking for is indeed this thing, then there is room for negotiation between the two sides.

Compared to Konoha, Kirigakure is currently far too weak, and Mei Terumi hopes to turn the tide somewhat—even if the two families do form a marriage alliance in the future, the more strength Kirigakure retains, the more benefits they will ultimately gain.

If it's all just a coincidence... then Mei Terumi will study this strange thing properly when she has time later.

For Mei Terumi right now, the most important thing is not to study some strange stone, but to smooth over the turmoil caused by the Daimyo of the Land of Water.

Strange stones can be studied at any time, but if the current situation in the Bird Country isn't resolved...

Kisame didn't say much and went straight to carry out the ridiculous mission that Hiruko had come up with.

This sounds simple, but many details still need to be carefully considered.

No matter what the mission is, Kisame will give 1000% effort to complete it.

Not long after, Hiruko returned after finishing his meal.

He always eats very quickly.

"Kisame has already left... Never mind, let's continue." Hiruko didn't take Kisame's departure to heart and continued talking about serious matters with Mei Terumi. "I believe in Kisame's abilities. I'm sure he'll bring us good news soon."

"However, we can't rely entirely on Kisame... Does Kirigakure have any friends in the army of the Land of Birds?"

It's a well-known secret that the military-industrial complexes of various countries are naturally close to the major ninja villages.

With the military-industrial complex acting as an intermediary, it's possible that Kirigakure could establish connections with the army of the Land of Birds.

Of course, Mei Terumi knew very well that Hiruko was not referring to that.

“We…can’t do that.”

"That would be too taboo."

Admittedly, Wuyin has also done some taboo things behind the scenes.

But those missions either came directly from the daimyo of the Land of Water or from some important figure... Kirigakure was at best a chamber pot.

Like other ninja villages, Kirigakure's political ambitions within its own country are practically nonexistent.

Chapter 502

But if Kirigakure were to take the initiative to do something now, that would be a different story.

Konoha can do that, but Kirigakure absolutely cannot.

Konoha is a good place because it's wealthy, has many friends, and is willing to make friends.

With officials protecting each other, certain fundamental errors become less obvious.

Moreover, Hiruko has already reached the edge of becoming a Super Kage. Once his combat system is fully established, he can immediately become a strongman among Super Kage.

When a person can strengthen the whole world, then he is the one who matters most, and everything else should give way to him.

But Wuyin doesn't have such a super expert.

Hiryu's statement is extremely dangerous.

"Actually, I've been thinking about this question for a long time—why must ninjas be subordinate to nobles? Ninjas have martial prowess, skills, and a decent number of them, so why must they stay in the political vacuum created by the daimyo and struggle to survive?"

Mei Terumi's face twitched twice.

This is probably a question that every ninja wants to ask, but dares not ask.

"Everyone... has gone through this..."

"But just because it's always been this way, does that mean it's right?"

Mei Terumi sighed. She didn't dwell on the matter, but her tone had clearly softened.

"Even if we did that, it would probably take a while..."

“It’s alright, there’s always a way, especially since the old Chinese officer in charge of military affairs is temporarily away at the hospital…” Hiruko revealed his fundamental purpose of dealing with the old Chinese officer first, “Besides… there are always people who need high-end furs, elegant salons, and department stores, aren’t there?”

"For soldiers, these are not necessary."

“But their wives need it.” Hiruko knew all too well what kind of people the wealthy were.

Mei Terumi is one of them.

So, after Hiruko's further provocation, Terumi Mei surrendered.

“Those guys might laugh at us while recklessly enjoying the fruits of our sacrifice and labor... just because we are ninjas, we are inherently inferior.”

"The world shouldn't be like this."

“You’re right… but only this time.” Mei Terumi already knew Hiruko well and knew that this was yet another move by Hiruko to force Kirigakure to move forward.

He didn't even bother to hide it.

Knowing full well the danger ahead, Mei Terumi could only grit her teeth and agree.

Mei Terumi is a native of the Land of Water, and undeniably, she has a deep affection for this land.

She even fought for it.

But when she had to choose between the Land of Water and Kirigakure, she could only choose Kirigakure.

Because she is the Fifth Mizukage.

...Integrity is like a boulder falling down a hillside; the more you give it up, the more comfortable it becomes.

After Mei Terumi abandoned her previous insistence, she quickly obtained some of the top secrets of the Bird Country through certain channels.

This is a complete overreach.

However... when the Daimyo of the Land of Water was pushing them to the brink of death, he should have known that they would resist.

Ninjas are human too.

Mei Terumi's defenses were easily shattered by the resentment and complaints that had accumulated over a long period of time, and unknowingly, she became more and more like a modern ninja.

Hiruko was pleased to see Mei Terumi's slow transformation, but he also knew very well that some things could not be accomplished in one step.

Therefore, he did not continue to provoke Mei Terumi, but after making some preparations, he and Mei Terumi came to the territory of the Bird Country.

After disguising himself, the beautiful Bird Country was revealed to Hiruko.

Before this, Beiliuhu had visited many small countries and witnessed many benevolent rulers and strange things.

But to be honest, of all the small countries he had ever seen, the Bird Country was in the best condition.

It is not a land of plenty like the Land of Rice and Fish, but because it is close to a large lake, has abundant water resources, and the climate is not too extreme, it can be completely self-sufficient.

Although it belongs to the Water Country camp, it is not an island nation.

Water transport is fine, but land transport isn't bad either.

The presence of a large body of water allows them to bypass many large landowners who are unwilling to sell their land.

Moreover, the vegetation coverage around the Land of Birds is very high, unlike the barren wasteland of Sunagakure...

Although the Bird Kingdom is small, it has a little bit of all kinds of resources.

If Hiruzen were to manage it, even if it couldn't be transformed into an industrialized nation, self-sufficiency wouldn't be a major problem.

However, even an agricultural country that is free from disease and disaster, and has no inherent defects, has encountered financial problems... It just goes to show that these nobles really don't do anything human-like at all...

Of course, Hiruko also admitted that this was their best opportunity.

If it weren't for the existence of these precious creatures, it would have taken who knows how many years to swallow them all up by Konoha's individual strength alone.

Hiruko stood at the bow of the small boat, taking in everything.

After observing for a long time and obtaining a lot of first-hand data through actual investigation, he finally asked Terumi Mei at the stern of the ship.