Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

"At that time, we can use the signing of a ceasefire treaty as a pretext to secretly attack the Hyuga clan and seize the Byakugan!"

"..." The other advisors and elders on the side could no longer bear it and roared, "You are completely making a fool of yourself. Whether this succeeds or fails, once it is exposed, Konoha and Kumogakure will inevitably break out into war again!"

"uncertain!"

The idea king confidently declared, "In the previous war, after we withdrew, Konoha showed no intention of pursuing us. They simply consolidated the defenses of the Land of Fire's homeland. This shows that Konoha has no intention of continuing to fight us. Even if they have the Mangekyou Sharingan, if all the ninja in the village lose their will to fight, do you think Fugaku Uchiha alone can defeat Kumogaku? If we fail, we can simply pretend to be dead and ignore it. After all, we were just there to surrender and sign a ceasefire agreement."

"But if it succeeds..." Idea King sneered, "then we'll fight!"

"Without the restrictions of genjutsu, with the strength of my Cloud Village, why should we fear a half-crippled Konoha?!"

The advisors and elders, who had been frowning and about to reprimand the idea master, were stunned when they heard these words.

Thinking about it carefully, this operation actually seems to work!

"Great plan! Great strategy! Great idea!"

The Fourth Raikage burst into laughter upon hearing this: "What do you all think?"

The senior athletes looked at each other, and finally all nodded.

"If this plan fails, there will be no loss; but if it succeeds, Yunyin will rise to prominence!"

"Fourth Hokage, this plan is feasible!"

"Alright, let's do it this way! Find a time to tell Konoha that we want to negotiate!"

"Yes, Fourth Hokage!"

……

"Uchiha, Mangekyou Sharingan..."

Iwa Ninja Village.

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, hovered in the Tsuchikage's office, looking out the window at everything in Iwagakure.

Just a few years ago, this ninja village built on a rock was teeming with talent and incredibly prosperous.

Onoki, the Two Scales, possesses Dust Release, which surpasses even the Bloodline Limit of Tokachi. He also has two powerful Tailed Beasts and top-tier Bloodline Limits such as Steel Shield, Explosion Release, and Lava Release. The village is teeming with talented ninjas, ranging from top-tier fighters to pillars of strength.

Among the Jonin, Iwa ninjas like Hiruzen, Hikari, and Oishi are almost all decisive and efficient, perfect ninjas.

The battle at the Box of Bliss shattered this rising rock into pieces.

Tens of thousands of ninjas were reduced to only a few thousand; bloodline limit ninjas, secret technique clans, and other elite forces were all wiped out; both tailed beasts perished in battle; countless resources were lost; and the national treasury went bankrupt…

At this moment, the situation in Iwagakure has almost reached rock bottom.

Even with Onoki's best efforts to regulate the economy and stabilize the village, the village's emptiness and deficit could not be made up for in just one or two years.

That would require at least ten or even several decades of accumulation and development!

But does Iwagakure still have the opportunity and time to continue accumulating strength for another decade or so? Would those guys in the ninja world just watch a weak and powerful nation without seizing the opportunity to make their move?

Onoki didn't know, but there was one thing he did know.

That is, Konoha, which is almost a mortal enemy of Iwagakure, has a hawkish leader in power!

"Uchiha..."

As Onoki murmured that peculiar name, images from decades ago involuntarily surfaced in his mind—the image of a guy named Uchiha from those years ago.

Decades ago, under that guy's leadership, Konoha prospered and dominated the ninja world for decades. At that time, Iwagakure, in order to develop, had its First Tsuchikage compromise, admit defeat, and surrender and pay tribute... Now that the Uchiha have returned to power, what will the future hold?

"Does this mean that I, Onoki, am going to end up like I did decades ago?" Onoki clenched his hands, his nails digging into his palms, and bright red blood dripped from between his fingers.

He is unwilling!

But he had no choice; he had no option!

The ninja world today.

Under the leadership of Mizukiyo, Kirigakure grew increasingly powerful, its momentum resembling that of Konoha when it was first established, unparalleled in the world.

Although Kumogakure suffered a defeat in the war against Konoha, it did not lose its peak combat power, and both Jinchuriki and elite troops were preserved.

Although Sunagakure was isolated and suffered heavy losses in the Third Shinobi World War, it maintained extremely good relations with Kirigakure and Konoha, cooperating on resources and engaging in trade. In addition, it had the Fourth Kazekage, a gold miner, making recovery relatively easy.

Add to that a Kaleidoscope of Konoha...

Of the five great nations, only Iwagakure has declined!

Looking down at Iwagakure, the old man, who had been strong and resilient throughout his life, now showed a deep weariness and helplessness, and his short figure became somewhat hunched over...

"Boom!"

The door to the Tsuchikage's office was pushed open. Ōnoki didn't even need to turn around to know that there was only one person in the entire Iwagakure village who dared to do such a thing.

The newcomer was a boy with dark golden hair tied back. His blue eyes were lined with black eyeliner. Although he was only four or five years old, he looked much more mature.

"Old man, look at my new art!"

"Oh?"

Onoki calmly suppressed his emotions, turned his head to look at the young man in front of him, and teased, "What little gadgets have you made this time?"

"Hmph, just you wait and see!"

The blond boy gave a soft snort, rummaged around in his pockets for a while, then suddenly opened his hands, revealing a tiny, pure white spider in his palm.

"Ta-da! This is my latest research!"

"Hmm, not bad. It seems you did a good job in pottery class at the Ninja Academy, Deidara."

"What the hell, you old fool? This is brand new art! Not a clay doll! Fine... I'll let you experience my brand new artistic creation!"

Deidara was furious, then his eyes darted around and he threw the pure white clay spider in his hand into Onoki's hand.

Onoki caught it casually: "Hmm, not bad, there's even a faint flow of chakra. It seems you put a lot of thought into making this little gadget, even using chakra."

"It's not a trinket, it's art! It's art!"

Deidara yelled, "You old geezer, just you wait! Drink!"

With a shout from the blond boy, Onoki suddenly felt a surge of chakra emanating from the small clay in his hand. The next moment, the clay spider exploded with a bang. Although its power was not great, it still left Onoki covered in dust and dirt. Even the Tsuchikage's desk was shattered, with countless documents scattered all over the ground.

"Hahahaha, isn't my art absolutely perfect, you old geezer? Hmm! You can feel my art..."

Deidara laughed heartily, but after a few laughs, he suddenly noticed the scattered documents and scrolls on the ground, as well as Onoki's increasingly gloomy face, and sensed something was wrong.

Without the slightest hesitation, Deidara turned and ran away, leaving the Tsuchikage's office without looking back.

"You old geezer, I'll show you my art next time, hmm! I have to go to class now, hmm!"

"Deidara!!!!!"

The angry voices gradually subsided. Onoki wiped his face, looked at Deidara who had mischievously run away, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"At such a young age, he has actually developed such a level of Explosion Release, and even created his own ninjutsu, Deidara."

"The future of Iwagakure, the will of Iwagakure, will not fall like this!"

Chapter 192 He who steals a hook shall be executed, he who steals a kingdom shall become a king! Hiruzen Sarutobi, the great thief of Konoha!

"The Fifth Hokage..."

Inside the Sand Village.

Obito, sitting upright on the rooftop of the Kazekage Building, looked at the information delivered by Zetsu, his expression behind the vortex mask incredibly complex.

He used to be a passionate young man who talked all day about becoming Hokage, but the harsh reality made him realize that it was just a brainwashing tactic used by the higher-ups to control those below.

It's impossible for someone from the Uchiha clan to become Hokage, just like Kakashi promised to protect Rin.

It's utterly ridiculous and impossible.

But at this moment, the Uchiha clan, which had been relentlessly suppressed by the Hokage lineage, actually stood up. Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan, actually became the Fifth Hokage, which caused Obito's mind to waver slightly.

Even the Uchiha clan can become Hokage, but what about his Rin?

The sunset on the horizon is like Lin's smiling face, seemingly beautiful, yet dreamlike and fleeting...

"If it weren't for the Hyuga clan's defection, what we would be seeing now wouldn't be Fugaku Uchiha's inauguration, but Konoha torn apart by civil war."

Zetsu poked his head out from beside Obito, took out a scroll, and tossed it to Obito: "Latest information: Mizuki Yoru has taken Hyuga Hiashi's daughter as his disciple. This should be the reason why the Hyuga clan will help Uchiha Fugaku in the Hokage election."

Obito snapped out of his reverie about women, frowned, and opened the scroll in his hand.

After a long while, he closed the scroll and shut his blood-red single eye.

"So, that means that both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans have been involved by that guy?"

"For now, yes," Black Zetsu said in a deep voice. "If we don't do something, Kirigakure's power will continue to grow."

"So what can we do?"

A hint of self-mockery appeared in Obito's eyes.

With their current power and methods, they are no match for Mizuki Yoru. Obito even felt that Yoru's strength and influence had surpassed Madara's back then!

Faced with an existence of this caliber, they were completely powerless.

"Have we heard anything about the Tailed Beasts?" Obito didn't want to talk too much about Mizuki Yoru, and even wanted to avoid the topic altogether.

"still none."

White Zetsu shook his head: "I searched almost the entire ninja world, but still didn't find much. Three-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, not a single one. It's as if they have completely disappeared from this world."

"Even if my clone gets some information, when we try to confirm it carefully, we still come up empty-handed."

"Tailed beasts are immortal; even if they are killed, they will be resurrected."

"But this resurrection has a time limit..."

"Hmm?" Obito's eyes narrowed slightly. "You mean to say that these five tailed beasts are currently in the resurrection phase?"

“It’s also possible that they were captured by Kirigakure and sealed in a sealing vessel,” White Zetsu said in a low voice. “But the most likely possibility is that they are in the resurrection phase. After all, I’ve searched almost the entire ninja world but found nothing. Even if I had information, the final result would be the same.”

"If I'm not mistaken, someone is hunting down the Tailed Beasts in the ninja world. Whenever they revive, that person appears immediately and hunts them down."

"They don't want the power of the Tailed Beasts to exist in the world, which is why they keep these five Tailed Beasts in a state of resurrection. This way, they can thwart our plans at the root!"

"Water without a moonlit night..."

Obito Uchiha clenched his fists. If there was anyone in the world who knew their plan and could pull it off to this extent, it would only be Mizuki Yoru!

If this guy doesn't die, all their subsequent plans will be impossible to carry out! They'll be stuck at a loss!

But what can they do about Mizuki Yoru?

As things stand, Obito's strongest weapon is Nagato. However, the battle in the Land of Iron shattered this so-called strongest weapon. Even if Nagato has recovered and even improved his strength, would he be a match for Mizuki Yoru?

Obviously not.

"Minazukiyo! Minazukiyo! Minazukiyo!" The more Obito thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He slammed his hands hard on the railing in front of him: "How did that Minazukiyo guy know about our plan?!"

Hunting down the tailed beasts thwarted their plans at their very core, rendering any further efforts to secretly accumulate power meaningless.

“It’s Orochimaru, that guy has defected.” Black Zetsu said in a low voice, then paused and added, “And before the spores I left on him were removed, I detected that he went to Kirigakure.”

"what?!"

His face was stiff and expressionless.

They went to great lengths to recruit Orochimaru into the Akatsuki organization, even taking matters into their own hands.

After joining Akatsuki, they also gave Orochimaru many benefits, including but not limited to the flesh and blood cells of powerful ninja from various villages, Nagato's physical condition, and some data about the Rinnegan.

It can be said that they paid a considerable price to win over this legendary ninja.

And now look what's happened! He joined the organization only a few days ago, then turned around and defected, even joining Kirigakure?!

Obito felt his three internal organs flaring up violently, and he was on the verge of collapse.

How the hell are we supposed to play this?!

“Although Orochimaru has defected, the laboratory data he left behind is still quite useful. If we can make good use of it, we might have a chance,” Black Zetsu said.

"What experimental data could help us break through this current situation?" Obito scoffed. "Unless we can master power surpassing Minazuki Yoru, everything is meaningless! But is there anyone in this world capable of defeating Minazuki Yoru?"

"Let alone Nagato and me, even if Madara were to be resurrected, or even if the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, were alive, I doubt he could handle that guy!"

"What if it's the Sage of Six Paths?"

"Even if it's the Sage of Six Paths... wait, what did you say?!" Obito's words faltered, his face filled with disbelief as he stared at Black Zetsu: "The Sage of Six Paths?!"