Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

That's a good plan.

Pulling and restraining to launch a sneak attack.

Now, after the development of Mizukiyo over the past few years, Kirigakure must be heavily guarded. In addition, with the presence of those guys from Seireitei, a direct assault would be extremely difficult.

Having Obito infiltrate them using space-time ninjutsu was indeed a good idea, and it wasn't him who went deep behind enemy lines.

Besides...

Now that Nagato's strength has recovered and even improved, he wants to see just how much of a gap there is between himself and Minazuki Yoru.

Did Mizukiyo truly reach a level close to that of the Sage of Six Paths, just as Obito said?

This is the arrogance that comes with increased strength. If Obito hadn't given him a little reminder, Nagato would already be like Sasuke after he just awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, thinking he was invincible!

"In that case, I'll wait for your news," Nagato said in a deep voice.

"Everything is for our shared dream."

Obito's figure vanished in a vortex, taking Zetsu with him. Nagato stared indifferently in the direction Obito disappeared for a long time before turning around and continuing to look down at the steel jungle-like Amegakure below.

Konan said softly, "That guy couldn't possibly have such thoughts. He must have something on his mind, Nagato."

“I know, but what he said is not wrong.”

"If Minazuki Yoru's current strength is really as that guy said, then the method 'Madara' mentioned is probably the only way for us to realize our dream. We have no choice, Konan."

"But!" Xiao Nan's pretty face showed her anxiety.

"There are no 'buts'; everything is for a better future, everything is for our beliefs and ideals!"

Nagato turned around and walked up to Konan, his tone soft but firm.

"Also for Yahiko."

……

After nearly a month of settling down, the situation in Konoha has escalated further.

The Fourth Raikage angrily denounced Konoha for its lack of sincerity on international news, accusing it of making exorbitant demands at the negotiation meeting. After the Kumogakure delegation refused Konoha's unreasonable requests, they were detained by Konoha and have not been heard from since.

"If Konoha truly intends to negotiate, and is truly in the spirit of peace, then please release my Kumogakure delegation so they can reunite with their families!"

"If Konoha refuses to release our Kumogakure delegation, then we Kumogakure are prepared for war!"

The Fourth Raikage's words on international ninja news instantly caused a huge stir in the ninja world.

The various ninja villages were all eager to see the drama unfold, especially Iwagakure. Onoki even held a press conference on the afternoon of the same day the Fourth Raikage spoke, criticizing Konoha's heinous actions and highlighting the immense damage Konoha had inflicted on Iwagakure by using the Paradise Box during the Third Shinobi World War.

Public opinion intensified, and although Kumogakure had not yet directly dispatched troops, their attitude and guidance of public opinion had already pushed Konoha into the eye of the storm.

Surprisingly, Konoha, which usually values ​​public opinion and reputation the most, remained silent this time.

This has led many to speculate whether what Kumogakure said was true, and whether Konoha really wanted to continue the war.

Half a month later, when public opinion had completely exploded, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, Fugaku Uchiha, finally convened a press conference for the ninja world and began to speak quietly.

"Your Kumogakure coveted my Konoha's bloodline limit, using the guise of negotiations to secretly attack, and even tried to turn my village's former Hokage against us! If it weren't for the sharp eyes of Clan Chief Hiashi and the Hyuga clan's formidable defenses, you would have almost succeeded!"

"Konoha yearns for peace and desires peace, but we are never afraid of war. Since you, Kumogakure, want to fight, then we will fight you!"

Fugaku Uchiha's attitude and the information he revealed have once again ignited public opinion, catching the Cloud Village somewhat off guard.

According to their intelligence data analysts, the situation in Konoha is extremely bad. Whether it is the economy, the number of ninjas in the village, or the public sentiment, everything has long since reached its limit.

Under these circumstances, even if Konoha had a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, they wouldn't have such confidence.

As a result, Konoha not only took a tough stance, but also declared that if they wanted to fight, they would fight, which truly astonished the people of Kumogakure.

The next day.

The Fog Village held a press conference, clearly stating that "the infrastructure construction of the Water, Fire, and Wind Kingdoms is a good policy for the country and its people, and it is currently the most important project for Fog Village. Any individual, organization, force, or even country that dares to infringe upon the interests of the people of Fog Village will bear the consequences."

"Bang!!"

The Fourth Raikage slammed his hand on the desk in front of him, smashing it to pieces, and looked at the intelligence report in his hand with a bitter laugh.

"They really have guts! Such a show of bravado! Do they really think Kumogakure is afraid of Konoha?"

"After so many battles, what's left of Konoha? Just a pair of nearly blind Mangekyou Sharingan. Do they really think they can do whatever they want just because Kirigakure is backing them up?!"

"My Cloud Village has tens of thousands of elite troops, and two perfect Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails. What makes him, a crippled Konoha, stand against us?!"

Just because she found a good father...

Several Cloud Hidden Elders and Advisors stood aside, not daring to breathe loudly.

They were actually prepared to go to war with Konoha. The reason was simple: the fallen Cloud Village Jonin had already relayed the information that the Mangekyou Sharingan would cause blindness, as well as the news that Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan was about to go blind, to the village.

At that time, Kumogakure had already prepared for the possibility of continuing the war with Konoha after the plan to seize the Byakugan failed.

Unexpectedly, Kirigakure would support Konoha so strongly, even issuing such a statement!

If you dare attack Konoha, I'll attack you!

"Fourth Hokage, why don't we..."

An older physical education student tried to persuade Lei Ying to give up, but upon seeing Lei Ying's gloomy face, the words of advice he was about to say abruptly stopped.

The elders and advisors exchanged glances, and finally the oldest elder stepped forward, his cloudy eyes looking at the Fourth Raikage.

"Hey, do you want to fight?"

"miss you!"

The Fourth Raikage's eyes gleamed: "I want to fight!"

"Okay, let's fight!"

"Great Elder!"

The elderly man nodded, and his words caused the surrounding advisors to change their expressions drastically, prompting them to hurriedly speak.

"Over at Kirigakure..."

"The threat from Kirigakure has always been there. Does that mean we, the Cloud Village, should just stop developing?" The First Elder shook his head. "I understand what you mean, but I understand the Fourth Hokage even better, and I understand what the Cloud Village needs right now."

"Since the Second Shinobi World War, our Hidden Cloud Village has been recuperating and building up its strength. The village's combat power once rose to the top of the shinobi world, which led to the launch of the Third Shinobi World War."

"But since the start of the war, we, the Hidden Cloud Village, have suffered defeat after defeat. We have not gained any advantage in the war against the Hidden Sand Village, we lost the Third Hokage in the battle against the Hidden Stone Village, and the war against the Hidden Leaf Village was a fizzle out!"

"Upon careful consideration, we have not suffered any major losses in the past few years. Even though we have suffered minor losses, compared to other forces in the ninja world, we have preserved the best strength and are the strongest."

"But in terms of morale, the morale of the army, and the support of the people, our Cloud Hidden has already fallen to rock bottom after a series of minor setbacks..."

The elder looked around, his tone tinged with self-deprecation.

"Now, throughout the entire Hidden Cloud Village, everyone is lamenting and dejected. No one has any hope for the future of Hidden Cloud Village. In fact, a large number of merchants have left, taking countless assets with them!"

"Our Cloud Village has the best-preserved strength in the ninja world, yet our future is bleak. The root cause is that we have lost the hearts of the people and lost confidence."

Wherever the Grand Elder's gaze swept, all the elders and advisors lowered their heads.

They knew in their hearts everything the Grand Elder said, but they pretended not to see it, using the fact that they had preserved the most fighting power and resources during the war to numb themselves.

But what about reality?

Now that the Grand Elder has lifted this fig leaf, it's clear who's been swimming naked.

"The village needs a war, a victory, even a Pyrrhic victory, it's what the village needs right now!"

"so."

The First Elder looked at the Fourth Raikage: "Let's start the war, Fourth Hokage! Even with the threat of Kirigakure, we must fight!"

"it is good!"

The Fourth Raikage nodded emphatically. The elder's words resonated deeply with him and made everyone present understand that this war was inevitable.

However, since war is going to be fought, it cannot be fought recklessly. They went there with the goal of victory, not to charge in mindlessly and deplete the Cloud Village's manpower.

The Fourth Raikage walked to the wall where the map of the ninja world was hanging and said in a deep voice.

"Konoha is nothing to worry about. Even if a Mangekyou Sharingan user who is about to go blind can unleash his power before he dies, it will only be a final burst of energy. If we stall for time, we can take care of him. The real threat is Kirigakure."

"We have to admit that Kirigakure is currently very strong. Even without considering Mizuki Yoru, Kirigakure is currently the strongest in the ninja world, especially the Reapers of Seireitei. Biyori was defeated by them."

"If possible, it's best for us to avoid conflict with the Hidden Mist Village, therefore my decision is..."

The Fourth Raikage's finger traveled from the Land of Lightning across the Land of Light to the Land of Light, finally landing directly in the Land of Fire.

"Elite forces assembled, lightning strike!"

"We need to crush Konoha before Kirigakure can react. Even if Kirigakure wants to help, we can plunder it, retreat to Kumogakure, and use Kumogakure's natural defenses to defend and counterattack."

“In that case…” some elders frowned and said in a deep voice, “Our gains might be very small.”

"Regardless of profit, we just want a victory!"

The Fourth Raikage, A, spoke with unwavering resolve, his gaze sharp as a blade, his fists clenched: "A victory to revitalize the spirit of Kumogakure, a victory to shake the ninja world, a complete and utter triumph!"

"We just want to win!"

"Bright"

Chapter 205 The Blitzkrieg of Kumogakure! The Hyuga, Senju, and Uchiha reunite!

Now that the resolve to wage war has been made, the next step is pre-war mobilization and strategic preparation.

Because it was a blitzkrieg, the Cloud Village's preparations were extremely covert and incredibly swift.

The elite troops of Kumogakure assembled in half a day and marched for three days. While the entire ninja world was still reeling from the public opinion battle between Konoha and Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage, A, had already led the Kumogakure elite to the Land of Rivers, facing the border of the Land of Fire.

"The Yondaime!"

"Big brother!"

Under the dim moonlight, the Fourth Raikage, A, stood on a giant tree, gazing at the endless forest of the Land of Fire before him, his expression enigmatic.

Behind him, Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, followed closely by a Cloud Village Jonin with short purple hair and very prominent lower eyelashes.

He was none other than the frontline commander-in-chief of the last war against Konoha, the ninja from Tsuchida.

"How's the intelligence gathering going?"

The Fourth Raikage, A, had a grim expression. He placed his left hand on the heavy gauntlet on his right wrist and tightened it. Crackling blue lightning crackled around him as he prepared to unleash his power.

"The Byakugan's penetrating range is one kilometer, but if one deliberately focuses on it, they can even see things ten kilometers away (in the original story, during the battle between the brothers, Hinata used her Byakugan to see Amaterasu's black fire ten kilometers away)."

"We currently maintain a distance of 20 kilometers from Konoha's border defenses, and a surprise attack could be launched in just a few minutes!"

"What about Kirigakure?"

"There was no sound, but according to Iwagakure and other past intelligence, Kirigakure ninjas move extremely fast, especially the Shinigami. It is estimated that they have mastered flight and even space-time ninjutsu similar to the Heavenly Teleportation Technique."

Tu Tai spoke in a deep voice, his tone extremely solemn, revealing his apprehension towards Wuyin.

"As long as our offensive is as fierce as thunder and as swift as the wind, no matter how fast the Hidden Mist is, they won't have enough time!"

The Fourth Raikage spoke in a deep voice, looking at the night sky as dark as an inkwell, clenching his fist, and gazing at the dense forests of the Land of Fire in the distance.

"Listen to my command, Tutai, in half an hour, you will lead the army to follow. Bi, Yukito, you two will attack with me!"

"Yes!"

Since it's a blitzkrieg, it must be swift and decisive. The Fourth Raikage and the two Jinchuriki will form the strongest spear capable of tearing apart any defense, followed by the main army to finish them off.

A dark and windy night is the perfect time to commit murder!

Azure arcs of electricity flashed continuously on the Fourth Raikage's body. This Raikage, who was ambitious and had the bearing of a tyrant, but had accomplished nothing since taking office, was about to show Konoha his sharpest fangs!

"This battle has shown the ninja world the power of Kumogakure!"

With a flash of lightning and the boost of chakra, the three figures vanished from their spot in an instant.

Meanwhile, on the border of the Land of Fire.

On a watchtower.

Several Konoha ninjas chatted and laughed, while only Konoha Jonin Shiyu Aburame, wearing black sunglasses, leaned to the side expressionlessly.

"We are ninjas guarding the border, we shouldn't be laughing and joking like this."

"Hey Zhiyou, you're being way too cautious. Have you seen the news? Kirigakure has already issued a statement!"

Below, Inuzuka Ao, a Jonin of the Inuzuka clan, laughed and said, "Although I hate those guys, they are really strong. With Kirigakure backing us up, Kumogakure doesn't dare to utter a sound right now. Are you still afraid they will ambush us?"