Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

A flash of yellow light, and two flames, even faster than the puppet, crashed down on them.

Under the raging explosion, the two puppets, which were deadly weapons just moments before, were rendered useless!

"this!!"

A barely suppressed gasp came from a corner. A puppeteer hidden in the shadows quickly retracted his chakra threads, took out a scroll from his robes, and prepared to take out the puppet again.

But when he looked up again, the person he had identified as his assassination target was already standing in front of him.

"you!"

With eyes filled with terror, Ye raised his knife and severed the head.

The foul-smelling blood splattered red on the wall.

"Since you've targeted me, you should at least gather some information about me. Using puppetry techniques in front of Sharingan users, don't make your chakra threads too conspicuous."

Ye sighed helplessly. Behind him, several shadows swayed.

Accompanied by the clicking sound of the machinery.

Several bizarre-looking puppets, some with their bellies open, revealing mechanisms, others with their limbs extended and barbs spewing venom, suddenly emerged from the shadows like crazed monsters seeing their prey, and pounced on Ye Fei.

The puppeteers who wielded the puppets varied in skill and numbered in number, totaling seven puppets.

In an instant, all directions around Ye were completely sealed off by these deadly weapons!

In an instant, the puppet's attack arrived.

However, the same situation as before reappeared on the street.

Night seemed to have a mysterious energy layer on its body, and all attacks that landed on it were repelled. The puppets' strange and fierce attacks could not make an inch in front of this barrier!

"Watching a puppet show after a satisfying meal is quite interesting."

"But you guys acted terribly."

Night drew the Hyōrinmaru from her waist and with a single slash, the sharp blade energy instantly turned all the puppets into flying wood chips.

The puppeteers behind were all shocked when they saw this, and quickly formed hand seals.

"Wind Escape·Big Breakthrough!"

"Wind Release: Wind Slash... Pfft!"

Before the hand seals were even finished, Yoru's Hyōrinmaru had already slashed across their bodies.

The incision was smooth, and fresh blood gushed out.

But just as those puppeteers were about to perish, several blazing fireballs suddenly attacked from behind the night!

The angle and opportunity for the attack were excellent, and it was conceived almost the instant Ye finished off the puppeteer, seemingly aiming to capitalize on Ye's momentary lapse in concentration after the killing.

The fireball was incredibly fast, arriving in an instant!

"boom!!!"

The terrifying heat and explosion erupted in the alley; it was definitely not the power of an ordinary fire-style ninjutsu.

The scorching flames burned everything in the corner where Ye was located to charcoal. The female ninja, with her hair tied in a black bun but her sideburns dyed orange, slowly emerged from the shadows to check the situation.

But just as she stepped out of the shadows, a long knife landed on her neck.

"how come!"

The female ninja's body stiffened abruptly, and she instinctively tried to struggle, but the chilling aura emanating from the long blade striking her neck made her completely afraid to move an inch.

"It seems that you Sunagakure people are very shocked when your assassination attempts fail."

Night appeared behind her, holding Hyōrinmaru. Her gaze moved up her exposed, smooth, white back and landed on that familiar face: "You know nothing about the target and just use your own methods without thinking. You think the plan will succeed. No wonder you were defeated so badly by Konoha."

"It's been a long time, Scorching Release: Leaf Villager."

"A Moonless Night on Water!"

The sound of almost gritting teeth came from Yekura's mouth.

In the early stages of the Third Shinobi World War, Sunagakure and Kirigakure had a significant conflict. Yoru, the captain of Kirigakure's first ANBU squad, had fought against Pakura, an elite ninja from Sunagakure, many times, and naturally, they became acquainted.

"You...you've actually grown to this level?!"

"It seems you really haven't kept up with any information about me." Ye looked at Yecang in surprise. He thought his reputation had spread throughout the entire ninja world, but now it seemed he was still far from it. "Wait... Could it be that the higher-ups of your Sunagakure knew that Kirigakure was going to negotiate with Konoha, and were so anxious that they sent you people who had just returned to Sunagakure to assassinate and cause trouble again?"

"..."

Yecang didn't speak, but the expression on her slightly turned face seemed to confirm Ye's words.

"Awesome, Sunagakure is the best food to eat with rice."

"Stop with the insults. Since I've failed, just kill me!"

Ye Cang gritted her teeth and couldn't help but say.

"That won't do. Kirigakure doesn't have any Scorching Release bloodline limit. You've already delivered yourself to our doorstep, it would be such a waste to kill you."

Ye smiled and raised her hand, placing it on Ye Cang's lower abdomen amidst Ye Cang's horrified gaze.

"Four Symbols Seal!"

"The Fourth Way of Binding: This Rope!"

While completely sealing Yekura's chakra, the rope also bound the hands and feet of this Sunagakure elite.

After doing all this, Yoru clapped his hands, but then seemed to notice Yekura's mouth, so he conjured a block of ice and stuffed it into her mouth. Then, Yoru hoisted Yekura's curvaceous body onto his shoulder and headed towards the inn…

……

Chapter 98 The Fourth Mizukage, Mizuki Yoru!

"Regarding the ninja bloodline, even if I were the Hokage, there's really nothing I can do."

The meeting proceeded as scheduled on the second day, but Hiruzen Sarutobi still looked troubled.

"However, we can make up for the loss of Wuyin with the compensation amount. On the basis of the original compensation of 50 million taels, we can increase it to 80 million taels."

"Furthermore, in the future, when Kirigakure and Konoha engage in trade, we can grant all merchants from the Land of Water a three-year tax exemption, and provide them with various forms of protection and preferential treatment in terms of resources. Lord Minazuki, Lord Mizukage, what do you think of this arrangement...?"

"Stop, stop."

Before the Third Hokage could finish speaking, Yoru sighed and waved his hand to interrupt him.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Yoru stood up, rubbed his back, grabbed the Third Mizukage, and turned to walk out of the meeting room.

The sudden scene left everyone present stunned and momentarily speechless.

"Lord Minazuki, what is this...?"

"Thank you for the hospitality of Admiral Mifune and everyone from the Land of Iron over the past two days. But I'm sorry, since the Hokage has no intention of negotiating, we won't waste any more time here."

Ye said calmly, "The Iwagakure we met on the way here a couple of days ago also showed us great sincerity. If we finish our trip here soon, the Third Hokage and I can go and see Iwagakure."

"Wait, Lord Minazuki, Lord Mizukage, we can still talk!"

Mifune looked strange, while Hiruzen Sarutobi, looking anxious, stood up and said, "We can increase the compensation amount to 90 million ryo... no, 100 million ryo!"

Even if you had two hundred million taels, it wouldn't matter.

Yoru turned to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his indifferent voice echoing in the arena: "Considering that your Konoha is also a victim, I can let bygones be bygones regarding the Third Hokage being controlled by the Sharingan. But giving Kirigakure the means to fight against the Sharingan is our minimum requirement! Since you cannot meet this standard, then we naturally have nothing to discuss."

"But, but..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi clenched his fists, his eyes fixed on the figures of Mizuki Yoru and the Third Mizukage, and let out a low growl.

"and many more!"

"The sound of cicadas in the air, is it?"

His mouth was slightly open, but the sound inside seemed to be compressed and muffled, making it inaudible to everyone present. Even Minato Namikaze frowned and looked puzzled.

But when Yoru and the Third Mizukage, who were about to leave, heard this voice, a smile appeared on their faces, and they returned to their negotiating seats with a grin.

"Alright, alright, although this condition is far from what we expected, at least it shows us the Hokage's sincerity... Admiral Mifune, I apologize for the farce just now, please continue to preside over this meeting."

"Uh, well, okay."

Mifune nodded blankly: "In that case, the meeting shall continue as scheduled."

"Hmm, where were we? Oh right, the Hokage said he would compensate Kirigakure with 100 million ryo, right?"

"Konoha doesn't have that much cash right now..."

"It's alright, give us 50 million taels first, and the remaining compensation can be paid in installments. Just calculate the interest, let's do it at an annual interest rate of 4%."

"..."

The peace talks, which were initially deadlocked and even on the verge of ending, took a dramatic turn for the worse.

The two sides began to pull at each other again.

Faced with Kirigakure's outrageous demands, Konoha tried to bargain, and this time, Kirigakure seemed to be less assertive than before.

Konoha tried to reduce some of the compensation amounts, and Kirigakure actually made concessions on some of the clauses.

The stark contrast between the two situations aroused the curiosity of the Iron Country samurai who were watching, who kept speculating about what conditions Hiruzen Sarutobi had promised to appease Kirigakure.

Could it be that the Third Hokage really agreed to Kirigakure's request to send the bloodlines of those clans within the village to Kirigakure?!

Various speculations arose in everyone's minds, and even Minato Namikaze frowned deeply.

Although he believed that the Third Hokage would never do anything to harm the village, and that everything he did was for the village's future and development, otherwise the two of them would not have traveled all the way from Konoha to here.

But all that's happening right now...

"Lord Third Generation, what exactly are you...?"

Minato Namikaze used the "Empty Cicada Sound" technique to compress his voice with chakra and transmit it to Hiruzen Sarutobi's ears.

"For a qualified politician and commander, the most basic political mindset is to remain rational and sacrifice the small for the greater good when facing a powerful enemy."

"We do not have the capability to continue the war with Kirigakure, nor can we afford to fight them to the death, so..."

"So you agreed to their demands and chose to send the bloodline limits of the Uchiha, Hyuga, and other villages away?!"

Minato Namikaze clenched his fists, and his sky-blue eyes were even bloodshot. Even someone as gentle as him as the little sun couldn't help but tremble after hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.

"No, I only handed over the intelligence."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a low voice, "After this meeting is officially over, I will provide them with information about the ninja squad led by Fugaku."

"Leaking intelligence to foreign enemies... Third Hokage, this is a betrayal of the village!"

“Once the contract is signed, Kirigakure will no longer be our enemy, so this is not a betrayal of the village, but simply another way to save it!”

This obvious sophistry, however, allowed him to understand Hiruzen Sarutobi's inner thoughts.

If sacrificing the interests of a small number of ninja clans in exchange for the peace of the entire Hidden Leaf Village is a win, then it is undoubtedly a gain. After all, if the Hidden Mist Village were to continue fighting like this, the losses that Hidden Leaf Village would face would not be summed up by just one or two bloodline limits; it would be a true war to annihilate the village!

But this bloody reality of the transaction was something that Minato Namikaze found hard to accept for a while.

"Third Hokage, your actions will allow Kirigakure to grow into a monster..."

"But at least Konoha still exists, doesn't it?"

"Sacrifice the pawn to save the king, weigh the pros and cons. Minato, Konoha is a great tree. As long as the tree's roots remain unshaken, even if some branches and leaves are broken by wind and rain, it can still become lush and verdant again in the future."

"You need to shift your mindset from that of a 'ninja' to that of a 'kage.' Only then can you lead Konoha to a better future in the turbulent ninja world..."

"The village is the foundation. Only with the village can there be everything else, including the ninja clan. If even the village is gone, then everything else will disappear as well."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice kept ringing in Minato Namikaze's ears, constantly passing on the concept of 'Shadow' to this strongest rising star of Konoha.

Minato Namikaze's fist clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

His sky-blue eyes stared blankly at Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure, watching the old man constantly discussing the details of the contract with Mizuki Yoru and the Third Mizukage, trying to save Konoha every penny.

His heart trembled slightly, and his throat felt a little sore.

The third generation of adults...

The two sides negotiated and haggled over various terms and conditions for several more days. Finally, witnessed by the general of the Land of Iron, Konoha and Kirigakure officially signed a complete peace agreement, ending their state of war.

Although Kirigakure was at a disadvantage in the overall war and suffered heavy losses, the village's overall strength fell to its lowest point since its founding. Even the ninjas and residents of the village believed that they were the defeated side.

However, thanks to Mizuki Yoru's terrifying individual strength, which was unparalleled in the world, Kirigakure not only successfully signed many trade treaties with Konoha that were conducive to its own transformation, but also got Konoha to lift all arrest warrants for Kirigakure ninjas and obtain a large amount of compensation.

Furthermore, the Third Hokage even signed several hidden treaties to satisfy the insatiable appetite of Kirigakure!