In Konoha, Naruto lies down

She knew that the man hadn't explained anything yet and would show up at her door later. Given his cautious nature, she didn't know who he would disguise himself as to get in.

"on fire!!"

"Lady Terumi Mei, are you okay?" Chojuro and several guards looked in the direction of the big tent and ran over hurriedly.

"I'm fine." She waved her hand and looked away. "Go check every corner of the tent and make sure no one gets in!"

"Yes!"

into the night.

The coastline of the Water Country border has been completely frozen over, with thousands of miles of ice, and people can walk on the ice. To some extent, this has also reduced the pressure on the Water Country's defense line.

"It's such a hassle. I've been guarding this for almost two months!" Ping Gu Mu complained, squinting his eyes and looking into the distance. "Fortunately, it's my turn to be relieved in a few days. I can finally leave this damn place."

"Yeah," another person echoed.

"It's deep winter now, and those monsters are not active. I don't know how long we will have to fight them." Pinggu Mu's eyes dimmed and he sighed.

"Hold on a little longer. Lord Mizukage has also come to the front line," the man said.

"Yes!" Pinggu Mu cheered up. "It's really rare for someone as noble as the Mizukage to go to the front lines in person at a time like this!"

"By the way, I heard that Mei Terumi is a great beauty from the Land of Water. I haven't seen her yet! What about you?"

“I…I haven’t seen it either.”

"Hahaha, it doesn't matter, we'll see each other sooner or later." Pinggu Mu laughed, patted the shoulder of the person next to him, and laughed loudly.

After laughing for a while, Pinggu Mu suddenly came to his senses and stared at the man for a while.

"By the way, what's your name? I don't think I've seen you before."

"I just came here a few days ago. My name is Uyuki Sasuke." The man smiled and shook Pinguki, who nodded in confusion.

I thought to myself that this guy looked pretty good when he smiled, and he must be very popular with girls. But when I thought about myself being in my twenties and still not having a wife, I suddenly felt depressed.

"Sasuke, why does your name sound so familiar?" Hiratani muttered.

"Haha, there are a lot of people named Sasuke in the ninja world. It's because this name is so popular." The man laughed heartily, "I don't know why my parents chose this name. It's so silly."

"It's really silly." Pingu Muye smiled.

"What's going on over there?" the man asked, pointing to a noisy place.

"Oh, I heard this afternoon that they were checking for some renegade ninja who had sneaked in." Pinggu Mu said casually, "It's just checking the identity cards, nothing serious."

"Oh~"

Wearing an eyepatch, Qing Zheng led his men to check identities in each tent one by one, on the one hand to find Uzumaki Naruto, and on the other hand to screen out the White Zetsu who had mixed in the army.

Qing walked up to a man, looked him up and down, and then asked.

"What's your name? Show me the wooden sign."

"Okay, my name is... Pinggu Mu." The man smiled and handed over the wooden sign very naturally.

Seeing this, Qing carefully checked it and found nothing wrong. So he handed the wooden sign back to the man. Seeing the man smile again, Qing muttered to himself that this man looked pretty good when he smiled.

late at night.

Mei Terumi sat in the large tent, candlelight flickering, a densely marked map on the table. Alone in the tent, she seemed quite quiet.

The New Year was approaching, and in order to stabilize the morale of the troops on the front line, she had to travel thousands of miles from the Hidden Mist Village to here. But she couldn't stay here for long, and had to leave tomorrow.

The current situation wasn't bad, as the five great nations had deployed troops on the front lines to block the White Zetsu army. After enduring that difficult month, the White Zetsu was also weakened.

Kirigakure has already agreed with the other ninja villages to form a ninja coalition in the spring to fight the enemy together. So far, the person behind White Zetsu has not been found, and no one knows what other killer moves he has.

As she was thinking, she suddenly felt something and turned her head sharply, but was blocked by a kunai.

"Uzumaki Naruto! How dare you come here!"

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Naruto smiled. "I already said I have something to say. Why is Mizukage so angry? Even if there's a personal grudge, there's no need to be like this."

"How did you get in?" Mei Terumi asked angrily, "Didn't I have someone check the token this afternoon? Are you still here?"

"It's nothing. I walked in openly." Naruto smiled and did not move the kunai in his hand, which was now against Mei Terumi's neck.

"Why should I leave?"

"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you?" Mei Terumi's eyes were cold. "You also said that we have a personal grudge. You're courting death! Don't say anything you want to say. I'll kill you sooner or later."

"It's a matter of mutual consent, but Lord Mizukage, you are quite a novice," he said.

"What do you mean?" Mei Terumi wanted to kill him immediately.

"That's what I mean, Lady Terumi Mei, you wouldn't be..." Naruto originally intended to provoke Terumi Mei, he knew that people like Terumi Mei were not so naive.

The more he irritated her, the more she would take the news he brought seriously.

To put it another way, the two of them already had some personal grudges, so even if Naruto begged for mercy in a gentle manner, it would be useless. He didn't need to do so either, as this was a war.

"Shut up!" Mei Terumi gritted her teeth.

"By the way, Lady Terumi Mei, I happen to have some information to tell you." Naruto said, "It's about the person behind the White Zetsu army. If you are not interested..."

Chapter 524 New Year Festival, the Extreme Operation of the Time Management Master

Mei Terumi is a woman with a strong character. She will not look back on the gains and losses of the past. She only cares about what is happening in front of her.

When she heard Naruto's claim that there was someone behind White Zetsu, her attitude changed. Terumi Mei didn't care about personal grudges, she wanted to put an end to the war.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It seems that Lord Mizukage is very interested in this information. Maybe we should put aside our past grudges and sit down to have a good talk?" He said with a smile, but his kunai did not move away at all.

"Okay." Mei Terumi agreed readily.

Naruto didn't dare to let go immediately. He was silent for several seconds before slowly removing the kunai and slowly sitting down opposite Mei Terumi. Although he was not a good person, he was still cautious.

He wasn't afraid of Mei Terumi suddenly attacking him, as he wasn't that easy to kill, nor was he easily injured. He had too many ways to save his life, not to mention Flying Thunder God, and even Izanagi.

But he didn't want Mei Terumi to lose her mind because of anger, as tomorrow was the New Year's Festival. Mei Terumi could not care less, as the Land of Water did not attach much importance to the New Year's Festival.

He had to return to Konoha tomorrow, traveling back and forth between the two places to spend the New Year's Festival with Ino and Hinata. How to celebrate was still a question, as without some time management, he might not even see the sun the day after tomorrow.

Anyway, he's not free tomorrow. If he doesn't have a chance to talk to Mei Terumi today, then... let's talk about it after the New Year.

The two of them sat down, but their mood was not calm.

In the large tent, Naruto glanced at Mei Terumi and saw that her eyes were still cold. After a moment's thought, he simply charged forward.

"I have a condition."

"Speak." Mei Terumi responded.

"I haven't thought about it yet. How about asking Lord Mizukage for a promise?" Naruto said.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought it through, but he was certain Mei Terumi wouldn't agree. Besides, it was a matter for the future, so he needed to do something else to get Mei Terumi to agree.

The war will subside in the future. Naruto has no trusted confidants in Kirigakure, so if he wants to influence Kirigakure, he must go through Terumi Mei. Furthermore, the Mizukage will definitely be succeeded by Chojuro, who is weak and cowardly, and listens to Terumi Mei the most.

"The promise is too big, I dare not accept it." Terumi Mei's face became even colder.

Naruto knew at a glance that this person had some wrong ideas, so he quickly stretched out his hand and waved it in front of her. He wanted to explain, but out of habit his words turned into teasing.

"It's not that kind of thing. Mizukage-sama has a dirty mind."

"roll!"

"You're in a hurry, you're in a hurry."

"Uzumaki Naruto! Do you really think I dare not kill you?" A cold light flashed in Mei Terumi's eyes, and she seemed ready to take action.

"Alright, alright, let's get down to business." He coughed, "The man behind White Zetsu is Orochimaru's old subordinate, Kabuto Yakushi. Besides that, there's also Zetsu, an old member of Akatsuki."

"As for Uchiha Sasuke who is currently attacking the Hidden Cloud Village, that was a complete accident. First of all, he is a traitor and has nothing to do with Konoha. Secondly, he is not very smart and was tricked by Kabuto Yakushi and Zetsu into wanting to destroy the ninja world."

"Is Konoha trying to shirk responsibility?" Mei Terumi was still very imposing when she was serious, with a look of disdain in her eyes and a domineering aura. "Uchiha Sasuke is still a ninja of Konoha after all. Whether he is a traitor or not is still open to question."

"Well...if Lord Mizukage has any questions, he can go directly to Konoha to hold them accountable." Naruto said with his hands spread out, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Let's not talk about this, let's continue talking about Kabuto Yakushi."

"Okay." Mei Terumi didn't insist on the conversation.

Killing Naruto with a single sword didn't change anything. The incident was already in the past, and Mei Terumi didn't really care about it. It was unclear who had taken advantage, as both of them were still confused.

It was just a fleeting romance. People in the underworld don't care about trivial matters, and she cares more about intelligence.

The Water Nation has a vast defense line and a coastline, which is basically impossible to defend. Because of this, the Water Nation is the one that has the most difficulty dealing with White Zetsu.

The Kirigakure ninja troops are scattered across major towns. They not only have to protect the nobles of the Water Country, but also have to run around between the major defense lines.

Kirigakure was already struggling with a generational gap; Chojuro's generation couldn't even muster the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. They were barely adequate in battle, but struggled against a monster like White Zetsu.

White Zetsu has no emotions, no fear, and only knows how to charge into battle.

If we just passively resist, the morale of the army will be completely worn out sooner or later, and it will probably plummet before the beginning of next spring.

That's why Mei Terumi traveled to the border to boost morale during this time of year. Wars are fought on the heart of the people; only by believing in victory and uniting as one can we persevere.

But this is also a helpless move. Boosting morale is always a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution. Kirigakure must find the person behind White Zetsu and defeat him or stop him from continuing to use troops against the Water Country.

In this way, the information brought by Naruto is actually very important to Mei.

"Yakushi Kabuto is... sinister and vicious, and good at disguising himself." Naruto summarized it from a high-level perspective and continued, "He is currently digging graves, preparing to resurrect a group of Jonin."

"Immortality?" Mei Terumi was surprised, her mouth slightly open. "Isn't that the evil trick of the Second Hokage? How could Kabuto Yakushi..."

"If Orochimaru can do it, then naturally Kabuto can do it too." Naruto smiled and said silently in his heart, "I can do it too."

"Oh, your fine traditions of Konoha?" Mei Terumi couldn't help but sneer. "How could such a forbidden technique as manipulating the dead be allowed to spread?"

"You'll have to ask the Second Hokage. Perhaps it's to restrain the evil Uchiha." He said calmly, still joking.

"Konoha likes suspicion," she said.

"Kirigakure isn't much better. There aren't many clean villages in the ninja world." Naruto retorted lightly, "Stop talking about this useless stuff. Lord Mizukage better make a decision."

"If we wait until next spring to stop Kabuto Yakushi, it will be too late. By then, the Water Country will not only have to face White Zetsu, but also the Impure World Army."

"Soon, Kabuto Yakushi will enter the Land of Water to prepare for the Impure World Reincarnation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."

Mei Terumi fell silent. The situation in the Land of Water was dire, even worse than that of the Wind Country, which was run by a bunch of idiots. After the Blood Mist Village, the Hidden Mist was already very weak.

Mei Terumi worked hard to drag Kirigakure out of the bloody mist of the past, so naturally she didn't want Kirigakure to suffer another heavy blow and couldn't afford to lose.

This is also the reason why Naruto had to choose to find Mei Terumi to reveal the information. As for what Kirigakure does, he can't care so much.

"Can I believe this news of yours?" Mei Terumi asked again.

"Of course, I have no motive to tell lies." Naruto said, "I just came here to give you a reminder today. Whether or not to use force is none of my business."

At this point, Naruto vanished. Terumi Mei, having seen Flying Thunder God before, didn't react much. She was still lost in thought, considering the authenticity of the news.

Perhaps she was speculating on Naruto's movements, and her gaze had already crossed the Water Country and cast towards the distant Konoha. She didn't know whether Uzumaki Naruto represented the interests of Konoha behind the scenes. At present, it seemed that he had contacted her without Konoha's knowledge.

In any case, this news is indeed important to the Water Kingdom.

~~

The next day, it was New Year's Day when I opened my eyes.

Naruto lay in bed, having completely forgotten about contacting Mei Terumi yesterday. As for why he chose Kirigakure, it was simply because there were no people like him there.

The evil god's followers' mission has been completed, and Naruto has no better way to control Kirigakure.

Mei Terumi will most likely attack Yakushi Kabuto after hearing the news, and stop him from resurrecting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. This will delay Yakushi Kabuto to some extent, and also weaken the strength of Kirigakure.

This is the result Naruto wants. The weaker Kirigakure is, the more he can take the initiative.

For Mei Terumi, knowing the person behind White Zetsu would greatly ease the pressure on the Water Nation. Both sides could achieve what they wanted. Even if they couldn't kill Kabuto Yakushi, the five great nations would face the White Zetsu army together in the spring.

It's a new year again. Naruto is washing in front of the mirror. The room is deserted.

The moment he looked up, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't been to the Land of Rain for a long time. Kakashi didn't seem to care much about Sakura's disappearance.

Although Sakura had already found an excuse to go out and about like Tsunade, it had already been almost half a year. Today was the New Year's Festival, so Sakura should still return to the village.

After making a plan, Naruto took a deep breath and walked out with a determined look.

"Are you here?" Ino smiled as she sat at the counter. She glanced at him and then looked away. "You're here so early. You might get scolded again."

"It's okay. When the child is born, I'll make him a grandson or granddaughter!" Naruto smiled and put down the gift in his hand. "Where are your father and mother?"