I simultaneously traverse countless worlds

If those merchants don't know their place, the ninja village will teach them a lesson in its own way. Even nobles and daimyo with relatively high status, when faced with the fangs unleashed by the ninja village, will have to ignore the deaths of their lackeys if they don't want to really break ties. Even if they raise samurai and guardian ninjas, maintain connections with the underground gold exchange, and try to bribe rogue ninjas, the power of a single ninja village cannot be directly confronted.

For so many reasons, when Li Mo's caravan, in which he had a stake as the daimyo of the Land of the Sea, arrived in Konoha, he avoided a lot of trouble. Moreover, the fact that there was a caravan willing to sell salt and sugar at a low price showed Konoha's goodwill. Otherwise, ordinary caravans entering Konoha would not be as unrestrained as Li Mo and his group, who could stroll around the commercial district.

For Li Mo, now that he has confirmed Konoha's predicament, he is more confident in his next actions. However, Ye Cang, who uses the Scorching Release technique, is not so perceptive, or rather, she does not have a deep understanding of the economic feedback. She only feels that the situation in Konoha seems to be not good!

Chapter 3 Li Mo's Expectations

After strolling around the commercial street of Konoha Village, Li Mo and Zhuo Dun Ye Cang bought some eye-catching accessories and souvenirs, as well as some local snacks from the food stalls in the commercial area, before leading everyone back to the caravan.

The whole process was very natural, like a wealthy merchant visiting Konoha for the first time and looking around the commercial district. There was nothing suspicious about it, and even the ANBU ninjas who were secretly following them had no doubts. When they reported it, they observed it in accordance with the regulations. If nothing was found to be wrong within 24 hours, the ANBU ninjas' surveillance would be lifted so as not to waste the ANBU's valuable human resources.

This was during the war between Konoha and Kumogakure. Otherwise, in peacetime, caravans arriving in Konoha for the first time would be checked at the gate, and there would be very little internal monitoring. Unless it was determined that the caravan members had done something inappropriate, Konoha would not waste its precious human resources.

Why do you think Konoha Village is so confident?

The reason is very simple: Konoha Village itself is a place where many ninjas and their families live together. It is an exaggeration to say that half of the ten people on the street are ninjas, but it is perfectly normal to encounter several Konoha ninjas as you walk down any street.

It can be said that if outsiders enter Konoha Village, the Konoha ninjas will only take it seriously and start monitoring if they find something amiss and report it. For example, sending Hyuga branch family ninjas to check at the gate is enough to filter out suspicious or threatening individuals. As for this Sea Country merchant caravan, in the eyes of Konoha Village, it is just an ordinary merchant caravan with no threat.

If Konoha were truly so paranoid, it wouldn't have been able to maintain its position as the top of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Even the other four great shinobi villages would protect rather than monitor important visitors, as doing so would directly damage their reputation. They would only use ANBU ninjas to monitor visitors if they discovered that the visitors' entourage might include rogue ninjas from their own village or some malicious individuals. The fact that an ANBU ninja was secretly monitoring Li Mo and his group in the commercial district was due to the war. Otherwise, Konoha wouldn't have wasted its precious human resources in peacetime.

Looking at the original Naruto anime storyline, the targets that Konoha used ANBU ninja to monitor were either the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Uchiha clan, or participating teams from other major ninja villages. Even a merchant caravan belonging to a daimyo of the Land of the Sea wouldn't bring rare goods like sugar and salt into the village. Plus, it was during a war with Kumogakure, so Konoha was too lazy to assign ANBU ninja to monitor them. Even if they did monitor them, it was just a single ANBU ninja carrying out the mission.

Upon discovering that Li Mo was a potential major customer—who was simply strolling around the commercial street and then, out of boredom, returning home with a beautiful woman—Konoha Village naturally wouldn't take any action. They even assigned an Anbu ninja to monitor him 24 hours a day, which was simply a routine practice when Konoha was at war with Kumogakure. Otherwise, monitoring any caravan would require a great deal of effort, and even if Konoha Village expanded its Anbu tenfold, it wouldn't be enough.

Right now, the higher-ups in Konoha Village have absolutely no interest in paying attention to a merchant caravan from the Land of the Sea. Even the Third Hokage is more interested in the goods it is transporting. Only after acquiring this batch of goods have they shifted their focus to what they consider to be the most important matter at present!

………………

In the private conference room of the Hokage Building in Konoha Village, four ANBU squads were on guard around it. Even Jonin who were not invited were not allowed to enter. It was a confidential meeting held alone by the Third Hokage and other high-ranking officials of Konoha Village.

Such high-level confidential meetings are rare even in Konoha. Each meeting determines one or even several major decisions for Konoha. If spies from other ninja villages were to find out, the consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, whenever the Hokage announces a meeting, there are always ANBU members on guard, and even barrier techniques are used to prevent those messy sensory ninjutsu.

Inside the conference room, besides the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, the head of the Root organization, Hokage advisors Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, and Konoha Jonin class leader Shikaku Nara, it can be said that all five of them are the highest leaders of Konoha. Except for Shikaku Nara, who is now under the Fourth Hokage and whose position is somewhat awkward and who keeps a low profile, the other four hold great power in Konoha. Even the Third Hokage cannot ignore the opinions of others.

Of course, the Third Hokage was also shrewd at times. There were many things he couldn't say directly, so Danzo Shimura and the other two Hokage advisors would take the initiative to play the villain or smooth things over, and then the Third Hokage would play the good guy and make the decision. In any case, the Third Hokage's image in front of other ninjas was that of a great and righteous person, while the two Hokage advisors' image was not so good. Danzo Shimura, in particular, was the kind of guy that was disliked by everyone.

However, the Third Hokage is not in a good mood right now. The increasingly protracted war has led to more and more complaints in Konoha Village, and the Third Hokage, who is unable to lead Konoha Village to victory, has naturally become someone that many villagers feel is incompetent!

"Everyone, the Hidden Cloud Village has sent a peace negotiation delegation. Be sure to prepare to receive them!"

Looking at the other four people in the conference room, and knowing that the villagers of Konoha were becoming increasingly resentful and that his position was beginning to waver, the Third Hokage took a puff of his cigarette, put down his pipe, and gave the order in an unwavering tone.

That's right, the Third Hokage spoke in a commanding tone rather than a discussion, because the ceasefire with Kumogakure was the almost unanimous hope of Konoha!

From the Third Shinobi World War to the Nine-Tails' rampage, and then to the war with Kumogakure, Konoha suffered enormous losses. The villagers did not have a stable life for more than a year, and their patience was getting closer and closer to their limits.

Even without using ANBU ninjas to gather information about the village, the Third Hokage could sense the villagers' increasingly apathetic expressions and the growing disappointment in the eyes of the many Konoha ninjas. This feeling of being threatened made the Third Hokage uneasy, and he became even more determined to break free from this predicament.

After all, Konoha is not a country where the daimyo's position is hereditary. If the Third Hokage cannot resolve the war with Kumogakure, such as if he suffers defeat or is unable to end the war, the disappointed Konoha ninjas might join forces to force him to step down. This is especially true for those ninja clans that have been suppressed by the Third Hokage, both openly and covertly. They had previously chosen to side with the Fourth Hokage, but were suppressed by the Third Hokage after he returned to power.

This point is subtly hinted at in the original Naruto storyline: when the Third Hokage was fighting Orochimaru, a disciple of the same master, Konoha Village, apart from a few Anbu ninjas who tried to come to his aid, did not send a single clan leader to rescue the Third Hokage. Even Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane did not come to his aid. Kakashi Hatake even dragged Guy to fight the Sand Ninja, claiming that he believed the Third Hokage could use his great power to defeat his prized disciple Orochimaru. Rather than saying that everyone was already full of resentment towards the Third Hokage, they wished he would just die on the battlefield.

Similarly, this resentment wasn't something that accumulated overnight. After the Third Hokage abdicated in favor of the Fourth Hokage, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and other Konoha clans all placed their bets on the new Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. However, less than a year after Minato took office, he sacrificed himself to seal the Nine-Tails during its attack. Naturally, the newly appointed Third Hokage didn't treat these clans well, and open and covert suppression was inevitable.

Just looking at Nara Shikaku, the Jonin class leader, who used to sit next to the Fourth Hokage as a strategist, but now sits at the bottom of the table and remains silent, it's clear that the Third Hokage's actions during this period, and the fact that other ninja clans didn't come to his aid when Orochimaru approached him, were not without reason. The reasons had already begun to emerge, and the deeper factors had yet to materialize.

Right now, the Third Hokage is unaware of his actions. His current headache is how to end the war with Kumogakure as soon as possible, even if Konoha suffers some economic losses. Ending the war is the most pressing issue he needs to address!

"I agree. The people in the village are thoroughly tired of war!"

In response to the Third Hokage's proposal, Homura Mitokado, a former teammate and Hokage advisor, immediately expressed his opinion, indicating his complete agreement with the Third Hokage's suggestion. He even subtly mentioned the war-weariness among most people in Konoha Village.

"Agreed! Now, we should try our best to rest and recuperate!"

Similarly, Koharu Utatane, an old woman with a face full of wrinkles, also agreed with the Third Hokage's suggestion and even found a suitable excuse.

"..."

Compared to the two Hokage advisors, who were no longer hiding their sycophantic behavior in completely agreeing with the Third Hokage, Shimura Danzo neither agreed nor disagreed. His tacit acceptance showed that this boss of Konoha's Root organization also had a pessimistic view of the current situation in Konoha.

Even though his reputation was terrible, and even his subordinates were known for their brainwashing and killing methods, Shimura Danzo had experienced both the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars. He could see that the current stalemate between Konoha and Kumogakure was a painful situation for both major ninja villages, a situation that was constantly bleeding them dry. However, the problem was that as a hardliner, he was unable to resolve the predicament Konoha was facing and couldn't even find a solution. So, naturally, he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

If the best way to resolve Konoha's current predicament is to directly defeat Kumogakure, the best solution would be to face a powerful lineup of two Jinchuriki and the Fourth Raikage. Konoha would have to make a do-or-die decision, either by using forbidden techniques or going all out. However, besides Kumogakure, there are three other major ninja villages watching from the sidelines, and Konoha's leadership does not have the determination to go all in.

Therefore, Danzo Shimura can only remain silent now. If he agrees with the Third Hokage's peace proposal, it would be a slap in the face to the hardliners he has cultivated. If he opposes and firmly supports the war but cannot continue, then he can only adopt this stance of silence!

"Then, let's issue the official notification!"

Seeing that his three old buddies either agreed or bowed their heads in acquiescence, the Third Hokage completely ignored Nara Shikaku, who was pretending to be a wooden statue on the side, and made a decision directly. He then picked up his pipe and walked out of the meeting room first, followed by the two advisors and Shimura Danzo. Nara Shikaku was the last to leave.

After all, apart from the Sarutobi clan and a few staunch allies, most of Konoha's former subordinates had chosen to pledge allegiance to the Fourth Hokage. Now that the Third Hokage had returned to power, those clans that had directly bet on the Fourth Hokage naturally didn't receive good treatment. Even Nara Shikaku, the class leader of a Jonin, was being deliberately ignored by the Third Hokage. Clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the Hyuga clan were being subtly suppressed and were having a difficult time.

Even though he knew the Third Hokage was making things difficult for him, Nara Shikaku remained silent and left as if he were just a background character. He knew that if he took the initiative to rebel or contact allies to resist, the Third Hokage would definitely use him as a scapegoat. He hadn't seen how the Uchiha clan was being suppressed, and as the current head of the Nara clan, he could only persuade the friendly ninja clans to be patient.

However, the Third Hokage, Shimura Danzo, and the others left the meeting room, including Nara Shikaku, who had mastered the Shadow Technique. None of them realized that in the shadows of the meeting room, several shadow soldiers had already transmitted all the information!

……

"Mo, are you happy?"

At the same time, in the best room where the caravan was temporarily staying, Yekura watched as the two maids tidied up the room. She then sat down with her lover's arm around her affectionately. When she noticed that her lover suddenly had a slight smile on his face, she knew that the room had been concealed. Without caring about anything else, she asked him a question.

As for Pakura, she no longer sees herself as a ninja. The female ninja who was once loyal to Sunagakure was completely killed when she discovered that she had been betrayed by Sunagakure and that the Sunagakure ninja all thought so. As a result, she has completely become like Li Mo, both psychologically and physically. She no longer cares about ridiculous issues such as the interests of Sunagakure. She values ​​more whether her man loves her or what problems need to be solved.

At the very least, Yekura, the Scorching Release expert, considered herself a complete novice in political affairs and scientific research, utterly incapable of handling matters and possibly even causing trouble. However, she was very confident in combat, especially when leading small-scale elite battles. Having raised her bloodline limit and cultivated the martial arts of Qi and Blood, her combat power had greatly increased. She was even confident that she could fight the top experts of the five great ninja villages without hesitation.

Especially when it comes to dealing with Konoha Village, Pakura, who uses the Scorching Release technique, has long been eager to try her luck against this strongest ninja village. Now that she has come to Konoha Village with her lover, it would be strange if she didn't have any plans for Konoha Village, since she is already very familiar with Li Mo.

"Well, Konoha Village will now have to hold proper peace talks with Kumogakure!"

Hearing Yekura's words and feeling the wonderful sensation brought by the beautiful woman's proud figure, Li Mo sat comfortably in his chair, his arm around Yekura, and answered confidently. Then, with a hint of expectant smile on his face, he said something that puzzled the beautiful woman beside him: "However, as for the Cloud Village and the Leaf Village, not everyone may want to see this kind of peace talk, especially the Cloud Village, which values ​​strength above all else. It's hard to say what they're up to..."

When Li Mo said these words, he naturally thought of the delegation sent by the Hidden Cloud Village in the original Naruto anime, which directly tried to abduct the Byakugan bloodline limit of the Hyuga main family in Konoha. To say that such a situation was done without any prior planning and was just a spur-of-the-moment decision would be to insult people's intelligence.

At the very least, if the Cloud Village really had any intention of plundering, they would definitely have considered contingency plans for both success and failure. They admire martial prowess but are not complete martial arts fanatics. Moreover, the Cloud Village is one of the five great ninja villages, so they have no shortage of sharp-minded strategists.

According to Li Mo, the Hidden Cloud Village must have made two preparations. Their delegation was trying to find an opportunity to abduct the offspring of the Konoha Village's bloodline limit clan. If the Konoha Village was caught off guard and succeeded, they would quickly bring them back to the Hidden Cloud Village and gain an advantage. If they failed, the delegation members would commit suicide (or deliberately die) to bluff the Konoha Village or even turn the tables on them, and then threaten to start a new war in an attempt to gain more leverage.

As you can see, in the world before Li Mo transmigrated, America did the same thing. During World War I and World War II, she reaped all the benefits before entering the battlefield to reap the rewards of victory. And when facing the rising Celestial Empire, she would occasionally create some kind of empty bargaining chip about human rights, completely disregarding the fact that she herself was the most inhumane cancer of civilization. What supported their confidence was their powerful military strength, which forced the Celestial Empire to treat them with caution.

Looking at the Naruto world, the Hidden Cloud Village certainly doesn't reach the level of America's world police, but their premeditated plan to do bad things during peace talks and their intention to turn the tables are comparable to the Ottos gas pipeline explosion incident. Even if everyone knows the truth of the matter, what does it matter? The Hidden Cloud Village (America) is clearly acting like a rogue and extorting you.

However, Li Mo was really looking forward to it. He came to Konoha to add fuel to the fire between Kumogakure and Konoha, to see if the two great ninja villages would continue fighting. That would definitely be beneficial to his planned strategy and would not cause any harm...

Chapter 4: The Arrival of the Cloud Village Delegation!

Soon, by the afternoon, news spread throughout Konoha that a delegation from Kumogakure was preparing to arrive to make efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between the two sides. As soon as the news spread, Konoha was filled with cheers, a rare occurrence that left the wise among them sighing with emotion.

If it were the old Konoha Village, even the Konoha Village before the Third Shinobi World War, how could it be so happy because of a peace negotiation delegation?

Even without considering the presence of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, two overpowered ninjas, Konoha Village held a significant advantage over other ninja villages. During both the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, Konoha Village dominated the other ninja villages.

The Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the White Fang of Konoha, the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, Kagami Uchiha, Torifu Akimichi...

During the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, Konoha Village was a place where many powerful figures emerged. Even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who now appears to be an old man, was once considered a Kage-level shinobi with outstanding strength. Members of the Second Hokage's personal guard, such as Kagami Uchiha and Torifu Akimichi, were at least elite Jonin or even reached the level of a near-Kage. The Legendary Sannin and the White Fang of Konoha need no further introduction; they were undoubtedly Kage-level shinobi.

Otherwise, during the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha wouldn't have fought against the other four great shinobi villages one after another. The reason for this was that the Land of Fire occupied the most fertile land in the entire shinobi world, and Konoha's potential was simply too great.

With clans like the Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio forming a united front, Konoha Village boasts the largest concentration of clans with bloodline limits and secret techniques in the ninja world. Originating in the Land of Fire, Konoha Village has the largest population among the five great ninja villages and was the first to establish a ninja academy and ANBU.

It's no exaggeration to say that, excluding Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, who were already beyond the Kage level and could be considered near-Six Paths level or even later reached the Six Paths level, even the Konoha Village under the leadership of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was strong enough to withstand the combined attack of two or even three major ninja villages. During the Second Shinobi World War, when the Third Hokage took office, they also had the remarkable achievement of repelling two or three ninja villages that ganged up on them.

Such a remarkable record, along with the endless stream of geniuses in Konoha, naturally made other ninja villages wary. Moreover, Konoha was located in the Land of Fire, the most prosperous and populous country. If Konoha were to accumulate enough strength, and the other major ninja villages were to falter, even without the emergence of god-like figures like Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha, who could rely on numerous skilled ninjas and the largest ninja army, they might still be able to defeat the four major ninja villages one by one. In that case, Konoha might very well emerge victorious and unify the many ninja villages.

Given that this idea of ​​non-interference could very well become a reality in the future, the other four great ninja villages naturally could not choose to sit idly by and wait for their doom. During the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, they had the idea of ​​pulling Konoha off its dominant position and becoming the strongest ninja village themselves, or even unifying many other ninja villages.

Unfortunately, in both the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, the other four great ninja villages and Amegakure failed to truly defeat Konoha. However, at the end of the wars, Konoha at most received war reparations from one or two other ninja villages, but could not truly eliminate even one of the major ninja villages. Even Amegakure had Hanzo of the Salamander, who was known as a demigod, making it difficult for Konoha to take down this tough nut to crack.

Thus, during the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha Village faced challenges from four other ninja villages in succession. Konoha Village, which barely managed to hold on, gained almost no real benefits other than nominally turning Sunagakure into an ally.

Of course, when Konoha Village survived the four-on-one battle and maintained its status as the strongest ninja village, the arrival of the young and vigorous Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, coupled with his ability to unite the ninja clans and civilians of Konoha Village, ensured that Konoha Village's reputation as the strongest ninja village would remain intact. This would attract the most and highest-quality clients to post missions, and at most, it would only take about ten years to fully recover.

The crucial issue was the death of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, along with the death of his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The losses caused by the Nine-Tails' rampage were devastating for Konoha, forcing the Third Hokage, who had already stepped down and whose power was gradually being taken back, to return to power. In addition, the Uchiha clan was unfairly blamed and suppressed, which exacerbated the internal conflicts within Konoha. Unfortunately, the Hidden Cloud Village saw this as an opportunity and launched a war in an attempt to profit from the severely damaged Konoha.

If Konoha could quickly defeat the Kumogakure's invasion, it would naturally stabilize the situation in Konoha, which had been severely damaged by the Third Shinobi World War following the Nine-Tails' attack. However, Konoha's high-end fighting force was almost depleted. The aging Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura, among others, dared not risk a full-scale attack against Kumogakure, which had gathered high-end fighters such as the Fourth Raikage, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. The reason was that besides Konoha having no top-tier fighters left, there were also Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure watching from the sidelines.

Both Konoha and Iwagakure firmly believe that if the two major ninja villages were to fight to the death and suffer heavy losses, the three major ninja villages and other smaller ninja villages might take the opportunity to have other ideas. For example, the Third Tsuchikage, who is known for his ruthlessness and cruelty, has even hired S-rank rogue ninjas as mercenaries. It would be easy for him to sabotage Konoha and Kumogakure. Even if the Third Raikage had not been killed and Iwagakure had suffered significant losses, he would still have joined forces with Kumogakure to deal with Konoha.

This is why Li Mo has never focused his development efforts on the Ninja World Continent. Unless you reach the level of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and directly defeat the four major ninja villages and other smaller ninja villages, simply having great strength and many powerful ninjas will only lead to the other four major ninja villages joining forces to launch a Ninja World War. Even the four great nations will secretly support you to prevent one side from becoming too powerful.

Moreover, it wasn't just Li Mo's own speculation that there was an intelligence network in the ninja world that was comparable to or even surpassed those hidden White Zetsu. Several years was enough time for him to learn many secrets that were not shown in the original Naruto anime and manga, such as how the daimyo and nobles of various countries were wary of the major ninja villages.

Despite the fact that the daimyo of the five great nations and other smaller nations allocate funds and resources to their respective ninja villages every year, and that the ninja villages act as if they are the fighting force of their respective countries, even in the original Naruto anime storyline, it is clearly shown that the daimyo of the five great nations treat the battles between ninjas as gladiator-like performances. Do you really expect those daimyo and nobles to regard ninjas who possess great power as their own people?

The answer to this question came from the analysis of numerous intelligence gathered secretly by the Shadow Soldiers. It was clear that the daimyo, nobles, and even samurai of the five great nations and various smaller countries were all afraid of and wary of ninjas. Otherwise, the daimyo of the Land of Fire would not have created the Twelve Guardian Ninjas and supported the Fire Temple as a reliance. Even the underground gold exchange was secretly supported by the daimyo of various countries, otherwise it would have been destroyed long ago.

It was precisely because of the complex situation in the ninja world and the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of those daimyo and nobles that the five great ninja villages fought three ninja world wars in just a few decades. Apart from the weakened smaller ninja villages, the other five great ninja villages lost tens of thousands of ninjas and formed countless hatreds, but in reality, they did not change their respective situations at all.

Returning to the topic, Konoha Village was battered and bruised from its battles with Kumogakure, in addition to the losses from the Third Shinobi World War and the Nine-Tails' attack. One important reason for this was the insufficient resources and funds provided by the Land of Fire. The Daimyo did not provide Konoha Village with the large amounts of resources and money that he had provided during the Third Shinobi World War; he only provided funds according to peacetime standards and occasionally gave them a sum of money.

Otherwise, given the Land of Fire's far superior overall strength compared to the Land of Lightning, Li Mo believed that if the Land of Fire had provided all its resources and funding, Konoha would definitely have been able to wear down the enemy in battles that weren't at the top level. However, it was clear that the Land of Fire hadn't done that at all. Instead, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning had fully supported Kumogakure. Otherwise, given Kumogakure's participation in the Third Shinobi World War, its economic conditions would probably be far inferior to the severely damaged Konoha. How could it have sustained such a long and arduous war?

Of course, Li Mo felt that it was unnecessary to rely on the vision and ability of Konoha Village and those ninjas to understand these intricacies. Just like now when Konoha Village began to announce that Kumogakure Village had sent a peace negotiation delegation, the entire Konoha Village was unusually noisy, and even the villagers who were originally indifferent were now paying attention.

Undoubtedly, ending this painful quagmire war with Kumogakure was something that the ninjas and villagers of Konoha were looking forward to. However, Li Mo and his group left Konoha after waiting for three days. Then, Li Mo and Pakura, who used the Scorching Release technique, quietly returned to Konoha and waited for a few more days. They saw many villagers in Konoha welcoming the Kumogakure delegation, and they knew that Konoha had completely messed things up this time.

Your welcoming of the delegation suggests that you may be unable to continue the war.

This kind of understanding is probably not something that the common people of Konoha Village would recognize, and even the Konoha ninjas might not realize it. Some people from Konoha Village might realize that something seems wrong, but they wouldn't connect it to what Kumogakure might do.

The reason is simple: Konoha Village is thinking about Kumogakure from its own perspective, completely unaware that Kumogakure is just like America in the real world, fearing power but not morality. If you could defeat the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki like the Fourth Hokage did, they would seriously consider negotiations. Instead of winning on the battlefield, their peaceful stance only provoked the Kumogakure delegation.

Upon seeing the grand welcoming procession at the entrance of Konoha Village, the leader of the Kumogakure delegation and several trusted confidants exchanged glances, a hint of interest flashing in their eyes. However, as ninjas from Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, their ninja discipline prevented them from revealing any flaws. On the contrary, they met with the Konoha Village officials very naturally. They only met briefly with the Kumogakure Jonin leading the delegation at the Hokage Building, where the Third Hokage of Konoha Village was present.

Throughout the entire welcoming process, including the Third Hokage, several elite Konoha Jonin and other ninjas, no one noticed that Li Mo, with his arm around the Blazing Release: Pakura, was watching the show from the sidelines in the [Shadow World].

Even in the Naruto world, there are a few ninjutsu and bloodline limits involving space. Obviously, extraordinary powers like space-based abilities are not easy to master. For example, the Flying Thunder God Technique depends on whether the user can use it. Bloodline limits that master space-based abilities start with the Mangekyou Sharingan. In the Naruto world, the number of such strong individuals can be counted on one hand. Currently, there are only two people in Konoha who are likely to be able to sense space-based abilities.

The problem is that the [Shadow World] technique that Li Mo used is not simply the early [Shadow Escape] bloodline limit. Thanks to the Li Mo from the Jackie Chan Adventures world who had already collected all nine Shadow Masks and obtained the complete [Shadow Power], other Li Mos have already mastered this qualitatively transformed [Shadow Power].

Li Mo from the Naruto world is no exception. After meeting his counterpart from the Jackie Chan Adventures world several times and merging with the complete version of the [Shadow Power], the shadow power he wielded has already surpassed the range of [Yin Release] in the Naruto world. Coupled with the physical strength that has grown by merging the power of multiple versions of himself, he has naturally mastered the true [Yin-Yang Release]. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he is now the living Sage of Six Paths, and he has even surpassed his counterpart in essence.

Of course, Li Mo was very aware of his own limitations. He didn't think that his rapid increase in power would be enough to defeat Otsutsuki Hamura and Otsutsuki Hagoromo. Just looking at how that old ghost, the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, had actually survived until now and was still in the underworld of the Naruto world, and how he was able to temporarily raise Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke to the Six Paths level during the Fourth Shinobi World War, he knew that this old silver coin's strength was definitely not to be underestimated.

The problem is that while the Sage of Six Paths and his brother might be able to directly see through or even invade the Shadow World, or even Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha in their prime, there is absolutely no one in Konoha Village with this ability right now, not even Shisui Uchiha, a rising star in Konoha Village.