Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

As the best way for ordinary people to surpass those monster-like bloodstained ninjas in the original work, the power of Sage Mode needs no further explanation. However, it is also the most dangerous and difficult of the three methods.

As the chosen one of the ninja world, Naruto possesses an innate childlike heart. Even so, he has repeatedly turned into a toad while absorbing natural energy, demonstrating the danger he poses.

Hozuki Shingetsu scribbled on the paper, constantly pondering the pros and cons of these three methods.

After much deliberation, I finally drew a circle on the character "仙" (immortal), then a question mark on the character "水" (water), and finally an X on the character "蒸" (steam).

After much deliberation, Hozuki Shingetsu finally decided to focus on Sage Mode as his primary breakthrough point, with Water Release Chakra Mode as a secondary training objective. As for the Steam Explosion Technique, he would leave it to fate.

After all, the danger of this training technique, Steam Explosion, is similar to that of Sage Mode, but its power is not as strong. Therefore, he would definitely choose Sage Mode. As for Water Release Chakra Mode, it is the final piece of the puzzle that Hozuki Shingetsu uses to make up for his lack of close combat skills.

In terms of taijutsu alone, Hozuki Shingetsu is by no means weak, standing at the normal level of a Jonin. However, compared to some Jonin who specialize in taijutsu, he is far inferior. Especially considering that Hozuki Shingetsu's strength is based on water release techniques, and Kumogakure happens to produce taijutsu masters, if they don't take precautions, they might really be taken advantage of in the future.

After deciding to focus on Sage Mode training and secondarily develop Water Release Chakra Mode, Hozuki Shingetsu pondered for a long time before finally finalizing his training plan.

Speaking of this, we must mention Hozuki Shingetsu's cheat ability, which is an innate ability similar to that of the Sage of Six Paths, to connect with the minds of others through chakra.

The Sage of Six Paths used it to promote the beauty of human relationships and founded the Ninja Sect, which fully demonstrates that chakra can serve as a medium to convey emotions. It was precisely through this ability that Hozuki Shingetsu gained the Mirage's approval, since the goodwill conveyed through this chakra level is beyond question.

Meanwhile, Hozuki Shingetsu also discovered through experiments on Ao that the more times this ability is used on a person, the more that person will trust you.

When Hozuki Shingetsu discovered this characteristic, while she was happy, she subconsciously thought of the plots in ancient online novels where the male and female protagonists met too late and remained devoted to each other until death.

Wow, thinking about it this way sounds kind of exciting!

Ahem, putting that aside. It was precisely because Hozuki Shingetsu discovered that he possessed this characteristic that he set his sights on Sage Mode.

As the first ninjutsu Naruto used to transform, Hozuki Shingetsu naturally knew the principle behind Sage Mode. By absorbing natural energy and then maintaining a 1:1:1 balance with physical and mental strength, one could naturally refine Sage Chakra and enter Sage Mode.

The challenges are twofold: first, sensing natural energy; and second, maintaining a balance of various energies within the body while remaining still.

Normally, without the help of the three holy lands, it would be difficult for ordinary people to perceive the existence of natural energy. Hozuki Shingetsu was no exception; he also could not perceive the existence of natural energy.

However, being familiar with the original plot, he knew that the forbidden technique of the Earth Spider clan, the "Raging Heaven Technique," was activated by absorbing natural energy. Depending on the amount of natural energy absorbed, its destructive power varied, with some capable of destroying an area with a radius of hundreds of kilometers.

Of course, the price is also cruel: the caster will be completely destroyed.

As a ninjutsu that utilizes natural energy, the Raging Heaven Technique shares similarities with Sage Mode. Both require the user to remain still and absorb natural energy before activation.

However, the Rage of Heaven technique forcibly stores natural energy in the body and then unleashes it all at once, which is powerful but uncontrollable; Sage Mode, on the other hand, combines a portion of natural energy with physical and mental energy in a gradual and continuous manner, transforming it into Sage Chakra that the user can utilize. It is an amplifier of one's own strength, but the duration is short.

Both have the same starting point but different usage methods, but they lead to the same goal. Theoretically speaking, as long as Hozuki Shingetsu releases the Rage of Heaven Technique a few more times, he will definitely be able to learn Sage Mode.

But that's impossible, since there isn't a single Rinnegan that can continuously cast Rinne Tensei on him right now.

However, Hozuki Shingetsu doesn't need to learn this forbidden technique. He only needs to use his cheat ability to connect with the mind of a Tsuchigumo clan member through chakra when the Tsuchigumo clan member releases the Rage of Heaven, sense the mind at that moment, and experience the feeling of absorbing natural energy. Then he will naturally know how to absorb natural energy.

Furthermore, he could use his cheat ability to connect with anyone's mind through chakra when they unleashed a ninjutsu, and thus understand their state of mind while doing so. With this enhanced understanding, anyone possessing the potential to learn a particular ninjutsu could master it in the shortest possible time.

Therefore, to express his gratitude to the ninjas who released his ninjutsu and helped him learn it, Hozuki Shingetsu even gave this technique a name.

"Forbearance".

Chapter 32 Ambition of the Uzumaki Clan

Therefore, if we break down the current focus further, the prerequisite for learning Sage Mode is to find a member of the Tsuchigumo clan who can unleash the Heavenly Technique, and then connect with their mind when they release the technique, sensing their state of absorbing natural energy.

Ideally, he could simply infiltrate the territory of the Tsuchigumo clan and use the power of Kirigakure to coerce them into doing so, but in reality, that would be impossible.

It's very simple. When the Sage of Six Paths founded Ninjutsu, he didn't forcibly convert people like Buddhism does. The same applies to Shingetsu's cheat ability. One-way transmission of goodwill is one thing, but for feelings to be transmitted back via chakra, the other person must be completely unguarded before his cheat ability can work.

In this situation, the Tsuchigumo clan members would have to voluntarily allow him to enter their bodies to achieve this condition. However, since this ninjutsu is activated at the cost of lives, Hozuki Shingetsu doesn't know exactly how many people are needed for him to successfully sense natural energy. Therefore, it would be best if the entire Tsuchigumo clan were to submit to Kirigakure to guarantee his success.

However, the current head of the Tsuchigumo clan, En no Gyoza, has reached an alliance with Konoha Village, agreeing that the Tsuchigumo clan will serve Konoha during wartime, and in return, Konoha will guarantee their safety at all times.

This treaty was actually quite to the liking of the Tsuchigumo clan. After all, as a desperate move similar to the "Dead Demon Seal," they couldn't just unleash the "Raging Heaven Technique" whenever someone came knocking, could they? Otherwise, the Tsuchigumo clan would be worn down by the enemy in various ways. Unlike the Uzumaki clan, they didn't have a superb sealing technique in addition to the "Dead Demon Seal."

Coincidentally, Konoha also needed the Tsuchigumo, a strategic weapon resembling a humanoid nuclear bomb, so the two sides quickly reached an agreement and formed a defensive alliance. This made it extremely difficult for Hozuki Shingetsu to poach him.

After all, compared to Konoha, in what way can Kirigakure compare? Why would they abandon Konoha and go with Kirigakure when everything is fine?

Therefore, if one wants to deceive the Tsuchigumo clan, it is necessary to break their alliance with Konoha and make them extremely fearful of their own safety, so that Hozuki Shingetsu will have the opportunity to intervene.

How can this be achieved?

Hozuki Shingetsu turned his gaze to the map of the ninja world, specifically to the small country of Uzushiogakure, located southwest of the Land of Water.

According to the timeline of the major ninja events, Konoha's traditional ally, Uzushiogakure, was about to be destroyed!

If Konoha could simply watch Uzushio Village perish without taking any action, thus using this to question Konoha's credibility in front of the Tsuchigumo clan, that would be a viable approach.

At this point in time, Wochao Village has not yet been destroyed.

The original work does not describe in detail who destroyed Uzushio Village, but according to Hozuki Shingetsu's speculation, it should have been a joint effort by the Earth, Lightning, and Water factions that destroyed Uzushio Village, and Kirigakure should have been the main force in the attack.

It's quite simple. During the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, apart from Mito Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, the other ninja villages didn't have any Jinchuriki. It wasn't until the Third Shinobi World War that Jinchuriki began to emerge from each village. In particular, Kirigakure produced Yagura Karatachi, the second perfect Jinchuriki after Mito Uzumaki. For Kirigakure, which lacked the True Waterfall and had experienced the Blood Mist War, the emergence of a perfect Jinchuriki who could communicate with the Tailed Beasts was indeed very puzzling.

In particular, the fact that Kirigakure did not participate in the Second Shinobi World War makes it hard not to wonder if it was because during the attack on Uzumaki Village, too many Uzumaki clan elders traded their lives for one another, resulting in the loss of many powerful members and thus preventing Kirigakure from participating in the Second Shinobi World War.

Moreover, having traveled to the present and learned about various information, Hozuki Shingetsu became even more certain of this guess. She could even deduce that most of the experts replaced by the Uzumaki clan elders were from the Hozuki and Yuki clans, and even from the Kaguya clan, there should have been quite a few battle maniacs taken away.

Only in this way could the forces such as Hozuki, whose resistance had been greatly weakened, be unable to resist the Third Mizukage's Blood Mist policy. Finally, after Yagura Karatachi came to power, he thoroughly cleansed the Blood Clans, leaving only a few low-profile Blood Clans such as the Terumi clan to survive.

Therefore, breaking down the goal of learning Sage Mode into a separate task becomes how to use the destruction of Uzushio Village as an opportunity to persuade the Tsuchigumo clan.

Judging from the timeline, the destruction of Uzumaki Village should not be far off, but Hozuki Shingetsu will never let Kirigakure take the lead again, and Hozuki Shingetsu also has different ideas about the fate of the Uzumaki clan.

"If the Uzumaki clan can join Kirigakure, it will be an excellent plan, whether it is to win over the Tsuchigumo clan, to fight against Madara Uchiha, or to develop their strength after taking control of Kirigakure in the future."

As for how to accomplish this... why Hozuki Shingetsu didn't accept the marriage alliance with the Kaguya clan, wasn't it precisely for this step?

As the young head of the Hozuki clan, the future head of the largest ninja clan in Kirigakure, and the wife of Hozuki Shingetsu, she was a good candidate for a marriage alliance.

"Using this position as a betrothal gift to form a marriage alliance with Uzushio Village should be enough, right?" Hozuki Shingetsu thought to himself, but still felt it wasn't enough.

After all, Hashirama Senju still married Mito Uzumaki back then, and the Uzumaki clan was not incorporated into Konoha. Therefore, it was necessary to make Uzumaki feel that a great disaster was about to strike and that Konoha could not be trusted in order to have this opportunity.

After much deliberation and having roughly sorted out his thoughts, he instructed Ao to prepare to once again add fuel to the fire in the ninja world.

"New Moon, what are our plans this time?"

After receiving the news, Ao excitedly went to Hozuki Shingetsu.

Ever since he worked with Hozuki Shingetsu in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for several rounds, he had fallen deeply in love with the feeling of being able to manipulate the ninja world at will, without ever showing his face. This feeling was making the young Ao a little unable to resist.

“It’s very simple. This fire is called the Tailed Beast.” Hozuki Shingetsu reminded Ao, “This publicity campaign is different from the past. This time, it’s targeted at key areas. In other words, it’s best if the rest of the region doesn’t know about it. It’s enough if only these few regions know about it.”

"Only targeting key areas for propaganda?" Qing looked somewhat confused, unsure of the purpose of doing so.

"That's right, we'll target Kumogakure and Iwagakure with our propaganda. The focus of the propaganda will be to exaggerate Mito Uzumaki's fighting prowess as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, repeatedly mentioning her role in the First Shinobi World War and her Uzumaki clan identity, and spreading rumors that, given the impending chaos in the shinobi world, Uzushio Village is preparing to merge with Konoha."

Hozuki Shingetsu smiled slightly. As the pillar of Konoha Village and a key factor in Konoha's victory in the First Shinobi World War, Kumogakure and Iwagakure naturally knew about Uzumaki Mito's fighting prowess.

If you provoke them even slightly at this moment, the hot-tempered Third Raikage and the cunning Onoki will definitely be thinking about attacking Uzushio Village before the Second Shinobi World War to obtain the Jinchuriki sealing technology, and incidentally cut off one of Konoha Village's arms, given the current sensitive situation in the shinobi world.

At that time, he will be able to represent Kirigakure as the savior, appear in Uzushio Village, and acquire it through marriage.

"By the way, give this document to my father and have him hire a spy from Kaguya's side to secretly leak this plan to Kaguya Yoshio."

Hozuki Shingetsu then handed another document to Ao.

"The Broken Windows Project?"

Qing looked at the title and was completely confused.

"To prevent that old bastard Kaguya Yoshio from setting a trap for me, I'll choose to find a trap myself, tell him about it, and then jump into it myself."

If Hozuki Shingetsu himself suggested going to Uzushio Village, then even though Ren and Kaguya Yoshio didn't know what he was going to do, they would undoubtedly stop him. In that case, why not change things up and have Kaguya Yoshio and Ren force Hozuki Shingetsu to go? Wouldn't that be more appropriate?

"He was sent as an envoy to Uzushio Village, won over the Uzumaki clan, subdued the Tsuchigumo clan, activated Sage Mode, defeated Ren and the White Zetsu, and became the Mizukage..."

Hozuki Shingetsu muttered to himself as he looked at the series of keywords on the paper. Although there would certainly be many twists and turns, he had to complete this intricately linked plan!

Chapter 33 Kaguya Makes Another Move

"Lord Mizukage, when can we begin our plan?"

In a secret room within the Kaguya clan's territory, the current clan head, Kaguya Yoshio, is discussing matters with the third Mizukage, Ren.

"It's coming soon."

Ren comforted Kaguya Yoshio, signaling him not to get agitated.

"We've been preparing for over a decade. How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Back then, you handed that stone tablet to us and promised to help us obtain the flesh and blood of the rest of the Bloodstained Ninja Clan. We kept our promise and helped you drive back the Hozuki Clan, and then waited for more than ten years. And now we have to wait again?"

Kaguya Yoshio was getting impatient. He had heard this sentence countless times, and now he desperately wanted an answer.

"Let's wait until next year! When the results of the military budget cuts come out next year, we can use this to damage Hozuki Shingetsu's prestige, and we can use the military budget cuts and the resulting discontent to launch a war against the village, thus weakening the Hozuki clan and the Yuki clan, among other ninja clans."

"When the time comes, your clan should restrain itself and not rush forward headlong like before. Instead, stay behind the other ninja clans. Those old ninjas who survived from the Warring States period are different from other ninjas; they can truly lead you to the Pure Land of Elysium!"

After much deliberation, Lian finally gave a positive answer.

"War? Wouldn't that mean your previous 'closed-door' policy was wasted?"

Kaguya Yoshio was taken aback, feeling both the joy of the impending launch of the plan and the doubt about Ren's actions. To cancel it in less than six months—wasn't that just contradicting himself?

"It's all because of that kid Hozuki Shingetsu! For the past six months, he's been stirring up trouble in the ninja world, keeping Kirigakure in the eye of the storm. What's the point of the village closing itself off like this?"

Ren was also clearly displeased. His initial intention in implementing the policy of isolation was simple: to prevent other ninja villages from learning of his next move. That's why he expanded the secrecy laws and implemented isolation. As long as they didn't pull off another major operation repeatedly, secretly completing the purge while the other four ninja villages were busy fighting during the Second Shinobi World War, no one would notice.

It can serve as a perfect rear base for Madara Uchiha.