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

"The worst option is to keep the enemy outside the country's borders and wait for Konoha's reinforcements to arrive. With their help from within and without, the crisis will be resolved on its own. However, this is only a temporary solution. As long as Uzushio Village exists, similar things will happen again sooner or later."

Takumi Uzumaki nodded to himself; that was indeed the truth. The moment he learned the enemy's identity, he knew why they had come. Like Kirigakure, they were after the sealing technology for the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.

However, compared to Kirigakure, which wanted to trade peacefully, the Raito Alliance didn't even want to pay a hundred dollars; they wanted to get something for free.

However, judging from Konoha's reaction, this is probably in jeopardy.

Sensing Takumi Uzumaki's mood, Shingetsu Hozuki chuckled to himself, then said, "The best course of action is simple: hand over all of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques, sever the alliance with Konoha, and declare the Land of Whirlpools to be a permanently neutral country, just like the Land of Iron. That way, nothing like this will ever happen again."

Takumi Uzumaki frowned. What he said made sense, but as a member of a thousand-year-old ninja clan who had lived through the Warring States period, he understood that there was no such thing as a permanently neutral country in this world.

The Land of Iron is a neutral country because it is a gathering place for samurai, a different entity from the mainstream of the ninja world. In fact, whether a country is neutral or not is not something that can be decided by its own words, but also depends on how others perceive it.

If they hand over all their sealing techniques and sever their alliance with Konoha, what if someone denies it later? Wouldn't Uzushio Village be cutting off its own escape route?

Looking at Hozuki Shingetsu, Uzumaki Takumi said, "The worst strategy is too slow, the best strategy is too hasty, is there a middle strategy?"

"Of course there are middle strategies." Hozuki Shingetsu chuckled, finally managing to steer the conversation away from the topic. It seems that Romance of the Three Kingdoms really is useful! It's just that in his previous life, he admired Romance of the Three Kingdoms so much that he treated it as a military treatise.

"The best course of action is to choose a good master and follow him. In this way, the Uzumaki clan can protect itself and not worry about being coveted by external enemies. This way, the dilemma is resolved. Isn't that wonderful?"

"A worthy lord?" Takumi's first thought upon hearing this was Konoha, but he quickly realized something was amiss. Shingetsu Hozuki had gone to so much trouble to persuade him to lead his clan into Konoha, so the worthy lord he was referring to must be…

"Mist Hidden Village?"

"Exactly!"

Hearing Hozuki Shingetsu's shameless reply, Uzumaki Takumi was so angry he laughed. Asking him to lead the Uzumaki clan to join Kirigakure? What a joke!

"If this is all the esteemed envoy has come here to say, then you may leave now." Takumi Uzumaki no longer wanted to entangle himself with Shingetsu Hozuki; all he wanted now was to quickly send some of the children from his clan out of the Land of Whirlpools.

"Your Excellency, setting aside our respective prejudices, isn't Kirigakure a good place that's easy to defend and difficult to attack?"

Hozuki Shingetsu couldn't afford to fail at this crucial moment, so he quickly explained the advantages of Kirigakure.

"Yes."

Takumi Uzumaki thought about it and realized that what he said made sense. The Land of Water is essentially an island nation, and anyone who wants to attack Kirigakure must first cross the sea—but how can you fight Kirigakure on the open sea?

With its far superior naval technology, a large number of Water Release ninjas, and a smaller but extremely elite number of Bloodstained Ninjas, Kirigakure could be said to be more than capable of defending, even if it lacked offensive capabilities.

"In today's ninja world, it is an era dominated by ninja villages formed by the alliance of multiple ninja clans. I wonder if Your Excellency, the Daimyo, agrees with this view?"

"……Yes."

"The Uzumaki clan's decision not to join Konoha back then must have been partly due to their aversion to war and their desire to live in seclusion and cultivate themselves."

"Yes."

"Objectively speaking, Kirigakure should be a good place to recuperate and rebuild, right?"

"Yes."

"Assuming the Uzumaki clan joins Kirigakure, Kirigakure should be able to withstand the pressure from various countries and protect the Uzumaki clan, right?"

"……Can."

"Konoha doesn't actually plan to rescue Uzushio Village, right?"

"Yes or no!"

Takumi Uzumaki instinctively answered yes, but immediately changed his mind after realizing something was wrong, but it was clearly too late. Looking at the smile on Shinju Hozuki's face, Takumi couldn't help but sigh.

"There is actually no old grudge between Kirigakure and Uzushio Village, and there are no emotional barriers between them. Perhaps Your Excellency has heard some rumors in our village that we are not on good terms, but these are just rumors. At most, it is a conflict of the level between the Uchiha and Konoha."

"Most importantly, our Hidden Mist Village has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Uzumaki clan! The Mizukage specifically instructed that as long as the Uzumaki clan enters the water, all Jonin will retain their identities and become members of our Hidden Mist Village Jonin Team!"

Hozuki Shingetsu, using Ren's name, keeps making empty promises.

It's important to understand that the status of a Jonin isn't just a ranking of strength; it's also a reflection of political status. The Jonin Council theoretically has the power to decide whether to dismiss the Mizukage. Such a large number of Jonin would inevitably lead to political instability in Kirigakure. In Uzumaki Takumi's view, Kirigakure was indeed showing great sincerity.

Seeing that Takumi Uzumaki was interested in Shingetsu Hozuki, he immediately struck while the iron was hot.

"Since the Warring States period, the world has been in turmoil, the state has been on the verge of collapse, and the people have been in dire straits. My First Mizukage rose to power, uniting all the clans, and was revered by all. This was not achieved through power, but by the will of Heaven! The Second Mizukage, a master of both literature and martial prowess, inherited the great lineage, acting in accordance with Heaven and the people, following the example of Yao and Yao of the Six Paths. He resided in the Hidden Mist Village to maintain order, and settled the hearts of the people in his corner. Is this not the will of Heaven and the will of the people? Moreover, the fate of the world is changing, the ninja world is in turmoil, and war between the nations is imminent! Wise men are all yielding and waiting for the opportune moment. Why does the Uzumaki clan choose to defy the laws of Heaven and act against human sentiment? Have they not heard the ancients say: 'Those who go against the tide perish, those who go with the tide live, those who ride the tide rise, and those who create the tide become powerful.'"

"Why doesn't Your Excellency surrender with courtesy, thus preserving the dignity of the ninja clan?"

Chapter 45: Plans Change, Ready to Go All In

"..."

In truth, having come to this point, Takumi Uzumaki had already realized that, objectively speaking, Kirigakure was indeed a good place. Firstly, its terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack; secondly, apart from trade, it didn't have particularly rich resources, making an invasion of the Land of Water far more unprofitable than an invasion of the Land of Fire.

All the previous rejections were just emotional, subconscious rejections. Thinking about it carefully, Kirigakure... isn't so bad?

However, such an important matter cannot be decided so simply. At the very least, it is necessary to convene many elders to discuss it before a final decision can be made.

Moreover, whether Konoha would even send reinforcements was another question. The idea that Konoha would stand by and watch them die was merely speculation; what if they had just agreed to join Kirigakure, and then Konoha reinforcements arrived? Wouldn't that be ridiculous?

Roughly estimating, the front line can hold out for another three days. If Konoha doesn't give a clear answer within two days, then don't blame the Uzumaki clan for being merciless!

Therefore, Takumi Uzumaki dodged the question and did not answer Shingetsu Hozuki's question directly, only saying that he needed to think about it and told him to go back and wait.

However, Takumi Uzumaki's change can already be seen from his attitude.

As for the degree of change... well, it must have changed from "tea" to "serving tea".

Hozuki Shingetsu already knew that Konoha Village would never send troops to rescue them, so he didn't care at all, giving Uzumaki Takumi enough time to think before leaving the castle tower.

"This... the Uzumaki clan is just going to join us like this?" Yagura Karatachi was still a little dizzy, unable to believe that the Uzumaki clan, which was famous throughout the ninja world and had established its own country, had joined Kirigakure so easily. This left the passionate village-loving young man speechless for a moment.

"Don't talk nonsense, we haven't joined yet!" Hozuki Shingetsu corrected his grammatical error with a meticulous attitude, but judging from the smile on his face, he also thought it was almost certain.

"But the Mizukage never made any promises. What if the Uzumaki clan joins Kirigakure and finds out that it was all a lie?" Yukinagi thought for a moment and realized that there was a fatal flaw in this matter, namely the issue of Hozuki Shingetsu's forged edict.

"What should we do? By then they'll all be in Kirigakure. How can we let them come out? Besides, I'm the one who can bring in such a powerful ally for the Mizukage. He'd be overjoyed, why would he cause me any trouble?" Hozuki Shingetsu didn't care about Yukinagi's question at all, looking completely relaxed.

"..." Yagura and Yukinagi looked at each other in bewilderment.

There is a problem, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly what the problem is.

"Those are... people from Konoha?"

As the group chatted, they suddenly saw a group of four people, led by a Uzumaki clan ninja, about to enter the castle tower.

That swirling headband clearly belongs to someone from Konoha.

"What are the people from Konoha doing here at this time?" Hozuki Shingetsu suddenly felt uneasy. According to his calculations, once his backup plans took effect, Konoha should not have sent anyone. So what are these people doing here?

However, he couldn't just go up and ask, so he could only return to the embassy district with a lot of doubts.

"Those are... people from Kirigakure?"

When Hozuki Shingetsu saw the Konoha ninja, the Konoha ninja naturally saw them as well. This Konoha squad was led by Nara Shikacho, a member of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and a staunch subordinate of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He led a four-person team consisting of members of the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans, as well as a member of the Hyuga branch family. Their mission was to smuggle a talented Uzumaki clan member from Uzushio Village back to the village to serve as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. To avoid being attacked, they also brought a member of the Hyuga branch family to act as an informant, ensuring everything went smoothly.

The reason for choosing Nara Shikadai is quite simple: only the high intelligence of the Nara clan could barely fool the Uzumaki clan into agreeing to let Konoha take their clansmen away.

So when Nara Shikacho saw Hozuki Shingetsu and his group, he immediately realized that something was wrong.

Why would Kirigakure run off to Uzushio Village when it's neither a holiday nor a festival? — Shimura Danzo hadn't informed Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shingetsu Hozuki about Uzushio Village's mission because his subordinates hadn't replied in time, which meant that Nara Shikanobu was also unaware of this information.

Therefore, he naturally deduced Kirigakure's purpose based on his own understanding. Of course, he never imagined that Hozuki Shingetsu wanted to take the entire Uzumaki clan with him. His guess was that Kirigakure wanted to take advantage of the chaos and gain some benefits from Uzumaki Village while it was in trouble.

This led him to adjust his storyline in time when he met Takumi Uzumaki.

"Lord Daimyo, our Konoha reinforcements are on their way."

These first words put Takumi Uzumaki at ease. As long as Konoha sent reinforcements, everything would be fine.

"The most important purpose of our visit is to tell you this news. We hope that you can hold on, my Konoha reinforcements will be able to reach the battlefield in two days at most."

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, this timing happened precisely on the edge of Takumi Uzumaki's mental state, which only proves that he is indeed a highly intelligent talent from the Nara clan.

"Just in case, we hope that Lord Daimyo can entrust a few of our Uzumaki clan geniuses to us so that we can escort them to a safe place. After all, war is unpredictable, and no one can be sure of anything."

Under Nara Shikagami's calm demeanor and refined rhetoric, it was clear that Uzumaki Takumi interpreted these children as hostages, or as the price for Konoha's intervention. Uzumaki Takumi was naturally aware that Uzumaki Mito was getting old and Konoha urgently needed the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so he naturally assumed that this was a transaction.

A deal to exchange these children for the safety of the Vortex Clan.

For the head of a clan, it's an easy choice, isn't it?

As for whether Konoha would lie to him—unless Konoha had no shame, why would they do such a thing?

Clearly, despite having served as daimyo and clan head for his entire life, Takumi Uzumaki's political acumen is inferior even to that of Tomoyuki Hyuga. It can only be said that he has too many low-level skills and thinks he is really capable.

So he immediately ordered the most talented children in the clan to set off with the people of Konoha early the next morning.

And Kushina Uzumaki happened to be among them.

When the restless Hozuki Shingetsu tried to visit the daimyo again that night to try and win him over, he inadvertently learned from the Uzumaki Guards that the Konoha army would be arriving soon, which was undoubtedly a blow to his head.

He knew, of course, that Konoha wouldn't send reinforcements, so this news was likely just a fabrication by the Konoha envoy. Thinking further, what was their purpose in lying? It was to appease the Uzumaki clan and then achieve their own goals. As for those goals…

Hozuki Shingetsu's eyes narrowed, and he quickly realized what their purpose was.

Kushina Uzumaki, the vessel for the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.

"Plans have changed; we're going all in now."

He immediately informed Yagura and Yukinagi of the plan for the evening.

"New Moon, aren't we being too disrespectful to the Uzumaki clan by doing this? How about we try diplomacy first, then force?" Yagura Karatachi was startled when he heard about New Moon's plan and hurriedly tried to dissuade him, but New Moon interrupted him with a wave of her hand.

Damn it, they've already tried to steal it from us, why should we reason with them?