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

Kirigakure Village, Mizukage Office.

At this moment, the Third Mizukage, Ren, was constantly discussing with Kaguya Yoshio how to deal with Hozuki's scheme.

"Now that the Uzumaki clan has formed a marriage alliance with Hozuki Shingetsu, it's practically a done deal that the Uzumaki clan will join the Hozuki and Yuki faction."

After reviewing the situation, Ren couldn't help but complain to Kaguya Yoshio, "Why did you send him to Uzushio Village in the first place? Couldn't you have just let him stay peacefully in Kirigakure? Now look what's happened, with the Uzumaki clan joining the fray, how are we supposed to fight?"

Although the Uzumaki clan suffered heavy losses in the attack by the Thunder and Earth Alliance, with even the clan leader dying on the spot, a weakened camel is still bigger than a horse. Even though the Uzumaki clan is now greatly weakened, it is at least on par with the Yuki clan, if not as powerful as the Hozuki and Kaguya clans.

Furthermore, because it possesses the ultimate weapon "Dead Demon Seal," it cannot be evaluated using normal standards—after all, even Lian cannot withstand such an unreasonable one-for-one exchange.

"What's the point of saying all this now? You didn't object in the first place, did you? And you said you wanted him to stay peacefully in Kirigakure. So who sent him to the capital? What if he causes trouble in the capital?"

Kaguya Yoshio was speechless. It was indeed he who suggested sending Hozuki Shingetsu to Uzushio Village in the first place. However, at the same time, he couldn't help but feel resentful towards Ren. After all, these two made the decision, and now that things had gone wrong, they were trying to shift the blame onto him?

They are not in a superior-subordinate relationship; they are collaborators!

He's not taking the blame for this.

"Can the capital be compared to Uzushio Village? Can he stir up trouble in the capital? Heh, will the daimyo send an envoy to reprimand us next?"

Ren's words to Kaguya Yoshio were full of disdain. How could someone who had offended a daimyo still cause trouble in the capital?

Didn't you know that the famous contemporary figure was known for being petty?

Twenty years ago, he already knew what kind of person that guy was! Expecting him to abandon his pride and acknowledge Hozuki Shingetsu? It would be more plausible that he valued Hozuki Shingetsu's talent and adopted him as his godson!

"And don't you know why I sent him to the capital? For some reason, the daimyo's animosity towards the villages is growing stronger. The news of this military budget cut came from the daimyo's favorite, Kusaka Masato, so it's practically a done deal. My purpose in sending him to the capital is to take advantage of this information gap, make him take the blame, and then win over most of the neutral faction."

As she spoke, Ren said disdainfully, "Putting everything else aside, if Hozuki Shingetsu really manages to make a name for himself in the capital, I'll jump off this building right now, right in front of you..."

Boom!

Just then, a rapid knock came at the door, forcing their conversation to stop.

Ren frowned. He had already instructed himself to talk to Kaguya Yoshio, but even so, the knocking was still so urgent. It seemed that something terrible had happened!

"Lord Mizukage, the Daimyo has sent over next year's military budget. Not only has the amount not been reduced, it has even doubled compared to previous years!"

"really?"

Ren beamed with joy as he looked at the kneeling Anbu. Although he didn't know why the Daimyo had changed his mind, at least the money was genuine. With money, regardless of Kirigakure's fate, at least he, the Mizukage, could have a prosperous New Year!

Unlike Ren's excitement, Kaguya Yoshio felt inexplicably uneasy upon seeing this strangely familiar scene.

"...Surely not, right? I was just saying it casually, it can't be that serious..."

"What else?"

After her initial excitement subsided, Lian noticed the hesitant expression on the face of the member of the Dark Guard.

Under Ren's pressure, the Anbu, who had originally planned to report privately after Kaguya Yoshio left, could only grit his teeth and say, "...The Daimyo also sent an envoy here to question the Mizukage about whether his failure to become the Second Mizukage was due to a lack of loyalty to the Daimyo..."

Lotus: Clam? —

After seeing off the daimyo's envoy with a blank expression, Ren could no longer suppress her anger and smashed everything she could in the room.

"You brat! How dare you bully me like this!"

Lian's eyes widened, and she roared helplessly.

Kaguya Yoshio, on the other hand, was eager to stir up trouble and added fuel to the fire: "Lord Mizukage, what did you say you were doing up here if you were to cause trouble in the capital?"

Ren gave Kaguya Yoshio a cold look, her whole body trembling, as if she was trying her best to suppress her desire to attack him.

"However, I really didn't expect that Hozuki Shingetsu would have so many tricks up her sleeve, and be so shameless..."

Seeing Ren's behavior, Kaguya Yoshio was afraid of going too far, so he quickly changed the subject.

From the words of the daimyo's envoy, they also learned the reason why the daimyo had changed his mind—the movie, and now Hozuki Shingetsu's adopted son.

This made Kaguya Yoshio further realize that Hozuki Shingetsu was truly a talent. Not only could he manipulate Konoha, but he could also play the Daimyo with ease, and he couldn't find any fault with him.

Especially the part that clears Hozuki Gengetsu's name, when I first heard it, it really made me feel infinite admiration for Hozuki Shingetsu - how can a person be so shameless?

Finally, Hozuki Shingetsu's move to use his achievements to request to become the daimyo's son was truly brilliant, leaving Kaguya Yoshio in awe.

In that case, who in Kirigakure can touch him?

Who else could be chosen as the future fourth Mizukage besides him?

"No, we can't let this guy continue like this!" Lian seemed to have finally made up her mind, and said resolutely.

"A trip to Uzushio Village brought back a member of the Uzumaki clan. A trip to the capital not only changed the daimyo's impression of him but also made him his adopted son. If he goes out again, will he bring back another Rinnegan?"

"We can't wait any longer, the plan must be launched ahead of schedule!"

Kaguya Yoshio stood up upon hearing this, expressing his agreement with Ren's actions.

They were now on the verge of disaster, with no choice but to act. The blood disease and the feud between the Hozuki clan meant they could not reconcile with the Hozuki. So, let's do it!

"However, if we're going to fight, we can't fight head-on; we have to fight smartly." After her anger subsided, Lian's intelligence quickly returned to its former glory.

"That little guy from the Karatachi clan, hasn't he always wanted to become the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki? Fine, let's grant his wish!"

"You're planning to ambush him while he's become a Jinchūriki? To make the Three-Tails go berserk?" Kaguya Yoshio quickly caught up with Ren's train of thought and nodded in agreement, "That would indeed distract them."

As the Uzumaki clan, which specializes in attacking tailed beasts, they will definitely have to step in at that time, and as Hozuki Shingetsu's companions, Hozuki's side will definitely have to do their part to help.

However, he didn't expect that Lian had already gone mad. He saw Lian say with a cold smile:

"Three-tailed? No, let's go big! Release the Six-tailed as well!"

"With both the Three-Tailed and Six-Tailed beasts unleashed, let's see how many lives the Uzumaki clan has left to play with!"

Chapter 80 Uchiha Madara: The wind that misses me blows to the ground.

At this moment, Ren was like a crazed gambler, almost driven mad by Hozuki Shingetsu's endless stream of cards, trying to put all her chips on the table and go all in.

Ever since she was seduced by a mysterious man who called himself "Uchiha Madara" more than a decade ago and provided him with information that led to the deaths of Hozuki Gengetsu and Musou, Ren knew that she had embarked on a path of no return.

Later, with the other party's help, he secretly and ruthlessly killed many Warring States period veterans who opposed him, finally achieving his goal of becoming the Mizukage. Not to mention the stone tablet he used to win over the Kaguya clan, which was personally handed to him by that mysterious person. Its authenticity is self-evident. If the Kaguya clan knew the truth, he would probably be the first to rebel.

Faced with all these leverages, he could only assist in their actions—although he didn't know what the mysterious person's ultimate goal was, eliminating the Hozuki and Yuki clans was, in a sense, in line with his own.

After being used as a stepping stone by Hozuki Gengetsu and watching him step over her to become the Mizukage, Ren harbored deep hatred for the Hozuki clan.

As for the Yuki clan, who told them to get so close to Hozuki?

If you have to blame someone, blame them for getting too close! In every dynasty and every year, which ghost didn't die unjustly?

All these reasons led Ren to make this crazy decision as he watched Hozuki's forces grow stronger.

As for whether releasing the Three-Tails and Six-Tails will cause damage to the village—if he weren't the Mizukage, what would be the point of Kirigakure's existence?

Kaguya Yoshio agreed to the task, driven by the hope of curing the blood disease and the allure of the fighting cells within his body.

-

"What do you mean? Are you going to leak the information again this time and help that kid from the Hozuki clan?" Deep underground, a pitcher plant was quietly lurking beneath the Mizukage Building, listening intently to Ren and Kaguya Yoshio's conspiracy.

They probably never imagined that their newly conceived plan would be known to outsiders so soon after it was first mentioned.

"Help? We should help, but I'm not helping that kid Hozuki, I'm helping Ren." Black Zetsu's face showed a look of anticipation.

"After all, if he can't even overcome this kind of setback, what right does that kid have to be my pawn?"

"Moreover, after this turmoil, regardless of who wins or loses, Kirigakure will suffer heavy losses due to the rampage of the two tailed beasts and such intense internal strife! And after Kirigakure suffers heavy losses, whether Ren or Hozuki wins, it will not be a loss for us at all, right?"

With Hozuki's victory, the Hidden Mist Village, severely weakened, will undoubtedly be more determined to implement its "continental balance policy," leading to even greater chaos in the ninja world.

Conversely, if Ren wins, what will Kirigakure, whose strength has been greatly diminished, use to resist them?

Such a perfect base, wouldn't it be a piece of cake?

"The reason I provided information to that kid in the first place was simply because I saw he had some talent for scheming and plotting. If he succeeds, all the better; if not, it won't affect our plans much. As long as we firmly grasp the idea of ​​'continental balance,' his presence or absence won't make much difference!"

"Moreover, it seems that this lotus is quite ruthless. I'm getting more and more excited about the battle that's coming soon."

Clearly, Black Zetsu greatly admired the Kage who dared to release a Tailed Beast into his own village.

Therefore, he plans to help Lian again when the time comes.

"Compared to this, I'd rather know how you're going to fool Madara. Otherwise, if 'Whirlpool White Zetsu' makes a move, wouldn't the balance of power between the two sides be off?" White Zetsu asked with great interest.

"Madara? There are many reasons... and isn't there one right here?" Black Zetsu glanced at his head with a mocking look and said to White Zetsu, "Tell me... if Madara saw that documentary about the fate of the Uchiha, 'Thirty Years of Slavery,' and that 'Uchiha Human Rights Report,' how would he react? Would he still have the energy to care about this?"

Did Madara Uchiha read "Thirty Years a Slave" and "Uchiha Human Rights Report"?

Bai Jue was taken aback, then imagined the scene.

puff!

Even though it was an artificial being devoid of emotions, White Zetsu still managed a slight smile.

Omosiroy.

-

Hozuki Shingetsu, of course, was unaware of Ren and the others' conspiracy, nor did he know that Uchiha Madara, the "King of Shinobi Dance," was about to witness his masterpiece.

Unlike when they left, the three of them were much more relaxed on their way back from the capital, as everything had been settled. They took a good rest on the way back.

After all, they had just swindled a large sum of money from Sui Keita, and they felt a bit empty if they didn't spend it all. So the three of them spent a week eating and playing on the way back to Kirigakure.

Meanwhile, news that Hozuki Shingetsu had been adopted as a son by the daimyo Sui Keita, and that Kirigakure's military budget would be doubled the following year, had already spread throughout the entire village.