Konoha: Uchiha Shisui's Strategist Alliance

"Grandpa's coming back!"

Upon seeing the contents of the letter, Shisui sprang to his feet, his excitement reaching its peak. He paced around the office with the letter in his hand.

The ANBU members responsible for protecting him in the shadows were filled with doubt as they watched the Hokage grinning foolishly. If they didn't know he was from the Uchiha clan, they would have suspected that the Hokage was under a genjutsu.

After a long while, Zhishui calmed down, sat down again, and carefully read the letter.

The letter stated that the garrison left behind at the defense line of the Tang Dynasty had completed its training, and Sima Yi had a general understanding of the ninja army's operations. Therefore, he planned to hand over the northern army to Nara Shikaku, and he would return to the village with the Uchiha members soon.

As for the situation in the Land of Water and the Land of Rain that I mentioned last time, we'll talk about it after he returns and learns the details.

Shisui naturally had no objections; neither the Land of Rain nor the Land of Water was as important as his grandfather.

He left behind a clone and went straight home to tell Yan Shifan the good news.

Yan Shifan was somewhat surprised. He took the letter with a slight glint in his eyes, then smiled and said, "It's good that Lord Sima is back. You can discuss military matters with him more often. With Lord Sima's abilities, he will surely help you see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Zhi Shui was so engrossed in her happiness that she didn't notice Yan Shifan's actions.

After he left, Yan Shifan pondered for a long time, and seeing that it was getting late, he wrote a letter and sent it out.

However, just as the letter left Konoha, a figure suddenly appeared and stopped the messenger.

"Lord Jinhuo?"

The person who arrived was none other than Uchiha Kinka, the messenger's superior.

"Give me the letter, and you wait here."

The messenger, wearing a mask, was startled by the figure that suddenly appeared in the moonlight. After confirming the other party's identity, he handed over the letter without hesitation.

Jin Huo took the letter and left immediately. A moment later, the letter appeared in Zhi Shui's hands.

Shisui opened the letter with a gloomy expression, then began to decipher its contents. After he had deciphered it, his expression suddenly froze.

To his surprise, the letter made no mention of Sima Yi. It only instructed Izayoi not to rush the mission towards Kyoto and to be patient. It also mentioned that the Minister of Finance liked tiger skins and suggested that a tiger could be caught in the mountains and sent to him.

Shisui looked at the letter several times but couldn't find anything wrong. He breathed a sigh of relief and said somewhat embarrassedly, "It seems I was overthinking it. Jinhuo, go and repackage the letter and send it back."

金火

"yes!"

The letter was handed to the masked ninja and sent back to the north. Shisui then lay down to rest contentedly.

Meanwhile, at a manor on the outskirts of Kyoto in the Land of Fire.

Under the dim lights, there were greedy and bloodthirsty faces. They sat in the audience, excitedly watching the two fighting on the stage. Cheers and curses echoed in the dark underground from time to time.

Backstage, Izayoi, wearing a mask, quietly watched two unremarkable ninjas on the monitor. One wore a white tiger mask, and the other wore a flying bird mask, just like their codenames.

Through his behind-the-scenes manipulation, the two people matched together were very evenly matched.

After a period of fierce fighting, both of them had exhausted their chakra and were now fighting each other with swords in the most primitive way. Around the arena, there was a barrier that had withstood hundreds of bombardments and still stood firm.

Apart from the surrounding barrier, the arena was very simple. In fact, to accommodate the Earth Release ninja, the arena didn't even have a floor.

However, since it was only recently built, there are no other types of venues yet.

Even so, it quickly attracted the attention of many wealthy families.

"Get up! Get up, damn it, get the hell out of here! Bite him to death with your teeth!"

The battle on the stage came to a conclusion. Baihu was seriously injured and collapsed to the ground. Some of the spectators in the stands could not accept this outcome. They roared desperately, hoping that the person they had chosen could stand up again and continue to bring them benefits and entertainment.

"Damn trash, get up! I've invested so much money, how can I just lose like this? Get up!" Some people in the VIP section couldn't sit still and roared and cursed.

"How can you give up like this, White Tiger?!"

Some people don't care about the money, but they still find it hard to accept that their favorite ninja is about to fail.

"Asuka! Hahaha~"

There were also those who supported Asuka, excitedly clutching their evidence and laughing loudly.

On the arena, the White Tiger lay on the ground, unable to get up. Although the Flying Bird was barely able to stand, it was also panting heavily, and its body swayed slightly.

However, this battle can only end when one side is completely dead or admits defeat, so the competition continues and the barrier continues to operate.

The bird showed no sign of stopping. He chuckled, raised his sword, and came to the white tiger's side, slashing it down. The white tiger, lying on the ground, was instantly cut in two.

Amidst wails, the white tiger's body collapsed into the earth.

As soon as the sword struck, Asuka sensed something was wrong, but he had been fighting for too long and his reaction had become sluggish.

There was no time to dodge in the rush, so he had no choice but to admit defeat.

However, before he could finish speaking, he was pierced through the heart by a spear that shot out from the ground.

Once the surrender signal was received, the barrier instantly collapsed, and the medical ninjas who had been waiting outside rushed to the arena to provide emergency care.

For Izayoi, these people could only create more value for him if they lived. Unfortunately, not everyone had five hearts, and Asuka lost her breath before she was even carried off the stage.

Seeing the White Tiger turn the tide, those who had been wailing began to cheer, and those who had been cheering began to curse. Groups and swarms of people created a noisy and chaotic scene.

As Izayoi listened to the cheers from the audience and watched the corpses being carried away, his feelings were somewhat complicated. Fortunately, this wasn't the first time he had seen such a scene, so he quickly calmed down and instructed his men to get to work.

The arena has been renovated by Earth Release ninjas, and the next battle will proceed as scheduled.

Each match brought great joy to every guest, and some of the younger ones were eager to run onto the ring and dominate.

Soon it was time for the penultimate match, featuring two newcomers whose abilities were unknown. Izayoi arranged for them to be together.

As the match began, a portly middle-aged man wearing a mask chuckled softly after being reminded by his bodyguard.

"There are always some self-righteous people in this world who don't recognize their own limitations, want to take what they shouldn't have, but can't even save their own lives."

The most valuable thing about a person is being able to recognize themselves. What do you think, Izayoi-kun? Do you need my help with this?

Hearing the masked man's pointed remark, Izayoi remained calm and unconcerned.

"Any means are permitted here, as long as he has the ability to do so."

The masked man smiled upon hearing this, then turned and headed towards the VIP section with his guards.

As the two were talking, many people below the arena gradually showed expressions of dissatisfaction.

Because the two people on stage are rigging the match, they are treating the nearly one thousand people in the entire gambling arena like fools.

Izayoi does not prohibit match-fixing, as long as you have the ability to avoid being discovered, or the ability to leave alive if discovered.

It should be noted that under his restrictions, those who can come here are either very wealthy or powerful, and these people possess enormous connections and influence.

Even he had to go through a lot of trouble and kill a lot of people in order to gain a foothold here.

Seeing that the two on the stage were only at the level of ordinary Chunin, Izayoi knew that unless something unexpected happened, they would not be able to leave alive.

The fight on stage ended quickly, but there was little cheering from below. The two newcomers didn't understand the situation. They took the money and left happily, completely unaware of how many people were following them.

Izayoi ignored the two guys and looked at the final arrangements.

Scorpion vs. Meteor.

Several days later, twenty miles north of Xiaozhen, Sima Yi was traveling leisurely in a carriage.

Yangzhe sat on top of the carriage, warily looking around, while Hui drove the carriage, sighing incessantly.

Twenty Uchiha clan ninjas were positioned in front of and behind the carriage.

"Uncle Yi, we're just ahead at Xiao Town. Once we pass Xiao Town, we'll be close to Konoha. Should we speed up?" Hui tilted his head and gazed into the distance.

He kept shifting his hips, as if he was sitting very uncomfortable.

"No rush."

Sima Yi's calm voice came from inside the carriage, forcing Hui, who wanted to gallop away, to suppress his thoughts.

Meanwhile, near Xiaozhen, a group of mysteriously dressed ninjas hid near the official road, disappearing into the darkness and quietly waiting for their target from the north.

After an unknown amount of time, the sounds of rolling wheels and light hooves approached from the north. The group exchanged glances, silently lowered themselves, and concealed their breathing.

A moment later, after a group of pedestrians rushed into the ambush area, the leader's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

"Let's do it!"

Evening, at the gate of Konoha.

Shisui paced back and forth with a furrowed brow, unable to ease his anxiety. He gazed into the distance with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Those watching from the left and right were equally puzzled, but they dared not ask, because Shisui had come to greet Sima Yi in his personal capacity; they had only come to join in the fun since they happened to see the Hokage.

Yan Shifan stood to the side, his face calm, stroking his long beard, seemingly unaffected by the still water.

Suzaku Nara, with dark circles under his eyes, followed Shisui's movements back and forth, feeling dizzy.

"Lord Hokage, Mr. Yi has many guards around him, he will be fine."

Is it too much?

Zhi Shui shook his head, unconvinced. What use were those few people?

"They should have arrived by now. Could something have gone wrong? Kakashi, take some men and go check it out."

"Yes."

Kakashi agreed and quickly left the village with a small team.

The worry in Zhi Shui's eyes was hard to dispel, and his gaze kept glancing at Yan Shifan before he shook his head repeatedly.

Yan Shifan seemed oblivious, closing his eyes and meditating as if nothing was amiss.

After an unknown amount of time, as the last ray of sunlight disappeared, Kakashi's figure finally appeared on the horizon.

"Lord Hokage, the person is right behind us."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Shifan raised an eyebrow, slowly opened his eyes, and then focused his gaze on Kakashi.

"That's good, it's good that Grandpa is alright!"

Having received a positive reply, Shisui breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could ask any more questions, he saw more than twenty ninjas escorting a carriage slowly approaching from the distance.

As they approached the gate, the procession stopped. Shisui immediately spotted Hui driving the carriage and Yangzhe on the roof. The two of them also saw Shisui wearing a divine robe.

"Clan Chief, Lord Hokage!"

Seeing the clothes that the Uchiha clan had longed for finally being worn by a member of the Uchiha clan, everyone was overjoyed and came to Shisui to pay their respects.

"Thank you all for your hard work."

Shisui helped Hui and Yangzhe up, and the others followed suit, then stood tall and proud on both sides.

Sima Yi also stepped down from the carriage at this moment. He walked calmly to Zhishui's side, looked at her with satisfaction, and sighed softly, "Not bad, you've matured a lot."

The praise brought a lump to Zhishui's throat, but he managed to hold it in. However, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, and he chuckled repeatedly, saying, "Thanks to Grandpa's guidance, oh, and of course, to my teacher."

Yan Shifan's lips twitched, but seeing Sima Yi looking over, he quickly adjusted his expression, smiled, and cupped his hands, saying, "It's been a long time, Lord Sima, you still have the same demeanor."

Sima Yi's eyes were playful as he smiled and said, "We also owe a lot to Donglou for taking care of us; the journey has been quite enjoyable."

"Haha, that's good. I've already had a banquet prepared for you. Please."

Yan Shifan naturally knew what the other party was talking about. He chuckled softly, not embarrassed at all, and raised his hand to indicate that the other party should go first.

Sima Yi did not continue the topic. After some polite exchanges, he stopped refusing and led Yang Zhe and the others back to their clan's territory.

"Huh? Me too."

"Hokage-sama!"

Shisui skipped a day of work, and there were still some tasks left to finish. Since he refused to do them, he naturally pushed them onto Suzaku Nara.

Suzaku Nara has been working so hard lately that he's developed dark circles under his eyes, and if Shisui pushes him any further, he'll have to go to the hospital.

Seeing that Shisui was still trying to run away, Nara Suzaku disregarded his status and grabbed Shisui, pleading with him in a hoarse voice to go to the Hokage Building.

Shisui had no choice but to give up.

However, Shisui pulled away Hikaru, who was eager to fight, before heading to the Hokage Building.

"I was just waiting to come back for drinks and food, why did you drag me here?"

Having finally returned to Konoha, Hui felt a pang of longing as he watched others return to their clans for a banquet.

"Brother Hui, have you encountered anything along the way?"

Although there was nothing wrong with the letter, Shisui was suspicious of their conversation.

"Huh? No, everything went smoothly."

Hui recalled for a moment, then slowly shook his head, looking somewhat puzzled, not understanding why Shisui asked that question.

"Nothing happened? Like an assassin or bandits or something."

"We did encounter some bandits, but they were all clueless fools, and we took care of them easily. Don't worry, everything went smoothly."

"That's good, that's good."

Upon hearing this, Shisui had no choice but to give up. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he sent Hui back.

"It seems I was overthinking it."

Meanwhile, within the clan's territory, Sima Yi and Yan Shifan sat on the ground, drinking and chatting merrily.

The two of them always said incomprehensible things, and the others, unable to understand them, simply ignored them and went about their own business of drinking and making noise.

The banquet lasted a long time, and by the time Zhishui returned, it was only halfway through.

Zhi Shui knew that Sima Yi had been traveling all day and was a little tired, so he offered him a few cups of tea instead of wine and then focused on eating, without trying to talk about serious matters with him.

Until midnight, when everyone was drunk, he arranged for Jin Huo and Ying Shu to take them back to rest.

As for Sima Yi and Yan Shifan, both of them were quite drunk, so Zhishui had no choice but to help them back to their respective rooms to rest.

After Zhi Shui left, Yan Shifan slowly opened his eyes. He frowned and took out a small bamboo tube from his pocket. He had gotten it during the banquet when he pretended to go to the toilet, and he hadn't had time to look at it yet.

A note was hidden inside the bamboo tube.

Yan Shifan took out the note and examined it closely by the moonlight.

After a moment, Yan Shifan muttered under his breath, "Old man, not a word of truth comes out of your mouth, you even lied to Zhishui!"

After he finished cursing, Yan Shifan himself was so angry that he laughed and couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder you've lived so long."