Konoha: Uchiha Shisui's Strategist Alliance

"Good morning, Grandpa and teacher."

The next day, Zhishui got up early and gave Jin Huo and Ying Shu some pointers before having a meal with Sima Yi and Yan Shifan.

"You're going to the Hokage Building to handle official business today, right? I heard from Touro that you can handle these things independently now; you're growing very quickly."

Sima Yi looked up and said, not hesitating to praise.

Shisui chuckled and said frankly, "It's all thanks to my teacher. If it weren't for his guidance, I probably would have made a lot of mistakes when I first became Hokage."

Yan Shifan stroked his beard and smiled, casually saying, "It's all for the Uchiha."

"The East Tower is still reassuring." Sima Yi nodded, seemingly quite agreeing.

He knew that Yan Shifan had other ideas, but this world was different from the previous one. Strength was very important. Unless he sent Yan Shifan to Kyoto to climb the ranks, he couldn't do anything to Shisui in Konoha, let alone undermine him.

Yan Shifan was also aware of this, so he rarely focused his energy on Konoha.

Zhi Shui had many things he wanted to say to Sima Yi yesterday, and today he could no longer hold back. After sitting down, he asked, "Grandpa, how are you doing in the north?"

How well one can get across the border is naturally inconvenient in many ways, but Sima Yi was already used to it and didn't say anything. After briefly talking about daily life, he changed the subject to the army's drills.

"Can the large-scale ninja warfare tactics be implemented on a large scale in Konoha?" Shisui asked curiously.

Sima Yi shook his head and said softly, "The premise of large-scale military operations is 'unification'—unified training, unified ninjutsu, and even unified equipment."

Especially regarding standardized ninjutsu, while ninjas are highly obedient, the ninjutsu they master are incredibly diverse. Without standardized ninjutsu, combined ninjutsu cannot be used, rendering large-scale army battles meaningless and increasing casualties.

Because of the existence of certain ninjutsu and Tailed Beast Balls, which are large-scale destructive techniques, ninjas grouping together can easily lose their mobility, making them extremely dangerous.

Shisui quickly understood Sima Yi's meaning: "The progress in ninjutsu is still ongoing, but it will probably take some time."

"No rush. The spread of ninjutsu will face great resistance. The ninja clans will definitely do everything they can to stop it. We can handle it slowly."

The two talked for a while about the promotion of ninjutsu. Shisui became more and more excited as they talked, and decided to have his clone take his place at the Hokage Building again, while he stayed behind.

Sima Yi and Yan Shifan had no objection to this; there was no need to personally handle every matter concerning a town.

After breakfast, the three of them went to the study. Zhishui remarked with emotion, "It's been so long since I've studied here with Grandpa and my teacher, hehe~"

Sima Yi smiled and said, "I came back early this time because of what you mentioned in your letter."

"Thank you for your help, Grandpa. It's my fault for not learning enough and forgetting too much; I really can't distinguish the situations in different countries."

"You're still young, you can learn at your own pace."

Seeing the two of them being so loving and filial, Yan Shifan inwardly scoffed. He didn't believe that Sima Yi had returned to teach Zhishui.

He thinks it's probably because of this year's points.

It's already September, and there's still more than a month until we get the points. Yan Shifan thought Sima Yi wouldn't be coming back this year, and he was even thinking of tricking Zhishui into using the points to strengthen him, since he doesn't like cultivation, but strength is indispensable in this world.

As a result, Sima Yi suddenly made an excuse to come back. Yan Shifan was still self-aware enough to know that if this guy came back, he would definitely not get any points. He wanted to secretly do something, but he didn't expect that the other party even lied to Zhishui. Not a word of truth was written in the letter. His men waited for several days and only encountered a group of merchants.

"Old fox!"

The three chatted until noon, but Sima Yi had just returned and was unaware of many things, so he didn't explain much. Shisui then realized what was going on and went to the Hokage Building to handle official business after lunch, giving Sima Yi plenty of time.

Thus, three days later, Sima Yi had a general understanding of what had happened in Konoha after he left.

It must be said that Yan Shifan was quite capable in internal power struggles, a fact that Sima Yi also acknowledged.

However, what interested him most were Obito and Kakuzu. One was the Uchiha who should have died, and the other was a mysterious ninja who claimed to have fought with Uchiha Madara. Even though he fought with Uchiha Madara when he was twenty, he was over seventy years old today.

Moreover, the five hearts and the immortality of the body greatly interested Sima Yi.

"Since Obito rescued Kakuzu, the two will likely join forces later. Have you found out anything about them in the ninja world?"

Every pair of kaleidoscopes should be taken seriously, especially those of this guy who is hostile to Konoha.

Moreover, based on Sima Yi's understanding of the Uchiha clan, such individuals with drastically different personalities are often incredibly strong.

Zhi Shui shook his head, and Sima Yi turned to look at Yan Shifan.

Zhi Shui was puzzled; he hadn't heard from him at all, so what about Yan Shifan?

"Obito's whereabouts are hard to say, but Kakuzu seems to have appeared in the Land of Rain after that, although this information has not been verified."

As Yan Shifan sipped his tea, he casually revealed information that shocked Zhishui.

"The Land of Rain? How did the teacher find out about this?"

Shisui was puzzled. He had sent so many people but hadn't been able to get much information from Amegakure. Yet Yan Shifan, with his small number of men, was able to find news of Kakuzu in the Land of Rain!

Yan Shifan chuckled lightly, not taking it to heart.

"The Land of Rain is a small country with a small population. It is rained all year round and its output is not much. To maintain the survival of its people, it can only trade with the outside world. Where there is contact, there will be loopholes. The people I sent are just ordinary merchants, so naturally they will not arouse the suspicion of the ninjas."

Moreover, I don't need them to deliberately investigate anything. They just need to record what they see and hear on a daily basis. As long as the scope is broad, the information will naturally increase.

Of course, smuggling can make some money too.

Anyway, those nobles would sell their grain to enemy countries, so it's better for him to do it. Otherwise, with Shisui's meager funds, how could he train his own ninjas? Of course, these things are not worth mentioning to outsiders.

Shisui opened his mouth, looked at the two of them, and immediately realized that there was still a lot he needed to learn.

He sent ninjas, who were strong, but for some reason, Amegakure always managed to detect their infiltration very quickly. If he could use ordinary people, perhaps...

Yan Shifan knew exactly what Zhishui was thinking and immediately extinguished his hopes.

"Forget about it. They're fine with gathering ordinary intelligence, but if they try to get close to the classified information, they'll probably die without even knowing how they died."

Ordinary people can survive the inspection because of the ninjas' contempt, but once they do something that is not in line with their status, they will be wiped out in an instant without any ability to resist.

"All right."

Shisui had no choice but to give up, and then said, "Since Kakuzu has appeared in the Land of Rain, Obito should be here as well. It's a pity that it's not the right time to make a move."

Sima Yi merely frowned and said, "It's best to deal with Obito as soon as possible."

A powerful Uchiha who could pass through the barrier was too dangerous, which made him feel very insecure.

Having managed to kill four generations of a couple, Sima Yi didn't think he could escape this person's assassination attempt.

"Looks like I'll have to keep a low profile."

"We could use Nohara Rin's corpse or Hatake Kakashi to lure him out, but..." Yan Shifan said, looking at Shisui.

Shisui could not agree, of course. Nohara Rin died for Konoha, and Kakashi became like this because of Konoha. How could they use the two of them to hang their former best friends?

Seeing Sima Yi's expression, Zhi Shui seemed somewhat troubled. Just as she was about to explain, Sima Yi said, "That's indeed not a good idea. Let's think of another way."

Shisui breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Please rest assured, Grandpa and Master, I have already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique improved by the Fourth Hokage. As long as you have this, I can come to your side at any time."

As Shisui spoke, he took out two special kunai, which were engraved with "Will of Fire".

The two had naturally heard of the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Yan Shifan asked curiously, "When did you learn the Flying Thunder God Technique?"

After recalling for a moment, Shisui said, "Probably around April."

"It must have been during the time of peace talks with Yunyin. I didn't realize that Lord Sima had been there for so long." Yan Shifan sighed, as if he were reminiscing.

Shisui nodded, not quite understanding, but Sima Yi spoke up, saying, "It's understandable that you're busy with official duties after becoming Hokage, but next time you learn a new ninjutsu, you should remember to tell your teacher. He needs to understand your abilities to help you with strategies."

hiss~

Only after Sima Yi reminded him did Zhi Shui realize that he hadn't proactively left any insurance for Yan Shifan even though he had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique for so long.

"I'm so sorry, teacher. After learning the Flying Thunder God Technique, I made these two kunai. I wanted to give them to you and my grandfather as soon as possible, but then I started learning other things in the Book of Sealing. As time went by and I got busy, I forgot about them. I'm really sorry!"

Zhi Shui decisively apologized, acknowledging that it was indeed his fault. If Sima Yi hadn't brought it up today, he probably wouldn't have remembered it for a while.

Yan Shifan smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's alright. I trust your character. I was just expressing my feelings. You don't need to worry about it."

"Thank you for your forgiveness, teacher." Zhi Shui finally breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to create a rift between himself and Yan Shifan because of these things.

"Donglou's magnanimity is a blessing for Zhishui."

"Sima Gong is too kind."

The two exchanged a few polite words and then let the matter drop.

Then, Sima Yi put aside the matter of Obito for the time being and instead discussed the future development of Konoha.

"Konoha is ultimately just a village, and it would be difficult for it to develop on its own with only the manpower and resources available here."

Donglou and I have been discussing this frequently and have come up with a general direction that can help you break free from your constraints.

"Thank you, Grandpa, and thank you for your trouble, Teacher."

Zhi Shui sat up straight and listened quietly.

Seeing this, Yan Shifan explained, "The development of Konoha depends on human resources, material resources, and righteousness."

I presume you already understand the concept of righteousness, so I will not elaborate further. Within Konoha, righteousness lies with the Hokage; within the Land of Fire, righteousness lies with the Daimyo.

Unless Konoha possesses the strength to subdue the ninja world, we cannot touch the Daimyo, but the Daimyo is merely a constraint for Konoha.

If Konoha wants to develop, breaking free from the shackles of the Daimyo is its primary task.

Sima Gong and I have already made a plan. We are just waiting for the right time to raise an army. You don't need to ask about the details; just listen."

Seeing that Zhi Shui was getting restless, Yan Shifan directly suppressed his curiosity.

Helpless, Zhi Shui could only look at Sima Yi, who simply said, "The world is ever-changing, and we dare not say that we can control everything. We can only wait for the results before telling you."

"All right."

Seeing this, Yan Shifan continued, "After we seize the moral high ground, we will begin to seize manpower and resources. However, both manpower and resources are in the hands of the nobles, and they will not accept their fate so easily. This will be a nationwide upheaval, and its intensity will be no less than that of the Warring States period. However, we will weaken the power of these nobles in advance."

Shisui was a little confused. Taking the lead and then seizing manpower and resources sounded easy, just two steps, but the complexity and danger involved made Shisui's scalp tingle.

"Don't feel lost. You will accumulate enough experience before then," Sima Yi said softly, as if hinting at something.

Shisui was taken aback, carefully considering the meaning behind Sima Yi's words. After a long while, his brows relaxed, and he said excitedly, "Isn't this exactly what I did in Konoha?"

Win over the hearts of the people, seize the moral high ground, take over the position of clan leader, and seize manpower and resources from the elders.

Win over the hearts of the people, seize the moral high ground, take the position of Hokage, and take manpower and resources from the ninja clan.

Of course, these processes and purposes cannot be exactly the same, but there are always similarities that can be used as a reference for water stoppage.

"Haha, not bad. So, unless necessary, Donglou and I will not interfere in Konoha's internal affairs."

The affairs within the clan are demonstrations, while the affairs within the village are verifications and tests.

Zhi Shui was moved and immediately bowed in respect.

"Thank you, Grandpa, teacher!"

Yan Shifan nodded, then looked at Sima Yi, who continued, "Just now you were talking about domestic development. If you want to unify the ninja world, you should also find a way to eliminate the other four obstacles."

However, there are differences between countries, and we must set a strategic direction and avoid blindly launching attacks.

"Grandpa, please speak!"

"I reviewed the details of the three Ninja Wars and found that the strength of Kumogakure was second only to Konoha, followed by Iwagakure, and Sunagakure was the weakest."

Furthermore, the successive Raikage have all been quite ambitious, maintained good relations with the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, and experienced rapid growth. Combined with their geographical location, Kumogakure can be considered Konoha's number one enemy.

"Does the teacher mean we should deal with Kumogakure first?"

"No!"

Sima Yi waved his hand and said with a serious expression, "Kumakubi cannot be destroyed, only weakened. Our first target is Iwagakubi, or rather, the Tsuchikage Onoki."

The actions of Iwagakure in the Land of Grass demonstrate that Onoki is a man of great vision and strategic thinking. If Kumogakure were to face annihilation, he would certainly set aside his prejudices and send troops to help. However, if he knew when to stop, Iwagakure would be happy to see it happen.

Konoha had been besieged in every ninja war and had no time to deal with these matters. Sima Yi's words seemed to open up a new world for Shinobi.

"I see!"

"As for the other two countries, we can deal with them gradually."

The other two were useless; one was surrounded by sand, so it would be better not to fight it at all, and the other was isolated overseas, making it difficult to come and go. Sima Yi did not think their existence would have any impact on the battle.

"Of course, this is just a tentative strategy. Today, we're just giving you a general idea so you can focus on development."

"I understand. Thank you for your help, Grandpa and Teacher."