This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 63 Shikaku's Restlessness

After leaving the meeting room, Ryuji used his mental ocean to instruct the Third Kazekage to prepare for the deployment of troops.

Logistical preparations, personnel mobilization...

The once quiet village suddenly became lively and bustling.

Seeing this scene, Shikaku became anxious.

At first, he thought that Ryuji's strength was just a bluff, and even now... after seeing Sunagakure's pre-battle mobilization, he still hasn't changed his mind.

But he couldn't be sure that his idea was correct.

During the ten-odd days of negotiations, Shikaku subtly inquired about Sunagakure's intentions—they also did not want to start a war with Konoha right now.

It was precisely because he understood Sunagakure's intentions that Shikaku dared to boldly negotiate and bargain, without worrying at all that the other party would lose patience and thus launch a war.

However, he dared not gamble.

Although he knew that Sunagakure did not want to go to war with Konoha at this time, he did not know the specifics.

He didn't know that the reason Sunagakure didn't want war was because with the infinite water circulation system, there was no reason to wage war; he also didn't know how many people within Sunagakure actually wanted peace and how many wanted war.

After all, from his strategic perspective, Sunagakure had a need to wage war due to environmental issues.

If it were him, he certainly wouldn't let go of this once-in-a-century opportunity.

He felt that the reason why some people in Sunagakure advocated peace was not only due to the short-sightedness of the higher-ups, but also related to the recent internal changes and the information he released during the negotiations.

The Sand Village recently underwent a major reshuffle at the top, with almost all the leaders of important departments being replaced by young people.

Young people lack prestige and have only been in office for a short time, making it difficult for them to fully familiarize themselves with and control their departments. As a result, the operation between various agencies will certainly not be as smooth as before.

In addition, there was the war between Sunagakure and the Allied Shinobi Villages not long ago... In that battle, although Sunagakure won an overwhelming victory, it also suffered losses of about a thousand men.

At this time, the strength of Sunagakure had been greatly reduced.

Secondly, during the negotiations, Shikaku informed the other party that Konoha would use diplomatic means to offer benefits to Amegakure and Iwagakure to withdraw.

In other words, in the eyes of Sunagakure, the situation facing Konoha was not as bad as it seemed.

Even if Sunagakure were to join the war, Konoha would only be fighting on two fronts, simultaneously attacking Kumo, Kusanagi, and Sunagakure.

Although this is still a military force that Konoha cannot resist, with its combat strength greatly reduced, Sunagakure will have to pay a heavy price if it wants to reap the rewards of victory.

Is it better to pay a heavy price to reap the rewards of victory, or to do nothing and still gain benefits that are less than those of victory?

This is a difficult choice even for Shikaku. The Sunagakure high command meeting will likely be divided into two factions: those advocating war and those advocating peace.

Based on the above judgment, Shikaku felt that Sunagakure was bluffing at this moment, but he was not sure.

"That was a brilliant move!"

Shikaku felt somewhat helpless.

Those within the family understand their own affairs... Although Amegakure withdrew from the Allied Forces, Danzo also sent him a message to assure him that Iwagakure would withdraw soon.

But Konoha didn't offer any real benefits; they just kept making empty promises and using empty promises to deceive people.

If Sunagakure launches the first attack on Konoha, then not only will Iwagakure not be able to withdraw from the Allied Forces, but even Amegakure, which has already withdrawn, will rejoin the siege of Konoha.

After all, it's five against one... and three of them are opponents of the same level. No matter how you look at it, it's a crushing defeat.

It was a victory that was practically handed to them for free.

"Sunagakure doesn't know the specifics of Amegakure's withdrawal. In their eyes, it's just a diplomatic victory for Konoha, so they want to put pressure on me before Iwagakure withdraws, so that I can make a decision as soon as possible."

Shikaku quickly pieced together what he believed to be the truth.

He is under a lot of pressure right now. Even though he thinks Sunagakure is bluffing, he is afraid to make a decision because he is worried that his misjudgment will lead to the destruction of Konoha in this war.

"If we agree to Sunagakure's conditions, the village will suffer a great loss and create a powerful enemy in the future. If we don't agree, we will ruin this great situation and become a sinner to the village, which will also be destroyed in the war." Shikaku was anxious for a long time and finally made a compromise. "Let's make some concessions on the conditions first, and then use them to bring the other side to the negotiating table to continue negotiations. As long as we can drag it out until Iwagakure also withdraws, we will have more bargaining chips at that time."

but.

Shikaku had high hopes, but Sunagakure wouldn't negotiate with him at all.

There is no third option: accept the conditions for peace or reject the conditions for war.

After being rejected several times by the Sunagakure leader who offered to make concessions and discuss the details with them, Shikaku became even more anxious and began to doubt his own judgment.

Given Sunagakure's resolute attitude, do they already know the specifics of Amegakure's withdrawal?

Or perhaps, Sunagakure lost patience, and the pro-war faction gained the upper hand?

The immense pressure caused this young, still-young, and not yet as composed and mature as he would later become, genius strategist to lose his usual calm judgment and struggle to make the right choices.

Ultimately, he had Ninja Hawk bring the situation back to Konoha so that the Konoha leadership could make a decision.

……

The words are divided into two parts.

Shikaku was anxious and restless, while Ryuji was quite content.

After instructing the Third Kazekage on the war mobilization, he went home to continue his research. Regardless of the final outcome of the negotiations, strengthening oneself is never a bad thing.

He still has a lot to study... Yamato's arm, Naruto's blood, the Dragon Vein Seal, the corpse of the Swift Release ninja, and improvements to the "Armor".

The improvement to A was minor; it was simply a matter of replacing the chakra absorption device.

This chakra absorption device is the result of Centipede's research. It can absorb chakra that has undergone nature transformation. However, the device is a bit too big, so Ryuji needs to improve it and reduce its size before it can be installed on the armor.

With the observation equipment in place, this is a very simple task.

After all, there was already mature technology; it was just a matter of improvement. The observation instrument deduced the improvement plan in just half an hour.

Ryuji then used a 3D printer to make it and installed it in the palms of "A".

The principle behind the Dragon Vein Seal had already been studied before Ryuji returned to Sunagakure.

This seal is achieved by establishing a connection between the ley lines and the bloodline through a blood pact, thus sealing the ley lines. Only bloodlines connected to the ley lines can open or close it.

And the bloodline connected to the earth's veins is naturally that of the Loulan Queen.

It's impossible for Ryuji to entrust such an important seal to someone who was forced to join Sunagakure not long ago and has no strength yet.

Although the dragon vein will be protected by three gates of life and death, even the most powerful fortress can be breached from within. While the possibility of Sarah's betrayal is very low, it is still a precaution.

However, Sarah didn't know how to sever the connection between her bloodline and the ley lines.

Therefore, Ryuji needs to find a way to sever the connection between the two.

Thank you so much, Big-faced Cat Meow Meow!

(End of this chapter)