I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 167 Beware of those who like to praise their enemies

"Tatsuma, why have you been looking at the map the whole way?"

As they approached Konoha, during their final rest, Hatake Sakumo appeared behind Tatsuma, looking at the ninja world map in Tatsuma's hand with a curious expression.

He quickly noticed the writing and scribbling on the map. He squatted down, pointed to the two upper corners of the map, and said, "Why did you circle the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning?"

Tatsuma, who had been deep in thought, snapped out of it and said, "I've heard some information from the past few days, and something seems a bit strange."

"What's strange?"

Sakumo Hatake handed Tatsuma a half-eaten piece of grilled fish. The fish was a little burnt, but he didn't want to throw it away, which was why he had come to find Tatsuma. Tatsuma didn't look at it, took it directly, and took a bite.

They didn't even care about the taste of the grilled fish. After chewing a few times and swallowing it, the Hidden Cloud Village stopped harassing the northern front. Originally, they would occasionally send ninja squads to probe and harass the northern camp through the port.

Friction continued, but the Cloud Ninja repeatedly denied participating in the war. Even when presented with evidence of their invasion, they claimed they had gotten lost and had nothing to do with their Cloud Village.

Originally, it was thought that the Hidden Cloud Village would continue to cause trouble and keep tying down the Leaf Village's ninja forces, but in the past few days, they have retreated rapidly, and even the ports along the coast of the Land of Lightning have no trace of the Hidden Cloud Village ninjas.

Tatsuma felt something was off about this behavior. Perhaps it was his preconceived prejudice against the Cloud Ninja's brutes, but this situation was definitely abnormal. Tatsuma pointed to the map and said:

"It takes less than three days to travel from the border of the Land of Lightning to the Hidden Cloud Village, yet three thousand Cloud Ninja have not returned to the village."

Konoha also had spies in other countries and ninja villages. They might not be able to detect important secret operations, but major movements could not be kept secret.

When Sakumo Hatake heard Tatsuma's question, he stroked his stubble-covered chin and said, "When a large army marches, its speed is naturally slower than that of a small team or an individual. It's understandable that we haven't returned to the village for three days."

Tatsuma shook his head, drew a few lines on the Land of Lightning region on the map, and said, "Three thousand Cloud Ninja are active on the border and in these four ports. The port closest to Kumogakure is less than thirty hours away on foot. This is the result after the main force's speed has been reduced."

Furthermore, with four ports and border troops, their route back to the village would cover an extremely wide area, making it impossible for them to remain undetected. However, our scouts in the villages and towns surrounding Kumogakure have not spotted them at all.

Hearing this, Hatake Sakumo frowned, and Orochimaru appeared behind them at some point, peering at the map and listening to Tatsuma's explanation.

Just as he was about to hear Tatsuma's reasoning, Tatsuma suddenly stopped, started eating the burnt grilled fish, quickly took a few bites to fill his stomach, and then said:

"I suspect that after the Cloud Ninja stop harassing our northern front, their next destination will not be back to the Hidden Cloud Village, but here."

As he spoke, Chenma drew a few more lines on the map with his pen, and soon these lines intersected.

"Lei Gu Ridge?"

Sakumo Hatake murmured, and Tatsuma nodded. This was a high mountain range that blocked the cold currents from the Land of Frost, so it could be considered part of the border. Although he knew the location, Sakumo Hatake didn't understand why Tatsuma would make such a conjecture.

Orochimaru then crouched down and said, "We can attack the Land of Iron from here at any time."

The sudden sound startled Tatsuma. He turned his head and was met with Orochimaru's excessively pale face. After catching his breath, Tatsuma nodded and said:

"Lord Orochimaru thinks the same way I do."

"But why would the Land of Lightning be interested in attacking the Land of Iron? The Land of Frost lies between them; do they intend to engulf these two icy lands?"

Sakumo Hatake frowned, looking at the two who seemed to understand, and wondered if he was not smart enough.

"Tatsuma-kun, let me guess your opinion: The Land of Clouds feigns an attack on the Land of Iron to lure Mifune back to defend, diverting forces that were fighting against the Rain Ninja, allowing Hanzo to escape more quickly and continue his eastward expansion."

But Kumogakure probably won't actually attack. After all, they just want to escalate the conflict between other countries and villages. If others suffer losses, it's equivalent to them profiting, right?

After Orochimaru finished speaking, Tatsuma nodded, drew a line from Takigakure to the Land of Iron, and said, "The withdrawal of Mifune's troops means that this defensive line has been breached."

The war reparations that Hanzo extorted from Sunagakure replenished their losses during this period, allowing them to continue their eastward expansion without rest. At the same time, the withdrawal of Sunagakure and Konoha from the Land of Rain also relieved Hanzo of any worries about the future.

The last person who wants to see this situation is Konoha. Therefore, once Mifune returns to defend, Konoha must send troops to these countries to stop the eastward expansion of Amegakure.

"The war reparations Hanzo received from Sunagakure will be depleted, and we, forced to reinforce the army, will also be weakened. Only Kumogakure, with just one large-scale and sufficiently realistic feint attack, can weaken both us and Amegakure."

After hearing Orochimaru and Tatsuma's explanation, Sakumo Hatake's face darkened, and he said, "Kumogakure? How dare they?"

"Because you, Lord Sakumo, have left, there's no one in the Uchiha clan who can keep things in check right now."

Tatsuma said in a deep voice, but Orochimaru didn't join the conversation. Instead, he pointed to another corner of the map and said, "What about here?"

"The daimyo of the Land of Earth has allocated funds again, but it's not for war, it's for economic development. What kind of economy can Iwagakure develop in a place like that, especially during wartime? Unless it's exporting things that others need."

"Ninja tools".

Orochimaru's train of thought was perfectly aligned with Tatsuma's. As soon as Tatsuma finished speaking, Orochimaru picked up the conversation, saying, "Perfect timing, Hanzo has received a large sum of money and has nowhere to spend it."

The Hidden Stone Village receives money from the Daimyo to produce ninja tools, and the Land of Rain pays the Hidden Stone Village to buy ninja tools. This back-and-forth profit is what is known as economic development.

Are they really not afraid of the war escalating further?

Sakumo Hatake stared intently at the map, that cold, austere aura returning to him. Tatsuma shifted his position, moving a little further away from Hatake, then frowned and said with a stern face:

"Clearly, they all know what they are doing, and in such a short time, Iwagakure can also use insufficient production capacity as a reason to limit the quantity of each batch of supplies."

They don't want the war to escalate; they just want it to continue. They don't want the war in Konoha to stop.

Sakumo Hatake stood up and said, "No, we can't let them succeed. At the very least, we must hold the northern front. Even if we have to go through the Land of Frost, we must stop Kumogakure!"

"Sigh~"

Tatsuma sighed, shook his head, and said, "Lord Sakumo, if you return to the northern camp now, can you still be the camp commander?"

Orochimaru could no longer remain calm; anxiety appeared on his face, and he softly uttered three words: "Ujiha".

The Uchiha clan had finally managed to complete the handover and obtain the camp command position from Sakumo Hatake. How could they possibly give it up now? The village's higher-ups would never allow such a thing to happen.

If such an order were actually issued, the camp over there would likely be in turmoil, and without the ninja army, Hatake Sakumo would be unable to stop the Cloud Ninja.

The reason why Kumogakure dared not make any major moves was because of Sakumo Hatake and his ninja army, but Kumogakure was not afraid of Sakumo Hatake or his ninja army alone.

Sakumo Hatake's immense strength, coupled with his superhuman command abilities, enabled him to contend with the main force of the Cloud Ninja.

He lacks political talent and cannot quickly integrate various information and analyze hidden plans like Orochimaru and Tatsuma. However, in terms of command and personal strength on the battlefield, Sakumo Hatake, the new generation of Konoha, is undoubtedly the best.

However, at this time, Hatake Sakumo was no longer able to command the ninja army in the northern camp, so his threat was greatly reduced, and Kumogakure naturally began to act recklessly.

"Tatsuma, what are your thoughts?"

Orochimaru, whose mind was also in a bit of a mess, looked at Tatsuma, who sighed again and said, "There's no way to prevent people from dying."

"Tell me, what war doesn't kill people?"

Orochimaru encouraged him, and Tatsuma nodded, drawing a double arrow at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, saying, "If the ninjas of Kumogakure can get lost, it's not necessarily true that all the ninjas of Konoha know the way."

After he finished speaking, Orochimaru and Sakumo Hatake's eyes lit up. Before the two could praise him or start a discussion, Tatsuma moved his hand towards Iwagakure and said, "As for this place..."

I heard that yesterday, the dignified Third Tsuchikage praised me, a nobody, at the Ninja Academy graduation ceremony? And implied that there was no other young genius like me in the entire Iwagakure village?

Such a generous gift cannot go unreturned. We can also praise Lord Tsuchikage for his benevolence and righteousness, for supporting the Land of Rain, and for promoting the rise of the Sixth Great Power.

Then they praised the Tsuchikage's strength, saying that as long as he was alive, even if there was another large neighboring country, the people of the Land of Earth would be safe and secure!

Moreover, since the Tsuchikage has shown such support for the Land of Rain, the people of the Land of Rain should also remember the Tsuchikage's contributions.

Without the support of the Tsuchikage, how could the Land of Rain possibly hope to become the sixth largest nation? The Land of Earth's support for the Land of Rain is like a parent raising a child; though not their biological child, the Land of Rain is like an adopted son or foster child to the Land of Earth.

Hearing Tatsuma's sarcastic words, Orochimaru's expression became quite interesting. This kid... his appearance is probably the only thing that's pure; if you cut him open, even his blood and heart are probably black, right? And that's not all.

I suppose that the spirit that enters the Pure Land after death is also utterly dark? Indeed, those who like to praise their enemies, no matter how sincere they seem, are actually incredibly filthy inside.

However, it must be said that this kid's two schemes—no, the scheme of using someone else's methods against them—are really feasible!

Orochimaru said, "After we go back, you will come with me to report for duty. Take your map with you."

(End of this chapter)