I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 178 Employees should work harder so that the boss can get a new car sooner.

"Tatsuma, tell me your guess."

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi did not directly give the correct answer, Minato's intelligence was enough for him to understand that he had guessed wrong, while Tatsuma had guessed right.

He felt increasingly inferior to Tatsuma, and at the same time, he perked up his ears, wanting to hear how Tatsuma managed to guess and deduce the truth.

Tatsuma nodded and said, "The northern front is held by the Uchiha. In terms of combat, the Uchiha's abilities are second to none. Even when facing a larger number of enemies, they cannot be easily breached."

Meanwhile, there are a large number of Konoha ninja guards patrolling the bay. Even if the Cloud Ninja changes direction and launches an operation against the Land of Iron by sea, they will not be able to hide it from Konoha.

The withdrawal of the three ships was probably a spur-of-the-moment decision, or a choice made out of desperation. Both of the Cloud Ninja's routes would have given us enough time to discuss with the Land of Iron, so I don't think it was caused by the Cloud Ninja's actions.

The most likely reason Mifune received the most timely and crucial information to withdraw his troops was from the main battlefield of the samurai group, namely the war against the Amegakure.

If the battle had continued in the past, with the assistance of the Konoha ninja, Mifune's samurai would not have lost to the Amegakure ninja. Only an unexpected event could have occurred, such as Hanzo, who had never participated in direct combat with the Amegakure ninja.

At this point, Tatsuma paused, giving the others room to interject. Danzo immediately spoke up, saying, "Then why does it have to be Hanzo? Onoki could do it, and the Seven-Tails from Takigakure could do it too."

The Tailed Beasts are kept extremely secret. Now, three generations have passed since the village was founded, and the existence of the Tailed Beasts has been diminished with each generation. Most of Tatsuma's peers don't even know that the Tailed Beasts exist.

However, Tatsuma and Minato were too close to the higher-ups, so even if they didn't actively inquire, they would hear a lot of news. Therefore, Danzo knew that the two of them knew about the existence of the Tailed Beasts and even about their distribution.

Therefore, Danzo was merely using the Tailed Beasts to confuse Tatsuma's judgment, wanting to see if Tatsuma had overlooked it or if he truly had the answer.

Not disappointing Danzo, Tatsuma spoke without needing to think again: "It has been a year and a half since the outbreak of the war, and if we include the previous reasons, it has been close to two years."

Ōnoki and Iwagakure have not directly participated, which indicates that they lack the conditions to participate in the war, whether it is money or public support. As for the Land of Rain, with whom they only have some interests, it is not worth their time to take action.

Furthermore, even if Iwagakure chose such a poor time to participate in the war, it wouldn't be Onoki who would take action. Iwagakure might send a ninja army, but a Kage would...

At this point, Tatsuma shook his head, and the rest was self-explanatory. He changed the subject, saying, "As for the Seven-Tails, if it really is a tailed beast going berserk, then the message that came through wouldn't be a retreat, but a request for reinforcements."

After saying that, Tatsuma shrugged, as if to say that such a question was too simplistic.

His attitude did not anger Danzo; on the contrary, it made Danzo appreciate him even more. Minato also nodded repeatedly. Compared to Tatsuma, he had missed too many things in his thinking just now.

As expected, it has to be Tatsuma!

Hiruzen Sarutobi had unconsciously started filling his pipe with tobacco, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, nodded in satisfaction, and then asked, "So, what do you think Konoha should do?"

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma first looked at Minato, asking with his eyes if he wanted to answer first, but Minato shook his head slightly, as he still had a lot to learn in this area.

If it were in private, just between him and Tatsuma, he could offer his humble opinion and have Tatsuma correct him.

However, it's best to leave it at that in front of the Hokage and Danzo, lest his naive views waste time and lead to serious matters.

Seeing this, Tatsuma didn't press the matter. He withdrew his gaze and said, "The first step should be to support the withdrawal of the Iron Country's troops."

Upon hearing this, both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo frowned. However, before they could speak, Tatsuma continued, "But there is a condition: that is, the ninja legion stationed with us on the northern front will have their functions swapped."

They can withdraw from the Land of Waterfall and return to their own Land of Iron, but they must ensure that the ninjas of the Land of Lightning do not invade our Land of Fire.

Meanwhile, all the liberated ninjas on the northern front, as a supplement to the samurai, traveled from the Land of Frost, assisting various countries in driving out the Rain Ninjas, and then arrived in the Land of Waterfall to provide support.

"This is completely pointless, and the time wasted in the handover between the two armies will only allow the Rain Ninja to rampage and plunder resources across the countries."

Danzo interrupted, a slight disappointment showing on his face, but Hiruzen Sarutobi was not in a hurry. Instead, he smiled at Tatsuma and said, "Go on."

Tatsuma nodded and said, "The key to the first step is actually what Lord Danzo said: let the Land of Rain sweep across the countries."

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, but did not interrupt. Tatsuma continued, "The purpose of the Northern Legion heading west is not to help various countries protect their resources, but to ensure that the Rain Ninja return with a bountiful harvest."

During this period, we must also explain to all countries that it is not that Konoha is standing idly by while the Rain Ninja run rampant in their territory, but rather that the decision of the Land of Iron has forced Konoha to resort to this inefficient remedial measure.

This step is not for personal gain, but to shift the conflict, transferring the tension between Konoha and Kumogakure to the samurai of the Land of Iron, while simultaneously diverting the discontent of other nations towards us to the Land of Iron.

At this point, the first step became clear, and Danzo, who had initially looked disappointed, began to appreciate Tatsuma again.

However, Tatsuma ignored him and said, "The second step is to exaggerate Hanzo's gains and let all the people of the Land of Rain know that their leader, Hanzo, has acquired enough resources to help them win."

The Land of Rain, which has been affected by the war for more than a year, is now riddled with holes. Once they know that Hanzo has obtained a large amount of resources, Hanzo will only have two choices left.

One option is to use the resources for the reconstruction of the Land of Rain, but this would consume all of Hanzo's acquired resources, and even that wouldn't be enough. The other option is to use the resources to sustain the war effort and exchange them for greater benefits.

The key is to get Hanzo to hand over the resources he's acquired in a short time. Given Hanzo's ambition, he definitely won't use them on the former.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. He knew that Hanzo's ambitions were far greater than simply obtaining the resources to rebuild the Land of Rain. Therefore, he would only choose to use these resources to gain even greater benefits.

Chenma slightly adjusted his words and said, "The third step is to launch a three-pronged or even more-pronged attack on the Rain Ninja, forcing them to fight us in a decisive battle."

Unlike four months ago, we have recovered from the battlefield setbacks, and the ninjas have had ample time to rest.

"snort!"

Danzo suddenly snorted, clearly Tatsuma's words had unintentionally touched a nerve, after all, he was the one who led the team to defeat.

Tatsuma was stunned for a second before he reacted. He was about to defend himself when Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, indicating that he should not take it to heart.

Seeing this, Tatsuma ignored Danzo's emotions and continued, "As for the Rain Ninja, they are exhausted after repeated battles. If war breaks out, our Konoha will surely win."

"In a battle between legions, perhaps it will be as you say, but what about Hanzo? His poison can change the entire battlefield."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his cigarette and said as he exhaled, "Although he is the leader of a small country's ninjas, Hanzo's strength is not as weak as the Land of Rain's strength is to our Land of Fire."

Hanzo's strength is comparable to that of the Five Kage. Even if Sakumo were to take action, he wouldn't dare say he could defeat Hanzo. How do you plan to deal with him?

The best solution, of course, would be for Hiruzen Sarutobi to take action personally. Tatsuma was also eager to witness the strength of the Third Hokage, who was still in his prime.

But Tatsuma also knew that this was unrealistic. Hiruzen Sarutobi was the kind of person who didn't want to give others cause for criticism. If you wanted him to actually take action, you would have to fight him to the point of no return, like the Konoha Crush plan launched by his disciple Orochimaru in the original work.

"As long as Hanzo is contained, the two armies on the battlefield will be able to decide the victor. I think there are quite a few people who can do that, such as your three disciples, who are also my teachers."

Upon hearing Tatsuma's solution, Hiruzen Sarutobi first nodded, then frowned. After a while, his brows relaxed, and he smiled, saying, "Hanzo takes the victory in the battle, and we, Konoha, take the spoils of war."

However, I'd still like to hear why you sent Tsunade and the others, instead of Sakumo or someone else?

"Because others will die if they fail, and if it were Lord Sakumo, and he accidentally made a mistake and Hanzo killed him, the other four great nations would come to his aid and even support the Land of Rain."

"Haha~ If Tsunade heard you, her disciple, say such things about her, she would definitely lose her temper and beat you up, and then make you say things like she is definitely stronger than Hanzo."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile, then slightly suppressed his smile and gave Danzo a smug look.

Isn't he excellent? He's my grand-disciple!

Danzo was so angry that he gritted his teeth, wishing he could kidnap Tatsuma on the spot. This three-step strategy, with its hidden darkness and manipulation of people's hearts, was most suitable for his roots!

Oh, no, he no longer has roots. His roots are now in the hands of Sakumo Hatake.

That despicable Hatake Sakumo!

After enjoying his old friend's wonderful pantomime performance, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Tatsuma and Minato and said, "You two will participate as scribes in the meeting later."

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma and Minato both jumped. Although they were only in the role of scribes, this was still the first time that Chunin had participated in a Jonin meeting, wasn't it?

The confidentiality requirements for Jonin meetings are extremely high. Even tasks like serving tea and water must be done by Jonin, because only Jonin can be trusted by the village to pass on secrets to them.

Even Jonin can leak secrets, and they might reveal secrets under torture by the enemy, but the chances are undoubtedly much smaller than those of Chunin and Genin.

However, Chenma quickly realized that if he were the secretary, who would carry over all the things he said here today to the meeting?

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips drooping involuntarily, Tatsuma realized.

Indeed, the idea that employees should work hard to get their boss a new car sooner is more than just a joke.

(End of this chapter)