I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 259 Those who live in the clouds cannot see those who struggle to survive in the mud.

Upon hearing Shikaku's answer, Shikaku and Tatsuma both nodded in agreement. Hiruzen Sarutobi also showed a solemn expression. Xiao, who had just returned to the shadows, scratched his head. Had he missed something?

Wasn't it said that the Mist Ninja were harassing the fishermen of the Land of Fire? How did it suddenly become a matter of betrayal?

Shikaku looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had a serious expression. After being stared at for a while, Hiruzen turned to Shikaku and Tatsuma, who were sitting down, and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Lu Yuan looked at Chen Ma, signaling him to speak first. Chen Ma nodded and, without refusing, said directly, "I also think so. Ouhe is a traitor to Kirigakure."

Or rather, they were among the traitors. To launch an uprising, in addition to manpower, one also needs sufficient resources, which are not easily obtained. Their sheer quantity would attract attention anywhere.

If it were within the Land of Water, it would definitely be discovered by the Mizukage and his faction. Therefore, the best way is to purchase from other countries. Although it will still attract attention, the consequences will not be as severe.

If the Mizukage discovers their rebellion, it is highly likely that their plot will be thwarted before it even begins. But if they are discovered by ninjas from another country, the worst that would happen is that they would lose a few people and some money.

Since the Land of Water is located overseas with no neighboring countries, the Land of Fire became their primary target. Awa has a large enough port and a seafood trading market with a huge volume of transactions.

Here, their sale of seafood attracts little attention, and using the Land of Fire's currency, they can purchase goods there and then, under the guise of deep-sea fishing, transport them back to the Land of Water by ship.

After saying that, Tatsuma noticed that Hiruzen Sarutobi's serious expression gradually relaxed, and Xiao in the darkness also suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"

Xiao also developed a good impression of Shikaku, who was about to take over his position. He thought that Shikaku was able to come up with an answer so quickly, and that he would definitely become an assistant to the Hokage, just like Yasha.

Shikaku looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a strange expression. He thought the Hokage was a bit silly. The Hokage should be happy about this, so why did he look so solemn?

Just as he was wondering, Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at him, his previously relaxed expression tightening slightly. He tapped his fingers on the table and said:

"We should not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, but since it has affected our Land of Fire and endangered its people, even if the final result is beneficial to the Land of Fire and Konoha, we cannot support it."

So, Tatsuma, you did a great job in this matter.

Upon hearing this, Shikaku lowered his head. He hadn't considered this point before; he had only thought that the matter was beneficial to Konoha from a holistic perspective. It seemed that his father's statement that he was inferior to Tatsuma was not an intentional denigration.

Honestly, if Tatsuma is so amazing, why does he need to do this? Wouldn't it be better to just go back to sleep?

Lu Yuan gave his son a deep look. Although he knew Hiruzen Sarutobi well, he knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi was just trying to make amends after realizing what had happened.

However, his son was not without flaws. He was too indifferent to things. The ninja world was not like playing shogi. In shogi, one can easily sacrifice pieces to win, but one cannot make decisions in reality.

Just like a few years ago, before World War II officially began, in the local war with the Land of Wind, the tactics proposed by Tatsuma were only agreed upon by the village after a long meeting.

The reason they agreed was because it was a matter between ninjas, and the ninja village had the authority to make the decision.

However, this incident involving the Hidden Mist Village involves civilians, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Daimyo. If Konoha is aware of the situation but fails to report it, or even engages in cover-up or financial assistance, the Daimyo will inevitably retaliate, even if the final outcome is positive.

A daimyo may not care about the lives of commoners. To put it bluntly, commoners are merely the assets of a daimyo, and the death of some commoners simply means the loss of some assets.

However, ninja villages cannot do anything that harms civilians, because this would be an act that damages the interests of the daimyo. Even if such an act could bring the daimyo more real wealth, the ninja village cannot do it unless the daimyo gives the order.

Just as the daimyo would contact the ninja village immediately to hear the village's opinion if a ninja committed a crime, both sides have bottom lines that cannot be crossed, let alone trampled upon.

Shikaku's problem is that he's too aloof and doesn't see the intricacies of things. He's not mature enough and doesn't seem like Tatsuma.

Thinking it over, Lu Yuan gave Tatsuma an appreciative look. On one hand, he genuinely admired him, and on the other hand, since Hiruzen Sarutobi had also expressed his admiration, how could he not admire him?

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sense of relief. Indeed, being old had its advantages; he could casually say things that made people feel that he was speaking after careful consideration based on his own life experience.

He then looked at Lu Yuan and asked, "Lu Yuan, do you have anything to add?"

Lu Yuan nodded and said, "Third Hokage, and Tatsuma's considerations are very thoughtful. This will indeed reduce a lot of trouble for our Land of Fire, but it is better to guide than to block."

Since there are rebels in Kirigakure and they pose a potential threat to our Land of Fire, we must keep track of their movements to prevent them from posing a threat to our Land of Fire.

I heard that because of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's rampage, the Hidden Cloud Village has purchased a lot more supplies, but the chances of these supplies being used are slim.

Therefore, after a brief period of vigilance, these supplies will inevitably become inventory. The Hidden Cloud Village will certainly be eager to sell off these goods to obtain more working capital or resources for the village's better development.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled slightly. This Nara Shikagawa wasn't talking about "it's better to guide than to block" at all; he was clearly trying to shift the blame.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi was not against his plan, so he continued, "However, this kind of interference in other countries' internal affairs is always wrong."

If the Hidden Cloud Village truly engaged in such activities, the Land of Fire, as a nation that values ​​friendship and peace, should inform those who should be informed.

The rogue ninja of Kirigakure can make deals with anyone and potentially benefit the other party. Although the biggest benefit is the reduction of the Land of Water's national strength, both parties in the trade will benefit.

Take the Hidden Cloud Village as an example. If the plan succeeds, it will not only make a huge profit, but it will definitely make more than the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth. However, this is not what Konoha is happy to see.

Therefore, if Kumogakure wants to take this opportunity, it must bear the retaliation from the Land of Water, and even the hostility from other countries.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood, and his smile grew even brighter. He said, "Well, then send Ouhe's corpse to the interrogation department. Once our suspicions are correct, we'll proceed according to your plan."

"Yes, Third Generation."

Lu Yuan gave Lu Jiu a look, and Lu Jiu reluctantly picked up the scroll on Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk with a look of disgust.

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand and said to the two men, "Go and investigate. Tatsuma and I have other matters to attend to."

"Yes, Third Hokage." *2

After the father and son left, Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile, "Tatsuma, your contributions on this trip are immeasurable. Not only in the matter of Kumogakure, but even the return journey was extremely beneficial to the village. Is there any reward you would like?"

After a moment's thought, Tatsuma said with a touch of humility and embarrassment, "I was involved in both incidents with others, so it's probably inappropriate to reward me alone."

"There's no need for that. You deserve your reward, and so do others. I've already given Minato a reward. As for Sakumo and Tsunade, neither of them needs anything, so they've been accumulating rewards."

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi say this, Tatsuma asked curiously, "Minato?"

He didn't ask directly because it would be against the rules; the rewards for such a special, high-level mission should also be kept secret. However, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew about Tatsuma and Minato's relationship, so he didn't hide anything and said:

"Minato exchanged for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."

Tatsuma frowned, not understanding why Minato wanted to exchange for this technique. The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was different from the Shadow Clone Technique; the former was a forbidden technique.

The more clones a user creates, the more chakra is required, and the more feedback information is generated when the ninjutsu disappears, potentially causing serious harm to the user.

Minato's fighting style doesn't fit this technique, and with his intelligence, he doesn't need to use multiple shadow clones to assist in training. Four shadow clones are enough; any more would be detrimental.

Seeing Tatsuma's confusion and slight worry, Hiruzen Sarutobi added, "He didn't exchange it for himself."

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Tatsuma understood: Minato wasn't suited for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, but Kushina was.

Furthermore, Tatsuma deduced from Hiruzen Sarutobi's words the level of reward the village was willing to offer. The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was an A-rank forbidden technique, but Minato intended to give it away to someone else, so his reward should be discounted.

In other words, the village was actually willing to offer a higher level of reward, especially since Tatsuma had also discovered what appeared to be a rogue ninja from Kirigakure.

After thinking for a while, Tatsuma boldly said, "Hokage-sama, I learned from the Second Hokage's notes that he once had a technique called the Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tags Technique."

Upon hearing Tatsuma's request for a reward, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow and said, "The Mutual Explosion Tag Technique, huh? That's an extremely dangerous technique. My teacher once said that this technique cannot be performed by a living person."

Hiruzen Sarutobi politely declined, but Tatsuma was unwilling to give up. After all, he had been eyeing this technique for a long time. So he gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a determined look and said:

"As early as when I was reading the Second Hokage's notes, I was well aware of the danger of this technique. Therefore, I developed the medical ninjutsu Yin Healing and Wound Destruction, a technique that does not require injury to be performed before it can heal the wound."

Exposing the Yin Healing Technique would likely attract the attention of Hiruzen Sarutobi, and even if Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't learn it, he might still want to collect this technique for the village.

However, if he could obtain the technique of multiplying explosive tags in exchange, then Chenma would feel that using Yin Healing and Destruction as a bargaining chip was not a loss. Moreover, even if he gave it up, there was no guarantee that anyone could learn it.

This technique requires precise control of chakra at the level of a medical ninja, as well as a deep understanding of human anatomy. Only a highly experienced medical ninja could possibly meet these requirements.

At the same time, this technique also contains many principles of curse seals. Tatsuma, with the guidance of Tsunade and Orochimaru, spent several years to complete the initial version of this technique. It would probably not be so easy for others to learn it.

Hearing Tatsuma's insistence, Hiruzen Sarutobi also began to think. He was unfamiliar with the Yin Healing Technique, but it had been described by Sakumo Hatake and Minato during their previous report that it was a technique that could heal injuries in real time.

Such a technique can indeed offset some of the damage caused by the multiplication of explosive tags, but this technique also has limitations. Once the chakra required for the injury to heal exceeds the remaining chakra in the body, then the chakra will be depleted.

Tatsuma just demonstrated the consequences of having one's chakra drained; Tsunade couldn't save him, Orochimaru couldn't save him, and only the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest seemed to have the ability to do so.

Overall, it's still too dangerous, but a direct refusal might displease Tatsuma. After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi said:

"The technique of mutual multiplication of explosive tags is inspired by the skills of another group of people in the early years who mastered chakra but were not ninjas—the Onmyoji, which was called Shikigami Technique, or Shikigami."

By using chakra and paper, it achieves an effect similar to ninjutsu, but its upper limit is limited. It is generally used as an auxiliary technique. Only the Second Hokage elevated the Shikigami Technique to a new level.

I cannot give you the technique of mutual explosion tags for the time being, but the technique of paper shards. In Konoha, there are ninjas who have mastered this skill, such as Jiraiya.

"Alright then, you should first learn the Paper Technique from Jiraiya. If, after you've mastered it, you still haven't given up on pursuing the Mutual Explosion Tags Technique, I can give you a chance to learn it. What do you think?"

"Thank you, Hokage."

(End of this chapter)