I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 461 The best way to shift internal contradictions is to create external contradictions.

"Sadaharu is growing really fast. He's only six months old, right? He's already bigger than many adult cats."

At Tatsuma's house, Minato was holding Sadaharu, who could be described as a clump, and trimming the fur on its paw pads. That's the downside of long-haired cats; fur grows between their toes, and if you don't trim it, they'll slip and even get poop and pee on their paws when they're digging in the litter box.

Tatsuma himself tried to prune Sadaharu, but Sadaharu wouldn't cooperate. Fortunately, Minato was happy to be a temporary babysitter.

At this moment, Sadaharu probably realized that Minato was talking badly about it. It gave Minato a bear hug, grabbed one of his hands, and gently bit Minato's wrist with a ferocious expression before starting to lick it.

"Useless."

Chenma rolled his eyes. This little thing has two faces. Why is he so devoted to me?

Minato took the opportunity to rub Sadaharu's belly a few times, then picked up the relaxed Sadaharu and began trimming his fur, saying, "Sadaharu seems to have become a lot quieter."

"His voice is about to change, he'll soon be able to speak like a human. When that happens, this guy will probably be babbling on and on in human language all day long."

Tatsuma rolled up the scroll, looked at Sadaharu lying in Minato's arms with a smug look on his face, and said, "But being able to speak human language means being able to understand human language. It should be even more interesting when we go and kill the eggs."

"ha!!!"

Sadaharu seemed to understand, and breathed on Tatsuma. Tatsuma crossed his legs, a wicked smile on his face, and looked at the pair of small bells hanging from Sadaharu's head, muttering:

"Over the years, I haven't tried performing surgery on a species other than humans. Maybe I should try stepping out of my comfort zone?"

Upon hearing this, Sadaharu curled his fluffy tail to cover his little bell, turned his face and snuggled into Minato's arms. Minato was amused and said, "Tatsuma, don't scare him."

Sadaharu is a ninja cat, not an ordinary house cat. Even if it's not spayed/neutered, it won't affect its health, right?

As he spoke, he tapped Sadaharu's forehead. After releasing his grip, Sadaharu nodded in agreement, completely agreeing with Minato's words. After all, it was a cat with chakra; how could a little bell cause it any inconvenience?!

As for whether it works or not? Did Sakamoto Tatsuma ever use it?!

After trimming Haru's leg hair, Minato straightened his body, patted his rear, and said, "Go train!"

Sadaharu shook his fur and walked to the scratching post to begin his training. Seeing Sadaharu leave, Tatsuma said, "You probably know about what happened in Iwagakure, right?"

"I heard that Sunagakure received some supplies and money as aid, while Kumogakure received supplies and money, as well as a child with a different type of Lava Release ninja bloodline. I wonder if he can successfully awaken it."

If possible, then Kumogakure would have two types of Lava Release Kekkei Genkai ninjas. Iwagakure has really suffered a huge loss this time; it's estimated that all the additional funds allocated by the Daimyo in recent years have been "donated."

After months of back-and-forth, the three ninja villages finally reached a conclusion. Without a doubt, Iwagakure suffered heavy losses; they had no choice but to bleed as much as possible.

Before this protracted battle even began, Tatsuma had already predicted that the three ninja villages would never actually fight each other, because Iwagakure wouldn't dare to fight. A ninja village without a tailed beast is far less intimidating than a ninja village with a tailed beast.

Of course, this is on the premise that the national strength is comparable. Although the three countries of Wind, Earth, and Lightning have different levels of development, they are always on the same level. Even if Sunagakure is slightly weaker, Iwagakure would not dare to attack.

Because once a war breaks out, it will definitely not be a war between Iwagakure and Sunagakure; Kumogakure will certainly intervene forcefully as well. Moreover, the military forces deployed by Konoha on the border have not made any promises not to cross the border.

Therefore, Iwagakure's actions were merely for show, serving two purposes: firstly, to bolster the confidence of its own villagers and citizens, and secondly, to put pressure on the grassroots populations of the other two major powers, since the people are the ones who least want war to happen.

Therefore, as long as Iwagakure makes a grand enough show of force, the voices of the lower classes in the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning will lean towards negotiating with Iwagakure. In fact, this is indeed the case, as both Sunagakure and Kumogakure chose to confront each other at the negotiating table rather than on the battlefield.

Thinking of Tatsuma's analysis, Minato couldn't help but glance at Tatsuma. Despite being thousands of miles away, he had clearly foreseen the voices of three ninja villages and even three countries.

Based on Tatsuma's judgment, Konoha has been frantically making money in the past few months. If Iwagakure is the biggest loser, then the biggest winner is not Sunagakure or Kumogakure, but Konoha.

As for Sunagakure and Iwagakure, Minato asked curiously, "Do you think the outcome of this negotiation will satisfy the people of both countries?"

"The Land of Lightning is certainly satisfied, after all, they have gained an advantage. As for the Sand Village, the Third Kazekage's banner is already teetering on the brink. He seems to have secured benefits for the Sand Village, but they are benefits that are inferior to those of others."

Moreover, this benefit will not bring development to Sunagakure; it can only make up for the village's losses. At this point, the Third Kazekage is probably the most disappointing person in the Land of Wind.

His stable rule will only last until the supplies donated by Iwagakure run out. After that, there will definitely be calls for rebellion, and countless people of the Land of Wind will demand that the Third Kazekage step down.

Just like three months ago, when all the high-ranking officials of Iwagakure fell from power, except that the Third Kazekage wasn't as clever as the Third Tsuchikage. His micromanagement resulted in him not even being able to find someone to shift the blame to.

Tatsuma put down his crossed legs and used his foot to push Sadaharu away, who was trying to get close to him. He wasn't new to Sadaharu and already knew that after getting close, Sadaharu's next step would be to bite him hard. Tatsuma wouldn't let him succeed.

Sadaharu was reluctantly pushed away, then stared at Tatsuma with wide eyes. Tatsuma gestured to the cat scratching post. This guy only trained for a minute, how dare Kushina and the others say that Sadaharu looks like him?

Ke Dingchun had no intention of continuing his training. He jumped to Minato's side and started licking his fur close to Minato.

Minato watched the interaction between the human and the cat with a helpless expression. He should have supported his best friend, but his hand involuntarily landed on Sadaharu's head and began to gently massage it. He continued the conversation:

"But if Sunagakure forces the Third Kazekage to step down, will he actually step down? And after the Third Kazekage steps down, who will take his place? Rasa? Isn't he a bit too inexperienced?"

The Third Kazekage wasn't truly incompetent; surely he would have tried to save himself?

Tatsuma nodded approvingly, "You've got it all figured out. The Third Kazekage will definitely save himself, and Sunagakure won't dare let Rasa or any other young Sunagakure ninja succeed him."

Can you imagine how the Third Kazekage would save himself? Try to think from the perspective of a Kage.

During this period, because he was mainly in charge of administrative work, Tatsuma and Minato's conversations revolved around the general situation of the ninja world. In just a few months, Minato's progress was quite obvious.

Unlike Sakumo Hatake, who genuinely lacked political talent, Minato simply hadn't had the opportunity to meet him before.

Now that he's had that experience, and with Tatsuma's deliberate guidance, Minato's talent in this area has begun to emerge. He frowned and thought for a moment before replying:

"If I were the Third Kazekage, my choice in this situation would be war. I would use external conflicts to divert internal conflicts and make those inside focus their attention on the outside."

At the same time, war is also the best stage to make amends and the best place to eliminate political enemies. If Rasa really threatens the Third Kazekage, then let Rasa go to the most dangerous battlefield to fight.

Similarly, Rasa was able to eliminate those who posed a threat to him on the battlefield while preserving his own life, such as Karura and Yoru.

The Third Kazekage successfully redeemed himself and retained control of the government. If he failed, Rasa would seize the opportunity. Even if he couldn't surpass the Third Kazekage, as long as no one of his generation was more capable, he would be the best candidate for the Fourth Kazekage.

Tatsuma nodded and said, "You're mostly right. Your analysis of the Third Kazekage is quite thorough, but your analysis of Rasa is still lacking."

He doesn't need to eliminate everyone who poses a threat to him, or even anyone at all, to become the best candidate for the Fourth Kazekage.

"Um?"

"Meritorious service is merged."

Tatsuma gave a hint, and Minato pondered for a moment before realizing what he meant. He said, "Whether it's Karura or Yoru, they are both good marriage partners for him. He just needs to find a way to marry one of them, and then their achievements will be combined."

That's just so tasteless.

"When you set a goal and regard it as your lifelong pursuit, everything will give way to that goal. Luo Sha is ambitious, and he will become Feng Film and Television's biggest goal at least for the present stage."

Perhaps only after becoming the Kazekage will he truly realize his mistakes and regret his actions.

Tatsuma calmly offered his assessment, while Minato asked curiously, "And what about the Hokage title for you?"

Do you think my lifelong pursuit is just to become Hokage?

"Definitely not."

Minato smiled and shook his head. Tatsuma's desire for the Hokage position was even less than his own; it was just that Tatsuma was more suitable to be Hokage.

"You should have higher aspirations!"

Minato said confidently, but Tatsuma shook his head and said, "Wrong. My pursuit is not lofty; in fact, it is more simple and unpretentious than most people's."

Upon hearing this, Minato looked puzzled. He had never seriously asked Tatsuma about this before, but the answer seemed to be quite different from what he had expected.

Tatsuma shrugged and said, "Believe it or not, what I consider my life's pursuit at this stage is to live a stable life, a stable life with enough ability to not be disturbed by other things."

Minato looked at Tatsuma, and the sense of insecurity and unease that he could only vaguely sense from Tatsuma before seemed to be magnified infinitely now, like a lone boat that could never return to the harbor in a raging tsunami.

"You will do it," Minato said earnestly. "I will help you do it too."

Hopefully.

(End of this chapter)