I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 553 People are always too lazy to cheer for others, but want others to shout for them.

"Tianfeng, you..."

Inside the camp, Lu Jiu was holding a stack of documents. Seeing Tian Feng approaching, he was about to hand some of the documents to him when Tian Feng stopped and said:

"No, I used to have double eyelids too, but they were inner double eyelids. Now that I'm older, they've just suddenly become more prominent."

"."

Shikaku then noticed Tenfu's eyes, or rather, it was useless even if he noticed them, since he had never studied in detail what Tenfu's eyes looked like before, but he could draw the pattern of the Mangekyou Sharingan directly.

"No, I mean..."

"No, no, hahaha, actually my eyes used to be this big too, it's just that they look a little smaller when I have double eyelids."

"That's enough! This is the mission you're tasked with!"

Shikaku threw the documents at Tianfeng, then revealed his old-fashioned subway phone and walked past him. Sure enough, none of the Uchiha were normal. When did he mention his eyes?

Tianfeng hurriedly caught the documents that were about to fall, turned his head and said, "Lu Jiu, you look really ugly when you're jealous."

"roll!"

Shikaku likes many things, such as a peaceful life, a job with little work, high pay, and close to home, or a game of shogi that requires deep thought to find a way out.

However, this absolutely does not include Ai Mei. After all, he was the kind of person who would rather "disfigure" himself than stay away from girls. He couldn't understand Tian Feng's behavior at all and just thought it was stupid.

Shaking his head and shaking off the goosebumps, Lu Jiu entered the command room. Seeing the strange expressions on everyone's faces, and recalling the way Tianfeng had come, he asked:

"You too?"

Jiraiya nodded, Minato gave an awkward smile, Tsunade rolled her eyes, and Orochimaru said in a sinister tone, "Tell Tatsuma that I want to research the Sharingan, preferably through live experiments."

Shisui, who was organizing documents nearby, shuddered, but then remembered that he hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, and quickly calmed down to continue organizing the documents.

Shikaku placed the documents he was holding on the table in front of Shisui and said, "This is a summary of the work that will be carried out at the camp next. Please organize it and send it to the various teams. Is that alright?"

"No problem, Lord Shikaku."

Shisui nodded, then buried himself in tidying up. Shikaku gave the little guy a satisfied look; he was capable and motivated. Such a follower was simply fantastic.

Shisui has now become the secretary of the entire command center, and even the secretary of Shikaku, the former secretary. Most of the complicated work is done by Shisui every day.

Only for some more important matters would Shikaku personally inform them.

I wonder how long this little guy will stay. I wish he could be by my side throughout the entire war.

Lost in thought, Shikaku looked up and asked, "Aren't Tatsuma and Kushina here?"

"Tatsuma went to the medical camp to do some experiments."

Tsunade waved her hand. She herself often went there. Although she had trained many medical ninjas and most of the time she didn't need to treat the wounded herself, she still needed to help with some difficult cases or serious injuries.

However, now that Chenma is her disciple, she, as his teacher, doesn't need to work so hard. Besides, for Chenma now, he shouldn't miss any opportunity to gain reputation.

Shikaku nodded and looked at Minato, who said, "Kushina hasn't woken up yet. If there are any missions assigned, I'll take care of them for her."

Upon hearing this, Shikaku shook his head and said, "No, it's just that, as you know, the Nine-Tails is of great importance, and the stability of the Jinchuriki could affect the entire camp. Please keep an eye on it."

"Yes, I understand."

Minato nodded, a hint of worry in his eyes. Kushina had been sleeping for over ten hours, and was still in a deep sleep. Given Kushina's body's recovery ability, she shouldn't have been able to sleep for so long.

It seems that yesterday's negotiations between Tatsuma and Kurama still affected Kushina.

However, Kushina's physical body has already been healed by Tatsuma, so is it a mental issue?

Minato pondered, unaware that yesterday's bet between Tatsuma and Kurama had nearly caused Kushina's mental world to collapse. Her slumber was actually within Tatsuma's expectations; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to so easily visit the other wounded now.

Although there was no sign of an attack from the Iwa ninja today, the work that needed to be done in the camp could not be stopped. The defensive line needed to be improved and all preparations to deal with the Iwa ninja could not be stopped.

The key is to take the initiative into our own hands. If we stop trying to gain an advantage just because the Iwa ninja stopped attacking Konoha, then it will be difficult for Konoha to win next time when there is no Tatsuma or Tenka.

No one knew how long Tatsuma would stay, but Tenka would return to the Land of Rivers in a couple of days at most, since the Sand Village's counterattacks, though weak, had never stopped.

As for Tatsuma, he's currently on leave and will probably return to the village to rest soon, waiting for the war situation to change once again.

For example, the morale of the Iwa ninja might recover, or the scattered forces of the Suna ninja might begin to reunite, or the Kumo ninja might go back on their word, or the Kirigakure ninja might begin to take action on the east coast.

Tatsuma will likely go wherever the battlefield needs him, and since the two key battles against the Cloud Ninja and the Iwa Ninja, he probably won't spend much more time on the same battlefield.

Because the enemy isn't stupid; they know that Tatsuma has the power to influence the entire battle, or even the entire war, so they certainly won't be reckless and will likely retreat wherever he goes.

If the battlefield remains within the Land of Fire, Tatsuma can attack the enemy's main base without hesitation. However, if it's in a middle country like the Land of Rivers or the Land of Grass, it would be somewhat unacceptable for Tatsuma to pursue them.

Unless Tatsuma can obtain letters of authorization from these intermediate countries, such as the Daimyo of the Land of Grass "requesting" Konoha to expel the Iwa ninja who invaded the Land of Grass, then Tatsuma can openly attack the Iwa ninja's stronghold.

Without such a commission, even if victory were ultimately achieved, Tatsuma and Konoha would not gain a good reputation, and it might even affect their subsequent war gains, which would be completely not worthwhile.

But is it possible for an intermediate country to entrust this task? It's unlikely. Although war can affect a country's stability and development, it has little to do with the daimyo. After all, while there are starving people on the streets, the daimyo's mansion is more likely to be filled with the smell of wine and meat.

Even if war causes the entire country's economy to decline or even come to a standstill, it will not have a significant impact on the lives of the daimyo. Moreover, given the scale of the Ninja World War, no civilian would dare to choose this time to launch an uprising.

Therefore, the Daming Society will obediently stay in its own little corner of the world, waiting for this painful period, which may last one or two years or even three to five years, to pass.

But what if they choose sides? Take the Land of Grass, for example, sandwiched between two countries. If it dares to take the initiative to side with Konoha, then after the war, the northern part of the Land of Grass will almost become a forbidden zone.

Any trade will be restricted as a result, but that's not the only impact. If the Land of Grass chooses sides, then all post-war entrustments will inevitably be entrusted to Konohagakure in the Land of Fire.

Even if Konoha raised the price arbitrarily and clearly intended to fleece the Land of Grass, the Land of Grass had no choice but to grit its teeth and accept it.

The matter doesn't end there, because at that time, there will definitely be bandits, mountain bandits, and wandering ninjas roaming the northern border of the Land of Grass from time to time and committing crimes. Who will be responsible for these people? We can only entrust Konoha with it.

If these people are really bandits or mountain brigands, that's fine, but the real fear is that it could trigger another conflict between Konoha and Iwagakure, leading to small-scale wars that will continue for years within the Land of Grass.

No great nation would be willing to bear such prolonged pain, so remaining neutral is the best course of action.

If these small countries could easily choose sides, then Tatsuma wouldn't have needed to fabricate any evidence of "commission" when he was operating in the Land of Rivers.

Large countries will not force small countries to take sides, because if the conflict really escalates, small countries may turn against the larger ones and stand on the opposite side, or they may disintegrate and be swallowed up by the large countries.

Then the battlefield shifted from the territory of small countries to the territory of large countries. In other countries' territories, no matter how much fighting takes place, the impact on the country itself will not be too great. However, if it is within one's own territory, even a small conflict can trigger social unrest.

Therefore, the existence and "neutrality" of small states are permitted by the rules and are also necessary components of the rules.

Although this is very unfair to the citizens of small countries, how many people can truly empathize with them? Most people still prioritize their own national interests.

This was during an era of frequent wars. If we enter a peaceful era, the abundance and stability of life will gradually make people forget that everyone has a responsibility for the fate of the nation, and peace will instead breed a "cold-blooded" indifference to protect oneself.

Let alone considering the interests of other countries, even if it's just the interests of one's own country, a lot of people will shout, "What does this have to do with me, who only earns three thousand taels a month?"

Everyone in the camp was busy. In one of the barracks, Kushina, who had slept for nearly twenty hours, finally woke up.

However, what she saw was not the ceiling, but a fox face.

"Oh!"

Kushina was so startled that she sat bolt upright in bed, causing the nine-tailed fox, no bigger than a basketball, to tumble onto the bed. Looking at the fox, Kushina asked in surprise, "You...you're the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

This was the first time she had ever seen such a tiny Nine-Tails. Even the Nine-Tails that Tatsuma had almost devoured was half a person's height, but the Nine-Tails in front of her was smaller than many figurines.

"snort!"

The Nine-Tails snorted in dissatisfaction, but Kushina ignored it, instead examining her seal. After a moment, she said with a grim expression, "Why didn't that Tatsuma guy reinforce the seal after breaking it?!"

She tried to enter her own mental world to reinforce the seal, but was blocked by the Nine-Tails, which could extract even more chakra. Kushina, who had just closed her eyes, opened them again, looked at the Nine-Tails on the bed, and asked:

"What do you mean?!"

"This is the reward I deserve! And it's what that bastard Tatsuma promised me!"

"Did you really teach him the method of sharing chakra?"

Upon hearing Kushina's question, a hint of unease flashed across Kurama's face, but he still replied, "It's not like I can't accept defeat!"

Kushina gleaned two pieces of information from this statement: first, Tatsuma had once again defeated the Nine-Tails; and second, Tatsuma had indeed learned the technique of sharing chakra.

"If you hate him so much, why did you teach him?"

Kushina asked in confusion. For some reason, when communicating face-to-face in this way, the oppressive feeling brought by Kurama decreased sharply. Kushina even dared to reach out and grab Kurama by the back of the neck, throw it aside, and not delay her getting out of bed.

The nine-tailed fox's face darkened with a human-like expression, and it wasn't until Kushina drank the water and turned to look at it that it said, "...That was a misunderstanding, it's been cleared up."

Only Sakamoto Tatsuma could get a "misunderstanding" from Kurama. If it were anyone else? If it was a misunderstanding, so be it. Anyway, the person is dead. Why should the mighty Kurama pay with its life?

"Misunderstanding? What do you mean?!"

Kushina's fiery red hair began to sway as she clenched her fists and walked towards Kurama, saying, "You almost made me break up with that guy Sakamoto Tatsuma, and now you're telling me it was a misunderstanding?!"

You've cleared up the misunderstanding with him, but what about me and him?!

"I don't care what you do."

"Bang!"

Kushina unleashed a punch, sending Kurama's body flying through the bed and crashing into the floor. Kurama looked up at Kushina in disbelief.

That wretched woman actually used its power to hit it?!

(End of this chapter)