I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 564 The truth that brings no benefit is utterly meaningless.

"A tough guy with a soft heart, Sakamoto-san~"

At the top of a guard tower, a warrior from the Land of Water stood guard dutifully, seemingly oblivious to the two Konoha ninjas before him. Tianfeng gazed into the distance and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"Stop fooling around."

Tatsuma looked thoroughly annoyed, but Tenka showed no sign of backing down. She even mimicked the female technicians of the red-light district, leaning slightly and softly bumping into Tatsuma's shoulder, saying in a "coquettish" tone:

"Or perhaps, the Fourth Hokage simply prefers this type of little girl?"

After saying that, he suddenly stood up straight, even taking a step to the other side, revealing a disgusted expression, and said, "Ugh~ What a disgusting adult."

Chenma's forehead veins throbbed as he said, "Please, act like a human being! It's one thing for you and Qiandou to talk bad about me behind my back, but now you're not even doing it behind my back?"

"Tch! That snitch, Sento."

After dismissing his friend's comment, Tianfeng rested his elbows on the railing and asked, "Seriously, you're really ruthless, forcing the birth of a ninja like this."

What happened just now was a joke between friends. In fact, in Tianfeng's opinion, Chenma's behavior was far from being a tough guy with a tender heart; he was a wicked person.

That little girl from Kirigakure wouldn't be happy just because she was "released." Perhaps to that little girl, Tatsuma was the one who killed her entire family on that rainy night, covered in blood, and then...

"Shh~"

A morbidly gentle warning to a little girl, a person who will leave an endless shadow over the rest of her life.

And from today onwards, this little girl's enthusiasm will probably turn cold, and she may no longer dare to lend a helping hand when she encounters people in need on the streets.

To be honest, Tianfeng also thought this little girl was quite nice, just like his cousin.

Thinking about it this way, Tianfeng felt that Chenma was even more hateful. If Obito had encountered such a thing, he would probably have doubted his life. In fact, with their Uchiha bloodline, Obito would probably have awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, or even evolved into the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Tatsuma, unaware of the little drama unfolding in Tenka's mind, said, "That Mei Terumi is a bloodline limit ninja, and a double one at that. It will be very interesting to see her grow up."

"A dual-bloodline limit ninja from the Village of the Bloody Mist? That's certainly interesting. What if she can grow to the point where she can rival the supporters of the Village of the Bloody Mist?"

Tianfeng narrowed his eyes, his Mangekyou Sharingan, which resembled Umbrella's protective shield, slowly rotating within them, and said in a strange tone, "The Hidden Mist Village is truly pitiful, having encountered you."

"Perhaps it's not just me."

Tatsuma turned around, leaned against the railing, and combed his wet, curly hair. Mei was right; he shouldn't have taken off his hat under that eaves, since his hair was all wet.

Tenfu blinked in confusion, but before he could ask, Tatsuma suddenly said, "What do you think about us exchanging battlefields with Kirigakure next? We can't stop Kirigakure from crossing over, but Kirigakure can't stop me from coming."

"You've wanted to do this for a long time, haven't you?"

"Couldn't it have been a spur-of-the-moment decision?"

Upon hearing this, Tianfeng shook his head and said, "If it were a spur-of-the-moment decision, you wouldn't have sent those Hyuga ninjas to investigate Kirigakure's supply chain. You want Kirigakure to fall into the same predicament as Kumogakure back then, don't you?"

"Going deep into enemy territory, aside from the supplies we're carrying, there will be no follow-up resource resupply. And you probably want Kirigakure to operate deep in the Land of Fire, right?"

"Yes, just like in the past, we always led the Sand Ninja into the rainforest. We can't let the Sand Ninja fight in the desert, just as we can't let the Mist Ninja fight in the water."

Tatsuma nodded. Apart from the Konoha ninjas, the ninjas from other major countries all have obvious strengths and weaknesses. In their respective home turf, their strength is formidable.

In the desert, where there are no terrain obstacles and wind resources are abundant, the Sand Ninja's Wind Release can be used to the fullest extent, and the flowing sand also gives the Sand Ninja's Magnet Release ninjas unparalleled influence.

In areas rich in water resources, the combat capabilities of the Mist Ninja Force are unimaginably strong. Although Konoha has no shortage of Water Release ninjas, they still cannot compare with the Mist Ninja Force, which specializes in Water Release.

Especially near large bodies of water, Konoha is not good at large-scale combined water-style ninjutsu. Even if Tatsuma participates in the front line of the war, his role will be limited, and he may even have a counterproductive effect.

If Tatsuma advances, the Mist Ninja can retreat. If the battle takes place along the coast of the Land of Fire, the overall combat strength of the Mist Ninja will likely increase by a level with each step they retreat. At best, the water-style clashes will maintain a stalemate.

Using Earth Release and Wood Release to change the terrain can only temporarily hinder the advance of the Mist Ninja, but it cannot defeat the Mist Ninja forces. In coastal areas, the Mist Ninja forces are too flexible.

If Konoha ninjas want to kill Kirigakure ninjas, they have to get close, which results in too many casualties in the process.

Although Tatsuma didn't place much importance on casualty figures, he could only accept casualties if Konoha had the upper hand. As for those who died in vain, he considered them as losses of assets and destruction of resources.

It would be better if Tatsuma simply didn't participate and let the Mist Ninja advance. Once they left large bodies of water like the ocean, lakes, and reservoirs, the combat power that the Mist Ninja forces could exert would be reduced exponentially.

However, doing so would make the early battle reports look bad. Fortunately, the camp commander is Hyuga, and the highest percentage of the resistance force members are also Hyuga ninjas.

Chenma didn't mind letting them take the blame at all; in fact, he was happy to see it happen.

However, such a plan cannot be made public, especially not to Hyuga, otherwise they wouldn't be foolishly helping Tatsuma gather intelligence now.

Tianfeng stroked his stubble that hadn't been shaved for days and said, "Why don't you consider bringing Yecang over? If she's paired with her Scorching Release, the Mist Ninja's fighting strength will probably be reduced to less than one-tenth."

Of course, Yekura couldn't do it alone, but Tianfeng had witnessed Tatsuma using his own chakra, combined with Yekura's hand seals and techniques, to unleash a massive Scorching Release attack.

With Tatsuma's current chakra and Pakura's improved Scorch Release technique by more than one level, the two of them working together could probably dry up any body of water except the ocean.

Besides, Tatsuma is a real scumbag!

If any girl looked at him like Yekura looked at Tatsuma, let alone a Sand Ninja, even a Hyuga Ninja, Tenka would dare say he was determined to marry her, and even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't stop him.

It's a pity that perhaps scumbags are more likely to win the favor of girls, while honest people like him are destined to be bystanders.

"What are you thinking? She has to help me bring down Rasa. Ideally, the two of them could die together on the road to becoming the Fourth Kazekage. That would be perfect."

After Tatsuma finished speaking, he walked into the tower, and Tenka followed him in. Although he was itching to hit Tatsuma again, he could only hold back.

The two stopped paying attention, because Mei Terumi in the distance was being surrounded and protected by more and more Kirigakure ninja, and they couldn't observe her any further.

After all, Mei Terumi was the only survivor among the participants in the Alliance talks. Although everyone knew that she was just a genin and couldn't possibly know anything, protecting her was still standard procedure.

Mei Terumi was sent back to Kirigakure overnight and then entered the village's ANBU base. She didn't even have time to rest or process what had happened that day before she was subjected to interrogation and medical examination.

Inside the Mizukage's office, Yagura Karatachi's expression was icy as he looked at the documents submitted by the Anbu. The emotionally distraught Kirigakure genin hadn't provided a single piece of useful information.

Although this was expected, anger always needs an outlet.

Yagura tapped the table lightly and said, "Issue a report stating that it was done by Konoha ninjas. Have Mei Terumi repeat it, sign it, and then send it to Kirigakure and Kumogakure."

Meanwhile, Mei Terumi was imprisoned, awaiting responses from both villages before a joint discussion of punishment was held.

"Yes, Lord Mizukage."

The ANBU in front of him accepted the order and left without saying anything more. Even though the plan proposed by Yagura Karatachi was actually without any evidence, so what?

Many things, just because you haven't done them doesn't mean you don't have to bear the consequences. As long as enough influential people believe that a certain party or person should bear the consequences, then they must bear the consequences.

It just so happens that Kirigakure is lacking a legitimate reason to start a war, isn't that perfect?

The Hidden Mist Village has decided to wage war against the Hidden Leaf Village. The village's higher-ups also know the reason: the Hidden Leaf Village ninja Sakamoto Tatsuma disguised himself and infiltrated the Land of Water, causing great damage to the Land of Water.

It even involves the secrets of the succession of two Mizukage, and Kirigakure paid an untold price because of Sakamoto Tatsuma. However, this cannot be an open reason, nor can it be made public.

After all, if it were made public, everything Kirigakure had done against the rogue ninja "Takasugi Shinsuke" over the past few years would become a joke, and Kirigakure and all Kirigakure ninja would become a laughing stock and even sinners throughout the country.

Moreover, in the eyes of many people from the Land of Water, Sakamoto Tatsuma is a foreign friend who healed the Third Mizukage's injuries. Revealing that Sakamoto Tatsuma is "Takasugi Shinsuke" would be seen as a slander by them.

Pre-war mobilization focuses on morale and public opinion. The truth cannot mobilize public opinion or inspire the morale of the participants, so such a truth is better left unsaid.

Unless Yagura Karatachi is willing to give up the Bloody Mist Village, open it to the outside world, and use the voice of another country to tell the people the truth and exaggerate the evil of Sakamoto Tatsuma, it is impossible for the whole country to believe this truth and be angry about it.

But if they were willing to give up the Blood Mist Village and open it to the outside world, then why would Yagura go to such great lengths to overturn all of the Third Mizukage's policies in his later years?

The thought of Sakamoto Tatsuma made Yagura's bones ache. His last meeting with him was far from pleasant, and he longed for revenge on the battlefield.

For some reason, even though they hadn't been in contact for a long time, Yagura Karatachi knew that his malice towards Tatsuma Sakamoto had not diminished; in fact, it seemed to grow stronger with age.

Perhaps it's because Sakamoto Tatsuma is destined to be an enemy of Kirigakure. As long as such a person remains active in the ninja world, he could potentially cause even greater harm to Kirigakure. If given the chance, he must be eliminated.

Having made up his mind, Yagura was about to get back to work when the Anbu who had just left returned to report: "Lord Mizukage, Elder Genji has taken Mei Terumi away."

"Old man!"

His expression remained unchanged, but a hint of ferocity appeared in his eyes. However, he quickly calmed down, because even the Water Shadow could not shake the status of a Yuan Master.

Suppressing his anger, Yagura snorted and said, "Then let's compile it into an investigation report, attach the 'evidence,' and send it directly to Sunagakure and Kumogakure."

"Yes, Lord Mizukage."

(End of this chapter)