Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"What if what Konoha wants is war?"

The man called "Bi" had a deep voice, giving him an impression of being steady, reliable, and full of charisma.

"What do you mean?"

Yagura's brows furrowed even deeper.

"What I mean is, what if Konoha just wants a war to divert attention from its internal conflicts? According to the intelligence we received before, a coup occurred in Konoha before our war with Konoha broke out. The Third Hokage stepped down and the Fifth Hokage took over as acting Hokage. Moreover, I have observed the composition of Konoha's forces. Their chunin and genin are either commoner ninjas or ninjas from Konoha clans such as Sarutobi, Shimura, and Mitokado. Without exception, they are all losers in the political struggle."

Bi spoke slowly and clearly, enough for everyone in the tent to hear what he was saying.

This made many of the already skeptical Kirigakure even more suspicious of the truth.

Yagura Karatachi listened with a dazed look in his eyes. What he said... made so much sense. If he didn't know that Uchiha Sogen was indeed an enemy of that one-eyed Uchiha, and hadn't accurately sensed the one-eyed Uchiha's defeat in that mental space, he would have wondered if he had been tricked by Konoha.

"...Perhaps, it was the victors of the Konoha coup who, in order to resolve the unresolved internal conflicts within the village, used you, Mizukage, to launch this war against Konoha. The external pressure forced Konoha to unite, thereby achieving the goal of resolving or suppressing internal contradictions..."

Bi's analysis is still ongoing.

Yagura, however, dared not let the guy continue. If this provoked radicals like Zabuza Momochi to riot and follow in the footsteps of the two luminaries of Kumogakure who had done great things in the past... he absolutely could not allow that to happen.

The two beams of light from the Hidden Cloud Village are capable of taking down two Kage.

However, all the Mist Ninja on the island combined probably wouldn't be enough to kill that monster Uchiha Mugen alone.

"Alright, Bi, these are all just your guesses. There's absolutely no evidence to prove your theories." Yagura forcefully stopped Bi from continuing his conspiracy theories, his sharp gaze fixed on the radicals led by Zabuza Momochi. "I hate saying things that boost the morale of others while diminishing our own, but the current situation is that we are no match for Konoha. Regardless of the truth about how I was manipulated, you must understand that we don't have the confidence or resources to oppose Konoha. Muneaki Uchiha alone could wipe us all out."

"Bi, did you understand what I said?"

Finally, Yagura Karatachi fixed his gaze on Aoi, who was wearing a gray ninja hat, and coldly stared at this confidant of the [Master].

"Is Uchiha Munen really that powerful? Even the Third Raikage was worn down and killed by the Iwa ninja using sheer numbers."

Bi gave an irrelevant answer.

"Still not giving up? Then... let me tell you something else!" Yagura Karatachi closed his eyes and said, "The Three-Tails inside me has lost control. If I'm not mistaken, Uchiha Munen can forcibly control the Three-Tails to fight at any time."

These words had a startling effect.

The Mizukage, who is the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, has lost control of the Three-Tails. So, who is sitting here talking to them right now—the Mizukage or Uchiha Sogen? This question arose in the minds of the Jonin all at the same time.

"I am no longer anyone's puppet!"

Yagura was not surprised by everyone's reaction, which was why he hadn't planned to bring it up before. However, with Aoi's aggressive attitude, his own prestige had greatly diminished, and he had no choice but to do this in order to control the situation. "This is not just my own feeling, but the answer confirmed by more than ten sensory ninjas at close range."

“I can attest to that.”

After a long silence, Mei Terumi spoke up. Unexpectedly, she did not echo the questioning of Yagura by Midori, who was sitting next to her. Instead, she testified for Yagura, "The Mizukage lowered all his guard and had a sensory ninja investigate his mental state. They confirmed that he had been manipulated for a long time, but the current Mizukage is not under any genjutsu."

Yagura gave Mei Terumi a deep look.

This is truly a promising talent. He has a clear understanding of the big picture and knows what is most important. He is much smarter than Bi, that idiot. Speaking of Bi, he is always by Yuan Shi's side, but he is still a blockhead. No wonder he has not been released by Yuan Shi to stand on his own like Qing.

He finally managed to leave the village, but he still ended up being Mei Terumi's assistant.

"Lord Mizukage, please continue! How should we handle our relationship with Konoha next?"

Mei Terumi said this.

The remaining Mist Ninja exchanged glances, their restless hearts calming down once more.

If this war caused the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, to lose much of his prestige, then Mei Terumi's outstanding performance successfully earned her the recognition of many Kirigakure ninja, significantly widening the gap between her and competitors such as Mangetsu Hozuki and Zabuza Momochi.

Looking at Mei Terumi's profile, Bi saw only steely resolve on her beautiful face. He recalled the instructions Genji had given him before leaving the village: to obey Mei Terumi's commands in everything... In his mind, Genji was supreme; even the Mizukage would have to rank behind him.

Therefore,

Of course, after Mei Terumi made her stance clear...

Bi chose to remain silent, abandoning his own conjectures and deductions. Obedience was probably his only strength. With his head down, Bi couldn't help but think that in the village, he only needed to follow Master Yuan's instructions, and even outside the village, Terumi Mei would command them. He hadn't acted according to his own will for a long time.

"How to handle the relationship between the village and Konoha is the most important thing we need to focus on right now. However, it's not that difficult. We just need to follow the agreement!" Yagura Karatachi continued, finishing his sentence.

"Agreement?"

Mei Terumi frowned slightly.

"That's right, the agreement, a contract I made with Konoha when I was still a prisoner of Konoha." Yagura Karatachi said, then sighed again. He thought to himself that he, the 'Mizukage,' would probably be nailed to the pillar of shame by future generations!

[Chapter 122. May I become your disciple?]

The 'Kage' is the highest leader of a ninja village.

Even if there are powerful figures in the village who can rival the 'Shadow', when the Shadow is truly determined to do something, the powerful figures must bow down. The only way to resist is to overthrow this annoying Shadow from the throne and replace him with a new Shadow to guide everyone.

The significant decline in the authority of the Fourth Mizukage is an undeniable fact.

But he was ultimately just a shadow.

Here, at this time, no one had the ability or the courage to overthrow him from the position of Mizukage. When he decided to establish friendly relations with Konoha, the Kirigakure ninja could only bow their heads and agree, regardless of their own feelings, and take action to achieve this.

The messengers rushed off, and the Mist Ninja from the other two bases were summoned back.

then,

After staying on the nameless island for five days, the army of Kirigakure and the delegation from Konoha set off for the Land of Water, located in the vast sea, to the extremely secluded ninja village hidden in the thick fog. The army of Kirigakure is easy to understand, but the delegation from Konoha is a rather interesting explanation.

Apart from a few infiltrated young wolves, the entire Konoha delegation of 127 people consisted of extremely fierce hounds, including more than 100 Jonin. Zongxian had practically drawn away the most elite forces from the Konoha army and the eastern border defense forces.

Anyway, the Mist Ninja has already been defeated.

The eastern border defense forces can expect not to encounter any large-scale wars for a long time to come. Their job, apart from catching the endless spies, is to fight the endless pirates. Putting extra Jonin here is a pure waste.

Therefore,

Zongxian ruthlessly stuffed these precious human resources into this freshly formed, still-hot mission.

The Mist Ninja were defeated.

However, all of this is still a long way from the true end of that brief timeframe. As the victors, they still have to receive the spoils of war and boast about Konoha's powerful military strength, teaching these cunning Mist Ninja what it means to be pragmatic.

only,

Taking a large army on a parade would be going too far. If it provokes those Kirigakure ninja who value honor more than life to take unfriendly actions, it will only plunge Konoha and Kirigakure into an even bigger war. Even if Sogen is confident that he will win in the end, a Kirigakure village that has been destroyed will be of much less value to him.

For this reason, Zongxian dressed up his group in the sheep's clothing of a 'diplomatic mission'.

even,

They even brought the three little devils along.

······

At sea, ships flying the flags of Kirigakure and Konoha cut through the waves.

On the deck by the ship's side, a sickly blond boy leaned on the railing, gazing at the white spray of water splashed up by the ship below. He seemed mesmerized, completely absorbed in the beautiful whiteness, which made the girl, who had been running back and forth between the bow and stern twice and was having a great time, a little worried.

"Naruto, are you alright?"

Uchiha Fujika walked over and slapped Naruto's shoulder hard. "You've been looking really listless lately!"

"Wine flower?"

Naruto blinked, snapping out of his daze. "I'm fine, nothing's wrong. I was just spacing out... By the way, Fujika, does Sogen-nii have time right now?" Looking at Fujika standing in front of him, Naruto hesitated for a moment, but still mustered up the courage to ask about Uchiha Sogen's whereabouts.

"elder brother?"

Fujika tilted her head and thought for a moment, "It seems he went to find that Mizukage to play chess. What, Naruto, do you need to see your brother? Should I take you to him?"

"Play chess? Would it disturb Brother Zongxian if we went over now?"

Naruto asked in a low voice.

"No, don't worry! Brother is just playing around when he plays chess!" Fujika waved her little hand and dashed off like a cannonball. Her voice didn't reach her until she was quite a distance away. "Naruto, what are you standing there for? Come here quickly!"

Naruto scratched his head, started jogging, and followed.

After Naruto ran away, Kakashi appeared from the corner like a ghost, silently following Naruto and protecting his teacher's child at all times. He strongly disapproved of taking Naruto to the Land of Water, but unfortunately, he was outnumbered and had no choice but to accept his fate in the face of Uchiha Sogen's decision.

All he could do was

However, he would simply join the delegation and act together to personally protect Naruto's safety.

······

this time,

Zongxian was indeed playing Go with Yagura. The two chatted idly while playing, occasionally bringing up some serious matters. "I have already written to Master Yuan. I believe we will receive a reply from Master Yuan when we reach the shore."

"I hope your Yuan Master can see the current situation clearly, otherwise it will not be friendly to anyone."

Zongxian held the black piece,

It has nothing to do with who goes first or second; he just likes black, he likes this deep color.

“Master Yuan’s wisdom surpasses mine. He will make the choice that best serves the interests of the village. Moreover, he personally witnessed the First Hokage and the noble ancestor’s glory in pacifying the ninja world. Uchiha clan leader, your worries are completely unnecessary.”

After careful calculation, Yagura made his move with great caution.

"An elderly sage? I look forward to meeting Master Yuan." Zongxian smiled and placed a chess piece in his hand.

at this time,

The sound of footsteps, "tap tap tap," could be heard.

Even before seeing the person, just hearing the familiar, light footsteps, one knew who had arrived. Kurama Yakumo, who was sitting to the side watching the game, turned to look at the source of the sound, and even Karatachi Yagura laughed, "Your sister is here again!"

"Wine flower?"

Zongxian looked at his younger sister who had come into view and felt a little strange. Fujika was lively and active, unlike Yakumo who could patiently watch him and Yagura play chess. She ran off to play by herself. Based on past experience, she wouldn't come back for at least two hours. Only about half an hour had passed. Why was she back?

but,

Then a blond kid suddenly appeared in his field of vision, and he realized what was happening.

"Fujika, Naruto, come here."

Zongxian raised his hand and beckoned the two of them over.

When Fujika and Naruto walked up to him, Zongxian asked, "Is there something you need?" As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently fell on Naruto. Compared to Fujika, who looked cheerful and carefree, Naruto, who looked somewhat restrained and unnatural, clearly had something on his mind.

as predicted,

The wisteria blossoms immediately revealed their purpose.

“Brother, Naruto said he needed to talk to you, so I brought him here.”