Uchiha's personal opinion

The elders of Kirigakure have been away from commanding the ninja army for far too long. In addition, with the changing times, the tactics and strategies of the ninja army are constantly evolving, and the old guys have gradually fallen behind the times.

Although another faction, which prides itself on being "always tough on the Mizukage," was dissatisfied, it still acquiesced to the Grand Elder of Kirigakure's proposal.

Although they fought for power and profit, were brave in internal strife but cowardly in public battles, and were out of touch with the times, they were still members of the village elders and could at least distinguish right from wrong.

"How will the headquarters' ninja forces be deployed for battle?"

The room remained silent for a long time before Elder Qi of the Mist broke the somber atmosphere.

"...The defense zone is handed over to Lord Mizukage. Our ninja army will go and reclaim the east!"

Elder Wuyin remained silent for a while before slowly speaking.

This is a difficult choice.

Having finally seized the opportunity presented by the Shogunate's attack and with the cooperation of the Daimyo of the Land of Water, the territory they had barely settled into was about to be handed over, and they were even forced to lead their ninja army to fight to the death against those vicious Uchiha.

Regardless of the outcome of the Eastern Islands recapture battle, the Elders' Council would not be able to reclaim these territories from the Mizukage, given their strength.

This is equivalent to the Daimyo of the Land of Water and the elders of Kirigakure joining forces to make a beautiful wedding dress for the Third Mizukage, and then having to smile and beg him to accept it.

The most likely outcome would be intelligence support from the Hidden Mist Anbu, plus some cannon fodder and spies casually handed over by the Mizukage.

"What a huge loss..."

Another elder from the Hidden Mist spoke for everyone.

"Knock knock!"

There was a series of urgent knocks on the door outside the council meeting room.

"Come in!"

Elder Wuyin closed his eyes wearily.

I've heard this knocking on the door so many times these past few days, and not a single one of them has brought good news.

One city fell, another port was burned, and yet another fleet of ships was destroyed...

In short, it's all bad news.

"Good day, Grand Elder! Good day, all Elders!"

After a Kirigakure Jonin entered, he respectfully greeted the elders.

"An urgent message has arrived from Daming Prefecture..."

"Give me!"

Elder Wuyin, with a gloomy face, took the letter and quickly flipped through it.

His face immediately darkened to the point of being almost dripping with water.

"The regent was killed by the shogunate's Rain Ninja mercenaries..."

Elder Wuyin was somewhat desperate.

Kanpaku is not only the head of the civil officials in the Land of Water, but also the younger brother of the daimyo. He is one of the most popular nobles in the Land of Water, and a major financial backer who supports the council of elders in their rivalry with the Mizukage.

"Lord Kanpaku led his army in an attempt to annihilate a group of Shogunate ninja who had landed, but they met with misfortune..."

The Grand Elder of Kirigakure's despair also stemmed from the fact that the Regent, the highest minister of the Land of Water, didn't even have an understanding of combat strength, yet still dared to lead his troops into battle against the ninja army.

Did he not know how many elite soldiers of the Land of Fire Uchiha Tokumitsu killed when he attacked the county town and forced the daimyo?

How can he be so brave!

Upon hearing this, the elders of the Mist Village immediately became restless and uneasy.

"There's no other choice..."

Elder Wuyin laughed bitterly.

With the regent dead, the Kirigakure elders have no way out.

"Rain Ninja! Lowly Rain Ninja!"

Suddenly, a Kirigakure elder let out a shrill scream as if he had gone mad, “How dare they kill the Regent! How could they dare! The Regent is the most esteemed nobleman!”

The elders were all restless.

"I'm going to find Lord Mizukage..."

Elder Wuyin stood up and said, "Hand over the entire defense zone, we're heading east!"

Elder Wuyin tapped his cane, then left the conference room without looking back.

Chapter 190 The War Continues to Escalate

Once a war begins, it is difficult to stop.

The battle report of Kaguya's Rain Ninja Squad's defeat of the Water Country's regent was quickly delivered to Midway Island and presented to Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"...Let's transfer the Third and Fourth Detachments over here!"

After reading the battle report, Uchiha Tokumitsu also felt a bit of a headache.

The Regent of the Land of Water was already the most esteemed member of the nobility, and on top of that, he was the younger brother of the daimyo…

It seems the scale of the war is about to escalate further.

Uchiha Tokumitsu deployed nearly 700 elite ninja to the Land of Water battlefield, and with the addition of the Kirigakure ninja who were turned against him during the wolf pack offensive in the eastern region, the total number is now close to 800.

Although the size of the ninja army has expanded further, its combat power has decreased instead of increased, so Uchiha Tokumitsu is also preparing to order a withdrawal when the time is right.

However, the withdrawal does not mean abandoning the war with Kirigakure; it simply means temporarily abandoning some of the earlier battle plans and making certain tactical adjustments.

……

On the seventh day of the offensive against the Hidden Mist Wolf Pack, the first batch of ninja troops to withdraw from the battle returned to Midway Island.

The unit that returned to Midway consisted of the Kaguya Column and the Amegakure Squadron.

"Thank you all for your hard work..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu personally went to the port to greet him and patted the ninja on the shoulder to show his closeness.

"The spoils from this battle will be split 30/70, so everyone will definitely be treated fairly!"

As the returning ninja lined up to hand over sealing scrolls one by one, Uchiha Tokumitsu could no longer suppress the smile on his face and spoke.

"Thank you, Lord Deguang!"

All the Rain Ninjas were extremely excited.

Uchiha Tokumitsu casually offered a few more words of praise, then arranged a time to meet with Jonin Amata before leading his group away.

"...But it's a bit of a pity that it's only 30%."

After Uchiha Tokumitsu left, one of the Rain Ninja members muttered to himself.

"Who! Who said that!"

Amada Jonin's face immediately darkened, and his sinister gaze swept fiercely over his subordinates.

"A bunch of bastards blinded by self-interest! How dare they question the will of Lord Beide Guang! It's utterly shameful!"

All the Rain Ninja were trembling with fear.

"What? Thirty percent! It's seventy percent!"

The Jonin Amada angrily shouted, "Lord Tokuko's share of the spoils is seventy percent!"

The Rain Ninjas were immediately in an uproar.

This unit of Rain Ninja was a ninja force assigned to Kaguya's column, responsible for raiding and pursuing various waterways. They happened to plunder a large number of merchant ships and their cargo.

Although the goods were valuable, the Rain Ninja, who had traveled a long way, lacked the necessary sales channels.

For this reason, the Rain Ninja were not very resistant to handing over their spoils.

But they never expected to receive such a high percentage of the profits!

In the minds of the Rain Ninja, getting 50% of the spoils of war is already considered extremely good, so getting 70% is like a godsend!

It's important to understand that while these goods are valuable, they still need to be sold through certain channels to obtain the corresponding hard currency.

However, the Rain Ninja had no idea how terrifying the ability of Uchiha Tokumitsu to dispose of stolen goods was when he built a transnational special trade distribution network.

What's more, there are a series of underhanded tricks waiting for them, such as lowering valuations and buying low and selling high, which are extremely difficult for laymen to detect!

……

After making arrangements for headquarters affairs, Jonin Amada arrived at Uchiha Tokumitsu's office, led by his attendant ninja.

"Good day, Lord Tokumitsu..."

Jonin Amada appeared very reserved, even somewhat nervous.

He didn't know if his rather impressive performance in the spoils-collecting area had reached Uchiha Tokumitsu in time.

"No need for formalities, please sit down!"

With a smile, Uchiha Tokumitsu pointed to the seat beside him and said to Jonin Amata.

He was also reviewing the battle reports and various intelligence reports from the surrendered Kirigakure ninja.

"...The Rain Ninja's performance was quite good!"

After a while, Uchiha Tokumitsu put away the documents and said to Amata Jonin, "Whether it is the headquarters or the Amata ninjas assigned to various units, their performance in battle can be described as elite!"

Of the 120 Rain Ninja who participated in the battle, 60 were split up by Uchiha Tokumitsu and assigned to the Hozuki Squadron and the Minazuki Squadron as auxiliary units to do the dirty work.

Meanwhile, Jonin Amata led a sixty-man combat squad that, together with Kaguya's column, carried out raids on various waterways throughout the Land of Water.

Whether it was the Rain Ninja detachments assigned to the other two columns or the Rain Ninja Headquarters that formed the combat force, their performance in battle was quite commendable.

"Lord Deguang's recognition is the greatest reward for us!"

Immediately, Jonin Amada rose with trepidation and replied, "Your brilliant command and ingenious strategy are the fundamental reasons why we have been able to achieve continuous victories on the battlefield!"

Although it was flattery, Jonin Amada didn't think it was shameful at all!

Being a ninja! Making money! How shameful!

However, in the eyes of Uchiha Tokumitsu, who was used to hearing about high-class horses, Amada Jonin's flattery was too superficial and too down-to-earth.