Uchiha's personal opinion

Hyuga Hizashi was even more terrifying.

"This is no longer the era of ninjas fighting alone..."

The Hyuga clan chief stopped worrying and shook his head, sighing, "It's just that the Uchiha clan is too powerful. Their rise has given some other ninja clans some unfounded and unreasonable ambitions."

"Anyone who tries to replicate Uchiha Tokumitsu's success will inevitably fall into the abyss and be shattered to pieces..."

The Hyuga clan leader's gaze lingered on the bandage wrapped around the forehead of his second son, Hyuga Hizashi, the very foundation of the Hyuga clan's enduring legacy over a thousand years.

"Ming, I understand..."

Hyuga Hizashi bowed his head in fear.

Hyuga Hiashi sat calmly, seemingly oblivious to everything.

……

"Is the Leaf-Rolling Shogunate also going to issue bonds?"

After the three bonds issued by the Tokugawa Shogunate sold out immediately, Hatake Sakumo was entrusted by Mimura Yomaki of the western border defense force to come and discuss with Uchiha Tokugawa the matter of issuing bonds on his behalf.

"But the land of rivers is so poor... what good will issuing bonds do?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu did not refuse immediately, but instead asked directly.

"Ye Juan-kun and the Reform Society ninjas dispatched there think it's worthwhile to develop this further..."

Hatake Sakumo, of course, knew about the situation in the Land of Rivers, and could only give an awkward smile upon hearing this, "However... the stone and wine in the Land of Rivers are quite good, and these can be used as collateral..."

"If... the Yemaki Shogunate accepts the United Fisheries Company's entry, then the United Fisheries Company can provide loans to the Yemaki Shogunate, making it unnecessary to issue public bonds..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu stroked his chin and said leisurely.

"United Aquatic Products Company provided the loan..."

Sakumo Hatake hesitated upon hearing this.

United Fisheries Company is a capital group jointly funded by the Uchiha clan and various affiliated ninja clans under the leadership of Uchiha Tokumitsu. During the Kirigakure Conquest War, in order to assist Uchiha Tokumitsu in winning the war, the affiliated ninja clans mobilized all their forces, gathering more than 1,500 ninjas to participate in the war.

In other words, even without considering the Uchiha clan, the United Fisheries Company's strength already surpasses that of the struggling Yoruichi Shogunate. What consequences will the entry of such an incredibly powerful capital group into the Land of Rivers lead to...?

Sakumo Hatake was also at a loss.

"It's better than public bonds, right? After all, with the tax revenue of the Yomaki Shogunate, even with the backing of the Nakagawa Stock Exchange, wealthy merchants wouldn't be very interested."

Uchiha Tokumitsu explained.

"That's true..."

Sakumo Hatake thought about it and realized that Tokumitsu Uchiha's words made some sense.

He was aware that other ninja clans in the village had recently tried to issue bonds but were met with a cold reception. Moreover, the Reform Association had also held a secret discussion on this matter and concluded that the credibility of other ninja clans was far inferior to that of the extremely powerful Tokugawa Shogunate and the Uchiha clan, which resulted in no one taking interest in the bonds.

"However, the land of rivers is not by the sea after all, isn't the United Fisheries Company a bit... "

Sakumo Hatake even tried to explain himself.

"It's nothing, we can just hang another sign for the United Trading Company at the entrance."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said dismissively.

"Then let me ask Ye Juan-kun's opinion first~"

Since things had come to this point, Hatake Sakumo stopped arguing and nodded in agreement, then changed the subject and continued chatting idly.

……

In this way, the Kasumi Sakumo and the Kasumi Shogunate of the Land of Rivers, controlled by the Reform Society, began to be integrated into the sphere of influence of Uchiha Tokumitsu.

Thus, of the four great shogunates of the Land of Fire, the Uchiha clan held three.

The last holdout was the Sarutobi Shogunate, stationed in the north and known as the "Landless Shogun."

Uchiha Tokumitsu was a perfectionist, so he was unwilling to allow any flaws to appear in the power structure of the Uchiha clan.

Even if they cannot penetrate as forcefully as the Leaf-Roll Shogunate in the west, they must still gain a certain degree of control and influence.

"I'm informing the Ninja Cat Clan that I will be visiting Granny Cat in the Void in three days."

After Hatake Sakumo left, Uchiha Tokumitsu summoned his attendants and gave them instructions.

The ninja cat clan has sent back intelligence that they have discovered traces of the Two-Tails' chakra in a small buffer country between the Land of Waterfall and the Land of Lightning, thus confirming that the Two-Tails, Matatabi, has been resurrected.

However, the Hidden Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning is known for its arrogance, and the Two-Tails is one of the tailed beasts that was given to the Hidden Cloud Village by Hashirama Senju. After the original Jinchuriki died in battle, the village has been dedicated to tracking down the tailed beasts. If the capture process is not well planned, large-scale conflicts with the Hidden Cloud Village are inevitable.

"Or...we could just urge Kirigakure to seize the opportunity and launch an attack on the Land of Lightning's mainland..."

Without hesitation, Uchiha Tokumitsu immediately wrote a letter to Fubuki Castle in the Land of Whirlpools, instructing them to deliver the explosive tags and ninja tools ordered to Kirigakure ahead of schedule.

In addition, Hyuga Shuhiro was dispatched as an envoy to Kirigakure to encourage them to start the war as soon as possible by offering low-interest war loans.

Chapter 215 Cute Kittens

Aside from a small number of conservative members of the Uchiha clan who liked to be unconventional and keep crows, the vast majority of Uchiha ninjas had summoning contracts with the ninja cat clan.

Uchiha Tokumitsu, who has never explicitly signed a summoning contract, has naturally been the target of the Ninja Cat Clan's long-term public relations efforts. However, since Uchiha Tokumitsu has never expressed any intention to sign a summoning contract, the Ninja Cat Clan has no way to proceed.

……

"The Ninja Cat Clan..."

When Uchiha Tokumitsu inquired about the Ninja Cat Clan from his father, Uchiha Nakagen said in a cryptic tone, "They're such a fickle and opportunistic clan, but they're really adorable..."

"...Anything else?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu was somewhat speechless, so he continued to ask.

"They can help gather intelligence and earn money to support themselves~ The ninja cat clan is pretty good~"

Mother Emiko brought out the evening's dishes from the kitchen and said with a smile.

"Is that so~"

Uchiha Tokumitsu raised an eyebrow and picked up the bowl in front of his parents to help serve them rice: "Why are there no records of the Ninja Cat Clan in the clan's records?"

"Secrecy".

Uchiha Nakagen replied, "The individual combat strength of the Ninja Cat Clan is not strong, and they also possess a lot of wealth, so their whereabouts are very secretive. When the two clans established a contractual relationship, the Ninja Cat Clan specifically requested that their deeds not be recorded privately in order to prevent information from being leaked."

"In fact, those conservatives who keep crows are the ones who were refused a summoning contract by the ninja cat clan~"

Emiko happily accepted the rice bowl handed to her by Uchiha Tokumitsu, saying cheerfully, "Ever since Kagami's time, the ninja cat clan has distanced itself from those conservative fools~"

"Then... does the Ninja Cat Clan have a legendary lineage of immortal techniques?"

"Uchiha Tokumitsu asked."

Back when he was besieging the Fire Temple, he had already read through its secret technique, "Welcome - Thousand Hand Kill," but he found that its structure was very different from ordinary chakra ninjutsu. He deduced that it might be one of the secret techniques passed down from ancient times, and it was very likely a secret technique that applied natural energy.

However, due to the passage of time, even the current head monk of the Fire Temple can only forcibly use secret techniques through chakra, and is no match for Susanoo.

"Celestial arts... do you mean the natural energy secret techniques of the so-called Three Sacred Lands of Spirit Beasts?"

Uchiha Nakagen stroked his chin, somewhat surprised.

"Yes."

Uchiha Tokumitsu picked up a piece of sashimi and said while eating, "I feel like I'm making no progress in the Path of Chakra, and it's not very meaningful to turn to studying other attribute changes, so I want to learn about so-called natural energy to see if I can gain any new insights."

"In fact, the history of the ninja cat clan as a settlement is much shorter than that of the Uchiha clan, probably dating back to the mid-Warring States period..."

Under Emiko's death stare, Uchiha Nakagen poured himself and Uchiha Tokumitsu a cup of sake each. "So, it's normal that there aren't any so-called Sage Technique inheritances..."

"That's a real shame..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu felt a little regretful.

"However... it seems that we Uchiha clan members are not very good at sensing the existence of natural energy..."

Uchiha Nakagen happily drank a cup of sake, then refilled his own: "It's said that so-called natural energy requires a peaceful mind to enter a state of nothingness in order to use it, and it's also said to involve various indescribable risks. However, I can only sense the existence of natural energy, and I can't use it in battle..."

Okay~

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Tokumitsu immediately understood why the Uchiha clan had few records related to natural energy.

It would be a miracle if an Uchiha ninja who has awakened the Sharingan could completely calm their mind!

"The old clan leader didn't master the power of natural energy, but that didn't stop him from dominating the ninja world."

Emiko interjected, saying, "Don't be tempted by external forces. Only controllable chakra is the most reliable source of power for a ninja!"

"I understand……"

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu did not refute his mother Emiko's words, he immediately changed the subject and began to praise the cooking skills of today's meal, which made Emiko smile and be extremely happy.

……

The following day, Uchiha Tokumitsu led his ninja guards away from the village under the pretext of returning to the Shogunate's Fubo Castle. They then turned north and headed until they reached the entrance of a deep cave.

The head of the secret guards, Uchiha Hatake, took out a stick of incense, lit it, and stuck it on the pile of stones at the entrance of the cave. Wisps of smoke drifted into the cave.

“Normally, we travel to the Void Ruins using the Reverse Summoning Technique, but since ninja cats generally don't have enough chakra to support long-distance reverse summoning, we've set up a communication point here to notify the ninja cat clan's reception cats via incense…”

Uchihachi Hokage explained.

"I see..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu raised an eyebrow, feeling that he had learned something new.

"This should also be considered a unique 'chakra conservation principle' in the ninja world..."

He actually thought the Reverse Summoning Technique could really summon people all over the ninja world.

Soon, two raccoon dogs dressed in clothes leaped out of the cave. They were as big as small tigers and much larger than ordinary cats.

One of the ninja cats also had a giant scroll tied to its back.

"Tahikami, Hina~ It's been so long~"

Makoto Uchiha greeted the two ninja cats cheerfully.

He also took out two bottles of drinks from his pocket and handed them to the two ninja cats.

"This is the catnip drink that the Ninja Cat Clan loves the most."

Uchiha Hōkage whispered in Uchiha Tokumitsu's ear.