Uchiha's personal opinion

"As ordered."

Sakumo Hatake agreed.

"Go."

After saying that, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, closed his eyes.

Sakumo Hatake bowed and then got up to leave.

"Tobirama-sensei..."

After a long while, the Hokage's office, which was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, was finally filled with the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's quiet sigh.

He knew that this time he was outmaneuvered by Sakumo Hatake.

If it were Uchiha Tokumitsu, he would never have come up with such persuasive words.

More importantly, as the current Hokage, he could not refuse such a reason, whether from a public or private perspective, or from a moral or logical standpoint.

Even though there is a high probability that it could lead to a direct conflict or even a large-scale war between Konoha and Kumogakure.

"Fortunately, Kirigakure is still harassing the coast of the Land of Lightning, so Kumogakure may not be able to spare many forces..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, quickly considered the recent ninja world intelligence and situation analysis in his mind, and unexpectedly discovered that mediation was actually quite feasible.

Although the mediation might lead to the resentment of the Hidden Cloud Village reigniting the conflict with the Hidden Leaf Village at some point in the future, the future is yet to come, and dealing with the present is the most important thing.

Moreover, Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo are pressing and aggressive. If they can't achieve something, who knows how much of a future they have left?

With that in mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi perked up, shook the bell on the table to summon an ANBU member, and whispered something to him.

Upon receiving the order, the Anbu immediately headed to the Sarutobi Shogunate's headquarters in the northern part of the Land of Fire.

He then issued a handwritten order, commanding the Sarutobi clan to immediately and secretly assemble their ninja army in preparation for any eventuality.

Although he was willing to put up a fight with Yunyin, he was still worried that his eldest son, who was stationed in the northern border, might get into trouble during this so-called "mediation," so he still needed to make some extra preparations.

In addition, the shogunate ninja army under Uchiha Tokumitsu marched north, and although it was said to be a reserve force, it still made him somewhat uneasy.

……

With each order issued by Sakumo Hatake from the Konoha Military Command, the massive war machine of Konoha Village was immediately activated.

First, the mobile unit directly under the Jonin class was transferred to the Northwest Fire Gate Shogunate. Then, the northern border defense force, led by Sarutobi Shinnosuke, brazenly crossed the border and entered the small country of Tanoku.

Subsequently, the most prominent Tokugawa Shogunate also dispatched a ninja army northward to deploy defenses in the northern part of the Land of Fire.

Anyone with eyes can see that Konoha's entire operation is aimed at Kumogakure.

Currently, besides fighting Kirigakure, Kumogakure also recently issued an ultimatum to Amegakure, Konoha's nominal vassal village, under the pretext of investigating the Tailed Beasts...

Following this, the public declaration from the Hokage Building confirmed the suspicions of other countries in the ninja world.

Konoha announced its formal intervention in the conflict between Kumogakure and Amegakure, and demanded that both sides exercise restraint and refrain from rashly launching a war.

Meanwhile, Konoha's advisor and elder, Mitokado Homura, was also dispatched to Kumogakure to mediate peace matters.

Chapter 220 is actually an armed intervention.

Konoha's series of swift and well-executed troop movements quickly cut off all routes for Kumogakure to advance south and attack Amegakure.

Even after Uchiha Tokumitsu led his troops to complete the deployment of the battle line in the northern part of the Land of Fire, the Hidden Cloud Village was still in a state of confusion.

They never expected Konoha's reaction to be so intense!

Although Amegakure nominally became a vassal of Konoha after the Second Shinobi World War, and Konoha stationed ninja forces within the Land of Rain, this was merely a stopgap measure by Hanzo of the Salamander to end the war. Amegakure maintained its independence, and the Land of Rain was not considered a legitimate sphere of influence of Konoha recognized by the various countries of the shinobi world.

However, judging from Konoha's current reaction, it seems that the relationship between Konoha and Amegakure is not as simple as it appears...

"War! This is Konoha's provocation of war!"

Upon receiving Konoha's publicly announced peace declaration, the enraged Third Raikage smashed the solid wood desk to pieces with a single punch.

The elite Jonin from Kumogakure in the Raikage's office remained silent.

Konoha's attitude is already very clear.

The Konoha ninja army cutting off all road access was the perfect statement!

Regardless of whether Kumogakure accepts Konoha's mediation, all military operations against Amegakure must cease.

Regardless of whether the Cloud Village's request to track down the Tailed Beasts was reasonable, the Leaf Village would not allow them to cross the border into the Land of Rain.

For the Cloud Village, where martial arts ideology was rampant, Konoha's actions undoubtedly meant war.

The problem is, Yunyin is not doing well right now.

Although the Hidden Mist ninjas are slightly weaker than the Hidden Cloud ninjas in individual combat, their unparalleled naval ninja army annihilated the Hidden Cloud's naval forces, leaving them with only the option of heavily defending the coastline and various river estuaries.

While the Cloud Village, defending the homeland, had a numerical advantage, it still felt immense pressure when faced with small groups of Mist Village ninja harassing them from all directions.

"Has the relocation of Turtle Island been completed?"

With its naval power completely lost, Cloud Village is facing more and more headaches.

Even Turtle Island, which had been adrift at sea for years, was forced to relocate to the more secluded northern Arctic Ocean.

"Lord Brubi replied not long ago, saying that the transfer has been completed and they are currently setting up camouflage and concealment around the outer edge of Turtle Island..."

A Cloud Village Jonin immediately replied.

Turtle Island is the greatest secret of Kumogakure. The real waterfall on the island allows tailed beasts and jinchūriki to achieve a spiritual connection, which is the secret behind Kumogakure's generations of training of powerful jinchūriki.

Apart from the group of trusted Jonin in the Raikage's office, even other high-ranking elders of Kumogakure were completely unaware of the existence of Turtle Island.

In addition, Cloud Village has many secret weapon factories that were set up on various dangerous islands to avoid being noticed, which need to be urgently relocated.

While fighting against the Hidden Mist Village and transferring their belongings, they now also have to deal with the Konoha Ninja Army, who are all talk of peace but full of malice. Even the most arrogant Hidden Cloud Village martial arts faction is a little uneasy.

After all, the Cloud Village, with its deeply ingrained militant mentality, does not understand what peace is, nor does it comprehend the meaning of mediation. In their eyes, Konoha's actions are clearly opportunistic!

Although the Cloud Village is known for its tyranny and unreasonableness, it is not entirely without brains.

They knew that with the strength of the Hidden Cloud Village, they would definitely not be able to withstand fighting on two fronts at the same time.

Therefore, although they felt that the so-called Konoha mediation envoy and advisor elder Mitokado Homura was actually there to extort money, Kumogakure still had to grit their teeth and accept it.

……

As one of the main organizers of this international mediation event, Hatake Sakumo also chose to leave the village and head north to coordinate the various ninja armies in response to the subsequent moves of Kumogakure. Moreover, he happened to be going the same way as Mitokado Homura, and the two groups of people headed north together.

Mitokado Homura also had no good feelings towards Kumogakure. Like the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he still harbored resentment over the death of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

However, since traveling north with Hatake Sakumo, they have seen a constant stream of shogunate ninja along the way, many of whom are familiar faces from the villages.

"The ninja clan is so obsessed with war..."

Mitokado sighed inwardly.

Those ninjas who were not registered as Konoha ninjas all came from affiliated ninja clans that were on good terms with the Uchiha clan. Such a large-scale participation in the war shows that their bond with the Uchiha clan was almost unshakable.

Furthermore, since taking charge of the newly established Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mitomon Homo has been dedicated to collecting various intelligences about the Tokuko Shogunate, and has a certain understanding of the Shogunate's organizational structure and personnel composition.

In Mitokado Homura's view, the power system formed by the Uchiha clan and affiliated ninja clans, which used the United Fisheries Company as a bond of interest, was meaningless, even though it lacked the righteousness of the Hokage lineage, which was bound by the Will of Fire. The Tokugawa Shogunate was clearly more aggressive.

"A bunch of lunatics even more belligerent than the militants..."

Mitomon shook his head inwardly.

Perhaps because the Tokugawa Shogunate had once single-handedly defeated Kirigakure, the ninja army mobilized to facilitate the mediation did not have a significant impact on Konoha.

However, the higher-ups in the Hokage lineage viewed this as a very dangerous signal.

Under Uchiha Tokumitsu's planning, a war of moderate intensity and minimal losses was not only not a burden, but also a necessary means to seize benefits.

Faced with a fair distribution of benefits, and influenced by the experiences of veteran ninjas, the ninja clan members began to become more warlike.

Now that the Konoha ninjas are no longer afraid of war, will they continue to listen to their old-fashioned leaders who are used to seeking stability?

"Sakumo-kun, regarding this mediation, is there anything else you think we should pay attention to?"

After arriving at the northern border of the Land of Fire, Hatake Sakumo prepared to part ways with Mitokado Homura.

So Mitokado Homura took the opportunity to ask a question.

"We should do our utmost to promote peace, and the Konoha Ninja Army is Elder En's strongest support!"

Sakumo Hatake replied solemnly.

Although his answer was somewhat off-topic, it effectively demonstrated his attitude.

In other words, if the negotiations succeed, they can continue; if they fail, mediation can be escalated into armed intervention at any time.

Sakumo Hatake has already prepared for small-scale battles.

……

Hanzo the Salamander never expected that a letter he sent to Uchiha Tokumitsu could mobilize such a great deal of power.

"Lord Deguang truly deserves to be called a hero who spreads martial arts throughout the land. His righteousness is unparalleled in the ninja world!"

Hanzo the Salamander spoke to those around him.

Those Rain Ninja Jonin who had been fed by Uchiha Tokumitsu on the battlefield of the Land of Water all deeply agreed with this.

Where is Uchiha Tokuko?

"Hanzo the Salamander" asked again.

"His Excellency the General is currently personally stationed at the northern border of the Land of Fire to support the mediation envoy's actions."

Amata, a Jonin from the Rain Village, quickly replied.

Your Excellency General...

The very natural honorific title "Rain Field" made Hanzo the Salamander's imagination run wild once again.

When did his trusted Jonin become so close to Uchiha Tokumitsu?! He even knows so much about Uchiha Tokumitsu's whereabouts?

Why did his subordinates speak out so naturally about information that even he, as the leader of the Rain Village, did not understand?

Could they be secretly colluding with each other without our knowledge?

Am I the only one in Amegakure who hasn't been bribed by Uchiha Tokumitsu?

Hanzo the Salamander couldn't help but start to become suspicious.