Uchiha's personal opinion

Elder Yunyin slowly said, "The painful events of the alliance meeting are now a thing of the past. Why does Mr. Yan want to bring up those old matters again?"

"Could it be that Konoha has started a war with Kumogakure because of this?"

"...For peace!"

Mitokado Homura remained silent for a moment before giving a high-sounding answer: "Kumakuha is already a destabilizing factor in the ninja world, and may even be the source of the next Shinobi World War. For the sake of peace, it must be restricted!"

"The conflict between Kumogakure and Amegakure is only to retrieve the long-lost Tailed Beasts, not to expand their sphere of influence!"

The Third Raikage also interjected in a deep voice.

Mitokado Homura was perfectly clear about the reason.

The problem is that his purpose was to fan the flames.

"There's no room for discussion, you have to sign."

Mitokado Homura replied with his eyes lowered.

Even if it doesn't work out, the Hokage faction can still gain a reputation as a "hardliner against Kumogakure" and use it to win the support of other wavering forces in the village, so why not?

"If Kumogakure chooses to refuse, does that mean Konoha is declaring war?"

The Third Raikage slowly stood up, walked up to Mitokado Homura, and said...

"Lord Raikage, if my mediation fails, then Generals Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo will continue to negotiate with Kumogakure. As for how far the negotiations will go and what the consequences will be, we cannot know."

The Third Raikage's imposing figure cast a shadow that completely enveloped Homura Mitokado, but he remained unfazed: "At that time... all the consequences arising from this will be borne by Kumogakure!"

After uttering those harsh words, Mitokado Homura pushed open the door and left.

The office of the Raikage fell into dead silence.

"Third Generation, are you ready?"

Elder Yunyin tapped his cane lightly on the ground, breaking the silence in the office: "As the Shadow of Yunyin, it's time to make your decision!"

"...Tell Brubi to come back!"

The Third Raikage returned to his seat and gave the order: "A! This time, with you leading the ninja army, take Brubi and head south!"

"I obey your command!"

A, the son of the Third Raikage and an elite Jonin from Kumogakure, stepped forward with his head held high.

"The ninja army will advance directly into the Land of Rice Fields, but they must not launch an attack!"

The Third Raikage added a sentence.

"...Yes, sir."

Although Ai was somewhat unwilling, she dared not disobey her father's will.

"I will try my best to find the main force of Kirigakure as soon as possible and fight them to the death. After defeating Kirigakure, I will lead my troops south to fight Konoha to the death!"

"As ordered!"

The group of Cloud Village Jonin made a resounding promise.

……

Meanwhile, another unexpected envoy arrived at Uchiha Tokumitsu's ninja army base.

"Lord Deguang, I am here on behalf of Lord Tuying of this village to extend my greetings!"

The one who came was none other than Hiruzen, the Jonin of Iwagakure who had led his troops to defeat by Uchiha Tokumitsu during the war in the Land of Grass.

Although he was once demoted to a genin due to defeat, the self-reliant Hiru quickly regained his original rank thanks to his outstanding strength and achievements.

"Welcome, friend from Iwagakure."

Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hanzo of the Salamander sat comfortably in the central command tent, looking down at the envoy from Iwagakure.

"Lord Onoki must have sent his esteemed envoy for another purpose. Please explain, Hiruzen."

"Lord Tokukō, Lord Hanzō..."

The demon leech bowed again to the two seated figures: "Our village has learned that Konoha is willing to fight against the Cloud Village, a scourge of the ninja world, in order to uphold justice, and therefore we are willing to lend a helping hand!"

"interesting……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu was also amused.

Iwagakure's uninvited arrival was indeed unexpected.

However, upon closer examination, it makes sense.

During the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Earth was invaded and plundered by the army of the Hidden Cloud Village. Even when Onoki personally led the shinobi army into battle, he could only barely use the geographical advantage to resist the attack of the Hidden Cloud Village and was basically on the defensive throughout the entire war.

However, the war was suddenly resolved through the mediation of the various daimyo. Feeling they hadn't gained enough, Kumogakure left sullenly, while Iwagakure, who had been severely beaten, remained resentful.

Now that Konoha has mobilized its ninja army to target Kumogakure, Iwagakure, upon learning of this intelligence, was overjoyed and quickly reported it to the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. After a closed-door meeting, Iwagakure unanimously decided to participate in the first "international mediation" in the ninja world to uphold justice for Amegakure!

As for the sordid affairs of Iwagakure and Amegakure in the Land of Rain, they were no longer worth mentioning at this point.

"Mr. Hanzo, it seems there is still justice in the ninja world~"

Uchiha Tokukochi, the Salamander Hanzo, laughed.

"Justice resides in the hearts of the people!"

Sanshoyu Hanzo deeply agreed.

"The Hidden Cloud Village has committed many unjust acts and must be punished!"

The leech immediately echoed.

"...It's not sanctions, it's mediation!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu pointed out his grammatical error.

Chapter 222 Sharpening the Knife

"Justice will prevail in the ninja world..."

After seeing off the Iwagakure messenger, Hiruzen, Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed.

Hanzo the Salamander nodded in agreement.

Konoha and Iwagakure took the initiative to stand up for the small Amegakure. Two great powers serving a small country—what a blessing that is!

"However, to have the Cloud Village become so universally hated and reviled, it's truly remarkable."

With another powerful ally joining the "righteous" camp, Uchiha Tokumitsu was naturally overjoyed.

Although they had fought several major battles with Iwagakure in the northern part of the Land of Grass, now that they had chosen to stand together against the detestable Kumogakure, they naturally put the past dirty deeds behind them.

"Apart from Amegakure and Takigakure, most of the other small ninja countries or villages in the ninja world have suffered from the plunder or bullying of Kumogakure."

Hanzo the Salamander said, "Especially small ninja villages with secret techniques passed down through generations are more likely to be plundered or slaughtered by Kumogakure..."

"Those who commit many unrighteous acts will surely perish..."

"Uchiha Tokumitsu said."

……

After inspecting the defenses of Sarutobi Shinnosuke's ninja army in the Land of Fields on a whim, Hatake Sakumo returned to the northern border of the Land of Fire to meet with Uchiha Tokumitsu, and together they awaited the mediation results of Mitokado Homura.

Because the Iwagakure envoy arrived through a secret route arranged by Uchiha Himon, Hatake Sakumo was unaware that Iwagakure also intended to get involved in the mediation.

Therefore, when Uchiha Tokumitsu mentioned this to him, Hatake Sakumo was also very surprised.

"Could it be... that justice and righteousness truly exist in the ninja world?!"

Sakumo Hatake, who had been corrupted and turned to the dark side by Tokukatsu Uchiha, suddenly regained his belief in light and justice.

"What? It's all about self-interest."

Uchiha Tokumitsu chuckled and explained, "Iwagakure and Kumogakure have always been enemies. It's not surprising that they would take the initiative to get involved if they had the chance to crush their rival."

"On another note, this is also the first time that the major powers have joined forces to deal with a major ninja village that is not Konoha."

Sakumo Hatake chuckled.

Although Konoha did not engage in large-scale battles with Kumogakure during the Second Shinobi World War, Sakumo Hatake had already dealt with Kumogakure many times when he served as the commander of the northern border defense forces, and the two sides were even physically "on the same side".

Therefore, Hatake Sakumo also had no good feelings towards Kumogakure.

"The expansionist ambitions of the Hidden Cloud Village are too strong and definitely need to be restricted."

Hanzo, the salamander, gloated.

Among the five great nations of the ninja world, the Hidden Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning is the most detestable.

Other ninja villages at most coveted the fertile territory of the Land of Fire, but the Land of Lightning was different; it was very interested in both the Land of Earth and the Land of Water.

Apart from Sunagakure, which is located in the southwest corner of the ninja world and has no dealings with Kumogakure, the other three major ninja villages have all been harassed or even invaded by Kumogakure.

Even the Hidden Rock Village, trapped in the highlands of the mountain gorge, was attacked multiple times by the Hidden Cloud Village because of its abundant production of various high-quality ores.

"Then let's take this opportunity to let the arrogant Cloud Village taste what the iron fist of justice feels like!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu said this.

……

In the following days, Uchiha Tokumitsu urged his shogunate ninja army to conduct exercises and trials, enabling the Kirigakure-origin Guiyi ninja to quickly familiarize themselves with the combat environment of the Land of Lightning; at the same time, the ninja alliance forces that arrived one after another also successfully completed the joint exercises of the new tactics.

Through the experience gained from multiple wars, Uchiha Tokumitsu developed a completely new set of ninja army combat tactics.

Unlike the small-team system adopted by other major ninja villages, Uchiha Tokumitsu completely abandoned the piecemeal reserve team combat method this time and began to practice penetration operations.

The Uchiha ninja army and the ninjas of the three Kirigakure clans under the shogunate, as the most elite ninja forces, will be separately selected to form the first combat echelon, undertaking the task of tearing through the enemy lines.

The ninja forces under the Eastern Border Defense Forces served as the main combat force, organized as the second echelon, and launched an offensive to annihilate the enemy after the Uchiha ninja forces broke through the enemy lines.

The Konoha Ninja Alliance, as the third echelon, was mainly responsible for flanking and encircling the enemy from both sides, harassing the garrisoned ninja forces on the target front from the flanks, and providing cover for the first combat echelon's attack.

In this way, the most elite Jonin forces are freed from the complex battles of annihilation and can be dedicated to assault and decapitation operations. As long as the vanguard first combat echelon can maintain its offensive, the shogunate ninja army's offensive will be as unstoppable as a tsunami.

"The core of this tactic lies in how the first echelon can maintain its combat effectiveness at all times..."

Hanzo of the Salamander also personally participated in this exercise and gave his opinion: "Even the most elite Uchiha ninja army will inevitably lose its offensive capability due to large-scale casualties in continuous and brutal battles."

"Therefore, I plan to have Sakumo-kun take command of the first combat echelon, while I will personally command the second echelon."