Uchiha's personal opinion

It was obvious that Uchiha Tokumitsu was setting a trap for the insatiable Iwagakure, but Huang Tu still willingly jumped in and tried to drag Konoha down with him.

“That’s right, Mr. Huangtu’s suggestion is excellent, no problem!”

Uchiha Tokumitsu immediately agreed.

Huang Tu was taken aback at first, then forced a smile onto his face, but he was very puzzled inside.

"Could it be... that I did or said something wrong...?"

What he didn't know was that Uchiha Tokumitsu had planned this all along, just waiting for Iwagakure to make this request.

Even in the division of the occupied territory, he planned to give up a portion to Iwagakure as bait during the bargaining process, so as to lure the other side to stay in the Land of Lightning and draw the firepower of Kumogakure.

As for the Konoha-occupied territories within the Land of Lightning, he had already decided who would take over.

That is to hand it over to the Sarutobi Shogunate, which had been stripped of control over its border defense forces.

This can be considered a form of compensation for the Sarutobi Shogunate, which was powerless and without territory. As for whether Sarutobi Shinnosuke was willing to accept it, and whether he would have the strength to establish a separate regime after the internal strife, that was none of Uchiha Tokumitsu's business.

Anyway, Uchiha Tokumitsu has given his heart; whether or not he can take advantage of it is up to Sarutobi Shinnosuke.

But if the territory is lost in the future, then don't blame Uchiha Tokumitsu for taking advantage of the situation.

"I wonder if Shinnosuke, this half-Jinchūriki, will be abducted by Kumogakure..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu thought maliciously.

"There's also the Tailed Beast dispute that concerns the reputation of Amegakure; Kumogakure also needs to give Amegakure an explanation..."

"Hanzo the Salamander," he said.

"That's right, that's exactly how it should be."

Huang Tu nodded repeatedly, "This is also evidence of the Cloud Village's bullying of small countries. They must pay the price!"

"Mr. Hanzo, just say what you need, and Iwagakure will definitely support you!"

Judging from their words, it seems that the relationship between Iwagakure and Amegakure is very harmonious.

"...Kumakure's stance is to retrieve the Two-Tails, so how about we punish them accordingly?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu took the initiative and said, "Since the Two-Tails is nowhere to be found, it means that Kumogakure simply cannot control such an important power. Why not just strip Kumogakure of its control over the Two-Tails? From now on, whoever among us finds it will be responsible."

That's not necessarily a bad thing...

Both Huang Tu and Hanzo were moved, and they suddenly looked at each other and agreed.

Both Amegakure and Iwagakure are located in the north-central region of the ninja world, which is also the traditional "respawn" location of the Two-Tails. So, there might be some opportunities again...

Iwagakure, not content with having two tailed beasts, and Hanzo of the Salamander, began to dream of Amegakure's rise to become the sixth great nation after acquiring tailed beasts.

Of course, they didn't know that the Two-Tails Matatabi had already been handled by Uchiha Tokumitsu countless times.

"What about the Eight-Tails?"

Huang Tu thought for a moment, then asked again.

"The Eight-Tails is dead..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu replied.

"It will always come back to life..."

The loess soil is persistent and unyielding.

"The Land of Lightning is one of the Five Great Nations, and the Hidden Cloud Village is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It wouldn't make sense if they didn't have Tailed Beasts..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu first praised and then criticized, "Why don't we classify the Eight-Tails as a wild tailed beast? We and the Hidden Cloud Village can capture it, and then we can each show our skills."

Hanzo of the Salamander, Himon Uchiha, and Sakumo Hatake nodded in agreement, while Kyoto hesitated.

If only we could strip Kumogakure of its control over the two tailed beasts! That way, Iwagakure could establish an absolute advantage in combat power over Kumogakure!

"Mr. Huangtu, if you have any ideas, feel free to bring them up. We can discuss them, and if all else fails, we can vote by raising our hands."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said hypocritically, "We are allies on the same side, so there's no need for any reservations..."

They even had to vote by raising their hands...

Huang Tu looked at Uchiha Tokumitsu speechlessly. The other three are all on the same boat as you, so what's the point of voting?

"General Deguang's thoughts and ideas are all far-sighted and well-thought-out, and Yan Yin has no objection!"

Huang Tu also spoke in a pretentious manner.

That's good~

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded in satisfaction, then summoned his attendant ninja, "Summon the Cloud Village envoy to see me!"

Chapter 236 Applying Maximum Pressure

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Raikage's close retainer, Tsuchidai, somewhat flustered, followed the guidance of his attendant ninja towards the shogunate's meeting hall.

Uchiha Tokumitsu's strategy of leaving them hanging for a few days was effective.

Furthermore, the confinement also cut off their access to outside information, which further exacerbated the Cloud Village delegation's fear.

They had no idea what plans or activities the Tokugawa Shogunate's ninja army and Iwagakure had. Tsuchida, who was in charge of the delegation, also had no idea whether there were any other changes in the village or how the situation was on the battlefield in Kirigakure.

However, they were caught completely off guard and forced by a group of expressionless Uchiha ninjas to go to the conference hall for multi-party negotiations...

Tu Tai became even more apprehensive.

I wonder just how big Konoha and Iwagakure's appetites are, and what kind of plans they've made these past few days...

After taking a deep breath, Tsuchida stepped into the meeting hall amidst the indifferent gazes of the Uchiha ninjas.

In the slightly dimly lit meeting room, Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo sat side by side at the head of the table. To their left was Onoki's son, Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, and to their right were Hanzo of the Salamander and a middle-aged man whom Tsuchikage did not recognize, but judging from his hair color and appearance, he should also be a member of the Uchiha clan.

In addition, several black-haired and red-haired ninjas, fully armed, stood in various corners of the room, seemingly serving as guards.

"Uchiha Himon..."

Tsuchida quickly racked his brains to recall information about the Uchiha clan and used a process of elimination to guess the identity of the man on the right.

While the Five Generals and Four Shogunates system in the Land of Fire and Konoha significantly weakened the Hokage's authority and led to the emergence of more factions within the village, thus undermining internal unity, the Shogunate system also fully unleashed the offensive and aggressive nature of Konoha ninjas.

Especially after Uchiha Tokumitsu led his troops to defeat Kirigakure and forced the Daimyo and Mizukage of the Land of Water to sign an unequal treaty, the shogunate system received even more attention from various countries in the ninja world.

Although Uchiha Himon did not wage wars as extensively as Uchiha Tokumitsu, he was quite successful in managing the northwestern border of the Land of Fire and brought the Land of Grass under the control of the Uchiha clan, reaping substantial benefits. Therefore, in the analysis of the Cloud Village's intelligence department, he was regarded as the most outstanding political talent of the Uchiha clan.

What does the presence of government officials on the battlefield of the Land of Lightning signify?

Tu Tai couldn't help but let his mind wander again.

"Good day, Tokimitsu-sama, Sakumo-sama!"

Tu Tai bowed and greeted the two people seated on the upper seat, and then greeted the three people on his left and right.

"Good day, Mr. Hanzo."

Hanzo the Salamander completely ignored him.

"General Huomen, although this is our first meeting, I have long admired you..."

Uchiha Himon nodded slightly in return.

"Yellow Earth Ninja, long time no see."

As for Iwagakure, Tsuchidae did not have such a good attitude.

Uchiha Tokumitsu found it quite amusing to watch Tsuchidae greeting everyone.

Yunyin's attitude of praising the powerful and belittling the weak was also fully revealed in just a few words.

"Mr. Tutai, you've come a long way and must be tired. Have you been resting well these past few days?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu said, "Please sit down. This is our first time meeting, so let's have a brief chat."

After saying that, Uchiha Tokumitsu pointed to the seat under the yellow earth on the left.

The loess soil suddenly felt incredibly sticky and greasy.

Tu Tai's face turned red as if he were constipated, but he still followed instructions and sat down on the left.

"We're all ninjas, so let's cut to the chase. Mr. Tsuchida, please speak frankly..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu made a "please" gesture and said to Tsuchida, "Having come here to negotiate peace, what efforts is Kumogakure willing to make to restore peace?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu's tone was slightly gentler, and his words were relatively considerate of Kumogakure's face, which made Tsuchida breathe a slight sigh of relief.

"The pursuit of the Two-Tails was indeed an inappropriate act by the Hidden Cloud Village. The one who uttered those arrogant words was entrusted by Lord Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village. I hereby apologize to Mr. Hanzo and hope for his forgiveness..."

Tsuchitai said sincerely, "Of course, Kumogakure will also pay Amegakure a certain amount of reasonable compensation as a token of our appreciation."

Hanzo the Salamander remained unmoved and did not respond to Tsuchida's words.

Tsuchikage turned his gaze to Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"Mr. Tsuchidai, please tell us seriously what kind of price Kumogakure is willing to pay."

Uchiha Himon spoke up, "Now that the armies of Konoha and Iwagakure have gathered in the Land of Lightning, all for the purpose of maintaining peace, Mr. Tsuchida's attitude makes me see no sincerity from Kumogakure!"

"If they don't show sincerity, Iwagakure wouldn't mind joining forces with Konoha to launch a northern expedition, teaching the arrogant and peace-disrupting Kumogakure a lesson!"

Huang Tu also said coldly.

When Tu Tai greeted everyone earlier, he was the most dismissive towards him.

How can we prevent the loess soil from becoming brittle?

"The peace among the five great nations is the order established by Lord Hashirama. The great nations should maintain peace to prevent the flames of war from reigniting..."

Tu Tai continued.

"All right!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu interrupted Tsuchidai, saying coldly, "Mr. Tsuchidai probably didn't understand what I said, so I'll repeat myself. Please don't beat around the bush. Tell me what price Kumogakure is willing to pay to make us stop fighting!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu's words pierced Tsuchida's chest like a bayonet, causing his face to turn deep red.

Indeed, as Huang Tu said, the image of the Cloud Village as tyrannical is deeply ingrained in people's minds, and it is also famous for its trickery in seizing the secret techniques of various small ninja villages. Now that the Cloud Village is in decline, it sends envoys to say things like maintaining peace, which only invites ridicule.

"...Kumakuya promised to withdraw from the southern buffer states between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, and to pay General Tokukō a reparation of five billion."

Tu Tai struggled to articulate the conditions for coming to Kumogakure.