Uchiha's personal opinion

Given the current situation in the ninja world, any ninja village that has the need and willingness to purchase large quantities of military equipment must be one that is currently at war.

After ruling out their own ninja village, the answer becomes obvious—

"Cloud Hidden!"

The more Pipa Juzo thought about it, the more convinced he became that his guess was correct.

Considering that Kumogakure once issued bonds on the Uchiha clan's stock exchange and the strength of Kumogakure's recent counterattack, it is clear that Kumogakure, having surrendered to Konoha and Iwagakure, would not be willing to surrender to a third ninja village. Therefore, it is highly likely that Kumogakure will offer the Uchiha clan irresistible terms to purchase military equipment again!

Moreover, although the conversation between the two sides was unusually amicable and Uchiha Tokumitsu's attitude was very friendly, both Kirigakure and the Shogunate knew that a battle between them was inevitable in the future!

Therefore, it was only natural for the shogunate to sell military equipment to Kumogakure in order to delay the situation on the battlefield in the Land of Lightning and thereby weaken Kirigakure.

After feeling a little more at ease, Pipa Juzo, who thought he had guessed the "truth," was still somewhat uneasy.

The good news is that the shogunate will not launch a northern expedition across the sea for the time being. The bad news is that the strength of Kumogakure may be strengthened with the support of the Tokukō shogunate, and the price that Kirigakure will have to pay to win the war will definitely be greater!

Afterwards, Uchiha Tokumitsu hosted a banquet for Biwa Juzo. Although both sides had their own ulterior motives, the atmosphere at the banquet was harmonious, as if their friendship would last forever.

After the Kirigakure Ironclad Ship was repaired, Juzo Biwa did not linger and quickly boarded a ship to return to the battlefield in the Land of Lightning.

"Increase troop deployment! We must achieve a swift victory!"

This was the solution devised by Pipa Juzo.

Since Kirigakure couldn't stop Kumogakure from acquiring the Shogunate's military supplies, the only solution was to end the battle quickly before Kumogakure obtained more supplies!

In the mind of the Hidden Mist, the so-called speeding up the end of the battle is in other words the speeding up the defeat of the opponent!

To achieve this goal, we need to recruit more ninja troops and gather more supplies for the war!

Pipa Juzo had already thought about this problem.

Nearly seven thousand ninjas of various kinds remain in the Land of Water, either stationed in various places for security or to carry out missions. Although these ninjas are of varying quality and their combat strength is not considered elite, they are still ninjas after all, and they can always play a certain role when they are brought to the battlefield.

……

Just as Uchiha Tokumitsu was preparing his troops and engaging in strategic deception, an extremely explosive piece of news arrived from the Land of Wind, located in the arid desert of the western border of the ninja world continent—

Under the leadership of the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure, the Sunagakure ninja army burned down the Temple of the Wind and captured the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Wind, massacring a large number of nobles and officials who advocated cutting military spending.

Furthermore, the Kazekage also coerced the current daimyo of the Land of Wind to abdicate, passing the position to his heir, and appointed himself "Regent Regent"!

"The Third Kazekage... Is he really that strong?"

Even Uchiha Tokumitsu was stunned upon hearing the news.

As the Kage of a village, the Third Kazekage set a precedent in the ninja world by deposing and installing a daimyo.

Even during the bloody and chaotic Warring States period, such acts of usurpation were extremely rare.

Moreover, the Third Kazekage not only slaughtered a large number of nobles and officials, but also proclaimed himself Regent and took charge of the military and political affairs of the Land of Wind. This was equivalent to completely tearing apart the one village, one country system and trampling on it. This was much more reckless than Uchiha Tokumitsu's behavior!

What was the reaction of the village's Senate and House of Representatives?

Uchiha Tokumitsu asked the ninja who came to report the information.

"Hime Tsunade proposed in the Senate to launch a war against Sunagakure in order to uphold the orthodox tradition and maintain order in the ninja world..."

"That's what the intelligence ninja replied."

"Pfft!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu couldn't help but sneer.

"...However, the four council chairmen remained noncommittal, and apart from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio expressing limited support, the other ninja clans in the Senate showed no interest."

The intelligence ninja added.

"I see……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded.

The reactions of the various ninja clans in the Senate were not surprising, ultimately because even if they won, they would not gain much benefit from a battle in a remote and impoverished place like the Land of Wind.

Moreover, marching in the scorching desert not only requires guarding against attacks from Sunagakure, but also against sandstorms and the endless stream of ferocious beasts and poisonous insects that roam the desert. Therefore, Konoha ninjas naturally have little interest in such a difficult task as conquering Sunagakure.

The Konoha ninjas had suffered heavy losses fighting in the Rain Country, where it rains all day, so naturally they were even less willing to fight in the Wind Country and against the Sand Village.

"Furthermore, the daimyo of both the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth have issued exceptionally strong condemnations..."

The intelligence ninja continued, "Therefore, according to analysis, the daimyo may mobilize the ninja villages to fight..."

"That's only natural... The daimyo and nobles are terrified that their own ninja villages will follow suit."

Uchiha Tokumitsu was in a very good mood.

After causing all sorts of trouble in the ninja world, he finally brought about the first and most obvious butterfly effect!

"I'll inform the village that I'll be going back sometime soon..."

After some deliberation, Uchiha Tokumitsu decided to temporarily put aside the Land of Water conquest and return to the village to make proper arrangements with various forces to see if he could help the Uchiha clan make further progress.

"As ordered!"

The intelligence ninja prepared to leave after receiving the order.

"besides……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu suddenly realized something.

"Arrange for someone to make an appointment with the Senju clan. I'm quite interested in Tsunade's suggestion..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu decided to add more credibility to his strategic deception so that Kirigakure could feel at ease diverting its military forces to the Land of Lightning battlefield.

"I obey your command!"

The intelligence ninja hurriedly left.

Uchiha Tokumitsu continued to ponder and deduce the possible impact of the changing situation.

Chapter 262 A Great Change Unseen in a Millennium

"A sign of chaos, the collapse of rites and music..."

The Daimyo Mansion of the Land of Fire.

The daimyo sat upright inside the palace, his face grim.

The nobles and officials were all crestfallen, not daring to breathe loudly.

They originally thought that Uchiha Tokumitsu of their own Konoha Village was already arrogant and domineering enough, but they did not expect that the Sand Village on the border was even more tyrannical.

Although this event occurred in the Land of Wind, which is quite far from the Land of Fire, the impact it had on the Land of Wind was exceptionally profound.

Especially with the presence of the exceptionally arrogant Uchiha Tokumitsu in the Land of Fire, the nobles trembled at the thought that the Tokumitsu Shogunate might follow suit.

"...Tsunade's proposed plan to conquer Sunagakure did not receive the support of the Konoha Senate."

Seeing that the daimyo's expression had softened slightly, Hattori Heiji, the leader of the attendant ninjas, mustered his courage and said, "However, according to the Senju clan's contact, General Tokumitsu has already sent an envoy to meet with Tsunade to discuss this matter."

"Konoha..."

Daming felt a terrible headache, so he covered his face with his folding fan and rubbed his temples a few times.

Will the Governor's Office send troops?

The daimyo put down his folding fan and asked with a gloomy face, "The military power of Konoha is in the hands of Uchiha Tokumitsu. If he agrees to conquer Sunagakure, the so-called House of Representatives and Senate of Konoha should no longer obstruct him, right?"

"...The two houses of Konoha are not obstructing, but rather indicating that they have no interest in participating in the internal affairs of the Land of Wind."

Hattori Heiji said in a low voice.

"Obstruction" and "lack of interest" are two different attitudes.

The proposal to "block" the invasion of Sunagakure shows that they oppose the war; but if it is just "uninterested", then the attitude of the Konoha ninja clan is that it is none of their business and they don't care if other people in the village want to participate in the war, as long as they are not involved.

Moreover, for the Konoha ninja clans that expressed "no interest" in participating in the war, there was actually an opportunity to stimulate their desire to participate through some incentives.

Hattori Heiji glanced up slightly at the daimyo's expression, but ultimately dared not suggest bribing the Konoha ninja clan.

Since Uchiha Tokumitsu was promoted to Governor-General of Konoha and Shogun of the Land of Fire, the appetites of the various Konoha ninja clans have also increased. Moreover, by bypassing the powerful Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo and contacting the Konoha ninja clans, they might accidentally step on some unspeakable slippery slopes.

This inevitably reminded Hattori Heiji of the fallen former Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

That kind and respectful daimyo, along with his kind and amiable Konoha ninja, was thus completely eliminated. The daimyo lost his leverage over Konoha, leading to the current passive situation.

The high-ranking official, naturally, felt extremely resentful.

He had always considered himself the rightful ruler of the Land of Fire's millions of people, and Konoha was merely a ninja village under his rule. In the past, he had only used it as a useful tool, but now this "tool" had taken the lead, making him, who considered himself the "master," very embarrassed.

The reason why the Daimyo was so eager to quell this "coup" led by the Sand Village ninja within the Land of Wind was because he was afraid that this trend of insubordination would spread.

"Your Highness the Daimyo..."

The eunuch outside the palace jogged into the hall, knelt down, and announced, "The envoy who went to the Land of Earth has returned..."

"Summon them inside immediately!"

The daimyo immediately straightened up and gave the order.

The spirits of the nobles and officials, which had been low, began to lift slightly.

"Your Highness!"

The messenger entered the palace and reported: "Your humble servant has fulfilled his mission and has successfully persuaded the daimyo of the Land of Earth and the Hidden Stone Village of Iwagakure to send troops to the Land of Wind to restore order!"

"Good! Good! Good!"

The daimyo disregarded formalities and exclaimed repeatedly, "The daimyo of the Land of Earth is of noble character, and Iwagakure is also deeply righteous!"

"With a major power joining the war, I believe the traitors of Sunagakure will be quelled soon!"

The daimyo's gaze fell upon Hattori Heiji.

The daimyo had long since given up on those incompetent samurai in the country. The only reason he kept them around was to control those peasants. In addition, Uchiha Tokumitsu did not allow the daimyo to raise a large number of ninjas, otherwise he would have disbanded the daimyo's army and trained a new type of ninja army long ago.

"That's roughly it..."

Hattori Heiji felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but he dared not disobey the daimyo's wishes, so he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

"...Has the Tsuchigumo clan given a reply?"

The name was asked again.

The Tsuchigumo clan is one of the few ninja clans that live within the Land of Fire but are not affiliated with Konoha. They are also the target of the Fire Daimyo's attempts to win them over.