Uchiha's personal opinion

"...Stop looking! You can't see the flower!"

On the coast of the Land of Whirlpools, Killer Bee of Kumogakure shouted at Koto, who was staring blankly at the various Shogunate warships on the beach.

During the few days they stayed at the shogunate's base in the Land of Whirlpools, Huang Tu would spend several hours each day watching the seashore. At first, Killer Bee and the others just thought that the country bumpkins from Iwagakure had never seen such clean seawater and were just coming to see something new. But after paying attention to Huang Tu's actions, they roughly understood his intentions.

He counted how many ironclad warships the Shogunate actually had.

"...Today, eight warships with different hull numbers than usual have appeared."

Huang Tu said with a solemn expression, "A total of thirty-three different warships have appeared at sea, and this is only a part of the Shogunate fleet."

"It's said that their main force is still in Kirigakure, and only a portion of their damaged ships have returned to port..."

"...Could it be that Iwagakure is also planning to engage in an arms race by building ships?"

Kirabi scoffed.

Although Kumogakure and Iwagakure are mortal enemies, they are now acting as envoys of their respective daimyo, attempting to "mediate" the shogunate's campaign against Kumogakure, but are being disregarded. Furthermore, while the shogunate ninjas do not restrict their freedom of movement, no one is willing to talk to them. So, out of sheer boredom, the two have started engaging in more banter-style interactions.

"How could the little sparrow of Kumogakure understand the ambitions of the hawk of Iwagakure..."

Huang Tu snorted coldly, neither admitting nor objecting.

"The eagle... Ha!"

Killer Bee started rapping in a sarcastic tone:

"Yo~"

"Iwagakure~"

"Barbarian~"

"Not very capable~"

Yet he calls himself the Azure Eagle.

"What are you barking about, you dog?!"

Huang Tu, whose verbal skills were somewhat clumsy, was so angry that his veins bulged: "Don't forget! The southern part of the Land of Thunder is still in our hands!"

"Now that the Hidden Cloud Village has completely lost its Tailed Beasts, and its ninja army is even weaker than the Hidden Mist Village, what do you have to be proud of!"

"So what do you think Iwagakure can do?"

Killer Bee also toned down his expression, revealing a mocking look that was completely different from his usual playful demeanor. "The Shogunate has now conquered Kirigakure, but Iwagakure is still stuck in the quagmire of war with Sunagakure!"

"Right! Even the dilapidated Kumogakure knows that Sunagakure's military equipment is provided by the shogunate, so surely Iwagakure wouldn't be unaware of this?"

Huang Tu's face immediately darkened. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only snort coldly and stride away.

"Self-deception!"

Kirabi cursed under his breath and returned to the post station arranged by the shogunate from another direction.

As for Mimura Yomaki, she acted extremely indifferent.

During his stay in Fubo City for several days, he not only did not repeatedly urge or question the authorities, but also did not inquire about the progress of the war. Instead, he wandered around Fubo City and even visited the United Company warehouse in the Land of Waves.

The shogunate ninjas also relaxed their guard slightly because of his attitude, which allowed him to glean some information from the side.

"Write this down: the shogunate mobilized approximately five thousand ninja troops to capture Kirigakure..."

After a day of leisurely strolling, Mimura Yoru returned to the inn and gave instructions to his trusted ninja subordinates.

"Shall we continue to send copies to Tsunade?"

The trusted ninja asked in a low voice.

"Send it over..."

After a moment's thought, Mimura Yomi added, "Send a copy of this document to Sakumo-kun as well..."

"My lord... after all, Speaker Sakumo and Lord Tokumitsu are..."

The trusted ninja hesitated.

"You don't understand..."

Mimura Yomaki lowered her eyelids and said softly, "The Tokukō Shogunate is already too powerful to control, so we need to prepare Sakumo-kun mentally..."

"……Understood."

The trusted ninja nodded, then took out a summoning scroll, summoned a ninja rat from it, and handed it a document filled with information.

"boom!"

The ninja rat then turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared.

"……grown ups."

The building was once again deathly silent.

After a long silence, the trusted ninja finally couldn't help but ask, "Why did the village..."

"..."

Mimura Yomi glanced at him but didn't say anything.

"...But conquering Kirigakure is ultimately a good thing for the village."

The trusted ninja muttered, "At least from now on we won't need to keep so many people on the coast for defense..."

"It was not the village that conquered Kirigakure, but the Uchiha clan."

Mimura Yomaki replied in a deep voice, "Konoha cannot be dominated by one party, otherwise it will lead to even more serious consequences than what the Third Hokage did."

The trusted ninja hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

……

Uchiha Tokumitsu ignored the undercurrents surging behind him. When he led his troops to Kirigakure, he received the unwavering support of everyone in Kirigakure.

The remaining two thousand or so Kirigakure headquarters ninjas and the one thousand Kirigakure soldiers who surrendered were unarmed and lined up in unison at the entrance of the ninja village to welcome the arrival of their new lord.

The shogunate ninjas and Amegakure mercenaries donned brand-new uniforms and stood tall to receive their lord's inspection.

When Uchiha Tokumitsu, riding the Two-Tails Matatabi, appeared on the horizon surrounded by Uchiha ninjas clad in crimson armor, the Kirigakure ninjas, without needing to urge or knock, spontaneously knelt on one knee to offer their loyalty to the conqueror.

The repeated devastation of war, the defeat and escape of the Mizukage in the Battle of Myōyō, and the loss of all the Tailed Beasts have left Kirigakure, having lost its high-end combat power, unable to stand tall and continue to uphold the glory of being one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

After all, the tough Kirigakure ninjas had either died in battle or sailed east with Juzo Biwa, leaving the Kirigakure ninjas in the village with no courage to resist.

But for Uchiha Tokumitsu, who was trying to tame Kirigakure, this couldn't be better.

"...Gentlemen, please rise!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu stood atop the imposing Two-Tails Matatabi, looking down at the Hidden Mist Villagers who resembled ants, his heart filled with pleasure.

Urged on by the shogunate ninjas, the Hidden Mist ninjas, who had been kneeling on one knee, stood up in twos and threes.

"The war is over!"

"Uchiha Tokumitsu said."

"The war between the Shogunate and Kirigakure has officially ended!"

As Uchiha Tokumitsu made his declaration, the Hidden Mist ninjas couldn't help but shed tears.

"The Hidden Mist Village will still exist, but it will no longer be a tool for a particular Mizukage to pursue personal gain. Instead, it will be an organization that works for the benefit of all Hidden Mist Village ninjas!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu continued.

The Hidden Mist ninjas, who had been silently shedding tears, began to calm themselves down and listen attentively.

"This day will be forever recorded in history!"

"For the shogunate, the purpose of waging war has never been destruction, but building a better future!"

"To all those who are willing to stand with the Shogunate, I promise to grant them a brighter future! I will give them more opportunities to realize their talents!"

The emotions of the Hidden Mist ninjas stabilized.

"Effective immediately, Kirigakure will remove the Mizukage from his position and the Jonin Joint Conference will take over all ninja village affairs!"

"From this day forward, all Kirigakure ninja will enjoy the same educational opportunities regardless of their background; ninjutsu will also be open to every aspiring individual with the same assessment standards, and only their contributions will be considered!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu once again reassured the anxious Kirigakure ninja.

"...The shogunate is free to come and go, and will not restrict the wishes and choices of any of you present today."

"All ninjas who refuse to accept the rule of the shogunate, please take five steps to the left!"

Not a single Hidden Mist ninja moved.

"All ninjas willing to serve the shogunate, please take five steps to the right!"

In unison, all the Hidden Mist ninjas moved five steps to the right.

"Therefore, today's decision will be the collective choice of all Hidden Mist ninja!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu was very satisfied.

Immediately afterwards, three more elders of Kirigakure "voluntarily" approached the Two-Tails with the Kirigakure ninja roster, the Mizukage's token, and the scroll of secret ninjutsu, and held it high.

Uchiha Tokumitsu leaped down from the top of the tailed beast's head and accepted the roster, token, and scroll symbolizing the conquest of Kirigakure.

"From this day forward, the ninja of the Hozuki, Kaguya, and Minazuki clans will officially return to Kirigakure!"

"To die for one's lord!"

The excited ninjas from the three clans immediately knelt down and shouted.

Chapter 281 Using the Mist to Command the Water Country

As it turns out, Ashina Uzumaki is indeed a very sensible person.

After capturing the headquarters of Kirigakure, the former Mizukage building was immediately renamed the General's Office, serving as Uchiha Tokumitsu's residence in Kirigakure. All of Kirigakure's confidential documents were collected, organized, and archived, awaiting Uchiha Tokumitsu's processing.

The daimyo of the Land of Water also tactfully sent an envoy to offer his congratulations, expressing his recognition of Uchiha Tokumitsu's rule over Kirigakure and subtly indicating his willingness to bestow upon Uchiha Tokumitsu an additional honorific title.

"How much military funding does the Daimyo plan to allocate to the ninja village?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu asked his old acquaintance, Konoe Atsushi, who was serving as the envoy.

"...The shogunate's annual military expenditure can be doubled."