Uchiha's personal opinion

"Lord Fengying is absolutely right!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu was satisfied with the Third Kazekage's tact, and then turned his gaze to Hanzo the Salamander.

"General Deguang and Lord Fengying are right, and Yuren is naturally happy to participate in this grand undertaking..."

Although Hanzo of the Salamander hadn't yet weighed the pros and cons quickly enough, under the watchful eyes of the two great ninja village rulers, his only option was to agree.

"Then...for our unbreakable alliance!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu laughed heartily and raised his cup to invite him to drink.

"May the Alliance live forever!"

"May the ninja world be forever at peace!"

May General Deguang enjoy everlasting martial prowess!

"May Your Majesty's reign be secure!"

"May Leader Hanzo's wish come true!"

With each cup of sake he drank, Uchiha Tokumitsu felt even more delighted.

……

May 13th, Konoha Year 39.

At the opening ceremony of the Chunin Exams, Uchiha Tokumitsu officially announced that Konoha would sign a mutual support alliance treaty with Sunagakure and Amegakure. The alliance would be dedicated to eliminating differences and prejudices between ninja villages, promoting the development of the ninja world, and maintaining peace and order in the ninja world.

As the representative of Kirigakure, Hozuki Masahiko stated that as a member of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Kirigakure has always followed the lead of the Shogunate, and immediately declared its support for and application to join the alliance treaty with Konoha.

Subsequently, under coercion from Uchiha Tokumitsu, the Minister of the Fire Country, the Grand Minister of the Water Country, Chikanobu Atsushi, and representatives from the Wind Country and Rain Country also signed the "United Trade and Commerce Integration Treaty" in Konoha, announcing the establishment of a customs union and the promotion of economic integration among the four countries.

On May 18th, 1940, in order to cope with the pressure from the four villages and five factions, Kumogakure and Iwagakure signed an offensive and defensive alliance treaty at the headquarters of Takigakure, which is located between their respective territories. Kumogakure then announced that it would join the war against Sunagakure, but stated that this move would not interfere with the normal exchanges between Kumogakure, the shogunate, and the Nakagawa Stock Exchange.

From this point on, the alliance and ally factions in the ninja world were officially established, and a war of opposition, which was temporarily invisible, began.

Chapter 307 The Cold War Era of the Ninja World

The statement by Uchiha Tokumitsu during his meeting with the Third Kazekage and Hanzo of the Salamander that "Konoha ninjas are war-weary" was not entirely a pretext.

that's the truth.

However, the most obvious signs of war-weariness were among the ninja clans remaining from the original Hokage lineage and the civilian ninjas who supported the so-called "orthodox fire consciousness." These people had suffered losses and lost power due to the rise of the Uchiha clan, so naturally they had no intention of participating in the war to benefit the ruling Uchiha clan and Sakumo Hatake's forces.

In addition, the Senju clan has always maintained a subtle balance of power. Although the Hyuga clan leader has leaned towards Uchiha Tokumitsu on some occasions, his clan has always maintained a core force of the so-called "third power of Konoha". Both of these factors have also tied up a lot of the Uchiha clan's energy.

Therefore, under such circumstances, the strength of the Konoha headquarters could not be fully utilized, and Uchiha Tokumitsu was unwilling to throw his shogunate ninja army into a war that would inevitably be extremely cruel and devastating for the ninja village. That is why he made the conclusion that "the main theme of the ninja world is peace" during the meeting.

To put it bluntly, it's all about self-interest.

As a byproduct of the four countries signing the "United Trade and Commerce Integration Treaty," the United Company completely removed the obstacles to entering the Land of Wind and began to strengthen its commercial presence in the Land of Rain. At the same time, the Shogunate's gold coins flooded into the countries like a tide along with the United Company's commercial activities.

After removing human barriers, the fiat currency, anchored to productivity, demonstrated unparalleled flexibility. Coupled with various marketing activities by the joint venture, such as price reductions, promotions, and high-priced acquisitions of raw materials, it rapidly expanded its reach across various countries and captured a significant share of the payment market.

While the nobles and courtiers of the Land of Fire, who still maintain a certain degree of independence, are deeply worried about this, the ninjas, who lack the necessary financial knowledge, believe that the gold yuan is a good tool for trade.

This is especially true for Sand Village, which is relatively resource-poor and once relied on gold panning in the Shadow Desert to subsidize its expenses.

Aside from maintaining the national currency as the sole legal tender for taxation in order to preserve the formal independence of monetary sovereignty, the gold yuan was quickly accepted by the Sand Village and used to purchase the diverse range of goods offered by the United Company.

As for those noble officials who could see the dangers behind the rampant use of gold yuan... they were imprisoned by the Sand Village ninja after the signing of the alliance treaty. Instead, the tax farmers of the United Company contracted out operations to various oases throughout the Land of Wind. For the Sand Village, this system recommended by Uchiha Tokumitsu allowed them to raise a huge amount of resources for the war in a short period of time. In addition, the tax farmers of the United Company also had time limits for contracting oases, so the Sand Village was not worried about being depleted by the United Company in the short term.

The Sand Village has decided that after defeating the invading Iwagakure ninja army, they will officially hang up all the nobles and decapitate them to warn the restless elements within the Land of Wind.

"We will support Sunagakure in every way except by sending troops. May the tenacious Sunagakure never give up until the last Sunagakure ninja falls in battle!"

In private, Uchiha Tokumitsu said this to Hatake Sakumo.

Although the alliance treaty had only been signed recently, Uchiha Tokumitsu had already thoroughly outmaneuvered Sunagakure.

After Kumogakure also decided to join the campaign against Sunagakure to a limited extent, under the impetus of Uchiha Tokumitsu, the two houses of Konoha also officially decided to support Sunagakure. Some Konoha ninjas were hired by the United Company to enter the Land of Wind to take on the task of guarding the tax-paying oasis. At the same time, a flood of supplies poured into Sunagakure, quickly emptying Sunagakure's treasury in a short period of time. Sunagakure also gained the best-equipped ninja army in the history of the ninja village.

The Third Kazekage, brimming with confidence, became even more elated after witnessing the rapid expansion of his own strength. Coupled with his vanity, he was unwilling to seek help from Konoha so quickly. Therefore, he swiftly recalled all the Sand Village ninja stationed in various oases for pre-battle joint training exercises, while all defense duties were handed over to the United Company.

Hanzo the Salamander once again rallied the ninja forces of Amegakure and, under his own leadership, once again entered the eastern region of the Land of Birds, threatening the rear base of the Iwagakure expeditionary force.

Although war clouds loomed over the western part of the ninja world, Konoha remained peaceful and prosperous.

Sakumo Hatake sat in Tokumitsu Uchiha's office on the top floor of the police headquarters, looking out at the view of the ninja village through the floor-to-ceiling windows, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

"Lord Deguang, when it comes to strategic planning, I am indeed inferior to you..."

Sakumo Hatake said with genuine admiration, "It seems that the entire ninja world is turning around under your remote control."

"Our friendship is forged in blood and fire; saying such things is too formal."

Uchiha Tokumitsu chuckled lightly, “The village’s ninjas are unwilling to start another war, and the shogunate cannot shoulder the heavy responsibility of subduing the two great ninja villages alone… In that case, we can only try our best to create a better external environment so that the village can recuperate.”

"Is there anything else the Land of Wind needs my cooperation with?"

"I asked Hatake Sakumo."

As the United Company continued to expand its tax-farming operations in the Land of Wind, and with the Rain Village beginning to build up its forces and encroach on the Iwagakure logistics base in the Land of Birds, the United Company began to experience a shortage of mercenaries. As a result, the civilian ninjas of the Reform Association received more long-term overseas assignments. This was something that Hatake Sakumo, who had always supported civilian ninjas, was happy to see.

With the majority of ninjas being commoners, life became easier, and naturally, there was less gossip and strange talk in the villages. As a result, the ninja clans that chose to lie low no longer had a medium to cause trouble in private.

"The situation in the Land of Wind is temporarily out of danger, and now that the Sand Village has rolled its dice, they have no choice but to launch the fiercest counterattack against the Iwa Village."

"Uchiha Tokumitsu said."

Compared to military aggression, the economic aggression launched by the United Corporation controlled by Uchiha Tokumitsu was more covert and effective.

Although legally speaking, the Land of Wind is still under the control of Sunagakure, Sunagakure became obsessed with its temporary, illusory strength. In addition, it engaged in short-sighted tax farming to collect taxes for the next ten years. Under immense financial pressure, the Third Kazekage had no choice but to launch a final battle against the Iwagakure expeditionary force.

—If he doesn't want to go back to the days when he was the shadow of a village but still had to pan for gold in the desert.

……

"Being an enemy of the shogunate is dangerous, but being an ally of the shogunate is deadly."

Jiraiya's first stop after returning to the ninja world from Mount Myōboku was the Land of Wind. After wandering through all the oasis cities in the eastern part of the Land of Wind, Jiraiya was moved to write this.

Although Jiraiya may seem to lack intelligence in front of the Toad Sage, he is actually a very perceptive ninja, and he is particularly good at observing people's movements from the perspective of ordinary people and deducing useful information from them.

This time, he saw further than the Kazekage of Sunagakure.

Nothing in the shogunate is free; rather, the cost is cleverly hidden behind what is free or cheap, in order to achieve Uchiha Tokumitsu's desired goals.

The scenery and objects within the Land of Wind gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

Not only were the streets filled with goods from the Land of Fire, but the Shogunate Gold Dollars, which he hated the most, were also readily available everywhere, and Konoha ninjas were lurking in every corner of the oasis and stationed in the fortifications.

Nowadays, it is the Sand Village, which should be the master of the Land of Wind, that is rarely seen. It seems that the Land of Wind has become a colony of Konoha.

"The 'one village, one country' system seems to have been abolished in another form..."

Jiraiya, remaining an observer, silently made his own judgment based on what he saw and heard.

The Land of Wind was the first country in the ninja world to experience a "collapse of etiquette and social order." After the Kazekage launched a coup, the original order of the ninja village kage and the daimyo nobles jointly governing the country was completely destroyed, and naturally the system of one village, one country had completely lost its foundation in the Land of Wind.

"This is a dark country..."

Jiraiya noticed a government ninja coming and going in a noble mansion, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

When he left Mount Myōboku this time, he also received strong support from the Great Toad Sage.

In order to build the "Akatsuki" organization that he believed would save the ninja world in the future and to fight against Konoha's pursuit, the Myoboku lineage not only provided a lot of material support, but also bestowed several treasures of the Toad Sage upon him.

However, he miscalculated somewhat.

They thought that the Sand Village and the Land of Wind, after being transformed into a village, would be in turmoil under the attack of the Iwagakure, who "uphold justice." Therefore, they listed the Land of Wind as the first stop for developing their organization. However, they did not expect that Konoha's presence in the Land of Wind would be so strong. After taking over and managing the oases in various parts of the Land of Wind, they managed them in an orderly manner in a very short time.

However, the United Company's tax-farming rule in the Land of Wind also came at a price. For example, Jiraiya's favorite intelligence-gathering channels, such as taverns, geisha houses, and gambling dens, were shut down by the United Company under the pretext of excessive resource consumption. Instead, each oasis was allowed to selectively cultivate a certain crop or develop the production of a specific product. In addition, an extremely strict system for managing the floating population was implemented, which squeezed Jiraiya's room for maneuver and intelligence-gathering methods to the extreme.

"The gambling and prostitution industry has been completely wiped out, and the nobility are nowhere to be seen..."

After hiding and spying among the various oases of the Land of Wind for some time, Jiraiya finally gave up after learning about the situation in the Land of Wind.

After abandoning his usual method of extracting information, Jiraiya used genjutsu to subdue a merchant from the Land of Fire and extracted recent information about the ninja world from him. He also learned that the nobles of the Land of Wind had been imprisoned by the Sand Village and were being prepared to be dried up and hung on streetlights.

The situation was hopeless. To avoid lingering too long and revealing his information, Jiraiya didn't hesitate any longer and immediately left the Land of Wind overnight.

His second stop was the Rain Country, where the alliance's control was relatively weak.

Chapter 308 The Godfather and the Disciple

Even though the sun was shining brightly, it was still drizzling in the sky over the Land of Rain.

But for the people of the Rain Country, this was already a rare "sunny day"—at least they could see what the sun looked like high in the sky.

However, Jiraiya was still not quite used to the sunny environment of the Land of Rain. His impression of the Land of Rain was still based on the torrential rain during the Eastern Battlefield of the Second Shinobi World War and the pristine white expanse after the frenzied killings.

Moreover, the sun in the Land of Rain didn't seem so glaring; you could look directly at it. However, having just come from the scorching desert environment of the Land of Wind to this damp country that seemed to be permeated with an omnipresent musty smell, Jiraiya was somewhat overwhelmed.

Jiraiya scratched his groin and felt a little better. He then started asking around on the street about local taverns, dance halls, and other entertainment venues.

After recovering his energy from playing all night, Jiraiya, having successfully gathered the information he needed, quickly sped off towards a small city in the southern part of the Land of Rain, a place he remembered from his previous life.

……

"Xiao Nan!"

In a small alley in Iron Rain City in the southern part of the Land of Rain, Jiraiya landed behind a girl with light blue-purple hair and called out with a doting smile.

The girl with purplish-blue hair froze when she heard the shout behind her, then slowly turned around with an incredulous expression.

"Jiraiya-sensei!"

Konan cheered, dropped the pile of items in her hands, and jumped into Jiraiya's arms, where she was spun around twice.

“You’re back…you’re finally back…”

After a heartfelt exchange between master and disciple, Xiao Nan wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, so excited that she became somewhat incoherent.

"I've come back to see you all..."

Jiraiya affectionately ruffled Konan's hair. "By the way... what did you buy?"

"oops!"

Xiao Nan exclaimed in surprise and quickly ran over to pick up all the items that had been scattered on the ground, carefully wiping away the rain stains that were stuck to the packaging bags.

Jiraiya helped tidy up a bit, but when he saw the words "United Company" and "Special Dried Fish from the Land of Water" printed on the outer packaging, he immediately felt a little displeased.