Uchiha's personal opinion

"Perhaps it's just a misunderstanding!"

"We must not easily resort to war!"

The Jonin from Iwagakure, part of the Frost Country Front, quickly spoke up to dissuade them.

"The Will of Stone cannot be desecrated! Have your headbands become tarnished?"

Huang Tu became even angrier upon hearing this.

"...Lord Huangtu, we are all regular ninja soldiers. If a war breaks out across the sea, the situation will be irreversible."

A seasoned Iwagakure Jonin stepped forward and said, "According to the report, the counter-terrorism forces mainly entered the southwestern occupied territory to eliminate terrorist organizations; what happened with our side was merely a conflict..."

"What a conflict!"

Huang Tu was so angry his nose almost twisted out of shape.

"More than 200 of the 500 ninja left behind have died. Could it be a misunderstanding that they have suffered more than half their losses?!"

"This conflict is just a misunderstanding! Lord Huangtu, please calm down!"

Another Jonin from Iwagakure spoke up.

"……you!"

Huang Tu slowly scanned the group of Iwagakure Jonin of the Frost Country Army. Wherever his gaze fell, although some Jonin retreated, not one of them bowed their head in defeat.

At this point, Huang Tu also realized that something was wrong.

The Jonin under his jurisdiction were not as submissive as he had imagined.

"Iron Stone Jonin! Are you taking the same attitude as them?!"

Huang Tu's gaze fell on a middle-aged Jonin from Iwagakure who stood tall and proud. "You are the former Jonin squad leader whom my father personally promoted!"

"Launching a war requires the Tsuchikage's order! This is an ironclad rule for the overseas ninja forces!"

Iron Stone Jonin replied stiffly, "While Lord Huangtu's promotion to Assistant is something to celebrate, he is still young after all. It would be good for him to learn more from the experience of his elders! Moreover, the Army does not approve of the return of the occupied territories!"

"The fundamental policy of our village is to liaise with the Hidden Cloud Village to fight against the Leaf Village!"

Huang Tu shouted, "Are you going to betray the village?"

"All Jonin of this headquarters are loyal to Iwagakure!"

Jonin Teishi also shouted, "But it is precisely out of loyalty to the village that I cannot condone Huang Tu Fusuke's reckless actions!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Tu felt a chill run down his spine.

This was the first time he had faced collective disobedience from his subordinates.

Moreover, the Jonin, who are the core fighting force of the village, expressed their disobedience in the most intense and direct way by violating military orders.

This made Huang Tu, who had become incredibly arrogant after successfully overseeing the withdrawal of the Iwagakure expeditionary force from the Land of Wind, feel a sense of unease.

Since the village was founded, Iwagakure has never experienced a similar incident of insubordination.

One can imagine the terrible impact this would have on him if it got out!

"Please think this over carefully, or consult the Tsuchikage. If we receive a formal order to declare war, I will immediately assemble the ninja army and cross the sea to fight..."

After finishing his speech, Jonin Teishi strode away surrounded by a group of Jonin.

Huang Tu's expression shifted unpredictably between light and dark.

……

Is this really a good idea?

After leaving Huang Tu's temporary residence, an Iwagakure Jonin approached and whispered, "Huang Tu is the Tsuchikage's own son; moreover, he's the assistant and the leader of the Jonin squad. To directly humiliate him like this... what if he succeeds to the throne in the future..."

"The three generations of lords had previously stated that we must not provoke conflict on the border without proper authorization..."

Jonin Teishi snorted coldly, "If he still has objections, let this brat go back to the village and debate with Lord Tsuchikage!"

"A junior was pushed into a high position by those elders who were unaware of the hardships of the border troops, and even took away Brother Tieshi's position as the leader of the Jonin class!"

Another Jonin from Iwagakure said indignantly, "If we let him continue to mess things up, how will the village ever get better!"

"Alliance with the Hidden Cloud Village is fine, but returning the occupied territories is really going too far! They're completely disregarding our interests."

"Yes! With this godforsaken Frost Kingdom, everyone is in such dire poverty!"

The other Jonin from Iwagakure chimed in, seemingly trying to justify their disobedience.

Jonin Tieshi strolled slowly with his hands behind his back, as if he hadn't heard the complaints of the other Jonin.

"...Have you said enough?"

As the Iwagakure Jonin went further and further as some even suggested supporting their elder brother to return to the village and seize the Bird Throne, it was only then that the Iron Stone Jonin calmly spoke up to stop them.

The Jonin from Iwagakure immediately fell silent.

"Are none of your subordinates acting strangely?"

"Iron Stone Jonin asked."

"everything is normal."

"They all firmly support Brother Tieshi's leadership!"

"The ninja soldiers accompanying Huang Tu have all been detained."

The Jonin from Iwagakure immediately spoke up.

"That's fine... As long as the army is still under our control, it doesn't matter what the village thinks!"

Iron Stone Jonin snorted coldly.

"However, regarding the Shogunate..."

A Jonin from Iwagakure asked in a low voice, "Will the occupied territory be returned to us?"

"Even if you don't trust me, you should at least trust the reputation of the Uchiha clan!"

Iron Stone Ninja frowned and asked in return, "Is there ever a time when the revenue sharing of the United Company is not on time?"

"That's true..."

The Iwagakure Jonin chuckled twice and shrank back into the crowd.

The Frost Country Front is one of the gathering places for the Iwagakure martial arts faction.

Unlike the Iwagakure expeditionary force that invaded the Land of Wind, the army consisted mostly of ninjas who had formed a blood feud with Kumogakure during the Second Shinobi World War.

They were also the group within Iwagakure who most strongly advocated sending troops when Uchiha Tokumitsu launched the "Peacekeeping Operation" to conquer Kumogakure.

After easily seizing the northern region of the Land of Frost and the southwestern region of the Land of Lightning, these Iwagakure militants were collectively thrown into the army by the Tsuchikage Onoki to serve as commanders of various levels of ninja forces. It was these militants who had always opposed the village and Kumogakure achieving a complete reconciliation.

While Konoha was certainly hateful and the Shogunate terrifying, even Uchiha Tokumitsu seemed handsome compared to his mortal enemy, Kumogakure, with whom he shared an irreconcilable enmity.

However, just like the ancient army in Uchiha Tokumitsu's past life memories, the voices of the ninja troops stationed abroad are often not taken seriously by the central government.

Even in Iwagakure, which advocates unity, the village ninjas and the ninjas stationed abroad are clearly divided into two groups.

The village ninjas believed that those stationed abroad were war-mongering lunatics with militant ideologies, who might start a war at any time; while the ninjas stationed abroad always thought that the village ninjas were a bunch of fickle bastards who didn't care about the hardships of guarding the border.

During Iwagakure's expedition to the Land of Wind, the Iwagakure troops of the Frost Country Front Army faced difficulties due to a shortage of supplies. Therefore, under the planning of Tesshi Jonin, the then leader of the Iwagakure Jonin squad and commander of the Front Army, the Front Army's ninjas made contact with the ubiquitous United Company, and the two sides began a pleasant trade activity, which alleviated the Front Army's difficulties.

This is why, when Uchiha Shiina launched the anti-terrorism war in the southwestern region of the Land of Lightning, Uchiha Tokumitsu had already informed the Iwagakure commanders of the front army through the United Company. The Iwagakure ninjas who remained in the southwestern region were all dissidents who had been actively abandoned by the commanders.

"But after this incident, I don't know if we can still do business with the joint venture..."

A sigh from an Iwagakure Jonin interrupted the wandering thoughts of Tesshi Jonin.

"The fact that the Ninja Army engages in business is a fundamental and unwavering policy of the Army Group!"

Iron Stone King snorted coldly, his words resounding.

"Anyone who dares to investigate will be drowned in the sea!"

—This is the essence of American-style modern counterterrorism!

Chapter 324 Secret Deal

Although I smuggled arms, colluded with the shogunate, defied the higher-ups, betrayed my fellow villagers, and eliminated dissidents, I am still a good Iwagakure (a type of innkeeper).

—This is what Tesshi, the former Jonin squad leader and commander-in-chief of the Iwagakure Frost Country Area Army, said.

"Yes, yes, you're right!"

Uchiha Shiina nodded repeatedly. "Also, now that the anti-terrorism forces are moving to the southeast region to carry out clearing operations, when do you plan to send people from the southwest region to take them over? In addition, where do you need to return the more than two hundred prisoners who resisted the anti-terrorism operations?"

Jonin Teishi immediately frowned, his displeasure clearly showing.

To be fair, Jonin Teishi didn't like Uchiha Shiina, an Uchiha ninja who had risen to a high position at a young age. He preferred to associate with the knowledgeable and eloquent United Company ninjas.

However, there was nothing he could do. As a conglomerate with absolute control by the Uchiha clan, the United Company was heavily influenced by Uchiha clan ninjas, especially Uchiha Shiina, who was seen by outsiders as having risen to power through his kinship with Uchiha Tokumitsu. Furthermore, Uchiha Shiina was in charge of the anti-terrorism military operations in the Iwagakure-occupied area in southwestern Lightning Country. So even though the Iron Stone Jonin had a hundred thousand complaints in his heart, he had to grit his teeth and deal with Uchiha Shiina.

However, the righteous Jonin who claimed to "bring back all the Iwagakure stick boys" in front of thousands of Iwagakure ninja soldiers seemed to show an unusual cooperative relationship with the Uchiha clan after he crossed the sea alone to reach the command center of the counter-terrorism force.

Of course, this did not prevent Jonin Teishi from harboring resentment towards Uchiha Shiina, a seemingly frivolous Uchiha high-ranking member.

The cross-border extermination operation was one thing, since the southwestern region of the Land of Lightning was simply assigned to Iwagakure by the Tokugakure Shogunate. Furthermore, the Jonin Teishi and the other Jonin in charge of the regional army reached an agreement to tacitly approve the operation and use it to eliminate dissidents. But what's the big deal about leaving behind more than two hundred prisoners?

Why is the Uchiha clan, known throughout the ninja world for their bloodlust, so inefficient?

—As a veteran Jonin of Iwagakure and a contender for the next Tsuchikage, he couldn't possibly do something like eliminating prisoners himself!

"Tomorrow, the army will send a thousand ninja to cross the sea and take over the territory... As for those who rebel, just leave them at the camp before you leave, I will handle them!"

The ninja, Iron Stone, said with a grim face, "Furthermore, what about what you promised?"

As for how to deal with the captured dissidents, we need to return to the army base and discuss it with the Jonin of the same faction. Whether to eliminate them on the spot or to try them according to the village regulations and then execute them, we need to reach a consensus.

"What's the rush? The Uchiha clan would never renege on their debts!"

Uchiha Shiina chuckled and took out a scroll from his pocket, placing it in front of Jonin Teishi: "All 100,000 explosive tags are here."

"It's from the Uchiha clan, right?"

Iron Stone Jonin picked up the scroll and weighed it in his hand. Without breaking the seal to examine it, he asked directly, "If it's some cheap junk from the market, that won't do!"

"Absolutely top-quality stuff from our family! Superb!"

Uchiha Shiina smiled, "On the black market, these can be exchanged for 300,000 ordinary explosive tags!"