Uchiha's personal opinion

"……That's good."

Iron Stone Jonin nodded, turned around, and instantly left the anti-terrorist force camp.

"So this is what Lord Deguang meant by erecting a memorial archway..."

After the Jonin Teishi left, Uchiha Shiina shook his head, speechless with astonishment.

As the saying goes, those who deceive the world and steal fame are best killed by others. This Jonin, who was once renowned in Iwagakure, fell from grace so quickly after losing his position as the leader of the Jonin squad that even the United Company did not expect it.

"Lord Shiina..."

A Shiranui clan ninja from the joint venture knocked on the door and entered, presenting a document.

"This is a report and a detailed breakdown of the funds used to handle public relations for the Iwagakure Army."

Do I need to sign something?

Uchiha Shiina asked casually and turned to the last page of the document.

"Yes……"

Shiranui ninja replied humbly.

But when Uchiha Shiina saw the enormous number on the last page, he was stunned.

"...Will we need another 300,000 special explosive tags?!"

"This was obtained through barter trade, but according to Lord Deguang's regulations, any transaction that is not in cash is considered a loss or net expense, so..."

The Shiranui ninja quickly explained.

"...It seems Mr. Tieshi has big ambitions!"

Uchiha Shiina shook his head, then signed and stamped the document.

"Lord Deguang said that this experiment was worthwhile."

The Shiranui ninja said with a forced smile, "Iwagakure has always been known for having the largest number of ninjas and the most united internal forces. If we were to launch an attack rashly, the shogunate would suffer heavy losses. Therefore, using public relations to sow discord is a cost-effective and stealthy offensive strategy."

"...What the General said makes sense."

Uchiha Shiina handed the report back.

……

Uchiha Tokumitsu, who was in Fubuki Castle in the Land of Whirlpools observing the secret experiments conducted by the Uzumaki researchers, also received an action report from the counter-terrorism forces and the United Corporation.

"Indeed, money can move mountains..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu offered this assessment.

He then wrote his opinion on the document.

"The counter-terrorism forces will be immediately deployed to the southeastern occupied areas to carry out a cleanup operation, and will work with the eastern and northern border defense forces to eliminate black market strongholds and foreign spies lurking in the region!"

"...The exiled ninjas in the garrison must be vetted one by one. If there are any suspects, they must be arrested and interrogated first. Everyone must pass the test, and no one should be allowed to escape!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu thought for a moment and then added a sentence.

He then rang a bell to summon his attendant ninjas, who immediately went to handle the matter.

The chaos in the Konoha-occupied area in the southeast of the Land of Lightning was largely due to the deliberate indulgence of Uchiha Tokumitsu.

He had already thought of this problem when he exiled all the staunch supporters of the original Hokage lineage to the occupied territories to serve as soldiers.

However, this kind of "nurturing and letting things run wild" also has its advantages.

According to secret reports from the garrison commander and the Ministry of Internal Affairs ninjas, black market ninja activities in the southeastern occupied area are unusually active. Exiled ninjas from the former Hokage lineage have close ties with foreign spies and even intelligence personnel from the Hidden Cloud Village, to the point that they do not hide it from others.

Moreover, if a purge is launched at this time, since the Ministry of Internal Affairs has already obtained thorough evidence that the exiled ninjas are colluding with foreign countries, it can wipe out a portion of these "hidden threats" without worrying about the villagers' opinions. Furthermore, the black market funds obtained from the purge can cover the expenses of the Iwagakure Army's public relations campaign.

Therefore, it's time to conduct "entrapment enforcement".

After finishing his official duties, Uchiha Tokumitsu once again went to the top-secret laboratory located in the underground of the governor's mansion.

The reason why all the researchers were brought to the Land of Whirlpools is that the remains of the White Zetsu that were captured are kept here.

After countless rounds of reinforcement, the secret laboratory's defense system has reached a level that can theoretically withstand a Tailed Beast Ball. Coupled with multiple layers of security, Uchiha Tokumitsu can ensure that even if White Zetsu can cross the sea, he will not be able to infiltrate this top-secret laboratory to cause damage.

"Lord Tokumitsu!"

After passing through multiple security checkpoints, Uchiha Tokumitsu entered the core area of ​​the laboratory.

A researcher from the vortex immediately came forward.

How is the experiment progressing?

Uchiha Tokumitsu asked the question as usual.

"Encouraging progress has been made, and further research is currently underway..."

The vortex researcher also gave the usual reply.

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded without saying a word, and walked toward the huge chakra reactor with his hands behind his back.

This system is still based on the White Zetsu cell centrifuge. The main research content is to use tailed beast chakra or White Zetsu cells as a medium to carry out a melting reaction with Sage Chakra extracted from Gamachu's body in order to test the formation mechanism of natural energy and chakra.

Theoretically speaking, chakra is a type of energy formed after natural energy has been degraded by the Otsutsuki God Tree. During the process of the Sage of Six Paths "distributing" chakra to humans in the ninja world, mortals gained the ability to refine their own chakra.

Therefore, ninjas can be simply compared to a super mini version of the Divine Tree system, especially bloodline limit ninjas.

However, the source of the Divine Tree's chakra is natural energy, while ninja chakra is mainly refined through the fusion of physical and spiritual energy.

When can we expect to get the results?

Uchiha Tokumitsu asked again, as was his habit.

"The research is currently progressing according to the pre-set process. The whole process is very rigorous and meticulous. In theory, the corresponding project can be completed in a month."

The researchers at Vortex also habitually gave standard answers.

He was a specialist recommended by the Uzumaki Research Institute to deal with Uchiha Tokumitsu's urging for progress, and he naturally knew all the response scripts by heart.

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"We must continue to accelerate the pace! Ensure that the research on Sage Chakra and Natural Energy yields results as soon as possible, while maintaining the quality of the research!"

After staring at it for more than half an hour without figuring it out, Uchiha Tokumitsu said something and prepared to leave.

Although he can no longer understand the facilities and research methods of the research institute, coming to see them always makes him feel a little more at ease.

"Lord Deguang, the research institute staff have been working at full capacity for nearly a month, and the rate at which various consumables are being used up is really..."

The researcher from the vortex quickly said with a bitter face.

"Add more money!"

After uttering his last words, Uchiha Tokumitsu turned and left.

"Okay!"

The vortex researcher immediately beamed with joy.

Although these researchers were almost identical to the money-grubbing researchers from tech companies that Uchiha Tokumitsu encountered in his previous life when he worked in the financial investment industry, the now incredibly arrogant General didn't care about any of that.

What he wanted was the most reliable force after repeated verification.

It is the power that allows him to fly higher.

After returning to the ground, Uchiha Tokumitsu looked up at the sky.

It was already past dusk, and although there were still some lingering rays of sunset, the moon had quietly revealed its true form in the sky.

"Otsutsuki..."

"What an enviable and jealous race..."

Chapter 325 The Akatsuki in Action

Long before Uchiha Shiina launched the counter-terrorism and clearing operation in the southwestern Iwagakure-occupied area, Jiraiya, reminded by the toads of Mount Myōboku, had already made a hasty escape with Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who had decided to join the Akatsuki organization.

But the subsequent performance of the counter-terrorism operation greatly surprised Jiraiya.

He had assumed that the Shogunate's ninja army, which was called the anti-terrorism force and was seen as the vanguard of the invasion, would be seen as a declaration of war by Iwagakure after entering the southwestern occupied area, and would fight Konoha. However, he did not expect Iwagakure's reaction to be so calm.

According to the information sent back by the intelligence frog, the process of the counter-terrorism forces moving into the southeastern Konoha-occupied area and the Iwagakure Army's recapture operation can almost be described as "harmonious". The on-site video sent back by the intelligence frog even included the famous scene of Iwagakure ninjas and Konoha ninjas putting their arms around each other and exchanging Konoha explosive tags for the Land of Earth's chakra metal.

According to Intelligence Frog's report, this phenomenon is quite common!

"It seems the reactionary forces in the ninja world have begun to collude..."

Jiraiya said with a sense of loss.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke also had a gloomy expression as he carefully compared the codebook page by page to translate the intelligence frog's report.

During this period of hiding and dodging, although Sarutobi Shinnosuke kept abreast of the developments in the ninja world, his limited sources of information, coupled with the fact that all the Sarutobi clan ninjas were confined to the southeastern occupied territory, meant that he did not know much about the changes in the ninja world's upper echelons. He only knew that the Uchiha clan was thriving like a raging fire, which made him extremely anxious.

But after gaining access to information channels from Mount Myōboku, he discovered that, under the protection of the Uchiha clan and the shogunate, the United Corporation had grown into another, even more covert behemoth.

From conventional commodity trading to arms deals and even war operations, there is nothing the consortium doesn't get involved in.

The United Company even releases a large number of slots every year to recruit ninjas from Konoha and ninjas from vassal villages of the Shogunate, thus accumulating a loose ninja army whose exact number and training status are unknown, but whose size is absolutely enormous!

"Brother Jiraiya, our first target should be the United Corporation!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke extracted the relevant information from the information frog's report about Uchiha Shiina leading his troops to force the Takigakure ninja to submit, and presented it to Jiraiya.

Meanwhile, the phrase "Joint Company Operations Column" was specifically highlighted in the intelligence text.

"Isn't this just a large-scale smuggling ring in the ninja world?"

Jiraiya was somewhat surprised.

His focus had always been on Uchiha Tokumitsu and other important figures in the shogunate, and he hadn't paid much attention to the United Company's information.

After all, the intelligence frog gathers information in an extremely broad and extensive way, and since it doesn't have any additional subordinates to assist it, if it doesn't selectively access information, it probably wouldn't have to do anything but read reports every day.

"The United Company is the foundation upon which Uchiha Tokumitsu was able to rapidly expand his power!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke emphasized, "Don't underestimate this so-called smuggling ring. Using the United Company as a network, Uchiha Tokumitsu's connections with nobles and other ninja villages throughout the ninja world may be deeper than we imagine!"

The most direct evidence is the unusually close interactions between Konoha and Iwagakure ninjas during the withdrawal of troops from the southwestern part of the Land of Lightning.

Jiraiya reacted quickly.

"Have you noticed? Every military operation by the Shogunate has resulted in enormous gains and minimal losses..."