Uchiha's personal opinion

Developing new sealing techniques was merely a timely response; in addition, Uchiha Tokumitsu made new deployments for the anti-terrorism forces.

That is to form a multinational joint counter-terrorism force.

Under the strategic planning of Uchiha Tokumitsu, various forces in the ninja world responded to the "goodwill" call from Konoha. Among them, Kirigakure selected 600 ninjas to form an anti-terrorism unit and handed over command to the Shogunate. Uchiha Tokumitsu then appointed the current Konoha anti-terrorism unit commander to take over the unit.

In addition, the Grass Village recruited 90 ninjas and the Rain Village recruited 60 ninjas. These full-time ninjas were incorporated into the Joint Anti-Terrorist Force and were under the unified command of Uchiha Shiina.

As for the Sand Village in the Land of Wind, after much discussion with the Sand Village's high-ranking officials, the Third Kazekage finally decided to send 120 ninjas to join the Joint Counter-Terrorism Force and approved the Joint Counter-Terrorism Force to freely enter the country's territory with the assistance of its own country's counter-terrorism ninjas.

In fact, the Third Kazekage did not intend to agree, but Sunagakure urgently needed the financial support of the stock exchange and the joint venture, so he had no choice but to make appropriate concessions in this regard.

Even the warriors of the Land of Iron, who pride themselves on being neutral, under invisible pressure sent nine warriors to join as observers and allowed the joint anti-terrorism force to move freely within the Land of Iron after reporting to their own general.

Faced with the reality that the original Konoha counter-terrorism force has transformed into a monster with the right to conduct transnational operations, Kumogakure and Iwagakure once again banded together for mutual support.

Moreover, even Tesshi, the commander of the Iwagakure Frost Country Expeditionary Army, who had an ambiguous relationship with the shogunate, did not step in to stop it this time.

For a traditional ninja village, a multinational coalition force is simply too terrifying.

Even the Takigakure village, which possessed tailed beasts, was dismantled and split into two villages, north and south, by Uchiha Tokumitsu under the pretext of counter-terrorism. Now, looking across the ninja world, the only forces that still have the ability to say "no" to Uchiha Tokumitsu are, apart from hidden forces like Mount Myōboku, only Iwagakure and Kumogakure. So how could they possibly believe that the alliance camp has no ambitions towards them?

Especially in the eyes of the high-ranking officials of the two major ninja villages, the joint anti-terrorism force is definitely not as simple as the so-called anti-terrorism unified action that Uchiha Tokumitsu claimed to be. Its significance lies in the fact that the ninja forces located in the south of the ninja world have begun to be substantially integrated and have reached a consensus on military operations.

Therefore, the Third Raikage and the Tsuchikage Onoki held a secret meeting and agreed that it was imperative to strengthen ties between the two sides, remove all historical obstacles that had troubled them, and achieve military unity as soon as possible.

Therefore, less than three days after the establishment of the joint counter-terrorism force, Iwagakure and Kumogakure issued a joint statement announcing their support for the counter-terrorism cause in the ninja world advocated by Uchiha Tokumitsu. At the same time, the two ninja villages each selected ninjas from their own villages to form the Northern Alliance Combat Force to be responsible for counter-terrorism operations within the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, and set up their base in the controlled area of ​​Kita-Takigakure.

The tension in the ninja world thus intensified.

……

"That's really strange..."

In a volcanic cave in the Land of Snow, Black Zetsu was reliving the memories of the information brought back by White Zetsu.

The changes in the ninja world over the past six months have been so drastic that even Madara's Will, which is currently dedicated to teaching Nagato, feels unfamiliar to it.

Although the conflict and war between the two major factions were beneficial to depleting the strength of the various ninja villages, the united ninja faction also made it feel uneasy.

Based on its experience of observing the ninja world for over a thousand years, it is clear that the current ninja world does not have the potential for unification, especially before the rise of Uchiha Tokumitsu.

However, with the escalating tensions between the North and South, the internal relations between the two sides have become more united due to the increasing military preparedness.

This was especially true of the Southern Alliance faction controlled by Uchiha Tokumitsu.

If possible, Black Zetsu, who is used to hiding in the shadows, would be unwilling to confront Uchiha Tokumitsu head-on, as this would be detrimental to the weak Land of Snow.

However, according to the special version of White Zetsu disguised as the lord of the Land of Snow, envoys from the Alliance and the Allied faction have visited the court of the Land of Snow multiple times, and both sides' envoys are pressuring the Land of Snow to make a statement as soon as possible, otherwise something unspeakable will happen, and so on.

Caught between the subtly opposing alliances and ally factions, the various small nations of the ninja world have little room left to maneuver between the two.

Although Black Zetsu, with the White Zetsu army at its disposal, the Rinnegan of Nagato by its side, and wholeheartedly dedicated to the Eye of the Moon Plan to save its mother, is not worried that the two major ninja villages will exterminate it, it is also unable to resist the invasion and infiltration of the two major camps with the existing power of Yukigami Village.

"teacher!"

Long Gate, with red hair that covered his eyes, entered the cave and bowed to Black Zetsu, who was sprawled out in a lump of mud.

"Nagato's here~"

Black Zetsu's eyes turned into crescent shapes, and it casually summoned a White Zetsu to attach to its body.

"The commander of the Northern Alliance combat forces has delivered an ultimatum..."

Nagato took a document out of his pocket and placed it in front of Black Zetsu.

Although Nagato is still young, he has already been appointed by Black Zetsu as an advisor to the Snow Village and participates in the affairs of the Snow Country court, thus allowing Nagato to grow considerably.

"Isn't there any room for negotiation...?"

Even the resolute Black Zetsu couldn't help but sigh.

It had always been lurking in the shadows, secretly plotting, but it never expected that now, having finally managed to control the Land of Snow by using the name of "Madara's Will" to command the White Zetsu, it would have to face such a thorny problem.

Although it has been plotting for thousands of years, all its previous schemes against Indra have ended in failure except for this one. Naturally, it is reluctant to give up this hard-won opportunity to see the dawn of victory. In addition, because it is not allowed to be seen in the light, Black Zetsu is not good at forming alliances between national factions, and it does not know how to dance on an egg.

However, it also understands that if it does not make a choice, the current strength of the Land of Snow is absolutely insufficient to withstand the overwhelming force of the ninja armies from both major factions.

"...Join the alliance between Kumogakure and Iwagakure!"

After much deliberation, Black Zetsu finally made a decision.

"This……"

Nagato was somewhat surprised to hear this.

Although he grew up in this icy country, that doesn't mean he's unaware of the current situation in the ninja world.

He had a fairly clear understanding of which side, the alliance or the ally, was more powerful.

"Although the alliance is powerful, joining it will give us a higher status..."

Black Zetsu's explanation was somewhat far-fetched, but Nagato still agreed.

……

After returning to Mount Myōboku from Konoha, Jiraiya spent some time in seclusion training before returning to the ninja world to plan the overthrow of the shogunate.

Orochimaru's "public betrayal" dealt him a huge blow.

Even so, Jiraiya did not waver in his beliefs. Encouraged by Fukasaku, he once again secretly dispatched the Greninja Frogs to infiltrate the ninja world, re-establish bases in buffer states such as the Land of Rivers and the Land of Birds, and had the Greninja Frogs actively contact the black market forces in various places.

"We must unite all forces that can be united to oppose the tyrannical rule of the shogunate in the ninja world."

Jiraiya said so.

Even the Northern Alliance combat forces, nominally established by Kumogakure and Iwagakure for counter-terrorism purposes, were contacted by Jiraiya through the intelligence frog and its commander, Koto. They agreed to hold a secret meeting five days later in the area under the control of Kita-taki Village to discuss the grand plan to strike the shogunate.

"As expected! The shogunate's rule is unpopular and is a true countercurrent in the ninja world!"

Encouraged, Jiraiya returned to Mount Myōboku and said this to the hermit Fukasaku.

"...You can handle this matter yourself, but the Great Immortal wants to see you now."

After patiently listening to Jiraiya's boasting for a while, Fukasaku suddenly focused his gaze and then spoke.

"Then let's go!"

Jiraiya also wanted to curry favor with the Toad Master.

However, what the toad sage said this time surprised him somewhat—

"You want me to go to Ryuchi Cave?!"

Jiraiya said in disbelief.

"The White Snake Ancestor wants to see you..."

The voice of the Toad Immortal echoed within the palace.

Why?

Jiraiya asked hesitantly.

"Orochimaru's theft of the Ryuchi Cave Sage Scroll has been exposed... so the White Snake Sage will probably change his stance and support direct intervention in the ninja world, but he'll have to see what you do first..."

Jiraiya was dumbfounded once again by the words of the Toad Sage.

"...Wow, this is a huge undertaking!"

"Has Orochimaru's contract with Ryuchi Cave been dissolved?"

Suddenly, Jiraiya thought of this problem.

"do not know……"

The Great Toad Immortal shook his head.

"...But, is it dangerous to go to Ryuchi Cave?"

Jiraiya asked cautiously.

He was also aware of the bitter rivalry between Ryūchi-dō and Mt. Myōboku.

"As long as you detect danger, you can return directly to Mount Myōboku at any time using the Void Talisman..."

The Great Toad Sage spat out a talisman from his mouth, which flew to Jiraiya under the control of chakra.

"...Yes, sir!"

Having said all that, Jiraiya naturally had nothing more to say.

Chapter 344 Mysterious and Unpredictable

"Really not difficult?"

"It's really not difficult!"

"Did the White Snake Immortal really say that?"

That's exactly what they say!

Although Orochimaru was very confident, Uchiha Tokumitsu was still somewhat skeptical.

Because all of this is just too bizarre.

After receiving a near-explicit "hint" from Uchiha Tokumitsu, Orochimaru took the initiative to go to Ryuchi Cave to seek an audience with the White Snake Ancestor.

But before he could even speak after arriving at the temple in Ryuchi Cave, the White Serpent Ancestor took the huge scroll off the dragon head sculpture and explicitly told Orochimaru to give it to Uchiha Tokumitsu.

Before Orochimaru could recover from his shock, the White Snake Ancestor declared that he could cooperate in luring and killing the ground travelers of Mount Myōboku, but he also made a request: that Uchiha Tokumitsu come to Ryūchi Cave for a face-to-face meeting.

Subsequently, the White Snake Ancestor personally ordered Shinya, the strongest snake in Ryuchi Cave, to sign a summoning contract with Orochimaru, enabling him to command the strongest summoning beast in Ryuchi Cave besides himself and the Three Goddesses.

In addition, Orochimaru was allowed to live in the deepest part of Ryuchi Cave for several days, so that he could personally experience the difference in natural concentration between Ryuchi Cave and the ninja world.

Even after Orochimaru returned to Konoha from Ryuchi Cave, he was still somewhat dazed and couldn't quite believe what he had experienced over the past few days.

When did Yongchi-dong become so easy to talk to?!

After much deliberation, Orochimaru decided to stop worrying about it. After making a copy of the Ryuchi Cave Sage Technique Scroll, he went to see Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"How could a pancake possibly fall from the sky..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu's first reaction was the same as Orochimaru's assumption: he immediately felt that there must be a conspiracy involved.

But then I thought again and realized that it didn't seem necessary for Ryuji-dong to spend so much money.