Uchiha's personal opinion

Huang Tu kept his head down, maintaining a kneeling posture.

"What brings you here, Yan Yin?"

After a long pause, Uchiha Tokumitsu finally spoke coldly.

"By order of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, I have come to pay my respects to Your Excellency the Shogun..."

Huang Tu adopted a humble posture and spoke with great sincerity: "What I am doing is for the sake of peace in the land of Tu."

"Peace……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.

"The people of Iwagakure have only the heart to protect the country and have no intention of fighting against the Shogunate's Heavenly Army. Their sincerity is as clear as day. We hope that Your Excellency will forgive any mistakes we have made in the past."

"You think you can just turn the page with a simple 'forgiveness'?"

At this moment, Kisame Hoshigaki interjected with a sinister tone, questioning, "If peace comes too easily, I don't think Iwagakure will cherish it!"

"Since we're already here, why don't we, the Jonin of the Yellow Earth, send word to the ninja village to gather their ninja army and have a battle first? That way, we won't have made a wasted trip!"

Fugaku Uchiha also spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Huang Tu was not surprised at all; on the contrary, he breathed a sigh of relief.

If the shogunate intended to start a war, they wouldn't bother with verbal threats; they would probably just cross the border and attack.

Therefore, the most likely reason for their recent statements is simply to create leverage.

But for Iwagakure, nothing like bargaining chips exists.

"The 50,000 men of Iwagakure, though inadequate, are determined to defend their homeland."

The loess also exaggerated.

"Even if there are 100,000 Iwagakure, they are still only 100,000 heads..."

Hyuga Hizashi snorted coldly, about to make a sarcastic remark, but was stopped by Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"Further discussion is pointless."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said expressionlessly, "So... Jonin Huangtu, your sincerity in seeking peace is to prove yourself through combat, is that it?"

"That's absolutely not true!"

Huang Tu quickly replied, "What I'm doing here is naturally to promote peace between our two sides!"

"Then, what about Iwagakure's sincerity?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu said leisurely.

"Iwagakure will withdraw its ninja forces from buffer zones such as the Land of Birds and the Land of Stone, designating them as demilitarized zones!"

Huang Tu didn't dwell on it any longer and immediately stated the guaranteed conditions for Yan Yin.

"not enough!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu shook his head.

What's the use of a demilitarized zone? It can't even cover the costs of conscripting ninja troops and distributing relief supplies!

Besides, for the shogunate and the joint venture, earning less is a huge loss, let alone suffering a loss!

"Then may I ask, Lord Deguang..."

Huang Tu understood that Uchiha Tokugaku was not so easily dealt with, so he also asked a question.

"Southern counties!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu said without hesitation.

"Absolutely impossible!"

Huang Tu's expression changed drastically, and he resolutely refused.

"I personally lead 5,000 ninja troops in this assembly. Additionally, Hanzo's main force from the Land of Rain is already gathering on the flank, and General Himon's 3,000 ninja troops from the Land of Grass are also ready..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu casually revealed his team's plans.

Upon hearing this, Huang Tu's expression changed drastically.

"In addition, Mr. Sakumo is stationed in the northern border, personally leading his ninja army to block the path of reinforcements from Kumogakure in the west..."

As Uchiha Tokumitsu spoke, beads of sweat appeared on Huangtu's forehead.

"As for the Iwagakure dispatched forces in the Land of Frost, I believe the joint anti-terrorism forces have the strength to completely annihilate them."

Hyuga Hizashi chimed in.

"If necessary, the Kirigakure Headquarters will obey the Shogunate's orders and fight to the death, crossing the sea directly into the Unraikyo Gorge!"

Hozuki Masahiko, who led two thousand Kirigakure ninja on a long expedition, also answered with his head held high.

The loess soil became even more powerless.

Uchiha Tokumitsu and his subordinates revealed almost all of their plans, but that was precisely what was most terrifying.

The fact that they made no attempt to conceal their actions also demonstrated the shogunate's extreme confidence, showing that they were not worried at all about what countermeasures Iwagakure might have!

"If we hadn't joined forces with the Holy Land..."

Huang Tu took a breather.

The combined strength of Iwagakure and Kumogakure is indeed insufficient to contend with the shogunate's comprehensive strategy.

In fact, if a full-scale war breaks out, the weakened Cloud Village might not even be able to resist the ninja forces in the direction of the Mist Village. The shogunate's ninja forces, which have absolute control of the sea, might launch a surprise attack from the rear of the Iwagakure and go straight into the northern part of the Land of Earth!

But now...

Huang Tu calmed himself down a bit and felt that with the addition of Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave, they would still have a fighting chance.

If it weren't for this peace negotiation, Huang Tu would never have discovered that there was such a serious loophole in his defenses!

Have you thought it through?

"Uchiha Fugaku said coldly."

"With the utmost sincerity, I express the peace wishes of the Daimyo of the Land of Earth and His Excellency the Tsuchikage of this village..."

This time, Huang Tu no longer put on airs. "The Iwagakure garrison will withdraw from the Land of Birds and the Land of Stone, and all its rights and interests will be transferred to Your Excellency the General for disposal."

"This is the greatest sincerity from the Land of Earth and our village. If Lord Tokumitsu does not agree..."

Huang Tu took a deep breath: "Then, the entire Yan Yin Sect will fight to the death!"

"Not bad."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said something indifferently.

"What we are doing is not plundering small countries..."

"The reason why the United Company Charity Federation intervened in the affairs of the Bird Kingdom is for the livelihood of the common people, and even the reason for waging war is to relieve the people's suffering and punish the guilty!"

Hyuga Hizashi solemnly pointed out: "Mr. Huangtu's remarks are still stuck in the traditional ninja world competition, and he has not realized the fundamental mistakes of his side at all!"

The loess soil was speechless.

For the common people?

To relieve the people and punish the guilty?

What is this thing?!

This is such a tangled mess!

Huang Tu's mind was completely blank.

"Please explain further..."

Left with no other option, Huang Tu had to give up his futile verbal struggle.

"The Land of Birds and the Land of Stone have broken away from the Land of Earth's control and exist as independent nations! Iwagakure is not allowed to interfere!"

Hyuga Hizashi, along with Uchiha Tokumitsu, stated the conditions that had already been decided.

"no problem!"

Huang Tu nodded in agreement without hesitation.

When they left the village, everyone in Iwagakure understood that if they didn't want to start a war immediately, handing over two vassal states to settle the matter would already be considered a great act of magnanimity by the shogunate.

"The will of the people of the Land of Earth cannot be ignored or suppressed by the Tachibana clan daimyo and nobles from various regions!"

Hyuga Hizashi glanced at Uchiha Tokumitsu, and after receiving permission, continued, "Especially the demands for autonomy from the people of southern Earth—the Tachibana clan and nobles must agree! Otherwise, the Shogunate's ninja army will not hesitate to plead for the people!"

"...This matter is beyond my ability to agree to; it requires His Highness Daimyo's decision before him. I hope you will be lenient for a few more days."

After hesitating for a moment, Huang Tu decided to hand this hot potato over to Daming to deal with.

"The last one..."

Fugaku Uchiha picked up where he left off, saying, "The Iwagakure ninja force deployed in the southern counties of the Land of Earth shall not exceed two thousand men, and the shogunate shall not deploy more than one thousand men in the Land of Birds."

"In this way, the two sides will be at a balance of power, and peace will naturally follow..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu then said leisurely, "Wouldn't it be wonderful to turn hostility into friendship from now on!"

Chapter 419 Winning People Over with Benefits

Something's not right!

After Huang Tu left, Fugaku Uchiha immediately spoke with a solemn expression.

Hyuga Hizashi and Hozuki Masahiko nodded in agreement, while Kisame Hoshigaki and the others were somewhat confused.

"Huang Tu's reaction is suspicious. The fact that he was able to calm down so quickly after we laid out our plan means he must have something else to rely on!"

Fugaku Uchiha explained, "I had already tried to induce him with genjutsu, but I was unable to evoke any fear in Huangtu."

Although Kisame Hoshigaki was still somewhat confused, he nodded with a solemn expression.

"Besides Iwagakure and Kumogakure, are there any other forces in the ninja world?"

Uchiha Shisui asked, somewhat puzzled.

"How long has it been since the joint counter-terrorism forces detected any trace of the aliens?"