Uchiha's personal opinion

"This……"

Uchiha Shihuo looked troubled, but did not refuse immediately.

"If it were just a special reconnaissance unit, even less than two thousand people wouldn't be a problem, but this time..."

Luo Sha said sincerely, "A base with a planned capacity of 20,000 people, plus a concession... to be honest, I am not very willing to agree to this request."

"But out of respect for Lord Tokumitsu, and especially considering the special relationship between the Shogunate and Sunagakure, I made it very clear at the Jonin meeting that the Censorate only needs this one reason, which is actually a very big concession..."

Although Rasa spoke quite casually, the village was actually in a state of panic for quite some time after the shogunate's coordination documents arrived.

There was no way around it; the official document proposed building a base of 20,000 ninja soldiers on the eastern coast of the Land of Wind, near the wilderness, and constructing a concession to provide supporting services. Anyone who heard such a request would be furious.

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu promised in the official document to provide Sunagakure with various forms of support and resources, and even to give Sunagakure more slots in the joint anti-terrorism force, this was still not enough to dispel the doubts of the Sunagakure leadership.

After all, no matter how much supplies are given, you still need to be alive to spend them; as for the joint anti-terrorism force, it's a poison wrapped in sugar, and even if the Sand Village ninjas who go out return, they won't be of one mind with the village anymore.

Even the opposition from Sunagakure, Pakura, showed extreme caution in this matter—after all, this was the base of 20,000 ninja soldiers!

Even if the shogunate only sends 10,000 ninja troops in the end, that is still a terrifying force that can easily wipe out Sunagakure!

Putting aside everything else, the fact that the joint companies that contracted out oases in various parts of Sunagakure now employ ninjas is enough to make the opposition in Sunagakure restless. If more than 10,000 ninja troops were to be stationed there permanently... it would be better to change their tune and become a pro-shogunate faction as soon as possible!

"Lord Deguang gave me a confidential document beforehand..."

Uchiha Shih-hu seemed to hesitate for a moment before slowly taking out a secret letter from his pocket and handing it over.

"However, the contents are of great importance. Please, Lord Fengying, burn them immediately after reading and do not divulge them!"

Luo Sha hesitated for a moment before accepting the secret letter, but ultimately chose to open the outer seal and take out the coded text to read.

"call……"

Even though Luo Sha was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but feel dizzy after watching it.

"An expedition to Mount Myoboku..."

Luo Sha condensed a strand of golden sand in his palm, grinding the secret letter into dust. "Lord Deguang is truly generous..."

Uchiha Shihu bowed slightly, but did not express his opinion.

Ultimately, the decision rests with Luo Sha.

Like Iwagakure and Kumogakure, the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure also unanimously believed that the shogunate's military buildup was for the Northern Expedition.

But unexpectedly, the shogunate's goals were so grand...

"That's a sacred and secret realm beyond the wilderness!"

Rasa exclaimed, "Did the exploration team that crossed the wilderness really find the location of Mount Myōboku?"

"Yes."

Uchiha Shiki nodded: "According to Captain Shisui, the Jonin Yekura who was there to provide support also guessed the results achieved by the exploration team. Therefore, in order to keep it a secret, the operational objective was not directly mentioned in the coordination documents."

He then added, "We thought Lord Kazekage already knew about this..."

"Well, I see."

Luo Sha nodded, then emphasized, "Now I understand!"

Luo Sha then stopped hesitating, picked up a pen, signed his agreement on the coordination document, and stamped it with the Fengying Seal.

"Thank you for your support, Lord Fengying!"

Uchiha Shihu immediately expressed his gratitude in a serious manner.

"This is also due to the special relationship between Sunagakure and the shogunate..."

Rasa felt agitated at the thought of Yekura's "intentional concealment" and naturally lost interest in continuing his rambling: "If the Shogunate's expeditionary force needs assistance, I believe the loyal and valiant Sunagakure army will not disappoint Lord Tokumitsu!"

"I will report this to Lord Deguang and thank Lord Fengying once again for his support of the expeditionary force!"

Uchiha Shihu bowed again: "I am busy with official duties, please allow me to take my leave..."

"You may go now..."

Luo Sha had no desire to reminisce.

……

"Are we really going to build a forward base with the scale of 20,000 ninja troops?"

Inside the Konoha Governor's Mansion, Hatake Sakumo asked hesitantly, "Besides, our plan doesn't seem to be like this..."

If the Mount Myōboku expedition plan hadn't been personally designated by him and Uchiha Tokumitsu, he would have been completely misled by this seemingly unnecessary forward base construction plan.

Because the construction plan for this base is simply too ambitious!

Moreover, even the project timeline was included, and it was planned to be jointly constructed by the three Konoha construction giants: Senju House, Hyuga Construction, and Uchiha Real Estate. The infrastructure investment alone would be astronomical.

As for the details of the project's progress, building standards, and construction technical specifications, they are all included, making them so convincing that one glance is enough to convince you of their authenticity.

"The plan to launch an expedition to Mount Myoboku cannot be kept secret."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said leisurely, "Even if we can temporarily conceal the information, those outcasts will immediately notice once the ninja army begins to assemble."

"But this base..."

Sakumo Hatake hesitated for a moment: "Moreover, such a huge investment will inevitably drag down other aspects of the village."

"It's just phased investment. Besides, the expected investment amount is an empty promise."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said dismissively, "Sometimes, certain repetitive investments that are wasteful are necessary."

"That being said, I still can't understand..."

Sakumo Hatake shook his head. "This investment is too large."

"After destroying Mount Myoboku, if we want to effectively govern its homeland, it is necessary to retain a forward base as a point of departure for resupply."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said, "Furthermore, according to the construction plan of the forward base, when we officially launch the conquest of Mount Myōboku, the construction progress will be exactly one-quarter complete, which is the port and the military zone with a scale of 5,000 people. In this way, the budget is completely controllable."

"That makes sense..."

Hatake Sakumo flipped back to the plan and discovered the trickery hidden in it.

“Sakumo-kun, we shouldn’t treat those outcasts like fools. They’re not just sitting there waiting for us to throw kunai at them. Weakness isn’t an obstacle to survival; arrogance is.”

Uchiha Tokumitsu said, "Without such strategic deception to cover it up, our leapfrog tactics would likely be interrupted by snipers halfway through."

What Uchiha Tokumitsu was trying to do was to use his memories from his previous life to carry out a strategic deception before the Normandy landings.

After all, with the intelligence network of the Myoboku lineage, it was absolutely impossible to keep it a secret once the shogunate's ninja army was officially mobilized.

"But the village's deficit is far too large..."

Sakumo Hatake also sighed.

He never imagined that one day he would be worried about the village's public debt.

Although Konoha is prosperous and thriving, behind it lies a huge debt that amounts to three years' worth of Konoha's total revenue, and the creditors are the United Corporation and the Nakagawa Stock Exchange.

In other words, Konoha owes money to the Uchiha clan.

Although the real estate-driven village development strategy implemented through the village investment company has indeed achieved very good results, the huge expenditure has left the government ninja in charge of finance feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

"Debt is just a number."

Uchiha Tokumitsu shook his head: "As long as the village continues to prosper and rise, even if the debt problem triples or quadruples, it won't be a problem!"

"After all, the most important thing in this world is expectation!"

"Just like we always believe that the Myoboku Mountain bandit gang must be destroyed!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu's attitude was very firm.

"But we must at least find a way to reduce the debt level..."

Sakumo Hatake's attitude softened somewhat.

"The prince of Daming Prefecture has stayed for so long, it's time to let him rest in peace."

Uchiha Tokumitsu poured a cup of tea for Hatake Sakumo.

"You mean..."

Sakumo Hatake raised an eyebrow.

"Remove the title of Genji Daimyo and send those court nobles back to the dustbin of history where they should be hiding!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu grinned bloodthirstyly: "With the Daimyo fallen, Konoha will feast!"

……

Beneath the deep, winding Nine Netherworlds.

The Great Toad Immortal arrived alone at the entrance of Dragon Cave.

Unlike in the past when it used clones to go out, this time it arrived at Ryuchi Cave in its true form, and there was no Greninja accompanying it.

After pondering for a long time at the entrance of Ryuchi Cave, the Great Toad Sage slowly extended his two fingers, triggering the protective barrier of Ryuchi Cave.

However, it did not choose to break the barrier in a provocative manner, but instead stopped and waited in place after causing fluctuations in the barrier.

Not long after, the entrance barrier was removed, and the still-living Tashin-hime of Ryuchi Cave stood inside the entrance and bowed slightly to the Toad Sage.

"The White Snake Immortal..."

The toad immortal opened his mouth as if to speak.

"The patriarch already knows."

Princess Tianxin interrupted the Great Toad Sage: "Please come with me..."

Having said that, he ignored the Toad Immortal's reaction and turned back to swim deeper into Dragon Earth Cave.

The Great Toad Immortal was not angered by the rudeness of the Goddess Tianxin, and followed her inside without hesitation.

Long-unseen, Ryongji-dong still looks like a bloody place.

Wherever the Toad Immortal went, countless giant snakes strangled and devoured him in a bloody massacre. The victorious snakes were killed and devoured by other snakes before they could even recover. In the cramped cave, the strong stench of blood and decay was almost suffocating.

The Toad Immortal remained unmoved, continuing to observe the strange phenomena of Dragon Earth Cave as he advanced.

In its memory, although Ryuchi Cave never hesitated to devour its own kind, it had never experienced such a brutal "involution".

Even newly hatched snakes begin fighting each other in the nest where their eggs are kept.