Uchiha's personal opinion

"The existence of a threatening but not lethal enemy is the best way to maintain internal unity!"

Yekura said, "Furthermore, if we don't cleanse ourselves through war, how will we deal with those Iwagakure and Kumogakure who surrendered?"

"Do you think... that hypocrite Uchiha Tokumitsu is willing to bear the infamy of killing prisoners?"

"...You think too negatively of Lord Deguang; he's not that kind of person!"

Luo Sha shook his head.

"What a fine 'adult'!"

Yekura couldn't help but laugh: "It seems the village ninjas were right to call you a Shogunate-made puppet!"

Luo Sha looked angry, but ultimately did not retaliate or make a move.

"Those who understand the times are wise."

Ye Cang suppressed his smile and said seriously, "It comes from the second section of the third volume of 'De Guang's Sayings'..."

"The Inspectorate has already discussed it?"

Luo Sha had no other mood at this point.

It was truly astonishing that the radical faction that had always advocated for independence in the village had defected even faster than they had!

"After the Battle of Takinohara, we took the initiative to contact our comrades serving in the anti-terrorism unit and obtained some first-hand information..."

Ye Cang slowly said, "Now, the only way for the village to continue is to voluntarily bow down."

"...That's going too far!"

Luo Sha rubbed his cheeks and sighed.

"By the way, it's said that the puppet daimyo of the Land of Water who was put on the throne is about to petition the shogunate to abdicate. If Your Excellency doesn't take the initiative, your value in the shogunate may decrease even further."

Ye Cang bowed slightly and said, "This is the last contribution we can make for the village. Farewell!"

After saying that, Ye Cang pushed open the door and left.

Luo Sha's expression in the conference room was unpredictable.

Finally, I let out a long sigh:

"Those who understand the times are wise..."

Chapter 467 The World's Hearts Turn to Him

"Teacher...are we going to attend this Mi Bing Alliance meeting?"

Beneath the icy caves of the Land of Snow, Nagato asked with a heart full of trepidation.

Black Zetsu possessed a White Zetsu and read the invitation to the alliance that the Land of Snow had received countless times, but he still couldn't make up his mind.

Whether to go or not is a problem.

Even if Black Zetsu used its non-existent brain to think, it would know what Uchiha Tokumitsu was up to!

It's nothing more than using the name of the alliance to seize power over the ninja world!

Then comes a standard procedure of factionalism and suppression of dissent. What else can there be?

But if one refuses or ignores the "friendly invitation" from the shogunate...

Black Zetsu had no confidence in resisting the subsequent invasions of the Shogunate.

Especially now that it has partially broken ties with Afei, the power it can control has been greatly weakened.

"Let's participate..."

After much deliberation, Black Zetsu decided that it would be best to feign allegiance to the Shogunate, at least in this way he could understand Uchiha Tokumitsu's true thoughts and subsequent actions.

“You sent Kazahana Hayate to the alliance meeting, and apart from Yukinin, none of our people are allowed to show up.”

Black Zetsu pondered for a moment, then added, "None of the White Zetsu can go either."

"but……"

Nagato hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the northwest of the ninja world, "Over in the southern part of the Land of Earth..."

"The Land of Earth? Tobi?"

Black Zetsu was immediately taken aback. "What's wrong with them?"

"It is said that a farmers' self-governing organization has been established in the southern part of the Land of Earth, and its leader is the 'Free Iwagakure,' which has also received the tacit approval of the shogunate..."

Nagato stammered, "Moreover, this 'Free Iwagakure' isn't the puppet supported by the shogunate, but the one that initially instigated the rice riots..."

"Those are Afei and his friends!"

Black Zetsu jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouting angrily, "What! It also received an invitation to the Mi Bing Alliance!"

"That should be true..."

Nagato answered softly, "It is said that... after the Battle of Takigawa Plains, the Iwagakure (Historical Village) captured the daimyo's mansion before the shogunate's ninja army could enter the Land of Earth, and they even hung all the Tachibana clan daimyo's heads on streetlights. Afterwards, they voluntarily withdrew and vacated the daimyo's mansion, thus receiving commendation from the shogunate..."

"Those bastards from the Shogunate! How can the ninja world possibly be any better with them around! They couldn't even steal the credit for conquering the Daimyo's capital. What use are they? In my opinion, Uchiha Tokumitsu should have dismissed those incompetent fools!"

Black Zetsu immediately burst into a tirade: "Moreover, those lawless White Zetsu are definitely destabilizing factors in the ninja world, and they should be wiped out! How can we allow them to exist or even participate in the alliance! This is a great insult to the ninja world!"

Nagato lowered his head and remained silent, but he also felt that his teacher Black Zetsu's words were too incongruous.

Aren't we also a destabilizing factor in the ninja world...?

But he also understood the love-hate relationship between his teacher, Black Zetsu, and Tobi, so he didn't say anything more.

After cursing for a long time, Black Zetsu finally stopped, but he still looked angry.

What do you think we should do?

Black Zetsu asked, "Do you want to move?"

“I think… we should have a face-to-face talk with Uncle Fei, and after explaining the pros and cons, I believe he will understand the situation.”

Nagato whispered, "At the very least, we can't send an ordinary White Zetsu to the alliance meeting. We should just send a normal free agent from Iwagakure; otherwise, if they get discovered, it could be a catastrophe..."

"I see……"

After thinking for a moment, Black Zetsu decided to go and have a proper talk with Fei himself: "I'll make a trip there."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, teacher..."

Nagato bowed respectfully, then prepared to leave.

"That's right!"

Black Zetsu suddenly asked, "What about Iwagakure... what happened to their two Jinchūriki? Did they escape?"

"The Four-Tails Jinchuriki died in battle when the Shogunate's ninja army attacked Iwagakure, and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki was captured during the Shogunate's siege..."

Nagato shrank back and answered in a low voice.

"So the Four-Tails is dead?"

Black Zetsu quickly asked.

"I don't know..."

Nagato quickly shook his head: "Perhaps he's dead, or perhaps his tailed beast was extracted before he died; our White Zetsu can't get any information on that either!"

"……I see!"

Because Black Zetsu's face was so dark, no change in complexion could be seen.

Although it had the Ten-Tails' remains and the Gedo Mazo in its hands, it never got any of the Tailed Beasts; instead, the Shogunate basically collected them all!

Aside from the Eight-Tails, whose resurrection is uncertain, and the One-Tail, passed down through generations in Sunagakure, the other tailed beasts are basically in the hands of the Shogunate. Moreover, given Uchiha Tokumitsu's current dominance, forcibly seizing the tailed beasts is impossible, let alone distributing them. Uchiha Tokumitsu isn't some idealistic fool like Senju Hashirama. But if he urgently needs to lie low, who knows how many years he'll have to endure...

Moreover, although Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan was transplanted into Nagato's body, this thing actually ages gradually with the host's age or frequency of use, and it cannot be preserved indefinitely as a family heirloom...

Once this pair of Rinnegan is destroyed, it's unknown how long Black Zetsu will have to endure before another pair of Rinnegan appears.

"What should I do...?"

After Nagato left, Black Zetsu sighed deeply: "Mother...do I really have to go to that guy and offer him the Gedo Mazo to bewitch him...?"

The problem is, at least for now, Black Zetsu doesn't have the guts to do that!

……

As the meeting of the Mi Bing Alliance in Fubo City drew closer, representatives of the remaining small and medium-sized forces from all over the ninja world arrived one after another, anxiously awaiting the "final judgment."

Among them, the most uneasy was Kakuzu, the strongest ninja in the black market, Hashirama's assassin, and famous for his money-grubbing ways, who was "invited" by Kisame Hoshigaki and his team!

Although Kakuzu was unwilling to participate in this so-called alliance meeting in his personal capacity, he decided to go with the tide and pay homage to the emperor under the "escort" of the hundreds of anti-terrorist ninjas, given Kisame's polite manner and the menacing expressions of the ninjas.

The reason he felt so guilty was that he had accepted a mysterious commission from the black market to attack Uchiha Tokumitsu, who was then only the "Commander of 500 Million".

Although his attack was crushed by Uchiha Tokumitsu, it was still a grudge for the ambush and assassination, and he didn't know if Uchiha Tokumitsu was willing to forgive him.

However, after staying at his residence in Fubo Castle for a few days, although he couldn't move around freely, Kakuzu's mood gradually relaxed.

After all, judging from this situation, they probably won't use themselves as a sacrifice...

"Knock knock!"

Just as Kakuzu was lost in thought, a rhythmic knocking came from outside the door.

"Please come in!"

Kakuzu was startled and quickly said...

"Hello, Mr. Kakuzu..."

A servant ninja pushed open the door and entered, greeting him politely.

"Hello……"

Kakuzu returned the greeting somewhat awkwardly.

"By order of the Alliance Organizing Committee, we are now presenting you with your identification and seating number. Additionally, chakra sampling registration is required..."

The attendant ninja unsealed a pile of documents from the sealed scroll and handed them to Kakuzu, while simultaneously fiddling with a strange little device.

"Identity document..."

Kakuzu paused for a moment, then hesitantly took the documents and began to read them.