Uchiha's personal opinion

"Self-reflection is the secret to success! Self-criticism is the beginning of success!"

After Ah Fei loudly read out one of the sentences, his guilt vanished, and he continued to wag his tail and disappear underground.

Since he has already reflected on and criticized himself, all the unpleasant things in the past have naturally disappeared without a trace—as for whether Black Jue accepts it or not, what does it have to do with A Fei!

……

"Master Orochimaru!"

The Jonin, who had been away for about two hours, rushed back to Orochimaru's command post with a face full of excitement.

"found it?"

Orochimaru immediately stood up and asked with a hint of urgency in his expression.

"Yes!"

The Jonin, acting as if presenting a treasure, immediately unsealed a piece of ice the size of a head from the sealing scroll.

"That's it, that's the one!"

Orochimaru immediately confirmed that this was the type of Xuanbing that the exploration team was looking for!

To ensure everything went perfectly, Orochimaru even took out the sample ice and compared it for a long time.

Not only do the characteristics match, but judging from the impurities in the ice, the sample in his hand is very likely to have come from the deep cave that was recently explored!

"But you guys went to the trouble of polishing it a bit!"

After confirming that everything was correct, Orochimaru casually remarked something, which was quite unusual for him.

The cross-section of the ice is smooth like a mirror, and it also has very fine wheel patterns, which shows that it has been carefully polished.

Moreover, the polishing effect is excellent, making it very convenient for Orochimaru to observe the impurities and components inside the Xuanbing.

"No, this is what it looked like when we pulled it out of the deep well. Perhaps this is the wonder of nature!"

The Jonin, not finding anything unusual about it, simply replied with a cheerful laugh.

Orochimaru was taken aback.

First, there was this rather inexplicable mission, then this sample of unknown origin in my hands, and then the discovery of mysterious ice beneath the snowfield that appeared to have been artificially processed...

Orochimaru's mind began to wander.

But now is not the right time to find out.

"Record the location of the wellhead, then continue digging elsewhere!"

Orochimaru's expression was solemn. After casually giving a few instructions, he immediately teleported towards Konoha.

……

Uchiha Tokumitsu also received the Xuanbing ore sample sent back by Orochimaru immediately.

"Complete the task within one day..."

Looking at the ice blocks that were exactly the same as those in Madara Uchiha's coffin, Tokumitsu Uchiha was very satisfied with Orochimaru's performance!

"All of this is thanks to the strong support of the army ninjas..."

Orochimaru said modestly.

He was content with successfully completing the mission and naturally didn't mind praising the army ninjas who had taken the risks.

"very good……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded in satisfaction, then summoned his attendant ninja and instructed, "Notify Shiina-sama to lead the strategic support force to infiltrate the Land of Snow!"

"Also, have Lord Ashina lead his troops back to the Land of Iron to await regrouping with headquarters!"

After making the arrangements, Uchiha Tokumitsu said to Orochimaru, "Get ready, come with me tomorrow!"

"There will be a big surprise then!"

Chapter 476 A Snake in a Cup

The Strategic Support Force, stationed in the former Land of Waterfall, is the only fully-equipped ninja force that the Uchiha Dynasty can currently mobilize at any time.

Other army defense forces each have their own defense zones, and are also responsible for guarding newly conquered territories such as the former Land of Clouds and the Land of Earth. Arbitrary relocation would not only affect local stability, but also lead to the leakage of intelligence due to excessive movement.

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu's order was very sudden and did not specify the objective of the battle, Uchiha Shiina, as the commander-in-chief, still dared not be negligent. Not only did the first batch of ninja troops number as many as 4,000, but the second batch also had more than 2,000 people carrying heavy combat ninja tools to accompany the army into battle.

This is equivalent to the entire Strategic Support Force being deployed.

Of course, to avoid disturbing the treasures underground by gathering the ninja army, Uchiha Tokumitsu's second order came just as the strategic support force had secretly arrived at the outskirts of the Land of Snow.

Therefore, the first batch of ninja soldiers personally led by Uchiha Shiina changed their uniforms on the spot and falsely claimed to be mercenary ninjas of the United Company, who were mobilized because of the discovery of a super-large chakra metal mine in the Land of Snow.

After Ashina Uzumaki led his troops to the Land of Iron and joined forces with Tokumitsu Uchiha, he was assigned a secret mission—to locate Black Zetsu's stronghold!

"Dean Ashina, this mission is extremely important!"

Before departing, Uchiha Tokumitsu solemnly pointed out: "Be sure to be cautious, and also pay attention to safety!"

"At the same time, we must not cause any disturbance to those targets."

"I understand..."

Ashina Uzumaki immediately spoke solemnly.

"Also, the host of that Rinnegan might be a member of the Uzumaki clan..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "His name might be Nagato now, but..."

"Whether in the past, present, or future, there is no one in the Uzumaki clan named Nagato. Whether it was during the Uzumaki era or the Konoha period, there is no such person..."

Ashina Uzumaki lowered his head and said, "So, it's very likely that he just happens to have red hair by chance."

"..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu patted Uzumaki Ashina on the shoulder and said nothing more.

Now that Ashina Uzumaki, as the clan leader, had made his decision, he naturally wouldn't say anything more.

Moreover, this operation is particularly special, as the opponent is very likely to be a large number of White Zetsu. Although White Zetsu are not strong in combat, their ability to disguise and stealth is almost unparalleled in the ninja world, so the Uzumaki clan's strength is indispensable.

"Your Majesty, then I will lead my people and set off!"

"Uzumaki Ashina said seriously."

"it is good……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded, then asked with some hesitation, "By the way, if Kushina were willing..."

"willing!"

Ashina Uzumaki answered without even thinking.

"The West Palace will belong to her..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu didn't say anything more.

After all, it was troublesome enough to persuade Makoto Uchiha to change her mind.

……

"Hello, Little Blackie!"

Minato Namikaze returned to the interrogation room, a bright smile on his face, and greeted Black Zetsu in the cage with boundless energy.

"Hello, Director of Watergate."

Black Zetsu responded very politely.

It has been locked in the interrogation room for three days, and during this time it has been behaving very well, not leaving the room at all. Even though the police station's monitors have been keeping watch on it around the clock, they have not found anything unusual.

Moreover, there was no sign of any disturbance or alarm on the police station's reconnaissance barrier, and the chakra fluctuation monitoring device did not detect any abnormal chakra characteristics.

In other words, Black Zetsu was completely isolated from the world for three whole days!

However, Minato Namikaze came to interrogate him three times in those three days, and Black Zetsu thus gained some basic understanding of the young man's personality—a career-obsessed guy!

Furthermore, based on the intelligence gathered previously, Minato Namikaze, who is considered a 'promising individual,' values ​​his current position highly, so it's definitely appropriate to include his title in the address!

As expected, Minato Namikaze's smile became even brighter.

"...Well, your situation is a bit complicated."

After exchanging pleasantries with Black Zetsu, Minato Namikaze got down to business: "Because we haven't been able to obtain any evidence or witnesses to prove that you are a primordial spirit of the ninja world, we may not be able to remove you from our control anytime soon. We hope you can understand and forgive us."

Didn't I already say my permanent residence?

Black Zetsu seemed to mutter with some dissatisfaction.

"...Based on feedback from the front lines, it's likely because the Meteorite Mountains are too vast, or the ongoing war has ravaged the landscape, that the permanent settlement you described couldn't be found, and therefore your indigenous identity cannot be confirmed..."

Minato Namikaze spread his hands, looking rather helpless.

"...How much longer do I have to stay here?"

Black Zetsu was genuinely dissatisfied.

It described its disguised secret base so clearly that even the incompetent ninja government couldn't find it!

I don't know how they managed to wipe out the other major ninja villages!

Black Zetsu secretly grumbled to himself.

Moreover, it has been away from the secret base in the Land of Snow for some time, and it needs to go back to check on things to feel at ease.

“I also have a base, located about 50 meters below the bottom of the main river, 50 kilometers north of the city of Zhongbei County in the Land of Thunder. It contains 50,000 gold coins.”

With the idea that you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, Black Zetsu once again revealed a bombshell.

"How much gold?!"

Minato Namikaze was immediately startled.

"Fifty thousand."

Black Zetsu answered honestly.

"...How many?"

Minato Namikaze immediately frowned.