Evil Uchiha Itsuki

Actually, with Itsuki acting as the intermediary, negotiating a partnership should have been easy. The overall strength of the Hidden Fire Village was the strongest among the three ninja villages! However, Hidden Sand, being one of the Six Great Ninja Villages, had its own pride.

When facing Hidden Rain, they instinctively felt superior.

To them, Hidden Rain could only submit, never resist!

This was the most troublesome issue.

Fortunately, Konan had re-taught them a lesson in humility.

That massive amount of explosive tags was enough to make anyone see things clearly again.

"Sigh!"

After both sides finished their discussion, Itsuki sighed and shook his head helplessly.

"What's wrong?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Unsatisfied? Why didn't he say anything earlier?

Itsuki looked at Konan and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't use such tactics. They're too basic."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Itsuki sneered and turned to look at Pakura. "How about I sell you guys a batch of explosive tags, three billion in quantity. You want them or not?"

"Of course!" Pakura didn't hesitate. "We'll take as many as you've got! Money's not an issue!"

In the past, explosive tags didn't have such a significant impact. They were just powerful weapons used by ninjas in battle.

But!

After Itsuki had bombarded Konoha multiple times, almost blowing it sky-high, the power of explosive tags was instantly magnified.

Now, many ninja villages were starting to stockpile explosive tags.

Because they realized, when used individually, explosive tags were minor threats, but when concentrated, they could be devastating.

Itsuki pointed at the people behind Pakura and said, "Ask them, who would dare provoke someone who could casually throw out three billion explosive tags?"

"Forget Hidden Rain, even if it's a rogue ninja, they'd have to tread carefully."

The people behind Pakura fell silent.

They didn't dare.

They admitted it!

They didn't want to risk it.

And if Konan wasn't happy and decided not to trade anymore, then what?

Konan looked at them, speechless. "Fine, your method is better. I'll keep it in mind."

"That's all you thought of?"

Itsuki sneered even more. "I have an even better method. For example, just tell them to raise the price, or else I'll sell to the Hidden Stone Village, or even to Konoha, at a discount if I have to."

What the hell!

A lot of people's eyes widened.

Could you be any more ruthless?

So if we don't buy or raise the price, you're going to sell to our enemies?

You're really something!

The Hidden Sand ninjas were both amused and exasperated.

They were lucky it was Konan they were dealing with—someone kind-hearted. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to save face.

And they'd end up paying a lot more in the end.

Itsuki turned and gave Konan a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "Believe in me, and you'll gain eternal life!"

Konan: "..."

Could you stop being so dramatic?

"Alright, have your people start expanding the river channels," Itsuki suddenly said. "You guys are coming with me to the Hidden Mist Village. We'll have a little chat with the Mizukage."

"Hidden Mist? Mizukage?"

Pakura and Konan were both stunned.

The two women exchanged glances, hesitant.

"What's the matter?" Itsuki asked, surprised. "Don't tell me you think I'll harm you?"

"That's not it!"

Pakura replied directly, "The Hidden Mist, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Fire are among the Six Great Ninja Villages. Hidden Rain doesn't seem to have that status."

Even Konan nodded and said, "Itsuki, I know you mean well, but elevating Hidden Rain to a position it doesn't belong in may not be a good idea."

"You're overthinking it!" Itsuki shook his head. "The reason I want Konan to go is precisely because Hidden Rain deserves this status!"

"Oh!"

Pakura was surprised.

The nearby Hidden Sand ninjas, who were listening quietly, were also shocked.

"Fine! I'll explain it to you!"

Itsuki raised a finger. "First, Konan can produce a massive number of explosive tags. Right now, she has hundreds of billions of them. She also has power that rivals Pakura. The combination of these two factors is terrifying."

"That's true!"

Hearing this, the surrounding people began looking at Konan differently.

Even Chiyo and Ebizo!

Hundreds of billions of explosive tags? Forget about their power—just their monetary value alone would make anyone's eyes light up.

"And!"

Itsuki looked at Konan. "The Hidden Rain Village now also has tailed beasts!"

"What?!"

That statement caused several people to shout in disbelief.

Tailed beasts?

Hidden Rain has tailed beasts?

What kind of joke is this?

When the tailed beasts were distributed back then, Hidden Rain didn't even qualify. Even now, with eight or ten ninja villages lined up, it still wouldn't be their turn.

Itsuki smiled faintly. "It's not uncommon for rogue jinchuriki to escape from various villages. Hidden Rain just seized the opportunity to capture a couple. Is that so strange?"

"T-Two…"

Pakura stared at Itsuki. She had heard rumors about the Akatsuki organization.

But she didn't understand why Itsuki was saying all this now.

Is the Akatsuki planning to step onto the ninja world stage?

Although the battle with the Three-Tails had already given people some insight into the Akatsuki, they didn't know that the organization was based in Hidden Rain.

"Yes!" Itsuki smiled. "The Four-Tails and the Five-Tails!"

Itsuki laughed, "The Four-Tails and the Five-Tails!"

What the heck!

Several Sand Shinobi twitched at the corners of their eyes.

Two tailed beasts? Fine.

But both are from Iwagakure.

Do you have a grudge against Iwagakure?

However, high-ranking Sand Shinobi like Pakura and Chiyo had a different reaction.

Their eyes showed thoughtful consideration as they looked at Itsuki.

As high-ranking individuals, their perspective was naturally different from the average Jonin.

The core of the Shinobi world consists of the six great villages!

Originally, Sunagakure was the weakest, and after the death of the Kazekage, their position was severely damaged.

Meanwhile, Kirigakure was weakened by the Bloody Mist Village incident, causing a serious decline in their power.

Konoha has been through so much turmoil, and their power has dropped to barely a third of what it used to be.

The Fire Village is newly established. No matter how talented Uchiha Itsuki is, his village still needs time to settle.

Even Kumogakure suffered a heavy blow from Konoha's counterattack, losing thousands of its fighting forces.

But only Iwagakure remains!

The cunning Onoki never let Iwagakure fall behind and even demanded resources from Konoha, further strengthening his village.

It can be said that Iwagakure's overall strength has surpassed the other villages.

And now, Itsuki reveals that they've lost their tailed beasts.

Even though Sunagakure lost theirs too, others don't know that! Right now, everyone believes there are still tailed beasts in their village.

If that's the case, Iwagakure loses its advantage when facing them.

Originally, Iwagakure had an air of superiority, but now, they better forget about it.

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces, Itsuki smiled slightly and asked, "So, do you think Amegakure has the right to join our meeting?"

"Of course!" Pakura opened her eyes and said, "A tailed beast is a tailed beast. No matter what state it's in, even if it's a berserk Jinchuriki, Amegakure qualifies to join our alliance."

"Great!"

Itsuki smiled and nodded, stepping forward and putting a hand on Pakura and Konan's shoulders.

"Flying Thunder God, taking you along!"

Whoosh!

Before the other Sand Shinobi could react, the three of them were already gone.

"This Uchiha!" Chiyo shook her head, watching Uchiha Itsuki vanish, and then turned to Baki, saying, "Head back to the village. Focus on the riverbank issue. There'll likely be new tasks soon."

"Understood!" Baki replied solemnly.

Kirigakure.

Poof!

With a puff of white smoke, Itsuki's clone, left by Mei Terumi's side, disappeared.

"Huh?" Mei blinked, and then three figures appeared in front of her.

Itsuki, Pakura, and Konan.

Mei's brow twitched furiously as she said, "What? Ready for a wild party?"

"No energy!" Itsuki waved his hand weakly, responding with exhaustion.

Moving from Sunagakure to Kirigakure in one go, and bringing two people along, this was the furthest Itsuki had ever traveled with his teleportation technique. The chakra consumption was enormous.

He was utterly drained.

As a result, he had to cancel his clone and absorb some chakra from it.

Even so, he was still completely exhausted.

Mei looked at him with a teasing smile, "You rushed here so quickly, I almost thought something serious had happened."

Itsuki waved his hand, saying, "Starting today, the alliance of the four villages is officially formed."

"Sunagakure and Amegakure should interact more often. You're neighbors, after all, and cooperation is key to success."

"Also, you're both the weakest, so working together is your best chance."

"You came all this way just to say that?" Mei asked, amused. "Kirigakure is too far away from them. This alliance is mostly symbolic. At most, we'll deploy forces to hold off Konoha or Kumogakure if someone attacks them."

"No," Itsuki suddenly said. "What I'm about to say next is the most important."

He stared at Mei, "I've taken an interest in Kirigakure's resources."

"Resources?" Mei was puzzled, "What kind of resources?"

"Seafood," Itsuki replied with a grin.

The ocean holds endless treasures.

The Fire Village, near the sea, is already well-fed. But Kirigakure, an island nation, once developed, would be raking in money every day!

"Oh!"

Mei's interest was piqued.

The four sat down and began to discuss matters.

In the end, Kirigakure would handle the capturing and gathering of various seafood, while the Fire Village, Sunagakure, and Amegakure would consume them.

Amegakure was poor and didn't have much money, but Konan was rich—she had explosive tags.

She was, after all, the richest woman in the Shinobi world, widely recognized!

Trading explosive tags for other villages' goods was something everyone was happy with.

It was also the first time Konan realized how versatile her explosive tags were.

"How foolish of me! I even had the impulsive thought to gather all my explosive tags and blow up the Masked Man. How dumb was that?"

Konan thought to herself.

Using billions of explosive tags to kill one person—what was I thinking?

According to Itsuki's plan, a bounty with just one billion explosive tags would be enough to drive every rogue ninja in the world crazy.

They'd risk their lives to hunt down the Masked Man.

Ten billion would be enough to tempt even top-tier Jonin and Kage-level Shinobi from the major villages, including the crafty Onoki and his Bloodline Selection, to secretly attempt the assassination.

"That's the power of money!" Itsuki explained seriously to Konan.

After all the discussions, Itsuki had recovered some of his strength and playfully suggested an activity beneficial for both body and mind to the women.

The women, however, were all prominent figures and didn't want to mess around.

In the end, with three rooms, Itsuki found himself running between them...

Annoyed, he finally stood in the middle of the rooms and howled at the moon.

The howl was somewhat tragic, with a sharp, twisting tone.

Many people from Kirigakure came out, pointing and whispering toward the Mizukage's office.

Itsuki vaguely heard a few keywords.

"Mizukage…"

"New pet..."

"Puppy…"

Itsuki: "..."

Does your dog howl like this?

"Blended breeds just can't catch a break!"

The Shinobi world fell into another period of calm.

No more fighting!

Who would even fight whom?

Especially against the alliance of the Fire Village and the three great forces. Starting a fight now—are you nuts?

As for Amegakure…

It's like a Husky among a pack of Tibetan Mastiffs—awkward to look at.

Just leave already!

Here, have a bone!

Too bad, Amegakure didn't listen.

If you've got the guts, go ahead and fight me!

Neither Konoha nor Iwagakure had any intention of fighting them right now.

No one wanted to start a war at this point.

They were all focused on building up their own strength.

Konoha was working hard to restore its military and economic power.

But...

With Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo—this pair of wily old leaders—it wasn't easy to rebuild.

Hiruzen was eager to cover up the mess he'd made, his eyes practically glowing green at the sight of money.

Danzo, on the other hand, wanted to break away and become Kage himself.

He was convinced he'd make an excellent Kage.

So, he ruthlessly took a cut of everything that passed by—whether money or weaponry.

Kakashi was deeply troubled by this.

The two old men had governed Konoha for decades, with deep roots and strong connections.

Even though Kakashi had won a major battle and established some authority, they wouldn't confront him openly. Instead, they worked behind the scenes. What could he do?

What Konoha needed now was stability, and Kakashi didn't dare to take drastic action.

So, the two old bloodsuckers continued to drain the lifeblood of Konoha's withering tree.

This greatly slowed down Konoha's recovery.

After the previous wars, Konoha's economy was already on the brink of collapse.

Many merchants and caravans no longer dared to come to Konoha.

Konoha's existence largely relied on the financial support of the Daimyo.

But that wasn't sustainable either.

The Daimyo's resources were stretched thin, and the funds he provided were dwindling.

In the most recent meeting, the Daimyo had even scolded them quite harshly.

"Enough!"

Kakashi threw the pen in his hand onto the desk, stood up, and looked out the window, muttering, "I can't hold on any longer. Let it all fall apart then."

"Father, I will avenge you!"

"I don't care about what mattered to you."

"I don't have to follow what you believed in."

"I only want those people to get the punishment they deserve."

Kakashi smiled faintly.

Funny how it worked out.

The two people causing the most harm to Konoha were the very ones he held grudges against.