Chapter 471: Collecting Rent Again
After studying the new map, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "The Land of Earth has expanded again. Besides seizing our territory, Iwagakure has also annexed the Land of Bears."
"Even at our peak, we never expanded so relentlessly."
"This is not good, but it is also good. The Land of Water, which previously fought just to protect its own territory and its status as one of the Five Great Nations, should now see Iwagakure's true ambition."
"The honeymoon period between the Land of Earth and Land of Water should be about over. We can try to make contact with Kirigakure."
Tsunade hesitated. After all, they had just fought a major battle.
Hiruzen smiled. "Between nations, there are no permanent enemies. Iwagakure is at its zenith, acting incredibly dominant."
"I believe Kirigakure is thinking along the same lines."
"Of course, Kiri has just been through a war. They haven't recovered from their previous losses, nor have they had time to digest their recent gains. They won't be too enthusiastic toward us right now. They still need Iwagakure to help them solidify their victory. But in time, Kiri will understand what they need to do."
Tsunade nodded.
Hiruzen continued his analysis, "The Tsuchikage is formidable. He was already arranging the post-war world order before the war was even over."
"The Tsuchikage must know the situation Iwagakure will face, and he must have guessed that he and Kiri might end up on opposing sides."
"So he did two things. First, he forcefully helped the Land of Water carve a piece out of our Land of Fire, deepening the animosity between us."
"At the same time, he let Kiri see the wealth of the Land of Fire. Once they've come ashore, it won't be easy to get them to leave. They will only grow more eager to take more land from us."
"Second, he is suppressing Suna with all his might. The Tsuchikage will not give Suna another chance to rise. You can see this from the treaty between the Land of Wind and Land of Earth."
"The conditions imposed on the Land of Wind are as harsh as they can possibly be. The Tsuchikage is suppressing them on all fronts."
"If there are no surprises, this suppression will continue, and Suna will only grow weaker."
"In contrast, the treaty between Iwa and Kumo was just a perfunctory reparation. We can infer the Tsuchikage's post-war policy toward these two villages from this."
"However, this is good for us. The Tsuchikage has finally shifted his focus from suppressing us to suppressing Suna. We must use this opportunity to completely resolve the Uchiha problem."
Tsunade shuddered. She heard the absolute resolve in Hiruzen's calm tone.
Danzō, who had been silent the whole time, looked at his old comrade in surprise. You always made me the scapegoat for this kind of dirty work before. Hiruzen, do you not need me anymore?
Taking a deep breath, Tsunade said, "I understand."
After a pause, she continued, "After you left, the Uchiha clan did cause trouble again. Izumi Uchiha attacked Shisui."
Danzō's brow twitched, and he immediately began to listen intently. He was very concerned about Shisui Uchiha.
Tsunade said, "Shisui reported that Izumi's dōjutsu absorbs ocular power. In the brief moment their eyes met, the ocular power in both his eyes was severely depleted."
Danzō's face darkened. He thought: That's MY eye! Damn it! Shisui Uchiha is useless! He can't even protect the eye I entrusted to him!
It seems I can't wait any longer. I must get my eye back sooner rather than later.
Various plans flashed through Danzō's mind, but his expression remained placid.
Hiruzen frowned. "Then is Shisui still confident he can control Fugaku Uchiha?"
Tsunade said, "Shisui says he needs to rest for a while. After that, it shouldn't be a problem."
Hiruzen nodded. "Then we'll wait a little longer. But the preparations can begin. We need the explicit support of the major clans."
"The Uchiha, with their Izanagi, are too difficult to deal with. Root and Anbu alone won't be enough. We will need the secret jutsu of all the major clans."
"And..."
This time, Hiruzen completely shed his benevolent image, directly laying out the entire anti-Uchiha plan he had been formulating.
The meeting concluded.
However, before it ended, Koharu Utatane suddenly proposed resigning from her advisory position. She had no choice. As the one who signed the most humiliating and nation-betraying treaty in Konoha's history, she had to take responsibility.
Not only her, but even Tsunade's position as Hokage was shaken by this.
Hiruzen's main purpose in attending the meeting was to keep Danzō in check. Fortunately, Danzō's mind was now focused on how to retrieve the Mangekyo Sharingan, so he didn't make things too difficult for Tsunade.
Still, Tsunade's prestige in the village had undoubtedly taken a major hit.
In a corner of Konoha, in the Uchiha clan's district, Fugaku asked the training Izumi Uchiha, "Have you finished assimilating the ocular power you absorbed from Shisui?"
"Yes, Lord Fugaku," Izumi replied.
Fugaku looked at her. Her eyes seemed brighter than before.
He hesitated, but ultimately didn't ask about the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Even if Izumi could evolve her eyes by absorbing ocular power, this small amount was surely not enough.
"Have you tested your genjutsu? Has your ocular power increased? Has its strength improved?" Fugaku continued to ask.
Izumi said, "I've tested it. Even with just the three-tomoe, after digesting Shisui's power, both my insight and genjutsu amplification have improved slightly. But it's not a significant change."
Nodding, Fugaku said, "Izumi, from now on, your training volume will increase. Your skills are too weak."
"Shisui was careless last time. He won't give you another chance. With his strength, if he fought you seriously, he could kill you before you even had a chance to use your Mangekyo."
"And from today, you will add two more training regimens: first, fundamentals. All aspects must be improved. Second, combat training. I will arrange for clan members to spar with you every day."
"To defeat Shisui, an ambush won't be enough. You must improve yourself in every aspect."
Izumi nodded. She knew this well. She only regretted that her surprise attack hadn't been enough to blind Shisui. As a novice who had never been on a real battlefield, she couldn't understand how terrifying a war-tested ninja could be.
What Izumi didn't know was that Fugaku's expectations for her had changed. Before, he had only hoped she could become a Kage-level expert.
But now, having truly seen that she could absorb ocular power, Fugaku hoped Izumi could surpass him and evolve her Mangekyo Sharingan into an Eternal Mangekyo.
A future pillar of the Uchiha clan could not have any weaknesses.
After the treaty with Konoha was signed and some time had passed, Ishiro's injuries had completely healed.
So, he once again flew to Obito Uchiha's base in the Land of Earth. He shouted down, "Genius! An old friend has come to visit!"
Below, in the underground space, many of the children quickly vanished from Ishiro's perception.
Then, Obito Uchiha emerged from the ground. With an ugly expression, he looked up at Ishiro. "Tsuchikage, what are you doing here again?"
Ishiro looked at Obito with an expression of pure shock, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Obito became irritated under his stare. "Is the great Lord Tsuchikage here to amuse himself at my expense?"
Ishiro dropped the shocked expression. "Genius, I'm here to collect rent! A month is up. It's time to pay."
Obito was choked with rage. That bastard! Is he really going to come and take a scroll every month?
Obito wanted to fight, but then he thought of the immobile Gedo Statue beneath his feet and gave up the idea. He was unwilling to hand the Gedo Statue over to Iwa. What if Ishiro really discovered something from it? In Obito's eyes, the Gedo Statue, like Black Zetsu's body to Ishiro, held the secrets to reaching the Sage's level.
But the thought of using the summoning jutsu to move it again was even more unbearable. He was truly, completely running on empty.
Obito calmed himself. "What do you want this time?"
Ishiro said, "Still Madara's notes. You can give me whatever you want. I'm not a picky eater."
Obito took out a scroll and threw it to Ishiro. After inspecting it, Ishiro said, "Not enough. One more."
Obito frowned. "Tsuchikage, don't push it too far."
Ishiro smiled. "Genius, you're renting a place in my Land of Earth. We agreed on a price. That's fine. I'm a man of my word."
"But you brought in new tenants without my permission. Do you think it's wrong for me to raise the rent?"
Obito was speechless.
Ishiro urged, "Stop wasting time. The rent is doubled. Pay up."
Obito's visible eye closed. He took a deep breath. "Fine."
He threw out another scroll. Ishiro inspected it and took it. Seeing this, Obito turned to leave. He didn't want to say another word to Ishiro.
Ishiro said, "Don't go, Genius."
Obito roared, "DON'T CALL ME GENIUS!"
Ishiro smiled. "Oh? Are you angry? Calling you Genius is a sign of affection. What should I call you? Madara Uchiha? Or Obito Uchiha? You tell me what to call you. I'm easy."
Obito activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and stared at Ishiro. He said slowly, "What else do you want? Say it quickly."
Ishiro avoided his gaze. "Let's talk about your little trip to Iwagakure."
"You know, if you wanted to be a guest, you should have given me a heads-up. I would have welcomed you at the village. You just had to come when I wasn't there. It's a shame I couldn't properly entertain you."
Obito: ...
"What do you want?" Obito gritted out.
He had nothing to say. He had indeed had malicious intentions, hoping to find something useful in Iwagakure and cause some destruction. He was caught red-handed and was at a disadvantage. He could only accept his fate.
Ishiro kept smiling. "It's not what I want. It's what you want to do."
Obito was silent for a moment, then threw out three more scrolls.
After taking the scrolls, Ishiro nodded in satisfaction. "Since you're being so sincere, Genius, we'll forget about your visit to our village."
"Our village was missing a few things after your visit, but since you're being so earnest, I'll be magnanimous and let it slide. I won't hold it against you."
Without another word, Obito sank into the ground.
Ishiro sighed dramatically and shouted, "What's the hurry? We haven't seen each other in so long. We haven't had a good chat yet."
Receiving no response, Ishiro wasn't annoyed. He cheerfully put the five scrolls away.
After teasing Obito and getting five of Madara's scrolls, Ishiro happily flew back to Iwagakure.
Obito returned to the basement and said to Black and White Zetsu, "Find me a new base. The Gedo Statue will stay here for now. I need to train my subordinates. I don't want to be disturbed by the Tsuchikage."
Black Zetsu thought for a moment. "The ones you plan to train are all children. They aren't suited to living underground."
"So even if we change bases, it has to be a place where these children can grow up normally."
"All other places in the shinobi world are controlled by the Five Great Nations. There is only one place we can go."
Obito asked, "Where?"
"The Land of Iron," Black Zetsu replied. "The Land of Iron is a neutral country. Even the Five Kage Summits are held there. We can go to the Land of Iron, find a remote place, use genjutsu to control a few samurai, and then find some people to take care of the children. White Zetsu and I don't know how to raise kids."
Obito considered this. "Arrange it as soon as possible."
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