"You're right. If you go against the current and start a war when it's not suitable, then as the instigator, you're definitely going to put in the most effort for the least reward."
The Third Kazekage nodded and continued, "Yagura Karatachi becoming the Mizukage means he shouldn't be a short-sighted mediocrity. From the intelligence gathered by the village, Yagura Karatachi is determined to change the Hidden Mist Village's Blood Mist policy. He's quite capable and strong; he shouldn't be that kind of person.
Even if he can't see it, the Hidden Mist Village's Elder is a man of profound wisdom. He would definitely see this clearly."
Qingshui agreed with the latter half of the Third Kazekage's statement, but as for the first half…
Not necessarily.
It's not impossible for someone mediocre to become a Kage; it just means they're relatively strong, and everyone else is worse, or the village simply doesn't have anyone better to put forward.
However, the Third Kazekage said that Yagura Karatachi is quite capable and doesn't seem like someone who would do such a thing. Even if he did, wise figures like the Elder would step in to dissuade him.
But Yagura Karatachi still wants to do it.
Could it be…
Qingshui frowned slightly.
It must be that person's doing.
Looking back a hundred years in the entire Ninja World, the only ones who truly make Qingshui wary now, and whom he believes he can't yet defeat, are Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
They have already transcended the dimension conventional ninjas exist in.
Has Yagura Karatachi, who just ascended to the position of Fourth Mizukage, already fallen under Uchiha Madara's control?
If so, that guy is pretty pathetic. He worked hard for half his life, finally became the Mizukage, and before he could even do anything, he became someone else's Puppet. It's not an exaggeration to say his life's efforts became someone else's wedding dress.
So now, the Hidden Mist Village, one of the five strongest powers in the Ninja World, has become a tool for Uchiha Madara to use as he pleases.
However, that person's ultimate goal is to realize the Eye of the Moon Plan. His immediate goal should be to select a proxy from the Uchiha clan. Since he has already controlled the Hidden Mist Village, he shouldn't be able to interfere too much with the Sand Village.
As for whether he would choose others as his proxies, Qingshui believes the possibility is very small, almost nonexistent.
He has already gained control of a powerful force like the Hidden Mist Village through Yagura Karatachi. If he were truly going to choose someone else, why would he bother looking for Obito Uchiha in the original timeline?
One could only say that Uchiha Madara never truly paid attention to anyone else. The only ones he truly regarded, besides his brother Izuna, were Senju Hashirama. The only powers he valued were the Sharingan and Wood Release.
With the Senju clan in decline and Wood Release gone, Uchiha Madara is the one who understands the power of the Sharingan best, and knows the Uchiha better than anyone.
Someone as arrogant as Madara would only trust himself. And when he grew old, he would only trust those with the same bloodline as him, those he personally trained.
For now, as long as he doesn't draw too much attention to himself and make Uchiha Madara think he might interfere with the Eye of the Moon Plan, he shouldn't attract his notice.
Only when he possesses power that even Uchiha Madara at his peak cannot defeat will it be his time to truly make his mark.
"What are you thinking about?"
The Third Kazekage saw Qingshui spacing out and interrupted him.
"Nothing. Perhaps Yagura's ascension wasn't smooth, or perhaps the presence of the Elder and others made him feel constrained, so he wants to start a war to gain prestige through victory and solidify his position and power."
Qingshui shook his head, clearing his mind of stray thoughts, and spoke to the Third Kazekage.
"That explanation is plausible enough."
The Third Kazekage nodded in agreement.
He also felt there was no other explanation.
"So, what's your opinion? Should we get involved, or should we not?"
The Third Kazekage asked Qingshui again.
"I think…"
"Don't be so quick to answer."
The Third Kazekage tapped the table, interrupting him.
"Let me first tell you about the current overall situation of the village, then you can make your judgment. This data was compiled at the end of this year."
"The village has a total of 14,600 active ninjas. Among them, over 8,300 are Genin, with 2,600 of them having graduated from the Ninja Academy only after the Second Great Ninja War, meaning they've been active ninjas for less than three years. There are over 5,200 Chunin, 733 Special Jonin, and 144 Jonin…"
"Among them, the Puppet Force…, the Medical Squad…, and the Sealing Squad…"
Qingshui lowered his gaze, quickly jotting down the data the Third Kazekage was reciting.
Outside, and even among the lower and mid-level ninjas of the Sand Village, there were speculations and evaluations of the overall strength of the major ninja villages, but they could only estimate roughly.
However, some of the data the Third Kazekage mentioned were only accessible to the village's high-ranking officials, as they included detailed information on secret Anbu units and specific inventories of various war supplies.
"Overall, with the rapid growth of the village's Puppet Master corps and the boost the Breathing Style gives to elite ninjas, the village's lower and mid-level fighting strength is not much weaker than it was at the beginning of the Second Great Ninja War. While the number of Jonin is slightly lower, their quality is significantly higher."
Qingshui knew that the Jonin the Third Kazekage was referring to weren't just ordinary Jonin, but also included the village's top-tier fighters.
During the Second Great Ninja War, besides the Third Kazekage, the Sand Village had four other top-tier fighters: Chiyo and Ebizo, and Sasori's parents.
The latter two were relatively weaker, and they were only in their twenties when they died. Their strength was probably comparable to weaker Kage-level individuals like Rasa.
Coupled with the nature of their abilities, they both fell to Hatake Sakumo's blade.
As for now, that void could be filled by Rasa and Karura, whose strength is nearing its complete form.
Adding himself, and Pakura, who has now perfectly mastered Scorch Release and is approaching Kage-level strength.
All things considered, that's a full seven top-tier combatants. Aside from Konoha, Sand Village alone can nearly match two or three other major ninja villages in this regard.
"Our current strength isn't worse than it was back then, and we won the Second Great Ninja War. But what about Konoha? Their White Fang was essentially killed by their own people, Tsunade is out of commission, and Kato Dan is also dead. If we were to go to war again, our chances of winning would be much higher than before."
Qingshui remained silent.
The Sand Village's victory in the Second Great Ninja War was actually quite fortunate.
According to the original timeline, Sand Village should have lost, but due to his presence, some changes occurred. They managed to uncover Yakushi Nonou, a top-tier intelligence agent, and at the right moment, the intelligence about Tsunade developing Hemophobia reached Sand Village. This led to Sand Village making a correct assessment of the battle situation, which in turn caused Hanzo to waver.
So, what about now?
"Does the village have an accurate assessment of Konoha's current strength?"
"The intelligence department compiled an assessment, based on known ninja casualties and retirements in Konoha over the years, combined with intelligence gathered by our embedded agents in Konoha. The total number of ninja is estimated to be around 17,000, and the number of Jonin, based on known intelligence and normal proportions, should fluctuate between 170 and 180.
Aside from the Third Hokage and his old classmates, the only ones truly worth watching are Jiraiya and Orochimaru. The rest... are not to be feared!"
Qingshui looked at the document the Third Kazekage handed him and quickly began to calculate.
In terms of conventional strength, the Sand Village's intelligence officers' assessment was likely not far off, and perhaps even overly conservative regarding the Uchiha clan's combat power.
Having been confined to police duties by Konoha for many years, the current Uchiha clan is in its weakest period in history. Even if some members go to the battlefield, those who get proper training are ultimately few.
Especially for the highly talented and powerful Uchiha, Konoha's higher-ups were extremely vigilant, fearing that one day another Mangekyo Sharingan might awaken, giving rise to a second Uchiha Madara, who would then usurp their position as Hokage and seize their interests.
The current Uchiha haven't undergone much training. While still the foremost clan in the Ninja World, they are far weaker compared to their peak during the Warring States period, when every member was a warrior.
It is precisely because of this that the entire Ninja World has misjudged the true strength of the Uchiha clan, believing Konoha treats the Uchiha as an ace similar to the Tailed Beasts.
If that were truly the case, the outcome between Konoha and Sand Village would be a 50/50 split. However, with Hidden Mist Village acting as a vanguard, based on these figures, Konoha is bound to lose.
But...
Qingshui flipped through the document, turning to the page with information on Minato Namikaze.
As Jiraiya's disciple and the Third Hokage's grand-disciple, Konoha's new generation genius ninja, Sand Village's intelligence department certainly had information on him.
In Sand Village's assessment, Minato Namikaze was merely an elite Jonin skilled in Wind Release and the Body Flicker Technique.
So, the assessment was indeed mistaken?
Qingshui calmly closed the document.
Before developing the Rasengan and gaining the ability for instant high-damage attacks, Minato Namikaze's absolute raw strength likely hadn't reached its peak. However, he must have already mastered the Flying Thunder God, definitely possessing Kage-level strength.
Moreover, if war were to break out and three of the Five Great Ninja Villages were involved, what about the remaining two?
"Third Kazekage-sama, I still maintain my previous opinion: now is not a good time to start a war.
We might be able to defeat Konoha, but simply defeating Konoha is useless. What we want is to replace Konoha and become the new dominant power in the Ninja World. Hidden Mist Village would cooperate with us, but how much effort would they truly put in?
What about the other ninja villages? Cloud Hidden Village doesn't share a border with us, nor do we have conflicting interests, and they also have Konoha as a common enemy. But what about Stone Hidden?
Third Kazekage-sama, I dare say that once war breaks out, Stone Hidden will directly attack us. And if there's even a slight chance of us falling into a disadvantage, Hanzo and Rain Village's stance will waver.
Right now, we might have the ability to defeat any ninja village, including Konoha. But if, while fighting Konoha, we also have to contend with Stone Hidden, our chances of winning will certainly plummet.
Not to mention, what we're seeing now is only Konoha's apparent strength. The First Hokage and Second Hokage left Konoha with too much foundational power. None of us know if Konoha might suddenly produce figures like the Sannin again."
Qingshui slowly shook his head at the Third Kazekage.
This wasn't a question of whether they could win, but rather that there was simply no need to fight.
Sand Village was currently undergoing an unprecedented period of rapid development.
Qingshui believed that with his ability to continuously bring in various knowledge and technologies from other worlds, Sand Village's strength and foundations would far surpass the other four ninja villages in the coming years.
As long as they could stabilize the current situation, everything would fall into place as Sand Village grew stronger.
"Indeed, Stone Hidden, and Hanzo, are forces that cannot be ignored. You're right."
The Third Kazekage knew that with Qingshui's intelligence and foresight, he would be able to see these things.
He wanted to hear Qingshui's opinion, not to test him on this, nor because he couldn't see this layer himself.
He wanted to see if Qingshui was the kind of person who would instigate war for power and personal gain.
It was important to remember that the Third Kazekage was getting on in years; in a few more years, he would likely begin to decline from his peak.
If Qingshui could lead Sand Village to a great victory then, or even just perform better than Rasa during the war, then the position of Kazekage would undoubtedly be his.
He didn't believe Qingshui couldn't see these prospects.
The Third Kazekage believed this was the fastest way for Qingshui to become Kazekage and gain the most significant benefits for himself.
Yet, Qingshui still told him that not starting a war now was what was best for Sand Village.
What did this signify?
It showed that Qingshui placed the village's interests above his own!
The Third Kazekage was very pleased.
To become a qualified Kage, one must place the village above their own life and interests.
Qingshui had no idea that his statements had earned him a perfect score in the Third Kazekage's evaluation.
Because in his mind, the position of Kazekage was already his; it was merely a matter of time before he sat in that seat.
Perhaps the Third Kazekage believed everything was still under its control?
But that was just its perception.
Even if the Third Kazekage suddenly lost its mind and chose Rasa as the Fourth Kazekage, Qingshui could still easily seize the position.
What kind of strength and influence did Rasa have?
Qingshui, on the other hand, with the credit of pioneering new Puppetry, was practically Monzaemon reborn in the eyes of the Puppet Masters in the Sand Village. Through teaching Breathing Style, building the Sand Rain Grand Canal, creating energy vehicles, and establishing production lines, among other achievements, his prestige had already reached a very high level.
Coupled with the support of Chiyo and Ebizo, even if the Third Kazekage disagreed, it would have to agree.
Of course, Qingshui now believed that he just needed to proceed step by step to smoothly take over the Kazekage's mantle and the reins of the Sand Village in the future.
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