Iwagakure.
The First Tsuchikage sat in a chair in the intensive care unit, his eyes fixed on Mū, who was lying on the bed, covered in bandages and still unconscious. His fists clenched involuntarily.
Then, to find out the whole story.
He went to another intensive care room.
"Lord Tsuchikage..."
"Sorry to disturb you all. You should be resting at a time like this... but I must understand everything you encountered on your mission..."
"It was Kirigakure... a Kirigakure ninja with a small mustache led an elite Kirigakure squad and ambushed us. During our mission... everything was stolen..."
Bang!
A large hole was punched through a wall in the intensive care unit.
...........
Akatsuki Village.
Six in the morning.
Uchiha Makoto tidied himself up in front of the mirror in his room, putting on the Lord Light Shadow's official robe, which Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku had already ironed three times.
The Uchiha clan elders in Konoha had moved quickly. Almost as soon as Uchiha Makoto's front foot left Konoha, their back foot was in a high-level meeting, proposing the Konoha ninja study abroad program. That naturally evil old demon of the Senju, Tobirama, tried to put up a struggle in the meeting to obstruct the plan's progress.
However, the Uchiha clan had already privately discussed it with the other Konoha ninja clans, leaving Senju Tobirama no time or opportunity to employ his schemes.
Faced with the affirmative votes from the Konoha ninja clans.
He could only helplessly accept the matter.
Therefore, it didn't take the Uchiha elders long at all to implement the student exchange program that Uchiha Makoto had negotiated in Konoha.
Today, the exchange students from Konoha were scheduled to arrive at Akatsuki Village. The students from the Uzumaki clan would have to wait a while longer due to the sea voyage.
Uchiha Makoto finished dressing in his official robe and walked out of the bedroom. As usual, Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku was in the kitchen, meticulously preparing breakfast for him.
She peeled both sides of the tofu, cut each block into eight small pieces to dry, seared them in hot lard, sprinkled a little salt, then added a large cup of cooking wine, eighteen large dried shrimp, and a small cup of autumn soy sauce. She brought it to a boil once, added a pinch of sugar, brought it to a boil again, and then added 120 half-inch segments of finely chopped scallions.
She slowly took the pot off the stove, the aroma filling the air!
Uchiha Makoto smelled the fragrance the moment he stepped out of the room.
"Smells amazing!"
"It does, doesn't it... Lady Mito taught me."
"I never thought Lady Mito was such a connoisseur... Hmm... but... poor Lady Mito... who must she be eating with at this time... probably just her son, and her daughter-in-law..."
"Makoto, you're really... you're so mean..."
"But you like it, don't you..."
"Hmph... I like it a lot."
Uchiha Makoto happily ate his breakfast, not forgetting to gossip a little behind their backs.
Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku looked at him with gentle, loving eyes, but in the end, she couldn't help but roll them.
Regarding the relationship between Uzumaki Mito and Senju Hashirama, even though Uzumaki Mito hadn't said anything explicitly... Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku understood some of it.
Because eyes don't lie.
On the night of the New Year's Eve dinner, because Uchiha Madara was also coming, Uzumaki Mito had dressed up beautifully.
Even though she was now middle-aged, her looks and figure were no less than those of a young maiden. But no matter how beautiful Uzumaki Mito was, how alluring her figure, Senju Hashirama paid her no mind... The entire night, his gaze was focused entirely on... Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Makoto's assessment of this was—this is true brotherly love! (Of course, Uzumaki Mito would probably just curse, "Brotherly love my ass!")
Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku and Uchiha Makoto chatted while eating breakfast. During this time, Uchiha Makoto didn't forget to look out the window.
After the New Year, Akatsuki Village had attracted even more wealthy merchants, investors, rogue ninja, and a massive number of talents from all walks of life from across the ninja world.
Even the great nobles who were usually at odds with Uchiha Makoto were trying to take the gold and silver bars from their basements to invest in Akatsuki Village. They couldn't just let their vast wealth gather dust in the basement. Who doesn't like money... and right now, Akatsuki Village was truly full of opportunities.
Akatsuki Village was like an insatiable black hole, absorbing all of this.
With another wave of hot money, these massive funds poured into Akatsuki Village.
This led to another wave of expansion in the scale of Akatsuki Village.
Uchiha Makoto also took this opportunity to lay out his industrial plans in steel, textiles, food... and various other sectors. During this dividend period of the era, as long as he planned ahead and formed an industrial advantage, it would be easy to become the sole dominant player. Even if a dark horse emerged later, Uchiha Makoto wasn't worried.
Good quality technology wouldn't be as cheap as Akatsuki Village's. If it was cheaper than Akatsuki Village, there would be no profit. He would directly block the path of any latecomers.
And as villagers of Akatsuki in this great era...
As long as the villagers of Akatsuki didn't mess around, they could basically all make money and reap the benefits of this era.
When everyone can make money, they are naturally more willing to strive and work hard.
Even though it was only six in the morning, as Uchiha Makoto looked out, the streets were already bustling with people.
Workers ate the cheap breakfast offered by Akatsuki Village and headed to the factories in the morning sun. The shops on both sides of the street opened early to welcome customers. Merchant caravans from all over the ninja world traveled back and forth on the roads of Akatsuki Village with carts full of goods... Everywhere was a scene of vibrant life and competitive progress!
"This is great."
Looking at the lively scene before him, Uchiha Makoto sighed softly.
This made his already good mood even better, even though today's work was still endless, and he would have to leave a shadow clone in the office to work at night.
But in the end, this was his village.
Under his rule, the village prospered. Even if it was a bit tiring, it was worth it.
"Son, be good in mommy's belly and don't make a fuss. Your daddy is going out to conquer the world for you."
After finishing breakfast.
Uchiha Makoto gently stroked Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku's slightly bulging belly, gave a word of advice, and then walked out of the house under her watchful gaze.
Not long after.
The students from Konoha arrived near Akatsuki Village.
Due to the suddenness of the event, they were sent by the village to Akatsuki for a two-year study period with almost no preparation.
They felt incredibly excited and curious about this familiar yet strange village of Akatsuki.
Until they actually entered Akatsuki Village... they were truly shocked.
Konoha was also a great ninja village, once even considered by the ninja world to be Akatsuki Village's big brother, although it had now proven its own strength.
But the ninjas of Konoha still held pride in their hearts, believing that no matter how powerful Akatsuki Village was, it certainly couldn't be better than Konoha. But now they realized they had been too ignorant...
The overall combat power between the two villages was still a lopsided gap, after all, those two inhuman beings, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, could steamroll the ninja world.
But in terms of economic prosperity, Konoha was left far behind by Akatsuki Village.
Not only was the gap between the two sides too large, but while Akatsuki Village was cheerfully embracing the new era and striding forward, Konoha was still stagnating under the burden of traditional ninja ways, unable to advance, trekking arduously behind.
It was foreseeable that the gap between the two sides would only grow larger in the future.
Just from the appearance the village presented on the surface, the Konoha students already felt as if their ninja way was shattering.
"This is Akatsuki Village... Heavens... this is too exaggerated..."
"How can there be so many people..."
"Did you notice that even the roads are different from ours in Konoha... so wide and flat..."
"These poles on the side of the road... what are they for? It seems like there's electricity..."
"I even feel like there's a sweet smell in the air... Oh~ it turns out they're selling cotton candy here..."
"Cotton candy is delicious!"
"We're going to live here for two years... I'm kind of looking forward to it."
Uchiha Makoto had prepared a grand welcoming ceremony for the Konoha students and then took them for a stroll through the village streets.
Along the way, the Konoha students chattered incessantly, which was, of course, what Uchiha Makoto wanted to see.
Uchiha Makoto wanted to cultivate a batch of new-school ninjas in Konoha to reduce the resistance to his future plans... and incidentally, to cultivate a group of public intellectuals for Akatsuki Village.
Seeing is believing.
The grand narrative of a village could hardly stand against the bombardment of capitalism. In a few days, they would develop a certain feeling towards the economically backward Konoha... When people are poor, everything they say is wrong.
After arranging for the students from Konoha.
Uchiha Makoto returned to his Lord Light Shadow office.
There was still a huge pile of things waiting for him, the Lord Light Shadow, to do today.
In the office...
For several hours, Uchiha Makoto was busy with Akatsuki Village's upcoming strategy, as usual.
Just then, an Akatsuki Village ANBU ninja urgently knocked on the office door.
Uchiha Makoto immediately let him in.
"What happened? Why the rush?"
"Lord Light Shadow, a major incident of friction has recently occurred between Iwagakure and Kirigakure... The specific details have not yet been investigated... we have only found out that..."
"The First Tsuchikage is furious and plans to make a move against Kirigakure... It's very likely to escalate into a war..."
Ever since the First Tsuchikage of Iwagakure had led Iwagakure ninjas to suddenly intervene in the Kumogakure war, catching Uchiha Makoto completely off guard and nearly ruining the advantageous situation Akatsuki Village had worked so hard to create.
After that, Uchiha Makoto had consciously planted more intelligence spies in Iwagakure.
Now, it had finally paid off.
Although the intelligence obtained by the Akatsuki Village ANBU was not yet complete, just by hearing the Iwagakure ninja's name—"Mū"—and that the matter also involved Kirigakure, Uchiha Makoto guessed the whole story.
"My butterfly effect still can't stop this pair of fated rivals..."
Uchiha Makoto sighed with emotion. Since his transmigration and the establishment of Akatsuki Village, he had caused quite a few butterfly effects, but some things still happened in the end—the future Second Mizukage of Kirigakure and the future Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure had a major clash!
This also happened in the original story. Based on the current intelligence, the reality and the original story should be more or less the same.
The result of this clash between the Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage was that the Second Tsuchikage suffered burns all over his body and had to live the rest of his life as a living mummy, wrapped in bandages, barely surviving.
As for the subsequent development of this matter...
Mū was the Tsuchikage successor favored by the First Tsuchikage. Now that he was severely burned all over and wrapped up like a mummy, this matter could definitely not end easily. Perhaps it would escalate into a new battle between the two villages.
However, according to the original story's direction.
The battle between these two villages should be limited to a certain extent under the constraints of both Kage, at best, it could only be called a local war.
"The ninja world is about to fall into chaos again!"
"A little chaos is good. It's a bit boring for it to always be so peaceful... Anyway, it won't affect the Land of Fire... but... perhaps... Akatsuki Village can... behind the scenes..."
Uchiha Makoto silently analyzed the situation of the ninja world in his mind.
Although the battle between Iwagakure and Kirigakure had nothing to do with Akatsuki Village, Uchiha Makoto vaguely felt that this was an opportunity.
After all, Akatsuki Village now needed to resolve the fishing ground issue with the Land of Water and obtain those bird dropping islands full of phosphate mines.
Under normal circumstances, it would be very tricky to perfectly resolve these two matters, and it would inevitably involve a lot of wrangling and negotiation with the Land of Water...
But if Akatsuki Village were to instigate from behind the scenes now, expanding the conflict between Iwagakure and Kirigakure and completely muddying the waters, it should be easier to resolve these two matters by taking advantage of the opportunity.
The more Uchiha Makoto thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Then, he immediately took action.
The first secret to fanning the flames—first, you must make the matter known to everyone!
Akatsuki Village, with practiced ease, contacted its friends in the press, demanding extensive coverage of the incident, and it had to be exaggerated.
"Iwagakure's Genius Ninja, the Successor to the Second Tsuchikage with High Hopes from the First Tsuchikage, Has Fallen..."
"Hold Kirigakure Accountable!!"
"Following Akatsuki Village's Example, Iwagakure Ninjas Absolutely Cannot... The Culprit Must Be Handed Over, and the Mizukage Must Personally Apologize... Otherwise, It's War!!"
"Kirigakure Sternly Refuses, Claiming It's Slander..."
"If You Want a War, You'll Get One!"
For a time...
Such news flew all over the ninja world.
Under Uchiha Makoto's instruction, the ninja world's news media focused on linking the conflict between Kirigakure and Iwagakure to that of Akatsuki Village and Kumogakure.
Both incidents were caused by mission friction, resulting in considerable casualties.
The ones who died in Iwagakure were not just a few Chunin; not only did a Jonin and several Chunin die, but even Mū, the Iwagakure ninja who was highly regarded by the First Tsuchikage and was expected to become the Second Tsuchikage, nearly died in this mission.
And what did Akatsuki Village do?
The entire ninja world had witnessed it. If Kumogakure didn't give a satisfactory answer to Akatsuki Village, then let there be war... War!
Uchiha Makoto's near-perfect response and victory in a foreign war had made his reputation in the ninja world soar. Now, the same problem was thrown to Iwagakure.
Public opinion quickly fermented.
The entire ninja world was waiting for Iwagakure's reply. A moment of inattention could lead to another large-scale ninja village war.
And in Konoha.
Senju Tobirama looked at the inexplicably shifting atmosphere of the ninja world.
This isn't right!
Such familiar methods...
A media offensive...
Dammit!
Uchiha Makoto, is it you again?
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