Uchiha Makoto put Senju Tobirama's letter aside.
He had one more thing to prepare before leaving Akatsuki Village.
—Regarding the Tailed Beasts!
The nine Tailed Beasts were scattered throughout the ninja world.
Therefore, Konoha and Akatsuki Village had already decided to join forces to secretly search for information on the Tailed Beasts across the ninja world, with Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama leading the teams directly.
According to existing intelligence.
The only Tailed Beast whose specific location was currently known was the One-Tail, but unfortunately, the One-Tail had already been sealed in a temple belonging to Sunagakure. To avoid international disputes, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara could only start with the Two-Tails.
Poor Two-Tails kitty...
Since neither Uchiha Madara nor Senju Hashirama knew the specific strength of the Tailed Beasts, they had only confirmed their existence through their clan's historical records.
The clan records all described the terrifying power of the Tailed Beasts—each one had lived for over a thousand years, ancient enough to be from the same era as the Sage of Six Paths, and possessed immense chakra...
The records mentioned the Sage of Six Paths.
It was hard not to draw a connection.
The Sage of Six Paths was a god in the legends of the ninja world, the founder of Ninshu who spread chakra. Such a deity had already fallen in the ninja world.
Yet the Tailed Beasts were still alive to this day.
One could imagine the power of the Tailed Beasts... terrifyingly so.
Before witnessing the true strength of the Tailed Beasts, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama would surely go all out to ensure the success of their operation and avoid any accidents... so the Two-Tails kitty would very likely be on the receiving end of a Susanoo-clad Great Buddha.
The remaining Tailed Beasts would probably be treated much better, not having to endure such treatment, and would likely just be captured like pets.
Even the strongest, the Nine-Tails, was just a matter of a single glance for Uchiha Madara.
So Uchiha Makoto was not worried at all about failing to capture the Tailed Beasts.
What he needed to prepare for now was how to properly house them.
The most direct method was to use sealing techniques to lock the Tailed Beasts in a little black room, then seal them inside a Jinchuriki. Given Akatsuki Village's current relationship with the Uzumaki clan, this should be relatively easy to accomplish. However, Uchiha Makoto also wanted to research the Tailed Beasts and recycle their chakra... which would be more difficult.
The Tailed Beasts might cooperate willingly, but that was highly unlikely!
Tailed Beasts will never be slaves!
So they still had to be locked in a little black room first.
"First, prepare the sealing techniques..."
"I'll consider the rest later..."
After pondering for a long time, Uchiha Makoto finally wrote a secret letter to the Uzumaki clan.
...
After handling a pile of village affairs.
Uchiha Makoto donned his Lord Light Shadow robe and went to the appointment. Soon, he arrived at a bustling teahouse in the Land of Fire.
The teahouse was exquisitely decorated.
Seeing a customer arrive, the owner hurried forward to greet him.
"Sir, would you like to rest for a while?"
When Uchiha Makoto stated the reserved room number, the owner said no more, then pointed to a tea server in the teahouse and instructed him to lead the way for Uchiha Makoto.
"Yes."
The tea server lowered his head and led Uchiha Makoto without a word.
Uchiha Makoto carefully observed the tea server before him. Perhaps due to working outdoors for many years, his skin was rough and somewhat dark.
Soon, Uchiha Makoto noticed the numerous rough calluses on his hands. Based on the distribution of the calluses on his palm and fingers, Uchiha Makoto recognized at a glance that they were caused by the long-term use of weapons like kunai and shuriken.
This guy was a ninja.
Uchiha Makoto made this judgment, very confident in his assessment!
Then, Uchiha Makoto looked around the teahouse again.
The patrons coming and going in this teahouse were all nobles and wealthy merchants from the Land of Fire; ordinary people couldn't afford to drink tea here.
"Is this a secret base for Konoha..."
"Interesting!"
"It seems Senju Tobirama is also working hard to infiltrate the Land of Fire."
A smile appeared on Uchiha Makoto's face as he followed the tea server to the door of one of the teahouse rooms.
"Sir, this is the place."
"Mm."
Uchiha Makoto nodded and walked into the room.
Just as he stepped inside, he felt a killing intent. Swish, swish, swish, three kunai cut through the air, aimed straight at his face.
Uchiha Makoto reacted quickly and dodged them with ease.
He looked up.
Senju Tobirama had deep dark circles under his eyes, as if he had been staying up all night cultivating immortality. The malice and resentment emanating from him were so thick they seemed to overflow, rushing towards Uchiha Makoto in a wave.
"Tobirama, why do you look so haggard?"
"Didn't you sleep well?"
"But that little joke just now wasn't funny at all, and it was quite dangerous. It's not very polite to greet a guest with such methods."
Uchiha Makoto walked forward and said with a smile, his mind already making further calculations... This guy, Tobirama, seems to be under a lot of pressure in the village lately.
Hearing the teasing tone, Senju Tobirama glared fiercely at Uchiha Makoto but ultimately chose to retract his aura.
He had no intention of continuing to fight with Uchiha Makoto right now... He had invited Uchiha Makoto here this time to resolve the Iwagakure and Kirigakure issue as soon as possible. He really couldn't let Uchiha Makoto continue to stir up trouble outside and distract him.
Right now, the Uchiha clan was being very restless in Konoha. Following Uchiha Makoto's guidance, they had begun to unite the ninja clans in the village to pool funds.
And they were doing it under Uchiha Makoto's banner.
It was an indisputable fact that Akatsuki Village was rich in funds.
Being in the same Land of Fire, as long as the Konoha ninja clans were willing to investigate, they could find out about the exaggerated speed of Akatsuki Village's development.
But Konoha had only been established for a few years, and the ninja clans in the village were still the same ones from the Warring States period. They still focused their attention on the ninja circle, confined to their own small world, and had little understanding of politics and economics. Many of the village's plans were also on a yearly basis, with funds concentrated in those areas.
It was extremely difficult for a large ship to change course.
Various factors had led to Konoha's inability to keep up with Akatsuki Village's pace, still trapped in the village planning of the original Hokage story.
But this time, the Uchiha clan elders had taken the lead in deciding to change.
Of course, it wasn't that they had a sudden enlightenment, but simply that they wanted to bypass Senju Tobirama's Hokage office, use the Konoha Military Police Force as a foundation, and win over the Konoha ninja clans in this way, ultimately starting a new stove in Konoha.
It was a happy accident.
Since the Uchiha clan was willing to proactively let Akatsuki Village's capital enter Konoha in a big way.
Uchiha Makoto naturally agreed with both hands and feet.
In this way, Konoha would surely become more prosperous, the Konoha ninja clans would earn unimaginable wealth, and it would also force the Konoha ninja clans to transform—Uchiha Makoto wanted to create internal competition while forcing those who wanted to progress to move forward with him.
Of course...
By that time, the one with the real say in Konoha would probably not be Senju Tobirama.
With a personality like Senju Tobirama's, seeing the Uchiha clan's arrogant behavior in Konoha, he would surely organize people to counterattack.
But Uchiha Makoto stirring up trouble in the ninja world at this time really caught Senju Tobirama off guard... Could this be a coordinated plan between Uchiha Makoto and the Uchiha clan!
He needed to focus his energy on internal village affairs!
"Uchiha Makoto!"
"Mm-hmm, what can I do for you?"
"Are you the one fanning the flames behind the dispute between Iwagakure and Kirigakure this time!"
"Dammit, don't you know this could very well lead to a war? Will you only be satisfied when you've pushed the ninja world into the quagmire of war?"
Senju Tobirama questioned sharply.
He certainly wouldn't reveal his own little schemes, opening his mouth only for the sake of peace in the ninja world!
Evidently, his use of the Will of Fire had reached a state of perfection!
"As expected of you, Tobirama, your guess is spot on!"
"I knew it was you, you naturally evil Uchiha brat, causing trouble behind the scenes!"
Uchiha Makoto admitted it so straightforwardly that even Senju Tobirama was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Uchiha Makoto to be so frank this time.
Seeing Uchiha Makoto's straightforward admission, Senju Tobirama couldn't help but ponder Uchiha Makoto's purpose.
The most likely reason was to take revenge on Iwagakure.
After all, Iwagakure had previously intervened suddenly in the war between Akatsuki Village and Kumogakure, directly destroying Uchiha Makoto's chance to capture the third line of defense in one fell swoop.
A guy like Uchiha Makoto would not possibly miss an opportunity to strike back.
But... this guy, Uchiha Makoto, always had ulterior motives every time he made a move. It probably wasn't that simple... and he always reaped great rewards.
This time would surely be no exception.
Since he was being so honest with him now, he must need Konoha's power... He would play along with him for a bit, see if he could gain some benefits for Konoha from this!
"What is your purpose? Is it just to take revenge on Iwagakure... that's unlikely..."
"Revenge on Iwagakure? Senju Tobirama, do you think I'm that petty?"
"You are!"
"Hmm... alright... just a tiny, tiny bit."
"Of course, that's only part of the reason. I remember when I was in Konoha, I once told you that we need to solve the fishing ground problem for our cannery with the surrounding countries."
"Now, the opportunity has come!"
"As long as we deal with Kirigakure, the remaining small countries will not be a problem."
Uchiha Makoto said.
Even Senju Tobirama felt that this was indeed a good opportunity, and his mind couldn't help but ponder the benefits for himself.
Solving the fishing ground problem would definitely benefit the cannery's business, and Konoha's annual income would increase.
And the cannery was a key political achievement project that Senju Tobirama promoted in Konoha... Even though Akatsuki Village was the major shareholder of the cannery, the fact that Konoha could get a piece of the pie was entirely due to his, Senju Tobirama's, credit.
He could take this opportunity to promote it again in the village and counter the Uchiha clan's recent actions.
Since the Uchiha clan wanted to unite the Konoha ninja clans to pool funds and make a move in the business world, which ninjas were unfamiliar with, he, Senju Tobirama, could do it too.
The cannery was an excellent example for propaganda.
But the subsequent business operations were a problem for Senju Tobirama.
It was easy to boast about the cannery as a political achievement, after all, Senju Tobirama only provided the technology and did not participate in the company's operations, only receiving dividends every year... He himself was not good at commerce and trade!
To be on the safe side.
Senju Tobirama felt it was still necessary to cooperate with merchants skilled in business. The first ones that came to mind were the great merchants of the Arasaka group.
The Arasaka merchants had actually been trying to contact Senju Tobirama all along. For the sake of making money... they didn't care whether they cooperated with the Uchiha clan or with Senju Tobirama.
Even Uchiha Makoto didn't care.
But their background made Senju Tobirama hesitate...
"Is that all?"
"Of course not. I want to establish a kind of authority and positive image throughout the ninja world. The dispute between Iwagakure and Kirigakure is both a crisis and an opportunity. This time, what we need to do is uphold justice and maintain peace in the ninja world... We have the ability to mediate disputes between major ninja villages, not to mention the many small ninja villages in the ninja world. This is a good opportunity to expand our village's influence. With this hot topic, we can make another movie..."
Uchiha Makoto continued.
Senju Tobirama's expression gradually improved as he listened, the dark circles under his eyes even fading a little.
An increase in Konoha's external influence would also benefit Konoha in return.
Especially making a movie, this really hit a soft spot for Senju Tobirama. He had long wanted to make a movie to clean up his image.
Unfortunately, Senju Tobirama had been too busy lately and had no time or energy for such things.
Now Uchiha Makoto had delivered the opportunity to his doorstep...
"Why didn't you say so earlier... Konoha must participate in this matter no matter what!"
"For the sake of maintaining peace in the ninja world, Konoha has an undeniable duty!"
"Making a movie... Konoha must participate this time as well."
Senju Tobirama said righteously.
His words were utterly shameless. Just a moment ago, Senju Tobirama had been arguing fiercely with Uchiha Makoto over this very matter.
This face of his now was truly... disgusting, disgusting!
But Uchiha Makoto didn't hold it against him.
After all, from beginning to end, Akatsuki Village was the biggest beneficiary in this matter.
Uchiha Makoto had also concealed the information about the bird dropping islands; the real treasure lay there!
Once this matter was finally resolved.
Uchiha Makoto planned to use an appropriate opportunity to mock Senju Tobirama's hypocrisy!
Of course...
As for Senju Tobirama's dream of making a movie to clean up his image... he wasn't the Hokage. The movie's highlights should belong to the Lord Light Shadow and the Hokage!
The "misunderstanding" was resolved.
The atmosphere in the room also eased.
Uchiha Makoto and Senju Tobirama began to drink tea and play a board game.
Both sides wanted to take advantage of their common interests to finalize the specific details of this matter.
Both were thick-skinned and black-hearted. Although they spoke of upholding justice, their minds were full of business.
But they still had a scale in their hearts—fairness, fairness, and still for the sake of fairness!
If Kirigakure was willing to bleed to settle the matter, that would be for the best... If not, then they would help Iwagakure pressure Kirigakure until they agreed. Once Kirigakure yielded, they would turn around and slap Iwagakure... that way, it would be fair for everyone!
"Tobirama, talking to you, my heart feels so bright!"
"Do you know why it's bright?"
"Our hearts are clean!"
"We don't think of ourselves!"
"Only for the peace of the ninja world!"
"A great cause!"
Clink.
The two teacups touched.
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