Conversation in the Carriage
On the official road leading to the Fire Country, a luxurious carriage was traveling along the main road.
"Don't worry, given my status, I really don't believe the Third Hokage of Konohagakure would dare to lay a hand on me!"
Dressed in splendid clothes, reclining in the carriage with his head resting on Hancock's full, soft thighs, Vegapunk spoke with full confidence.
"It's alright. Even if that Konohagakure and the Third Hokage have ill intentions, I will still protect you!"
Compared to Vegapunk, Hancock was even more confident, believing that her current strength was invincible even in the Pirate World, let alone in the Ninja World, which was severely fragmented and where the Six Paths Warriors had not yet appeared.
Obito Uchiha, who was driving the carriage outside, rolled his eyes. Hancock's strength, even if it was just the tip of the Iceburg, was enough to destroy the entire Konoha. To have her protect Vegapunk from the Third Hokage —it sounded like a lion protecting a mastiff in front of a kitten. Was this really an overreaction?
Moreover, how could I forget that Vegapunk also has a series of identities, such as the Heir of Sea Country, and the Envoy of Wind Country Water Country and the Land of Wind. These identities are not very Rogue Ninja to rogue ninjas who have nothing to lose, but for those great ninja villages, they dare not offend such a noble.
"Hmm... well, who knows? I remember there's a guy in Danzo named Konohagakure. He's ruthless and incredibly audacious. Even if he knew Vegapunk's identity, he might still do something."
Obito tilted his head and thought to himself.
As Vegapunk's influence overseas and in the Wind Country grows, much information can no longer be concealed, even if one wanted to. Moreover, given Vegapunk's personality, he would not conceal such things.
In fact, if it weren't for the deceptive nature of his age, information about him would have been on the desks of Major Ninja Villages as early as when the Sea Ninja Village was founded.
Given Vegapunk's abilities, even if the leaders of those ninja villages only know a little bit about him, they would probably both fear and covet this genius!
For some reason, Obito even hoped that Konohagakure would actually have some kind of conflict with Vegapunk, then there would be a good show to watch.
After all, Obito naturally wanted others to experience the same frustration he had encountered. Even in his current state, Obito still harbored this schadenfreude.
Inside the carriage, besides Vegapunk and Hancock, there was a woman dressed in blue with long brown hair.
Despite her young age, she already exudes a mature charm. Her full figure outlines alluring curves, and the subtle allure on her face makes her a stunning beauty with the aura of a mature woman.
However, the beautiful woman in front of him had a rather cautious expression on her face. She was doing the work of serving him, massaging Vegapunk's feet while saying with some concern, "Konohagakure may not do anything openly, but they probably won't be so honest in secret!"
"Hehe... isn't that even more interesting, Mei Terumi? When those guys run into a brick wall, they'll naturally behave themselves."
"Moreover, they might do some underhanded things in the dark. We're not exactly honest people either, are we? Let alone the fact that our target this time is Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan, even if it's the next step in our plan, our target is the Fire Country."
Hearing this, Mei Terumi paused slightly. "But Lord Vegapunk, why not just leave the task of seizing the Sharingan to that cart puller outside? As for the Fire Country, I think we can completely conquer it with the strength of the Sea Country right now, can't we?"
"That's not necessarily true..."
Vegapunk smiled slightly, "Don't treat other countries like fools. As far as I know, the Earth Country, the Lightning Country, and the Fire Country seem to have some tacit understanding with each other."
The reason why these countries seem to have a tacit understanding is that, according to Vegapunk's understanding, the Fire Country and the Lightning Country have signed a peace treaty, and Hizashi Hyuga is not dead—clearly, this time, the Kumogakure did not engage in any underhanded tactics when signing the agreement.
To others in the Ninja World, this seemed like a perfectly normal thing. Only Vegapunk, who truly understood the original history, knew that it was because the growth of the Sea Country Wind Country had led the Kumogakure to change its strategy.
The Kumogakure, which should have taken the opportunity to weaken Konoha or at least squeeze Konoha, is now more inclined to ally with Konohagakure to counter the increasingly powerful Sea Ninja Village.
As a vast peninsula nation, the Lightning Country is arguably the country that values the ocean the most, second only to the Sea Country. Shipbuilding, fisheries development, and maritime trade are all key projects for the Lightning Country.
However, over the years, with the alliance of the Sea Country Alliance growing stronger, the Lightning Country's power at sea has been suppressed and diminished, and some of the small islands it originally controlled have all been annexed by the Sea Country.
Most importantly, the disruption of maritime trade routes, coupled with the dumping of goods by the Sea Country, which had become more productive and technologically advanced, on the Land of Lightning Country, led to a slump in the entire Lightning Country's economy.
The economic downturn of the Lightning Country naturally affected the Kumogakure as well. The Kumogakure may not know much about such economic problems, but the Lightning Country is, after all, a large country with advanced technology and a high level of public awareness. Its leaders have their own think tanks and are obviously quite aware of the reasons for their country's predicament.
With the influence of the Lightning Country and the gradual increase in the strength of the Sea Ninja Village, it was clear that the Kumogakure was also feeling uneasy, and it was only natural that they sought to join forces with the Konoha Village.
In fact, this situation is not limited to the Kumogakure and the Lightning Country. The Fire Country and the Konohagakure, as well as the Earth Country and the Iwagakure, are in a similar situation. It can be said that although the three countries have not yet truly united, they have long since formed a certain tacit understanding.
"The three countries have already united? That's indeed very troublesome." Mei Terumi frowned, but she still had a lot of confidence in the current state of Sea Ninja Village.
After the ninja village and the country completely merged and became a violent institution unique to the country, the Sea Ninja Village also received military funding from the entire Sea Country Alliance. With enough money and resources, Vegapunk's technology could be fully converted into combat power. Now, the entire Sea Ninja Village can easily pull out thousands of Jonin- level strongmen.
In Mei Terumi's mind, thousands of Jonin, plus twenty to thirty thousand Chunin- level cannon fodder, were roughly equivalent to the ninjas of the entire continent.