Itachi Uchiha

Itachi Uchiha

Even though he had stopped the Hyuga Clan from handing over Hizashi and proposed a viable solution to the Third Hokage,

the Sign-in Assistant still had not deemed him successful or issued the mission reward.

"Looks like the Third Hokage is negotiating with the Konoha leadership, but he hasn't managed to persuade them."

Xu Fan glanced out the window. It was already evening.

Although Xu Fan was confident he could settle the conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure, this was, after all, a dispute between two ninja villages.

Moreover, Konoha's geographical location differed from Kumogakure's.

In the original story, Kumogakure's ability to isolate itself from the rest of the world in the later stages was largely due to its location.

It lay in the upper-right corner of the world map, surrounded by ocean, with its land bordering only the Land of Fire.

Yet surrounding the Land of Fire were not only the Land of Lightning, but also the three great nations of Wind, Earth, and Water.

Still, Xu Fan did not see this as much of a problem.

The Land of Water was merely a tiny nation. In this era, there had been no Industrial Revolution; ninja armies marched primarily on their own two legs.

The Land of Water lay in the middle of the ocean, and its internal political situation was unstable.

For all he knew, Zabuza was currently plotting to assassinate the Mizukage.

Nothing to worry about.

The real threats were the Lands of Wind and Earth.

But while Xu Fan was no military strategist, he possessed historical knowledge unmatched by anyone in the Naruto world.

The Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Seven Warring States, the Chu-Han Contention, the Three Kingdoms...

Take any one or two clever strategies from those eras and put them in this world, and they would be S-rank stratagems.

At the same time, intelligence was crucial when ninja forces went to war.

"On this timeline, even ordinary intelligence experts can't compare to me."

Xu Fan could not help but chuckle.

This was not arrogance.

Although he had not left the Land of Fire or gathered intelligence in the past five years, he had read the script!

For example, three small countries served as buffer zones between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.

The Lands of Waterfall, Grass, and Rain.

Among them, Waterfall and Grass had always maintained allied relations with Konoha. That could be inferred from the Chunin Exams.

All they had to do now was release the news and provide them with support.

They just needed to defend the key entry points.

As for the Land of Earth, being a great nation, they naturally would not take the Land of Rain seriously.

What was more, it was the only land without Konoha troops stationed there, making it more suitable for a surprise attack.

Once they did that,

what would await them was...

A bag of rice can carry how many floors!

As for the Land of Wind, this was an opportunity to build friendly relations with them.

As everyone knew, the Land of Wind was a desert region with barren land and scarce water.

To solve this problem, even the Kazekage was willing to trade gold.

So long as he proposed helping them with reforestation and planting trees, so that the children of the Sand Ninja Village could rest in the shade and never worry about water again,

they had no reason not to be tempted.

This tactic was known among the Thirty-Six Stratagems as "befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones."

And that was why Xu Fan was so confident in planning this conflict.

Naruto was indeed entertaining, and its fight scenes were cool.

But its political tactics and methods of warfare could only be described as a complete mess.

Still, that was not the author's fault. Xu Fan thought the author was an exceptionally talented manga artist.

It was just that...

the country he had lived in before transmigrating had a far richer history of warfare.

And whenever the world fell into chaos, talents emerged in great numbers.

Great generals sealed their achievements at Mount Langju Xu, while great ministers planned behind the curtains and secured victory from a thousand miles away.

He just had to copy them.

"Alright, it's time to meet that man."

After planning his next move, Xu Fan rose from the tatami mat, changed into a different outfit, and left the compound.

The Uchiha Clan's problems had now become a major concern for the Konoha leadership.

As a traitor, Itachi Uchiha spent most of his time helping the Third Hokage monitor every move the Uchiha made.

Finding him would not be difficult.

"Although I don't need Itachi Uchiha to deal with Kumogakure, it would be a real pity if the Uchiha Clan were simply wiped out like that."

"They are, after all, one of Konoha's major fighting forces."

Having made up his mind, Xu Fan headed directly to the area near the Uchiha Compound.

Based on the details revealed in the original story, Itachi liked to observe his clan members from the nearby forest.

And during this period, the Uchiha Clan often went to Naka Shrine within the compound at night to hold meetings.

Relying on that intelligence, Xu Fan finally found the man.

Before long, Itachi Uchiha noticed Xu Fan's movements as well.

After all, Xu Fan had come here specifically to see Itachi Uchiha. There was no need for him to hide.

"Who sent you?"

Using the moonlight, Itachi Uchiha looked at Xu Fan.

To make it easier to approach him, Xu Fan had deliberately changed into an Anbu uniform and mask.

As soon as Itachi Uchiha questioned him, he immediately removed the mask.

"Hello, Itachi Uchiha."

Xu Fan got straight to the point and directly extended an invitation to Itachi Uchiha.

However, besides him and Itachi Uchiha, there was another person hiding in the shadows.

Kakashi Hatake, whom the Third Hokage had placed beside Xu Fan.

Kakashi had never dreamed that Xu Fan would suddenly leave the Senju Clan compound and come here to find Itachi. A bad feeling rose in his heart.

Yet he firmly believed that Itachi Uchiha would never do anything harmful to the village.

"I am Senju Xu Fan."

Seeing that Itachi Uchiha did not react, Xu Fan had no choice but to introduce himself.

"The Senju Clan?"

Itachi Uchiha could not help frowning.

Everyone knew that the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had joined forces to establish the village.

Yet times had changed. The Senju Clan's former prestige had long faded, while the Uchiha Clan had been increasingly ostracized by the village and was plotting a coup.

However, the Senju Clan's decline was related to the First Hokage's ideals.

As someone born in an era of war, he hoped the village he founded would forge bonds, where children no longer had to kill one another and could instead open their hearts and become brothers.

The existence of clans was undoubtedly an obstacle to that.

Thus, Hashirama Senju ordered his clansmen not to confine themselves to the clan and to marry extensively outside it.

He even had the descendants of the Senju Clan stop using "Senju" as their surname and fully integrate into the village.

Even Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, was the same.

But everyone had the right to make their own choice, so some members of the Senju Clan still chose to pass down the surname.

Xu Fan's family was among them.

And Itachi Uchiha, who knew of this, felt somewhat conflicted.

If the Uchiha Clan had chosen the same path back then, perhaps they would not be in their current situation.

"What do you want with me?"

Itachi Uchiha crouched halfway on a tree branch, looking down at Xu Fan.

If this guy intended to seize this opportunity to form an alliance with the Uchiha and launch a coup together, then he could only kill him here.

"I came for the village."

Xu Fan's lips curled upward as he prepared to talk Itachi Uchiha into it.