Ripples Across the Shinobi World

With matters settled here, the film workers who had sparked the incident were naturally released as well.

"Are these people really that important? Important enough for you to risk a war with the Kaguya Clan over them?" Ao was naturally puzzled by how much Hozuki Shingetsu valued them.

"Consider it preparing for a rainy day. Our Mizukage hasn't shown himself since his diplomatic strategy started bearing fruit. Though the Kaguya Clan has caused some trouble, it's only been minor skirmishes. I suspect he's been cooking up something nasty in private. With these people, we'll have a backup means of dealing with his position."

Hozuki Shingetsu recalled the solution in his plan for resolving the conflict with the Daimyo and smiled mysteriously.

"Besides, to achieve the effect I have in mind—and to show others the impact films can have as propaganda—this revolutionary use of films may be unveiled before long."

Although he had grown accustomed to Hozuki Shingetsu's habit of revealing only half of what he meant, Ao still found it irritating. But considering the enormous gap in strength between them, he forcibly put the matter out of his mind and turned to report on other affairs.

"After a brief period of confusion, Konoha has finally begun to strike back. At present, after all the waves of propaganda, not many people in the Shinobi World are still keeping their attention fixed on Konoha. It can't be helped. The Shinobi World has simply been far too eventful lately."

"Though this method has never appeared before, anyone who thinks Konoha still has no countermeasure would be underestimating Konoha."

"But... how could I possibly let Konoha extricate itself so easily? When it comes to manipulating public opinion, how much has Konoha even learned?"

As he spoke, Hozuki Shingetsu pulled out a document from beneath the desk.

After flipping through it curiously, Ao could not help sucking in a sharp breath, contributing a little more to global warming in the Shinobi World.

"Th-this..."

"Holy shit, Shingetsu. If you send this out, won't Konoha explode?"

Recalling the contents of the document he had just read, even Ao, who had experienced so much over the past few days, was too shocked to speak. A string of goosebumps even rose on his arms.

"They won't exactly explode. It'll just give them a headache for a while and lay some groundwork for my next move."

Hozuki Shingetsu smiled softly, wearing an intentionally profound expression.

"There's another move? This still isn't enough?"

Ao suddenly felt a little sorry for Konoha, especially the Uchiha Clan. Before long, they would probably become famous throughout the Shinobi World.

"What have we even done so far? Not a single person has died, and we haven't even caused internal unrest in Konoha. We're still far from that."

"Not only killing them, but crushing their hearts too? That's too brutal!"

Ao, who had only just calmed down, was once again stunned by Hozuki Shingetsu's words. What kind of person could have such a dark heart?

Perhaps his reaction had been too obvious. Seeing the clearly unfriendly look in Hozuki Shingetsu's eyes, Ao hurriedly pulled out a stack of papers to change the subject.

"But perhaps Konoha will run into trouble before your measures can even take effect. Look at this announcement Kumogakure released earlier. To demonstrate Kumogakure's resolve to defend peace in the Shinobi World, they declared that, effective immediately, they would reduce the number of bloodline ninja clans to fewer than five and swear never to use Tailed Beasts in war... They hoped the other major hidden villages, especially Konoha, would follow suit."

"Haha, this is hilarious. Does Kumogakure even have five bloodline ninja clans in the entire village? And with Kumogakure's sealing techniques, everyone knows they can't even seal Tailed Beasts. How could they possibly create Jinchuriki and borrow the Tailed Beasts' power?"

"Hehe, Konoha probably started cursing the moment they saw that."

Hozuki Shingetsu raised his head at those words and carefully examined the declaration in his hand. After reading it closely, he could not help sighing.

Damn, that really is a talent.

If anyone dared say Kumogakure was full of brainless muscleheads again, Hozuki Shingetsu would be the first to object!

And just as Ao had said, when Konoha saw Kumogakure's declaration, they immediately felt as if they had swallowed a lump of shit.

How many bloodline ninja clans did you even have in Kumogakure? They could be counted on one hand. What gave you the right to sit at the same table as us and play word games?

Who in the world didn't know that Konoha was called the leader of the Shinobi World because it had numerous bloodline ninja clans, ample funding from the Daimyo, and many top-tier powerhouses?

Konoha had never counted its bloodline ninja clans, but there were definitely more than ten.

And Uzumaki Mito, the Shinobi World's only perfect Jinchuriki, had become Konoha's stabilizing pillar after Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, and Senju Tobirama passed away one after another.

So Kumogakure wanted to cripple two of Konoha's greatest assets in one go?

Was there any justice left in the world?

And you said you would never deploy Tailed Beasts. Could you even deploy them if you wanted to?

Who didn't know Kumogakure's secret Iron Armor Seal was like a geisha wading into the water? A Tailed Beast could enter whenever it wanted and leave whenever it wanted.

How many people had Kumogakure lost trying to subdue the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails? You still hadn't succeeded, yet now you were putting on airs right in Konoha's face?

Pah, disgusting!

Of course, that was only from Konoha's perspective.

The other major hidden villages, which understood this perfectly well, all voiced their support for Kumogakure in the court of public opinion. They even carried forward the fine tradition of "if others don't have it, we do; if others have it, ours is better," competing to issue declarations while slipping in their own agendas.

For instance, Iwagakure wrote in its declaration: "...To demonstrate Iwagakure's firm resolve to defend the rights of the weak and uphold peace in the Shinobi World, Iwagakure plans to suspend Jonin promotions for the next five years and reduce the number of Jonin to two-thirds of its current level. We hope the other nations, especially Konoha, will follow suit. Iwagakure will watch this matter closely, and we hope the other hidden villages, especially Konoha, will join us in protecting the beautiful blue skies of the Shinobi World."

When Konoha saw this, they cursed Ōnoki for being inhuman. Suspend Jonin promotions? Why didn't he just admit that among Iwagakure's new generation of worker ants, hardly any would reach Jonin level within five years? Reduce the number of Jonin to two-thirds of the current total? Why didn't he mention that Iwagakure's standing ninja force had remained the largest in the Shinobi World for years?

Besides, did those eliminated Jonin die? Would they later join a war under the banner of "volunteering"?

Sunagakure was no less ruthless. The declaration personally drafted by Chiyo left Hozuki Shingetsu dumbfounded. He secretly thought that women—especially middle-aged women—really were not to be trifled with. With one move, she had directly slit Konoha's main artery.

"...In my personal opinion, the major hidden villages have the confidence to expand their armaments only because of the endless funding they receive from their respective Daimyo. Here, we solemnly promise that the military funding we receive from the Daimyo each year will not exceed five billion. We hope the other nations, especially Konoha, will follow suit. To preserve the sustainable future of the Shinobi World, do not let the selfish desires of individual powers rob the children of the Shinobi World of their smiles."

Konoha no longer even had the strength to complain. That five billion was probably the total funding Sunagakure received from its Daimyo each year! Did they think everyone was as poor as the Land of Wind?

Did they know how much funding Konoha received from the Daimyo every year?

Five billion? Who were they looking down on?

Konoha had never fought such a humiliating battle!

Would they believe that even the Uchiha would shake their heads at five billion?

And that was not all. When Sunagakure's and Kumogakure's demands were combined, they directly chopped off the three pillars Konoha relied upon. The area-of-effect of this move was so broad that even Kumogakure and Iwagakure were caught up in it.

As the second- and third-ranked villages among the Five Great Hidden Villages, their annual military funding might not match Konoha's, but it was certainly more than five billion. Thus, they firmly opposed it as well.

As for Kirigakure... facing imminent military budget cuts by the Daimyo, they said that they could receive a fixed five billion from the Daimyo every year without doing anything?

Was there really such a good deal?

Deal, okay?