The Price of Naivety

Amegakure.

Hanzo personally escorted Shiraha to the gate and watched him leave until his figure completely disappeared from sight. Hanzo's expression was uncertain.

"Hanzo, Shiraha, representing the Uzumaki Clan, wants to form an alliance with our Amegakure. Isn't that a win-win situation? Why do you look unhappy?" A Amegakure Jōnin Hanzo's serious expression, couldn't help but ask.

Hanzo glanced at his subordinates beside him and sighed inwardly.

Although Amegakure has some excellent Jōnin, these people have too little political acumen and don't even understand such a simple principle. They were clearly swayed by Yagami Shiraha's diplomatic rhetoric.

Hanzo could only patiently explain, "We have never had any dealings with the Uzumaki Clan. Although they have two top-tier experts, Yagami Shiraha and Kushina Uzumaki, their foundation is still too shallow compared to Konoha."

Furthermore, I had already promised Danzo beforehand, and if I were to form an alliance with the Uzumaki Clan now, I might offend Danzo.

After all, the Land of Rain borders the Land of Fire, while the Land of Whirlpools is separated from the Land of Fire by the entire territory of the Land of Fire. Even if Mutual Defense Alliance is formed, it is still unknown whether the Uzumaki Clan will keep their promise. It is not worth the risk for uncertain benefits.

For now, we can only try to stabilize Yagami Shiraha and see how things go.

If Danzo can keep his promise, then the alliance with the Uzumaki Clan will be dispensable.

Ultimately, our own strength is fundamental. In this chaotic world, allies are often betrayed, especially for a small country like ours; we must proceed with extreme caution.

"Hanzo, are you saying that Yagami Shiraha said all that just to deceive us, trying to use the power of Amegakure to attract the attention of a major power? He's so insidious!" The Amegakure Jōnin terrified, then realized what he meant and asked, "What if he really helps us destroy Akatsuki?"

"At that time, forming an alliance wouldn't be out of the question, but the Uzumaki Clan would have to pay a higher price. Our Land of Rain is located at the border of the three great powers, so the possibility of war is higher. At that time, we'll have to see the sincerity of the Uzumaki Clan and whether they are truly prepared to form Mutual Defense Alliance with us."

Hanzo explained.

If Shiraha and the Uzumaki Clan are truly so sincere, then Hanzo is genuinely willing to form Mutual Defense Alliance with the Uzumaki Clan to jointly resist the threat from the great powers.

Of course, this possibility is low.

Hanzo has controlled Amegakure for decades. He has a clear understanding of the treachery and deceit in the Shinobi World. He believes that there are only permanent interests between nations, not permanent friends. He also believes that when the Uzumaki Clan becomes powerful, they will easily abandon the Land of Rain.

The Uzumaki Clan and Konoha are now allied and have a relatively friendly relationship; at least Konoha is unlikely to take military action against the Uzumaki Clan.

The Uzumaki Clan, located on the southeastern peninsula of the Land of Fire, only needs to deal with the threat from Kirigakure) in the Land of Water to the east to develop peacefully.

To the southeast of the Land of Whirlpools lies another Land of the Sea, composed of archipelagos. The vast expanse of islands facilitates the Land of Whirlpools' outward expansion.

If Yagami Shiraha and Kushina Uzumaki lie low for a decade or so, waiting for the next Ninja World War to break out, they can seize the islands of the Land of the Sea, and the Land of Whirlpools will become even stronger.

Hanzo had similar thoughts, but the Land of Rain was located in the center of the Three Countries wind, fire, and earth. The Bird Country, the Demon Country, the Bear Country, and the Land of Stone to the west were originally neutral countries, while the Land of Grass to the northeast was an ally of Konoha. Above that, the Land of Land of Waterfalls was even stronger than the Land of Rain and possessed Tailed Beast.

Above that lies the neutral Samurai superpower Land of Iron.

The Land of Rain is geographically unfavorable. If it wants to expand its territory, it can only expand westward, but the neutral countries to the west have all allied with the Uzumaki Clan.

In the past, the best way for the Land of Rain to develop was to abandon its homeland and migrate to other countries. This would have allowed the Amegakure to grow stronger more quickly and avoid being hit by repeated Ninja World War. The Land of Rain's poor economic development was directly caused by its geographical location.

However, Hanzo was reluctant to abandon his homeland, so he could only try his best to make the Land of Rain stronger on the land that gave him birth.

However, his ambitions have gradually been worn down by reality.

Shiraha has given him hope, but Hanzo feels that this hope is too beautiful and that it is more likely to be a conspiracy.

Hanzo too much darkness in the Shinobi World, when facing the sunlight, his first thought was of the shadows behind it.

"Hanzo, I understand." The Amegakure Jōnin n't help but admire Hanzo's wisdom. At least for now Amegakure was stronger than the Uzumaki Clan, so this alliance was actually the Uzumaki Clan begging Amegakure, and the initiative was in their hands.

"Hanzo, do you think that Yagami Shiraha might leak information about our plan to take action against Akatsuki, perhaps by telling Akatsuki's leader Yahiko?"

The Amegakure Jōnin the subject and couldn't help but ask.

"That's possible." Hanzo nodded and said, "However, the strength of Amegakure and Akatsuki is not commensurate. Regardless of whether they are truly allied with us, purely considering the interests, choosing Amegakure is more advantageous than choosing the weak Akatsuki."

"Should we go and keep an eye on him, see if he'll..." suggested the Amegakure Jōnin, but after noticing Hanzo's gaze, he immediately shut his mouth and couldn't help but slap himself twice. How could he say such a stupid thing? Keeping an eye on a strong person like Shiraha would be asking for trouble; he'd probably be discovered as soon as he arrived. If the other party was genuinely here to form an alliance, wouldn't his actions just backfire?

After leaving Amegakure, Shiraha headed to the Akatsuki base based on the information provided by Kodama.

Kodama's body is fused with First Hokage Cells and a large number of White Creature cells. While awakening Wood Release, he also gained a special technique called Mayfly Technique, which allows him to perfectly blend into the earth and is difficult to detect. Using this ability to gather intelligence is quite simple.

For this reason, based on the cells of the Kodama, combined with Kushina's Sealing Jutsu and the Sorcery Array in the "Book of the Ancient Warlock," Shiraha developed a special barrier specifically for White Creature.

However, there is currently no effective way to control White Creature, so they are difficult to capture and can only be captured through violent combat.

"Hmm?" Halfway there, Shiraha stopped, reached into his robes, and pulled out a scroll.

Bang!

Shiraha opened the scroll, and a cloud of smoke rose up, revealing a Little White Serpent the size of a palm in his hand.

"Lord Shiraha."

A young girl's voice rang out.

"You are... White Serpent? Can you control your size now?" Shiraha was taken aback when he heard the familiar voice. White Serpent had been transformed into a giant Summoning Beast through his cell culture. Its strength was now second only to Aoda and Kushina's Summoning Beast Garaga, and was estimated to be about the same as Orochimaru's Summoning Beast Manda.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces, and this is not just an empty phrase.

Shiraha's bloodline originates from the Fourth-Level Mythological Creature "World Tree Companion Serpent". Using his bloodline as the basis for Cell Experiment, the strength of White Serpent, Aoda, and Garaga has been greatly enhanced.

To his surprise, after some time away, the White Serpent was able to control its size again, meaning that White Serpent was not far from transforming into human form, which was close to the level of the Three Great Princesses.

"Yes, this is all thanks to Lord Shiraha's guidance." The White Serpent said very respectfully, with a hint of intimacy in his words, and then added, "Lord Kushina has important information to convey, so I took the initiative to inform you."

Generally speaking, the White Serpent naturally avoids women who are close to Shiraha, except for Kushina.

After all, Kushina even defeated Garaga, and the White Serpent also admired the strong.

Of course, the most crucial reason is that Kushina is Shiraha's wife, essentially his mistress, and White Serpent still has that much sense of propriety.

Upon hearing this, Shiraha nodded and asked, "What important information? Has something happened to the Uzumaki Clan?"

"No, it's that Lord Kushina is pregnant, almost two months along."

The White Serpent explained.

"She's pregnant!" Shiraha's eyes lit up. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed her. Only Shion's bloodline connection was relatively clear. As for the others, the connection was extremely weak, but if he focused his whole body, he could still feel them.

Upon sensing two more faint bloodline connections, Shiraha's face lit up with joy. "Could they be twins!?"

Kushina is Shiraha's wife, and the two are the closest of relationships.

Now there are two more descendants.

Moreover, Kushina herself possesses powerful physical talent, while Shiraha has the bloodline of Fourth-Level Mythological Creature, making them a powerful combination.

Shiraha is already eagerly awaiting the birth of her child.

Kushina is only two months pregnant, and the strength of the child's bloodline is not yet apparent, but one thing is certain: the two children will have a very high Qidian.

"It seems I also need to work harder." Shiraha sighed. The stronger his bloodline source is, the better his descendants will be. His descendants will not need to be as cautious and calculating as he was back then, afraid of making a wrong move.

This is what they mean by "one generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade."

"Congratulations, Lord Shiraha," the White Serpent said with a smile.

Shiraha stretched out his finger and gently poked the White Serpent's head, then took out a vial of medicine from his Storage Scroll and fed it to the White Serpent.

This is a "Dragon Transformation Dragon Transformation Potion Dragon Transformation Grass," which can enhance the blood purity and cell activity of snake-like creatures.

However, because Shiraha's bloodline source is too strong, the effect of this medicine on him is negligible. Therefore, he is researching ways to enhance the medicinal properties of "Dragon Transformation Grass" and develop a more effective "Dragon Transformation Potion".

Currently, this potion is given as a reward to the Summoning Beast under his command.

"Thank you Lord Shiraha!" The White Serpent happily took the potion in its mouth, drank it all in one gulp, and then turned into smoke and disappeared, returning to the Ryūchi Cave to digest the medicinal effects.

"Looks like I need to go back and check on Kushina first." Shiraha smiled from the bottom of his heart, found his direction, and quickly headed towards the Land of Whirlpools.

As for the Akatsuki, that can be left to the Wood Spirit Avatar.

To subdue the Akatsuki, violence is not an option, and his true form is actually unsuitable for him to appear in public.

In fact, if Hanzo wanted to deal with the Akatsuki, he wouldn't need to rely on Shiraha's help at all; he could do it himself.

The so-called pledge of allegiance is ultimately a lack of trust in the Uzumaki Clan.

Although Shiraha could understand, he and the Uzumaki Clan did not necessarily have to form an alliance with Amegakure.

Hanzo can be won over, but he doesn't necessarily have to be brought onto the same boat.

After all, he had been the leader of Amegakure for decades. This kind of old guy didn't have the same dreams as the young people.

Therefore, Shiraha is more inclined to help the Akatsuki.

As for the specifics of how to do it, it depends on how to maximize the benefits.

It seems that even if Hanzo were to eliminate the Akatsuki, he would definitely make more demands.

Let's make contact with the Akatsuki first.

The tower-like building stands amidst the rain.

The Akatsuki's base has also moved here from the original cave.

Since meeting with Hanzo, the Akatsuki has transformed from a spontaneous civilian armed group into an officially recognized partner.

"I've been getting busier and busier lately, and I feel like we don't have enough manpower at all."

Standing on the top floor of the tower, Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki, looked down and sighed.

"In order to complete the peace talks between Amegakure and Konoha, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, we must maintain domestic security. Recently, it seems that a force is deliberately causing trouble on the border." Nagato, Nagato to the side, had a somewhat solemn expression.

"It must be the work of hostile forces. We need to increase the number of patrols and send more people. If possible, we should seek help from Amegakure."

Konan suggested.

Upon hearing this, Yahiko shook his head and said, "No, this is the first important mission that Amegakure has entrusted to our Akatsuki. We must complete the mission on our own and prove the capabilities of our Akatsuki."

"The leader is right!"

"At worst, we'll just have to work a little harder and make a few more trips."

"We must make Hanzo acknowledge the capabilities of the Akatsuki!"

The Akatsuki members standing nearby also chimed in with their agreement.

As darkness fell and the members left the tower, Yahiko Nagato, and Konan were still pondering their next move.

At this moment, the Kodama emerged from underground and appeared in front of the three of them.

"It's you again? What are you doing here again?!" Yahiko frowned, staring intently at the Kodama in front of him.

At first, Yahiko thought Kodama's words made a lot of sense, and even his belief that an era of mutual understanding between people would eventually come began to waver. However, his meeting with Hanzo gave him hope, so he began to reject the mysterious man who claimed to be Hashirama Senju, as well as another man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara, and found him even more untrustworthy.

Shiraha spread his hands and said calmly, "I'm just here to inform you of some information. Danzo of Konoha and Hanzo of Amegakure are colluding to wipe out the Akatsuki when you meet next time."

"What?!" Yahiko's expression changed, and he said in a deep voice, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Why would Lord Hanzo do this? Moreover, Konoha has already re-allyed with Iwagakure and Sunagakure. Our Akatsuki's mission this time is to facilitate the alliance of the four villages and completely extinguish the flames of war. They have no reason to target the Akatsuki."

"Your ideals are beautiful, but while you can understand other people's pain, others won't care about yours. You talk to Hanzo about ideals, but he's thinking that your existence will affect his rule in Amegakure." Shiraha shook his head. "Of course, I'm just informing you of this information. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. Reality will show you what the price of naivety is."

After saying that, Shiraha disappeared underground and vanished from the scene.

Yahiko's expression shifted between light and dark, indicating that his meeting with Hanzo was imminent.

What if it's true?

Wrong!

There's no such thing as a "what if"!

PS: There are significant changes to the plot later on, so I'll have to write more slowly.