On the other side, Shōji's group, which had already left Hoshigakure's territory at high speed and headed towards the eastern border of Land of Bears, did not have any thoughts about Hoshigakure deep down in their hearts. This did not only refer to Shōji, but also to the three Itachis.
For Shōji and the others, Hoshigakure is just a passing point in their ordinary mission career. If it were not for the extremely special item 'Star Stone', such a small shinobi village would have no sense of existence above Shinobi World. Probably only Land of Bears would care about it, because it is the strongest symbol of force in their country.
In addition, don't mention Five Great Shinobi Villages, Takigakure, Amegakure, Kusagakure, Yugakure, these Ninja Villages are all better than Hoshigakure is several times stronger. In the final analysis, Hoshigakure has always been immersed in his own fantasy world. Even if the senior management headed by Third Hoshikage is relatively sober for the time being, they will still be limited to their own 'world'.
It can be seen from their attitudes and self-identification that if they are really sober, they shouldn't call themselves 'shadows'!
It can only be said that he is very awake, but not completely awake. This is the biggest pity and stupidity of Hoshigakure. He has empty illusions and no matching power and qualifications. In the end, the drama can only end in tragedy.
Fortunately, Third Hoshikage made a relatively rational judgment when his life was about to reach the final moment. But whether this choice was correct and what kind of ending Hoshigakure will have in the future can only be said in the future.
Shōji can only say that he will not break his promise. In addition, Shōji will never do anything unnecessary again.
What's more, compared with Hoshigakure, Shōji is now more concerned about Kusagakure, which is far stronger than Hoshigakure. The total mobilization force in Third Shinobi World War can even reach nearly two thousand people. It can be said that even Five Great Shinobi Villages must treat a ninja village of this size with caution, because a ninja village of this strength can already exert considerable combat power in a ninja battle. It is even said that in the stalemate between the two major ninja villages, such a new force has the ability to change the situation of the battle and even determine the outcome!
Not to mention, the geographical location of Kusagakure is sandwiched between Iwagakure and Konohagakure. Once in Third Shinobi World War, Hundreds of elite raiding troops led by Iwagakure Jōnin Higashi Shinin went straight from the boundary of Land of Grass to the territory of Land of Fire!
The original purpose was to take advantage of the war between Konoha and Sunagakure and Kirigakure to completely bring Land of Grass into the sphere of influence of Iwagakure, and try to seize a bridgehead in the Land of Fire border area!
In this way, as long as Iwagakure defeats Kumogakure later, it can use it as a springboard to invade Land of Fire southward. Unfortunately, the two major tactical goals All failed. Although hundreds of elite troops led by Higashi Shinin successfully defeated the garrison deployed by Konohagakure in the border area, they were blocked by Minato Namikaze who came from behind!
Almost all the elite Iwagakure Ninja troops headed by Higashi Shinin were killed by Minato Namikaze alone. Only a small part of the people who were left behind to guard the logistics materials barely fled back. The bridgehead failed to seize the target. Land of Grass updated It was not expected to enter the radiation range of Iwagakure's strength. In the frontal battlefield, although Third Raikage A was killed, Iwagakure also paid the price of three to four thousand Iwagakure Ninja casualties, which had already damaged a little bit of vitality!
Southward Strategy is even more unmentionable. This is the biggest reason why Iwagakure was obviously the winner of Third Shinobi World War, but later it still stayed where it was and did not further expand the sphere of influence of its Ninja Village.
It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't!
From here, we can 100% see how important the strategic value of Land of Grass's geographical location is. What's more, once Kusagakure can be a staunch supporter of Iwagakure, the Ninja Village will not need to deploy too much force in the future, and it will be able to form a partial suppression advantage over Konohagakure in the southeast location.
It's just that it's very difficult to do this. As mentioned before, the reason why Kusagakure is so important is because he has great power, but it is precisely because of this that Kusagakure can still maintain relative strength. With high levels of autonomy, Konoha and Iwagakure may not dare to push too far. They are still somewhat worried that going too far will cause Kusagakure to fall directly to the opposite side. That is the worst thing!
And since Shōji led Uchiha Clan to leave Konoha and join Iwagakure, deep down in his heart he has been planning to let Iwagakure replace Konoha and become Shinobi World The overlord even has further ambitions, so the strategic points in the surrounding positions are the top priority. The previous Snow Country can be said to be considered for the future war with Kumogakure. Hoshigakure is certainly a bit weaker here.
But for Sunagakure, it can also provide help!
And now the most important enemy - Konohagakure!
Naturally, they don't mention the inside of Iwagakure, which is the most basic and important point, but on the outside, what can be considered is Land of Grass, Kusagakure!
This time Hoshigakure and his party just happened to catch a chess piece that could be used. Of course Shōji would take such a trip. If it works, everyone will be happy. If it is useless, it will just take a little more detours and waste some time. There is no need to pay any price. This kind of costless business is what Shōji is most willing to do.
Although Shōji didn't say too much to Itachi, Kurotsuchi, and Deidara, they could guess a little based on their intelligence.
As for the person involved, Mammoth, was deeply shaken by the "teaching" of Shōji. The five of them also walked eastward without stopping, crossing the Land of Bears border, passing through Land of Birds, and then entering the territory of Land of Grass.
Although this is a small country, overall, it is considered a relatively prosperous country. The economy and trade of this country sandwiched between Land of Fire and Land of Earth are natural. Needless to say, the land is relatively fertile, the climate is very suitable, and the agricultural development is also very stable. As long as it is not a war era, the life happiness index of the people of Land of Grass is not very low. In such a country, a village is built.
Kusagakure also benefited from this.
We can get considerable support from the national level.
This is also the biggest reason why Kusagakure's standing military strength can always be maintained at about two thousand. Whether the Ninja Village is strong or not depends on oneself and the country. Under the dual-track system created by First Hokage, these two points are indispensable.