Reaching an Agreement / Haku

It was no wonder that Uchiha Shingen had been showing off his Uchiha Obito since he was a child.

Developing Ninjutsu is no easy feat; it either requires spending real money or grinding relentlessly, the latter being the literal meaning of "relentless grinding."

Without a good teacher, even readily available Ninjutsu have a chance of killing you.

Uchiha Obito had White Zetsu as a backup, so he wasn't afraid of working himself to the bone, but the quality of his updates was still so satisfying.

"Shingen- kun, I hope you and Shisui- kun will give this suggestion much consideration," Karatachi Yagura said. "From Leaf Village's perspective, we don't want Kirigakure to remain in a state of chaos for long."

Uchiha Shingen looked at Karatachi Yagura; the other man's skin was so thick that it was impossible to discern his true thoughts.

"I'm sorry, but that reason is still not sufficient," Uchiha Shingen said. "Joining such a scheme is too risky. If it's to deal with traitors, neither you nor the Hozuki Clan will let it go. Why should we get involved and invite trouble upon ourselves?"

"If the war drags on for too long, Kirigakure might resolve the issue by declaring war on Leaf Village."

"That's alright, ninjas who don't fight will become useless."

"Shingen- kun is truly greedy." Karatachi Yagura sighed, and had no choice but to offer another bargaining chip, "You can take Sakurako and Sakurako's younger brother with you."

"I'm sorry, it's still not enough, Mizukage- sama. It's not that I'm greedy, but times have changed. Shisui and I will be linked to the Uchiha Clan, and we must be especially careful with the Uchiha Clan now."

"The Kagefusa family is indeed someone we need to be cautious about." Karatachi Yagura nodded. "But what if Kirigakure is willing to provide the association with a channel to enter the Land of Water?"

"How so?"

"The Land of Water is isolated in the open sea, but it is rich in resources. The nobles of the Land of Water also hope to have better opportunities to manage their wealth. I know a little about the reasons for Lord Kagesuke's victory in the general election Hidden Mist Village is willing to make sincere efforts to persuade the Daimyo of the Water to agree to use the Association as a licensed channel to exchange goods with the Land of Fire. Of course, considering the difficulties in the Association's work, Mist Ninja will protect the Association's staff within the Land of Water and help them solve any difficulties."

"Lord Mizukage, does this sound like you're trying to take over?"

"I think no one can match Shingen- kun in this regard. As long as you live, the association belongs to the Uchiha Clan."

Huh? You, the esteemed Mizukage, are actually flattering him?

"Shingen- kun, please consider it. As a gesture of sincerity, I will give the Hozuki Clan one more day. After all, I don't want to kill my comrades."

Karatachi Yagura put on the conical hat that symbolized his identity Mizukage once again.

"I had a very pleasant chat with you two today, and I should head back now, after all..." He smiled, "I'm just a 'powerless person' who's been controlled."

Chapter Sixty-One Reaching a Consensus

Back in the Mizukage Building, Karatachi Yagura seemed to have reverted to the useless Mizukage who, according to rumors, was controlled by outsiders.

The three returned to the council chamber, performed a standard "this agreement isn't very good, let's revise it and then talk" routine, and then went their separate ways.

After leaving the Mizukage Building, Uchiha Shingen and Uchiha Shisui returned to the Guest House, where they first went to Uchiha Shisui's room.

In Uchiha Shisui's room, the bed wasn't big, but the sofa was wide and long.

They like to talk business.

The two sat down on the sofa and began to process what they had learned at the Mizukage Building that day.

Karatachi Yagura had already laid out his terms on the rooftop; now it was up to the two of them to choose.

Watching from the sidelines won't result in any losses, but getting involved can be highly profitable but also risky.

From a risk perspective, the two should choose the former.

This was Uchiha Shisui's thought; he believed that the Uchiha Clan needed to be cautious in their words and actions during this crucial period.

However, with a three-eyed girl sealed inside the moon, a place familiar with this world, Uchiha Shingen had to consider more factors.

On the surface, killing Uchiha Obito and Uzumaki Nagato would allow the Three-Eyed Girl to continue sleeping, but in reality, Black Zetsu, the primary driving force, possesses Infinite possibilities, and in the current Ninja World, there is no Ninjutsu capable of destroying or sealing it.

Uchiha Shingen always had only one choice: to stop everything from happening through sheer, undeniable power.

The effort to master Yin-Yang Release was also in order to be able to counter Uzumaki Nagato's Rinnegan —the pair of eyes left behind by Uchiha Madara, which were extremely difficult to deal with.

But no matter how powerful the Rinnegan, without the Ten-Tails, it's nothing.

There's not much point in directly confronting Uzumaki Nagato; the Tailed Beasts are the real focus.

Killing off a number of Jinchūriki is one approach, but it's only a temporary solution. In comparison, forming an alliance with powerful Jinchūriki is a better approach.

It would be a lie to say that Uchiha Shingen wasn't tempted by the olive Karatachi Yagura.

This person is not only someone who perfectly controls the power of the Tailed Beasts, but also the Mizukage, making his timely assistance to the person in need extremely significant.

If Hidden Mist Village could become a normal village, it could still serve as a fallback option for the Uchiha Clan.

After some consideration, Uchiha Shingen told Uchiha Shisui about his thoughts.

"Brother Shingen, why do you have so little faith in the village?" Uchiha Shisui instinctively resisted any assumption that the Uchiha Clan would sever ties with Leaf Village.

Because he Konoha, Leaf Village is his hometown.

"It has nothing to do with the village. People's hearts are unpredictable. We must always pave more roads," Uchiha Shingen said. "The people now may not need it, but the people later will."

"Alright, but if anything goes wrong, the Uchiha Clan might have to bear the blame for starting the war." Uchiha Shisui actually trusted Uchiha Shingen's judgment, but felt it was necessary to remind him.

"Of course I know that." Uchiha Shingen nodded. "But Uchiha Obito's identity is very sensitive. In fact, we are the ones who had no choice but to take action."

Uchiha Obito, as a member of the Uchiha Clan and the owner of the Mangekyō Sharingan, was a natural scapegoat for the Uchiha Clan.

If they weren't present, that would be fine, but Uchiha Clan ninja present must take action.

Otherwise, the Uchiha Clan would have to take the blame for Uchiha Obito.

Most of the shady things he does will turn out to be part of the Uchiha Clan's schemes.

This is probably why Uchiha Obito would frequently use his Mangekyō Sharingan to cause trouble.

The Uchiha Clan is the biggest obstacle to the Eye of the Moon.

Uchiha Obito many funny moments, but he always maintains a clear logic.

Eliminating the Uchiha Clan is a priority over collecting the Tailed Beasts.

This hole has been temporarily filled for now.

But what the future Uchiha Shingen is hard to say.

He was, in any case, not entirely at ease.

Moreover, besides Hidden Mist Village, there really isn't anywhere else to choose from...

"Alright, since you have so much faith in Kirigakure Shingen, I have no objections." Uchiha Shisui considered for a moment and then agreed.

He was also annoyed by Uchiha Obito's behavior of piling up trouble for the clan everywhere.

"Don't look so troubled." Uchiha Shingen chuckled, took out a sealing scroll, and retrieved its contents.

Those were two sets of ANBU' uniforms.

It's still Hidden Mist Village.

"Brother Shingen, where did you get this?" Uchiha Shisui asked in surprise.

"I made this replica back in the village," Uchiha Shingen asked smugly. "How about it? Doesn't it look exactly like the Hidden Mist Village ANBU?"

He picked up a mask and threw it to Uchiha Shisui.

He picked one up himself and put it on.

Once the mask is on, all emotions vanish.

He can just burn this thing again later, and even if the sky falls, it won't affect him.

This is a duel between Masked Man.

"You're really well-prepared..." Uchiha Shisui toyed with the mask in his hand, speechless to himself.

The man and the Mizukage were talking back and forth on the rooftop, looking quite convincingly like they were being forced into something.

Uchiha Shisui was familiar with all sorts of tricks in battle, but he wasn't really good at this.

Sometimes I try to learn from them, to be a little shameless, but it doesn't work well; people always see through my act immediately.

He was also described by Uchiha Shingen as having form but no spirit.

Who knows what "god" really is?

Looking at the Hidden Mist Village ANBU uniform in front of him, he seemed to understand a little bit.

Leaving Uchiha Shisui to continue contemplating, Uchiha Shingen sealed his uniform back into the scroll and returned to his room.

Upon entering the room, I saw Sakurako sitting on the bed, looking out the window.

The current state of Kirigakure and the Hidden Mist Village clan is perfectly embodied in her.

Upon seeing Uchiha Shingen return, Sakurako hurriedly climbed out of bed and bowed.

"It's alright, you go and rest," Uchiha Shingen said.

He took the uniform back from the sofa and went into the dressing room to change.

When he came out, what appeared before Sakurako was the image of a member of the Hidden Mist Village ANBU.

"Lord Shingen?" Sakurako's heart skipped a beat when she saw that familiar look.

She sensed that her benefactor was up to something.

"How is it? Does it fit? Does it look like the ANBU in your village?" Uchiha Shingen asked, seemingly oblivious to what was going on.

"It's... it looks quite similar..."

When the Yuki Clan was still around, Sakurako had been to the Mizukage Building before and was quite familiar with the ANBU there.

The outfit that Uchiha Shingen is wearing now is the same as the one she remembers the Kage Guard.

That was the most elite part of the Hidden Mist Village ANBU.

"As long as it looks similar." Uchiha Shingen nodded in satisfaction. "You can kill time however you like. I'm going out to take a look."

He didn't just wander around outside for nothing; he had a good time practicing the Flying Thunder God Seal.

"Lord Shingen, where are you going?"

"Kirigakure very big, I want to see more of it." Uchiha Shingen said something that Sakurako couldn't understand, then Hand Seals and created a clone.

However, this clone was still wearing Konoha Ninja attire.

After placing a special Flying Thunder God Seal on this clone, Uchiha Shingen disappeared from the room.

Chapter Sixty-Two White

Strictly speaking, Senju Tobirama was not the founder of the Leaf Village system, but rather the founder of the ninja village era.

Besides the Police Force tailored for the Uchiha Clan, the organizational structure he set up in Leaf Village was copied by the other four ninja villages according to their own specific circumstances.

Kirigakure was one of the few places that copied less, but the ANBU and the Ninja Academy were directly copied.

Unlike Leaf Village, which later subdivided its ANBU into different functional departments, Hidden Mist Village's ANBU was the original version from Leaf Village. They did three things: assassinate people the Mizukage disliked, gather intelligence for the Mizukage, and openly accompany the Mizukage to kill people.

In the Kirigakure at night, the air was thick with moisture, darkness enveloped all the buildings, the moonlight was hazy, and the shadows of the trees swayed gently.

The city's nights are more terrifying than its days because there are no streetlights. Ordinary people can only rely on the faint starlight to find their way, and the occasional sound can startle them.

Therefore, no ordinary people go out at night in Kirigakure.

Uchiha Shingen, dressed in ANBU uniform, advanced into the night.

During the day, as Mizukage was leaving, the two exchanged a glance, already understanding each other.

Visual Genjutsu can be used for many things, not just in combat.

He gradually approached the Mizukage Building.

Suddenly, a figure appeared.

"The code!" This was a member of the Hidden Mist Village ANBU. He immediately noticed at least a dozen flaws in Uchiha Shingen's clothes. In the past, he would have shouted "You scoundrel!" but today was different. He had to wait because the Mizukage had given instructions.

"Chibaku Tensei." Uchiha Shingen uttered the code he and Karatachi Yagura had devised within the Genjutsu.

If they don't match up, then they're not someone Karatachi Yagura trusts, but someone he suspects. For the sake of smooth cooperation, they have to be eliminated.

"Your mother flew away." The Hidden Mist Village ANBU smoothly answered the code, nodding. "You can call me Zero."

Where is Lord Mizukage?

"Meet me at the usual place. Don't go into the building, walk along the wall."

After exchanging information, Zero vanished in Body Flicker Technique.