The Kumogakure Delegation's Trail

As Uchiha Shingen retreated, a ball of blue Chakra was pulled out of Yugito Nii's body.

Under the control of the Genjutsu, Yugito Nii unconsciously let out a rather indecent moan in that instant.

Upon hearing this voice, a group of Konoha Ninja secretly labeled Yugito Nii in their hearts.

However, their attention was quickly drawn to that mass of Chakra.

"Lord Shingen, is this the Two-Tails 'Chakra?" a Hyuga Clan clansman asked curiously.

That Chakra is so beautiful.

It resembled a flame, yet it was indeed a solid entity.

"Yes, isn't it beautiful?" Uchiha Shingen asked with a smile, then took out a sealing scroll and sealed the ball of Chakra inside.

There were two reasons for asking Matatabi for this Chakra: first Matatabi Chakra quickly when he was Matatabi.

Of course, according to his original plan, he simply wanted to conduct research.

He remembered very clearly that in the original timeline, Naruto Uzumaki obtained the Six Paths Power with a crucial prerequisite: he had gathered the Chakra of Nine Tailed Beasts.

Through this portion of Chakra, he connected with the main bodies of the Nine Tailed Beasts, becoming the common Jinchūriki of the Nine Tailed Beasts.

The Chakra of the Tailed Beasts is one of the important shortcuts to obtaining the Six Paths Power.

Then, when Uchiha Sasuke turned against him, he first sealed away the eight and a half Tailed Beasts.

Otherwise, I'll just hit Gil.

Even with the Rinnegan and the Complete Susanoo, you still can't withstand someone's almost Infinite mana bar.

After sealing the Two-Tails 'Chakra, Uchiha Shingen put away the scroll and dispelled the Genjutsu for the Yugito Nii.

Having their connection with the Tailed Beasts severed by the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu, Yugito Nii was completely unable to resist Uchiha Shingen's Genjutsu.

But she still knew what had happened.

"What did you do to Matatabi?" she asked.

"Don't act like you're really comrades." Uchiha Shingen said calmly, "That's just a pointless excuse you use to comfort yourselves. In essence, you're just weapons of Kumogakure. I'm not criticizing you, but that's the truth."

After saying that, he jumped up.

"Lord Shingen," the Sealing Squad ninja bowed to him, "Does this woman really no longer need to be sealed?"

Upon hearing this, the Yugito Nii's expressions softened.

She couldn't wait to reconnect with Matatabi.

"No, let's keep the seal going," Uchiha Shingen said. "I was just kidding with her. She's dreaming. As long as she's in jail, the seal will have to continue."

The Yugito Nii's faces fell.

That jerk, he toyed with her heart!

Hmm... isn't something off about what I'm saying?

Before the Yugito Nii could say anything, Uchiha Shingen had already disappeared.

So, she could only watch expressionlessly as a group of Leaf Village's Sealing Squad ninjas jumped down, glaring at her menacingly, and said to her in a very formulaic tone, "Please sit still, it'll be over in a minute, please don't make us use violence."

Looking at the Konoha Military Police Force above them, their faces practically screaming, "You want to rebel? Go ahead and rebel!", the Yugito Nii mentally cursed them, then plopped down on the stool next to them, arms outstretched.

"Come on! Hurry up!"

Not to mention the Yugito Nii were performing their daily sealing and maintenance in prison, Uchiha Shingen used Flying Thunder God to fly directly back to the clan's territory.

He left the Flying Thunder God Seal in prison this time, so he won't have to go through this trouble next time.

As soon as he returned to his clan's territory, he saw Hatake Kakashi running back again.

"What's wrong?" Uchiha Shingen looked at Hatake Kakashi, thought for a moment, and then suddenly realized, "I'm sorry, I'll write to Lord Jiraiya and ask if he has any new works."

As soon as he uttered those words, the middle-aged women and young girls on the street all turned to look at him, their gazes fixed on Hatake Kakashi, their expressions quite meaningful.

"Shingen, what are you saying?" Hatake Kakashi's skin was clearly not as thick as it would be later; his tone was somewhat urgent. "I've come to tell you that the delegation from Kumogakure has entered the forest."

"Oh, you've arrived? Which gate did you come through?"

"North Gate."

"Understood, I'll go right now." Uchiha Shingen's eyes lit up, and he was about to leave, but before he did, he patted Hatake Kakashi on the shoulder, "By the way, who are the people in this delegation?"

"Huh?" Hatake Kakashi was taken aback. "It's just their envoy plus some accompanying ninjas, about a dozen people."

"Who is the envoy?"

"What happened to the Cloud Village?"

"See? This is what happens when you're not perceptive enough, isn't it?" Uchiha Shingen looked at him with exasperation. "You didn't even notice such a huge flaw? According to the rules, as the victors, when we send someone to Cloud Village to sign the agreement, it should be a Jonin. But if Cloud Village wants to come to Leaf Village, then at the very least, it should be someone from their high-ranking position."

"Sorry, I overlooked that." Remembering his teacher's words, Hatake Kakashi immediately understood what Uchiha Shingen was planning. He didn't want to respond to that at all. "I'll be more careful next time. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Okay, go ahead."

Uchiha Shingen kindly let him go.

Young people need to exercise more.

As for this delegation posing as envoys from Cloud Village, it was naturally left to him, a kind-hearted person who cared about and respected the Kumogakure.

The friendship between Leaf Village and Cloud Village cannot be allowed to be destroyed by shady characters.

Chapter Eighteen: The Trail of the Cloud Village Envoy

A group of Konoha Ninja waited at the north gate of Konoha.

According to intelligence, the Raikage delegation has entered Leaf Forest. They will stay at the nearest temple to rest before officially entering the village through the North Gate.

But the Konoha Ninja didn't look too happy, because the one who had arrived was a ninja leader.

Before the Third Shinobi World War, the ranks of ninjas were modeled after those in Leaf Village, consisting of three types: Genin, Chunin, and Jonin.

Third Shinobi World War, Leaf Village was the first to create Special Jōnin, and then it was immediately copied.

The Special Jōnin of Cloud Village are called Ninja Heads.

They are responsible for organizing multiple junior ninja squads on the battlefield, while also being assigned tasks by their respective Jonin.

There was no other way; Kumogakure revered strength, so Special Jōnin were needed to alleviate the organizational burden on the Jonin on the battlefield.

In contrast, Leaf Village's Special Jōnin mostly operate in solo teams, used for special operations.

Most Special Jōnin eventually end up in the ANBU.

The same applies to the Police Force today. Jonin from the Uchiha Clan are gradually being transferred to the Jonin Council, and the vacancies they leave behind are being filled by Special Jōnin.

But ultimately, Special Jōnin is still Chunin.

The Konoha Ninja were naturally unhappy that the Cloud Village Chunin as an envoy.

In the Ninja World, the choice of who to sign a contract and the location reflect the relative strengths of the two sides.

In summary, the winner signs the contract, which usually tends to happen on the territory of the weaker party. Furthermore, the level of the signatories is not equal; the stronger the winner, the greater the level gap.

When Namikaze Minato Uchiha Shingen to Iwagakure to sign the agreement, it was partly to remind Iwagakure and Leaf Village that they were the victors, and partly to encourage good relations between the two villages and to give face to the Tsuchikage, who was, after all, a senior figure in the martial arts world.

Of course, there are also cases where the losing side goes to the winning side's territory to sign, since the losing side is generally more eager to sign a contract. However, in this case, their signatories must be of a very high level.

The Hidden Mist Village and the Leaf Village are examples of this.

The first person to come was the sole survivor of the First Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, whose status carried considerable weight. The second time, the Mizukage himself came.

Of course, Leaf Village follows the rules, and on both occasions, they received the other party with a very high level of hospitality.

But there are always those in this world who don't follow the rules.

The Kumogakure was specifically criticized.

The reputation of Cloud Village in this regard has never been good, even worse than that of Hidden Mist Village during the implementation of "Bloody Mist Village".

Even Sand Village, the village most notorious for its poverty and harsh conditions, is more disciplined than Cloud Village.

However, the Cloud Village wasn't entirely unruly, because the ninja leader who came was, after all, a member of the Yotsuki Clan.

But that's useless; the rank is what it is.

Just as the Konoha Ninja were getting annoyed, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Shingen!" The group of ninjas recognized who had arrived.

"You can stop waiting," Uchiha Shingen said to the crowd. "Go back. The Lord Hokage has entrusted me with receiving the envoy from Cloud Village."

"But..." When the Chunin who was in charge of the team Chunin speak, Uchiha Shingen thought he was unhappy that he had taken his job. But then he saw the guy say with a resentful expression, "How can I let you go to greet a mere ninja leader?"

That was close! Luckily, he has developed the good habit of not interrupting others; this is one of our own!

"Oh, what are you saying?" Uchiha Shingen affectionately put his arm around Shingen's shoulder and offered him a set meal. "We're all brothers, no need to be so polite! I'm just killing time anyway. Everyone works so hard, so let's leave work early today. If you come to the store tonight, just mention my name, and it'll be on me."

"This isn't right..." The squad leader blushed, "It's too expensive."

You can stop pretending now, or I won't invite you back.

"Don't mention it, I have a quota every month, might as well use it."

"Then we won't stand on ceremony!"

"That's more like it."

After a lively and enthusiastic chat, Uchiha Shingen gave the ninjas a break, then found out the location of the Cloud Village delegation and set off.

Temples are nice; they're peaceful.

Furthermore, Uchiha Shingen remembered that the temple had long since ceased to have any worshippers; it was merely a place to stay when visiting Leaf Village. Recently, the village had been discussing demolishing some of the old buildings left in the forest to build dedicated inns or taverns.

This way, we can save on demolition fees, and we might even be able to extort some money from Kumogakure.

Humming a song in his heart, Uchiha Shingen headed towards the temple.

He didn't use the Flying Thunder God; he walked there, wanting to give the Cloud Ninja a surprise.

Sorry, it was a slip of the tongue. He wanted to give those thieves who dared to impersonate Cloud Ninja a surprise.

At this moment, in a dilapidated temple in the northern part of Leaf Forest, the Cloud Village delegation was resting and replenishing their food and fresh water.

As the chief envoy for this mission, a Cloud Ninja was sitting on the temple steps, silently eating.

This isn't a Special Jōnin, but a Jonin.

This Cloud Ninja was aware of the dangers of his mission.

According to the original plan, this mission was supposed to be led by a ninja leader. However, that guy's qualities were no longer up to the requirements of the new mission, so the original ninja leader became the deputy envoy and could only serve as a backup tool in the whole plan.

The role of envoy was volunteered by him, Jonin of the Yotsuki Clan.

His name is Yotsuki Mats.

As the original owners of Cloud Lightning Gorge, even though the Yotsuki Clan never became Raikage, they were still the Raikage's most trusted ninja clan.

They are also the number one bloodline Kumogakure, and their signature Storm Release.

However, to be honest, it's not easy to distinguish between the Yotsuki Clan and the Raikage clan now. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the Raikage clan is part of the Yotsuki Clan.

Because the two families had long been related.

At the beginning of the establishment of Cloud Village, the Yotsuki Clan was impressed by the First Raikage and ceded the Cloud Lightning Gorge, where they had lived for generations, to establish Kumogakure. Although the people of Kumogakure are not particular about what they do to outsiders, they are particularly particular about what they do to their own people. Since then, the Raikage Clan and the Yotsuki Clan have been intermarrying.

Nowadays, when the two families meet, they address each other as either cousins, with the prefix "cousin" always preceding the name.

Even if Uchiha Shingen, who had dealt with the Yotsuki Clan before, were asked to distinguish between the current Yotsuki Clan and the Raikage Clan, he wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

It's not like when the village was first established. Back then, it was easy to tell the two families apart, one with a dark complexion and the other with a fair complexion. Now, both families are like national treasures.

The Yotsuki Clan, as always, supported the Raikage's decision regarding this plan.

During this stage, they especially need to maintain a high degree of alignment with the Raikage, because barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next Raikage will be Darui of the Yotsuki Clan.

Darui is the embodiment of the high degree of unity between the Yotsuki Clan and the Raikage Clan.

Thirteen-year-old Darui has already become a Chunin, and he has mastered the Storm Release through generations of the Yotsuki Clan.

"Leader," a Cloud Ninja suddenly spoke up, "It seems someone is coming."

"Are they ninjas from Leaf Village?" Yotsuki Mats asked.

"I don't know for now," the Cloud Ninja replied, "But their Chakra is extremely strong, at the Kage Level!"