Irritated Black Zetsu

"Dodai who proposed it," Nara Shikaku said. "After Cloud Village paid off its debts, its strength has recovered considerably in the past few years, but it hasn't fully recovered in terms of financial and material resources. On the other hand, Iwagakure has made a lot of money in the past few years."

"They made quite a bit of money..." Uchiha Shingen nodded, then asked, "Were the ones who attacked our ANBU also Cloud Ninja?"

It's normal for Leaf Village's ANBU to be attacked by Cloud Ninja in the Land of Wind.

The Cloud Ninja once traveled thousands of miles to attack the Sunagakure.

"No, it was attacked in the Land of Rivers. The attacker's identity is unclear; all we know is that they were a ninja who used Water Release."

"Someone wants this war to break out..." Uchiha Shingen sighed.

Six years have passed; it's about time something happened.

Ninja villages don't only fight during the Fourth Ninja World War.

It's perfectly normal to have one-on-one matches occasionally to keep things interesting.

These are relatively small-scale conflicts, more like localized regional clashes, and negotiations begin as soon as the fighting starts.

It's also possible that both sides are supporting their own subordinates in the fight, while the bosses are simultaneously shouting for an end to the fighting and selling weapons.

However, the actions of Sand Village and Cloud Village this time are quite significant, and could easily lead to another Ninja World War.

Uchiha Shingen wasn't so confident that he would definitely fight the Three-Eyed Girl in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The Second Shinobi World War and Third Shinobi World War weren't even a few years apart, less than ten years. And isn't it about the same amount of time since the Third Shinobi World War ended?

"Lord Hokage, this is a serious matter. Why don't you call someone else?"

"I'd like to hear your opinion first," Namikaze Minato said. "You're mainly in charge of the association. If they go to war, Iwagakure asks Leaf Village for help, do you think Leaf Village should attack Cloud Village?"

Of course we won't fight.

The original purpose of bringing in Iwagakure was to suppress Cloud Village. Now that Iwagakure is strong while Cloud Village is relatively weak, how could they possibly help Iwagakure?

The principle is sound, but it can't be expressed in this way.

"It's a bit difficult." Uchiha Shingen seemed to be struggling with a decision. "From the perspective of our allies, we can't refuse Iwagakure's request for help, but the village is currently carrying out the third phase of construction. If war breaks out, the project will inevitably be delayed, and it could even be abandoned altogether."

"Yes..." Namikaze Minato in, "This is really troublesome..."

Nara Shikaku looked at the two of them and thought...

These two think he, the leader of the Jonin Council, is an idiot.

You want me to speak, right?

Have some decency! I'm the class representative of the Jonin Council; what business is it of mine to make decisions?

Faced with Nara Shikaku's righteous gaze, Namikaze Minato blushed and looked away.

"Lord Hokage, this is a serious problem that we can't resolve together. I think it's necessary to immediately inform the Kagesuke and the Third," Nara Shikaku said expressionlessly. "Many hands make light work, Lord Hokage."

"That's right!" Namikaze Minato remarked with a sigh, "The village really can't do without the Third and the two advisors."

"Of course, the Third is a remarkable figure. As the saying goes, 'An elder in the family is a treasure.'" Uchiha Shingen fully supported this view. "Lord Hokage, Nara Clan- sama, please wait a moment. I will go and invite the Lord Third over as the Lord Hokage instructed."

"Huh?" Namikaze Minato, who was nodding repeatedly, was taken aback and was about to call out to him, but the person had already disappeared.

"Stop looking, they're gone. They used the Flying Thunder God." Nara Shikaku was somewhat pleased. "The feeling of being escaped with the Flying Thunder God Technique isn't bad, is it? My Lord Hokage."

Chapter Sixteen: The Frustrated Black Zetsu

The secret alliance between Sand Village and Cloud Village was not only kept secret from Leaf Village, but also from Iwagakure.

Even Hidden Mist Village, since Hidden Mist Village not only borders Leaf Village, but also Cloud Village and Sand Village.

What the Hokage Building is doing, the Tsuchikage Building and the Mizukage Building are doing the same things.

The difference is that, upon learning that Sand Village and Cloud Village had secretly joined forces, Ōnoki couldn't help but curse and spit out the window. Then, after being scolded by Kitsuchi, he vented his anger by spitting out Kitsuchi.

Karatachi Yagura, laughed three times and then went about his business.

The first to show signs were the Land of Stone and the Land of Iron.

The Land of Stone, a country sandwiched between the two great lands of Earth and Wind, has recently seen an increasing number of strangers.

In terms of the misery of small countries, from the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War to the 54th year of Leaf Village, the Land of Rain ranked first with indisputable "strength," and no one would agree that it was number one.

But after the Third Shinobi World War, when Leaf Village and Iwagakure fought a battle here, the country began to see a turn for the better.

Both the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire have increased their economic support for this country.

After Iwagakure allied with Leaf Village, the country began to move in a positive direction. After the death of Hanzo, the ninjas who had been separated from the country were reunited. The wandering ninjas who had caused trouble in the country either became ninjas of the Land of Rain, left, or died.

Fifty-four years after Leaf Village was established, it restored social stability and production capacity through trade between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire.

So it was no longer the worst one; it wasn't even that bad anymore.

The worst off are those countries that are caught between powerful nations and unable to benefit from trade among the three countries of earth, fire, and water.

The high-risk areas have shifted from the original two countries, Yu and Cao, to more peripheral regions.

The alliances between ninja villages are always unilateral.

Iwagakure and Leaf Village are allies, as are Sand Village and Leaf Village, but Iwagakure and Sand Village are enemies.

Over the past six years, peripheral countries have replaced the former core regions as battlegrounds for several major powers.

The Land of Stone is now ranked number one.

The Land of Iron, also faces a similar predicament, where ninjas from Iwagakure and Cloud Village seem to have made a pact to repeatedly encounter each other in its northern border.

When everyone is forced to avoid Leaf Village, the so-called neutral countries can no longer truly remain neutral.

Previously, the five great ninja nations did not want to cause trouble, and at the same time, they looked down on the harsh and cold Land of Iron, which allowed the Land of Iron to maintain a neutral stance.

It's not that we can't afford to provoke them, but that we don't want to.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzo disregarded whether the Land of Iron was neutral and Land of Iron directly.

Faced with the intention of Iwagakure and Cloud Village to open a second amusement park in their northern territory, the Land of Iron could only pretend not to see it, since there were hardly any people there anyway.

The Land of Iron's sensible behavior pleased both Iwagakure and Cloud Village, as they preserved the samurai's dignity by not expanding the scope of their chance encounter.

In comparison, the Land of Stone has absolutely no face to speak of.

It has neither Chakra warriors like the Land of Iron, nor ninja villages.

Both Sand Village and Iwagakure are places where people can come and go as they please, and bump into each other wherever they want.

Whether they are from the Sand Ninja or the Rock Ninja, in the eyes of outsiders, they are somewhat aloof, cold, and taciturn.

This turned out to be a huge mistake; it was simply because I hadn't met the right person.

When the Sand Ninja and the Rock Ninja by chance, they become passionately in love.

The same situation can also occur in the northern border of the Land of Iron.

The passionate interaction between the Rock Ninja and the Cloud Ninja greatly displeased a certain bigwig who farmed in the underworld.

In the dark and spacious basement, Black Zetsu, whom Uchiha Shingen hadn't seen for a long time, was discussing with a group of White Zetsu how to deal with the increasingly frequent seawater infiltration problem.

Boom!

A faint rumbling sound could be heard from afar, and the vibrations could be felt even in the underground space.

"That commotion must be Jonin fighting, right?" White Zetsu glanced at the ceiling of the space and said to Black Zetsu in front of him, "Black Zetsu, aren't you going to check it? With this level of strength, I think it'll leak."

Black Zetsu: "..."

When it first moved here, it had mixed feelings.

Uchiha Shingen's actions in Hidden Mist Village forced it to admit that the two were not on the same page.

So it moved away from the Land of Grass and came to the Land of Iron.

There was nothing they could do; the old base had already been set foot in by Uchiha Shingen.

Moreover, Black Zetsu didn't know how to deal with Uchiha Shingen if it didn't move and he came again.

Asking directly seems inappropriate.

If it doesn't ask, it'll feel stifled.

It's better to just leave and avoid seeing it altogether.

"Let's go take a look," Black Zetsu said sullenly.

"Alright!" White Zetsu form said happily; it had been wanting to slip away for a while.

It thought Black Zetsu must have lost his mind.

Besides the Black Zetsu, there was only a group of White Zetsu here. The Black Zetsu actually asked them how to prevent water seepage from an engineering design perspective.

If it knew, could it still be White Zetsu?

The White Zetsu can build a project according to blueprints, but if you ask them to design the blueprints, the site will just collapse for fun.

The main body left, and the other White Zetsu stared blankly at Black Zetsu, seemingly waiting for it to speak.

Black Zetsu is so annoying to watch.

"That's enough, that's enough." It waved its hand. "Go do what you were doing."

Honestly, it never lets me have an easy time!

Black Zetsu was initially quite satisfied with this location when they chose to build their base.

I don't think that way anymore.

Because this place is too close to the sea, the negative consequences weren't apparent before because there wasn't much activity on the surface. But now that the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja are constantly having parties on the ground, the consequences are starting to show.

Earth Release: I really hate that!

But Black Zetsu had no choice but to endure it.

We can't move it any further; it's too difficult to move it now.

This base now houses nearly 20,000 White Zetsu; if it were moved, the entire Ninja World would know.

[Damn Iwagakure! I need to talk to Obito and weaken this country first!]

Black Zetsu once thought Leaf Village was the most troublesome place.

But now, it feels that Iwagakure is the most troublesome. These Rock Ninja frequently use large-scale Earth Release, which cause too much damage to its base.

As soon as you mention Obito, Obito arrives.

When the tremors stopped, the space in front of Black Zetsu distorted, and Uchiha Obito, wearing the Cloud Village combat uniform, emerged.

"Black Zetsu, has the base been affected?"

The first question Uchiha Obito asked upon appearing was this one.

Black Zetsu was taken aback, then realized that the battle just now was probably Uchiha Obito fighting someone.

"Was that you just now?"

"What do you mean 'it'?" Uchiha Obito was annoyed. "It was I who killed the Rock Ninja was recklessly using Earth Release techniques here!"

"The impact is huge. The day before yesterday, one of the incubation rooms collapsed, damaging many clones. I have to spend more resources to restore them." Black Zetsu didn't argue with Uchiha Obito and told him the specific situation truthfully.

"Obito, how long will this situation continue?"

"It won't be short-lived. It seems we'll have to move this base; it's too close to the sea."

Uchiha Obito has now risen to Jonin rank of Jonin in Cloud Village and is now aware of the Kumogakure's battle plans.

"How can we move them?" Black Zetsu shook his head. "There are too many White Zetsu; we can't move them."

"I didn't ask you to move the place directly." Uchiha Obito thought Black Zetsu really couldn't think straight. "You dig a new space inland, and fill this area with the excavated soil."

"But if it really collapses, it will still be discovered," Black Zetsu said. "The main issue isn't its proximity to the sea, but that this place will become a battlefield."

That's all it's worried about. It's an opportunity that's come after a thousand years, and it can't accept taking that kind of risk.

"Don't worry, Cloud Village is also worried about Leaf Village's interference, so they won't approach the interior." Uchiha Obito chuckled, then said, "Time waits for no one. You should start acting now. The Cloud Ninja and Sand Ninja armies will launch their formal attack next month."

"Alright..." Black Zetsu thought for a while but couldn't come up with any other ideas, so he had no choice but to agree.

Looking at Uchiha Obito Cloud Village uniform, Black Zetsu couldn't help but ask:

"How much longer will it take you to take control of Kumogakure?"

"I've already been promoted to Jonin," Uchiha Obito said. "But this war is a good opportunity. If I become a war hero of Cloud Village, I'll be one step closer to that position."