Wu Zu Loves the Land of Earth
The foreign ninja leaders present all showed expressions of deep gratitude.
Including the Sound Ninja.
"I've said the same thing to Orochimaru: after conquering Kumogakure, the spoils will be split 50/50 between Leaf Village and you."
The Sound Ninja already knew, but the other foreign ninja leaders were taken aback.
The leaders of Leaf Village were also stunned.
The Uchiha Clan's unconventional nature became apparent at this moment; although they were momentarily stunned, they quickly revealed their excitement.
If you're afraid of causing trouble and making it too big, that's not the Uchiha Clan.
The Hyuga Clan weren't that excited, but recalling how much the Cloud Village had coveted the Byakugan over the years, they felt that perhaps wiping out the entire village wouldn't be a bad thing.
None of the Konoha Ninja present subconsciously considered whether this could actually succeed.
After all, no one would think of this if they saw the Complete Body Susanoo swaggering into South Gate City.
For an old ninja clan like the Hyuga Clan, they have long been accustomed to rise and fall, which is why they prioritize the survival of their clan.
If destroying Cloud Village would make the environment for the Hyuga Clan's survival more stable, the Hyuga Clan would fight harder than anyone else and risk their lives to Kumogakure.
Unfortunately, although Hinata was not attacked in this timeline, the Kumogakure had long been considered by the Hyuga Clan as one of the external factors affecting their survival.
"Alright, I'm not some dictator. Let's vote." Looking at everyone's expressions, Uchiha Shingen realized that the rich man had his reasons for insisting on a democratic vote in the first place.
There's nothing better than this.
If these small-time gang leaders dared to utter a single word against him, he could kill them in the name of the collective, and then turn around and recruit their subordinates to send them to... well, I can't say it like that, it sounds too harsh.
We'll fight together.
"Lord Shingen, forgive my rudeness, but you said Leaf Village would only take half, is that acceptable?"
"A leader asked."
He sensed the murderous aura surrounding him, and if he didn't speak up to express his agreement, he felt he was going to lose his head.
If White Ghost really keeps his word, then he's not afraid to gamble with his life.
He just wanted to make a worthwhile bet.
"Of course it counts. I can sign a contract with everyone here, and each of you can keep a copy. Since the Hokage isn't here, I can represent Leaf Village in making this agreement with you all."
"No, no, I trust Lord Shingen!" The leader's face flushed with excitement. "We'll all work for you!"
Since the White Ghost has put it this way, unless he's completely shameless, it definitely means it.
The best things will definitely be taken by Leaf Village, but that's okay, they wouldn't be able to enjoy them anyway.
Kumogakure, that's a very wealthy village!
"Then let's vote." Uchiha Shingen nodded.
I never intended to break my promise, but since you're being so sensible, I might as well give you a little extra benefit.
Uchiha Shingen only needed to ensure that the special ninja tools of Kumogakure were owned by Leaf Village; everything else could be discussed.
In particular, the Amber Purifying Pot among the Six Paths Tools is one of only two ninja tools in the Ninja World that can be used to seal Tailed Beasts.
It is precisely because of the Amber Purifying Pot that Kumogakure is able to skillfully use human lives to continuously experiment and cultivate Perfect Jinchuriki.
The Sand Village couldn't do it because, although they also had ninja tools to seal the Tailed Beasts, they lacked the means to stabilize the Jinchūriki's mind.
Turtle Island, we must seize it too.
Aside from these things that truly represent the essence of Kumogakure, all other wealth, in Uchiha Shingen's view, could be distributed.
With this, he can continue to recruit soldiers and horses.
Everyone raised their hands, and it passed unanimously.
"Then let's not delay any longer, everyone go and make the arrangements," said Uchiha Shingen. "Starting today, we don't need to pretend to be reinforcements anymore. The Cloud Ninja are also used to our regular raids into the mountains. The troops going with me to the Poison Insect Road, prepare as many insect repellent and antidote medicines as possible. We'll depart at midnight tonight."
Upon hearing Uchiha Shingen's order, all the leaders present, big and small, stood up and left.
The Uchiha Clan were actually quite disappointed that they couldn't participate, but they were the least likely to question Uchiha Shingen's decision.
When the time requested by Uchiha Shingen arrived, the four thousand foreign troops were already fully prepared and waiting.
Uchiha Shingen didn't waste any words with them and went into the mountain first.
Two thousand Sound Ninja followed closely behind. Orochimaru had given them strict orders, and although they were foreigners, Uchiha Shingen made them very easy to manage.
The remaining two thousand were miscellaneous personnel from different organizations. They voluntarily followed along, taking on the functions of perimeter response and reconnaissance.
Under Uchiha Shingen's command, they began their journey towards the Poison Insect Road, a place they had only heard of but never been to.
After traveling less than a hundred miles into the mountains, traces of the Cloud Ninja began to appear.
Thanks to the relentless daily sweeping by the Leaf Village, and the fact that the Cloud Ninja, despite learning the Hidden Mist Village's infiltration techniques, still lacked the on-the-spot reaction skills, very few Cloud Ninja could actually sneak into the Konoha Ninja camp within a hundred miles.
But now, as the joint force begins to penetrate deeper into the mountains, the two sides have been able to meet again.
Chapter Nine: The Land of Earth the Wu Zu's Love
When Uchiha Shingen officially began his operation, Leaf Village also started making moves in the long-dormant eastern and western war zones.
The Land of Grass has once again entered a state of total war following the Third Shinobi World War.
Unlike the Northern Theater Command, Hidden Leaf Village deployed a massive number of ninjas here.
Over the years, Hidden Leaf Village has evolved from a gold-devouring beast in the Ninja World into a gold-devouring monster on the continent.
Its human, financial, and material resources have increased to a terrifying level, which is why the Hokage Building dares to use the Chunin Ninja Exams as bait.
The original plan was for Hidden Leaf Village to attack four major villages at once.
Namikaze Minato, whom Jiraiya considered to be someone whose genius would pale in comparison, personally demonstrated just how proactive this village's attitude towards war could be when even the Hokage were engaged in combat.
His simple-mindedness, especially in front of the previous Hokage, was his true nature.
Showing no mercy to the enemy and striking with heavy blows is in his nature.
The fact that Uchiha Shingen's ideas have been able to be implemented so smoothly over the years is largely due to Namikaze Minato's numerous favors. Uchiha Shingen needs Namikaze Minato, and Namikaze Minato also needs Uchiha Shingen.
They were all getting what they wanted.
However, the reason why so many Konoha Ninja were able to gather in the Western Theater was because there was a figure here whom all Konoha Ninja sincerely longed to follow.
The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
The peace offer sent to Iwagakure didn't even make a ripple. From Senju Hashirama's perspective, it didn't seem like much of a deal; he'd had plenty of such things happen during his lifetime.
Senju Hashirama didn't expect Iwagakure to change its mind because of his letter; he sent it so that both sides could stop fighting in time and reduce casualties.
After sending the letter, he began preparing for the war.
Since his younger brother Tobirama was away, he had been discussing what to do with Senju Muzoku these past few days.
However, Senju Hashirama stated that he had never seen so many ninjas gathered together before.
This made him both happy and sad.
What's gratifying is how well the village is developing now; all the hard work everyone put in back then was worth it.
The more people who are worried, the harder it is to manage. It's easy for ninjas to start fighting, but it's not so easy to stop them.
It's not a matter of whether or not to listen. Once so many ninjas are deployed, the command at the grassroots level depends entirely on the Chunin of each unit. Orders and intelligence from the central command are all delayed, and in this delayed time, there are many variables.
The tents of Senju Hashirama and the Senju Muzoku were pitched on higher ground.
From here, one can clearly see the movements of the ninjas in the camp.
Senju Hashirama looked down and could clearly see the Konoha Ninja filing out of the camp, their fighting spirit high, heading towards the Land of Earth.
Oh, and the ninjas from Kusagakure.
Senju Hashirama Kusagakure, only remembering that they liked to tie thick braided ropes around their waists, which he actually found quite an eyesore.
"Tobi..." Senju Hashirama said, "This time, quite a few people may die."
"That's great!" Upon hearing this, the Senju Muzoku One became incredibly energetic.
It was worth it for him to secretly hoard all that equipment for so long.
The village's small warehouse was discovered by Senju Hashirama before it could even be used.
The result is self-evident: confiscation.
To paraphrase Senju Hashirama, to win someone's heart, you should defeat them honorably, so that they won't continue fighting out of resentment.
Therefore, he couldn't understand why Impure World Reincarnation wasn't perfectly legitimate.
With high-quality products out of the question, we can only rely on mass-produced goods.
It wasn't easy to hoard Impure World Reincarnation Talismans right under Senju Hashirama's nose, so he had to mix them in with Explosive Tag to do it secretly, which greatly affected efficiency.
But perseverance pays off, and he managed to stockpile a basic amount.
The Senju Muzoku couldn't resist touching the spot where the scroll was kept, but unfortunately, there was no tactile feedback.
"Tobi, you really only made the Explosive Tag, right?" Senju Hashirama sensed danger when he saw his younger brother's action.
The Impure World Reincarnation is very hurtful, mainly because it comes with a built-in hatred buff.
In the past, people would often be about to surrender, but seeing the Senju Muzoku would change their minds.
Decades later, Senju Hashirama believed that those who hated Senju Muzoku were all dead, but if he continued as before, there would be a large group of people who refused to surrender.
"Brother, I'm going to get angry if you say that," said Senju Muzoku.
Everyone can testify that he didn't answer the question, so it doesn't count as lying.
"Alright, alright, sigh..." Senju Hashirama also felt he couldn't keep judging his younger brother with old eyes. He knew he was wrong and could correct his mistakes. "Well then... Tobi, take care of yourself."
"Brother, I'm an Impure World Reincarnation now." Senju Muzoku was speechless and decided to no longer stay with his brother, who always missed him terribly during battles.
He dashed down the hill and walked to the front of his team.
Before Leaf Village officially set out for the campaign, Senju Muzoku took over the ANBU.
After learning about the current situation of Leaf Village's ANBU, Senju Tobirama came to a conclusion.
If it weren't for Uchiha Shingen taking over and reorganizing it, this thing wouldn't even be qualified to provide support to troops on the battlefield.
Although it's common practice for the frontline to criticize the intelligence department once war breaks out, the real danger is that the ANBU might not even have the right to be criticized.
People only criticize when they have expectations...
With the war underway, Uchiha Shingen, as the leader of a war zone, clearly had no time to command the ANBU.
Thus, this task fell to the hands of the Senju Muzoku, who was the first-generation ANBU.
The Senju Muzoku took over the ANBU with remarkable ease.
Standing before him were fewer than a hundred combat personnel he had specially selected from the ANBU.
Former Root ninjas such as Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū were also present.
"Let's go, let's get to work." The Senju Muzoku waved his hand, setting an example by taking the first step and starting to run.
A group of people left the camp with the main force, then let their nature take hold and quickly left their headquarters, disappearing into the vast grassland.
Both were heading towards the Land of Earth, but Senju Muzoku's group was far from the main force's route.
Because what he's going to do is what the ANBU did during the First Shinobi World War.
Although he had fewer than a hundred men under his command, that was about the same number of people in the entire ANBU at that time.
The Senju Muzoku even felt that he had an abundant army.
The benefits of the Impure World Reincarnation became apparent at this moment: he didn't need to eat or sleep, he wouldn't get tired, and he certainly wouldn't get injured.
Unfortunately, the ANBU consists entirely of living people who need rest.
Even so, after a day's journey, Senju Muzoku and his ANBU had already entered the Land of Earth.
According to the current thinking of the ANBU, well, ANBU, of course, do things secretly.
Then, after discovering the first town, the Senju Muzoku rushed up to it.
The town wasn't large, but it was a border town, and even had a watchtower.
The land here still has some vegetation, but it no longer has the vast grasslands of the Land of Grass that could bury people, and the trees are relatively sparse.