To Occupy Kirigakure, Must First Confirm Whether Black Zetsu and Obito Are There

"Lord Huo Feng, where are we?"

In the inner garden, Qing, who had been waiting for quite a while without seeing the daimyo, couldn't help but ask in confusion.

Feng sat beside him, heard what the other said, but did not answer. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused on sensing the location of Takayanagi Haruki, who was carrying the Flying Thunder God Kunai.

'In the outermost corner of the outer courtyard!'

Feng smiled only after confirming that Takayanagi Haruki had already taken Chōjūrō and two Chunin quite far away from him.

"Lord Huo Feng?"

Qinggeng was puzzled. He hadn't said anything for a while, then suddenly gave a strange laugh...

???

Qing frowned, staring at Feng, hoping to glean something from him.

But he immediately regretted it, though the regret lasted less than half a second.

because...

Feng opened his eyes, and when he did, his eyes had already transformed into Mangekyō.

Mangekyō Dōjutsu: Kotoamatsukami

The Dōjutsu was activated instantly; the power of Kotoamatsukami needs no further explanation.

Ao was completely unprepared to be attacked inside the Daimyo Palace.

He was controlled by Kotoamatsukami the instant he felt regret after seeing Feng's Mangekyō.

"Sigh~"

Looking at Qing, the ' Byakugan Killer ' who had become his puppet, Feng gently wiped away the bloodstains from the corner of his eyes and sighed softly.

Because he himself has neither the Eternal Mangekyo nor the Hashirama Cells, the Shisui Mangekyō he transplanted can only be used a few times, and each time there is a long cooling-off period.

Therefore, he was extremely cautious in using the Kotoamatsukami).

According to his original plan, Kotoamatsukami would be kept in reserve to deal with Black Zetsu, whom he might encounter at any time, since there weren't many ways in the Ninja World to deal with that cunning old man.

However, the blue figure in front of them was also a big problem. If they ignored it, with so many people in the Daimyo Palace being controlled by Genjutsu, the blue figure would easily detect them.

Killed?! Kirigakure, which has just emerged from internal strife, is on edge and has lost many talents. The unexpected death of someone as important as Ao will surely lead Kirigakure to investigate thoroughly.

Either scenario would pose a significant obstacle to Feng's plan to "control the daimyo and swallow the Land of Water".

Therefore, controlling the green is the optimal solution.

Given that Ao once used his Byakugan to discover that the Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Genjutsu, he himself would probably be quite vigilant about Genjutsu, so conventional Genjutsu might not be effective.

Therefore, to ensure absolute safety, the best method Feng could think of was to use the Kotoamatsukami.

Now that he's used Kotoamatsukami, Feng only hopes that during Kotoamatsukami's cooldown period, he won't run into Black Zetsu causing trouble for him.

Fortunately, under normal circumstances, Black Zetsu's focus should be on Nagato and the Nine Tailed Beasts at this stage. As long as Feng doesn't touch those two things, Black Zetsu will most likely just see him as a ridiculous strategist who knows a lot, and will care about him but won't care too much.

Feng is not one to engage in internal strife. Kotoamatsukami has already been used, matters related to it should be put aside for now.

He glanced at Kotoamatsukami, now convinced that he had betrayed Shisui years ago and was now Uchiha planted in Kirigakure, and shouted:

"Asai!"

"Lord!"

Hearing the call, Asai quickly walked over to Feng's side.

"Qing, now that you're back, you'll serve as the deputy captain of the Scout Corps."

Feng nodded upon hearing this, then turned to look at Qing.

"Asai, do a good job. The Ninja World is vast, and we still have many places to conquer."

I believe it won't be long before you become a general of a country, just like Hosokawa."

After speaking to Qing, he turned to look at Asai, gently patted him on the shoulder, and promised him a bright future.

And this future is tangible and visible, because Hosokawa, like Asai, was also a ninja from the Naga clan, had already become a nobleman and served as the shogun of the Moon Country for many years simply because he joined the army of the Naga clan a few months earlier than Asai.

With this precedent in mind, no one among his subordinates saw Feng's promise as mere empty words, but rather as heartfelt words of encouragement.

"Yes, my lord, I am loyal!"

Feeling he had no way to repay the kindness and only wanted to dedicate himself to Feng, Asai could only raise his right hand and shout "Loyalty!" to express his determination.

"...

Take Qing to familiarize himself with the Scout Corps, and make the most of his Byakugan looks.

Feng was speechless at the sight, but since Asai hadn't done anything wrong, he could only helplessly wave his hand and tell him to get lost.

Then he fell into deep thought again.

The arrival of those people from Kirigakure today served as a reminder to him.

Now, his most important task is to find a way to weaken Kirigakure so that he won't be attacked by the Honkai Fang when he tries to conquer them in the future.

After all, his foundation was too weak, while Kirigakure's base and foundation were too strong.

Under Feng's command, there were only about two thousand ninjas and samurai in total. Many of them were prisoners of war, wandering ninjas, mercenaries, and people who had recently joined from Kirigakure, among other filler personnel.

There were only about a thousand people who could truly be considered useful, and that included more than five hundred of their own Uchiha clan members.

In contrast, Kirigakure suffered two rounds of bloody slaughter in the "Kirigakure of the Bloody Mist Village," participated in two Ninja World Wars, and engaged in an internal conflict that affected the entire village.

Despite decades of such scourge, they can still produce three thousand combat-ready ninjas on the spot.

If we wait a while longer, and some of the wounded and prisoners of war recover, and if we find some of those who escaped from the ' Bloody Mist Village ', the number of combat-ready ninjas in Kirigakure could probably double.

In this situation, if Feng wants to quietly annex Kirigakure, he must weaken Kirigakure continuously in a very short period of time while taking action before it recovers.

Otherwise, he should either avoid provoking Kirigakure, or he would have to wage a massive battle, but in that case, he and the Uchiha would be impossible to hide.

'So, how can we weaken Kirigakure in a short time?!'

Using someone else to do the dirty work? Capturing the leader to catch the thief? Fishing in troubled waters?

Feng kept brainstorming, his mind flashing with one famous strategy after another from China history.

Before long, I found quite a few usable methods, but these methods were not very applicable due to some current realities.

Especially with Black Zetsu and Obito there, many good ideas had to be shelved because people wanted to reap the benefits of the storyline and didn't want to disrupt the plot.

"Someone, go and call Captain Asai and Captain Ayaka here, and also call Captain Ao, who just left."

After thinking for a long time, Feng finally realized with no other choice that he absolutely could not take over Kirigakure without finding out the situation of Black Zetsu and Obito.

Therefore, it's best to first send someone to find out if the two are in Kirigakure.

"My lord (my lord)!"

Before long, Asai and Ao, who had just left, and Uzumaki Ayaka, who had been patrolling the castle every Tenten using Mind's Eye of the Kagura, arrived at Feng's side.

"Okay, Ayaka, I'm giving you a task. Go to Kirigakure and search it thoroughly, inside and out, to make sure there are any White Zetsu there."

Qing, use your Byakugan to cooperate with Captain Ayaka, don't reveal your identity. If you are discovered, just say that you were reprimanded by the Daimyo and went back to the village to urge people to hurry up.

Remember, be careful. Just make sure the White Zetsu White Zetsu anyone associated with them are there. Don't worry about anything else.

Report back every two weeks. Unless I give the order, you are to keep a close watch on Kirigakure. You may not return until Kirigakure is completely White Zetsu.

Feng first gave instructions to the two men, and then earnestly gave them more serious advice.

The purpose of finding White Zetsu was to confirm the identities of Black Zetsu and Obito. Those two are extremely adept at hiding and ambushing. Without prior warning, even with the powerful detection capabilities of Mind's Eye of the Kagura and Byakugan, things would still go wrong.

"Asai, you will work with Jianshi and Hidemasa to complete the control of the Land of Water as soon as possible."

We must take action against Kirigakure as soon as possible, otherwise it will be troublesome once they recover."

"Yes, my lord!"

Ayaka, Asai, and Ao immediately accepted the order.