Chapter 682 Joint Confrontation

The news of Muzuki’s succession as Hokage spread rapidly not only within Konoha and the Land of Fire but also quickly reached the surrounding large and small countries.

The Five Great Ninja Villages generally have intelligence capabilities in various parts of the Ninja World, so when the news broke, the other Four Great Shinobi Villages successively received information from their intelligence Ninja.

Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

“The Hokage election was completed so quickly; no wonder Konoha remained inactive. So this was their plan,” Ōnoki realized after reading the intelligence.

The news of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s defeat by Sōsuke spread throughout the Ninja World in a short time, and Iwagakure played a significant role in that.

For the current Iwagakure, Konoha is a big problem, and the Shinobi Sect is a small problem. It would be best if these two problems clashed with each other.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Konoha showed no reaction, even though the news was being heavily discussed by the people of Konoha.

“Although it can mitigate the impact to some extent, the cost is too high. Did that battle inflict an incurable severe injury on Hiruzen Sarutobi?” Ōnoki fell into thought.

Having Muzuki, who currently has the greatest momentum, succeed as Hokage is indeed a good move, but that is from the perspective of the entire Konoha.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, this decision was a huge loss. He not only lost the power of the Hokage but also created the impression of resigning due to responsibility.

If it were Ōnoki, he would most likely choose to feign death, do nothing, not respond, and not transfer power.

Ōnoki thought for a moment, then carefully reread the intelligence collected by the Ninja, trying to analyze new content from it.

He wanted to know the details of the battle between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Sōsuke, but due to the small number of accompanying personnel, and all of them being elites of their respective forces, there were no spies.

Even though Ōnoki instructed the intelligence department to vigorously collect relevant information, they only obtained some fragmented intelligence from Six Paths City.

As for Konoha, probably because they were the losing side, they issued a strict order of secrecy, and Iwagakure could not find any related news from Konoha.

“There’s still too little intelligence; it’s hard to judge,” Ōnoki sighed, shaking his head slightly.

“Konoha probably has no intention of engaging with the Shinobi Sect. Is there any other force that can be utilized…”

Ōnoki thought for a moment and took out a map of the Ninja World, marking the Land of Grass and the Land of Wind.

The Land of Rain borders six countries, three of which are large countries and three are small countries.

The three large countries are the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth.

The three small countries are Bird Country, Land of Grass, and Land of Rivers.

Among them, Bird Country and Land of Rivers are small countries without Ninja Villages, and Bird Country already has a Shinobi Sect branch, which Ōnoki implicitly considers to be within the Shinobi Sect’s sphere of influence.

Undoubtedly, the Shinobi Sect is a very ambitious organization.

If Iwagakure had not been keeping an eye on the Shinobi Sect, they probably would not have known that the Shinobi Sect had already completed the integration of the Land of Rain’s Ninja forces, bringing the Land of Rain’s Ninja power to its historical peak.

In the eyes of those who don’t understand, the Amegakure and the Shinobi Sect are two separate entities.

But Ōnoki knew that after Hanzō’s death, the Amegakure belonged to Sōsuke, even if the apparent leader of the Amegakure was not Sōsuke.

Having completed the integration of internal forces yet still maintaining the appearance of two separate entities, they must have some ulterior motive.

Ōnoki estimated that it wouldn’t be long before the Shinobi Sect might make a move on the Land of Rivers.

The Land of Rivers is similar to Bird Country, having no Ninja Village but possessing some Ninja clans. However, the Ninja power of the Land of Rivers is much stronger than that of Bird Country.

Ōnoki did not want to see the Shinobi Sect continue to grow.

When the Shinobi Sect was causing trouble in Bird Country, Iwagakure was at a critical point in the war, and Ōnoki had no time to deal with it. Now that the war was over, how could he continue to watch the Shinobi Sect grow stronger?

At this time, the Land of Grass and the Land of Wind, which also border the Land of Rain, became natural allies for the Land of Earth.

The Shinobi Sect becoming the sixth major Ninja power is not just taking a slice of Iwagakure’s pie; Sunagakure will also be affected.

As for the Grass Ninja Village, well, it simply means another super big brother has appeared, almost completely encircling it.

While Ōnoki wanted to use Sunagakure to deal with the Shinobi Sect, Rasa, on the other side, was also thinking about similar matters.

“This Shinobi Sect must be difficult to deal with. Otherwise, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi have been feigning death all this time, and even directly transfer power to Hayate Mugetsu?” Rasa thought as he put down the intelligence.

The rapid spread of the news of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s defeat throughout the Ninja World also had a contribution from Sunagakure.

Rasa himself was nearly killed by Muzuki, so he was naturally extremely displeased with Konoha. If he hadn’t been unable to defeat them, Rasa would have wished to immediately send troops to attack Konoha’s homeland.

Therefore, upon learning of this negative news about Konoha, Rasa exerted all his effort to help spread the news, extremely worried that some Ninja might not know about Konoha’s shocking scandal.

“If only I had known, I wouldn’t have let the intelligence Ninja help spread the news. It actually helped Hayate Mugetsu,” Rasa’s face darkened at this thought.

Normally, Muzuki should not have succeeded as Hokage so quickly.

It was clearly because something happened to Hiruzen Sarutobi that Muzuki had the opportunity to take office early.

This greatly displeased Rasa. He felt that all his efforts had not caused much trouble for Konoha; instead, they had helped his enemy get promoted, directly reaching the pinnacle of power in the Ninja World.

When he became Kazekage, he didn’t know how much effort he had to expend, stabilizing the internal situation and repelling external enemies to firmly secure the Kazekage position. Yet, Muzuki was practically carried into the Hokage position while lying down.

How could Rasa’s mood be good?

“Konoha can’t be provoked. We can only try Iwagakure. We must disrupt any cooperation between Iwagakure and the Shinobi Sect.”

Rasa composed himself, no longer thinking about Muzuki, but instead pondering how to curb the Shinobi Sect’s development. After all, he was a Kage and could not let too much personal emotion influence his work.

Retaliating against Muzuki was unrealistic; preventing the Shinobi Sect from growing stronger was the top priority.

Theoretically, it would be very easy for a large Ninja Village like Sunagakure to deal with a small country’s Ninja force.

However, Konoha’s attitude made Rasa wary of the Shinobi Sect.

One Village alone would not be enough; at the very least, Iwagakure must be brought in.

Rasa had enough confidence to turn Iwagakure and the Shinobi Sect against each other.

There is no eternal friendship between Ninja Villages, only eternal interests.

Rasa did not believe that Iwagakure would be willing to have a portion of its interests taken away by the rising Shinobi Sect.

Then Rasa remembered something and called his trusted subordinate, asking:

“Does Pakura have some connection with the Shinobi Sect?”

“It seems so. She once took some Ninja to Six Paths City twice to listen to Sōsuke’s lectures, and it seems she even sought his guidance on Ninjutsu,” the Sunagakure Jonin replied after thinking for a moment.

Rasa’s eyes lit up, and he immediately said, “Gather some relevant intelligence and closely monitor Pakura’s actions.”

Rasa was truly annoyed by Pakura.

He, as Kazekage, only made a slight misjudgment at the very end, and Pakura publicly rebuked him without mercy, showing no respect at all.

If he hadn’t personally replaced Pakura on the battlefield, Pakura would surely have died there.

He used Magnet Release to create a double defense and was still almost sent flying by one of Muzuki’s punches. Pakura’s Scorch Release did not have such defensive capabilities.

Although his intention in removing Pakura was not to save her, that was the factual outcome, yet Pakura still turned around and rebuked him.

Since he was going to deal with the Shinobi Sect anyway, he might as well take care of Pakura at the same time. After all, Pakura could not be used by him, and keeping her was a hidden danger.

… Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.

“How strong is this Sōsuke? He actually forced Hiruzen Sarutobi to such an extent,” the Third Raikage said after reading the intelligence, developing a strong interest in Sōsuke.

Originally, he was not interested in the Shinobi Sect. Firstly, the Land of Rain, where the Shinobi Sect was located, was quite far from the Land of Lightning. Secondly, the Shinobi Sect had too few Ninja, which the Third Raikage considered to be minor skirmishes.

Therefore, when the Shinobi Sect held the Youth Martial Arts Tournament in the Land of Rain earlier, the Third Raikage did not send Ninja to participate.

Now, the Third Raikage realized he might have underestimated this Shinobi Sect leader, known as the Ninja Master.

Speaking for himself, in a one-on-one situation, he was not absolutely confident in defeating Hiruzen Sarutobi, let alone beating Hiruzen Sarutobi to the point where he no longer wanted to be Hokage.

“It’s hard to say. Perhaps Sōsuke might be the strongest in the Ninja World right now,” Dodai analyzed.

“Since Sōsuke appeared, he has never suffered a defeat. Whether his opponents were renowned masters like Kakuzu or legendary Ninja like Hanzō, none of them made him struggle. His true strength is an unknown variable.”

After the news of Sōsuke defeating Hiruzen Sarutobi spread throughout the Ninja World, Sōsuke’s reputation reached a new peak.

Initially, most people questioned it as a rumor, and even the intelligence Ninja of the major Ninja Villages thought so.

However, when Konoha remained silent and did not respond, their thoughts changed.

Sometimes, not answering is also a form of answer.

If it were truly a rumor, how could Konoha remain indifferent, especially since it concerned the Hokage’s reputation?

“Creating the Shinobi Sect, Six Paths inheritance… Is he truly the legitimate successor of the Six Paths Sage’s Shinobi Sect?” the Third Raikage showed a thoughtful expression.

In the eyes of many Ninja, the Six Paths Sage was merely a mythical figure from legends.

But the Third Raikage knew that the Six Paths Sage was a real Ninja ancestor who had existed, not a fictional mythical character, because there were descendants of the Six Paths Sage in Hidden Cloud Village, and they even possessed the Six Paths Sage’s Ninja tools.

The Third Raikage was aware of the power of the Six Paths Ninja tools. Back then, the descendants of the Six Paths Sage used the Six Paths Ninja tools to stage a coup, and even the Second Raikage was killed by them.

If the Ninja tools left by the Six Paths Sage alone possessed such power, how strong would the Six Paths inheritance in Sōsuke’s hands be if it were the Six Paths Sage’s Ninjutsu? The Third Raikage found it difficult to imagine.

However, there were too many suspicious points.

If there was a legitimate successor to the Shinobi Sect, why didn’t someone like Sōsuke emerge to restore the Shinobi Sect during its thousand-year decline?

The Shinobi Sect had truly faded for too long. Some Ninja even thought that the Shinobi Sect was a new force created by Sōsuke, unaware of the Shinobi Sect created by the Six Paths Sage in ancient times.

Even if the Shinobi Sect created by the Six Paths Sage was the origin of Ninja.

However, the Third Raikage felt it was normal. According to ancient records, ancient Ninja and modern Ninja were not the same thing at all.

Ancient Ninja did not need to accept commissioned missions; their duty was to maintain world peace and create a world without war, where everyone could coexist peacefully.

As for modern Ninja, war was almost one of their important sources of funding, and war commissions were the most expensive.

… Land of Water, Hidden Mist Village.

Mizukage’s office.

“Yagura, what do you think Hidden Mist should do in the current situation?” the Third Mizukage asked Yagura Karatachi with a smile, putting down the intelligence while sitting in his office chair.

“Do nothing?” Yagura Karatachi replied uncertainly.

“It seems your last defeat brought you some insight,” the Third Mizukage nodded slightly.

If it were the old Yagura Karatachi, he might have tried to seize this opportunity to join other Ninja Villages in causing trouble and weakening the strongest Konoha.

“During the Third Shinobi World War, we severely offended Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure.”

“They need Hidden Mist’s strength, but that doesn’t mean they will forgive our past actions. Therefore, we cannot immediately unite with them again to deal with Konoha. Even if we succeed in the end, Hidden Mist will not have a very good outcome.”

“At the same time, we cannot truly greatly assist Konoha, because Konoha’s development momentum is too good. Konoha can be strong, but not too strong.”

The Third Mizukage knew well that alliances between Ninja Villages were unreliable. Today, he could sell out the Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning for profit, and tomorrow Konoha could likewise act against Hidden Mist for profit.

If Konoha truly became strong enough to take on four opponents, would Konoha still need Hidden Mist as an ally?

Clearly not. Why would someone share a piece of the pie when they could have it all alone?

Yagura Karatachi nodded thoughtfully.

He had considered this point, but not as deeply as the Third Mizukage.

“Of course, we don’t have to help, but we can put on a show. I’ve already had someone contact Konoha, and you will serve as the envoy to observe the ceremony with Konoha,” the Third Mizukage said.

Konoha and Hidden Mist were still in their honeymoon period; showing no indication would make their intentions too obvious.

“Alright,” Yagura Karatachi agreed without asking any questions.

Yagura Karatachi had come to terms with losing to Muzuki. After all, the Fourth Kazekage was almost killed by one of Muzuki’s punches, and Muzuki used more than one punch against him. By that calculation, he was stronger than the Fourth Kazekage.

“Are we not taking action against the Shinobi Sect either? Sōsuke alone has great value, right?” Yagura Karatachi asked curiously.

If they could successfully set up a plan using the Shinobi Sect, they might be able to leverage a major Ninja Village.

“Let’s wait and see. The Shinobi Sect will soon have trouble, and it might become the eye of the storm,” the Third Mizukage shook his head.

The news of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s defeat brought Sōsuke and the Shinobi Sect into the spotlight. It was hard to say whether this was a blessing or a curse for the Shinobi Sect.

Although the Five Great Ninja Villages often attacked each other, if there was truly a force attempting to challenge their status, they might prioritize suppressing that force.

Just like the Amegakure back then.

No matter how much the Five Great Ninja Villages fought among themselves, the overall pattern of the Ninja World was ultimately dominated by the Five Great Ninja Villages, and it had not changed since the era of Ninja Villages.

If it were to become six major Ninja powers dominating the Ninja World, then the loss would not be limited to just one party.

The Third Mizukage felt that no major Ninja Village would want such a drastic change in the Ninja World’s power structure.