Konoha Hokage Building.
Uchiha Ren sat on the sofa in his office, teasing the Two-Tails cat in his hands.
Matatabi was being stroked by Uchiha Ren, purring softly with an extremely content expression.
The last person who had stroked Matatabi like this had been the Sage of Six Paths.
"Hokage-sama… is that a cat?"
"No, that definitely isn't a cat…"
Nara Shikato had just pushed the door open, preparing to report the past few days' work to Uchiha Ren.
Then he saw a blue-and-black cat wrapped in flame-like chakra.
The abyss-like chakra waves it casually released made Nara Shikato's heart tremble.
A long-absent threat of death descended on him again.
Even though this terrifying creature was as docile as a house cat before the Hokage, Nara Shikato still did not dare make the slightest rash movement.
He could only ask Uchiha Ren in fear.
"The Two-Tails, Matatabi."
"I picked it up while I was out."
Uchiha Ren scratched the cat's chin, not caring about the tremble in Nara Shikato's voice.
He answered casually.
"The Two-Tails…"
"You picked it up outside…"
Hokage-sama still loved talking nonsense as always.
But this seemed to be true!!!
It really was a tailed beast!
A tailed beast regarded by humans as a disaster!
Nara Shikato subconsciously wanted to flee the office, but his legs refused to move.
Cold sweat covered his back.
The power of a tailed beast was like the ocean to ordinary shinobi.
Shinobi were like a tiny boat drifting across that ocean.
Just a slight movement from the sea, a hundred-meter wave, was enough to swallow them whole.
"Don't be nervous, Shikato."
"The Two-Tails is my cat now."
"Unexpected, right? Tailed beasts can grow larger or smaller."
"They just never show their childhood forms in front of humans."
"The first human to see them in their childhood forms was the Sage of Six Paths."
As Uchiha Ren spoke, he released the Two-Tails cat in his hands.
Matatabi glanced at Nara Shikato, who stood there like a small fry, then jumped onto Uchiha Ren's desk by itself.
The window was open.
The sunlight at ten in the morning shone across Uchiha Ren's desk.
One of a cat's instincts was loving sunlight.
"Hokage-sama, I… I…"
Nara Shikato was still stammering.
After all, there was a tailed beast sunbathing beside him.
"Don't be nervous. There won't be any danger."
"I guarantee it."
"Alright, Hokage-sama."
Nara Shikato turned to glance at the Two-Tails cat, which had already closed its eyes and was enjoying the sunbath.
After taking several deep breaths, he finally calmed himself.
"The Two-Tails will indeed affect your work. This is only a temporary arrangement."
"I promised it that I would prepare a forest in Konoha for it to live in."
"Shikato, I'll leave this matter to you."
"Also, don't forget to plant a field of catnip in the forest."
Uchiha Ren had not forgotten his promise to the Two-Tails cat.
Moreover, the tailed beast's chakra waves were truly enormous.
They had already seriously affected the work efficiency of the employees in the Hokage Building.
Although he had instructed Matatabi to restrain its chakra, the results clearly weren't very good.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Nara Shikato immediately nodded.
In truth, he wanted to advise the Hokage to seal the Two-Tails away.
That would provide more safety.
But considering that the tailed beast itself was sunbathing nearby, he obediently swallowed those words.
"However, Hokage-sama, the Two-Tails belongs to Kumogakure. If Konoha privately takes possession of a tailed beast…"
"What do you mean, belongs to Kumogakure?"
"What do you take tailed beasts for? Tools?"
"Tailed beasts are intelligent living beings. They can live wherever they want."
"In the future, don't say things that harm unity with tailed beasts!"
Before Nara Shikato could finish, Uchiha Ren directly interrupted him.
The Two-Tails cat had "voluntarily" come to Konoha to live with him.
As for Kumogakure—
If they were dissatisfied, they could send Cloud shinobi to Konoha to seize it.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Nara Shikato quickly nodded.
Just now, the Two-Tails had seemed to open its eyes and stare at him.
After arranging the Two-Tails cat's matters, Nara Shikato began his work report.
"Hokage-sama, Hanzo of the Salamander from the Rain Village has requested an expansion of commercial trade between Konoha and the Land of Rain."
"Especially in areas such as grain and daily necessities."
"At present, the Land of Rain's foreign trade has been completely cut off."
"In the entire ninja world, only Konoha is maintaining normal commercial trade with the Rain Village."
"The rest are smugglers and yakuza organizations. They cannot become a significant force."
"…"
Nara Shikato reported the latest developments in the Land of Rain.
Although Hanzo of the Salamander was already doing his utmost to maintain domestic stability, the economic sanctions jointly imposed by the daimyō had caused prices within the Land of Rain to soar.
Remnants loyal to the old order had stirred up the people to cause trouble, claiming all these disasters were caused by Hanzo of the Salamander, the true culprit.
The common people always followed whoever won.
Of course, he was talking about the common people of the Land of Rain in the ninja world.
With the Land of Rain now facing internal and external troubles, the people naturally no longer supported the once-respected Hanzo of the Salamander.
They began constantly denouncing him.
The combination of internal and external factors caused large-scale public unrest in the Land of Rain from time to time.
In the past, Hanzo had been exhausted dealing with external pressure.
The allied ninja forces formed by the four great villages had left him no time to care about opposition voices inside the country.
He had always sent shinobi to suppress them bloodily.
Now, he finally had an opportunity to reorganize domestic affairs.
"What about Konoha's grain reserves right now?"
"Hokage-sama, the fertilizer produced by Konoha's fertilizer factories is in short supply."
"And the new grain seeds developed by the Technology Department Minister have completely opened up the situation in the Land of Rice Fields."
"The Land of Rice Fields is continuously supplying grain to Konoha."
"The Land of Fire is the same. Konoha can purchase grain within the Land of Fire, resell it once or twice, and then sell it to the Rain Village."
"Two major grain-producing countries supplying one Land of Rain."
"Konoha's Finance Department has already had professionals calculate it."
"We can completely do this."
Uchiha Ren nodded in satisfaction.
The preparations from the past few years had finally come into use.
If one wanted to play with industry, grain had to be sufficient.
Otherwise, one had to either exploit the food rations of one's own people or exploit outsiders.
However, Uchiha Ren truly had a kind heart.
He could not bear to see people starve to death.
"Then agree to the Land of Rain's request."
"Of course, the price can be raised just a little more."
"Friendship is friendship. Business is business."
"These are two separate matters."
"If the Land of Rain has no money, then use mineral resources to repay the debt."
"I remember the Land of Rain has gold mines, as well as some special metal deposits."
"Konoha happens to need them."
Uchiha Ren still did not forget his original intention.
He had not forgotten to profit from war.
If he didn't scrape away the Land of Rain's important assets now, when was he supposed to do it?
Still, Hanzo of the Salamander would not lose out on this deal.
In the entire ninja world, only Konoha had the strength to transfuse blood into the Land of Rain.
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
"Kakuzu has already been sharpening his blade toward the Rain Village."
"When the time comes, let him negotiate with Hanzo of the Salamander."
"He will definitely gain something."
"Then it's settled."
Uchiha Ren nodded, approving Nara Shikato's personnel recommendation.
Kakuzu's ability reassured Uchiha Ren.
After more than a year of tempering outside, he had broken through himself and directly super-evolved.
What was there not to trust?
"What about the other four great ninja villages?"
Uchiha Ren asked about the movements of the Four Great Ninja Villages.
"Sunagakure is still engaged in small-scale friction along the Land of Rain border. There has been no large-scale attack on the Rain Village."
"Kirigakure landed at the port in the Land of Bears. For now, they are stationed there."
"From the look of things, they should be planning to keep dragging things out with the Water Daimyo while continuing to observe."
"Iwagakure and Kumogakure broke out into another large-scale battle yesterday afternoon."
"Despite his injuries, the Third Raikage led Kumogakure's main force and launched a surprise attack against Iwagakure reinforcements."
A look of surprise appeared on Uchiha Ren's face.
The Third Raikage was covered in injuries, yet he still refused to quietly recover?
It seemed he truly no longer cared about his life.
"However, this time Kumogakure's attack was detected by Iwagakure in advance."
"Among Iwagakure's reinforcement forces was Roshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki."
"He jumped into Kumogakure's forces and forcibly entered tailed beast transformation."
"The Third Raikage ignored his injuries and defeated the tailed beast-transformed Roshi, then temporarily withdrew with Kumogakure forces after suffering considerable losses."
"After the battle, the Third Raikage fell unconscious due to excessive injuries."
"Soon, Onoki will probably request aid from Konoha."
After finishing the intelligence report on Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Nara Shikato stated his judgment.
The Ponzi scheme had been a joint trap set by Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure.
Now Kumogakure has vented all its rage onto Iwagakure.
This was clearly unfair.
The bad deeds had been committed together.
The benefits had been divided together.
Konoha had been the mastermind and taken the largest share.
Yet the final consequences were being carried by Iwagakure alone.
Onoki would definitely not accept this.
"Hmph. Request aid?"
"Keep dragging Iwagakure along."
"Times have changed."
"Back then, I wanted to join forces with Iwagakure and Sunagakure to deal with Kumogakure."
"That was based on the premise that Kumogakure would attack Konoha."
"Now Kumogakure and Iwagakure have already fought each other with real anger."
"Why should I interfere in the grudge between their two villages?"
"Did Konoha sign an alliance treaty with Iwagakure?"
"Why do I only remember Konoha being allied with Sunagakure?"
"Konoha only needs to openly sell weapons and medical supplies to both sides."
"They've already fought two battles in a row. They must desperately lack these materials."
"Remember to raise the prices."
Uchiha Ren snorted coldly.
He would not let Konoha get involved in the grudge between Iwagakure and Kumogakure now.
Fight.
Keep fighting.
It would be best if they beat each other to pieces.
"Hokage-sama is truly far-sighted!"
Nara Shikato climbed up the pole smoothly and began flattering Uchiha Ren.
He wanted to progress too much.
Besides, although Konoha was being rather inhuman, the feeling of being inhuman was truly wonderful.
"However, Hokage-sama, according to intelligence, the Earth Daimyo and Lightning Daimyo seem to be planning to personally step in and mediate the conflict between Kumogakure and Iwagakure."
"I see…"
"That is indeed a pity."
Uchiha Ren felt somewhat regretful.
If the Earth Daimyo and Lightning Daimyo personally stepped in to mediate, then Onoki and the Third Raikage would probably have to give their respective daimyō some face.
After all, Kumogakure and Iwagakure had only ended up fighting because of circumstances.
Onoki had carelessly boarded Konoha's black carriage.
Now, unable to jump off temporarily, he could only continue down the dark road.
Kumogakure, meanwhile, was purely unlucky.
The Ponzi scheme had exploded, and the entire village had been harvested.
To ease internal conflict, they had to find a ninja village to retaliate against.
After thinking it over, Iwagakure had been the most suitable target.
And thus, things had escalated into the current state.
Both villages had suffered heavy losses.
Both also knew that the real mastermind behind the scenes was Konoha.
But neither side had any solution.
Both were riding tigers and unable to dismount.
This war had to be fought through gritted teeth.
Trying to shake hands again and unanimously turn outward to attack Konoha?
Impossible.
The daimyō, meanwhile, were burning with anxiety.
The Rain Village, that heart-deep threat, had not yet been solved, yet two of their major ninja villages had started fighting without warning.
Normally, Iwagakure and Kumogakure could fight as much as they wanted.
The two daimyō might even be delighted by it.
The deeper the hatred between shinobi, the better!
But now, the first priority was eliminating the Rain Village.
No fighting!
Everyone had to turn outward and destroy the Rain Village!
"Besides that, Hokage-sama, the Sky Ninja Village you repeatedly instructed us to monitor has shown unusual movement."
"The Sky Ninja Village has already assembled its ninja forces."
"From the look of things, they also intend to launch a war."
"The spies planted inside the Sky Ninja Village have not yet figured out which village their target is."
Nara Shikato continued.
After listening, Uchiha Ren smiled.
The ninja world was becoming more and more chaotic.
War was breaking out everywhere.
Excellent.
Excellent!
"For intelligence regarding the Sky Ninja Village, have Chenxiang personally take action this time."
"We must determine the Sky Ninja Village's movements."
"If their target is Konoha, then we strike first."
Uchiha Ren decided to let his otouto personally act and monitor every move of the Sky Ninja Village.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
After reporting the important intelligence, Nara Shikato then reported some internal Konoha matters that were not especially important, but which Uchiha Ren still had to know.
Three days ago, the Technology Department Minister had submitted new inventions again.
He seemed to have been stimulated by something.
This time, the number of inventions submitted was far greater than last time.
Konoha held a jonin meeting.
The high-level officials still ended up fighting into a mess.
"Oh?"
"Something like that happened?"
Uchiha Ren didn't care about the high-level boxing match.
It was for money, after all.
Nothing shameful.
Instead, Senju Tobirama's abnormal behavior caught Uchiha Ren's attention.
That naturally evil Senju old ghost had definitely concealed his workload before.
Ren had suspected it long ago!
He was actually playing tricks and trying to slack off!
This was bullying Ren for not understanding scientific research!
Evil.
Truly too evil!
Unfortunately, Uchiha Ren currently had no evidence.
Even if he went to the underground laboratory and questioned Senju Tobirama, Tobirama definitely wouldn't admit it.
However, if that naturally evil Senju old ghost refused to tell the truth, then Ren might truly have to invite Uchiha Izuna out!
A fierce gleam flashed through Uchiha Ren's eyes.
Nara Shikato's heart trembled.
Did I say something wrong?
"Hokage-sama, did I say something wrong?"
"No. This has nothing to do with you."
"It's just that some unruly fellow is slacking off behind my back."
Nara Shikato shivered.
Hokage-sama was definitely pointing at him!
"Hokage-sama, I admit it. I was wrong!"
"While Hokage-sama was away handling business, I secretly slept and slacked off in my office."
Holy crap?
An unexpected harvest?
This was the Second Great Ninja War!
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