Inside the Uchiha Clan Compound, a Ninja quickly ran to Kaede's doorstep and carefully knocked a few times.
"Who are you?" Uchiha Gō opened the door, a little surprised, but not overly so. Too many people had been looking for Kaede recently.
"Gō! It's me, Uchiha Wataru! Is Lord Kaede home?" The Ninja quickly asked after a brief greeting.
"Oh, it's Wataru!" Uchiha Gō realized, this was a teammate he had been on several missions with. "He's home. Do you need him for something?"
"The Clan Head has requested his presence!"
"What!" Gō quickly opened the door, and Kaede had already appeared.
"Let's go, Uncle Wataru."
"Yes, Lord Kaede!" Uchiha Wataru was a little excited.
Kaede didn't speak. Why was the Clan Head calling him at this time?
Wataru didn't lead him to Uchiha Setsuna's residence, but rather towards the main hall. This made Kaede even more curious.
"Kaede, you've arrived." When Kaede entered the inner hall, he found that not only the Clan Head, but also the two elders and some Uchiha elites were present.
Kaede's eyes narrowed slightly. The last time they had gathered so completely was during the Night of the Clan Massacre.
"Kaede, a Ninja from another village has come to seek cooperation with our Uchiha Clan." Uchiha Setsuna explained the situation with a strange expression.
"Oh? A Ninja from another village?" Kaede showed a hint of surprise. Are Ninjas from other villages so obvious now? Coming directly to them?
Besides, he remembered Konoha had a barrier, right? Was it infiltrated so easily?
"Clan Head, which Ninja village is he from?"
"Kumogakure, that's what he said."
Interesting. How did he infiltrate Konoha and arrive at the Uchiha Clan Compound without being detected by others?
"Our clan's Ninjas have already apprehended and interrogated him once. Do you want to see him now?" Uchiha Setsuna asked, looking at Kaede.
Kaede nodded. The moment Kaede saw him, he knew how he had done it.
The visitor was very thin and small, but his face was very calm. Most importantly, he wore a Konoha forehead protector on his forehead... "Hirakawa?!" Some within the Uchiha Clan even recognized this guy.
"I apologize, I am a spy." The man didn't mind the strange looks, appearing perfectly at ease.
"Lord Clan Head, our Raikage-sama sincerely wishes to cooperate with you." Hirakawa smiled, turning his gaze to Uchiha Setsuna.
"How do you wish to cooperate?" Uchiha Setsuna asked in a deep voice.
"Soon, our Kumogakure will attack Konoha. We believe you also have a grudge against them, so why not..."
As soon as these words were uttered, many people present instantly brightened. This was a good idea!
"Only you dare to attack Konoha?" Uchiha Shien, the former Second Elder and now the Great Elder, snorted in doubt.
"Who said it's just us?" Hirakawa sneered. His mission this time was to try and persuade the Uchiha Clan, and even if he failed, he needed to know their stance. For this, his superiors had told him many secrets.
"What!?" Everyone's expressions changed. Not just one village? Then it wasn't a conflict; it was a war capable of plunging Konoha into a crisis of annihilation.
Kaede didn't speak, guessing that they had probably already figured out the news of Danzo's death.
After a moment of pause, the Uchiha members exchanged glances and finally all looked at Kaede. If Konoha really fell, they certainly wouldn't be able to stay either.
Hirakawa also noticed their gazes, his eyes filled with confusion. Why were these Uchiha looking at this brat?
"Hirakawa, right? You can safely go back and report to the Raikage that our Uchiha will not make a move." Kaede stared at him and said.
Hirakawa fell silent, shocked. When this brat said these words, no one refuted him, not even a hint of doubt, meaning he could truly make decisions for the Uchiha.
Who is this person? Why is there no intelligence about him?
"Then, about the cooperation?" Hirakawa chuckled awkwardly, looking at Uchiha Kaede with hope and asking.
Kaede shook his head. When you attack, that will be the best time for us to break away from Konoha.
"Release him!" Kaede waved his hand, instructing them to let him go.
"Kaede, should we leave Konoha at that time?" After the man left, Uchiha Setsuna asked.
Upon receiving confirmation, everyone showed varying degrees of worry and tension.
"So where do we go?"
"You'll see." Kaede casually pulled out a map of the Ninja World from behind him.
Kaede pointed to the Land of Fire's territory. Konoha was in its center, but the area Konoha occupied was actually very small.
It was called a village, but its scale was more like a city, yet even so, it didn't take up much space.
In other words, the rest of the Land of Fire could be occupied.
"Kaede, do you mean we're staying within the Land of Fire?" Uchiha Shien's eyes widened. He agreed with this idea; for them, who were used to the environment of the Land of Fire, they might not adapt to other countries.
Because the geographical environment of the Land of Fire was the best. If they were asked to go to a desolate place like the Land of Wind, many wouldn't be willing to go even if they could.
"Otherwise? How long can a team of tens of thousands of people travel?"
"But Konoha..."
Kaede smiled, "Even if Konoha is right next to us like now, they wouldn't dare to easily attack us, let alone after being besieged by numerous Ninja villages. Moreover, within the Land of Fire, other Ninja villages wouldn't easily cross borders to harass us."
"But the Daimyo of the Land of Fire won't allow us to do that." Uchiha Setsuna pondered.
"No, he will agree." Kaede found the world of Hokage very strange when he thought about this. He had seen financial separation, but financial and military separation was a first for him.
The Hokage system was entirely like this; the Kages, who possessed Ninja armies, still relied on the Daimyo to provide wealth.
If this were his previous life, the Daimyo would at most control the money bags of those who commanded armies, and would have no real power.
What a strange political system. Why haven't the Kages here ever thought of becoming the masters of their countries?
"Bastard!!" Just as the Uchiha were discussing their new clan compound, Rasa in the Hidden Sand Village was completely enraged.
Ever since the incident with Baki and the Uchiha last time, he had always wanted to attack Konoha.
Later, following Chiyo's advice, he contacted Kumogakure and Iwagakure. As expected, these two also had designs on Konoha.
Thus, the three Ninja villages hit it off immediately and began mobilization and discussions, though currently these discussions were only among the high-ranking officials.
Recently, news spread that Danzo was gone. The three Ninja villages inquired, sending people to contact Danzo, but all found no one.
This further incited the hearts of these guys, but waging war was nothing more than for profit. It just so happened that in the distribution of profits, the three Ninja villages had a slight disagreement.
Kumogakure's proposal was: Kumogakure five parts, Iwagakure three parts, Sunagakure two parts.
Iwagakure's proposal was: Iwagakure and Kumogakure each four parts, Sunagakure two parts.
Sunagakure, under everyone's persuasion, Rasa reluctantly proposed three parts for each of the three Ninja villages, with the remaining one part divided equally.
Rasa, who initially thought he was at a disadvantage, completely erupted in rage after hearing the offers from the other two Ninja villages. What did this mean?! Why do we get the least!?
At this time, Rasa's office was surrounded by Sunagakure's high-ranking officials, who also looked helpless. There was nothing they could do, as they were the weakest. The other two Ninja villages each had two Tailed Beasts, and even perfect Jinchuriki.
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