The genie thought the Sage of Six Paths would take a passive approach, as he always did.
In the original timeline, he didn't officially act until Obito and Madara announced their ambitions, and Naruto and Sasuke both fell.
But from another perspective, once someone has the chance to successfully control the ninja world and affect core interests, the Sage of Six Paths will immediately stop being silent, proving that the old guy is still very proactive.
The genie wasn't sure what role Hidan played in the Sage of Six Paths' plan.
After all, Hidan's faith had really changed.
This matter could be big or small. If it were the former, the Sage of Six Paths would still need to weigh the cost of dealing with the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, letting Sasuke and Naruto test the waters first. But crushing Orochimaru wouldn't take much effort.
The 'Truth-Seeking Ball' alone is an unsolvable problem for Orochimaru.
Orochimaru licked his lips, "...I underestimated Hidan's situation."
He was only thinking about completely controlling Hidan as a useful test subject, but he didn't expect the hidden danger behind it.
"Don't worry too much. The worst that can happen is death."
The genie spread his hands, a smile appearing on his lips,
"Anyway, with me around, if you reach the Pure Land, it's like coming home. If you really die, we can just switch to another method of eternal life."
Orochimaru pondered for a moment and then smiled, "But that's just a last resort."
He preferred to follow his own pace and didn't want to be forced to that point.
"It seems I need to push the plan forward as soon as possible."
Orochimaru looked up at the starry sky, and his figure disappeared into the night.
...
"What? The bloodline families of Kirigakure?"
Mifune looked at the information in his hand, stood up suddenly, his face extremely ugly.
The samurai Okisuke squeezed next to the leader, his bull-like eyes wide open, muttering, "How is this possible?"
The white paper clearly described the recent situation in the Land of Iron. In the past half month, the former Kirigakure families, led by the Kaguya clan and the Yuki clan, had suppressed several rebellions and gained a firm foothold in the Land of Iron.
Moreover, they had a continuous stream of clansmen migrating from the Land of Water, whether they had ninja abilities or were just ordinary people.
If this continued, it wouldn't be long before they completely replaced the samurai villages.
"This is impossible. How could Kusagakure be so generous? Aren't they afraid these ninjas will split off directly?"
The samurai Okisuke rushed forward, grabbing the white-haired boy's collar, roaring, "You must be lying to me!"
Kakashi calmly wiped the saliva from his face, not resisting, letting the other party roar.
He understood the other's feelings. If Konoha was destroyed and the enemy occupied the village, his reaction wouldn't be much better.
What was even more infuriating was that Kusagakure had sent many managers, along with the military force of the bloodline families, to begin using a gentle policy. Many of the original Land of Iron residents were calmed down.
After all, they had no power, only some production skills. Without the protection of the samurai, choosing to submit was only natural.
In the ninja world, where wars frequently happen, national sentiment is only talked about by a small number of extremists and large ninja villages. The ordinary people of small countries are not considered a big deal.
The reason why the people of the Land of Iron were still hesitating was probably because Kusagakure's reputation wasn't that great, and it might not be able to protect them for decades.
But given enough time, things could change.
"The team protecting the Land of Iron samurai's retreat will return in the next two days."
Kakashi said blankly, "They should know something about the situation. You can ask them."
The samurai Okisuke's face twisted, turning pale and then green. He was about to lose his temper again, but another samurai quickly pulled him away.
The samurai Okisuke swayed, helplessly let go of Kakashi's collar, his spirit suddenly weakening. He sat down on a chair, his face dejected, sulking to himself.
"..."
Mifune read the intelligence documents over and over, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
As small countries, Kusagakure and the Land of Iron were not that different in strength. He originally thought that even if the other side was lucky enough to get a tailed beast-like weapon, it would inevitably be destroyed.
But seeing it rise high, seeing it... gain a firm foothold.
This was different from what he had imagined
Mifune suddenly realized that Kusagakure was different from the isolated Land of Iron. Surrounded by ninja villages, its methods of struggling to survive and managing things were much stronger than the samurai villages.
If things continued like this, the Land of Iron would probably disappear.
Although he still had a considerable amount of funds, public sentiment was against him, and this money wouldn't do much good.
Thinking of this, Mifune didn't have the confidence to drag things out. He looked at Kakashi and said in a deep voice, "I want to see the Third Hokage."
...
Hokage's office.
After listening to Mifune's purpose, the Third Hokage puffed out a long stream of smoke from his pipe and said slowly,
"I understand your feelings, but right now, Konoha is willing but unable to help."
"How can that be? Konoha's strength is completely capable of doing it."
Mifune heard the implied meaning in these words and couldn't help but frown.
Although the Nine-Tails chaos had caused Konoha to suffer heavy losses, with Jiraiya and Tsunade returning to the village, Konoha's high-level combat power had been replenished.
Any one of the 'Sannin' could match the power of a tailed beast. Someone like Orochimaru might even exceed that. Even if Kusagakure had another 'Box of Paradise', it wouldn't be a match for Konoha.
"The tallest tree catches the most wind. In the ninja world, Konoha's opponent isn't just Kusagakure."
The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen pulled out a document from the pile of papers and handed it to Mifune, "This is the latest intelligence from the ninja world."
Mifune took the document and his face changed after just one glance, "How is this possible? The Hidden Hot Water Village has joined the Land of Grass?"
Mifune's mind was in a mess, in great shock, "The Hidden Hot Water Village, how dare they? Kumogakure wouldn't agree..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was expressionless, "Don't worry, keep reading."
Hearing the Third Hokage say this, Mifune continued to browse, his face becoming more and more ugly.
The Land of Grass, the Land of Waterfall, the Land of Iron, and the Land of Hot Water were completely connected. Except for military affairs, almost everything was shared. Kusagakure ninja didn't directly control the Land of Hot Water. They even allowed the Hidden Hot Water Village to remain, only sending some personnel to coordinate and manage.
This was actually a good thing for the original leaders of the Hidden Hot Water Village.
Because after the war stopped, the Hidden Hot Water Village was also constantly shrinking.
The reason why the Land of Lightning agreed to this was because, according to the information, Kusagakure completely refused to communicate with the Land of Fire, seemingly determined to oppose Konoha.
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