Chapter 155 Mei Terumi, the Opticist
"What kind of joint defense plan does Lord Hokage intend to propose?" Iwata Sawaki hesitated for a moment before asking.
He needed to consult the Daimyo before deciding on economic cooperation, but he could make decisions about military cooperation.
"That's even simpler," Uchiha Touhuan said with a smile. "For every country that joins the alliance, Konoha will send troops along with their own ninja forces to guard the border.
This way, any force that dares to invade our allies will be considered to be declaring war on Konoha."
"Of course, the cost of the stationed troops will still be borne by the countries being garrisoned, since we are helping others defend their territory," Uchiha Touhuan added with a smile.
"I understand." Iwata Sawaki nodded. With Uchiha Touhuan's words, he felt much more at ease. After all, if it was just a paper alliance, he wouldn't really trust Konoha, given Konoha's history of abandoning allies—wasn't that how the Land of Whirlpools perished?
However, if it's about stationing troops, it's essentially paying Konoha to guard their border, which is a different story. If any force dares to cross the border, it would be tantamount to directly starting a war with Konoha.
"Furthermore, after the troops are stationed, your national security will be the responsibility of Konoha. However, the command of your ninja forces will also be transferred to us," Uchiha Touhuan said.
"After all, we also need to prevent our allies from dragging Konoha into the vortex of war due to irrational behavior. That would be contrary to our goals. Iwata-san, you understand that, right?"
"I understand, but the transfer of command..." Iwata Sawaki hesitated.
"As I said, Mr. Iwata, there's no need to rush. Such an important matter should be considered carefully before making a decision," Uchiha Touhuan said with a smile. "However, to show Konoha's sincerity, regardless of whether the alliance is established or not, Konoha will help you resolve your village's Jinchuriki issue."
"Thank you for your generosity, Hokage," Iwata Sawaki said, somewhat moved. Before coming to Konoha, Iwata Sawaki had prepared himself for difficulties from Uchiha Touhuan, given the Uchiha clan's notorious reputation for being difficult to deal with, and their recent destruction of most of Village Hidden in the Grass.
But after this interaction, Iwata Sawaki found Uchiha Touhuan incredibly easy to get along with. Compared to the constantly aggressive Onoki, Uchiha Touhuan was practically an angel!
As for Village Hidden in the Grass's recent ordeal, it was entirely their own doing. They had already issued a statement, yet the Village Hidden in the Grass group persisted, which naturally angered them.
Moreover, from another perspective, if Konoha truly achieves full cooperation with them in the future, wouldn't Takigakure be even safer with such a powerful and domineering ally?
Iwata Sawaki's expression kept changing, while Uchiha Touhuan watched all this with a smile. He wondered when this guy would realize that free things are often the most expensive.
"Hokage, please allow me to return and discuss this with the Daimyo before making a decision. Next time I come, I will bring all the Jinchuriki from our village with me," Iwata Sawaki said, bowing to Uchiha Touhuan.
"No problem, Konoha always welcomes friends with open arms," Uchiha Touhuan said with a smile.
...
Soon, Iwata Sawaki, beaming with joy, embarked on his journey back home. Uchiha Touhuan personally saw him off.
After watching Iwata Sawaki leave, Kakashi approached Uchiha Touhuan and asked curiously, "Are you really planning to form an alliance with them? That old man Onoki probably won't just sit idly by and let their Land of Waterfall fall into our arms." "
An alliance?" Uchiha Touhuan scoffed, watching Iwata Sawaki and his group's departing figures. "An alliance my ass. A small country led by such incompetent leaders will only drag us down."
"Then why are you offering them such generous terms?" Kakashi asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Hehe, fishing is all about baiting the hook, otherwise the real big fish won't bite," Uchiha Touhuan chuckled.
"Next, let Captain Fugaku and Miura Kazuo make a trip to the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Springs. Submit this alliance plan to their daimyo in the name of the Fire Daimyo.
Those two daimyo are notoriously incompetent, and they don't have any powerful ninja villages within their borders.
I bet they'd love for us to help them guard their borders. Besides, the Land of Frost separates them from the Land of Lightning, so the resistance to our alliance shouldn't be too great."
"I understand," Kakashi nodded. "Then I'll head back to the guard unit."
"Won't you come over to my place for a bit?" Uchiha Touhuan raised an eyebrow.
"That's enough. Every time I go to your place, you drag me along to help you with those village papers," Kakashi said, flashing a Sharingan.
"Sigh, if only there were someone in the village like Miura Kazuo who could handle these trivial matters for me," Uchiha Touhuan said regretfully.
"If all else fails, just reinstate Shikaku and the others," Kakashi suggested.
"Forget it, reinstating those three clans isn't the right thing to do right now.
I have other plans for them," Uchiha Touhuan said, stretching his joints. "Being Hokage isn't easy. I don't know why the Third Hokage clung to power so tightly back then."
...
After Uchiha Touhuan returned to the Hokage's office, a portly middle-aged man emerged from the floor. Just as Uchiha Touhuan was about to reach for the Lightning Blade from the sword rack beside him, the man snapped to attention and saluted: "Salute to Lord Touhuan! Loyal! Devoted!"
Uchiha Touhuan: ...
"Tobi?" Uchiha Touhuan raised an eyebrow. Of all the people he knew, only Tobi always saluted him in that tone.
"It's me!" The middle-aged man in front of Uchiha Touhuan began to change form, quickly transforming into a White Zetsu.
"Don't appear so suddenly next time. I almost killed you with one strike." Uchiha Touhuan withdrew his hand, somewhat speechless, before speaking, "Speak, what brings you here?"
"Lord Touhuan, the identity you entrusted to me last time, the one to infiltrate the Kirigakure resistance, is ready.
The Village Hidden in the Mist resistance leader, Terumi Mei, is about to make a significant move, so Lord Indra sent me to inform you and seek your advice," Tobi said.
"Is that so?" Uchiha Touhuan nodded, then formed hand seals to create a shadow clone, saying to Tobi, "Then I'll go with you."
Soon, Tobi transformed into a White Zetsu cloak, wrapping around Uchiha Touhuan's shadow clone, and then disappeared from the Hokage's office.
Two hours later, Uchiha Touhuan's shadow clone arrived at a house in a town in the northwest of the Land of Water, where Black Zetsu was already waiting.
"Ancestor." Uchiha Touhuan's shadow clone emerged from the ground and greeted Black Zetsu.
"You've finally arrived." Black Zetsu said hurriedly after seeing Uchiha Touhuan brought to him, "Quickly think of a solution. That woman you met last time has developed a huge force in the Land of Water during this time, and they're already showing signs of slipping out of our control."
Uchiha Touhuan frowned upon hearing this: "So fast? It's only been less than two weeks, and where is this?"
"This is a town in the eastern part of the Land of Water, and also the stronghold of the Village Hidden in the Mist rebels," Black Zetsu said.
"Since that woman officially became the leader of the rebels, she led her people to escape from Village Hidden in the Mist and established this secret stronghold here.
Furthermore, when she fled Village Hidden in the Mist, she took with her a large number of civilian ninjas dissatisfied with the Fourth Mizukage, as well as some ninja clan survivors who escaped the conflict." "
Moreover, they shouted the slogan of the new Will of Water, and many strong individuals joined them because of this new slogan. Two of the current Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist have joined," Black Zetsu said. "
Is that so?" Uchiha Touhuan raised an eyebrow. "Which two broken swords are they the owners of?"
Black Zetsu glanced at Uchiha Touhuan.
Anyone who could inherit one of the seven ninja swords passed down in Village Hidden in the Mist would be considered a strong person anywhere in the ninja world, but in Uchiha Touhuan's words, they were the owners of broken swords.
However, Uchiha Touhuan really had the right to say that.
Back in the Village Hidden in the Mist battlefield, Village Hidden in the Mist had sent the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to ambush Uchiha Touhuan, but at that time, Uchiha Touhuan, who had just awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan and whose strength was far inferior to his current power, single-handedly defeated all seven of them, forcing them to flee in terror.
If Uchiha Touhuan hadn't been unaware of the Mangekyou Sharingan's power at that time, those seven wouldn't have had the opportunity to later launch a surprise attack on Konoha.
"It's the owner of the broken sword, Kubikiribōchō (Decapitating Carving Knife) , Zabuza Momochi , and the new owner of the Greatsword Samehada (Shark Skin) , Kisame Hoshigaki. Moreover, when they fled Village Hidden in the Mist, they also took the Twin Swords, Hiramekarei. I estimate they will soon find the successor to this sword," Black Zetsu said.
"Did you inquire about the content of the new Will of Water that woman shouted?" Uchiha Touhuan asked.
"Is that important?" Black Zetsu was somewhat puzzled. Wasn't it just a slogan? Was it really worth Uchiha Touhuan asking about?
"Of course." Uchiha Touhuan nodded. "Their new slogan has managed to gather so many people in such a short time, it must have some merit, and this is related to my future plans."
"Stagnant water only breeds decay and germs, only a continuous flow of fresh water can nurture new life, and we are that clean fresh water.
Our mission is to cleanse the village of its filth and bring new life to it." At this moment, Tobi suddenly spoke up, imitating Mei Terumi's voice, speaking with great passion.
Uchiha Touhuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Mei Terumi is quite something.
"What else did she do?" Uchiha Touhuan asked.
"When she fled Village Hidden in the Mist, she took a lot of money and ninjutsu left behind by the annihilated ninja clans.
She distributed these things to the civilians who followed her, so the strength of these civilian ninjas increased dramatically in a short time. As for the survivors of those ninja clans, she contributed money and effort to help them rebuild the shrine in this town, so that their clan name would not be lost." Tobi said.
"This sounds familiar," Uchiha Touhuan chuckled.
"Yes," Tobi said, "it's very similar to your actions in Konoha. That's because Mei Terumi has been analyzing your information. She wants to replicate the miracles you and the Uchiha clan created in Kirigakure." "
When she's thinking about a problem, her most frequent phrase is: 'Think about what Uchiha Touhuan would do.'"
As soon as Tobi finished speaking, Uchiha Touhuan almost couldn't hold back. He really hadn't expected that he would have fans in Village Hidden in the Mist, and the kind of fans who genuinely wanted to learn from him.
"So, in a sense, this woman can be considered my apprentice?" Uchiha Touhuan laughed.
"Yes," Tobi nodded.
"She has indeed learned something." Uchiha Touhuan smiled. Putting everything else aside, their slogan alone was definitely not something that the political level of the ninja world could come up with.
"So, Lord Touhuan, what should we do?" Tobi asked.
"She's already put in so much effort, so of course we have to help her out," Uchiha Touhuan laughed. "Although this girl has worked hard enough, she's only analyzed things from limited information. She's only scratched the surface of my abilities.
When it comes to rebellion, the most important thing is to adapt to the circumstances; blindly copying others won't work." "Is the identity we prepared for me okay?" Uchiha Touhuan asked.
"Of course," Tobi said, attaching himself to Uchiha Touhuan's shadow clone again. Soon, Uchiha Touhuan transformed into a middle-aged man with an ordinary face and a receding hairline, which he could only cover with a headband.
"Your current identity is Satake Masato. You were once a commoner Jonin in Village Hidden in the Mist. You were killed by Yagura Karatachi's Anbu while fleeing Kirigakure, and your identity was secretly taken over by us. Now you are a captain in the resistance army, barely able to enter the decision-making level of the Village Hidden in the Mist resistance army," Tobi said.
"Can you speak for yourself at the decision-making level?" Uchiha Touhuan's disguised clone nodded. "That saves me a lot of trouble."
"However, you should still be careful during your operation," Black Zetsu reminded him. "The rebels possess a Byakugan that can see through White Zetsu's disguise. Fortunately, the one who possesses the Byakugan isn't here; he's inside Village Hidden in the Mist as an infiltrator for the rebels." "
Can't we just have Yagura Karatachi deal with that guy?" Uchiha Touhuan asked.
"It's difficult," Black Zetsu shook his head. "That guy is a Kirigakure elder. Without a suitable reason, even the Mizukage can't remove him."
"Alright, I understand." Uchiha Touhuan's shadow clone smiled, pushing open the door to the room, secretly thinking:
[Mei Terumi, your master's here.]
Read 15+ Chapters Advanced chapters ahead at Patreon.
[email protected]/Horizons685
(End of Chapter)