Hearing Danzo's words, Minamikawa Yuu's mouth couldn't help but twitch. At this moment, he didn't even know what to say.
Wiping out one's own ally first so as not to give the enemy a chance to strike—such words would be hard for an ordinary person to even utter.
But if it's Danzo, then it's actually quite reasonable.
It fits his character perfectly.
Benefiting himself at the expense of others, with no bottom line—that is Danzo's nature.
Originally, in his youth, this trait of Danzo's hadn't been too pronounced.
But as he gained power, it became increasingly obvious.
And truthfully...
If they followed Danzo's proposal, it actually had quite a bit of feasibility.
After all, given the relationship between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan, the Uzumaki Clan would never expect Konoha's people to launch a sudden surprise attack.
As long as they arranged for people to enter the Land of Whirlpools and then suddenly made their move, they could easily take down the entire Uzumaki Clan.
The entire process might not even incur many losses.
After all, in the eyes of the Uzumaki Clan, Konoha was firmly one of their own, and they wouldn't be on guard against many things.
Once the Uzumaki Clan was destroyed, the inheritance of Sealing Techniques and the Bloodline Limit possessed by the Uzumaki Clan would fall completely into Konoha's hands, giving others no chance to covet them.
The entire plan was actually quite feasible, and the benefits to be gained were many.
The only problem was that it was a bit unscrupulous.
"Are you crazy, Danzo!"
Homura Mitokado and the others stared at Danzo as if looking at a madman: "The Uzumaki Clan is our ally, and you actually dare to have such thoughts!"
"So what if they are allies, and so what if they are enemies?"
Under the gaze of Homura Mitokado and the others, Danzo's expression remained calm, his face full of coldness: "In this chaotic era, the positions of ally and enemy are like a revolving wheel, liable to change at any moment."
"The Uzumaki Clan is Konoha's ally today, but who knows if they will betray Konoha tomorrow."
"Only by holding the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques and Bloodline Limit firmly in our hands will Konoha avoid suffering losses or giving others the chance to plunder them."
"You're crazy!"
Hearing this, Homura Mitokado and the others found it somewhat unacceptable.
The originally quiet meeting room soon erupted into an argument.
Minamikawa Yuu stood to the side, watching the quarreling group with interest, finding it quite amusing.
After succeeding as Hokage, he finally understood the Third Hokage's original mindset.
In the position of Hokage, while people who work diligently are indispensable, someone like Danzo, who is responsible for doing Konoha's dirty work, cannot be entirely absent either.
Otherwise, if the moral standards of the entire Village were too high, should the need arise to do something unspeakable, there wouldn't even be a subordinate capable of handling it.
Danzo was undoubtedly the best candidate for arranging dirty work.
"Enough."
Seeing the argument before him grow more heated, Minamikawa Yuu reached out his hand and stopped the dispute.
"Mr. Danzo, say less."
He spoke indifferently: "Regardless of what the future holds, at least for now, the Land of Whirlpools is still our ally."
"Under this premise, what we should discuss is how to prevent our ally from being attacked by Kumogakure, not how to murder our own ally."
"Within the Village, Lady Mito is still watching."
In the current Konoha Village, Uzumaki Mito was still alive.
Given her relationship with the Uzumaki Clan, how could she possibly watch Konoha strike at her own kin?
That would be far too unrealistic.
If Konoha wanted to move against the Uzumaki Clan, there would be quite a mess to deal with afterward.
Uzumaki Mito simply didn't like fighting; it didn't mean she lacked the ability to do so.
Danzo Shimura likely didn't understand Mito's power, which is why he was acting so arrogant now.
His proposal was impossible to realize from the very start.
"Yuu, you will regret this!"
Hearing Minamikawa Yuu's words, Danzo Shimura fixed his gaze on him, his eyes revealing clear disappointment.
What's the situation?
Hearing Danzo Shimura's words, Minamikawa Yuu's expression became a bit strange.
For some reason, looking at the scene and Danzo's face, he had a strange sense of déjà vu.
"Danzo."
Thus, in front of everyone, he spoke again: "I am the Hokage."
"Hmph!"
Being rejected by Minamikawa Yuu, Danzo slammed the door and left, carrying an air of 'the whole world is drunk while I alone am sober'.
That felt good.
Watching this scene, a smile appeared on Minamikawa Yuu's face.
He looked toward Utatane Koharu: "Within the Land of Fire, where is the closest place to the Land of Whirlpools?"
"This... it should be this stretch of coast near the Land of Whirlpools."
Utatane Koharu took the map, searched it for a while, and then spoke: "From here, it only takes half a day to reach the Land of Whirlpools to provide support."
"Then let's build a base there."
Minamikawa Yuu spoke indifferently: "It just so happens that our control over the Land of Fire should also become deeper."
Some time ago, while the Konoha and Kumogakure coalition was fighting against the Kinkaku Brothers' rebel army, many things had also happened within the Land of Fire.
For example, a large number of Konoha Ninja were dispatched from Konoha to begin suppressing bandits throughout the Land of Fire.
Regarding Konoha's actions, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire and the local nobles were initially supportive.
After all, suppressing bandits was beneficial to them, as it could make their territories much more stable.
At first, the results of this special clearing operation were quite good. Under the heavy blows of the Konoha Ninja, bandits everywhere disappeared, and public security reached an unprecedented level of quality.
But after that, the local lords gradually began to feel that something was wrong.
The Konoha Ninja were indeed serious about suppressing bandits.
But after you've finished suppressing the bandits, why aren't you leaving?
That's right, under Minamikawa Yuu's instructions, the Konoha Ninja had established small outposts in various parts of the Land of Fire.
These outposts were often built on smooth roads or prosperous trade routes, established under the name of bandit suppression.
In the beginning, they were indeed suppressing bandits, but later on, these outposts directly changed roles and became toll stations.
Their main function shifted from bandit suppression to collecting transit taxes from passing merchants.
No matter who it was, anyone wishing to pass through these outposts had to pay a tax.
It was called, quite beautifully, a trade route protection fee.
"After all, I've sent troops to protect your safety along the way; shouldn't you pay a little protection fee?"
"You should know, our bandit suppression is free!"
At this time, the local lords and the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire learned that what is free is often the most expensive.
Once the Konoha bandit suppression units arrived, the bandits were gone, but the Konoha people never left.
And there was nothing they could do about them.
They certainly couldn't win in a fight.
Within the Land of Fire, Konoha was the strongest and the only military organization.
Looking across the entire Land of Fire, Konoha could easily say that there wasn't a single person around who could put up a fight.
Even if independent powers like the Fire Temple existed and possessed some strength, if they dared to oppose Konoha, they would similarly face the single outcome of being easily wiped out.
And nominally, Konoha was still the military organization for the entire Land of Fire, and the Hokage was the supreme military commander of the Land of Fire, with the personal certification and endorsement of the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire.
As the supreme military leader of the Land of Fire, it's quite reasonable for me to lead the military in implementing martial law and bandit suppression throughout the Land of Fire, right?
Establishing outposts specifically for bandit suppression, for long-term and professional bandit suppression, is also quite reasonable, right?
Konoha not only had sufficient strength but was also not lacking in nominal authority.
It was itself the legitimate military organization of the Land of Fire, with the Feudal Lord's endorsement.
If those local lords were unwilling to comply, they were free to do as they pleased.
However, if they were too casual, they might also unlock various ways to die.
For example, accidental drowning, disappearance, suicide, and the like.
In this world, making someone commit suicide was quite easy.
With a glare from the Sharingan and the application of Genjutsu, an ordinary person wouldn't even have the chance to resist.
In just a short time, relying on these outposts, Konoha already had a trend of hollowing out the entire noble class of the Land of Fire.
And once this step was reached, Minamikawa Yuu's next plan was to build military bases throughout the Land of Fire to better bring the entire Land of Fire under control.
This was both a necessity for development and a practical requirement.
Only by reaching this step could Minamikawa Yuu fully bring out the potential of the entire Land of Fire.
Now, since there was the consideration of protecting the Uzumaki Clan, it was just perfect.
"Designate this base as Base No. 1 and start construction immediately."
He spoke thus: "Once its construction is complete, be the first to lead people to be stationed there to ensure the safety of the Land of Whirlpools."
"Yes."
Utatane Koharu nodded before him.
"What does the Feudal Lord think of our actions during this period?"
Minamikawa Yuu then looked toward Homura Mitokado.
"The Feudal Lord... seems to have quite a few complaints."
Homura Mitokado hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Regarding the Village establishing checkpoints and collecting tariffs throughout the Land of Fire, His Lordship the Feudal Lord seems very angry."
"If things continue like this, our Village might lose the Feudal Lord's funding."
"Lose the Feudal Lord's funding?"
Minamikawa Yuu smiled: "Is that all?"
"Actually, many other things were said."
Homura Mitokado spoke: "But at the moment, the only means of threat he can use against the Village is just this."
The so-called Feudal Lord was, in the end, just that.
If Ninjas hadn't realized the power they held in their hands and were content to act as tools under the Feudal Lord, that would be one thing.
But when Ninjas realized that the so-called Feudal Lords were all a bunch of paper tigers, completely vulnerable, then the so-called Feudal Lord didn't amount to much.
For example, right now.
Facing Konoha's expansion and encroachment throughout the Land of Fire, the only thing the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire could do was actually just threaten with the annual funding.
"Nothing but a bunch of paper tigers."
Minamikawa Yuu laughed softly, completely unconcerned.
Not just him; the others present also didn't care about the Feudal Lord's threat.
The Feudal Lord not providing funding to the Village—if such a thing happened in other Villages, it might be very serious, and if not handled well, it could directly affect the Village's survival.
For example, that was the case with the Sand Village.
But for the current Konoha, it was nothing.
The reason was simple: they had money.
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