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Chapter 331: Sand Ninja: With Cloud Ninjas Outside and the Help of the Heavenly Fortress, How Can We
Chapter 331: Sand Ninja: With Cloud Ninjas Outside and the Help of the Heavenly Fortress, How Can We Lose?
In the conference room, everyone's gaze was fixed on Ye Cang, who sat at the end, her face filled with displeasure, yet she could only grit her teeth and endure.
Only the core members were present, so there was no need to hide Ye Cang's existence from them.
"Now she's also a member of the Heavenly Fortress!" introduced Dong Ping, who sat at the head of the table.
With his assurance, everyone would accept her.
Would they doubt her?
Of course not, because they understood Dong Ping's character. If he dared to say this, he must have a plan.
Even Ye Cang's usually 'tough' demeanor softened.
She had already experienced the terror of the Celestial Seal.
If she harbored ill intentions towards Dong Ping or tried to leak information, her body would become immobile (Tongue Banishing Seal).
"What about the Sand Ninja's reaction?" asked Uchiha Meika, seated in the first position on the left.
Ye Cang wasn't an ordinary person, and if she defected to them, the Sand Ninja would never let it go.
"Halve the price of the goods we're selling, and announce that Ye Cang is a 'stationed' envoy from the Sand Ninja!" Dong Ping revealed his premeditated strategy.
With benefits and face at stake, he was confident the other party would agree.
They dared not reveal the truth publicly; otherwise, the villagers would learn that the village had colluded with the Mist Ninja to harm their 'hero,' and public opinion would waver.
This was also an 'opportunity.'
Dong Ping had long wanted to monopolize trade in the Land of Wind.
Now, by lowering prices, he would give those competitors a small price shock.
Although this would reduce the Sand Ninja's profits, it would also significantly lower their procurement costs, resulting in an overall gain.
For the Sand Ninja, profits were essential, but breaking free from the control of the nobles and merchants was even more critical.
With this benefit, it was an absolute boon for them, so ignoring Ye Cang was not impossible. Moreover, it provided a 'step down.'
Nominally, Ye Cang was still a member of the Sand Ninja, but she would reside in the Heavenly Fortress, working for them.
With this step down, they would naturally maintain their face.
If the Sand Ninja didn't care about face, the Heavenly Fortress would help them save face.
After receiving Dong Ping's answer, Uchiha Meika no longer inquired about the impact of Ye Cang's addition.
She was only a Shadow-level Ninja!
In the past, she might have considered her extremely important.
But now, with the Mangekyo Sharingan, she was confident she could suppress the other party.
She even had confidence against Hyuga Cangyue.
Hmph... Once she transplanted her superhuman organs, she would definitely teach this 'vixen' a lesson.
Uchiha Meika's gaze clashed with Hyuga Cangyue.
There was no personal conflict between the two; it was due to a certain reason that they were completely incompatible.
However, they were both well-aware of their boundaries, so they always acted as if Dong Ping wasn't there, and the higher-ups in the organization also treated it as a joke, never getting involved.
Even Ren, the 'sister and disciple' of Hyuga Hanabi, did the same.
"What's the situation with the Stone Ninja and Sand Ninja now?" Dong Ping asked Medic Yawara Yuzuki.
At this moment, Doro had secretly been sent to the Leaf Village and had officially started 'school.'
"Both ninja armies have entered the Land of Birds... and the Cloud Hidden Village has also mobilized troops at the border!" Medic Yawara Yuzuki revealed the gathered intelligence.
The Bird Droppings War had already erupted.
After all, bird droppings were too crucial for increasing food production and improving soil quality; no one could afford to give them up.
It wasn't just the ninja villages; even the Five Great Nations felt the same.
Whoever controlled the Land of Birds would significantly enhance their strength, so both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth fully supported the ninja villages' actions.
This was why the Bird Droppings War erupted so quickly.
The 'backers' had spoken, and as the hired hands, the ninja villages had no choice but to act.
And the scale was not small!
The Stone Ninja went all out from the start, with Yellow Earth and Han leading the Explosive Team, totaling around three thousand ninja troops.
The Sand Ninja, led by Lo Sha and Eizo, along with their Puppet Team, were not to be outdone, mustering over a thousand ninja soldiers.
As mentioned earlier, the Stone Ninja had the largest numbers, but their average quality was far inferior to the other ninja villages, making the two sides evenly matched.
The Stone Ninja weren't incapable of deploying more ninja forces, but because of the Cloud Hidden Village's actions, Da Yimu could only choose to hold his troops and have the Jinchuriki, Old Purple, lead a force to guard against the Cloud Ninja.
After all, during the previous Great Ninja War, the Stone Ninja had suddenly attacked the Cloud Ninja, directly leading to the death of the Third Raikage.
The Cloud Ninja hadn't forgotten this grudge, so the Stone Ninja naturally had to be on guard against them taking advantage of the situation to invade the Land of Earth.
The Cloud Ninja might seem brainless, but they were actually quite clever.
They knew that if they let the Sand Ninja fight the Stone Ninja alone, they would be beaten so badly that they'd be left with nothing but their own feces. So, they intentionally created this situation to tie up a significant portion of the Stone Ninja's forces.
Of course, the Cloud Ninja weren't just sitting idle.
Ninja squads frequently crossed the Land of the Moon and the Land of Soup, directly invading the Land of Fire.
As the 'second-in-command' of the ninja world, the Cloud Ninja dreamed of dragging Konoha into the fray, allowing them to take the top spot.
They were willing to do anything to weaken Konoha.
This small-scale invasion was an attempt to disrupt Konoha's recovery and, if possible, engage in localized warfare.
Otherwise, in terms of development, the Cloud Ninja couldn't compete with Konoha.
But that's fine; I don't need to out-develop you; I just need you to be unable to develop.
That was the Cloud Ninja's mindset.
This move also kept the belligerent Cloud Ninja battle-ready, demonstrating their strength to the Stone Ninja, ensuring they couldn't ignore them.
A multi-faceted strategy!
The previously calm situation in Konoha was indeed affected.
Fortunately, the Great Ninja War had ended just over a year ago, and all the major ninja villages had suffered heavy losses, so they exercised restraint. Otherwise, a spark could ignite a fourth war at any moment.
During this time of unrest in the ninja world, the Heavenly Fortress was perhaps the most peaceful place.
Not only was it unaffected by the turmoil, but it became even livelier.
After all, the more turbulent the situation, the higher the prices of various resources, presenting a golden opportunity to make money.
The only problem was how to safely and efficiently transport the produced resources to their destinations.
At the same time, productivity was at its peak!
With the Sand Ninja preparing for war, they needed to procure a large amount of resources and weapons.
In the past, they would even have to borrow money to gather enough for the war, which is why they were controlled by the nobles.
But with the Heavenly Fortress as a procurement channel, they could purchase both basic resources and weapons in large quantities at low prices.
The Sand Ninja's confidence this time stemmed from the Cloud Ninja's external pressure and the Heavenly Fortress's internal support.
Otherwise, did they really not understand the gap between them and the Stone Ninja?
"Next, our main task is the Land of Tea..."
After listening to the intelligence report, Dong Ping began to assign the next focus for the Heavenly Fortress.
This was to take advantage of the moment when the major powers were distracted and develop the Land of Tea.
"But this will require at least tens of millions of people, countless Wooden Oxen, and resources... Transporting these things will be incredibly challenging!"
Asahagami Seifu, who had rushed to the meeting, voiced the practical difficulties.
Currently, he held two identities.
Minister of the Land of Ghosts and Minister of Internal Affairs of the Heavenly Fortress.
There was no other choice; his abilities were genuinely powerful, and with his rich governance experience, he was the most suitable for this position.
With the Phantom, flattening mountains and lakes was not a problem.
The issue was that utilizing the cultivated land required a massive population and resources.
And transportation was extremely difficult.
Coastal areas could use ships for transportation, but inland regions were inaccessible by ship, and using horse-drawn carriages was too inefficient.
"Rest assured, I've gathered you here today to introduce something to you!"
Dong Ping announced with a proud expression.
Yes, today was also a product launch.
(End of Chapter)
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