https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-667-The-Dispute-within-the-Leaf-Shinshu/12937960/
Chapter 668: Might Guy's Life Mission Settlement
Chapter 668: Might Guy's Life Mission Settlement
Inside the conference room, the Leaf Village Ninjas and the Shinshu Ninjas sat on opposite sides of the table.
Akado didn't provoke anyone and simply stared at Orochimaru.
Although they were still dissatisfied with the Leaf Village's unreasonable demands, they were generally at a disadvantage.
The Leaf Village intended to intimidate them, but they didn't back down. If the Leaf Village was willing to negotiate, they wouldn't deliberately cause trouble.
"Our Third Hokage greatly admires the strength of your leader, Son Ryouka, and wishes to engage in a battle between ninjas. Regardless of the outcome of this fight, the matter of Danzo Shimura will be put aside," Orochimaru said.
"Huh?" Akado showed a surprised expression.
What grudge or enmity did they have that they were targeting Son Ryouka for a one-on-one fight?
For a moment, Akado couldn't understand the Leaf Village's intentions; the leader himself was challenging Son Ryouka to a duel.
Laozi also looked surprised, a bit bewildered.
In all his years, this was the first time he had seen such a unique approach to resolving a conflict—a duel between the leaders of the two sides.
The strongest ninja village had a surprisingly straightforward solution.
Orochimaru remained calm, as the reaction of the Shinshu Ninjas was as he had expected. Even he himself was taken aback when Enma made the request.
Everyone knew that the leader possessed formidable strength, but they were also aware that the leader was not just a powerful ninja but also the head of the village, bearing the responsibility of the entire ninja village on their shoulders. Therefore, unless there were special circumstances, the leader would typically stay in the village, overseeing operations from the rear.
The issue with the Shinshu Village was not insignificant, but it wasn't a major crisis either.
In Orochimaru's opinion, sending a larger ninja force would be sufficient to deal with the Shinshu Village; there was no need for the leader to personally engage in combat.
However, his opinion didn't matter; since Enma had decided to handle it this way, Orochimaru could only follow his orders.
Nagato's expression was complex, his lips tightly sealed.
He had initially been reluctant to come, as knowing Yu Sheng Mu Yue's true identity made things awkward for him. But Akado had assured him that things would be better with him there, so he had reluctantly agreed.
"What are your thoughts on this, Leader?" Orochimaru asked.
"I'll have to consult with our leader," Akado said after a moment's thought.
Son Ryouka had given him the authority, but this request involved Son Ryouka himself, so Akado couldn't make a decision lightly.
The idea of suicide was an easy refusal, but regarding the duel, Akado couldn't predict who would be at a disadvantage.
After all, Son Ryouka had such confidence in his own abilities.
"Nagato, come with me," Akado said, standing up and calling Nagato to join him.
Nagato nodded and followed Akado out of the conference room, heading towards Son Ryouka's office.
Upon reaching the wooden door of the office, Akado knocked calmly and waited for Son Ryouka's permission before entering.
"What's the matter?" Yu Sheng Mu Yue asked, setting down his pen and looking up.
"The Leaf Village has presented a new condition," Akado summarized. "They say that as long as you fight the Third Hokage, regardless of the outcome, the matter of Danzo Shimura will be considered resolved."
"You really know how to make enemies," Akado sighed. "The Third Hokage is personally seeking to kill you."
It was clear that this was a threat, a direct challenge after the failed suicide attempt.
"What should we tell the Leaf Village? Should we accept or refuse?"
"Accept their request," Yu Sheng Mu Yue replied.
He was a newly created Shadow Clone from the original body after the meeting, so he already knew about this matter and had a plan in mind.
Accepting the challenge was a must, as Enma's mind was made up. If they didn't satisfy him, who knew what new ideas he might come up with.
Yu Sheng Mu Yue wanted to give Enma some face, but he had already tried to persuade him, to no avail. There was nothing more he could do.
"You've decided so quickly," Akado couldn't help but ask. "When we fought before, how much of your strength did you use?"
He was well aware that Son Ryouka was not impulsive; since he had agreed, it meant he was confident in his own survival, or even victory.
"If you're referring to my current strength, it's less than twenty percent," Yu Sheng Mu Yue replied after some thought.
When he fought Akado, his chakra level was barely over 100,000, but now it had surpassed 2 million, and he had acquired numerous high-level powerful skills.
"Less than twenty percent?!" Akado's lips twitched. With less than twenty percent of his strength, he had taken out Akado's four lives with a single Fire Jutsu.
Akado was reassured; Enma had picked a fight with the wrong person.
Back in the conference room, Akado gave a straightforward response, "Our leader also greatly admires the Third Hokage and wishes to fight him."
With that, the negotiations came to a close. Orochimaru and his team needed to contact the Leaf Village to report on the progress and await further instructions.
Even though the conditions were set, their mission wasn't considered complete until the details were finalized, such as deciding on the location for the battle.
After the meeting, Nagato returned to Scorpion's laboratory.
"Since your Shinshu is almost done for, let's discuss something. I'll help you assassinate some Leaf Village Jonin, and in return, you can release me early. After all, I don't have much time left on my sentence anyway," Scorpion said, putting down his tools as Nagato entered.
His original sentence was ten years, but due to his prosthesis technology and good behavior, he now had only a little over a year left.
"Who told you that our Shinshu is about to be destroyed?" Nagato asked seriously.
"Are you not going to be destroyed when you're about to go to war with the Leaf Village?" Scorpion asked in return.
"You might not know how strong the Leaf Village is. Even the Sand Village, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, was driven back in their war against the Leaf. Can your small force of a few hundred ninjas withstand the Leaf Village? Even naivety has its limits."
"The best outcome for you is for everyone to scatter and run. After all, with so few people, the Leaf Village probably won't waste too much energy searching for you all over the ninja world."
Nagato shook his head and placed his hand on Scorpion's shoulder, "Don't worry, with Teacher Son Ryouka here, everything will be fine."
Although Scorpion wasn't suggesting an early release to run away, Nagato could tell that Scorpion was concerned.
Their parents had both died at the hands of Leaf Village ninjas, but in slightly different circumstances. Scorpion's parents were killed on the battlefield by Leaf Village ninjas.
So, it was natural for Scorpion to have some reservations about a war against the Leaf Village.
"Worried? I'm only worried if Son Ryouka left hidden sealing techniques in my body," Scorpion denied.
Due to his good behavior and the need for experiments, Son Ryouka had removed the sealing techniques from Scorpion's body.
However, Son Ryouka's sealing techniques were too profound, and Scorpion wasn't sure if all the seals had been completely removed.
Seeing that Scorpion was still being stubborn, Nagato didn't say more. After all, he was two months older than Scorpion, so he should give way.
...
Leaf Village, Uchiha Clan territory.
After dinner, Zhi Shui went straight to Fugaku Uchiha's home.
These past few days, he had been thinking about how to better complete the task assigned to him by Yu Sheng Mu Yue.
He didn't have as few friends within the Uchiha Clan as Deidara, but among the Uchiha he knew, there weren't many who met Mu Yue's requirements.
Mu Yue needed an Uchiha ninja capable of handling advanced missions.
Fugaku Uchiha, as the leader of the Uchiha Clan, should have a clear understanding of the ninjas within the clan.
However, in Zhi Shui's opinion, Fugaku Uchiha was also among the Uchiha who didn't pay much attention to outsiders. So, Zhi Shui had prepared a backup plan before approaching Fugaku.
When Zhi Shui arrived, the Fugaku Uchiha family had just finished dinner, and everyone was chatting in the courtyard.
Upon seeing Zhi Shui, Fugaku Uchiha's face lit up with a smile.
"Brother Zhi Shui, good evening," Itachi Uchiha also greeted Zhi Shui proactively.
"Yeah, good evening," Zhi Shui responded with a smile and then turned to Fugaku Uchiha, asking, "Uncle Fugaku, are you free now? I have something to discuss with you."
Fugaku Uchiha nodded and led Zhi Shui to the study.
"It's like this. Recently, there have been many high-quality commissions in the village, and with the war, we've lost some ninjas. Mu Yue-sensei has come up with an idea..." Zhi Shui repeated Mu Yue's words to Fugaku Uchiha.
Even if Zhi Shui hadn't found an Uchiha with a suitable personality, he still had to consult Fugaku Uchiha.
Fugaku Uchiha was the captain of the Police Force, and to mobilize a large number of Police Force Jonin, it was only reasonable to discuss it with Fugaku Uchiha first.
"It's a bit tricky," Fugaku Uchiha said with a troubled expression.
"Most of the capable clan members hold important positions in the Police Force. If they suddenly give up their current positions to carry out missions, most of them probably won't be willing," Fugaku Uchiha explained.
Although he didn't think separating the Police Force from the Uchiha Clan was that important, if he had to take a stand, he would undoubtedly side with Zhi Shui.
With Zhi Shui's abilities, it was expected that he would become the new leader of the Uchiha Clan. If he wasn't allowed to implement his ideas now, he might become more radical later. At least for now, he had Zhi Shui to keep an eye on things.
"Mu Yue-sensei's idea is beneficial to both the village and the Uchiha Clan. However, the reform has already been forcefully implemented, and if the clan's Jonin also give up their positions, there will be a lot of opposition within the clan."
If Zhi Shui hadn't demonstrated his powerful strength and won the gambling fight, it would have been difficult for the Police Force reform to pass in the clan meeting.
"Then, they can retain their original positions but be temporarily reassigned for a few years to undergo training." Zhi Shui began to share his thoughts.
He had long considered Fugaku Uchiha's concerns and had come up with a response.
Before Sarutobi agreed to the reform of the Police Force, the Uchiha Clan had no choice but to be responsible for it.
This was because the Second Hokage had ordered the Police Force to be solely managed by the Uchiha Clan.
This meant that all positions within the Police Force had to be filled by Uchiha ninjas, and as a large department, it required a significant number of personnel.
Even if some Uchiha members did not want to serve in the Police Force initially, they still had to take up the positions.
However, now that the Uchiha Clan had grown accustomed to the Police Force and the department had significant nominal authority, it had led to the current situation.
Zhi Shui believed that offering some of them high-quality mission opportunities would make them less likely to want to return to the Police Force after a few years.
Executing missions was far more profitable than receiving a fixed salary from the Police Force. The commission from a single A-rank mission would be much higher than a month's salary from the Police Force.
"Additionally, we can organize events where Deidara and I can speak about the benefits of increasing one's strength by going on missions." Zhi Shui continued.
As an Uchiha, Zhi Shui understood the traditional Uchiha mindset well.
It came down to two main aspects: saving face and pursuing strength.
If the focus was shifted from earning money for Konoha to gaining strength through external training, Zhi Shui imagined that many Uchiha would be interested.
"In that case, it indeed has a good chance of success."
Fugaku Uchiha carefully considered it and had to admit that Zhi Shui's idea addressed the pain points of Uchiha ninjas.
After the war, Zhi Shui and Deidara had gained even more fame, and if they both stood up to say that mission work was more beneficial for strength, all the Uchiha would believe them.
Zhi Shui and Deidara had never joined the Police Force and had always taken on missions.
"Besides the information on the upper-level ninjas within the clan, I would also need you to distribute this survey form to all Uchiha ninjas." Zhi Shui took out a sheet he had written and placed it on the table.
This was his supplementary plan. Based on the information from Fugaku Uchiha and the responses to the survey questions, he would comprehensively evaluate and select suitable candidates.
"It's truly admirable that you can think so much for the clan while still training." Fugaku Uchiha couldn't help but praise him.
This was why, even when Fugaku Uchiha sometimes didn't fully agree with Zhi Shui's ideas, he still supported him. Zhi Shui genuinely wanted to lead the Uchiha Clan to a better future, without any personal interests.
"Unfortunately, the last war was too sudden and intense. Otherwise, I could have taken Itachi along to see your performance on the battlefield."
Zhi Shui frowned slightly.
He didn't understand Fugaku Uchiha's thinking. Itachi was still so young, and even if Fugaku Uchiha protected him from harm, the brutality of war could leave unpredictable psychological impacts on Itachi.
However, Fugaku Uchiha was Itachi's father, so Zhi Shui didn't say much. Instead, he silently changed his plans and spent some time with Itachi in the yard after concluding his conversation with Fugaku Uchiha.
Zhi Shui had silently given Fugaku Uchiha a poor rating in parenting.
He even wondered if Itachi's extreme actions in the future, such as the clan massacre, were due to the psychological scars inflicted by Fugaku Uchiha, leading to personality issues.
Zhi Shui decided to observe closely. If Fugaku Uchiha continued to make mistakes, he would increase his intervention to prevent Itachi from being negatively influenced by Fugaku Uchiha.
After leaving Fugaku Uchiha's house, Zhi Shui didn't go home but instead went to Yu Sheng Mu Yue to report on the mission's progress and request help in identifying any gaps.
"You've done well. The fact that you can think of these things shows that you've made significant progress." Yu Sheng Mu Yue was quite satisfied with Zhi Shui's performance.
Compared to before, Zhi Shui's thinking was now more flexible, and he was better at leveraging the advantages at his disposal.
With Yu Sheng Mu Yue's approval, Zhi Shui felt even more confident.
He was determined to protect his teacher and his clan.
After Zhi Shui left, Yu Sheng Mu Yue continued to study the breathing technique. Just as he was about to go to bed, the system suddenly displayed a message.
[Disciple Might Guy's strength and reputation have increased, taking a step forward on the path of the strongest taijutsu user. Progress reward: moderate constitution improvement, S+ Custom Scroll Fragment (Mastery Level), and physical combat insight improvement]
The third fragment for the custom scroll had arrived.
PS: Give me a cool ability, preferably from a widely known work, so I don't have to pick another one from Pokemon.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
