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Chapter 720: Son Ryouka's Intelligence
Chapter 720: Son Ryouka's Intelligence
"I believe we should ally with the Stone Hidden Village and bring the Mist Hide into the fold. With the five great ninja villages united, we can eliminate Shinshu at the lowest cost." Mizuki Gate was the first to suggest this.
He had always considered Shinshu to be a significant threat, and now that there was an opportunity to get rid of them, he was determined to seize it.
Without Son Ryouka, Yu Sheng Mu Yue would have no rivals in the Ninja World, and no one would be able to stop the growth of the Leaf Village. The Leaf Village would become stronger than ever before.
"If Shinshu continues to grow, the balance of power in the Ninja World will shift again, which is not favorable for us in the Leaf Village." Tenzo Shukuren echoed his thoughts.
Undoubtedly, the Leaf Village was the biggest beneficiary of the current state of the Ninja World. As long as the status quo was maintained and no major changes occurred, no other ninja village could catch up to the Leaf Village.
However, Shinshu was an exception to this.
Whether it was Shinshu's development model or Son Ryouka's strength, they had the potential to challenge the Leaf Village's dominance.
"Let's test the waters and see if there are any issues. If not, I think we can join them," Enma said after some thought.
On a personal level, Enma didn't harbor much hatred towards Son Ryouka at the moment.
It was true that Son Ryouka had killed Uchiha Danzo, but he hadn't invaded the Leaf Village to do so. Uchiha Danzo had gone looking for trouble and was killed in retaliation.
After that battle, Enma understood that Son Ryouka wasn't a petty person.
When Enma had coerced Son Ryouka into a war, Son Ryouka had still shown restraint.
Most likely, Uchiha Danzo had done something excessive in the Rain Country, leading to his death at Son Ryouka's hands.
However, personal feelings were personal feelings. From the perspective of the Leaf Village's development, Shinshu's growth had to be curbed.
Otherwise, if Shinshu continued to expand to the River Country this year and the Grass Country next year, the Leaf Village would be surrounded by Shinshu.
If Shinshu didn't expand recklessly, Enma would still prefer to maintain peaceful development with them.
"Fuyuki, what do you think?"
Instead of expressing his own thoughts, Yu Sheng Mu Yue asked Fuyuki Kamizono, who had remained silent since the start of the meeting.
"I think we can observe for a little longer," Fuyuki Kamizono replied after half a minute of contemplation.
"Even if the assassination is successful, the cost will be significant given Son Ryouka's strength."
Although Fuyuki Kamizono hadn't witnessed Son Ryouka's abilities firsthand, he was aware of the Leaf Village's top-secret intelligence regarding him.
Even their Third Hokage was powerless against Son Ryouka.
For such an extraordinary powerhouse, Fuyuki Kamizono believed that only a large number of strong ninjas, including some of the strongest like Yu Sheng Mu Yue, would have a chance at a successful assassination.
Aside from the cost, Fuyuki Kamizono also had some reservations about this operation.
It would undoubtedly disrupt the peace in the Ninja World and plunge it into chaos once again.
If the assassination succeeded, Shinshu, led by its founder and soul, Son Ryouka, would undoubtedly seek revenge at all costs.
Should the top ninjas from various villages suffer heavy casualties during the assassination attempt, the individual ninja villages would risk descending into chaos themselves.
Considering these two factors, the Ninja World would be on the brink of war.
If Son Ryouka survived, the outcome was obvious: an unending feud.
Rationally, Fuyuki Kamizono agreed with Enma's reasoning, but emotionally, he felt uneasy.
After the Great Ninja War had just ended, the Leaf Village had provoked Son Ryouka, yet he hadn't harmed Enma.
However, Fuyuki Kamizono was, after all, a ninja and a high-ranking member of the Leaf Village, so he didn't openly oppose the idea but simply didn't agree with it.
"Indeed, the cost is not to be taken lightly. We must consider it carefully," Yu Sheng Mu Yue nodded in agreement.
"There are risks, but if we continue to let Shinshu grow unchecked, the cost of dealing with them later will only increase," Mizuki Gate said, noticing Yu Sheng Mu Yue's inclination towards Fuyuki Kamizono.
Having witnessed Son Ryouka's fighting prowess firsthand, Mizuki Gate believed that he must be eliminated.
Not only was Son Ryouka incredibly strong, but he also possessed exceptional teaching abilities. With Chojiro, another super genius, if Chojiro inherited Son Ryouka's skills, the Leaf Village might even be surpassed by Shinshu.
Although Kakashi and Kaito were exceptional, they might not become the next Yu Sheng Mu Yue.
"Fourth Hokage, you must consider this carefully."
After saying this, Mizuki Gate gave Enma a subtle signal, indicating that he would help persuade Yu Sheng Mu Yue.
Although Enma wasn't Yu Sheng Mu Yue's teacher, he had played a significant role in Yu Sheng Mu Yue's journey to becoming the Hokage.
Mizuki Gate believed that Enma's opinion would carry weight with Yu Sheng Mu Yue and influence his decision.
"The cost is indeed a crucial consideration," Enma said after a moment of contemplation.
After agreeing with Fuyuki Kamizono, Enma continued, "However, agreeing to participate doesn't mean we'll immediately send ninjas to assassinate Son Ryouka. We can first negotiate and discuss with them. If it's feasible and the cost is acceptable, then we can form an alliance."
He still preferred to join forces with the other major ninja villages to curb Shinshu's growth, as it would be beneficial to the Leaf Village without causing harm.
If Enma had wanted to avenge Uchiha Danzo when the Stone Hidden Village approached him, he would have readily joined forces with the Mist Hide to eliminate Shinshu.
Knock, knock.
Yu Sheng Mu Yue lightly tapped the table with his fingers, deep in thought.
"Then let's proceed as the Third Hokage suggested and discuss it with them first," Yu Sheng Mu Yue said, just as Enma was about to speak again.
Fuyuki Kamizono opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately remained silent.
This decision already took his opinion into account, and in the Ninja World, maintaining peace was challenging.
The Leaf Village didn't rush to respond to the Stone Hidden Village. Instead, they sent a message to the Mist Hide, seeking their opinion.
If they could bring the Mist Hide on board, it would be ideal, as an alliance of the five great ninja villages had never occurred since the era of the ninja villages.
Upon receiving the Leaf Village's message, the Third Mizukage immediately convened a high-level meeting to discuss the matter.
In the end, all the high-ranking members unanimously agreed that following the Leaf Village's lead was the right decision.
If the Leaf Village participated, they would join, and if the Leaf Village ultimately decided not to, they would also withdraw.
The Mist Hide didn't have much choice in the matter.
If they didn't participate, the Leaf Village might question their intentions, and it wouldn't be wise for one great ninja village to stand apart while the other four joined forces.
They had no choice but to follow the Leaf Village's decision.
After confirming the Mist Hide's stance, the Leaf Village officially responded to the Stone Hidden Village, expressing their willingness to engage in preliminary discussions.
"As expected, the Leaf Village cannot accommodate the ever-expanding Shinshu.
Looking at the response from Konoha, Daimoku breathed a sigh of relief.
If they couldn't bring Konoha on board, the Three Village Alliance would inevitably face conflicts due to Shinshu's advancement into the River Country.
Kumogakure obviously didn't want a major conflict with Shinshu over this matter.
The River Country couldn't influence the Lightning Country or Kumogakure.
On the contrary, the conflict was out in the open, and the cooperation between Kumogakure and Six Paths City would come to an end.
The Three Village Alliance had been secretly plotting against Shinshu, but Iwagakure and Kumogakure had openly cooperated with Shinshu on many occasions.
Kumogakure mainly cooperated with Shinshu after focusing on technological development.
Although Kumogakure ninjas often gave the impression of being reckless, their technological level was actually very high, ranking among the top in the Ninja World, especially in electricity.
With Konoha's support, there was a chance to directly take down Shinshu, which was completely different from organizing Shinshu's expansion into the River Country.
Even if the cooperation ended, Kumogakure wouldn't feel at a loss.
Ra Sha was even more delighted than Daimoku.
This was undoubtedly the best news he had heard since the end of the Great Ninja War. Ra Sha was so happy that he wanted to celebrate with a drink.
The five great ninja villages were planning to deal with a small Shinshu, and they couldn't even handle it?
It was a done deal!
However, before the leaders of the five great ninja villages could start the meeting, they began to feel confused just by exchanging information.
"Son Ryouka's defense jutsu can actually block Daimoku's full-power Dust Style?" Enma held the information shared by the Three Village Alliance, feeling confused.
During the battle, Son Ryouka withstood the Five Elements Quintuple Bomb head-on, except when he used the Five Elements Quintuple Bomb, where he employed another means to avoid it. Therefore, Enma assumed that Son Ryouka's defense jutsu couldn't withstand the bombardment of the Five Elements Quintuple Bomb.
But in terms of power, Daimoku's Dust Style was stronger than his Five Elements Quintuple Bomb.
Even Daimoku's full-power Dust Style couldn't break through Son Ryouka's defense, so his Five Elements Quintuple Bomb was even less likely to succeed.
Then the reason why Son Ryouka used another means at that time was simple; he just did it.
Enma felt a bit hurt.
This feeling was like doing something you considered embarrassing, carefully observing the surroundings, only to find that no one cared, making you feel even more embarrassed.
"Son Ryouka even has the ability to use Elimination Jutsu." Daimoku frowned.
Compared to Son Ryouka, the previous God of Ninjas, Senju Hashirama, seemed more like a normal ninja.
Senju Hashirama could instantly create a forest, and Uchiha Sasuke could spit out a sea of fire. These were easy to understand, just nature transformation and abundant chakra.
But what the hell was Son Ryouka? Easily blocking the Dust Style with his defense jutsu, eliminating the Five Elements Quintuple Bomb with an unknown secret technique in the blink of an eye, and summoning heavy black ninja tools out of thin air.
The cooperation among the five great ninja villages temporarily reached a stalemate.
They sent their most trusted subordinates for discussions, but they couldn't come up with any results.
The information they had on Son Ryouka made it very difficult to kill him.
Son Ryouka's defense jutsu, which could withstand the Dust Style, and his Elimination Jutsu ability made his survival skills exceptional. Coupled with his powerful taijutsu, few could stop Son Ryouka if he wanted to escape.
Someone came up with a plan: each great ninja village would send a batch of elite ninjas to block Son Ryouka and deplete his chakra, and then the top-tier warriors led by Yu Sheng Mu Yue would finish him off.
After all, a ninja's chakra was limited, no matter how strong they were.
However, this plan raised a new problem: how could so many elite ninjas get close to Son Ryouka?
With so many ninjas going to Shinshu, they could directly conquer the Rain Country.
With this number of ninjas, Son Ryouka would be unworthy of being considered the new God of Ninjas by the great ninja villages if he couldn't detect them.
Moreover, the price to pay for this plan was too high. Not only did Konoha and Kirigakure disagree, but there were strong opposing voices within the Three Village Alliance.
They wanted to kill Son Ryouka) but not for the sake of killing; they had their own agendas and didn't want to lose too much strength.
However, the situation soon took a turn.
Shinshu announced that they would hold the Martial Arts Tournament again, and this time, there would be no age restrictions, and the first place winner could even challenge Son Ryouka.
The astute Daimoku immediately sensed the opportunity hidden within this announcement.
The Martial Arts Tournament meant they could legally bring a large number of elite warriors to Six Paths City.
Furthermore, challenging Son Ryouka was a rare assassination opportunity.
As the first-place winner, Son Ryouka would definitely go easy on his opponent.
If Yu Sheng Mu Yue, a top-tier warrior, were to win first place, even if he couldn't kill Son Ryouka alone, he could still deplete Son Ryouka's physical strength and chakra.
Then, the elite ninjas of the five great ninja villages could swarm Son Ryouka, and he wouldn't be able to escape, at most taking a few fall guys with him.
Due to the Three Village Alliance, Ra Sha and the Third Raikage were the first to learn of Daimoku's plan.
Ra Sha could only say that the old ginger was still spicier; Daimoku, who had been active in the ninja world since the early days of the ninja villages, was truly cunning.
Not long after, Konoha and Kirigakure also learned of Daimoku's latest plan.
After a discussion, Konoha's upper echelons believed that this Martial Arts Tournament was indeed an opportunity, so they decided to officially join the alliance and assassinate Son Ryouka together with Kirigakure and the Three Village Alliance.
However, Konoha didn't directly agree to Daimoku's plan but instead proposed a high-level talk, inviting the Kage of each village to Fire Country to discuss the final plan.
Enma and the others generally agreed with Daimoku's plan; they just didn't want Yu Sheng Mu Yue to be the one to challenge Son Ryouka.
In theory, there wouldn't be any danger during the challenge.
But why would Konoha gamble with Yu Sheng Mu Yue, who was destined to become the next Hokage and the new God of Ninjas?
After much debate, the Kage of each village agreed to Konoha's proposal.
They had no choice but to agree; Konoha had many strong ninjas, and they were indispensable in the plan to kill Son Ryouka.
In the end, the meeting was held in Fire Country near the border of the Rice Country.
Since it was a secret meeting, Daimoku and the others didn't bring many ninjas.
Of course, the number of ninjas was small, but each one was an expert among the upper-level ninjas.
Originally, there were only five seats for the "Five Kage Talks," and only the Kage were worthy of sitting and discussing.
But Enma also came, and as a former Hokage, the other Kage couldn't refuse him, so they added a seat for Enma next to Yu Sheng Mu Yue.
Namikaze Minato could only stand behind Yu Sheng Mu Yue.
Standing behind the Third Raikage, the Fourth Raikage looked at Namikaze Minato with a hint of regret.
It wouldn't be long before he could inherit the position of Raikage, but Namikaze Minato would likely never become the Hokage.
When Yu Sheng Mu Yue retired, Namikaze Minato would have passed the age to become the Hokage, as they were of similar age.
(End of Chapter)
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