At Naka Shrine, Uchiha Kei, accompanied by Kagerō, prepared to meet with Orochimaru, Danzō, Kushina, and the others one by one.
They were Uchiha Kei’s allies, not his subordinates.
Now that Uchiha Kei had obtained the fruits of victory, it was only natural that he fulfill the promises the Uchiha had made to them.
Kushina had been persuaded to switch sides by Kagerō, so she accompanied Uchiha Kei to meet Kushina.
Kagerō had always been an exceptionally alluring beauty, but ever since she had gained the recognition of the yokai Tamamo-no-Mae(nine-tailed fox), she had become even more captivating.
The very essence of seduction seemed to have seeped into her bones.
Whenever Kei saw Kagerō, he couldn’t help comparing her with Oboro, the little bean sprout standing beside her.
"Tsk, tsk. I wonder whether Gen’nosuke will regret giving up such a feast and settling for a bean sprout in the future."
Whenever Kei saw Kagerō and Oboro together, he couldn’t help thinking such dark thoughts.
But as far as the love triangle between the three of them was concerned, Kei had no intention of interfering.
Still, from a man’s perspective, Kei had to admit one thing:
"Cuteness is worthless in the face of sex appeal."
Looking at Kagerō’s curvaceous figure, slender waist, and long, healthy legs, Kei couldn’t understand how Uchiha Oboro had managed to win this battle of love.
All he could say was that Gen’nosuke’s love must truly be genuine.
Of course, that wasn’t the important part.
More importantly, Kagerō wasn’t merely blessed with outstanding looks. Her abilities were also highly commendable.
Tamamo-no-Mae had not only granted her eternally youthful beauty, but had also given her a natural affinity with foxes.
After infiltrating Konoha, Kagerō had easily earned Kushina’s trust and brought out the childhood memories buried deep within her heart.
That was ultimately why Kushina, despite being the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, had refused to stand on Konoha’s side.
Looking at Kushina, Uchiha Kei naturally intended to fulfill the promise his subordinate had made to her.
"Mrs. Namikaze, since Kagerō made a promise to you, the Uchiha will naturally not break its word."
"The Uchiha will send Mr. Gen, along with Tenzen, Kagerō, and the others, to help you restore your homeland."
This was a promise Gen had made to Kushina.
Since Kushina addressed Gen as "Sir," Kei naturally wouldn’t undermine Gen’s standing.
An outstanding woman could be respectfully addressed as "Sir" as well.
Kei didn’t particularly like the way Gen had handled the matter involving Jūbei, but he still respected her abilities.
Everything Gen had done had ultimately been for his sake.
Kei couldn’t be ungrateful.
Disliking something and failing to acknowledge someone’s abilities were two different matters.
Having received Kei’s firm confirmation, Kushina finally felt at ease.
This child was always rumored to be reckless and troublesome, but after spending time with him, she had discovered that he was actually quite reliable.
At least more reliable than many adults.
Not only did his word carry weight, but he was also loyal and sincere.
"Kei, there’s no need to rush the restoration of the Land of Whirlpools. I’m not prepared for that yet."
"However, Kagerō previously told me that your subordinate, Sir Gen, had found a group of surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan."
"I want to find our clansmen first."
Kushina spoke firmly.
Recently, she had been working hard at Naka to learn about diplomacy.
The Iga Group believed in teaching everyone without discrimination, and Kushina had also been studying how to govern a village at Naka.
These were things Konoha had never taught her.
At Naka, as long as you wanted to learn something, you could find someone capable of teaching you.
From ninjutsu to the principles of village administration, from economics to people’s livelihoods, everything was available.
Whatever you wanted to learn.
Among the things Kushina had learned at Naka was an old principle:
"Even if the people are lost, preserve the land; even if the land is lost, preserve the people. Preserve both the people and the land."
Therefore, she made this request to Kei.
She wanted to first gather the remaining strength of the Uzumaki Clan.
Naturally, Kei had no reason to refuse.
"No problem. Everything will proceed according to your wishes, Mrs. Namikaze."
"Naka will give you its full support."
"At the same time, to make amends for what Konoha did to the Land of Whirlpools in the past, I will also inform the Fourth Hokage and ask him to provide you with as much assistance as possible."
Although Kei regarded Konoha as a bad asset that he had no reason to carry on his shoulders, now that this bad asset had fallen into the hands of the Uchiha, every future action taken by Konoha had to remain closely aligned with the Uchiha.
Put simply, Konoha would henceforth be the Uchiha’s puppet ally.
That way, Kei could free himself from the trouble of scheming against the remnants of Konoha while simultaneously gaining an army that he didn’t have to pay to maintain.
Why wouldn’t he take advantage of that?
And the first great gift Kei gave Fugaku after he took office as the Fourth Hokage was to restore the Land of Whirlpools.
Konoha was now in ruins.
The best way to redirect internal tensions was to create an external conflict.
And helping the Land of Whirlpools restore its homeland was currently the best political platform.
First, it would correct the mistakes Konoha had made in the past and undermine the political influence of the Second and Third Hokage.
Second, it could unite all the remaining forces within Konoha and make everyone set aside their differences to face an external enemy together.
After all, there was hardly anything more morale-boosting than fighting a victorious war alongside the Uchiha.
Therefore, Uchiha Kei didn’t merely intend to help the Land of Whirlpools restore its homeland.
He also intended to completely overturn the Land of Bears and strike the Land of Water hard.
There were many calculations behind this.
Kei wanted to weaken the Land of Water’s conventional military strength as much as possible, bringing the balance of power between the Mizukage’s faction and the shinobi clans closer to equilibrium.
A weakened Land of Water would be more tolerant of different factions and would be less likely to descend into chaos too soon.
Kei also wanted to determine exactly how weak that old man Madara had become.
With Kei’s support behind her, Kushina’s confidence grew even stronger.
"Thank you, Kei."
"But Minato will definitely return to the Land of Whirlpools with me."
"However, many of Minato’s followers are still in Konoha."
"I hope you can let them leave."
An alliance wasn’t necessarily all that stable.
One moment, you could be partners.
The next, you might have no idea where the other person’s loyalties lay.
Besides, diplomacy was a process of asking for the sky and then negotiating downward.
While the Land of Whirlpools and Naka were still enjoying their honeymoon period, Kushina wanted to ask Uchiha Kei for as much as she could.
This was also something she had learned at Naka.
Kushina was still a novice in politics, so she felt somewhat embarrassed even making such a request.
Uchiha Kei agreed without the slightest hesitation.
He even kindly offered her a warning.
"No problem. I have no objections."
"But Mrs. Kushina, I have to remind you of something."
"Not everyone who follows Minato is necessarily a supporter of Minato."
"How many of them are remnants of the Third Hokage’s faction is impossible to say."
"They may simply be leaving with you because they’re afraid I’ll settle accounts with them."
"Mrs. Namikaze, are you certain you can handle them?"
Upon hearing Kei’s words, Kushina clenched her fists.
At last, she gathered the courage to express her political position.
"We have no other choice."
"The Land of Whirlpools is too weak."
"We’re willing to accept anyone who can strengthen the Land of Whirlpools."
"I believe that my Uzumaki clansmen, Minato’s loyal supporters, and those who are forced to join us because they can no longer survive in Konoha can form a stable system of checks and balances."
As she spoke, Kushina knelt down.
"Please, Kei."
"The Land of Whirlpools desperately needs to grow stronger."
"We don’t want to entrust the fate of our village to outsiders ever again."
"Even someone as reliable as you, Kei, is no exception."
"I still hope that the Land of Whirlpools can control its own destiny."
"If I have offended you, please forgive me."
To be honest, seeing someone of Kushina’s status kneel before him for the sake of the Land of Whirlpools moved Kei.
At the very least, Kei himself knew he couldn’t do the same.
Moreover, the dream of rebuilding one’s homeland was worthy of respect.
And this matter wasn’t disadvantageous to him either.
Naka’s sphere of influence leaned toward the southwestern part of the Land of Fire, while the Land of Whirlpools lay to the southeast.
The people Kushina wanted to take with her were also the unstable elements within Konoha.
Why would Uchiha Kei stop her?
As for Konoha losing even more of its strength because of this, what did that have to do with Uchiha Kei?
Wasn’t that something the Fourth Hokage should worry about?
"Mrs. Kushina, there’s no need to be so polite."
"The new Konoha is different from the old one."
"We value the friendship of our friends, and we’re willing to do whatever we can to help them."
Kei was more than happy to be generous with Uchiha Fugaku’s resources.
Having received Kei’s answer, Kushina excitedly shouted,
"May the friendship between Konoha Village and Uzushiogakure endure forever!"
"May the friendship between Konoha Village and Uzushiogakure endure forever!"
In the autumn of Konoha Year 47, Konoha Village and Uzushiogakure signed the Southeast Mutual Defense Agreement.
The two sides reached agreements concerning territory, economics, diplomacy, military affairs, and other matters.
Uzushiogakure became the first member of the military alliance led by the Uchiha clan of Naka in Konoha.
History would come to know it as the Southern Alliance.
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