In response to Lord Kei’s question, Yashamaru gave a rather uncertain answer.
"Lady Kushina’s current political influence comes entirely from her status as the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki. However, there is considerable controversy within Konoha over her departure. Konoha is now attempting to seek compensation from the Land of Whirlpools."
Yashamaru wasn’t optimistic about Kushina.
And on this matter, Nanga couldn’t interfere either.
The relationship between Nanga and its allies was that of a coalition led by Nanga.
But the allied factions themselves had conflicting interests, and that wasn’t something Kei could control.
Kushina, as a jinchūriki, was a member of the alliance.
However, the Tailed Beast sealed within her was considered Konoha’s property.
On this issue, Konoha and Uzushiogakure had plenty to argue over.
But to Nanga, both sides were merely potential cannon fodder.
Playing favorites would benefit no one.
The balance of power within the Land of Whirlpools didn’t seem particularly stable at the moment.
Kushina, who nominally held the leadership position, was actually in a weak position.
That was contrary to Kei’s interests.
A supposedly unbreakable alliance couldn’t afford to start fighting among itself before it had even accomplished anything.
Kei thought for a moment before speaking.
"Notify Grandma Gen and have Jōsuke and the others invade the Land of Grass and rescue that Uzumaki who is living under the alias Uzumaki Rakujitsu."
As he gave the order, Kei asked,
"How many members of the Uzumaki Clan have ended up in the Land of Grass?"
Yashamaru, being in charge of intelligence, naturally had an answer.
"About a hundred or so. They’re living miserable lives and surviving by selling their bodies."
Kei froze for a moment at that answer.
"Hmm? Have they been reduced to becoming shrine maidens? Are things really that bad?"
Seeing that Lord Kei had misunderstood, Yashamaru hurriedly clarified.
"They are certainly living miserable lives, but they haven’t fallen to that level."
"Because of the unique constitution of the Uzumaki Clan, they’ve been reduced to being human medical supplies."
"They’re being used as living tools to heal the shinobi of the Land of Grass through their own bodies."
Thinking about how effective the Uzumaki’s healing abilities were, Yashamaru couldn’t help feeling envious.
"My lord, what an excellent resource! Leaving them to the Land of Whirlpools would be such a waste."
"Their constitution is far more stable than that of the people from the clan of the fellow named Jūgo!"
Kei ignored this line of thought.
Being too greedy wasn’t a good thing.
Instead, he asked,
"Have we discovered any other members of the Uzumaki Clan?"
Yashamaru immediately put his personal opinion away.
As a member of Nanga, he couldn’t help wanting to drag every good thing he discovered back to Nanga.
But Lord Kei’s plans came first.
That was the will of Heaven.
Yashamaru hurriedly replied,
"A Summoning Island has appeared near the Land of Water in the Land of Sea."
"A group of researchers who had fled from the Land of Whirlpools ended up there. They are led by a woman named Uzumaki Honoka."
"They possess a technique that can seal Summoning Beasts inside a person’s body in the same way that a Tailed Beast is sealed, allowing those beasts to provide chakra from within."
"Summoning Island? What kind of place is that?"
This was the first time Kei had heard of such a place.
Yashamaru explained,
"It was originally an unnamed island. It only received its current name recently."
"It seems Joseph’s sword strike somehow opened a spatial rift, causing a large number of Summoning Beasts to fall onto the island."
"That is how it came to be known as Summoning Island."
After hearing Yashamaru’s explanation, Kei found it incredible.
So this is the butterfly effect?
He wondered whether Joseph could be said to have created history.
If what Yashamaru said was true, and the island really possessed a technique for sealing Summoning Beasts as Tailed Beasts, then this place was an incredible treasure.
Kei already possessed a method of creating Tailed Beasts.
The problem was that its efficiency was simply too low.
After killing the people of the Land of Rivers and slaughtering so many people from Konoha, Kei still hadn’t managed to produce even ten Tailed Beasts.
If he could obtain this technique for sealing Summoning Beasts, perhaps he wouldn’t need so many Tailed Beasts anymore.
And perhaps he wouldn’t need to kill so many people either.
Summoning Beasts were undoubtedly far inferior to Tailed Beasts.
But their numbers were enormous.
In the future, Nanga could equip the Ten with twenty or so Tailed Beasts, while everyone else could use Summoning Beasts instead.
They were nothing more than equipment for providing chakra.
Whether you had a high-output engine or a low-output engine, they were both still turbochargers.
Hearing this, Kei immediately asked,
"How many Summoning Beasts are on Summoning Island?"
To Kei’s surprise, Yashamaru answered,
"The space there is unstable, and Summoning Beasts keep falling onto the island."
"So their numbers can’t be calculated."
"However, the Summoning Beasts are killing and absorbing one another. It seems that a particularly powerful creature may emerge soon."
In other words...
It was a renewable resource.
Kei’s mouth practically watered at the thought.
"Looks like Summoning Island is a place we absolutely must secure."
An island capable of producing an endless supply of Summoning Beasts had already become a territory Kei considered indispensable.
Because it was simply too important.
What determined whether a shinobi was powerful?
Wasn’t it simply how much chakra they possessed, how fast they were, and how strong they were?
If Nanga could acquire both this sealing technique and an endless supply of Summoning Beasts, Nanga’s overall military strength would rise dramatically.
A freshly graduated student of the Forty-Nine Iga Halls would have systematically studied ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
They would be capable of handling unexpected situations in battle with ease, and upon graduation, they would even be issued a specialized ninja blade.
Once Nanga mastered cloning technology, outstanding graduates and Red Eyes could be equipped as well.
Imagine such a shinobi graduate.
During a siege, they could summon a giant serpent from Ryūchi Cave.
During individual combat, they would have a Summoning Beast sealed inside their body, continuously supplying chakra.
They could bombard their opponent with large-scale ninjutsu without worrying about conserving chakra.
And you were telling Kei such a person was a genin?
There probably weren’t many Chūnin or even jōnin from other hidden villages who could accomplish that.
No.
A place like Summoning Island—and the technology it possessed—had to fall into Nanga’s hands.
Even if it was right under Madara’s nose, it still had to obediently return to the embrace of Nanga.
Kei had already begun considering Summoning Island Uchiha territory.
"What is the situation in the Land of Sea?"
If he wanted to scheme against this place, he naturally needed to understand the situation.
Yashamaru was well prepared.
"The Land of Sea originally consisted of four major islands: the Mother Island, Tarō Island, Jirō Island, and Strange Island."
"Summoning Island is merely a scattered reef belonging to the Land of Sea."
As he spoke, Yashamaru summoned a map of the Land of Sea.
"The sea route between Jirō Island and Strange Island is one of the Land of Water’s major financial routes."
"It transports more than forty percent of the supplies entering the Land of Water."
"What about their military strength?"
"They don’t have any shinobi of their own."
"They rely entirely on hired shinobi from the Land of Water."
Yashamaru pointed at the map and gave Kei a detailed report on the terrain, local customs, population distribution, and major sources of income.
After listening to the entire report, Kei fell into thought.
The Land of Sea consisted of twelve islands of various sizes surrounding the Land of Water.
Only four of the larger islands had permanent populations.
The islands to the west were close to the Land of Whirlpools, the Land of Crafts, and the Land of Tea.
If Nanga could occupy this region, it would effectively seal off the Land of Water.
Unfortunately, the Land of Sea was simply too close to the Land of Water.
So close, in fact, that the country’s independence could be said to exist merely because the Land of Water’s daimyō was willing to give the Land of Sea’s daimyō some face.
Everything in the country was effectively controlled by the Land of Water.
It was essentially the Land of Water’s territory floating just offshore from the mainland.
The Land of Water itself wasn’t frightening.
What was frightening was Uchiha Madara hiding within it.
But the things on Summoning Island were simply too tempting.
Kei couldn’t bear to give them up.
He tapped his head and thought for a long while before making his decision.
Fortune favored those who took risks.
If he couldn’t occupy Summoning Island, he could at least seize the sealing technology.
At worst, he would force Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku into open conflict with him.
From then on, they could seal toads inside their bodies and summon giant snakes outside.
Mount Myōboku wasn’t easy to deal with, but Shikkotsu Forest would work too.
After all, Katsuyu could divide itself indefinitely.
Keeping several thousand, or even tens of thousands, of Uchiha supplied with its power shouldn’t be a problem.
For the sake of this technology, even Madara’s face wasn’t worth preserving.
"Here’s what we’ll do."
"Notify every member of the alliance. The first Chūnin Exams of the New Konoha will be held as a joint examination."
"The Land of Rice Fields, Land of Waves, Land of Rivers, and Land of Whirlpools must all send representatives to Konoha to participate."
Kei began issuing orders rapidly.
"After the examination concludes, the alliance will conduct a joint military operation to restore our ally, the Land of Whirlpools."
"Will Nanga also send troops?" Yashamaru asked, wanting to confirm the exact meaning of the order.
"No."
"We will only coordinate the operation."
"Draw the battlefield into the territory of the Land of Bears."
Kei explained briefly before continuing.
"Tell Grandma Gen to complete the mission in the Land of Grass as quickly as possible."
"For this operation, deploy the entire Iga Group."
"Take the Land of Grass as quickly as possible."
As he spoke, Kei began drawing the operational routes across the map.
"Tell Grandma Gen that once the mission in the Land of Grass is complete, she is not to return to Konoha."
"Instead, take the troops through the Land of Rain, enter the sea from the Land of Rivers, and launch a surprise attack on the Land of Sea."
"Tell Grandma Gen that we will draw the main forces of the Land of Water toward the Land of Bears."
"Her primary objective in the Land of Sea is to seize the sealing technology."
"If possible, occupy the entire Land of Sea and destroy every vessel in the Land of Water capable of putting to sea."
As he spoke, Kei drew a circle around the Land of Water on the map.
"The Bloody Mist should look like the Bloody Mist."
"A Land of Water that can’t even get a sailboard out onto the sea—that’s what I call a proper Land of Water!"
At this moment, Kei’s ambitions toward the Land of Water were burning brightly.
He would gather six factions, use a feint to draw the enemy’s attention elsewhere, and launch a lightning strike on the Land of Sea.
He refused to believe that the Land of Water, the power backing the Land of Sea, could withstand it.
If he succeeded, Kei wanted to see how Old Man Madara, hiding within the Land of Water, intended to stir up trouble without a single ship at his disposal.
After all, swimming across an ocean wasn’t something that could be solved by strength alone.
Speaking of which...
How much longer until Sasuke was born?
If Madara became trapped in the Land of Water without a way to establish a fallback plan, then how was Asura supposed to reincarnate?
"I’m causing this much chaos... I wonder if I’ll force the Sage of Six Paths to show himself?"
"Just thinking about it is interesting!"
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