— — — — — — —
"Do what we can and leave the rest to fate… Sigh, that's all we can do! If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
Elder Genji sighed in resignation, nodded to Yagura, and left the Mizukage's office, heading straight to the Kaguya Clan's territory.
However, what he didn't see was that, as soon as he left, the figures of Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu suddenly materialized within the Mizukage's office.
"You did well. When the time comes, make sure to cooperate with me. We need to secretly replace and relocate the members of the Kaguya and Hozuki clans, creating the illusion of their deaths."
"I'll provide the necessary genjutsu and technical support. Don't disappoint me."
Uchiha Madara turned to Yagura and gave his orders.
"Yes, Lord Madara."
Yagura's eyes flashed with the pattern of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan before it quickly disappeared. He nodded without hesitation.
That's right—Yagura was still under Madara's control. This wasn't something that happened recently; it had been set in motion years ago.
After Madara was subdued and revived by Kaito, he resumed his plans.
The Third Mizukage was quietly eliminated, and Yagura was placed in power, fully under Madara's influence. Not only that, but Madara had also helped Yagura become a perfect Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails.
However, the policy of the Bloody Mist era wasn't planned by Madara; it was genuinely a result of the tensions of the Hozuki Clan, the Kaguya Clan, and the Daiymo of the Land of Water.
That said, Madara knew well how much Kaito valued bloodline clans.
Letting the Hozuki and Kaguya clans be wiped out in this internal strife would be a waste.
Thus, he decided to intervene from the shadows and ensure their survival, making them appear to have perished while secretly relocating them for Kaito's future use.
"However, just the three of us may not be enough to pull this off without trace," Black Zetsu remarked hesitantly.
Though he had been under Kaito's control for years, the fact that he was now voluntarily offering advice showed a major shift in his mindset.
This change stemmed from the moment Kaito brought him to meet Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and promised to help him rescue Ōtsutsuki Kaguya in the future.
Over the years, Kaito had successfully increased Black Zetsu's loyalty to over 80, eventually forming a binding contract with him.
Otherwise, Black Zetsu wouldn't have had access to such confidential matters.
"That's true."
Madara nodded in agreement. "Let's contact Kaito and see what he suggests."
Immediately, Madara reached out through their communication space and relayed the situation to Kaito.
Within moments, Kaito appeared, teleporting directly into the room.
After glancing at Yagura to confirm he was still completely under control, Kaito waved his hand, setting up a sealing barrier that encompassed himself, Madara, and Black Zetsu before speaking.
"I've already understood the situation. You've done well so far."
"Just standing by while the Hozuki and Kaguya Clans are wiped out would indeed be a waste."
"I'll personally head to their clan territories soon and place space-time sealing marks on every member."
"These marks will activate the moment they 'die,' teleporting them to a designated location while preserving their life force, keeping them just barely alive."
"This way, we won't interfere with the ongoing internal conflict of Kirigakure, and we can still successfully extract the clan members."
"Of course, during this process, Madara, I'll need you to use your Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's genjutsu to deceive all participants in the battle."
"They must truly believe these people have died, while the actual 'corpses' will have been teleported away. Can you handle that?"
Kaito had put careful thought into preserving these two bloodline clans.
"Of course! That's a trivial task."
Madara scoffed confidently. "Not only have I improved significantly in strength since contracting with you, especially in terms of mental and spiritual abilities…"
"I've also learned many of the powerful genjutsu techniques you created."
"Even without the contract, I was already capable of pulling off something like this."
"Rest assured, leave it to me."
"However, it seems Kirigakure isn't fully convinced by the performance Hashirama and I put on."
"They're choosing to observe or even outright ignore it."
"If Kirigakure is acting this way, I imagine Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure won't be much different."
"Clearly, this strategy failed from the very beginning. What do you plan to do now?"
Madara couldn't help but feel like a fool, having gone through all that effort for nothing.
"Hah! Wasn't this expected?"
Kaito chuckled, his eyes glinting coldly. "From the start, we knew this wasn't a particularly sophisticated plan."
"Given the terrifying power I've demonstrated in the past, as well as Konoha's ever-growing strength…"
"It's only natural they wouldn't believe it. But that doesn't stop us from continuing with the plan."
"To be honest, Konoha already possesses the means to unify the ninja world with ease."
"If it weren't for my efforts to minimize the resentment and hostility of the other villages and nations, we would've already taken action."
"The other villages might not fully understand this, but at least some of their higher-ups do."
"But so what?"
"They can either believe it or not."
"If they believe it, then there's nothing more to say. If they don't, they only have two choices—either remain passive observers or proactively align themselves with us before we make our move."
"Regardless of their choice, it won't significantly impact our plans."
"The intelligence division has already developed over a hundred contingency plans to handle any situation. So, just continue with the plan as usual."
"The best outcome is for them to surrender voluntarily. At the very least, they should pretend to ignore our moves and secretly cooperate with us in unifying the ninja world."
"Otherwise, the only thing waiting for them is death and despair."
The intelligence division was a department that Kaito had established over the years.
The Nara Clan had played a crucial role in its formation.
Currently, 50% of the intelligence division's members came from the Nara Clan.
And that was after Kaito deliberately recruited talented individuals from other clans and backgrounds to maintain balance and prevent the department from becoming a Nara-dominated entity.
Otherwise, if it were purely based on intellect, the Nara Clan alone could've filled 80% of the division.
After all, that clan simply had too many geniuses. It was as if they were naturally gifted strategists.
"That's true. In the face of overwhelming strength and reality, as long as those villages aren't completely brainless…"
"They'll cooperate with us, even if they know everything is part of our scheme. They'll just try to negotiate the best terms for themselves. Hah!"
"With me here, their defeat is inevitable."
Madara sneered in agreement.
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.
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