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"I was even expecting Kumo to be the first to surrender. I never thought it would be Iwa." Uzumaki Mito sighed.
"Huh?"
Uchiha Naori looked at Mito in surprise. "Why would you think that?"
"You and I both know that the current Raikage is the most hot-headed one yet. He's stubborn, and considering how tough Kumogakure has always been, there's no way they'd surrender so easily, right?"
"Their ambitions have always been huge! A village like that will never just submit without a fight."
"Uh... this..."
Mito was momentarily stunned before realization dawned on her.
"Oh! I got it wrong! I thought the current Raikage was still the Third Raikage!"
"I've been so focused on Konoha matters lately that I completely forgot some news."
"It's not your fault, Mito. We're old, after all. Hahaha~" Hashirama joked casually.
"Old? WHO ARE YOU CALLING 'OLD'?" Mito glared at Hashirama, her aura turning murderous.
"Uh... I'm sorry. I-I need to go now." Realizing his mistake, Hashirama quickly fled.
Calling a woman old? That's not just worse than asking her age… it's basically signing your own death warrant. You might as well start digging your own grave while you're at it.
Luckily, Kaito could revive people, so even if Hashirama was killed by an 'accident', Kaito could just bring him back.
"Ahem! I got it now, Mito. So that's how it is!"
Uchiha Naori nodded knowingly. "If it were the Third Raikage, that would be a different story."
"That old guy may seem reckless and stubborn, but deep down, he's actually quite meticulous—a real tough nut to crack."
"If he fully understood the situation, it wouldn't be impossible for him to surrender."
"But his son, the Fourth Raikage, is different. While he inherited his father's exceptional talent, his temper is even more explosive and impulsive. He lacks the depth of thought and isn't someone who would compromise easily."
Uzumaki Mito nodded in agreement before turning to Kaito and asking, "Kaito, now that Iwa-nin have surrendered, what's your next move? Are we adjusting the plan?"
"And should we keep Iwagakure's surrender a secret for now, or should we announce it immediately?"
From her perspective, both choices had their pros and cons.
"Announce it!"
"There's no point in hiding it, and besides, we wouldn't be able to keep it a secret even if we wanted to—unless we don't plan on fully taking over Iwagakure and reforming it just yet."
"If we tried to cover it up, it would only slow down our progress in developing both Iwagakure and the Land of Earth, which would be a waste of time."
Mito nodded, then asked again, "That makes sense! But won't publicly announcing it cause serious disruptions to the plan against the Akatsuki?"
"If we're not careful, we might not even be able to unite the other ninja villages to form a joint army against them."
After all, the other villages weren't fools. If Iwagakure had already submitted to Konoha, they'd start questioning whether this whole alliance was just a trap set by Konoha.
"That's not a problem."
Kaito shook his head. "We'll just proceed with the Akatsuki plan as usual."
"In fact, we can even speed things up."
"I'll inform Madara to make some adjustments."
"As long as we don't reveal Konoha's true strength, Madara's current level of power will be enough to make all the other villages feel an existential threat. They'll naturally move closer to us."
"That alone is enough."
"When the time comes, taking control and absorbing these villages won't be an issue at all. As for whether they suspect we orchestrated everything like with Iwagakure? That doesn't matter."
"In the face of absolute strength, whether they doubt us or not makes no difference."
"In the end, they'll either play dumb and continue fighting against Madara, or they'll surrender to us like Iwagakure did."
"Either way, both outcomes work in our favor, don't they?"
And if they refused to fight alongside Konoha against Madara after learning the truth? That would be even better.
A fragmented ninja world would be much easier to dominate.
Not to mention, Madara's 'Eye of the Moon' plan was real.
If the villages didn't try to stop him, Kaito would have no problem letting that plan proceed, releasing Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
That would surely draw out the Sage of Six Paths as well.
Actually, even if the villages did surrender, Kaito would still have to deal with Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths.
In that case, he'd have to take a trip to the moon and release Kaguya to lure the Sage out.
"I see."
Mito finally understood. "Since you've already arranged everything, I won't say any more."
"Let's just hope the ninja world's situation is resolved soon."
"After that, maybe I can finally put my responsibilities aside and take a trip to the Pirate world to relax."
For years, she and Uchiha Naori had been busy managing their clan and the village's affairs, leaving them with little time to visit the Pirate world.
Let alone having the chance to explore it for an extended period.
She was really curious about that world.
It seemed way more interesting than the ninja world.
"Let's go together when the time comes!"
"The village and the clan are both on the right track, and the younger generation is gradually growing up. With Izuna-senpai around, I can finally take a break." Uchiha Naori smiled.
"Sounds good!"
Mito nodded happily, then suddenly sighed. "Speaking of which, the Uchiha Clan has really been thriving in recent years."
"In comparison, the Senju and Uzumaki clans have fallen behind. Especially the Senju."
At this point, she couldn't help but glare at Tobirama. "It's all thanks to your wonderful students! They nearly wiped out the entire Senju Clan, and now we're struggling to recover!"
Tobirama: "..."
What could he say?
Who would've thought that after all these years, this mess would still come back to bite him?
"That's it—I'm going to find Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo in a few days and beat the crap out of them!"
Tobirama made a cold resolve in his heart.
Meanwhile, Mito turned back again to Kaito. "Kaito, I have a request."
"Would it be possible to revive some of the Senju Clan's past members? Just a few outstanding ones—maybe ten or twenty at most?"
Otherwise, it would take years for Nawaki to grow strong enough. As for the remaining Senju members, while their strength had improved due to their contract with Kaito, they were only mid-tier at best.
To take leadership roles, they needed both power and reputation.
Reviving some past elites would help tremendously.
"I see."
Kaito nodded. "That's not impossible."
"I'll give you twenty revival slots."
"However, it's best to only revive five or fewer people at a time."
"Any more than that might attract the Sage of Six Paths' attention too soon, and we don't want him interfering with our plans."
"But this is a one-time deal. If you want to revive more people in the future, you'll have to earn contribution points like everyone else in the village."
"Consider this a reward for your years of support."
"Sounds good! Thank you, Kaito!"
Uzumaki Mito beamed with excitement.
This was more than she had hoped for.
Kaito nodded. "In that case, prepare the necessary cells or DNA samples. I'll take care of the revival process."
"Understood!" Mito quickly agreed.
"Reviving people, huh?"
Uchiha Naori pondered for a moment before asking, "Kaito, do you think it's necessary for the Uchiha Clan to revive some of our elites as well?"
The Uchiha situation was different from the Senju's, so she wasn't entirely sure, but she had to think of her clan.
"Well... if I had to choose someone, Uchiha Kagami would be a good choice," Naori said.
"I'm sure your aunt's family would be thrilled."
"Plus, I still have his Sharingan. It hasn't been used for anything, so it could be used to bring him back."
.
.