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  “This is ‘Konoha’s Kunai Must Be Washed Seven Times’!” Gojo Kaigetsu decred in a stern voice.

  Minato Namikaze shuddered, his drowsiness pletely dispelled.

  Minato felt that, under Gojo Kaigetsu’s influence, he had learned both what he should and shouldn’t have. His bloeriht ceal a Gojo Kaigetsu-shaped darkness within.

  But even so…

  He struggled to find the words to describe su article.

  He uood each word individually, yet their bination defied logic.

  As everyone knew, Sunagakure was extremely arid and water-scarce.

  Even for noble desdants or the Kazekage’s children, the privileges regarding water were limited.

  Due to its unique geographical enviro, it was a closed-off and harsh shinobi vilge. The perma residents weren’t numerous, but it was still one of the Five Great Shinobi Vilges; how few could it truly be?

  Minato could roughly imagihe sario-

  Influenced by “Iki,” a servative elder like Homura Mitokado, disregarding the vilge’s circumstances, would vigorously promote the “Seven Washes” initiative.

  Or perhaps the vilge's sophisticated ninjas, having read “Iki,” would question the owners of Sunagakure’s ninja tool shops: why weren’t their kunai washed multiple times? Did they io cause their deaths in battle due to suegligence?

  Or maybe ordinary vilgers, driven by a petitive spirit, would defy the vilge’s orders and insist on washing their kunai excessively, prog, “Are we inferior to Konoha vilgers?”

  Of course, “Iki” was distributed throughout the entire shinobi world, not just Sunagakure. But only Sunagakure suffered from extreme water scarcity; other vilges could wash their kunai seven times without sequence.

  In Sunagakure… it might eveo u due to issues with water resource allocation.

  This was what Gojo Kaigetsu meant by “targeting Sunagakure.”

  Minato snapped out of Gojo Kaigetsu’s “genjutsu.”

  He pondered for a moment. “Kaigetsu-kun, I think I uand your line of thinking.”

  “But it all boils down to one crucial question: will Sunagakure believe it?”

  Indeed, from the perspective of a Konoha native, it was hard to believe that other vilges would go to such lengths to emute Konoha.

  “Believe it? Of course, they will. Only by using Konoha as a benchmark will other vilges blindly imitate us.”

  “Because our track record in Konoha is verifiable. We win every battle, every time.”

  Gojo Kaigetsu spread his hands, highlighting the core issue. “We all exist in the same shinobi world. Kirigakure and Sunagakure’s high-pressure enviros are clearly more suitable for cultivating powerful ninjas. So why ’t they defeat Konoha, evehey join forces?”

  “This question pgues the minds of everyoside Konoha.”

  “If I had to guess, the advisory cils of other vilges spend their days analyzing the reasons behind Konoha’s prosperity, trying to solve this mystery.”

  “The moon is rounder in Konoha, the air is sweeter, the Hokage Rock is more beautiful, freedom of speech thrives, and Konoha’s strength must stem from these factors…”

  “As long as we learn from Konoha, everything will be alright!”

  “They won’t know that the air is sweet because of the abundance of books; the Hokage Rock is beautiful because of the slogans; freedom of speech exists because I’m a good storyteller; the moon is round because… ahem, I ’t reveal that yet.”

  “I even believe that iure, various shinobi vilges will attempt to establish friendly retions with Konoha, sending their young ninjas to learn from us. We might even see joint in Exams and Genin Exams.”

  Gojo Kaigetsu tapped the “Iki” magazine oable. “Once ‘Iki’ ehe vilge, the advisors will naturally find ways to justify it.”

  “Praise Iki!”

  “Also… Ichiraku Ramen iicle is a real shop. If someoo iigate, the stories in ‘Iki’ would…”

  “Don’t worry, I’m quite familiar with old man Teuchi. At worst, I’ll write an article for him as an advertisement, have him pressure the ramen shop owo cooperate with our ‘Kunai’ campaign.”

  “sider it done.”

  “You truly are…” Minato wao say “eous,” but swallowed his words. “Praise Iki!”

  …

  …

  “Danzo, what should we do?”

  “Withdraw with me and wait for the opportune moment.”

  Danzo Shimura retreated deeper into the shadows, his face grim as he plotted something unknown.

  “Homura, if things unfold as we anticipate, and the Uchiha ultimately choose to betray Konoha, how should we respond?”

  “Hmph, how should we respond?”

  Homura Mitokado’s lips curled into a meaningful smile. He casually drew a katana from a nearby Root ninja’s waist and smmed it onto the wooden table between them.

  “Is this…?” Danzo’s eyes lit up. “I uand, Homura. You’re suggesting we eliminate all Uchiha taller than this katana. As for the rest, we sider recruiting them into Root for training?”

  Indeed, if it were the age group represented by that height, Danzo was fident in his ability to brainwash them.

  “Danzo, when did you bee so merciful?”

  “Turana sideways, turn it sideways!”

  “???” Danzo g the height of the horizontally pced katana a out a sigh of relief. “Fet it, let’s set that issue aside for now. What did the Fourth Hokage say about Kirigakure before we left?”

  Homura’s expression turned grim. He pulled out a fresh briefing from his pocket.

  “It’s a mission! He bypassed us, the elder advisors, and issued a mission ing Kirigakure directly in his capacity as Hokage.”

  A loss of power! This was a grave loss of power!

  Today, Minato could bypass them, the elder advisors, and issue missions directly. Would he dare to secretly dismiss them tomorrow?!

  Taking direct a against a major vilge! This was a momentous decision.

  “He who listens to many sides is enlightened; he who listens to only one side is benighted. I observe that Minato Namikaze doesn’t seem like a true Kage. If this tinues, something disastrous will happen sooner or ter!”

  Danzo’s face darkened further.

  “Against Kirigakure? Did Minato directly issue a decration of war against them?”

  “If that’s the case, I will personally impeach him before Hiruzen and the daimyo.”

  “Not quite. Take a look…”

  [Mission Name: Kirigakure Freedom Operation]

  [Mission Rank: C]

  [Ninjas accepting this missioo establish a temporary base in the Land of Hot Water. Prepare to receive virtuous ninjas, merts, and skilled individuals from Kirigakure… Assist the local engineering team in strug facilities.]

  [Enters with Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Land of Hot Water ninjas are possible. If they threaten or viote Konoha’s is, retaliate immediately.]

  [Mission rank will be adjusted after assessment, and rewards will be upgraded accly.]

  [Base Bounty: 50,000 ryō]

  Danzo took the mission briefing and read it thhly, word for word.

  Firstly, why did the Fourth Hokage assume there would be ninjas and merts fleeing Kirigakure, even using the term “receive”?

  Even his Roanization hadn’t received any sutel.

  Sedly, when did the Fourth Hokage bee so assertive? Knowing the possibility of entering those muscle-headed fools from Kumogakure, he still issued su ambiguous order…

  Putting himself in their shoes, if he were a Konoha ninja accepting this mission, with the vilge’s vague mission description as bag, he might actually take a if the opportunity arose.

  “Strararange!”

  “Could it be…”

  Danzo’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the Fourth Hokage had secretly established an intelligenit outside of the ANBU, ohat even he was unaware of?

  When did this happen?!

  Only such a sario could expin the Fourth Hokage’s cryptic words before he left the Hokage Residence…

  Danzo took a deep breath, f himself to calm down. “How many ninjas have accepted this mission?”

  “Dozens, and the number is still increasing.”

  “Heh, I uand.”

  “If this intel is true, then Gojo Kaigetsu’s vision is too narrow.”

  “I will personally lead the Root ninjas on a trip takure. I hear their Kekkei Genkai ninjas are quite… delectable~”

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