“You're right. To go against the trend and launch a war when it's not suitable, the initiator of the war will definitely be the one who puts in the most effort and gets the least reward.”
The Third Kazekage nodded and continued:
“Yagura Karatachi being able to sit in the Kage position shouldn't be due to short-sightedness. Judging from the relevant information collected by the village in the past, Yagura Karatachi is determined to change Kirigakure's Bloody Mist policy. He is quite capable and powerful, and shouldn't be that kind of person.
Even if he can't see it clearly, Kirigakure's Elder is also a man of profound wisdom. He will definitely be able to see this point.”
Shimizu agreed with the latter half of the Third Kazekage's words, but as for the first half…
Not necessarily.
Being able to sit in the Kage position doesn't necessarily mean that one can't be mediocre. It's just that they are relatively good at fighting, and others are even worse. The village simply doesn't have anyone better to put forward.
However, the Third Kazekage said that Yagura Karatachi is quite capable and doesn't seem like someone who would do such a thing. Even if he did, someone like Elder would come forward to dissuade him.
But Yagura Karatachi still wants to do it.
Could it be…
Shimizu frowned slightly.
It should be that person's doing.
Then this guy is quite pitiful. He worked hard for half his life, finally managed to sit in the Mizukage's position, but before he could do anything, he became someone else's puppet. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that half a lifetime of hard work has become someone else's wedding dress.
So now, Kirigakure, one of the five strongest forces in the ninja world, has become a tool for Madara Uchiha to use at will.
However, that person's ultimate goal is to achieve the Eye of the Moon Plan. The current goal should be to select a proxy from the Uchiha clan. Now that he has controlled Kirigakure, he shouldn't be able to interfere too much with Sunagakure.
As for whether he will choose others as his proxies, Shimizu believes the possibility is very small, so small that it is almost non-existent.
He already controls such a powerful force as Kirigakure through Yagura Karatachi. If he really wanted to choose, why would he bother to find Obito Uchiha in the original timeline?
It can only be said that Madara Uchiha has never taken others seriously. The only people he sees are his brother Izuna and Hashirama Senju. The only powers he values are the Sharingan and Wood Release.
The Senju withered, Wood Release disappeared, and Madara Uchiha is the one who understands the power of the Sharingan best, and the one who understands the Uchiha the most.
A conceited person like Madara will only believe in himself, and when he becomes old, he will only believe in the same bloodline as himself, the people he cultivates.
In the short term, as long as I don't overdo it and make Madara Uchiha feel that it will hinder the Eye of the Moon Plan, I shouldn't attract his attention.
Only when I possess the power that even Madara Uchiha cannot defeat when he returns to his peak will it be the time for my true grand plan.
“What are you thinking about?”
The Third Kazekage looked at Shimizu, who was in a daze, and interrupted.
“It's nothing. Perhaps Yagura's ascension was not smooth, or perhaps the existence of Elder and others made him feel constrained, so he wanted to provoke a war, use victory to bring prestige, and consolidate his position and power.”
Shimizu shook his head, threw out the distracting thoughts in his mind, and said to the Third Kazekage.
“That explanation is still plausible.”
The Third Kazekage nodded in agreement.
He also felt that there was no other explanation.
“So what's your opinion? Should we get involved, or shouldn't we?”
The Third Kazekage asked Shimizu again.
“I think…”
“Don't rush to answer.”
The Third Kazekage knocked on the table and interrupted:
“Let me first tell you about the overall situation of the village now. This is the statistics from the end of this year.”
“The village's active ninjas total 14,600, of which more than 8,300 are Genin, of which 2,600 graduated from the Ninja Academy after the end of the Third Shinobi World War. The time they have officially served as ninjas does not exceed three years. There are more than 5,200 Chunin, 733 Special Jonin, and 144 Jonin…”
“Among them, the puppet troops…, the medical troops…, and the sealing team…”
Shimizu lowered his eyes and quickly recorded the data that the Third Kazekage was telling him.
Outside, even the middle and lower-level ninjas of Sunagakure will guess and evaluate the comprehensive strength of the major ninja villages, but they can only judge a rough estimate.
However, some of the data mentioned by the Third Kazekage are only known to the village's high-level officials, because it includes the detailed situation of the Anbu secret troops, as well as the specific overview of various war preparations and other things.
“Overall, now with the rapid growth of the village's puppet master team, and the bonus of the breathing technique to elite ninjas, the village's middle and lower-level combat power is not much weaker than it was at the beginning of the Second Shinobi World War. Although the number of Jonin is slightly less, the quality is much higher.”
Shimizu knew that the Jonin mentioned by the Third Kazekage not only referred to ordinary Jonin, but also included the village's top combat power.
During the Second Shinobi World War, in addition to the Third Kazekage, Sunagakure had four top combat forces: Chiyo's siblings, and Sasori's parents.
The latter two were relatively weaker in strength. They were only in their twenties when they died, and their strength was roughly similar to that of weaker Kage-level powerhouses like Rasa.
In addition, due to the relationship of ability restraint, they both fell under the blade of Sakumo Hatake.
As for now, this vacancy can be replaced by Rasa and Karura, whose strength is already close to complete.
In addition to myself, there is also Pakura, who has now mastered Scorch Release and has almost reached the level of a Kage.
All in all, there are seven top combat forces. Except for Konoha, Sunagakure can almost match two or three other major ninja villages in this regard.
“Our current strength is not worse than it was back then, and we won the Second Shinobi World War. On the contrary, what about Konoha? White Fang was killed by their own people, Tsunade is crippled, and Kato Dan is also dead. If we start another war, our chances of winning are much greater than before.”
Shimizu remained silent.
Sunagakure's victory in the Second Shinobi World War was actually very侥幸.
According to the original trajectory, the Sand Village was actually going to lose, but because of my existence, some changes occurred. It just so happened that Yakushi Nonou, this top-notch intelligence agent, was caught, and at the right time, Tsunade's hemophobia was made known to the Sand Village. This led the Sand Village to make a correct judgment on the battle situation, causing Hanzo to waver.
So what about now?
"Does the village have an accurate assessment of Konoha's current strength?"
"The intelligence department has compiled an assessment, which is a comprehensive analysis of the known dead and retired ninjas of Konoha over the years, plus the intelligence sent back by the intelligence agents placed in Konoha. The total number of ninjas is about 17,000. The number of Jonin, according to known intelligence statistics and normal proportions, should fluctuate between 170 and 180."
"Apart from the Third Hokage and his old classmates, the only ones worth being vigilant about are Jiraiya and Orochimaru. As for the rest... they are not to be feared!"
Shimizu looked at the document presented by the Third Kazekage, calculating rapidly in his mind.
In terms of conventional combat power, the judgment of these intelligence personnel in the Sand Village should be almost the same, and even the evaluation of the combat effectiveness of the Uchiha clan may be too conservative.
Having been kept in the police force by Konoha for many years, the current Uchiha clan is at its most declining period in history. Even if some members go to the battlefield, only a few can be trained.
Especially those Uchihas with relatively high talent and strong strength, the high-level officials of Konoha are strictly guarding against them, fearing that one day they will awaken a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan again, and a second Uchiha Madara will be born, driving them from the seat of Hokage and seizing their interests.
The current Uchiha clan has not experienced much training. Although it is still the number one wealthy clan in the ninja world, compared to the Warring States Period when everyone was a soldier, the Uchiha clan is much weaker.
There is no mistake, one first, one hair, one inside, one appearance, one at, one look!
It is also because of this that the entire ninja world has misjudged the strength of the Uchiha clan, thinking that Konoha regards the Uchiha as a trump card like the tailed beasts.
If that's really the case, the outcome of the battle between Konoha and the Sand Village is probably fifty-fifty, and with the Mist Village as cannon fodder, according to these data, Konoha will definitely lose.
It's just...
Shimizu flipped through the document, turning it to the page with information about Minato Namikaze.
As Jiraiya's disciple, the Third Hokage's grand-disciple, and Konoha's new generation of genius ninja, the Sand Village's intelligence department must have information about him.
In the Sand Village's assessment, Minato Namikaze is just an ordinary elite Jonin who is good at using Wind Release and Body Flicker Technique.
Sure enough, the evaluation was a mistake?
Shimizu closed the document without changing his expression.
Before developing the Rasengan, before possessing the ability to instantly launch high-damage attacks, Minato Namikaze's absolute hard power should not have grown to the peak of his own strength, but he must have already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, and definitely possesses the strength of the Kage level.
Moreover, if the war breaks out, and three of the five major ninja villages move, what about the remaining two?
"Third Kazekage, I still insist on my previous view that now is not a good opportunity to start a war."
"We may be able to defeat Konoha, but simply defeating Konoha is useless. What we want is to replace Konoha and become the new overlord of the ninja world. The Mist Village will cooperate with us, but how much effort will they put in?"
"What about the other ninja villages? The Cloud Village has no territorial border with us, nor any conflict of interest, and both have Konoha as a common enemy. What about the Earth Village?"
"Third Kazekage, I dare to assert that once the war breaks out, the Rock Village will directly attack us, and if we show any signs of falling into decline, Hanzo and the Rain Village's attitude will waver."
"Now, we may have the ability to defeat any one of the ninja villages, including Konoha, but once we are fighting with Konoha, and another Rock Village is added, our chances of winning will probably decrease sharply."
"Not to mention, what we see now is only the strength that Konoha has shown. The foundation left by the First Hokage and the Second Hokage to Konoha is too rich. None of us know whether Konoha will suddenly produce someone like the Sannin again."
Shimizu slowly shook his head at the Third Kazekage.
This is not a question of whether we can win, but that there is no need to fight at all.
The Sand Village is now in an unprecedented stage of rapid development.
Shimizu believes that with him constantly transferring various knowledge and technology from other worlds, the Sand Village's speed of improvement, whether in strength or foundation, will far outpace the other four ninja villages in the coming time.
As long as we can stabilize the current situation, as the Sand Village's strength becomes stronger and stronger, then everything will be available in the future.
"Well, the Rock Village, and Hanzo, are indeed forces that cannot be ignored. You are right."
The Third Kazekage knew that with Shimizu's intelligence and vision, he could see these things.
The reason he wanted to hear Shimizu's opinion was not to test this, nor was it that he couldn't see this level.
What he wanted to see was whether Shimizu was the kind of person who was willing to launch a war for the sake of war and for power.
You need to know that the Third Kazekage is not young anymore. In a few years, he will almost decline from his peak.
If Shimizu could lead the Sand Village to a great victory at that time, or even if his performance in the war was better than Rasa, then the position of Kazekage would belong to him.
He didn't believe that Shimizu couldn't see these things.
The Third Kazekage believed that this was the fastest way for Shimizu personally to become Kazekage and gain the greatest benefit.
But Shimizu still told him that now was not the best time to launch a war, which was the best for the Sand Village.
What does this mean?
It shows that Shimizu puts the interests of the village above his personal interests!
The Third Kazekage was very satisfied.
To become a qualified Kage, you must put the village above your personal life and interests.
Shimizu didn't know that his speech had received a perfect score from the Third Kazekage.
Because in his opinion, the position of Kazekage was already his, and it was only a matter of time before he took that position.
Maybe the Third Kazekage thinks everything is still under his control?
But that's just what he thinks.
Even if the Third Kazekage suddenly has a brain fart and wants to choose Rasa as the Fourth Kazekage, Shimizu can still easily snatch it away.
What is Rasa's strength and what are his skills?
Shimizu, relying on the credit of creating new puppet techniques, is simply a Monzaemon reincarnated in the hearts of the puppet masters in the Sand Village. Relying on teaching breathing techniques, building the Sand Rain Grand Canal, manufacturing energy vehicles, creating production lines, and a series of other deeds, he has raised his reputation to a very high level.
Plus the support of Chiyo and Ebizo, even if the Third Kazekage disagrees, he has to agree.
Of course, now Shimizu believes that he only needs to follow the steps, and he can smoothly take over the banner of Kazekage and the power of the Sand Village in the future.
