"Does Minato know about this?"
"No."
"Then why did you come to me?"
"Because once Minato finds out you and I both have this idea, he'll probably start thinking that unifying the ninja world really is the right thing to do."
"So basically, you're planning to use me to trick Minato."
Nara Shikaku shot Aburame Shiken a look of utter disdain.
From now on, if anyone calls me a black-hearted again, I'm throwing hands. Has anyone ever seen a black-hearted that keeps getting schemed against every single day?
Compared to this guy, I'm practically the white lotus of the ninja world.
"Not really. Convincing Minato only takes one sentence anyway: if our generation fights all the wars, then won't the next generation have no wars left to fight?"
"Damn… that's ruthless. Minato probably wouldn't even have the heart to refuse."
Nara Shikaku sighed.
Using righteousness against someone like Minato—someone responsible and compassionate—was practically cheating.
"Then if you already know how to deal with Minato, why come to me?"
"Because I need you to help come up with the plan. Unifying the ninja world is way too troublesome for one person to map out alone."
"Just as I thought. I got drafted into forced labor again."
Nara Shikaku looked utterly speechless.
Wasn't I supposed to be the smartest man in Konoha? Then why do I always feel like I'm the one getting played?
"So tell me. What's your current plan?"
"The plan is simple: wipe out the smaller ninja villages first, then deal with the major villages afterward. That's how we unify the ninja world."
"Isn't that risky? If you leave the strongest villages until the end, what if they join forces?"
"When have they not joined forces against Konoha? And every time, after getting beaten senseless, they crawled back home with their tails between their legs."
"…Well, when you put it that way, I guess there's nothing wrong with that logic."
Nara Shikaku wiped away imaginary sweat.
Damn it… he actually has a point.
(The Four Great Ninja Villages: That's technically true, but did you really have to phrase it so harshly?)
"But the smaller villages are the troublesome ones. Takigakure seems to possess some mysterious elixir, Kusagakure has a terrifying trump card, and the Sky Ninja Village floating in the heavens is practically unknown. Then there's the Land of Demons, the Land of Snow… all kinds of small nations. Who can guarantee they don't have hidden cards of their own?"
"Compared to the major villages we already know inside and out, these small villages might actually become the greatest obstacle to unifying the ninja world."
Aburame Shiken explained.
That was also the main reason Takigakure had been selected as one of the first targets.
Of course, another major reason was that the Akatsuki was basically running out of members anyway.
Hidan had already been captured by him and handed over to Orochimaru.
Uchiha Itachi definitely wouldn't be joining the Akatsuki either.
Deidara still hadn't grown up yet.
Surely they couldn't just send Ryoha alone to fight Nagato and Konan.
Not that he'd lose.
But if they accidentally forced Madara's backup plan out into the open too early, that would become a massive headache.
So it was better to take things one step at a time.
After all, you eat meals one bite at a time too.
"So it's decided then? This really has to be done?"
Nara Shikaku still clung to one last shred of hope.
Maybe Shiken would suddenly say—
"Relax, I was joking."
If only.
"If Konoha's strength isn't enough to crush the entire ninja world, then we'll stop. How about that?"
"…Uh…"
Nara Shikaku might be a little lazy, but he wasn't the type to lie to himself.
With Konoha's current strength, just the openly known Kage-level fighters already numbered more than ten—and none of them were barely scraping into the category either.
And across the entire ninja world, how many Kage-level shinobi even existed in total?
…Now that he thought about it that way, it really would be strange if Konoha didn't unify the ninja world.
"Fine. We'll take it step by step. I'll help you draft the plan first. Whether we actually commit to it can be decided later."
What Nara Shikaku was thinking was simple: something as massive as unifying the ninja world wasn't something the Nara Clan could recklessly go all in on. Better to stay cautious for now.
"Good. No problem."
What Aburame Shiken was thinking was equally simple: all he really needed was Shikaku's brain.
As for the Nara Clan's combat strength…
Well, to put it politely—
Who the hell would willingly send the Nara Clan to the battlefield when they had them under their command?
...
Half a month later...
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
A roaring mudslide surged toward a wild-haired ninja.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
A combined lightning-and-fire technique crashed head-on into the mudslide, stopping the raging torrent.
"Who are you? I don't remember offending someone like you."
"Seriously? I'm very obviously here to kill you, and you're still asking for a reason? Are old-generation ninja really this polite? Still insisting on having a proper justification before fighting?"
Even Kakuzu didn't know how to respond to that.
The other side's intentions were crystal clear.
He was here to kill him.
What else was there to say?
"Hmph. Brat, do you even know who I am? I'm a shinobi who once fought the God of Shinobi himself."
"Yeah, yeah. You're the guy who threw a kunai from eight hundred meters away, right?"
"You're talking nonsense! Back then I clearly—"
Hideki immediately perked up.
He loved ninja world gossip, especially when it involved his direct ancestors.
"Clearly threw two kunai, okay?"
Hideki nearly stumbled flat on his face.
What difference does one or two make?!
Did that seriously need clarification?!
"Die! Earth Release: Bottomless Swamp!"
A massive area around Hideki instantly transformed into a swamp.
Kakuzu quickly coated his feet with chakra to keep from sinking.
Although that prevented him from getting dragged under, the soft, sticky sensation beneath his feet completely killed any thought of escaping.
"Hmph. We'll see who dies here today. With earth-style techniques this powerful, it looks like I'm about to obtain a perfect earth-attribute heart."
After speaking, Kakuzu tore open his upper robe.
Four enormous masked monsters emerged from his body.
Together with Kakuzu himself, the five of them looked like a perfectly coordinated squad facing Hideki as though he were some gigantic raid boss.
"Heh, now this is getting interesting. Let me see the difference between relics like you old-timers and us younger ninja."
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A gigantic dragon head rose from the swamp and lunged at Kakuzu.
Kakuzu leapt into the air to dodge.
But the Earth Dragon Bullet suddenly twisted midair and continued chasing him.
"What?!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
Three techniques instantly shattered the pursuing earth dragon.
Below, Hideki grinned.
If a ninjutsu attack can't automatically track its target, then why would I even bother casting it?
Old relics of the ninja world—
Times have changed.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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