Chapter 450

Thus, the situation in the Ninja World has become clear.

Before the war broke out, Mizunuki Ryosuke had already preemptively courted a key figure in the Second Ninja World War—Hanzo of the Salamander—and concluded a cooperative relationship with him, seeking to eventually bring Hanzo of the Salamander under his own command.

But at the time, it was merely laying the groundwork; to truly subdue the proud and arrogant demigod of the Ninja World, Hanzo of the Salamander, he had to make Hanzo of the Salamander realize the cruelty of reality and severely dampen his spirit.

And this task is to be completed by Konoha and the "Sannin," who are about to become renowned throughout the Ninja World.

When that time comes, having experienced the despair of reality, Mizunuki Ryosuke will have his own ways to bring Hanzo of the Salamander into his fold.

To achieve this step, Ryosuke had already laid the groundwork early on.

The first piece he prepared in this Ninja World War is—Amegakure, Hanzo of the Salamander.

Next is the Third Kazekage, whom Mizunuki Ryosuke has firmly bound with interests.

Utilizing the profits brought by the iron sand trade, he has completely bound Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, Kirigakure of the Land of Water, and the samurai of the Land of Iron onto the same boat.

Unlike Hanzo of the Salamander, who comes from a small and humble background, Sunagakure, no matter how poorly it fares, still holds the status of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

As the leader of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Third Kazekage cannot willingly submit to others on the surface, and the current Sunagakure is not the Sunagakure of later generations that has had its spirit completely broken.

Therefore, making the Third Kazekage willingly submit is naturally impossible, and Ryosuke's goal is very clear: to keep the Third Kazekage's pace consistent with his own.

Moreover, according to Ryosuke's intelligence, the interior of the current Sunagakure seems not to be harmonious.

The elder faction led by the elders Chiyo and Ebizo seems dissatisfied with the Third Kazekage's rule.

This is also a point that Mizunuki Ryosuke can greatly exploit.

Whether through political or economic angles, Ryosuke is confident in exerting enough influence on the Third Kazekage to facilitate the other party in making the moves he wants to see.

In this Ninja World War, the second piece Ryosuke prepared—Sunagakure, the Third Kazekage, Sate.

This is not all; the beneficiaries of the iron sand trade, besides Sunagakure as the supplier and Kirigakure as the middleman, of course, include the most important buyer—the Land of Iron.

Although the Land of Iron does not seem to have much value as a neutral country in normal times, it is impossible for the Land of Iron to abandon its foundation for the sake of iron sand profits and voluntarily obey Ryosuke's command to participate in the war.

But in reality, at certain moments, the Land of Iron will play an important role.

For example—the Five Kage Summit.

In the original work, at the Five Kage Summit held on the eve of the Fourth Ninja World War.

Danzo, acting as the Hokage, used Kotoamatsukami to manipulate Mifune, thereby shifting the stance of the Land of Iron to achieve his own gain.

If it hadn't been for Ao, a Jonin of Kirigakure, identifying it with his Byakugan, Danzo's scheme would likely have succeeded.

This also shows from the side the role that the Land of Iron, this permanently neutral country, can play at critical moments.

Although Ryosuke cannot completely manipulate the Land of Iron and Mifune, relying on past "friendships," it is not difficult to have the Land of Iron speak up for Kirigakure at a critical moment.

Therefore, in this Ninja World War, Mizunuki Ryosuke's third piece—the General of the Land of Iron, Mifune.

Having the above is still not enough; at first glance, Mizunuki Ryosuke seems to have already pulled most of the Ninja World's combat power into his own camp.

But Konoha at this point in time is truly too powerful, and the alliance between Konoha and Kumogakure is enough to contend with any force in the Ninja World.

Even if Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Amegakure were added together, they might not necessarily gain the upper hand against the alliance of Konoha and Kumogakure.

To break this potential threat, Mizunuki Ryosuke finally decided to pull the Third Raikage onto his boat as well.

Facing the isolated Hanzo of the Salamander, Mizunuki Ryosuke chose to combine kindness with severity.

Facing the Third Kazekage, who lacks prestige and has not yet established a firm foothold within Sunagakure, Mizunuki Ryosuke chose to use interests to win him over.

But facing the Third Raikage, Mizunuki Ryosuke chose to use gentle persuasion.

Compared to the Third Kazekage and Hanzo of the Salamander, the Third Raikage is clearly a grade stronger.

Compared to Hanzo of the Salamander, the Third Raikage has the entire Kumogakure as his backing.

Compared to the Third Kazekage, the Third Raikage not only has superior personal strength but his control over the village is far beyond what the Third Kazekage can compare to.

·· Begging for flowers ·· ··

And Kumogakure's foundation is clearly much better than Sunagakure's.

For such a powerhouse whose strength and status are clearly beyond the scope of calculation, Mizunuki Ryosuke chose to perform simple gentle persuasion and bestow favors.

Based on Mizunuki Ryosuke's understanding of the Third Raikage, the other party is not an old fox like Danzo who returns evil for good.

As long as the Third Raikage accepts Mizunuki Ryosuke's favor and chooses to stand on his side at a critical moment, everything will be enough.

With this, most of the Ninja World's combat power has been won over by Ryosuke.

The remaining isolated Land of Fire and Land of Earth are no longer to be feared.

And this is the most critical step in Mizunuki Ryosuke's plan.

Establishing the status of a hegemon is easy to say but extremely difficult to do.

.... 0

There is only one undisputed hegemon in the Ninja World at present, and that is Konoha of the Land of Fire.

And the reason why Ryosuke wants to lay out such a large net is very simple, and that is—to isolate Konoha!

And if Kirigakure wants to rise to the top, Konoha naturally cannot sit idly by.

So in reality, in this Ninja World War, if Mizunuki Ryosuke wants to achieve his goal, although he may seem carefree on the surface, his greatest enemy in the dark is Konoha.

Wanting to pull Konoha off its pedestal is definitely not something that can be done by the strength of Kirigakure alone.

Even as strong as Mizunuki Ryosuke is now, he would not easily choose to rashly cross swords with Konoha.

Not to mention the pointless consumption of combat power, he does not want to enjoy the treatment Orochimaru received.

Because Ryosuke knows in his heart that the old fox Hiruzen Sarutobi still has a trump card that harms others without benefiting himself—the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!

Before Orochimaru discovered the way to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, this move had always been an unsolvable existence.

Mizunuki Ryosuke does not want to test what level the "Death God" summoned by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal is because of poor planning.

Furthermore, because of Tsunade, Mizunuki Ryosuke does not want to make the relationship with Konoha too stiff.

Thinking of Tsunade, Mizunuki Ryosuke's heart could not help but soften a little.

For Ryosuke, his childhood sweetheart Mizunuki Ren is responsibility and long-lasting affection, and even more so, a long-lasting warmth.

And Tsunade, in his heart, is a sudden heartbeat of passion and a fiery tremor.

Neither is superior to the other, yet both are very important existences in Mizunuki Ryosuke's heart.

Dealing with Konoha without making the relationship with Konoha too stiff seems to be an extremely difficult thing.

As for how exactly to do it, he already has a plan in his heart. ===== CHAPTER 452 =====