Chapter 323: The Helpless Daihōmoku, Final Consensus Reached!

Luo Sha was direct—he immediately demanded to kill someone.

Even as he spoke, his face showed not the slightest expression, and even Chōmei couldn’t help but twitch her lips.

But upon closer reflection, it was understandable.

After all, this was a traditional Sand Village tactic—hadn’t they simply handed over Yagura to their own Mist Village in the past?

And besides—

Big brother, don’t mock second brother; your own Mist Village isn’t any better.

Think of how many of your own people died in the Blood Mist Village, how many Mist ninja were forced to become traitors?

Though Obito’s manipulation of the Fourth Mizukage played a role, the root cause was that the Mist Village already had this tendency—Obito merely guided the already willing Kurotsuchi into becoming the Blood Mist Village’s puppet.

On the contrary.

Had the Mist Village not had this tendency to begin with, even if Kurotsuchi had been willing, he could never have created the Blood Mist Village!

Chōmei thought deeply for a long time before slowly shaking her head.

“I won’t do this.”

“And I advise Itachi, Luo Sha, not to do it either—even if we all choose to defect to Konoha, have Itachi considered the situation we’ll face after joining?”

“To be blunt, it won’t be much different from now.”

“We’ll simply have Konoha—and Uchiha Jin—as our new leader.”

“Each of our ninja villages’ ninja are the chips in our hands as Kage—we’ll gain whatever status we have in Konoha only through the support of our own ninja.”

“Our strength may be broken up and scattered by Konoha; we’ll never again wield the influence we have now.”

“But likewise—”

“It’s best we preserve as much strength as possible; once we truly integrate into Konoha, our own ninja will at least be more inclined to gravitate toward us, their original Kage, rather than Konoha’s old factions.”

“Therefore, I still recommend that internal disagreements be resolved internally.”

“Chiyo and Ebizō currently dislike Itachi, but Itachi, Luo Sha, now hold full control—they can’t possibly oppose Itachi.”

“Once your Sand Village truly joins Konoha, even if they resent it, would they really choose to become traitors?”

“As long as they don’t want to become traitors, whether they like it or not, they’ll ultimately have no choice but to reluctantly enter Konoha.”

“And once they truly enter Konoha, they’ll naturally gather around Itachi, because compared to Konoha’s original factions—or even our Mist or Cloud Villages—they’ll inevitably lean more toward Itachi, their former Kazekage.”

Chōmei spoke gently, yet made her reasoning clear.

Luo Sha froze.

He stared blankly at Chōmei, but quickly grasped the full logic—her reasoning was indeed correct.

Even why she had warned him, he understood immediately.

In short—ally.

Even if we all defect to Konoha, Konoha itself has many factions, and our two villages are the most natural allies.

He took a deep breath and slowly spoke: “Itachi’re right. I’ve learned.”

“I’ll now carefully consider how to persuade more people to join Konoha without sparking internal chaos.”

“Daihōmoku, what’s your choice, Rock Village?”

After speaking,

Luo Sha turned his gaze directly to Daihōmoku, his eyes instantly sharpening.

Clearly,

From his earlier pursuit of Tsuchi, it was obvious he didn’t want to join Konoha.

But then again, it made sense.

Though he failed to form the alliance, as its architect, Daihōmoku himself embodied his stance.

But unfortunately,

His stance now stands opposed to the Sand and even the Mist Villages—he must quickly determine Daihōmoku’s current position.

If he still firmly opposes joining Konoha, then even if the Sand Village doesn’t go to war with the Rock Village, we must remain vigilant against sabotage from the Rock Village.

Realizing this, Luo Sha’s gaze grew subtle, subtly turning wary.

Daihōmoku: “...”

His face was grim, his whole body trembling slightly.

He couldn’t fathom how things had gone from good to this.

The alliance plan they’d agreed upon—before it could even be established—had already collapsed.

The Cloud Village withdrew!

Now, the Sand and Mist Villages are determined to leave too.

What do we do?

Even if all four ninja villages had united, they’d likely still struggle to oppose Konoha—now, with only the Rock Village remaining, how can we resist Konoha, which has absorbed the Cloud, Mist, and Sand Villages?

Surrender?

Though he deeply resisted the idea, he began considering it.

Tsuchi’s words earlier were meant to break his will, but upon reflection, they were sound—because the Rock Village has one fundamental, unsolvable problem.

That is—he’s old.

How much longer can he hold on? And after he dies?

The Rock Village has no one capable of carrying its banner—and even if there were, it would be futile, like a mantis trying to stop a cart.

Worse still—the Rock Village has no such person at all.

Even if he didn’t care for himself, he had to think of his family, his children, his ninja, his civilians.

Should he let so many die for the hollow title of “Rock Village”?

So, sigh—

With a helpless sigh, Daihōmoku’s spine bent.

“Alright, I understand.”

“The Rock Village will surrender to Konoha. I’ll handle the opposition upon returning.”

“Let this be settled.”

“First, keep this secret among the three of us—at least don’t let the lower ranks know, or I fear chaos will erupt.”

“Second: contact Konoha.”

“We can’t guarantee stability on our own.”

“At least until we fully neutralize our internal opposition, all three of our villages need Konoha’s help to maintain order.”

“Of course,”

“This also serves as a token of loyalty.”

“Third: strike swiftly.”

“This can’t be delayed. Though the Mizukage was right, nothing can be perfect.”

“The more people involved, the more complicated things become.”

“To prevent the opposition from rallying more supporters, even if we don’t kill them, we must at least detain and confine them.”

With Daihōmoku’s declaration, the atmosphere grew relaxed.

Then,

The three began discussing specific details, deliberating point by point, until they reached full agreement. They signed a letter of intent that night, each affixing their names, then each selected a trusted subordinate to form a small team—and under cover of night, they set out toward Konoha’s northern front.