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He looked at Fugaku with a hint of sympathy.

Having such an elder, such a Hokage’s Advisor, is both a blessing and a curse for you Uchiha.

Wait a minute. This guy is my son-in-law. What the hell am I celebrating?

By that logic, his daughter, Hyūga Hiashi’s daughter, would be marrying a madman?

Connecting these thoughts, Hiashi’s good mood evaporated.

I was sympathizing with Fugaku?

Sympathy, my foot.

I’m a victim here too.

Fugaku hesitated, wanting to speak.

After thinking it over, he decided against it, keeping his thoughts to himself.

As long as I pretend I didn’t hear it.

When outsiders called the Uchiha mad, Fugaku didn’t mind.

He’d heard such things too many times.

But having a fellow Uchiha say it was painful. After all, he was the Uchiha clan leader.

If all Uchiha were mad, then he, Uchiha Fugaku, would be the "mad clan leader."

That title should belong to the Kaguya clan leader.

Compared to the Kaguya clan, the Uchiha were practically the "good boys" of the shinobi world.

Who in the shinobi world dared to compete with the Kaguya in madness?

When the Kaguya went crazy, even the Uchiha had to step aside.

Noticing Hiashi’s and Fugaku’s discomfort, Kazuki offered an explanation.

"I was just speaking casually. I didn’t mean to disparage the clan. No need for sour faces."

Hiashi: "....."

Fugaku: "....."

Kazuki brought the conversation back.

"It seems Ōnoki is ready to go all out. He wouldn’t have struck at the bounty stations otherwise. If not for the money, he could have just issued a warning."

"The problem is, Iwagakure’s reputation is now ruined. Will anyone sell them anything?"

Ah, the simple thinking of a clan leader stuck in his compound.

Kazuki swore that if those words hadn’t come from Hinata’s father, he would have sprayed him in the face.

Noticing Kazuki’s expression, Hiashi realized he’d misspoken.

This kind of intelligence was his weak point. After all, since becoming clan leader, the number of times he’d left the village could be counted on one hand. He didn’t know much about such underhanded dealings.

Fugaku didn’t let Hiashi make a fool of himself. He proactively explained.

"In the shinobi world, there are many people with unsavory backgrounds. These people care only about money. Even if Iwagakure is being jointly targeted by various Daimyōs, as long as they go to these people, they can still buy things. These people only care about money, and they sell at high prices."

Human greed is limitless. Some people don’t care where Iwagakure’s money came from. If you dare to buy, they dare to sell.

The price would just be much higher than the market rate.

"Not just people, even many summoning beast clans engage in such trade."

People might have scruples, but these creatures won’t.

They’re not even human, so don’t try to constrain them with human morality.

Just like when the Uchiha were being targeted everywhere. As long as they had money, they could buy whatever they needed directly from the Ninja Cat Clan.

Even if you needed a large quantity, the Ninja Cat Clan could procure it.

The price would just be high.

Useful only for emergencies. Buying regularly would bankrupt you.

Iwagakure wouldn’t care about losing money. Their money was stolen. As long as they could buy supplies, losses were acceptable.

Just getting supplies was good enough. Who cared about the price?

If the Uchiha could find a channel, surely Iwagakure could too.

"....."

Truly, the shinobi world is full of wonders. Hiashi felt his horizons were still somewhat limited.

Compared to the Uchiha, the Hyūga clan was indeed lacking in this area.

To be precise, few Hyūga ninja focused on summoning beasts.

Their attention was on the clan’s Gentle Fist and Byakugan.

With sufficient supplies, the course of the war was unpredictable.

Unless Konoha, like Kumogakure, deployed massive forces to relentlessly pursue and attack Iwagakure, could they firmly seize victory.

Unfortunately, Konoha couldn’t fight Iwagakure to the death.

As for Kumogakure, that depended on their own ability.

As an ally, Konoha had already done what was expected.

That was the agreement. You couldn’t expect Konoha to be the main force attacking Iwagakure.

Kazuki wouldn’t do something that foolish.

"Orochimaru, do you feel any pressure about the war?"

Before, Konoha had the advantage because Iwagakure lacked supplies. Now that advantage was gone. Did you, Orochimaru, feel pressured?

Hearing this, Orochimaru smiled faintly.

"Kumogakure should feel the pressure, not us. Konoha’s objective is merely to drain Iwagakure’s energy and tie down some of their forces. So the pressure isn’t on our side. As long as Ōnoki can’t hold down the border camp permanently, the advantage remains with Konoha."

Orochimaru had never feared war. Unless Ōnoki stayed in the camp the whole time.

Unfortunately, that was impossible. Compared to this front, the Land of Waterfalls battlefield was Iwagakure’s focus.

Kumogakure’s pressure was too great for Ōnoki to ignore.

Ōnoki had come here because he was worried about Kazuki destroying the camp again. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made the trip.

"As long as you’re confident." Kazuki nodded slightly.

"Next, the village and Kumogakure will take the lead in condemning and targeting Iwagakure. So I’ll leave the battle here to you."

Like Ōnoki, Kazuki couldn’t stay at the front-line camp too long. Konoha’s Hokage was still away from home.

Who knew when she’d be back?

Kazuki didn’t want to become the Sixth Hokage by the time Tsunade returned.

If it came to that, the Uchiha would be overjoyed.

Becoming Hokage had always been the Uchiha’s dream.

If Kazuki truly sat in the Hokage’s seat, it would be momentous for the Uchiha.

"Damn it!! That old bastard Ōnoki has no shame."

Compared to Kazuki, who remained aloof, A couldn’t tolerate Iwagakure’s shameless behavior.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t stand Iwagakure bullying the weak. It was that with money, Iwagakure could find ways to buy needed supplies.

This could tip the scales of victory.

Thinking Iwagakure could hold out even longer, A started cursing like a fishwife.

Don’t think a muscular tough guy can’t curse. When A really let loose, his ferocity was no less than a street vendor’s.

"...."

Raikage-sama, please calm down.

Mabui wanted to console A, but knowing his temperament, she knew no one could reason with him when he was angry.

So she stood frozen, watching A rant like a market woman.

"Damn it! Isn’t he afraid of being targeted by every country and Daimyō in the shinobi world? This is absolutely lawless!!"

First attacking the Land of Waterfalls. Then, when that was almost finished, turning his black hand to the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass.