Chapter 268 Deployment of the Whirlpool Kingdom

Late at night, the Hokage Building in the center of Konoha Village was brightly lit, forming a sharp contrast with the dimly lit houses around it.

Yeshan was wearing the Hokage haori and his hair was neatly groomed. Nara Shikaku was holding an umbrella behind him dutifully, and the two of them walked into the office building in the rain.

He came from Konoha Hospital. Uchiha Keiji and Namikaze Minato had been waiting for a long time. When they saw Ye Shan coming, they quickly stood up and entered the Hokage's exclusive office together.

The three of them sat facing each other. Nara Shikaku brought hot tea and left. The atmosphere in the room was very depressing.

Uchiha Keiji cleared his throat and spoke first: "Hokage, I already know about the Kakashi team. As the person in charge of security in Konohagakure, I need to make a deep self-examination. Please punish me."

This is true. Uchiha Keiji is now a powerful figure. He controls two and a half of the three deputy hokages of Konohagakure. Namikaze Minato is half of the deputy hokage. Uchiha Fugaku is in the new rain country and doesn't care about anything at all. According to the division of Yeshan, Uchiha Keiji is in charge of violent organizations such as the Root and the Anbu, and naturally becomes the person in charge of security. Now that the ninja team has an accident while performing a mission, he is naturally not free from responsibility. Even if casualties are inevitable when ninjas perform missions, it depends on the individual. Can Kakashi be considered an ordinary person? Who in the entire Konohagakure doesn't know that he is the young jonin that the Hokage cares about the most?

Ye Shan slowly opened his eyes and said calmly: "What crime have you committed? If we are to investigate the crime, I, the Hokage, am also guilty. After all, I signed the mission letter myself!"

"When we encounter problems, we should not always think about assigning responsibility. Assigning responsibility will not solve the problem, but will have a counterproductive effect. Have you read the mission progress report of Team Kakashi? Let's talk about what to do next."

Namikaze Minato picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, then said, "Let me make a statement first. According to the support team's report, I have absolute evidence that this mission was carefully planned by the Land of Water, and the purpose was to kill Kakashi. Therefore, the Konohagakure should take corresponding actions to punish the villains who are secretly doing evil!"

Uchiha Keiji was much more excited. He slammed the table and said, "The Water Country must be punished for its evil deeds, otherwise where will Konoha Village put its face? Please give the order, Lord Hokage. Thousands of ninjas from our Anbu and Root are ready to strike hard at any time!"

Ye Shan lit a cigarette but did not smoke it. Instead, he held it in his hand and quietly watched the smoke rising. After a long while, he said, "Six complete members of the Kirigakure Anbu have sneaked into the Land of Fire, and all of them are ninjas above the level of Chunin. It is not difficult to guess the sinister intentions of the Mizukage. I tend to fight back and agree with your point of view, but how to punish them and to what extent is the real problem."

After pondering for a moment, Uchiha Keiji said, "We naturally don't need to show mercy to the group of uncivilized water monkeys in the Land of Water. Since the end of the Third Ninja World War, the village has not lost three elite soldiers at once, so they may have gone too far. I suggest sending the Root ninjas to the Land of Water to hunt down the Kirigakure ninjas, so as to demonstrate the village's military strength!"

He strongly advocated an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The Uchiha clan was all about taking revenge, and they never let a grudge sit overnight. They usually took revenge on the spot. Moreover, the actions of the Land of Water were undoubtedly a slap in the face of him, the deputy hokage. Who knows, tomorrow some of his old friends would report him for inaction.

The Root Ninjas are all a group of emotionless robots who only know how to kill, eat and practice. If they are sent into the Water Country, who knows what kind of trouble might happen, so Yeshan refused immediately.

"Now is a time of peace, we must put the overall situation first. Even if we are right, we can't be too drastic. We can't use the Root ninjas."

Namikaze Minato smiled thoughtfully. He saw through Ye Shan's true intention: "I suggest using diplomatic means to exert pressure to resolve this incident."

"How to do it exactly?"

"As we all know, the blade hanging over your head is scary. Konohagakure has always regarded itself as a defender of peace, and of course we cannot arbitrarily provoke disputes between villages and countries. We might as well put down the swords in our hands and use strength to oppress the other side. First, send an envoy to reprimand the Daimyo of the Land of Water for not strictly controlling his subordinates, which led to the Mizukage's misconduct. Of course, this should be sent in the name of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Second, strictly order the Mizukage to respond and hand over the main culprit within a limited time, otherwise they will be sanctioned by force!"

"In this way, we can not only seek justice for the victims of public opinion, but also resolve the incident without bloodshed, and assert the authority of the village. Isn't it wonderful to kill three birds with one stone?"

Ye Shan kept nodding his head, and when he got excited he even started smoking a cigarette, his attitude was completely different from before.

"What Vice Hokage Minato said is the true advice for the country. It is just like the saying that the enemy is defeated without fighting!" Ye Shan said bluntly. He then saw the sullen look on Uchiha Keiji's face and continued, "Of course, Vice Hokage Keiji's suggestion is also a way to solve the problem. How can it be majestic if it is just a simple condemnation? Therefore, ninjas still need to be sent out, but they must be kept within a reasonable range."

"How about this, you split up and do it. Send envoys and ninjas. The envoys will be responsible for condemnation, and the ninjas will be responsible for eradicating the base that the Water Country has established in the Whirlpool Country. The Whirlpool Country is a country that the Konohagakure has been friendly with for generations, but now it has been openly occupied by them, and coal mines have been discovered. We must take it back!"

Ye Shan talked nonstop, and it was obvious that he was not speaking on impulse, but had already thought of a countermeasure: "Concentrate your firepower on his front-line troops. Make sure to show the powerful side of Konoha!"

"One thing we need to pay attention to is to avoid large-scale bloodshed and to know when to stop. Even a rabbit will bite when it gets angry."

As he was speaking, Nara Shikaku knocked on the door and walked in, reporting softly, "The heads of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans have come in the rain to request an audience with you."

Ye Shan nodded and said, "Let them in, and go add two more chairs."

Not long after, the two men and the dog entered the office. As soon as they met, the Inuzuka clan leader started shouting, "Please seek justice, Hokage! The most outstanding young man of our clan died in such an unclear manner. We cannot swallow this anger unless we severely punish the enemy!"

The Inuzuka clan leader was about fifty years old, with a ridiculous amount of chest hair. He usually went around with his chest uncovered, hoping that everyone would see his masculinity. The Aburame clan leader was not much older, and he still wore sunglasses late at night, sitting there without saying a word, but he silently expressed his demands.

Ye Shan raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Uchiha Keiji glared at him and said, "What are you yelling about? Control your temper. How can you be rude in front of the Hokage?"

The Inuzuka clan leader shrank his neck and lowered his voice a lot: "Brother Keiji, please judge for yourself. It is not easy for our clan to train a jonin. Now he died outside inexplicably. We absolutely cannot let it go like this!"

He once fought in the same team with Uchiha Keiji during the Second Ninja World War, so naturally their relationship was special and they spoke more casually.

Ye Shan still didn't say anything, his eyes were fixed on him. Uchiha Keiji couldn't bear to see his friend suffer, so he tried to smooth things over: "Hokage, don't bother with him. He is just a rough man. He only knows how to raise and feed dogs. He has offended many people because of this."

Ye Shan nodded and said, "Chief Inuzuka is filled with righteous indignation. I can understand his feelings."

Uchiha Keiji took over the conversation and said, "You two came here at night just to seek justice and let the village avenge you. In my opinion, it is completely unnecessary. The Hokage wants to be fair and treat the village ninjas as brothers. He has already thought of a countermeasure."

The Aburame clan leader was much calmer, and slowly said, "We have seen the Hokage's justice for many years, and naturally we have no doubts. Now is a peaceful time, and the Kirigakure is undoubtedly a slap in the face of the village. I hope you will take retaliatory actions as soon as possible. Although the Aburame clan is small and not strong, we are willing to serve as your vanguard!"

Which of the people in the office is not a smart person? The reason why the Inuzuka clan and the Aburame clan came to the door with such a big fight was not to seek justice for the dead clan members. In the ninja world, if you are not as skilled as others, your death is in vain. Ninjas are just this profession. One day, you have to die to cheer up the god of death, right?

They came here because they were attracted by the mineral resources of the Whirlpool Country. The Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan were both small clans that were affiliated with the Senju Clan during the Warring States Period. The resources within the clan were scarce, and they had long wanted to have their own vault. Now that the Hidden Mist Village had accidentally come to them, they would definitely not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Look at the Aburame tribe leader, who was very good at speaking. On the one hand, he praised Ye Shan's leadership ability and expressed his determination to obey the arrangements made by the village; on the other hand, he also clearly expressed his own demands, which was to send his tribe members to participate in the action and get a share of the spoils.

There are no eternal friends in the world, only eternal interests. A brilliant genius is totally insignificant in the political game, which is vividly reflected in the excited eyes of their patriarch.

Ye Shan glanced at Ding Zhen, thought for a moment and said, "What the Water Country did is outrageous to both humans and gods, and has touched the bottom line of Konoha! As the Hokage of the village, it is my unshirkable responsibility to protect everyone's lives and property. Otherwise, how can I convince everyone?"

"But then again, we are now in a peaceful period, and the Ninja World War ended not long ago. Peace is hard-won, and it is the result of every ninja fighting for it. I must ensure that it continues, which is a dilemma."

The Inuzuka clan leader was anxious, and before the Hokage could finish, he said bluntly: "It was the Kirigakure who provoked us first, we have no obligation to swallow our anger!"

Ye Shan frowned unhappily, but for the sake of Uchiha Keiji, he did not get angry and continued, "Based on the above two considerations, I have made a decision."

"First, strictly order the Mizukage to hand over the mastermind behind the scenes within a certain period of time, unless they are confident in facing the wrath of the Konohagakure."

"Secondly, gather all the jonin in the village and rush to the Whirlpool Kingdom stronghold overnight. We must capture the Whirlpool Kingdom site before the sun rises the day after tomorrow morning!"

"Finally, considering the losses suffered by the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, we will give you 10% of the mineral resources as compensation after the matter is completed. Of course, the minerals are not really given to you. You only have five years of mining rights. After five years, they will be taken back and handed over to the village for use."

Don’t think that five years of mining rights are not worth mentioning. In fact, it is hard to say how many years the resources stored in a mine can be mined. Ye Shan’s compensation is very generous.

After all, no matter what, if a ninja dies in a mission, it is considered a vain death. Under normal circumstances, there is absolutely no compensation. The Aburame clan and the Inuzuka clan made a lot of money.

The Inuzuka clan leader scratched his chest hair excitedly, which made Ye Shan frown: "Hokage, you are wise! The Inuzuka clan is willing to send 15 jonin to fight for the village. I hope you will approve it."

The Aburame clan leader naturally didn't want to fall behind, and said: "The Aburame clan is willing to send ten jonin to participate in the battle!"

Ye Shan smiled. He decided this because the two tribes had recently been quite supportive of the new policy. Otherwise, the old party wanted to have this treatment? Dream on!

"Good! As long as we all work together, we can definitely conquer the small Whirlpool Country. Minato, I'm leaving the battle to you. You must take it down before the Water Country reacts to avoid a larger-scale conflict!"

Namikaze Minato nodded solemnly and said, "Don't worry, Hokage-sama, I will definitely complete the mission!"

"I have every confidence in you!" Ye Shan said with a smile, "Deputy Hokage Keiji should not sit idle. Send an envoy to the Land of Water to negotiate immediately. The words may be harsh, even to the point of death."

"The village will immediately enter a Level 2 emergency state, and missions above A-rank will be suspended. Gather the jonin, and Deputy Hokage Minato will select the personnel to participate in the battle."

The few people had no objection to Ye Shan's arrangement. They wished they could fly to the Whirlpool Country immediately and swallow up the fat meat they had been drooling over for a long time.

Everyone was poor these days, and the Water Country had taken over the Whirlpool Country and made a lot of money, so Konoha had long been jealous. However, due to face, there was no suitable reason to send troops.

Ye Shan slowly stood up, his gaze lingering on the faces of several people for a moment, and soon looked at the night scene outside which was gradually becoming more and more lively, and his voice became much more gloomy.

"Hatake Sakumo has been dead for some years, but I am still alive! Some people always try to plot against Kakashi. Do they think that people without parents are easy to bully? This is not the first time, but I hope it will be the last time. As for what to do, do you need me to teach you?"

"unnecessary!"

"Very good, I will treat you all to a meal after this is over, but the prerequisite is that the matter is resolved perfectly!"

"As ordered!"

After a few people left, Ye Shan stood in the office with flickering eyes and an unhappy look.

He originally had no intention of touching other people's cakes. After all, destroying someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. But there are always a few clowns who think they are good enough and insist on jumping out to give gifts, so he has to accept them reluctantly.

Anyway, Ye Shan has been coveting the Whirlpool Country for a long time.