Chương 73: Where is the Hokage himself?

The Land of Frost, a remote and desolate place in a corner of the ninja world, was the setting for Madara Uchiha's journey through the ninja world after temporarily settling his secret base. His mission was primarily to search for the Nine-Tails.

A few days later, clues indicated that someone had spotted the Nine-Tails in the Land of Lightning and that it had engaged in a major battle with the Cloud Village's pursuit force.

But in a country tavern, Madara received unexpected information.

"Have you heard? Madara Uchiha is searching the entire ninja world for the Nine-Tails!"

While enjoying a drink and a meal, Madara Uchiha was taken aback when he suddenly heard this and looked at the drinker who had spoken.

The two caravan leaders, who were engaged in the trade, had weathered faces full of hardship.

"How come I haven't heard of this? It's almost spread throughout the Ninja World."

Who is it?!

Ban's expression tightened. Who guessed my plan?!

Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Even Hashirama didn't know about my plans!

"Do you think things will really develop that way after Madara Uchiha captures the Nine-Tails?" the man asked mysteriously.

Which way should it develop? Ban frowned deeply.

"Based on common sense, it's highly likely," the man said quietly.

"There will definitely be a deadly battle between the God of Shinobi and Madara Uchiha, a battle that will shake the heavens and the earth."

Upon hearing this, Madara Uchiha's face darkened.

"That's true..." The two were still talking about what they had seen and heard on the way, covering all sorts of things.

Ban ate his meal with a somber expression.

He racked his brains trying to figure out where the intelligence had been leaked.

But is a war inevitable?

That's the truth, but it's still very frustrating.

The Uchiha's eyes flashed dangerously; don't let him know who did it.

In the Land of Lightning, in the Hidden Cloud Village, the First Raikage looked at the intelligence report on the table, which had been purchased at a considerable cost, with a heavy expression.

"Is the peace of the ninja world about to end so soon...?"

Since that's the case, the Hidden Cloud Village should also make preparations. Turning his head, he looked at the figures of ninjas rising and falling between Thundercloud Gorge. Could his own body still keep up with the First Shinobi World War?

The Land of Wind, Sunagakure Village.

Beyond the narrow gorge lies a village built of loess, with dome-shaped buildings rising and falling. Inside the Wind Shadow Building, the first Wind Shadow gazes at the sandstorm rising on the distant horizon.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and a man dressed in fine clothes with a refined demeanor entered the room, fanning himself with a folding fan as he looked at the First Kazekage.

"You've come, Chikamatsu."

Chikamatsu Monzaemon said, "That little girl named Chiyo is quite good; she has a lot of talent."

At nine years old, she is indeed a little girl.

"I'm glad you've taken a liking to it." The First Hokage narrowed his eyes and said, "How does it compare to the Hyakuchi Rebellion of Iga?"

"Chiyo, you have no creative talent and can only learn step by step based on the work of your predecessors. It would be a pipe dream for you to surpass me in this lifetime." Chikamatsu Monzaemon said, "How can you compare to one of the heads of the three great families of Iga and the number one genius puppeteer in the Land of Wind?" Monzaemon raised his eyelids slightly.

After a long silence, as if making a decision, the First Kazekage said, "We've found traces of Hyakuchi Ranha. Intelligence says she's fleeing to the Land of Water. Chikamatsu, go and kill her to prevent the puppet technology from being leaked."

"You should have heard about that news, the First Ninja War is imminent. Is it alright to just kill him like this?" Monzaemon said.

"It doesn't matter, Hashirama Senju is nothing special." The First Kazekage said, "Once Magnet Release is fully developed, Sunagakure will prosper." At the Five Kage Summit, if it weren't for the pressure from the other Kage, especially the old man from Kirigakure who tried to curry favor with Hashirama Senju, he would have squeezed that money out of Hashirama Senju's mouth.

"Understood." Chikamatsu turned around and said, "I've wanted to know for a long time who is the number one puppeteer in this desert."

In the Land of Fire, in Konoha, a handsome, red-haired nobleman, dressed in fine clothes, looked up at the gate before the village's main gate.

"Young Master..." The red-haired maid beside him, dressed in the insignia of the Uzumaki clan, said with a look of utter dread, "We've arrived. Aren't we going in?"

"Momo, you can go back now," Mito said, looking down at Momo.

Xiao Tao shook her head vigorously, refusing, "I have to keep a close eye on you, young master. It's already impolite enough to sneak into your husband's house before getting married."

"Then you can keep a close eye on things." Mito strode into the gate without being questioned. Many ninjas glanced at the clan crest on Mito's back and already understood.

As Mito walked into Konoha, she curiously looked around at the atmosphere. It was just an ordinary, peaceful village, with warm smiles on the faces of the people. It looked quite lovely. While walking around with great interest, she passed an intersection and stopped as soon as she turned the corner.

"Get out! You outsider! Konoha isn't a place for bumpkins like you!"

On the bustling street, groups of three or five kids were bullying another kid.

The adults around seemed to take it all for granted and turned a blind eye.

Mito watched this scene with a half-smile, her emotions unreadable.

When you look at everything with a critical eye, even the smallest flaws will be magnified infinitely in your eyes.

With a slight blink, the entire village was covered by Mito's Kagura Mind Eye. No matter which corner, what kind of people, what they were doing, or what they were saying, everything was clearly imprinted in Mito's eyes. Even if hidden in the deepest darkness, everything was exposed to Mito's eyes.

"A person from another village..." Mito murmured, pausing in thought.

She didn't offer any help to the bullied kid. What opinion could an outsider like her have? She could just stand there and watch as the weak kid was ganged up on, insulted, and mocked by five or six other kids. Just a moment later, a ninja landed behind Mito.

"My lord, Lord Tobirama requests your presence at the Hokage Building."

Mito nodded and said to the ANBU ninja, "Let's go." As she was about to leave, she seemed to remember something and casually asked, "Is this how people from other villages are bullied in your village?"

"My lord, these are just brats." The ninja thought for a moment and said, "They not only bully outsiders, but they also bully our own people." This answer was considered safe, after all, the future matriarch in front of him was from an outsider.

Mito nodded with a half-smile and said, "I understand."

The essence is...

Whoever is weak deserves to be bullied.

The idea of a peaceful and loving family, where everyone puts aside their disputes and understands and loves each other, was too idealistic for Hashirama Senju.

When they arrived at the Hokage Building, Tobirama Senju was processing official documents.

After entering the house, Mito didn't say anything, but leisurely found a chair and sat down, as if she were in her own home.

Senju Tobirama's eyelids twitched as he secretly sized up his future sister-in-law, who hadn't even looked at him properly since entering the room.

My first impression upon meeting him was that the other person seemed to really dislike his younger brother.

"You're mute." Mito broke the silence, asking, "You're Tobirama Senju, aren't you? Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Mito... Your Highness..." Mito, being a princess of a nation, deserved the title of "Your Highness." Tobirama asked, "What brings you here?"

"Just checking out the new house beforehand, see what it's like, kind of like a sightseeing trip," Mito said casually, yet with an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"How come it's you, the younger brother, on Madara? Where's the Hokage himself? Is he fast asleep?"

Upon hearing this, Tobirama's forehead was slightly sweaty as he racked his brains, trying to figure out how to exonerate his elder brother and make a good first impression.

"I didn't expect that the God of the Shinobi World would have such an unseemly sleeping posture," Mito said.

Tobirama's pupils contracted slightly.

"I'm sorry, brother, it's impossible to hide it from you."