"This mission was hard."

In the office located in the military jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Demons, after listening to Uchiha Yan's detailed description of the mission, he nodded and showed a satisfied look.

The Shitenxiang people, as radicals in the Craftsman Village who are hostile to the great powers, have been secretly planning to overthrow the rule of the great powers.

Seeking to seize the huge chakra energy, use the inherited ninja tools of the Takumi Ninja Village, and attempt to use forbidden techniques to resurrect its founder, thereby reviving the Takumi Ninja Village.

Although from Shiraishi's point of view, such a plan is not only full of loopholes, but also too far-fetched to implement. It is a difficult goal that is basically impossible to achieve.

But the essence of this matter is still a problem left over from history. Sharp conflicts between big countries and small countries have been staged in every era.

It existed in the past, exists now, and it may be difficult to change in the future.

In fact, if the Four Elephants hadn't attacked the mining area belonging to the Kingdom of Ghosts not long ago, plundered a large amount of ores and metals, and caused many casualties among mining workers, Shiraishi would have only turned a blind eye to this group of radicals.

, after all, it can cause chaos to other big countries, and it can be regarded as attracting firepower on behalf of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

But when the fire is burned on one's own head, it is natural to deal with it seriously.

"No, in fact, in this mission, I basically didn't have much use. The three boys under me completed the mission very well."

When Uchiha said this, he couldn't help but smile happily.

With such a group of capable subordinates, my boss can save a lot of energy and worry less.

"If they want to become independent ninjas, they little brats still have a long way to go."

Shiraishi also smiled, but it was obvious that he was in a very good mood.

The performance of the Cai trio in this mission is also quite recognized.

Uchiha smiled and said nothing.

He was very clear about Shiraishi's subtext. The so-called independent ninja did not refer to becoming a ninja. After all, genin and chuunin were also ninjas, but the independent ninja in Shiraishi's mouth refers to ninjas of the Jonin level.

Only ninjas who have reached this level can be said to be truly unique.

Personal strength, leadership ability, ability to judge the situation, and the degree of responsibility of team members are all very important assessment criteria and are indispensable.

If we only focus on personal strength, some of the outstanding chuunin in the Kingdom of Demons can fight equally with jounin, but their overall ability cannot be rated as jounin.

Giving ninjas who do not belong to this level and forcibly raising their responsibilities and abilities will definitely cause management problems for the entire army.

During a war, to put it bluntly, the organization and mobilization capabilities of combatants will be reduced, so that their enthusiasm cannot be mobilized, leading to a serious defeat in a war.

Therefore, ninja villages in various countries are very strict in rating jounin.

These are the lessons of blood and tears summed up in all previous ninja wars, and they are worthy of people's vigilance.

"So, will dealing with the Four Elephants cause problems with the recent cooperation project of the Craftsman Ninja Village?"

Speaking of this, Uchiha Yan's expression became solemn.

Dealing with the Four Elephants is not a difficult task for the Kingdom of Ghosts.

What's important is whether dealing with the Four Elephants will cause any diplomatic conflict with the Craftsman Ninja Village.

Although the Shitenxiang people are radical elements in the Craftsman Ninja Village, they are not rebels after all. In name, they are still affiliated with the Craftsman Ninja Village.

Regarding Uchiha Yan's question, Shiraishi pondered for a moment and replied: "I have already negotiated with the person in charge of the Takunin Village about this matter, and it will not affect the subsequent cooperation between the two parties."

The essence of this incident is that the Kingdom of Ghosts has suffered a complete disaster.

The Takunin Village has become what it is now because it was squeezed by the five former great powers and has little to do with the Kingdom of Demons.

In addition, the Four Elephants attacked the mining area and caused many casualties to workers. This issue must be punished in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

The Artisan Ninja Village agreed to the Demon Country's approach and saved a lot of effort.

Otherwise, he would not have stated in the mission that except for the first criminal who must be captured, the rest, regardless of life or death, can be executed on the spot. The purpose is to solve this incident as quickly as possible and give the families of the injured and injured workers a peace of mind as soon as possible.

Account.

"In this way, it is basically a certainty to bring the Takumi Ninja Village over."

Uchiha Yan couldn't help but feel a little sad.

As a former member of Konoha ninja, he naturally knew what kind of oppression the Craftsman Ninja Village, as a supplier of ninja tools, had suffered from Konoha and other ninja villages.

The person responsible for handling this matter at that time was the root organization headed by Danzo.

Based on the extreme practices of that organization, one can imagine how much profit was gained from the Craftsman Ninja Village.

In addition, the other four big country Ninja Villages also intervened, punishing the Takumi Ninja Village for breach of contract, purchasing ninja tools from the Takumi Ninja Village at a price lower than the cost price, and squeezing the labor force of the Takumi Ninja Village craftsmen.

.

This also directly caused many craftsmen to be forced to leave the craftsman village. With the outbreak of war, they had no choice but to flee to neutral countries where there was no war.

As a neutral country at the time, the Kingdom of Oni took advantage of this opportunity and successfully recruited a large number of craftsmen who had fled from the craftsmen's ninja villages and trained them to become technical personnel of the Kingdom of Demon's military. Today, the Kingdom of Oni's military has many middle- and high-level technicians

, were all elite craftsmen of the Craftsman Ninja Village.

This time, when dealing with the Four Elephants, they did not cause a diplomatic incident with the Craftsman Ninja Village. Instead, they were dealt with in a very low-key manner. The existence of this group of people is also very crucial.

"As long as they can protect themselves in the next time, that's all. A speck of ashes on the battlefield of a big country is like a mountain on the head of a small country... Even the weak-mouthed Country of Wind is far beyond what a small country can do.

Those who resist are involved in such a battlefield, their sacrifices are meaningless, they just add some gorgeous and sad figures to the war."

Shiraishi's eyes were indifferent. From the beginning, he never expected that these small countries that had been won over could play a decisive role in the subsequent battle.

The reason why they are given technology and weapons is just to give them a certain ability to protect themselves and to reduce the number of war data as much as possible.

If they really want to intervene in the battlefield of a big country, relying on their strength alone is just a mantis trying to act like a chariot.

This kind of sacrifice is very cheap and not of much value.

Unlike countries like Kongo Country, which have actual aggression and war ambitions, the reason why the Takumi Ninja Village is hostile to the big powers is because they are being squeezed too hard and have to speak out to resist.

But this kind of sound can only be made in the dark, in the dark ditch, like a mouse whimpering.

Once exposed to light, it will bring disaster.

In today's era, the Kingdom of Ghosts has many enemies, but it also has many friends. However, most of these friends dare not make a sound and can only pay attention silently.

"In other words, is war coming again?"

Uchiha sighed quietly.

The dimness in his eyes reminded him of some not-so-pleasant memories.

"Taking this opportunity, if you wander around the central part of the continent, you should have discovered it. The number of ninja garrisoned by Konoha at the border has quietly increased a lot."

Shiraishi said meaningfully.

Uchiha nodded silently.

He did discover this fact.

He was once a jounin of Konoha, so he naturally understood what this move meant. Although Konoha said it was a military exercise, only Konoha itself knew whether it was true or false.

"Then, do we also need to strengthen the defense force at the border?"

Uchiha Yan asked.

"No, the Land of Fire is in the center of the continent after all, and there are still several countries away from here. As long as Sunagakure and Iwagakure don't use military exercises as an excuse to strengthen the strength of the border ninja troops, they can just stand still here."

If the border garrison strength of Konoha has been strengthened, then the Demon Country should strengthen the border defense strength accordingly, which would be too deliberate.

"But it cannot be ruled out that Sunagakure and Iwagakure will secretly send troops to the border next. You must pay special attention to this issue."

Shiraishi continued.

"clear."

Uchiha nodded.

He is not only the jounin who leads the Aya trio, but his job is also to patrol the border security of the Kingdom of Demons and be alert to the military trends of neighboring countries.

Therefore, I will go out from time to time in the form of performing tasks. The essence is to investigate the trends of various countries on the spot, rather than simply to perform superficial tasks.

◎

"I am very disappointed with your performance."

In the dark cell, Danzo stood in the center of the cell, leaning on a cane, with a gloomy and stern face, facing Sai who was kneeling in front of him on one knee.

Sakai, who was kneeling on the ground, looked weak and pale, and many parts of his body were covered with white medical bandages, giving people the feeling that he would collapse at any time.

Perhaps due to Danzo's reprimand, Sai's already pale face became even paler.

He lowered his head deeply, as if he was about to bury it in the soil. Even though breathing was very painful, he still suppressed the pain and tried to make his breathing steady, acting as if nothing had happened.

"I'm very sorry, Danzo-sama."

However, in the face of Sai's apology, Danzo's expression not only did not improve, but instead looked even more gloomy.

"The importance of the Jinchuuriki to the village is self-evident. I don't want such an accident to happen again. You should be aware of the consequences of another failure. You will be abandoned by the organization."

The cold words were like sharp thorns piercing into Sai's heart, making him feel the hallucination of suffocating to death.

Although he verbally calls himself an emotionless machine, his job exists to complete tasks, and all emotions are a burden... But when faced with the punishment of 'abandonment', Sai still felt inexplicable confusion and fear.

.

As someone who has lived in the root organization since childhood, being 'abandoned' by one's superiors is tantamount to a punishment more cruel than death.

The root is your home, your destination, and the meaning of your existence.

Once it loses this destination, it is like a fish leaving the water and can only slowly wait for death on land.

Therefore, Sayi, who had no fear even in the face of death, felt the taste of fear in her heart for the first time.

And such fear will be firmly engraved in his genes, often accompanying him throughout his life.
To be continued...