I simultaneously traverse countless worlds

This is also a normal situation. Not to mention that Nagato Uzumaki relied on the Six Paths of Pain with the Rinnegan to take over Amegakure and control the general movements of the entire Land of Rain through the Rain Tiger Free Technique. Even if the Kage of Konoha, Iwagakure, or even Kumogakure disappeared for several months without a trace, some people would probably have some ulterior motives. Not to mention Nagato Uzumaki, who only left some contingency plans.

Fortunately, Nagato Uzumaki had previously used the "Illusionary Body Technique" to appear remotely in Amegakure and handle problems. Even though some people in Amegakure seemed to have sensed something was amiss, they didn't have any concrete evidence and were afraid of Nagato's power, so they wouldn't rashly seek death. However, the fact that the three major ninja villages had recently sent people to secretly enter Amegakure and expressed their desire to form an alliance had stirred the minds of a few.

Knowing this news, Nagato Uzumaki had no choice but to put aside his training in the Rainbow Island administrative region and regretfully prepared to return to Amegakure with his men. Moreover, in order to disguise Amegakure as a spy, Li Mo thoughtfully prepared a puppet disguised as the demigod Hanzo of the Salamander for him. Otherwise, if Nagato Uzumaki, a member of the Uzumaki clan, were to become the leader of Amegakure, there would probably be some people in Konoha who wanted to make some trouble.

As Nagato Uzumaki's giant airship disappeared into the horizon, Li Mo put his arms around Tsunade and Konan's waists, enjoying the attentive service of the two beauties while gazing at the ninja world continent with narrowed eyes.

"Hmph, now we've reached a stalemate!"

Chapter 58 Stalemate

The situation in the ninja world is gradually forming a stalemate between the Ninja World Alliance on one side and the three major powers and a group of smaller countries on the other.

Needless to say, the Ninja World Alliance was established by Li Mo after he integrated the Land of Rainbow, the Land of the Sea, and the Land of Water. After a surprise attack on the Land of Wind, the two major ninja villages and the three tailed beasts became the Ninja World Alliance's resources, which also alerted other countries.

Initially, it was just the Land of Water, the Land of the Sea, and the Land of the Rainbow forming the so-called Shinobi Alliance. Even with the presence of Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and a bunch of scattered soldiers, the other four great Shinobi nations might not have been too wary. After all, since Konoha established the system of one shinobi village per country, Kirigakure and the Land of Water had not had a high profile in the Shinobi world. Moreover, Kirigakure and the Land of Water were located at sea, so even when the Shinobi Alliance was established, it was difficult for other great nations and shinobi villages to interfere.

In particular, the Hidden Mist Village returned empty-handed in the three consecutive Shinobi World Wars. Other major ninja villages and even countries felt that the Shinobi Alliance was a certain threat, but no one really regarded it as a powerful enemy or an irresistible foe. However, the destruction of the Hidden Sand Village and the Land of Wind established the reputation of the Shinobi Alliance.

If that were all, those daimyo who viewed the Ninja World War as a war movie might not have considered the Ninja Alliance to be a significant threat. However, the key difference lies in the Ninja Alliance's system; it is not a system of one country and one ninja village but an absolute centralized system.

Within the Ninja Alliance, most of the former daimyo and nobles have been marginalized. Occasionally, a noble who is "lucky" enough to come to power will take over. However, most of the original vested interest groups have lost their power and have been secretly weakened or even eliminated by Li Mo. What other countries find unbearable about the Ninja Alliance is that it has completely stripped the daimyo and nobles of their power and established a ninja army instead of the so-called ninja village system.

In this way, the danger level of the Shinobi Alliance in the eyes of the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning has increased dramatically. There are still many intelligent people in the Shinobi World, and they can naturally vaguely sense that the changes brought about by the professional shinobi army are definitely different from those of shinobi villages with different mission mercenary systems. The exact difference between the two sides is still unknown, but the shinobi army of the Shinobi Alliance can get the full support of the Shinobi Alliance. Can the shinobi villages of each country get the support of their respective countries?

Perhaps the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning would fully support the development of the Hidden Cloud Village, but for villages like the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Stone Village, and even the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Mist Village before them, to gain the full support of their respective countries, they would have to wait until the war situation becomes extremely dangerous.

For example, Konoha and Sunagakure are considered lucky if they receive the agreed-upon annual funding. If they want more, they have to negotiate with the Daimyo. However, Konoha and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire are outwardly friendly but inwardly competitive. The Daimyo of the Land of Wind is also eyeing Sunagakure covetously. Their support is nowhere near as strong as that of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning for Kumogakure, and they even cut a large amount of funding from Sunagakure at one point.

The problem is that even the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, who is the biggest supporter of the development of Kumogakure, is actually constrained by his own interests and the many nobles of the Land of Lightning. His personal full support for Kumogakure is not the same as the full support of the Land of Lightning. As for Konoha and Iwagakure, it goes without saying that they receive a certain amount of funding from the Daimyo every year, but many of them also rely on village taxes and mission commission fees. Let alone expecting the full support of the Daimyo of their own country, it is already difficult for the Daimyo not to secretly hinder them.

Li Mo knew the key reason behind it, which was the "double jade" theory mentioned by the previous daimyo of the Land of Fire. Do daimyo and nobles from any country really trust those ninjas who hold the hilt of a sword completely?

The answer to this question is self-evident. In the Warring States period of the ninja world, the lords of various cities who occupied a region hired ninja clans to fight, and they paid a heavy price for the battles between the ninja clans. Even after Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha came forward and established a system of one ninja village per country, the fear of ninjas among the daimyo and nobles still remained hidden in their hearts and would not disappear.

Therefore, the two god-like figures who founded Konoha Village, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and the various forces that propelled the Fourth Shinobi World War, which lasted less than fifty years, fought three wars and caused the deaths of a large number of ninjas. Naturally, the subtle influence of the daimyo and nobles of various countries was also involved, with the aim of weakening those unstable ninjas.

According to the original Naruto manga and anime storyline, the daimyo and nobles reaped the greatest benefits. Even during the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Allied Shinobi Forces still had to send skilled and elite shinobi to protect the daimyo of the five great nations. Even though Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha won, no substantial changes occurred in the shinobi world. At most, there was some progress and popularization in technology. The shinobi villages were still shinobi villages, and the daimyo were still daimyo.

However, the current situation in the ninja world, thanks to the rapidly growing power of Li Mo, is completely different from the original world of "Naruto". The emergence and actions of the Ninja Alliance have made the daimyo and nobles of various countries, who know more and more details, restless. They have begun to actively contact other daimyo and reached a consensus that the Ninja Alliance must not be allowed to continue to expand in this way.

Even though Li Mo's Ninja Alliance used many deceptive tactics, the daimyo of each country understood that if the Ninja Alliance swallowed their country, they would either become wealthy idlers or, unfortunately, be exiled to some overseas island.

For those daimyo who held power in a country and enjoyed wealth and luxury, losing power and wealth and being exiled overseas was absolutely intolerable. Even the nobles of those countries were unwilling to lose the power in their hands. The actions of the Shinobi Alliance in the former Land of Water and the former Land of Wind were deliberately spread by the daimyo and nobles who knew about them. The nobles of the three major countries and various small countries tended to resist the Shinobi Alliance, so it was naturally impossible for them to secretly incite the ninja villages to kill each other.

After all, the daimyo and nobles were very hostile to the Ninja World Alliance and wanted to destroy the Ninja World Alliance, which was clearly not on the same side as them. However, they could not go to the battlefield to fight themselves, so they naturally had to rely on the original ninja villages. Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure, facing pressure from their own country's daimyo and nobles, temporarily put aside their previous hatred and chose to unite.

In any case, those daimyo and nobles are the financial backers of the ninja villages, and Konoha Village is unlikely to have any complaints about its financial backers. Moreover, the Shinobi Alliance has already swallowed up Kirigakure and Sunagakure. Even Kumogakure, which is not directly threatened, is feeling the extra heavy pressure from the Shinobi Alliance.

Even the hot-tempered Fourth Raikage felt that Kumogakure was no match for the Shinobi Alliance, which had already swallowed Kirigakure and Sunagakure and was supported by the manpower and resources of two major countries and a group of smaller countries. Similarly, Konoha, which had suffered heavy losses, and Iwagakure, which was in a period of transition, did not think they could defeat the Shinobi Alliance in a one-on-one fight. With a sense of crisis and the demands of their financial backers, they naturally began to prepare to unite.

However, expecting the three major powers, the three major ninja villages, and a group of smaller countries and ninja villages to immediately unite in good faith is nothing short of a pipe dream. Since Nagato and Konan left Amegakure and traveled to join the Ninja World Alliance, the three major ninja villages and several vassal ninja villages, after countless secret negotiations, have barely reached a joint defense agreement. As for the three major powers and the group of smaller countries, they are still arguing over the share of funds and resources needed by those ninja villages without reaching a conclusion.

You tell me the reason?

If we consider the three major ninja villages and several vassal smaller ninja villages, then the villages bordering the Ninja Alliance are Konoha and Iwa. The second strongest village, Kumo, is actually behind them. Therefore, Konoha and Iwa naturally do not want to be reckless, otherwise they could easily exhaust themselves and benefit others.

Similarly, the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and several smaller countries, which are directly facing the threat of the Shinobi Alliance, are the most anxious. However, the Land of Lightning, which is far away, does not feel too urgent. Moreover, it is one thing for the daimyo and nobles of various countries to feel the threat of the Shinobi Alliance, but it is another matter to ask them to take out a large amount of money from their own pockets for the war. It is all too common for people to risk their lives rather than their money.

Logically speaking, given the alliance of the remaining three great ninja nations and three great ninja villages in the ninja world, Li Mo should have chosen to take advantage of their incomplete unity and defeat them one by one. However, he did not order the ninja alliance to act immediately. Instead, after taking over the Land of Wind and the Sand Village, he did not take any major action. Even for Nagato Uzumaki and Amegakure, who voluntarily surrendered, Li Mo arranged for them to act as spies rather than directly absorbing them. The reason was that the ninja alliance was also already in a state of overstretched resources.

Before the Ninja World Alliance was established, Li Mo's base consisted of the original Rainbow Country's population of over six million. He had also infiltrated most of the Sea Country and other small ocean countries, and had a certain influence in the Water Country. However, he hadn't really cultivated the Wind Country. Once the Ninja World Alliance was established, he took over the Water Country, the Sea Country, and the Wind Country in one fell swoop, bringing the total population to nearly thirty million. The number of available manpower needed and the problems that arose were too numerous.

Therefore, Li Mo did not allow the overfed Ninja Alliance to take any further action, intending to wait several years to digest the situation before making any moves. The alliance of the three great nations and the ninja villages also had a lot of things to deal with, and the Ninja Alliance had briefly taken over the threat of the Land of Wind. For the time being, both sides tacitly focused on internal affairs and did not launch any attacks.

Once the stalemate in the ninja world was established, the ninja alliance, which was busy reorganizing its internal affairs, and the various countries that had been struggling to unite, formed two different camps. However, both sides had their own concerns and instead of going to war, they confronted each other!

Chapter 59 A Few Years in a Hurry

As Li Mo ordered the Ninja Alliance to cease its operations and instead focus on absorbing the population and territory it had just annexed, the three major powers and a group of smaller nations on the other side of the Ninja World barely managed to reach an alliance agreement after countless verbal battles.

The alliance agreement was simple: the remaining three major ninja countries and a group of smaller countries would, according to their national strength and location, contribute money and resources to hire ninjas from the three major ninja villages and the smaller ninja villages. They would also dispatch their own ninjas and soldiers to guard the border with the Ninja Alliance. If the Ninja Alliance launched an attack, they would work together to drive the Ninja Alliance back.

Why didn't they launch the attack on the Ninja Alliance?

This is indeed a good question, but anyone with a normal level of intelligence, looking at the three great ninja villages that were fighting each other just a few months or even years ago, and a bunch of small ninja villages that were being suppressed by the great ninja villages, would probably wisely discard this idea.

Just kidding! Thanks to the instigation of the daimyo and nobles of the three great nations, the grudges and feuds between the five great ninja villages and the smaller ninja villages are countless. For example, important figures and many ninjas from the five great ninja villages have died at the hands of the other ninjas. Occasionally, a genius from a smaller ninja village will be suppressed by the great ninja villages. Furthermore, the great ninja villages will occasionally secretly sabotage each other's genius ninjas. In addition, there are various conflicts between missions. It can be said that the five great ninja villages and a bunch of smaller ninja villages are full of contradictions.

—As you can see, by the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, more than a decade had passed since the Third Shinobi World War. The Allied Shinobi Forces, composed of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, had considerable internal conflicts. If it weren't for the Five Kage being able to hold the line and the White Zetsu army already charging in, friction and conflict would likely have broken out within the Allied Shinobi Forces of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!

Currently, only a few years have passed since the devastating Third Shinobi World War. The Third Raikage of Kumogakure died at the hands of Iwagakure ninjas, and the war between Konoha and Kumogakure only ended a few months ago. Even those small ninja villages still remember the humiliating experience of having their own country used as a battlefield by the ninja armies of the major ninja villages during the Third Shinobi World War, and even being wiped out by the slightest mistake.

Under these circumstances, expecting the three major ninja villages and a bunch of smaller ninja villages to unite and attack the Shinobi Alliance, which has not yet launched an offensive, at a single command is unrealistic...

Well, you might as well hope that the daimyo and nobles of the three great nations and a bunch of smaller nations won't scheme against each other and will obediently gather the funds and resources required by those ninja villages. Anyway, the probability of either is about the same, and the probability of it happening is extremely low.

After all, if the Ninja Alliance continues its aggressive offensive, the daimyo and nobles of the three great nations and a group of smaller nations, who are under direct threat, might be able to quickly put aside their past disputes and unite to fight against the Ninja Alliance to prevent their power and status from being stripped away. Even among the three great ninja villages and a group of smaller ninja villages, many high-ranking officials would not want to change the Ninja Alliance's plan to directly eliminate ninja villages and transform them into a ninja army system, and would stubbornly resist the Ninja Alliance's offensive.

The key issue is that after the Ninja Alliance swallowed up the Land of Wind and the Sand Village, it stopped launching attacks. This made it impossible for the three major countries and a group of smaller countries, as well as the three major ninja villages and a group of smaller ninja villages, to reach a unified understanding.

To be honest, the daimyo and nobles of various countries are not of one mind. They may share the same idea of ​​resisting the Shinobi Alliance, but when it comes to their own interests, the daimyo and nobles of countries bordering the Shinobi Alliance, as well as those not bordering the Shinobi Alliance, will certainly have different thoughts and ideas. Those who do not feel too urgent may choose to join the alliance of countries and ninja villages, but getting them to part with large sums of money and resources is a problem.

At least, the daimyo of the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, who are right in front of them in the Ninja Alliance, would grit their teeth and take out a large sum of money and resources from their national treasury to support their own ninja villages. However, it would be very difficult for the daimyo of the Land of Lightning and a few smaller countries to agree to spend their own money and resources to help other countries defend their territory.

Similarly, Konoha and Iwagakure are quite enthusiastic about deploying defenses on the borders of their respective countries, but it would be much more difficult to get Kumogakure and other smaller ninja villages to travel thousands of miles to the battlefield. Moreover, Kumogakure and the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning are also worried that the Shinobi Alliance, which controls the seas, might use the same tactics as when they raided the Land of Wind, and are inclined to strengthen the defenses of their own borders first.

Especially since the Cloud Village and the Leaf Village had only recently reached a truce, even if the Cloud Village were willing to send its ninja army to the Land of Fire, the Leaf Village, which could not directly command the Cloud Village's ninja army, was worried that once the Cloud Village's ninja army entered the Land of Fire, they would stay and refuse to leave. This would be an even bigger headache for the Leaf Village, which currently had most of its ninjas deployed to the border. Moreover, given the Cloud Village's past domineering behavior, no one in the Leaf Village dared to say that such a thing was impossible.

As for sending the Hidden Cloud Village to garrison the Land of Earth, or sending the Hidden Stone Village's ninja army to the Land of Fire, the former was never even considered, since the Third Raikage, the Fourth Raikage's father, died after being killed by the Hidden Stone Village's ninja army. The latter was based on the same concern: the relationship between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Cloud Village was very tense, and the relationship with the Hidden Stone Village was not much better. During the Third Shinobi World War, many Hidden Leaf Village ninjas also died on the battlefield against the Hidden Stone Village.

Those small ninja villages...

Okay, including Amegakure, those smaller ninja villages were all targets of suppression by the five great ninja villages. For example, Hanzo of the Salamander, the demigod of Amegakure, was very strong, and the Amegakure ninjas were actually not bad either. But those smaller ninja villages were not always weak.

For example, Kakuzu, a bounty hunter who joined Akatsuki less than two years ago, was originally a member of the small ninja village Takigakure. He was a true Kage-level powerhouse. However, Takigakure's presence is not much stronger than that of Kusagakure or Yugakure. There are also the Sky Village and other small ninja villages that were destroyed by Konoha. You can see the true attitude of the five great ninja villages towards small ninja villages, which is that they cannot threaten the great ninja villages.

Even Amegakure, which once reached the pinnacle of small ninja villages, and even the Konoha ninja army that wiped out the three legendary Sannin, didn't dare kill Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. They knew that if they dared to do so, Konoha would definitely retaliate against Amegakure. Later, Amegakure did consider expanding, but they were confined to the Land of Rain because if they wanted to become the sixth great ninja village, they would definitely be ganged up on by the five great ninja villages.

Under these circumstances, the relationship between the three major ninja villages and the smaller ninja villages can only be described as superficially united but inwardly divided. Even if the smaller ninja villages were forced to join the alliance, it would be a pipe dream to expect them to risk their lives against the Ninja World Alliance. Moreover, Konoha and Iwagakure were not at ease using ninjas from the smaller ninja villages, since the combat strength of the ninjas from the smaller ninja villages was incomparable to that of the ninjas of the same level from the major ninja villages.

It's not that small ninja villages can't produce powerful ones, but when there's a lack of ninjutsu inheritance and support resources, even if a small ninja village has a few exceptionally talented ninjas, they simply can't compare to the geniuses of large ninja villages. Whether in terms of the number of ninjas or their strength, the ninjas of large ninja villages completely overwhelm those of small ninja villages.

The most critical issue is that the three great ninja villages are not puppets of the daimyo and nobles. Even if they respect their patrons and are wary of the Ninja World Alliance, and have joined the alliance of various countries and ninja villages, including the Kumogakure village, which has the best relationship with the daimyo of the Land of Lightning, they are not the kind of fools who would risk everything at the daimyo's command. Even if the Raikage gave the order, the other high-ranking members of the Kumogakure village would not agree to such a foolish thing.

The reason is very simple: the intelligence from the three major ninja villages is quite good. Combined with the previous comparison of intelligence on Kirigakure and Sunagakure, it can be confirmed that the Shinobi Alliance currently controls three tailed beasts, has at least five Kage-level ninjas (the identities of Orochimaru, Tsunade, and others have not yet been revealed), and has at least 50,000 ninja troops. In addition, the enemy only needs to defend a few places and the sea, which gives them a significant defensive advantage over the allied forces.

At least, the three major ninja villages and a bunch of smaller ninja villages have a total of five tailed beasts (the two-tailed cat demon was considered lost by the Cloud Village), but the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the Leaf Village is only a few years old. In reality, the three major ninja villages and the Takigakure Village only have four tailed beast Jinchuriki.

As for the ninja army, the three major ninja villages and a group of smaller ninja villages, along with the private military forces of the daimyo and nobles of the three major countries and a group of smaller countries, combined with the samurai legions that the Land of Iron can mobilize, it is not difficult to gather 100,000 genin and above in combat power. Even if a certain number of ninja troops are stationed in port cities and border areas, in theory, it is possible to mobilize a large number of ninja troops to launch their own offensive against the Shinobi Alliance.

The key issue is that the advantage of the allied forces is only on paper. It is difficult to reach a consensus among the three major powers, the three major ninja villages, and a group of smaller countries and ninja villages. Everyone is concerned about their own interests and wants others to make sacrifices for them. No daimyo or village leader is a fool. The Shinobi World Alliance is not an easy target. Therefore, no village leader or daimyo from their country is willing to fight their entire ninja army against the Shinobi World Alliance to benefit other forces.

Seeing the weaknesses of the allied forces, Li Mo did not order the Ninja Alliance to take immediate action. Instead, he slowly halted his offensive and began to digest the population and resources he had absorbed. The various factions within the allied forces were also wary of the Ninja Alliance's strength and were unwilling to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others. Thus, they could only stare at each other, creating a stalemate between the two major forces.

In the blink of an eye, several years have passed like flowing water. The stalemate between the two major powers in the ninja world, although no real large-scale war has broken out, has undergone tremendous changes...

Chapter 60 The Changing Leaf Village

64 years of Konoha

According to the original Naruto anime storyline, this year should have seen Team 7, consisting of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, complete their mission in the Land of Waves and prepare for the Chunin Exams. However, the current situation is completely different from the original storyline.

Several years ago, the Ninja World Alliance was established and swallowed up the Land of Water, the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning, along with a group of smaller countries. They united their respective ninja villages to form a united front against the Ninja World Alliance. The original Naruto anime storyline was completely ruined. Even if the original author, Masashi Kishimoto, came here, he probably wouldn't recognize that this ninja world was the manga he drew. The changes were far beyond his comprehension.

Without going into too much detail, Li Mo conquered the Land of Water and the Land of Wind. Zabuza Momochi did not betray Kirigakure because he tried to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage. The small ocean countries such as the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools even became part of the Shinobi Alliance. Team 7, with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, would never go to the Land of Waves to carry out any mission.

Even in the original Naruto anime storyline, the Uchiha clan of Konoha Village, who had already been wiped out, only survived because of the powerful threat from the Ninja Alliance, which led to the abdication of the Third Hokage and the rise of the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, three years prior. Without the existence of Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu, the Uchiha clan would still be alive and well, with the filial Itachi Uchiha and the treacherous Shisui Uchiha still residing in the clan.

After all, according to the original storyline, the main reasons for Konoha's suppression of the Uchiha clan, and even the Root's involvement in the massacre, were the disappearance of external threats to Konoha and the involvement of Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu. In addition, there were the mentally ill Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha, as well as Danzo Shimura, who was eyeing the Uchiha clan with covetous eyes. In the end, the Uchiha clan was almost wiped out, leaving only Sasuke Uchiha as an orphan in Konoha.

However, the current situation in the ninja world is completely different. The establishment of the Ninja World Alliance and the emergence of united factions have created a two-power rivalry in the ninja world. The Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Rain are the first line of defense and could clash with the Ninja World Alliance at any time.

Under these circumstances, it's impossible for Konoha to be on the verge of war. Even if Shimura Danzo wanted to wipe out the Uchiha clan and collect their Sharingan, the Third Hokage and even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire wouldn't allow him to realize this idea. Otherwise, if Konoha were to face a powerful enemy and something went wrong, it would be foreseeable that they would be defeated. They weren't so stupid as to cut off their own limbs in front of a powerful enemy.

Especially when Konoha and Iwagakure faced the Ninja Alliance on the mainland, the Third Hokage was exhausted and had to ask Jiraiya to become the Fifth Hokage, stepping down and taking control of some of Konoha's power. Moreover, Konoha did not experience the scene in the original story where the new generation of ninja clans did not undergo much training, but instead, the Uchiha, Hyuga, and even the Ino-Shika-Cho clans all worked hard to improve their combat strength.

This is no child's play pretend. With the possibility of going to war with the Ninja Alliance at any moment and turning it into the Fourth Shinobi World War, all the ninja clans in Konoha Village are doing their utmost to improve the combat power of their own members. And it's not just Konoha Village doing this; Iwagakure, Raikage, Amegakure, and even other smaller ninja villages have all been strengthening their own power in recent years by forming alliances.

However, the situation remained in a stalemate for several years. The originally loose alliance gradually ran into problems, including Konoha, the former leader of the five great ninja villages, which now had to face problems that it had never encountered before!

………………

Why is the budget for the standing ninja forces on the border being increased by 30% again this year?

"That's obvious. The Shinobi Alliance's standing ninja army is fully equipped with chakra armor, chakra weapons, and all kinds of vehicles. Our standing ninja army can't be too far behind, can it?!"

"However, the daimyo region is truly short of money. They've already doubled the taxes, and many farmers can't bear it and have fled..."

In the main conference room of the Hokage Building in Konoha Village, the village's high-ranking officials and elite Jonin gathered together. However, the meeting was devoid of any warm greetings; instead, it was a direct contest between various departments and the standing ninja army over funds and resources.

Even the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, sitting in the main seat of the conference room, felt a splitting headache as he watched the arguing Konoha village leaders and border standing ninja army commanders. This was a common occurrence he had seen several times a year at important Konoha village meetings since he was captured by the Third Hokage's men in the Land of Hot Springs five years ago and forced to become the Fifth Hokage.

Unfortunately, after several years, Konoha Village, under the mandate of the Fire Country Daimyo of the Allied Forces and facing dual threats from land and sea while residing in the Fire Country, has been strengthening its standing ninja army along the border and the defenses of various ports since the Shinobi Alliance annexed the Wind Country. However, over the past few years, while the Shinobi Alliance and the Allied Forces have occasionally engaged in small-scale reconnaissance and conflict, a full-scale war has not yet broken out.

The problem is that the regular ninja troops stationed on the border by Konoha, Iwagakure, and those smaller ninja villages are not like the ninjas who, while in their villages, train and perform various missions to earn money and prepare for battle. The allied forces at least need to ensure logistical support, but the Land of Fire, which has to support the consumption of a regular ninja army of 10,000 people and also has to support the consumption of ninja armies in other places, naturally cannot invest resources indefinitely.

After all, while the allied forces certainly have more population resources than the Ninja World Alliance, resource utilization remains a huge problem. Even if the daimyo and nobles grit their teeth and bleed at the beginning, expecting them to throw money and resources at the various ninja villages is simply wishful thinking.

In this regard, even the three previous Hokage, the current Hokage advisor Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the current Fifth Hokage Jiraiya, could not resolve this conflict. Moreover, the village of Konoha was already in an uproar over the annual budget!

"...Quiet! As for the standing ninja army, this year's budget will increase by at most 10%, while the funding for various departments within the village will remain at 90% of last year's level for the time being!"

Seeing the scene getting heated and almost to the point of violence, Jiraiya, the Fifth Hokage, could no longer contain himself and interrupted the endless argument, using his position as the Fifth Hokage to make a decision on Konoha's budget for the year.

"But, Fifth Hokage..."

Upon hearing Jiraiya's words, the head of the border standing ninja army, who had at least increased his budget by 10%, was fine, but the heads of the various departments in charge of the village's finances hesitated. As for Mitokado Homura, who was currently in charge of the logistics department, he seemed to want to say something after exchanging glances with several of his friends around him.

Needless to say, the funding and supplies we received this year have decreased by 10% compared to last year!

Jiraiya didn't give Homura Mitokado, the former Hokage advisor, a friendly look either. He glanced at Danzo Shimura, whose newly transplanted arm was bandaged, and Koharu Utatane, and gave a swift and firm negative answer, emphasizing the importance of supporting the standing ninja army: "We can't count on the Daimyo. We must prioritize ensuring the combat effectiveness of the border ninja army. Other departments will have to endure for now..."

"Yes, Fifth Hokage!"

Faced with the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya's explanation, no one, including Shimura Danzo, could refute it. In addition, the head of the border ninja army and several of Jiraiya's trusted subordinates immediately expressed their obedience. Everyone else respectfully followed suit. Even Shimura Danzo, who had challenged the Third Hokage, was helpless against the more powerful Jiraiya and could only bow his head and agree to the Fifth Hokage's decision.

This is the intention of the united front and even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. The border ninja army is definitely the top priority. Other departments of Konoha can wait a bit longer, since they have at least received 90% of the funding they received last year!