Late into the night, the silver tabby cat, unwilling to return home only to face Big Orange’s eager attentions first thing in the morning, curled up in the pink kitty bed inside the room and fell asleep.
Her soft fur gently rose and fell with each breath.
Anlan wasn’t in any hurry.
Leaning against the window, he carefully sorted through everything that had happened during the clan meeting that day.
Moonlight filtered through the window lattice, casting shifting shadows across his sharply defined profile.
Anlan’s thoughts eventually settled on the bounty hunter—Kakuzu.
This missing-nin from Takigakure had yet to join the Akatsuki, but in the current shinobi world, with his genuine Kage-level strength, he could walk with impunity in most situations.
Combined with his decent professional ethics and obsessive devotion to money, Kakuzu, despite his eccentric temperament and countless murders, still had his useful qualities.
As a transmigrator who had gradually taken control of the hawk faction’s power as he grew, Anlan naturally couldn’t afford not to make use of him.
Under the name of the Ninja Cat clan, he had secretly commissioned Kakuzu to carry out quite a few missions.
Assassinating Kumogakure shinobi and framing Konoha was only one of them.
“Next comes the conflict with Kirigakure. I need to think this through carefully. Perhaps I can reach an understanding with the commander of Kirigakure’s front line.”
Anlan slowly began to ponder.
At present, Kirigakure was not under the control of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, but rather the Third Mizukage, who had already begun implementing the “Blood Mist” policy.
One of the core aspects of this policy was reforming the shinobi graduation examination.
The original team-based examination was changed into a survival elimination system.
Students from the same graduating class were required to slaughter one another until only half remained, while the failures would be executed directly.
This extreme selection method was supposedly intended to improve the combat abilities of Kirigakure shinobi and cultivate outstanding warriors through bloodshed.
But the Third Mizukage was neither a member of a kekkei genkai clan nor particularly powerful, possessing strength that only barely reached the ordinary Kage level.
His personal prestige was simply insufficient to truly enforce such an extreme policy.
According to the intelligence gathered by Kakuzu and the Ninja Cats, the Third Mizukage intended to provoke conflict between kekkei genkai clans and civilian shinobi.
It seemed he wanted the kekkei genkai shinobi to suppress the civilian shinobi, intensifying the conflict and indirectly creating a survival-based elimination system.
“These methods…”
A cold glint flashed through Anlan’s eyes.
“The Third Mizukage was probably already being manipulated by Uchiha Madara, who was hiding behind the scenes and clinging to his last breath.”
There was no need to question the power of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
At the current stage of the shinobi world, whoever faced it would be the one to suffer.
This also explained why, during the later stages of the Third Shinobi World War, the Three-Tails, a strategic resource belonging to Kirigakure, could be sealed inside Nohara Rin, a mere genin.
And then, everything naturally proceeded according to plan.
Amid the collapse of his faith, he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Everything had been part of a plan laid out long ago.
“So, how should I communicate with the Kirigakure shinobi, and how can I gain something from it?”
Even though civilian shinobi had begun to distinguish themselves, the main combat forces of the major hidden villages were still mostly made up of powerful kekkei genkai or secret-technique users.
With Kirigakure now invading the Land of Fire, there would undoubtedly be plenty of elites from kekkei genkai and secret-technique clans among its frontline command.
That gave Anlan room to communicate with them.
The Third Mizukage’s policies could never win the support of the kekkei genkai and secret-technique clans.
Especially the Kaguya and Hōzuki clans.
The Hōzuki clan was once the foremost clan in Kirigakure, and Hōzuki Gengetsu, the former clan head, had later overtaken everyone through sheer strength and forcibly become the Second Mizukage.
The current Third Mizukage had originally been the Second Mizukage.
In the eyes of the shinobi clans, that made him a failure.
At the same time, the Third Mizukage couldn’t possibly win the support of the civilian shinobi either.
The starting points of clan-born shinobi and civilian shinobi were fundamentally different.
Under an elimination system, the ones who would undoubtedly die in the greatest numbers would be children from civilian families.
How could the Kirigakure shinobi who had risen from civilian backgrounds view such a system?
What would they think?
But then again, in the world of Naruto depicted by Kishimoto, a shinobi’s mindset was essentially one of subordination to authority.
Even if a noble pointed at their heads and cursed them, they would still obediently behave like dogs.
Let alone their true leader.
As long as the Third Mizukage’s Blood Mist policy was handled properly, it would inevitably be implemented.
Then the Fourth Mizukage would take over, and under Uchiha Obito’s control, Kirigakure, having suffered repeated reprisals, would become the true “Blood Mist Village.”
“The relationship between the kekkei genkai clans, civilian shinobi, and the Third Mizukage is a triangle. As long as it’s handled properly, the Uchiha can profit from all three sides.”
“As for what I can gain, there should be two things. One is to use Kirigakure to pressure Konoha—build up resources quietly and bide my time. The other is to seize the Three-Tails.”
As his thoughts turned, Anlan remembered Uchiha Obito, who had yet to awaken his Sharingan, was still the dead-last of his class, and liked helping old ladies cross the street.
He couldn’t condemn Uchiha Obito for crimes that had yet to happen.
In fact, if handled properly, the Uchiha clan might even gain another simp.
Well…
After years of observing and training Big Orange and Ayan, Anlan had accumulated extensive knowledge about simps.
As long as he kept Nohara Rin firmly within Obito’s grasp and allowed him to live in a world where Rin existed, he would become an invincible champion of pure love.
Without Rin, Obito would become a complete madman, living entirely within his own world.
“Next, I only need to wait for the result of the clan head’s negotiations with Hiruzen Sarutobi. After that, I’ll have Kakuzu add another spark to the fire and make sure those barbarians from Kumogakure can no longer hold themselves back.”
A cold look flashed through Anlan’s eyes.
Once Kumogakure became the first to breach the borders of the Land of Fire, Iwagakure and Sunagakure would inevitably swarm in like jackals that had caught the scent of blood.
By then, the flames of war would spread across the land.
The Hokage would no longer have room to weigh his options and proceed cautiously, step by step.
“And the Uchiha can use this opportunity to escape the bloodiest part of the chaos and preserve the clan.”
With his thoughts settled, Anlan looked toward the direction of Uchiha Mikoto’s residence and softly said,
“Good night.”
He then turned and left the window.
The night breeze swept past, gently stirring the hem of his dark yukata.
Ayan’s ear twitched lightly in her sleep.
Anlan casually tucked the thin blanket around her kitty bed, then lay down on his own bed.
One night passed without anyone realizing it—some tossing and turning, unable to sleep, while others sank into deep dreams.
The Hokage Building remained brightly lit, like a tireless heart that never stopped beating.
One shadow after another shot out from within, carrying urgent orders.
The figures of the ANBU shinobi made several leaps through the thin mist before dawn, disappearing beyond Konoha’s borders.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had spent the entire night awake, stood before the window.
Blue smoke from his pipe curled lazily through the morning light.
He watched Mitokado Homura steadily make his way toward Konoha’s gates and embark on the journey to the Daimyō’s residence.
His gaze shifted again, falling upon a specially crafted crystal ball on the desk.
Within it was the image of Shimura Danzo, who was about to visit the various shinobi clans and persuade them to his side.
His gloomy eyes were filled with reluctance.
A long sigh melted into the cool morning breeze.
“Hopefully… everything goes smoothly.”
The rising sun stretched Hiruzen Sarutobi’s shadow long across the empty office, making it seem especially lonely.