Chapter 604: Target, the Box of Ultimate Bliss
The remaining Suna elders received Konoha's material aid and were noncommittal. They were probably laughing at Konoha in secret. A bunch of fools! We can get money just by making up some surnames? Why not make them up? Make them up!
The elders took the lead, and the Jonin had no choice but to follow.
Temari thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a sufficiently impressive surname, so she had to ask Ino.
Ino said, "I can't think of a great surname off the top of my head either. Why don't you just take 'Yamanaka'?"
Temari pressed her lips together. That sounded weird, as if she were marrying into his family.
After some research, and after Ino listed a bunch of common surnames like "Matsushita," "Inoue," and "Inokari," Temari chose the surname "Kazachū" (风中) for her family.
It took the 'Kaze' (Wind) (風) from Namikaze (波风) and the 'Chū' (Middle) (中) from Yamanaka (山中). It also carried the meaning of originating from the Land of Wind. The surname was thus decided.
This surname was mainly for Kankuro. Temari would definitely get married in the future, and she would take her husband's surname then.
Kazachū Kankuro! It sounded pretty good.
Kankuro wouldn't just hand over Sunagakure's Puppet Technique on a silver platter, but he and many other puppeteers were not opposed to deeper cooperation with Konoha.
What materials did puppeteers need for their puppets? Sasori had the Human Puppet technique, but these ordinary puppeteers didn't have that skill.
Traditional puppeteers needed wood, specifically wood with excellent chakra conductivity.
Sunagakure was located in the middle of a vast desert. The few trees in the oases were more precious than gold; who would dare to cut them down? Konoha was different. The village's name was "Wood Leaf." One could only imagine how much wood they had. Back then, Hashirama Senju could raise an entire forest with a single gesture. The trees he grew with Wood Release had excellent chakra conductivity and were the dream material for puppeteers. Konoha used to supply Suna in limited quantities, but now they were trending toward completely opening access.
You want high-quality wood? Come and cut it. Take as much as you want!
Over a hundred puppeteers came to Konoha, and Konoha sent a large group of young ninja to help them as assistants.
Stealing techniques? Impossible. How could you call what ninja do 'stealing'? Draw some lines, saw some wood, bring out a couple of bottles of sake, everyone chats... and wouldn't the puppet techniques slowly be coaxed out?
With the two villages integrating, there was a lot of work.
Ino was busy getting Suna's intelligence department under his control.
Of course, it couldn't be called an annexation. It was done in the form of mission contracts.
"We have intelligence suggesting the temple forces, the Daimyo forces, and the samurai forces are trending toward an alliance. I call this the Axis of Evil! No matter who they plan to deal with, no matter what they plan to do, we must stop them! This is your mission!"
Several Suna Jonin in charge of intelligence looked at each other.
They were originally worried Konoha would use them as cannon fodder, sending them to spy on Kumo and Iwa. They were apprehensive. But now? What? Go deal with monks and samurai? This mission was too easy!
Ninja held a significant psychological advantage over ninja monks and samurai. The Suna shinobi gladly accepted the mission.
Konoha was annexing Sunagakure in a gentle, methodical manner.
The small clique, dubbed the "Axis of Evil" by Ino, had not given up the struggle.
The Land of Iron was the land of the samurai, a famous neutral country in the ninja world.
There were two types of samurai. One was the traditional samurai, who relied on generations of inheritance, honing their will and martial arts. The other type could use chakra. Without a doubt, the latter's combat power far exceeded the former.
The General of the Land of Iron, the samurai leader Mifune, rejected Sora's foolish plan to unite the various temples and pressure Konoha. Naïve. Do you think ninja don't kill people?
The Land of Iron could stand firm in the chaotic ninja world not just because of its military strength and unity, but also because of its intelligence.
"Yamanaka Ino" bombed the Fire Temple? Fine, noted.
Ally with you against the ninja villages? Goodbye!
Mifune flatly rejected Sora's proposals. The Land of Iron strictly adhered to its principle of neutrality; this would not waver.
But he did not refuse Sora's request to hire samurai. It was called the Land of Iron, after all; it wasn't exactly a land of scenic beauty. Many samurai nowadays had abandoned tradition and, like ninja, took on various missions.
Sora hired 200 chakra-using samurai in one go, led by a general named Okisuke.
Mifune, the General of the Land of Iron, was equivalent to a Kage, while Okisuke, a general, was basically equivalent to a Jonin from a ninja village.
With the secret support of the Fire Temple, Sora was not short on money. After hiring the samurai, he immediately led his troops to the Land of Grass.
He had a plan in his hands, the masterpiece his father, Kazuma, had poured his heart and soul into, detailing several ways to destroy Konoha.
This plan had been secretly kept by the Fire Daimyo, and now it had found its way into Sora's hands.
Sora felt his own ability was limited. What should he do? He wanted to resurrect his father and let Kazuma lead the work of destroying Konoha.
Kazuma had investigated back then. Kusagakure had a treasured tool passed down through generations, said to be from the Sage of Six Paths: the "Box of Ultimate Bliss." This tool possessed incredible power. Sora believed he could use it to resurrect his father, who would then lead him to destroy Konoha.
The hidden strength of the temples was stronger than expected. On the way to the Land of Grass, Sora gained another helper from afar.
This was Hōichi, a disciple of the monk Bunpuku, Sunagakure's former One-Tail Jinchuriki.
Konoha's attempt to annex Sunagakure had made Hōichi extremely dissatisfied. After some twists and turns, he joined Sora's side.
Sora, who was practically half a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; Hōichi, a monk skilled in sealing jutsu; and Okisuke, a samurai with Jonin-level strength wielding a famous sword.
The three of them became the vanguard of the anti-Konoha movement.
Hōichi brought a dozen Suna ninja who were unwilling to submit to Konoha. Sora received support from a group of ninja monks from the Fire Temple. Adding the 200 samurai, they planned to launch a surprise attack on the Land of Grass's Hōzuki Castle—the Blood Prison—to seize the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Zetsu had been observing Sora in secret. He was somewhat satisfied with the boy's performance so far. Seeing him prepare to storm Hōzuki Castle, Zetsu immediately jumped out to offer a suggestion.
"I don't think a frontal assault is a good idea. If you're willing, I can help you create some chaos," Zetsu said.
Hōichi and Okisuke had never seen him before and were wary of this strange-looking fellow.
Sora's mind was already clouded by hatred and the Nine-Tails' chakra. He asked anxiously, "What will you do?"
Zetsu chuckled, and right in front of them, he rapidly transformed, eventually taking on Sora's appearance.
His height, appearance, and even his chakra were identical.
Hōichi had studied many things. Besides sealing jutsu and genjutsu, he also knew some sensory techniques. He quickly formed seals, but his senses detected nothing abnormal. If he didn't remember their original positions, he wouldn't be able to tell which one was the real Sora.
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