Chapter 350: Kill You and Still Make You Say Thank You!

Although Uchiha Ren had gone to great lengths to explain the stakes, just as he had expected, Jiraiya's deeply ingrained beliefs could not be shaken by a few words.

However, Jiraiya had also seen how determined Uchiha Ren was. Since he could not come up with any concrete way to stop him, all he could do was fall silent.

"Elder Orochimaru, Tsunade, what do the two of you think?"

Uchiha Ren no longer paid attention to Jiraiya and instead turned to Orochimaru and Tsunade.

Orochimaru smiled.

"To be honest, I think your idea is a little too risky, Ren-kun. Mass production of the new weapons has already begun. Give us a little more time, and we'll be able to equip an unparalleled army!"

"At that point, we could simply steamroll our way through the enemy forces. It might take a little longer, and there might be somewhat more casualties, but for Konoha, that would be the safer approach."

"But..."

Orochimaru paused before suddenly changing his tone.

"The thing I hate most is following established procedures and clinging to old conventions."

"So I agree with your plan!"

Orochimaru's words caused both Jiraiya and Tsunade to raise their eyebrows, a strange glint flashing through their eyes.

Although Orochimaru's words sounded somewhat "crazy," he had revealed several extremely important pieces of information.

First, Uchiha Ren was already preparing an army equipped with the new weapons. His earlier statement that "war was already unavoidable" had not been an empty threat.

Uchiha Ren was serious!

Second, the plan Uchiha Ren had proposed on the spur of the moment was indeed intended to reduce unnecessary casualties. Uchiha Ren was not some war-mongering fanatic.

Third, Uchiha Ren's plan had clearly been in preparation for a long time. His "accomplices" included Minato Namikaze, Orochimaru, and many others who had yet to reveal themselves.

"Then let's give it a try."

Tsunade sighed helplessly and agreed to Uchiha Ren's audacious plan.

"Tsunade, you..."

Jiraiya stared at Tsunade in disbelief.

In Jiraiya's eyes, Tsunade had always been relatively conservative. He had assumed she would stand on the same side as him.

Yet now, Tsunade had changed her original position after only a few words from Uchiha Ren and Orochimaru.

Jiraiya was completely caught off guard.

Tsunade ignored his questioning gaze and looked toward Uchiha Ren.

"To be honest, I don't actually agree with your ideas. But I understand that blindly opposing the tide of events isn't necessarily wise either."

"What I can do is go with the current while doing everything I can to leave the village several possible ways out."

"Simply put, we seek common ground while reserving our differences."

Tsunade's explanation made Uchiha Ren look at her with renewed respect.

He had underestimated Tsunade's political awareness.

What Tsunade meant was actually very simple.

With Uchiha Ren and his allies already holding the initiative within Konoha's decision-making circles, even if she did not agree with their ideology, she would not openly oppose them.

Because doing so would only inflict greater losses on Konoha.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Uchiha Ren's lips.

"You certainly see things clearly."

"But how can you be so certain that we hold the overall advantage?"

"We may have the initiative within Konoha's decision-making structure, but your teacher and the others are still around. The outcome is hardly decided yet, is it?"

"Hmph."

Tsunade snorted unhappily.

"Don't think I don't know. In your struggle against them, the old man and the others have already fallen into an absolutely disadvantageous position."

"You've actually had the ability to deal with them for a long time. The reason you haven't done anything yet is simply because you want Minato Namikaze to smoothly inherit the position and authority of Hokage."

"You may have even already prepared a trap for the old man and the others, just waiting for them to walk into it."

Tsunade truly deserved to become the Fifth Hokage.

Her political instincts were exceptionally sharp!

As an outsider observing the situation, she could see things even more clearly than Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others who were directly involved.

After a brief pause, Tsunade continued,

"However, I still have to warn you. Sunagakure certainly won't compromise so easily."

"Your plan won't succeed that easily!"

"I know that, of course."

Uchiha Ren nodded.

"Sunagakure won't compromise easily. But we have an overwhelming advantage right now."

"If they want to break the deadlock, they only have one opportunity."

"They need to seize our weakness as well and establish a balance of power with us!"

"Our weakness?"

Orochimaru pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Ren-kun, are you referring to Shisui and the others?"

"Exactly!"

Uchiha Ren nodded.

"Although we've ventured deep into enemy territory alone, we're already in an effectively invincible position because we hold the trump card of Sunagakure's civilian population."

"The best way for Sunagakure to counterbalance us is to have a group of hostages of their own—people whose lives can threaten us."

"They can't possibly go into the Land of Fire to capture our people."

"That leaves only the Konoha shinobi who are still in the Land of Wind gathering supplies."

"So we need to make preparations as well. Only by getting Shisui and the others out of the Land of Wind as quickly as possible can we maximize our security."

"Also, notify Minato. Have him cooperate with us to increase the pressure on Sunagakure while preparing for our subsequent takeover of the village."

"It seems you've thought of everything."

Tsunade shook her head slightly.

"Then let's proceed according to your plan. I'll follow your orders."

"Good."

Uchiha Ren immediately gave her an assignment.

"Then you'll be responsible for taking inventory of our supplies first. We may have to remain in Sunagakure for quite some time, so we absolutely cannot allow our logistical support to fall behind."

"Elder Orochimaru, Sunagakure should have no shortage of various materials. See if you can replenish our stock of Fire Release Type-3 Artillery Shells."

"That's extremely important!"

"I'll handle everything else."

Orochimaru and Tsunade both nodded and accepted Uchiha Ren's arrangements.

"Wait! You're just going to leave me to..."

Jiraiya spoke up at this moment.

But before he could finish, Uchiha Ren interrupted him.

"Oh, right, Jiraiya-sama. I'll leave the task of calming and reassuring the civilians of Sunagakure to you!"

"Haven't you always believed that an era of mutual understanding between people will eventually arrive, bringing peace to the world?"

"Fine words are easy. If you truly believe in the next generation, you should at least gain some practical experience for their sake."

"Try to make the people of Sunagakure understand us!"

"Ganbatte!"

Jiraiya was left dumbfounded.

They had already fought their way all the way to Sunagakure's doorstep, and now Uchiha Ren wanted him to make the people of Sunagakure understand them.

That was practically equivalent to killing someone and then expecting them to thank you for it.

How could something like that possibly work?!

But Uchiha Ren had pushed the argument this far.

If Jiraiya refused now, wouldn't that amount to admitting that his own ideals were wrong?

After thinking it over again and again, Jiraiya could only accept the assignment with a bitter smile.

Seeing this, Uchiha Ren chuckled softly.

But his gaze turned toward the horizon.

The time was about right.

Things should be getting started on Konoha's side by now.