"Father, perhaps the future is uncertain, but I feel that by following Lord Menma, we can at least see the possibility of a different future. Besides, Lord Menma has done us a favor."
After Menma left.
The father and son remained in place.
After a short silence.
Muku seemed to muster all his courage, looking up at Mui and speaking with a very firm tone.
Just like Utakata, who he strived to win over.
Facing Mui and Muku, father and son.
Menma was also relatively candid about his plans and the goals he wanted to achieve. He never hid his selfishness, but he also had a future goal he was determined to achieve.
Menma knew very well that an outstanding leader, a leader who can attract others to follow and obey, must have a clear goal and plan.
People who take things as they come, step by step, can never gain the recognition of others.
This point—even Menma's cheap brother, Naruto, whether in the original story or in this life, had his own firm goal.
Regardless of whether it was realistic or laughable.
There was ultimately a clear goal there.
Allowing Naruto to gain the recognition and following of like-minded people.
Orochimaru was the same.
This is a basic quality a superior must possess. Menma knew this very clearly from the beginning. Moreover, more importantly, he wasn't conning others but truly moving toward this goal because it didn't conflict with achieving his personal selfishness or completing his personal revenge.
Instead, it should be said to be an inevitable choice on the same path!
Publicly and privately.
Muku agreed with Menma.
Not to mention the promise made before.
Muku hoped his father wouldn't change his mind.
"It seems you have really grown up, Muku."
Mui looked at Muku with a look of gratification.
"Father?"
"Don't worry, Muku. Even if just for you, I won't betray Lord Menma. To truly restore you to human form still relies on Lord Menma. How could I do something foolish?"
Mui patted his son's shoulder gently, speaking warmly.
The formation of a force.
Belief and goals are certainly the most important.
But the most basic thing is still a community of interests.
Especially as a leader, one must ensure, or be able to realize, the interest goals of the people below. Only then will one truly gain the recognition and following of more people.
This is the most realistic thing!
It was also the biggest reason why Menma was largely at ease with Mui. As long as Mui still valued his son that much, Mui would definitely be used by Menma.
Hearing his father's words, the suspended string in Muku's heart also relaxed a bit.
"Go. If nothing unexpected happens, news should come from Lord Menma within two days. By then, we should also take action accordingly!"
"Yes, Father!"
Menma, who had already left, didn't know that Muku almost went to warn his father for the sake of his plan. Because he himself was still faintly guarding against the possibility that if something went wrong with Mui and Muku, he must immediately resort to backup means. This is actually a very normal part of human nature.
Betrayal can occur even in emotions settled over time.
Let alone people known for the first time?
Menma would boldly make all decisions requiring courage, but would also prepare in advance for any eventuality.
And almost as soon as Menma left Hozuki Castle and reunited with Suigetsu, Karin, and others.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Menma immediately used the Summoning Jutsu.
"Lord Menma!"
He directly summoned a small lizard about a meter long.
The lacquer rock desert lizards Menma contracted were an entire clan, not a single powerful individual ninja beast. Besides Urushi and a few large lizards suitable for combat, there were also some small lizards that could be used for reconnaissance and information transmission.
It could be said that this greatly facilitated Menma.
Because with the Summoning Jutsu, as long as multiple people sign the same contract...
Instant information transmission ignoring distance could be achieved.
And the confidentiality was extremely high.
The reason Menma didn't covet the Ryuchi Cave contract from Orochimaru was that there was some information Menma didn't want Orochimaru to know.
After all, he wasn't family.
"Deliver this scroll back. Also, have Utakata tell Shibuki-san that operations can begin!"
Menma handed a scroll from his chest to the dark lizard in front of him and said.
"Yes, Lord Menma, as you command!"
The dark lizard swallowed the scroll Menma handed over in one gulp.
Immediately after.
With a poof.
It turned directly into smoke and disappeared.
Since obtaining the summoning contract scroll of the lacquer rock desert lizard clan, Menma immediately had Karin sign it. Later, after Utakata joined, he also had Utakata become a contractor so that the three could transmit information to each other even when separated.
Not bringing Utakata this time.
Was partly to strengthen the defense of the Hidden Waterfall Village.
And partly to facilitate information transmission.
"Menma, can we really start the next stage directly now? If that person coordinates from the inside and outside, will we be the ones suffering heavily then!?"
Just as Menma finished transmitting the information.
From the side, Karin stepped forward, looking at Menma with a slightly grim look and asked.
Towards outsiders.
Karin always viewed them with the highest degree of vigilance.
Originally, Karin thought in the second stage of the plan...
Menma would bring Mui and Muku along, then leave her and Suigetsu in Hozuki Castle to integrate the Grass ninja there. Although doing so could easily cause unrest among the Grass ninja, making integration difficult and potentially triggering problems like camp riots...
From the perspective of trust, this was the safest way.
"Yeah, Lord Menma, without any defensive measures, this is equivalent to handing the choice to them. Is this really appropriate?"
Suigetsu Hozuki also spoke cautiously.
After getting along for a longer time.
Especially as Menma's faction seemed to be growing rapidly stronger, Suigetsu's previous thoughts had faded a lot. It wasn't to say that Suigetsu was completely loyal to Menma now.
If the situation went wrong, Suigetsu would definitely be the first to lead the escape. But at least compared to the beginning, Suigetsu's recognition and trust in Menma had increased a lot. Perhaps Menma could indeed succeed. Not to mention Menma had also promised Suigetsu a big "sweet date"!
Given a choice, Suigetsu might also hope to see Menma succeed.
This could be considered a relatively contradictory psychological period for Suigetsu currently.
However, in the current situation, Suigetsu shared the same view as Karin, feeling that too much trust shouldn't be given to Mui and Muku.
Once a problem arose, wouldn't their plan this time be wasted?
"I understand what you mean, Karin, but this is the best choice at this stage. Unless we are willing to take over a mess then, which is obviously not in our interest. The Hidden Grass Village must maintain relatively intact combat power. At least 70-80% of the Grass ninja's combat power must be able to join our integration plan. Only in this way is our action this time meaningful. Risk and return often go hand in hand. At least compared to others, Mui-san and Muku-kun still have a basis for trust!"
Menma shook his head gently.
There was basic trust and common interests.
And the most critical thing was that the current Muku couldn't do without Menma's help.
With these three prongs.
Menma felt he didn't need to worry too much; the risk was far smaller than the controllable range.
"But..."
Karin was still somewhat worried and wanted to say more.
"We have to set off too. If nothing unexpected happens, the opposing support troops are about to arrive!"
Menma waved his hand, directly interrupting Karin's subsequent words.
"Alright, I understand."
Karin pursed her lips and could only nod.
"Don't worry, Karin, everything will go smoothly!"
Menma smiled, patted Karin's head, and said warmly.
"Mhm!"
"Then, let's depart. Time waits for no one!"
Words fell.
Boom!
Chakra erupted.
The next second.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Under Menma's lead, the group sped all the way towards the direction of the Hidden Grass Village in the south.
---
And just before Menma's group headed south.
Turning back to half a day ago.
In the Land of Grass, on a flat land on the northwest side.
The Hidden Grass Village was established here.
As the largest junction point between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire.
In the past three Great Ninja Wars.
Whenever a battle broke out between the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Grass Village was inevitably dragged into it.
This was an inevitable outcome determined by geography.
Although the Hidden Waterfall Village was also sandwiched between various countries, it wasn't blatantly subjected to pincer attacks from the Hidden Stone and Hidden Leaf like the Hidden Grass. Plus, the Hidden Waterfall Village had a certain degree of geographical advantage and a big killer weapon like the Seven-Tails.
Therefore, although the scale seemed similar, the survival environment of the Hidden Waterfall Village was much better than that of the Hidden Grass Village.
Based on this point, over the past years.
The high-level officials of the Hidden Grass Village had been seeking a breakthrough.
Wanting to get rid of their ninja village's predicament. The Castle Faction led by Mui and the four elders wanting to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss was a classic representative.
But such an approach.
Was opposed by the Village Faction led by the leader, Hisashi Shigeru. Firstly, they didn't believe the Box of Ultimate Bliss was truly an omnipotent wishing machine. Secondly, they always felt that as a small nation ninja village, they should seek how to develop and exist stably, rather than this kind of self-destructive approach.
The conflict between the two factions took this as a dividing point, intensifying in the last two years.
There was a period.
Hisashi Shigeru even considered whether to introduce Rock or Leaf ninja to completely eradicate the Castle Faction.
But that would deal too big a blow to his own ninja village.
Hisashi Shigeru hesitated and couldn't make up his mind.
Plus, the Anbu personnel dispatched also consistently reported that the Castle Faction's repeated attempts to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss had failed. Hisashi Shigeru temporarily abandoned this overly brutal approach, wanting to use milder means to slowly dismantle the Castle Faction's power and then take back the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Originally, everything was going decently.
But today.
An unexpected piece of intelligence suddenly received.
"What!? Mui and the others have found a way to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss!? Can they open it in the near future!?"
Hidden Grass Village, in the center, inside the leader's exclusive office building.
Hisashi Shigeru, the Hidden Grass Village leader nearing fifty, stood up abruptly, looking at a trusted village Jonin who came to report, his expression very ugly.
"Yes, Lord Hisashi. News from the inside line says Mui and the others seem to have reached an agreement with the Leaf's rogue ninja Orochimaru. Then Orochimaru dispatched a fellow Leaf rogue ninja, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—Menma Uzumaki, to assist Mui and the others in opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss. If it's a Tailed Beast, and the strongest Nine-Tails at that, it will surely satisfy the massive chakra amount required to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss!"
As the highest secret of the Hidden Grass Village, the existence of the Box of Ultimate Bliss wasn't known to just anyone. In the Castle Faction, only Mui, the four elders, and a few others knew. The same was true for the Village Faction.
Even though Hisashi wished to eradicate Mui and the others immediately.
Such news had always been suppressed and blocked as much as possible, not easily let known to too many people.
In the entire Hidden Grass Village, besides Hisashi Shigeru, really only a few people knew.
The Jonin in front of him, specially responsible for monitoring the Castle Faction's movements for Hisashi Shigeru, was one of the insiders.
"Menma Uzumaki!? The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!?"
Upon hearing Menma's name, Hisashi Shigeru's pupils contracted noticeably.
"If that's the case, it is indeed very troublesome. With this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki present, that bunch in the Castle Faction really might open the Box of Ultimate Bliss!"
Hisashi Shigeru frowned, speaking with a very serious expression.
As the leader of the Hidden Grass Village.
Even though control of the Box of Ultimate Bliss was lost in his generation, Hisashi Shigeru knew clearly what conditions were required to open it. It should even be said that Hisashi Shigeru knew very well what kind of existence the Box of Ultimate Bliss was.
It was a machine for creating monsters!
But those few idiots just wouldn't believe his words, thinking he, the leader, wanted to monopolize the Box of Ultimate Bliss. This made Hisashi Shigeru very helpless.
Planning for years to take back the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
That thing just couldn't be opened!
Their Hidden Grass Village wasn't qualified to control such a terrifying thing now. It was most appropriate to seal it directly, just as the ancestors said!