Madara looked at the group of Kirigakure exchange students studying in Konoha.
As the shadowy mastermind of the shinobi world, a man possessing world-shaking wisdom, Madara always considered problems from every angle...
If one wanted to provoke a war, the key was creating an information gap.
One side had to misjudge the other as weak. Only then, with the hidden villages' inherently aggressive nature toward one another, would starting a war seem like a worthwhile option.
But if these Kirigakure exchange students truthfully reported Konoha's situation after returning home, their existence would erase that information gap between the two sides...
In Madara's view, although the Third Mizukage's governance had already become an absolute disaster...
Anyone capable of sitting in that position was still, at the very least, a capable shinobi. His brain was not so useless that he could not analyze even the most basic intelligence.
Even if he wanted to use war as a pressure-release valve for internal problems, he would never choose Konoha as the target. He would pick someone else instead...
Therefore, Madara had to stop these Kirigakure exchange students from bringing firsthand intelligence back with them...
Not only that, he also needed them to loudly spread the idea that Konoha was weak and powerless.
There was no contradiction there.
Without sufficient information, the same event could easily be analyzed into completely opposite conclusions.
For example, Konoha breaking the traditional shinobi code.
Those who understood the situation and knew Konoha's internal intelligence naturally recognized it as a manifestation of the Will of Fire.
The village's cohesion and organizational strength had already risen to unprecedented heights...
But it could also be interpreted as the Hokage losing control over the lower-ranking shinobi!
As Konoha being devoured by the backlash of the Will of Fire, with the higher-ups no longer able to command the shinobi beneath them!
That was why they had no choice but to throw around massive amounts of money to placate people, forcibly abandoning the highly effective shinobi code...
And that was also why Madara had not chosen to kill Kisame and the others.
He was counting on them to spread propaganda in the opposite direction!
"Y-You are...?"
Terumī Mei swallowed nervously and spoke in a trembling voice. "But this is completely different from the Konoha we know. Wouldn't that cause the village to make a false judgment?"
Kisame frowned and objected.
"This sir, I still think it's better to stick to the facts. Mizukage-sama isn't the kind of person who refuses to listen to advice..."
"Mizukage-sama definitely wants us to tell the truth. If he learns the situation sooner, he'll be able to end the Bloody Mist era sooner too. Mizukage-sama has probably wanted to put a stop to it for a long time already."
Kisame genuinely thought so.
After so long suffering from the endless clash between his left brain and right brain, his mind had basically activated a self-defense mechanism.
By default, he subconsciously assumed the Mizukage possessed Sarutobi Hiruzen's level of competence and understanding...
Otherwise, the reality would simply be too painful.
In short, he had managed to fool even himself...
Nakamaro and Snow stared at Kisame in astonishment, while even Mei turned to look at him sideways.
How in the world had this guy arrived at that conclusion?
The Third Mizukage listened to advice?
Even Madara could not help but laugh, the corner of his mouth curling upward beneath the mask.
Where had this innocent fool come from? He was almost painfully honest!
'If every shinobi were this pure and stupid, peace in the shinobi world might actually be possible...' Madara deliberately gave Kisame several extra glances.
The kid was so dumb it almost circled back around to being lovable...
"The fact that I'm standing here already proves the village understands Konoha's true situation."
Madara crossed his arms.
"You think Konoha is strong? That's merely the appearance of strength hiding internal decay. The village could collapse at any moment..."
"What you saw was only what Konoha wanted you to see!"
"They confused you deliberately, causing the village to misjudge Konoha's military strength and miss its opportunity..."
Madara pointed at them one by one.
"You. During your morning training sessions, are you certain what you saw was real?"
First, Kisame.
"And when you wandered through Konoha's markets and merchant districts, did it never occur to you that everyone you met might have been spies?"
Then Terumī Mei.
"And you two. Constantly gathering intelligence around the Hyūga Clan was a good instinct, but at your level, how could you possibly outplay an old fox like Hyūga Tenzō?"
Finally, Nakamaro and Snow.
Naturally, Madara had not come here unprepared.
Now that he had resolved himself to teach Hiruzen a lesson, he had no intention of losing to his 'younger self'...
So he had personally stepped in to handle matters himself!
In a certain sense, he really was a model worker—an elderly man still fighting on the front lines doing espionage work...
After all, with White Zetsu's intelligence, asking them to impersonate Kirigakure's upper management and deliver convincing speeches was simply too difficult.
At best, they could only help him play supporting roles...
The four Kirigakure shinobi instantly felt a chill run down their necks!
The village actually knew about all of their movements inside Konoha?
Madara looked at Kisame and the others' reactions with satisfaction.
That was more like it!
With an entire network of White Zetsu spies under his control, there should have been no organization in the shinobi world capable of hiding secrets from him...
But the current Konoha was different.
Mito, Uzumaki Shio, and Kushina would occasionally activate the Mind's Eye of the Kagura to conduct random scans.
On top of that, a large number of Hyūga branch family members had joined the ANBU. That meant White Zetsu could remain hidden underground if it stayed still, but the moment it used the Mayfly Technique to move quickly, it would expose itself...
As a result, Konoha's internal intelligence network had gradually become isolated from Madara.
Now, he could only occasionally tune into the "Uchiha channel" in the village's more remote districts. He no longer had free access to everything...
The thought left Madara feeling rather conflicted.
After all, Konoha was the village he had founded, so it should have been different from the other hidden villages...
But not this different...
How had they even reached the point of defending against White Zetsu?
"This sir, how do you know all this about us...?" Mei probed cautiously.
"Could it be that the village has already completely infiltrated Konoha?"
Madara's words were undeniably persuasive.
During their entire year in Konoha, they had never exchanged intelligence with the village. They had effectively been isolated the whole time.
And yet the village somehow knew their daily routines in such detail!
'Has the village really become far stronger than I imagined...?' Mei could not help but begin questioning her entire worldview.
Kisame, meanwhile, looked overjoyed.
Ha!
He knew it!
The Bloody Mist policy really was for Kirigakure's own good after all! The methods may have looked harsh, but weren't the results already obvious?
Despite remaining in a state of national isolation, they were still able to bypass Konoha's layers upon layers of security and obtain firsthand intelligence!
Kisame found himself wanting to return to Kirigakure more and more.
He wanted to see whether the village had already become like Konoha... or perhaps had even surpassed it...
'No, no, I'm still being too impatient. As long as things are moving in a better direction, that's enough!' Kisame told himself inwardly.
But after the initial shock faded, Nakamaro and Snow only grew to hate Kirigakure even more.
Especially Nakamaro. After spending more than half a year deeply studying under Hyūga Tenzō...
He now thoroughly understood the tricks used by shinobi clans and village higher-ups alike...
'Acting like they control everything, but in the end, it's just psychological intimidation meant to scare people!' Nakamaro thought disdainfully.
'Kisame was already the type to train obsessively, Mei likes wandering around shopping districts, and the Kaguya Clan already had old ties with the Hyūga Clan. With a little analysis, anyone could guess we'd done those sorts of things...'
Nakamaro firmly believed one thing.
If Kirigakure were truly powerful, then they would never have needed to use roundabout methods like the "Internal Affairs Department" to plant hidden threats within the Kaguya Clan, nor would they need the Bloody Mist policy to split apart the shinobi clans...
Even without sophisticated negotiations or divide-and-conquer tactics, simply smashing people down with the iron fist of intelligence networks would have been enough to make most clans obedient long ago.
Why go through all this trouble otherwise?
'Seeing through appearances to grasp the essence... Tenzō-ojiisan was absolutely right. These rotten higher-ups love playing mysterious mind games just to scare people...' Nakamaro sighed inwardly.
But on the surface, Nakamaro wore an expression of complete admiration and submission.
There was no need to confront them head-on.
In fact, Nakamaro was more than happy to see Kirigakure's higher-ups conceal Konoha's true situation.
Because he had never intended to bring the Kaguya Clan to Konoha intact and whole from the very beginning.
No one understood the clan's mental state better than he did...
Some clan members were simply born as hyper-aggressive lunatics. There was no reasoning with them. They had little strength, yet were unbelievably arrogant...
People like that...
If he brought them to Konoha, they would only cause trouble for himself and the rest of the clan.
A shinobi clan was a social label.
If even one member was too absurdly deranged, it would drag down how every other shinobi viewed the Kaguya Clan as a whole.
'The Shikotsumyaku is practically being polluted into extinction by these brain-damaged idiots. I'll let Kirigakure and the Third Mizukage help me filter them out first...'
Nakamaro slowly exhaled, then put on a respectful expression.
"The Third Mizukage-sama truly sees everything with divine foresight! Thank goodness you enlightened us. Otherwise, we young people really would have been deceived by Konoha's cunning tricks..."
"Please rest assured, we absolutely will not pass false intelligence to the village's shinobi."
Nakamaro spoke in a deep voice.
"Konoha is a weak village! The fact that they no longer even follow the shinobi code only proves their shinobi don't dare fight and don't know how to fight!"
"Just wait until the time comes and watch our Kaguya Clan! We'll be the first to charge in and split those cowards in half alive!"
Nakamaro's tone was savage and passionate, exactly like some battle-crazed maniac.
But inwardly, he felt deeply uncomfortable.
After living in Konoha for a year, it had been a long time since he had said something so brainless. It honestly felt kind of embarrassing...
Madara smiled faintly.
'The Kaguya Clan truly is still as brainless as ever. With only a tiny scheme, I already have them completely obedient...'
'Though I suppose I can't really blame myself for redirecting the flames of war toward Konoha. With shinobi clans like this in Kirigakure, attacking Konoha was only a matter of time. All I did was give things a push. In essence, I'm merely helping Sarutobi Hiruzen recognize reality sooner.'
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Madara froze slightly.
Why did it feel like he was trying to convince himself?
How strange...