Black Naruto: Shadow Moon

Uchiha Kagezuki has already noticed the changes in the situation in the entire ninja world through his information network and keen intuition.

With the Sand Village successfully occupying the River Country, the entire ninja world is like a powder keg that may explode at any time.

Yingyue realized that this turmoil would likely trigger the Third Ninja World War.

Currently, the tension between the major ninja villages has reached a critical point, and any small spark may trigger an all-out war.

Yingyue understood that if a war broke out, Konoha would inevitably be involved. Yingyue had already foreseen all this in his heart and decided to start preparing now to take precautions against the upcoming war.

Uchiha Kagezuki is also paying close attention to the response strategies of the Konoha high-level officials, especially the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, to the current situation.

When the Sand Village successfully occupied the River Country, Sarutobi Hiruzen was the first to strongly condemn the Sand Village on behalf of Konoha.

Sarutobi confronts the Third Kazekage, asking him if he intends to start a war by occupying the River Country.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's diplomatic tactics superficially demonstrated Konoha's conservative attitude, hoping to avoid the escalation of war through diplomatic pressure.

However, Shadow Moon knew very well that condemnation and diplomacy alone would not be enough to stop the expansionist ambitions of the Sand Village and other major powers.

The future war situation is destined to be determined by force and strategy, not just negotiation.

Uchiha Yingyue understood that he had to prepare for a rainy day.

Uchiha Yingyue has begun to strengthen the defense of the Whirlpool Country to ensure that the Dawn Organization and his own forces can play a greater role in wartime.

At the same time, Yingyue also began to cultivate wartime forces for Konoha and improve the combat effectiveness of his ninjas.

He knew that the future war would not only be for the survival of Konoha, but also to fight against the deeper threats hidden in the ninja world.

Yingyue secretly planned in his heart that no matter how turbulent the ninja world was, he must take the initiative in the upcoming war, protect the future of the Uchiha clan, and ensure that Konoha Village would stand firm in the turmoil.

When the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned the Third Kazekage whether he intended to start a war by occupying the Land of Rivers, the Third Kazekage responded and said that the Sand Village had no such intention.

He explained that the Sand Village's occupation of the River Country was only to regain their homeland.

The Third Kazekage further pointed out that the territory of River Country has been the territory of the Sand Village since ancient times, and this is not a unilateral statement, but has historical basis.

The Third Kazekage mentioned that the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had personally promised the First Kazekage, Retsuto, at the Five Kage Summit that year that the land of River Country would belong to the Sand Village.

This was the agreement reached during the Five Kage Summit to distribute the Tailed Beasts.

At that time, Hashirama Senju proposed to distribute the tailed beasts to the major ninja villages to maintain the balance of the world, but Retto refused the tailed beast that Hashirama Senju allocated to the Sand Village, saying that the Sand Village already had the one-tailed Shukaku and did not need more tailed beasts.

However, due to the harsh environment and scarce resources of the Sand Village, Retto proposed to distribute 30% of the economic benefits obtained from the tailed beasts and requested land suitable for farming to support the development of the village.

In order to reach a consensus, Hashirama Senju agreed to assign the River Country, which is located on the border between the Fire Country and the Wind Country, to the Sand Village.

In this way, the Sand Village not only obtained an economic share, but also obtained land that was more suitable for development.

Faced with the explanation of the Third Kazekage, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt helpless. Although as the Third Hokage, he had the responsibility to defend Konoha, he could not deny the decision made by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

The reputation and promise of the First Hokage made it impossible for the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen to easily overturn the historical fact that the Kingdom of Rivers belonged to the Sand Village.

In order to avoid further conflict with the Sand Village, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to negotiate and seek a peaceful solution.

He believed that by negotiating some conditions that were favorable to Konoha through diplomatic means and signing a non-aggression peace agreement, the possible outbreak of war in the future could be effectively curbed.

The Third Kazekage also stated that the Sand Village had no intention of being an enemy of Konoha and was willing to work out a peace agreement through border negotiations.

Despite occupying the Kawakuni, the Sand Village does not intend to escalate the situation, but is willing to seek a peaceful solution at the negotiating table.

Uchiha Kagezuki was not optimistic about the upcoming negotiations between the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Third Kazekage.

Yingyue believes that the deep-seated conflicts in the ninja world cannot be resolved by a peace agreement.

Yingyue clearly sees that the fundamental problem facing major countries today is the uneven distribution of resources, and all countries are generally dissatisfied with the existing situation.

The actions of the Sand Village essentially reflect the Wind Country's long-standing resource shortage and desire for better living conditions.

Yingyue found it somewhat amusing that the Third Kazekage claimed that "Kawa no Kuni has been the territory of the Sand Village since ancient times."

Yingyue knew very well that the ownership of River Country was not a continuation of history, but the result of the distribution of interests at the Five Kage Summit.

Yingyue thought back to the first Kazekage Reito, a rather legendary figure.

The Kingdom of Wind was originally a country with a harsh environment. The people were extremely unstable and various rebellions occurred from time to time.

Reito relied on his strong personal strength to establish the Sand Village in the Land of Wind and suppressed the ninjas of the Land of Wind through powerful force.

Other countries, such as the Senju and Uchiha of Konoha and the first Mizukage Byakuren of the Hidden Mist Village, established ninja villages through alliances and negotiations.

But the first Kazekage Retsu was different. He rose to power amidst the chaos of the Wind Country with an iron-fisted approach.

Uchiha Kagezuki recalled the fierce confrontation between the First Kazekage Reito and the First Hokage Senju Hashirama during the Five Kage Summit recorded in history.

Although Hashirama Senju distributed the tailed beasts to balance the power of the major countries, Retto directly rejected more tailed beasts, believing that the Sand Village only needed the one-tailed Shukaku, and he hoped to gain economic benefits and land.

In this game, the First Kazekage Retsuto demanded the money allocated to 30% of the tailed beasts and proposed more arable land.

In the end, the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, agreed to cede the Kingdom of Rivers to the Sand Village, satisfying the request of the first Kazekage, Retsuto.

Although Hashirama Senju compromised out of the desire for peace, Yingyue knew in his heart that if it were not for Hashirama Senju's tolerance, Reito would probably have to pay a huge price.

The ownership of the River Country was determined based on this. It was not the territory of the Sand Village since ancient times as the Third Kazekage said.

Yingyue knew better that after the death of the first Kazekage Reito, the strength of the Sand Village had gradually weakened.

After the second Kazekage Shamon ascended the throne, the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Wind became more complicated. The heavy taxation by the daimyo of the Kingdom of Wind led to an uprising in the Kingdom of River, and the Kingdom of River broke away from the Kingdom of Wind and became an independent small country.

Yingyue understood that the Sand Village occupied the River Country just to recover its past territory through war, but the ownership of this land has never been natural.

Negotiations might be able to maintain peace for a short time, but Yingyue knew very well that the resource disputes in the ninja world would not be resolved by a piece of paper.

Yingyue has realized that war is almost inevitable, and the future of the ninja world will continue to be turbulent due to the competition for resources.

Uchiha Yingyue decided to continue to improve his strength and prepare for the upcoming turmoil.