Naruto-Start by eating the golden fruit

After Youya guessed this possibility, his heart suddenly felt cold.

Uchiha Madara was likely waiting to cause trouble at the boundary between life and death, just as he did in the original timeline.

If Uchiha Madara wanted to cause trouble, he would first need an agent. However, none of the Uchiha clan members seemed to be in any trouble.

Due to Senju Tobirama's distrust, all the Uchiha members were confined to Konoha Village. Even Uchiha Kagami, who had been on the battlefield, had returned. Thus, it was essentially impossible for Madara to find a suitable agent among them.

The only other possible culprit was Black Zetsu.

To be honest, while Black Zetsu's life-saving skills were top-notch, his combat effectiveness was negligible.

After careful consideration, Youya concluded that neither Madara nor Black Zetsu was likely the mastermind behind this. But regardless of the culprit, the war had to end.

Youya drafted a letter and sent it to the front line.

When Senju Tobirama read it, his initial reaction was that Youya must be joking. But upon further reflection, he realized the logic in Youya's words.

If the Iron Country truly joined the war, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Thus, Senju Tobirama sought out a trusted general of the deceased Iron Country monarch. Getting straight to the point, Tobirama stated it was definitely not Konoha who assassinated the lord. He also reasoned that Kumogakure would not risk provoking the Iron Country unnecessarily, given its formidable military strength.

Based on this analysis, the war between Konoha and Kumogakure was temporarily paused. Tobirama planned to resume his campaign once the next batch of supplies arrived. At that point, even if the Raikage wanted to fight, the ninja clans of Kumogakure would likely oppose further conflict, forcing a resolution in the form of reparations and resources.

However, Tobirama noted that someone must be benefiting from prolonging the war. The question was, who?

He hypothesized that a party skilled in Earth Release techniques and capable of moving undetected underground—possibly Iwagakure ninjas—might be involved.

When Kumogakure learned of this suspicion, they openly accused Iwagakure, unlike Tobirama, who kept his suspicions vague.

The Third Raikage, though far from foolish, understood the situation. He knew neither Konoha nor Kumogakure had sufficient evidence to clear themselves of blame. The only way to defuse the situation was to direct suspicion elsewhere—toward Iwagakure.

Both Tobirama and the Raikage, as well as the Iron Country's general, knew Iwagakure was unlikely to be the real culprit. But in the absence of evidence, assigning blame to Iwagakure was the most pragmatic choice.

The resolution to the conflict now hinged on uncovering the truth behind the Iron Country lord's assassination.

As the war quieted temporarily, Youya seized the opportunity to focus on development projects. His efforts led to the construction of new infrastructure, including a kindergarten with an amusement park featuring carousels, acrobatic shows, slides, haunted houses, and even a small bungee-jumping site.

With electricity research progressing, Youya envisioned a future where Konoha could produce televisions within three years and mobile phones within five. His long-term strategy was to dominate high-end industries while outsourcing lower-tier manufacturing to other nations, ensuring Konoha's economic influence.

Meanwhile, the Iron Country's investigation revealed the assassin was a samurai who had betrayed his lord, using a kunai instead of a katana to frame ninja involvement.

The general of the Iron Country demanded the samurai be executed. Publicly humiliated and tied under the scorching sun, the assassin cried out, "I killed the lord with my own hands, but it wasn't my intention! It was the shadow! It tempted me into darkness and made me lose everything!"

When this news reached Konoha, most dismissed it as the ramblings of a desperate man. But Youya couldn't shake the feeling that the "shadow" the assassin referred to might be Black Zetsu.

If it was Black Zetsu, this raised troubling questions. While Black Zetsu could control a body, he couldn't control someone's mind—or could he?

Now, Youya was certain who the mastermind behind this chaos was...

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