Chapter 066: Advance

This time, Wang Bo had called the two of them over for a very simple purpose.

“From now on, recall all ninjas from the various countries. Dongfeng Express will suspend operations. We have an important mission to carry out.”

Bai was somewhat surprised and asked softly, “My lord, what are we going to do?”

“Attack Konoha, overthrow the daimyo, and take over the Land of Fire.”

Bai and Satōma were both greatly shocked, staring at Wang Bo in disbelief. In their eyes, Wang Bo had always been a competent merchant.

They had never imagined that Wang Bo would want to take over the Land of Fire. This was simply too insane.

But out of respect and loyalty to Wang Bo, the two said nothing and simply nodded in agreement.

Thus, over the next few days, the two mobilized troops and began to recall the ninjas who had been deployed.

Naturally, this was noticed by Uchiha Shisui.

Since joining Wang Bo's command, he had been training the young recruits for Wang Bo and was very clear about how many experts Wang Bo had under him. Seeing Wang Bo suddenly mobilizing troops, he immediately had a bad feeling.

So he found Wang Bo and probed, “Lord Igarashi, are we planning some major operation?”

Wang Bo did not hide anything and said frankly, “That's right. Your opportunity has come.”

“My opportunity?”

“Don't you want revenge on Konoha for killing your clan members? Now I'm giving you a chance. Soon I will attack Konoha, overthrow the daimyo, and seize the Land of Fire. Isn't this a perfect opportunity for you to take revenge?”

Wang Bo looked at Uchiha Shisui with a half-smile.

Uchiha Shisui's heart jolted, but his expression remained unchanged. However, his dark pupils involuntarily transformed into the Sharingan, showing that his inner turmoil was not as calm as his exterior.

“I understand, Lord Igarashi.”

After a few seconds, Uchiha Shisui digested the news and said quietly, “Thank you, Lord Igarashi, for giving me this opportunity. I will not disappoint your expectations.”

“Very good. Three days from now, I will send Bai to attack Konoha. You will assist Bai. Can you do that?”

“Of course I can.” Uchiha Shisui agreed without hesitation.

Wang Bo smiled happily. “Work hard. After this is done, I will not treat you unfairly.”

“Yes.”

“Alright, you may withdraw.” Wang Bo waved his hand, dismissing Uchiha Shisui, who promptly left Wang Bo's office.

The next second, Bai Qiao appeared silently in Wang Bo's office.

“My lord, can we trust him?” Bai said slowly, watching Uchiha Shisui's retreating figure.

Wang Bo chuckled and shook his head. “If you trust him, you won't even know how you died. This guy cannot be trusted. Uchiha Shisui has never betrayed Konoha.”

Bai said, “Then should we kill him?”

“No need.” Wang Bo shook his head and said slowly, “Over the past few years, he has helped us train the young recruits. Even if he has no great merit, he has worked hard. Before he betrays us, don't touch him. But if he does betray us, then kill him without hesitation. You can do that, can't you, Bai?”

“Yes, my lord.” Bai said flatly.

Over the years following Wang Bo, his strength had long since changed. Especially after learning the seal-less ninjutsu created by Wang Bo, he had become even more powerful—a solid Kage-level powerhouse, and among Kage-level fighters, he could be considered outstanding.

Although Uchiha Shisui was troublesome, he believed he could kill him.

“Very good. You may go. Don't forget to start the operation in three days.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Bai bowed to Wang Bo and then vanished instantly before him.

Over the next few days, ninjas kept returning from outside. These were the ninjas Wang Bo had trained, the weakest being at least of Genin level.

The strongest were Kage-level, and there was no shortage of Chunin and Jonin.

Soon, three days passed in a flash.

Wang Bo assembled over a thousand ninjas and set out from his base. Under Bai's leadership, this force of over a thousand ninjas marched toward Konoha in a mighty procession.

From now on, they would storm the fortress, crush Konoha, overthrow the daimyo, and take control of the Land of Fire.

Wang Bo's actions were essentially unshielded. Konoha was not blind; how could they fail to notice Wang Bo's movements? In fact, as soon as Wang Bo's operation began, Konoha reacted.

However, most people in Konoha were guessing what Wang Bo intended to do. No one imagined that Wang Bo actually wanted to take over the Land of Fire.

Because in their eyes, Wang Bo simply did not possess such strength.

A thousand ninjas were certainly formidable, but that depended on who the enemy was.

Although Konoha's strength had been declining under Hiruzen Sarutobi's leadership, it was not something a thousand ninjas could shake.

During the Third Shinobi World War, the Third Raikage had single-handedly fought against ten thousand ninjas from the Land of Earth, battling for three days and three nights before finally dying of exhaustion.

Even the Land of Earth could field ten thousand ninjas, let alone the strongest village, Konoha.

Not to mention ten thousand ninjas—even twenty thousand, Konoha could produce.

Although many of Konoha's ninjas were currently on missions, if a full mobilization were ordered, they could gather ten thousand ninjas in an instant to confront the enemy head-on.

A mere thousand ninjas were a joke in their eyes.

So no one thought that Wang Bo's assembly of over a thousand ninjas was to attack Konoha. It was undoubtedly like throwing an egg at a stone, an overestimation of one's abilities.

However, as the thousand-plus ninjas advanced, Konoha finally realized that the route of the advancing force was aimed at Konoha village, and the village erupted in uproar.

The Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, immediately convened a Hokage meeting to discuss the news.

Upon hearing the news, most of the high-ranking officials' first reaction was to be on alert.

Although a thousand ninjas were not many, if they caused trouble, it would be very troublesome.

So they had to be on guard.

Moreover, they had to send ninjas to question Wang Bo about what he was up to—was he trying to start an all-out war with Konoha?

Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to this request and dispatched his right-hand man, Hatake Kakashi.

Upon receiving the mission, Hatake Kakashi immediately rushed over without stopping, approached the army of over a thousand ninjas, found the commander Bai, and threw a kunai.

The kunai had an invitation letter wrapped around it, inviting the recipient to meet on a hilltop several kilometers away.

After receiving Kakashi's invitation, Bai hesitated for a moment but decided to meet with Kakashi.

So he arrived at the agreed location.

Hatake Kakashi, seeing that Bai had come alone, leaped down from a hidden tree, landed in front of Bai, and tilted his head, asking, “What the hell are you up to?”