The Senju remnants of the Uchiha clan

Chapter 16 The Third Ninja World War

Konoha 48, May.

At the same time when Shiratori and others encountered an emergency
In the sky above Konoha Village, message-carrying eagles filled the sky, their flapping wings seeming to bring the smell of gunpowder from far away on the border into Konoha.

The Land of Lightning, the Hidden Cloud Village, tore up the truce agreement with Konoha. The Third Raikage personally led more than 10,000 elite ninjas to invade the Land of Frost, and then split into two groups. One group, led by the commander of the ninja Dodai, continued to lead the army towards the border of the Land of Fire; while the Third Raikage and the assassination troops he personally led disappeared.
In the southeast, the ninja troops of the Hidden Mist Village crossed the sea and headed straight for the Land of Fire. However, the ninja stronghold of the Land of Waves, which was Konoha's nail embedded in the sea, had been out of touch since the news of the massive invasion of the Hidden Mist Village spread, and it must be in great danger.

On the other side, Iwagakure and Sunagakure invaded the Rain Country at the same time.

The Rain Kingdom is located between the three major kingdoms of Fire, Earth and Wind. If nothing unexpected happens, the main battlefield on the Western Front will still be this tragic and battle-hardened place.

"That's it. The four great ninja villages are at war without declaration, and their swords are pointed directly at Konoha! The Ninja World War... has begun."

The meeting room in the Hokage Building.

After repeating the information, Mito Kado En pinched the bridge of his nose.

In the conference room at this time, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in the main seat, and on his right were the two major advisors of Konoha. Danzo Shimura, who was usually elusive, also made a rare appearance this time and sat on Sarutobi Hiruzen's left.

All the jonin, special jonin, and clan leaders of each ninja clan in the village were also present.

"I have sent people to the capital to ask the daimyo whether--"

"Huruzen! Is this the time to discuss this? The four great nations are almost at the gates. We in Konoha have the power to make our own decisions. The war has already begun and the opportunity is fleeting. Do we still have to wait for the daimyo to declare war on the enemy? There is no need to worry about those red tapes now!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen just opened his mouth when he was interrupted by Danzo rudely.

"I know! Danzo, listen to me! Informing the Daimyo is an essential step, not just waiting for his orders. Don't forget, our funds and food still depend on the nobles in the capital."

Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe and looked at Danzo helplessly. This old friend of his liked to seize every opportunity, regardless of the occasion or time, to show off his presence in front of everyone...

"Yan, is there any other news from the Rain Country?"

"Yes, but it's a little strange." Mitomon En picked up another piece of information, frowned, and said in confusion, "Tsuchikage Ohnoki...did not appear at the front line."

Upon hearing this, the conference room suddenly exploded.

Unlike other ninja villages, Iwagakure is a typical "top-light and bottom-heavy" ninja village. The strength of the lower- and middle-level ninjas is no worse than that of Konoha and Kumogakure, but the high-end combat power that can stand on its own... is extremely scarce.

No, it's not a question of scarcity anymore, because whether it's a Five Kage-level warrior or a commander who can command a large-scale battle, throughout the entire Iwagakure Village... there's only one person, the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki!
"Oonoki isn't going to the front? How is that possible?"

"That little dwarf doesn't think it's necessary, does he?"

"Just relying on those useless jonin under his command? Are you going to rely on a pile of human lives?"

"Damn it! We in Konoha are being underestimated..."

Unlike everyone else who was indignant, Nara Shikaku, who was sitting in the front row, frowned deeply and then was startled.

"Hokage-sama!" The new head of the Nara clan stood up, his voice overwhelming everyone present, "I think the most urgent task now is not to find out why the Tsuchikage is not going to the front line, but... the movements of the Raikage!"

"Go on." Sarutobi Hiruzen showed encouragement, and even raised the corners of his mouth slightly. "Yes." Shikaku took a deep breath. In front of so many seniors, he was really nervous. "I think there are two possibilities for the Raikage's movement. One is to pass through the Frost Country and secretly go south along the coastline of the Hot Spring Country, and join forces with the Kirigakure to attack our southeastern land with an absolute advantage... But I think it is unlikely."

"Why?"

"If they are planning to cooperate with Kirigakure to raid our southeastern camp, then the Raikage will definitely take most of the troops, instead of just his personal guards and Anbu. As the 'Kage' of the Hidden Cloud Village, he will not place himself surrounded by Kirigakure ninjas. Even if they are allies, the Hidden Cloud Village and Kirigakure will not trust each other to such an extent."

"That makes sense, what about the other possibility?"

"Another way..." Shikaku gritted his teeth, "A detour through the Land of Rice, and then go directly into the heart of the Land of Fire from the northern border!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the huge conference room fell silent, and everyone felt their backs soaked with cold sweat!
Konoha is on the northern border... but it doesn't have any standing troops.

No way, those muscle idiots from the Land of Lightning, those reckless men who only know how to fight head-on, won’t they change their nature…

"Everyone..." Sarutobi Hiruzen turned everyone's attention back to himself, "Shikaku is right, the Sandaime Raikage... the 'strongest spear and strongest shield' of the ninja world, should have entered the Land of Rice by now."

"Huruzen?" Danzo turned his head with a surprised look, not understanding why the other party was so confident.

"Not only the Raikage, but also the Tsuchikage Ohnoki... is also in the Land of Rice. At the same time, there are 10,000 elite Iwagakure warriors who have been lurking there for a long time."

Now everyone could no longer sit still. Even Orochimaru, who had been daydreaming in the corner, couldn't help but look at his teacher. Jiraiya stood up and said anxiously, "Old man, I'm going to the north now..."

"Don't panic." Hiruzen interrupted Jiraiya and motioned him to sit down and calm down. "Iwagakure... is our ally, at least for now."

"Wait!" Danzo stared at Hiruzen with his one eye, "You mean, Ōnoki's target is Kumogakure? Is it the Raikage?"

"Yes, the Tsuchikage has already explained this to me in a secret letter..."

"Ridiculous!" Danzo roared, slammed the table heavily, and angrily questioned: "You actually placed 10,000 enemy ninjas at the doorstep of the Land of Fire?"

"I said, they are now Konoha's allies--"

"Ally? Ridiculous! If Ōnoki breaks the alliance and takes 10,000 rock ninjas and the Raikage to invade the Land of Fire, you will be a sinner of Konoha!"

"Danzo!" Sarutobi Hiruzen was also a little angry, "Am I such a naive person? I have already transferred more than half of the ninjas in the Northwest Camp to the border of the Land of Rice in the name of defending the Land of Lightning, and the remaining ninjas are secretly stationed at the Kannabi Bridge in the Land of Grass with the tacit consent of the Tsuchikage. If the Tsuchikage has other ideas, then this army will attack the Land of Earth and go straight to the Iwagakure Village with its weak defense..."

"That's...never mind."

Danzo sighed and stopped talking.

He now has only one thought in his mind -

Even if you take over the Hidden Rock Village, what good is that? Are you going to trade the rich land of the Land of Fire for the poor land of the Land of Earth?
In other words, Danzo is still normal now.

If it was the old Danzo who "talked a lot of big ideas, did all the spy work", "killed one thousand enemies and then killed three thousand of his own people" more than ten years later, he might have secretly contacted the Tsuchikage, induced the other party to attack the Land of Fire, and then took the opportunity to impeach Sarutobi Hiruzen...

After Danzo made up his mind to keep his mouth shut, the progress of the combat meeting was visibly accelerated. With a series of discussions, appointments, recommendations, self-recommendations... the specific deployment of Konoha Village for this Ninja World War was basically determined.

(End of this chapter)