Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 267 Naruto's Attack
"Indeed, that's true." Tobirama Senju nodded after thinking for a while.

Uchiha Tokō was right. When Konoha was founded, the Senju and Uchiha made peace and then extended invitations to the ninja clans that had close ties with them.

He and his elder brother originally thought that it would take some effort to persuade the clan leaders of those ninja clans, since many of the ninja clans in Konoha had ancestral feuds.

At that time, Hashirama Senju visited each household one by one, and all he received were affirmative answers.

While the overwhelming power of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha played a part in this, Tobirama Senju now realized that Touko Uchiha's words made more sense. After the long period of fighting during the Warring States period, the various ninja clans were in dire need of a period of peace to recuperate.

And this is probably the righteous cause that Uchiha Touko spoke of.

"With righteousness in hand, the general trend will naturally be on our side. I once heard a saying: 'When the time is right, heaven and earth lend their strength; when fortune turns, even heroes are powerless.' The so-called war is about fighting for this general trend." Uchiha Touko poured water into a teacup, and the aroma of tea spread throughout the staff headquarters.

"So, Fifth Hokage, you mean that even if we do nothing now, we, who have the moral high ground, will have an innate advantage in the future war with the Land of Lightning, right?" Tobirama Senju looked at the cup of tea that was brought to him, then looked up at the map of the ninja world hanging in the General Staff Office, which was covered with fine lines, and asked.

It's clear that although he had been in the General Staff for some time, Tobirama Senju still hadn't accepted the fact that an Uchiha had become Hokage. When communicating with Touko Uchiha, he preferred to call him the Fifth Hokage instead of calling him by his name like Hashirama Senju and Hiruzen Sarutobi did, as if that made him feel a little better.

“That’s both right and wrong,” Uchiha Touko said. “If Konoha is no match for Kumogakure, then the existence of righteousness is useless. However, even if we don’t gain the upper hand, or even if we only reach a stalemate with Kumogakure, this righteousness will become a sharp blade that pierces the heart of the Land of Lightning.”

“And their Raikage is no match for me, which means they are doomed to have no chance of gaining the upper hand in this war,” Uchiha Touko said. “At that time, this righteous blade will surely pierce the heart of the Land of Lightning at a critical moment. Right now, Konoha is at a critical period of reform. Developing itself is the top priority right now.”

Tobirama Senju gave Uchiha Touko a deep look, remained silent for a while, and then revealed a relieved smile.

He was now very grateful that the naturally evil Uchiha brat in front of him was born in this era. If he had been born in the Warring States period, his intelligence combined with Madara Uchiha's power would probably have made the Senju clan a thing of the past during that time.

"It's good that you know what you're doing. But when do you plan to bring back that disciple of yours who's been wandering around?" Tobirama Senju said. "The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, the Fourth Hokage's son, and the Fifth Hokage's personal disciple, bearing the title of a rogue ninja, doesn't that sound a bit unpleasant?"

"This problem doesn't seem that big, does it?" Uchiha Touko shrugged. It's a matter of perspective. For older generation ninjas like Senju Tobirama, betraying the village and becoming a rogue ninja was a very serious matter. But after the three disciples of the Third Hokage set a good example, it didn't seem so serious about this matter anymore.

After all, of the three disciples of the Third Hokage, one openly betrayed the village, and the other two, although they did not wear headbands, were not much different from the other two. Moreover, one of them was the First Hokage's granddaughter.

Compared to the Third Hokage, he, the Fifth Hokage, only had one disciple who ran away, which already shows that he was a very good teacher.

"That's the Nine-Tails! The strongest tailed beast!" Tobirama Senju frowned. Although he was confident he could defeat and seal the Nine-Tails when he was at his peak, it was still the strongest tailed beast. If Naruto were to fall into the hands of the enemy, it would cause them considerable trouble.

“Aside from that guy who stole the Edo Tensei and is hiding in the shadows, no one in the ninja world has the guts to attack him but can’t beat him. Anyone with a modicum of sense who could pose even the slightest threat wouldn’t bother with him,” Uchiha Touko said. “However, just in case, I’ve already sent a message to Jiraiya, telling him to keep an eye on that kid and make sure he doesn’t head towards the Land of Lightning. Besides, he has a backup plan that I left behind, so there’s no need to worry about his safety.”

“Alright.” Tobirama Senju sighed, picked up the teacup on the table, and shook his head. “I really don’t understand the rules of ninjas now. I’ve only been dead for less than 50 years.”

“That’s natural,” Uchiha Touko said with a smile. “The trend of the times is constantly accelerating. Ninjas in the Warring States period may have followed the same rules for thousands of years, but now, after all, it is the era of ninja villages. In this era, everything is developing too fast, and you will fall behind if you are not careful.”

“I think you, Fifth Hokage, were quite involved in accelerating this process, weren’t you?” Tobirama Senju said.

"Perhaps." Uchiha Touko smiled and shook his head, not giving a direct answer to the question.

……

"So this is the Land of Rain!" Naruto, Gaara, Jiraiya, and their group looked up at the persistent dark clouds in the sky after crossing a large mountain range and sighed.

"Yes, because the mountain range we just crossed wraps around the entire Land of Rain like a pocket, moisture from the north can't get through, which is why it rains all year round here. Meanwhile, the Land of Wind on the other side of the mountain has a continuous desert climate." Jiraiya gave Naruto a quick geography lesson.

"The common people here must be having a very hard time," Naruto remarked, looking at the dense rainforest around him.

The climate here makes it difficult to grow crops on a large scale. Furthermore, the miasma and poisonous insects that thrive in the humid climate make life extremely difficult for the local people.

“That was indeed the case before,” Jiraiya said. “Among the small countries between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, the Land of Rain was the poorest. The three great powers used this place as a battlefield during the Second Shinobi World War, which greatly weakened them. In addition, the land was not suitable for cultivation, and they had not recovered until a few years ago.”

"However, the situation has improved considerably in recent years. After your teacher reached an agreement with the current leader of Amegakure, he also began to provide aid to the Land of Rain. Every year, a large amount of grain is transported into the Land of Rain at extremely low prices. Furthermore, the Land of Rain has also begun to cultivate rain-loving cash crops in large quantities in cooperation with the Land of Fire. Overall, the lives of ordinary people in the Land of Rain are much better now than before," Jiraiya said.

"Naruto, should we stay here and help the civilians build houses and repair roads?" Gaara asked.

Having wandered for more than half a year, the two had grown their hair quite long because they had nowhere to get it cut. To avoid obstructing their vision, they tied their hair back. Furthermore, because they worked and practiced every day, their clothes, though clean, had become tattered.

However, compared to when he left Sunagakure, Gaara's entire demeanor was completely different. Not only had his dark circles disappeared, but the cold killing intent emanating from him had also melted away. He looked like an ordinary boy. If Temari were here, she probably wouldn't recognize him as Gaara.

“That’s right.” Naruto nodded. “Although the living conditions of the common people here have improved a lot with Master’s help, there are still many small details that require our assistance. Besides, the leader of Amegakure is from my clan, so it’s only right that I, as the clan head, help them.” …

Yuyin Village.

"Nagato, intelligence from our scouts in the south indicates that Jiraiya and his two children are active in a southern village." Inside the tower of Amegakure, at the Akatsuki's routine meeting, Konan handed a report to Pain.

"Jiraiya-sensei and the two children?" Pain picked up the intelligence report, glanced at it, and shook his head helplessly. "It should be the head of our Uzumaki clan's Jinchuriki and the One-Tailed Jinchuriki that he kidnapped some time ago. Are they helping the civilians in the south repair houses and build bridges? Let them be. It's ultimately something that benefits the Land of Rain."

"Those are two Jinchūriki, are we really not going to worry about them?" Hidan, who had recently joined Akatsuki and become Kakuzu's long-term teammate, asked.

As Hidan spoke, a strange light also shone in Kakuzu's eyes.

Although Naruto and Gaara only have symbolic bounties from Konoha and Sunagakure, less than a tenth of Asuma's, they both possess tailed beasts! Capturing them and taking them to a major ninja village could probably fetch a large sum of money.

"Kakuzu, shut up your little schemes!" Konan, who had been squeezing money out of Kakuzu for years, could tell from his eyes that he was up to no good, so she warned him, "They are allies of the Land of Rain. Forget it, you and Hidan shouldn't go on any missions for a while. Just stay in the village."

"Nan-jie!" Deidara suddenly raised his hand from the corner. "Can I go see my little brother?"

"No way!" Konan glared at Deidara and refused outright. "If you dare to approach the southern border of the Land of Rain again without my and Pain's permission, I'll send you back to Iwagakure right now!"

"Don't be like that, it's been a long time since I've seen my little brother," Deidara said innocently.

"Are you sure you're going south to see your friend, and not to bomb the Wind and Rain Mountains?" Sasori, Deidara's mission partner in Akatsuki, though the two weren't exactly on good terms—one a mechanical dog, the other a chemical dog—said without any change in tone.

"I just don't understand! If we blow up that mountain, the climate of both our Land of Rain and the Land of Wind will become normal. Why can't I try it? Give me two months to scout out the blasting point, and another six months to manufacture the bomb. I'm 80% confident that I can uproot that mountain that's hindering the development of the Land of Rain!" Deidara argued.

"Besides, I heard you, Boss, discussing with the Hokage about blowing up the mountain! Why won't you let me try?" Deidara argued.

To be honest, if any other Akatsuki member had spoken to Nagato and Konan like that, Nagato would have already launched a Shinra Tensei. But Deidara was entrusted to them by Uchiha Touko, so Nagato could only patiently explain, "Now is not the time to blow up the mountain. If we make too much noise in the Wind and Rain Mountains, it will easily trigger the nerves of the Land of Wind and make them think that we are declaring war on them."

“But, the blasting of this mountain is a good thing for them too!” Deidara asked, puzzled.

“Deidara, that’s not how it works,” Konan joined in trying to soothe the child. “Although everyone knows that the disappearance of the Wind and Rain Mountains would be of great benefit to both our countries, you can’t be sure what Sunagakure is thinking. Moreover, it’s not time for our Akatsuki organization to reveal our strength yet. If you show that you can destroy a mountain range at this time, our Akatsuki organization will attract the attention of the entire ninja world in the next moment.”

"What a nuisance!" Deidara said, pursing his lips.

“If you want to blow something up, that’s perfect. In a few days, the Yamato Construction Group from Konoha will be developing an industrial area in our Land of Rain. You can go and be in charge of the demolition work there.” After Konan finished speaking, she exchanged a helpless glance with Pain. The two of them were now really starting to regret bringing Deidara back.

They originally thought that a teenager couldn't cause much trouble, but who knew that this kid had big projects on his mind!

After the meeting, Pain finalized his stance on Naruto and his group's activities in the southern part of the Land of Rain, and issued a warning to those in the organization who were causing trouble, he ended the meeting.

After the meeting, Konan also took food to the tower where Nagato's main body was located.

After a simple meal, Nagato glanced at Konan, then smiled and said:

"Konan, why don't we go take a look in the south? After all, Jiraiya-sensei has come all this way, and it wouldn't be right for us disciples not to go and see him."

"If you want to go, then go ahead." Konan nodded with a smile. Since fully cooperating with Uchiha Touko, Nagato no longer had to think about the plan to capture the tailed beasts all day long, and his complexion had improved a lot in the past few years.

"Hehe, speaking of which, this is the first time I've met the patriarch of our Uzumaki clan. What kind of gift do you suggest I bring?" Nagato looked at Konan, who was smiling in front of him, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face as well.

……

Two days later, Naruto used the Shadow Clone Technique to help a village in the Land of Rain build a bridge across a river, leaving behind the mark of the Ninja Cult.

Having done all this, the three set off for another village upstream on the river.

Halfway there, the group heard Kurama's voice suddenly in Naruto's ear.

"Kid, be careful, he might be up to no good."

(End of this chapter)