Konoha: You're letting me build up my bonds, but you're offending the entire ninja world.

"Hizashi! No one in the Hyuga clan will take responsibility for this! Unless, on the battlefield!"

Chapter Seventy-Four: War Begins! Battlefield Cleaners!

The Cloud Village envoy's purpose in coming to Konoha was not for peace, but to obtain the Scorching Release Bloodstains and the Byakugan.

The two Cloud Village envoys who died also came to provoke Konoha, seeking death and forcing Konoha to make a choice between two options.

They either hand over Shimura Gengetsu and Hyuga Hiashi, or they have to go to war with Kumogakure.

Thanks to the vigorous propaganda efforts of the Hyuga clan and Root, the entire Hidden Leaf Village soon learned the inside story of the incident, causing an uproar.

"The Hidden Cloud Village is truly despicable; they actually came up with such a despicable idea to start a war."

"Aren't they supposed to be all brutes in the Cloud Village? They actually know how to use their brains."

"Those black devils are very cunning. Last time I went to the Cloud Kingdom to do business, I was cheated and almost didn't even bring back my underwear."

"They actually coveted Konoha's bloodline limit, so let's fight!"

"Why fight? War means death and will affect trade. We've only had a few good days."

“That’s right. If sacrificing two people can end the war... that’s their contribution to the village.”

"Contribute? Why don't you contribute your daughter and wife? I would thank you then."

"How can you speak so filthyly? This is just a rational analysis."

"Analyze my ass! You're a spineless coward!"

Overall, public opinion in the village is one of disgust and condemnation towards Kumogakure, but there are also plenty of spineless individuals who try to achieve their own peace by sacrificing others.

However, the focus is not on these ordinary villagers, but on the ninja group.

Gengetsu Shimura spread these messages precisely to elicit their attitude.

At this time, only a few years had passed since the end of the large-scale war, and most of the ninjas still possessed a fierce fighting spirit and were absolutely unafraid of sacrifice.

Having been tricked by the Cloud Village, a large number of ninjas volunteered to go to the front line to resist the Cloud Village's attack.

Most importantly... the ninja clan's attitude towards Hiruzen Sarutobi has changed.

That's the head of the Hyuga clan!

You're willing to sacrifice yourself just because you're threatened by the Hidden Cloud Village? The Hyuga clan isn't the Uchiha clan. Every member of the clan supports your work as Hokage.

Even so, I cannot be regarded as a confidant by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Or rather... is this how trusted confidants are treated?

For a time, even the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, who had firmly followed Sarutobi, became somewhat dissatisfied.

Hokage's office.

Looking at the mountain of letters and petitions piled up on the table, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

He realized he had made a mistake.

It was only he who grew old and weak, not the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

Even if he is the Hokage, he cannot represent the will of the village.

If the news hadn't spread, there would still be room for maneuver, but now, he only has one choice...

Hiruzen Sarutobi's cloudy gaze suddenly turned sharp.

"Somebody come!"

In an instant, three members of the secret service appeared in the office and knelt on one knee.

"Kill all the envoys from Kumogakure, leaving only one to go back and report."

"Since Kumogakure wants to fight, then Konoha will fight you!"

Since things have come to this point, continuing to be weak will only damage one's reputation. It would be better to make a decisive change of stance and win the hearts of the people.

Politicians are always like this; they always make the choices that are most beneficial to themselves.

Having made up his mind, Renxiong seemed to have rediscovered his ambition and quickly began making arrangements for the war.

First, kill most of the Cloud Hidden Messengers and use their silk to dispel some of their resentment. Then, quickly arrange your troops and prepare for the upcoming war.

First, they sent an ANBU squad to invite Jiraiya, who had been relentlessly pursuing Orochimaru in the ninja world like a madman, back. Then, they appointed Nara Shikaku as the frontline commander for this operation.

Finally, they sent envoys to the Land of Earth to discuss the formation of an alliance.

What Konoha lacks most right now is high-end combat power. Kumogakure is the country that makes the best use of Jinchuriki. If either the Eight-Tails or the Fourth Raikage were to come to the front lines, Konoha would have no one who could rival them except for him personally.

Therefore, Jiraiya must return.

Over the next few days, the entire village of Konoha began to come alive.

Orders for a large number of weapons, explosive tags, and ration pills were distributed to merchants, and ninjas could often be seen jumping on rooftops to relay information.

The first wave of ninja troops, led by Nara Shikaku, has already rushed to the front lines, with almost half of the Hyuga branch family participating.

Hiashi Hyuga also risked his life, ignoring the objections of a group of old fogies, and went to the battlefield himself.

"Since I'm the one who caused this trouble, I'll defend the dignity of the Hyuga clan."

"I want to tell everyone that the Hyuga clan is not a tool to appease others!"

It is said that Hiruzen Sarutobi, upon hearing this, did not eat well for two nights in a row.

The Uchiha clan stood out as completely out of place with the rest of Konoha.

In the end, only Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi from the entire Uchiha clan participated in the battle; the others didn't react at all.

They are the security department, responsible for the village's safety.

If they all go to the front lines, won't the village's defenses be left weak?

Fugaku Uchiha knew that this was wrong and would only widen the gap between the Uchiha and other ninjas, but he lacked the ability and courage to force other clan members to participate in the war.

In the end, with no other choice, they had to send the eight-year-old Itachi to the battlefield, almost as a sacrifice, to show their loyalty.

On the other side, the Fourth Raikage, A, was furious when he saw that only one person from the delegation he had sent out had returned, and even that person had one eye gouged out and one arm cut off.

He immediately summoned a thousand Raikage and personally led the attack on the Land of Fire.

The Land of Hot Springs, located at the border between the two countries, became a battlefield. Fortunately, Jiraiya couldn't withstand the bombardment of twelve Naruto superstition letters a day, so he came directly from the Land of Grass to the front line to fight against the Fourth Raikage.

It was a month later that the Xuan Yue Squad received orders to go to the front lines.

The messenger was Kakashi Hatake, who was accompanied by two teammates.

"Shimura Gengetsu, from now on, your squad will obey my orders and work together to complete a mission."

Xuan Yue slowly frowned. "Why should I listen to you, instead of you listening to me?"

Kakashi's voice remained unchanged, "Because I am a Jonin and you are a Chunin, I am in full charge of this mission."

A hint of frustration appeared on the boy's face.

"Damn workplace oppression, Kakashi, you wait, when I become a Jonin, I'll order you around too."

Uzuki Yugao and Yuhi Kurenai couldn't help but chuckle to themselves.

Kakashi maintained his deadpan expression, saying, "There's no superior-subordinate relationship among Jonin, even if you become a Jonin..."

"Then I'll be the captain of the Dark Guard!"

Kakashi: "......"

He was a squad leader in the secret service, and the captain could indeed control him.

"Then let's talk about it when you become the leader." Kakashi turned and left. "Meet at the village entrance in half an hour."

Half an hour later, the six-person team officially set off.

This mission wasn't a specific task, but rather to form an elite squad of six to sweep the edge of the battlefield, find and eliminate any lone Cloud Shadow Squad members.

The entire area has now been stretched to tens of kilometers long, making it difficult for battles involving hundreds of people to break out; most of the skirmishes are small-scale.

The six traveled very quickly, and entered the Land of Hot Springs three days after they set off.

When they were still dozens of kilometers from the battlefield, Kakashi stopped with Xuan Yue and the others to recover their strength and assign tasks.

"Our task is simple: if we encounter a small group of Cloud Ninjas with six or fewer members, we can take direct action. Conversely, for groups with more than six members, we only need to record their locations and try to avoid them."

Xuan Yue raised an eyebrow. "Should we raise the standards a little higher?"

Kakashi lowered his head. "If your fighting strength exceeds my expectations, then yes."

"But for now, let's follow this standard."

The six slowed down and entered the edge of the battlefield.

Kakashi originally had a sensory ninja among the two ANBU members he led, but when he discovered that Shimura Gengetsu had mastered the Ultimate Shadow Detection Technique of the Spirit Wave Illusion Touch, invented by his teacher, he decisively assigned Shimura Gengetsu to be in charge of reconnaissance.

As Minato Namikaze's disciple, Kakashi knew how monstrous this ninjutsu was; in mountainous terrain like this, it was even more useful than the Byakugan.

The land of hot springs is mountainous, with continuous mountain ranges, and it got its name from the many hot springs that are located there.

"After the war is over, I'll take you to a hot spring."

After Xuan Yue checked the chakra reactions within a ten-mile radius as usual, he spoke to Xi Yan and Hong.