Konoha: Uchiha Shisui's Strategist Alliance

Eastern Front: Ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, Hidden Mist Camp.

How is morale in the army?

Qing, who had been forced to take command, rubbed his head and asked with a pained expression.

Morale.

The assistants opened their mouths, unsure how to describe it.

"I've never seen anything like this in the three Shinobi World Wars. The ninjas have no fighting spirit. We really can't fight any longer!"

"Lord Ao, let's talk to the Mizukage again. If this continues, everyone will escape on their own even without Konoha attacking!"

Ao sighed, "Even the Mizukage doesn't want to see me, so what's the point of me saying anything? I just hope there's progress on Master Yuan's side, otherwise Kirigakure is truly doomed."

"Lord Qing, something terrible has happened!"

As the three were discussing, a ninja suddenly rushed into the tent looking flustered.

"Konoha has launched an attack?" Ao's expression changed, and he quickly stood up.

"No, it's just that a large number of kunai were suddenly shot in from outside the camp, and the kunai were still attached to these notes. Look!"

As the ninja spoke, he handed over the kunai with the note attached.

"Huh? This kunai."

Qing took the kunai and let out a soft exclamation. He saw that the kunai was just a rough blank and had not been polished. As long as it was not thrown with great force, it would be difficult to hurt people.

This strange behavior made Qing's heart skip a beat. He hurriedly unfolded the note, which read:

Have you ever thought that we were originally strangers on opposite sides of the river, so why did we turn against each other with blood on our hands?

The real leader of the regime, Yagura, disregarded human ethics and arbitrarily provoked border conflicts, causing people on both sides of the strait to lose their relatives and friends and leave their homeland.

In the midst of August's joyous celebrations, we, who had long resided in a peaceful and happy place, sharing the bliss of family life, were forced to fight here due to the treacherous act of the villain Yagura, causing our relatives and friends to shed tears and our comrades to shed blood.

These were all orders from relatives and friends, and were given by superiors. It was truly a helpless situation, a pity and a lament.

I have heard that there are righteous people who refuse to carry out chaotic orders, have withdrawn from the battlefield, and have gone into hiding in various countries, yet I am worried about being pursued and killed.

Therefore, in the name of the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, Uchiha Shisui, I hereby promise that those who love peace and withdraw from the battlefield, if they choose to live peacefully, will not be hunted down by Konoha.

If anyone surrenders by binding himself, Konoha will not harm him in the slightest. After verifying his identity, he may stay in Konoha for a long time.

After reading the letter, Qing's face turned green; this was a blatant attempt to undermine Wuyin's influence.

Qing immediately ordered, "Destroy all these letters immediately! No one is allowed to keep them!"

"yes!"

"It's probably too late, Lord Ao. We should withdraw immediately. Everyone has no will to fight. At least thirty to fifty ninjas are deserting the camp every day. If we stay any longer, we might not be able to hold out until Konoha attacks us."

"How could it have turned out like this? How could it have turned out like this?!"

Ao shook his head, feeling a splitting headache. He couldn't understand how a once peaceful Hidden Mist Village had become such a horrible mess.

How did a perfectly good Mizukage become so outrageous? He now wished an assassin would come and kill the Mizukage as soon as possible.

The two assistants looked at each other and sighed; the atmosphere in Wuyin was just too terrible.

"Let's retreat. Retreat to White Tiger Island first and await further orders."

After a moment, Ao caught his breath and finally ordered a retreat. He no longer cared about the possible punishment from the Mizukage; if they didn't leave soon, those bloodstained ninjas in the army might actually run off to Konoha.

"yes!"

The two were overjoyed, finally relieved that they wouldn't have to suffer here any longer, and immediately went down to prepare.

Retreat could not be rushed, so the Hidden Mist launched a symbolic attack as cover.

This small-scale battle started and ended quickly. Just as Hyuga Hiashi was preparing to counterattack, Kirigakure swiftly withdrew from the battlefield.

"What's going on? Did the Hokage's letter spur them on? The Hidden Mist Village, which has been hiding for so long, has actually launched an attack?"

Hiashi Hyuga frowned, pondering for a moment but still unable to come up with a solution. He simply gave the order, "The Hidden Mist Village may make another move tonight. All units, increase your vigilance. Jonin Kyohei, write a letter to the Hokage informing him of the Hidden Mist Village's reaction."

"yes!"

The order was given, and a large number of patrolling ninjas lingered near the cordon until dawn, when some ninjas noticed that the Hidden Mist Camp seemed unusually quiet.

Hiashi Hyuga's expression changed, and he immediately arranged for people to investigate. The final result was that Kirigakure had completely withdrawn from the mainland and crossed the sea.

"Damn it!"

So many people actually escaped under the Byakugan's gaze; this is an utter disgrace to the Hyuga clan.

"Most of the supplies were left behind in the Hidden Mist Camp, indicating a hasty retreat. It seems last night's attack was just a smokescreen," said Sarutobi Hirano after returning from his inspection.

"What do we do now? Should we chase after them?" Uchiha Kyohei asked.

"No need. Let's send some people to check their movements first. Hirano, take some men and repair this place. We're going to set up camp here. Kyohei, inform the Hokage about what's happening here."

"Yes."

If they want to attack the Land of Fire from the Land of Water, the former sites of the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools are unavoidable footholds. Without the foothold in the Land of Whirlpools, Kirigakure can only travel by boat or tread water, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of their attack.

As for the Land of Waves, it is too small and still faces the Land of Fire across the river, so it is not the main battlefield.

Now that this place has been completely captured, the threat that Kirigakure poses to Konoha will be greatly reduced.

Meanwhile, Shisui received two battle reports from Kyohei and realized that the war with Kirigakure was about to end.

Although it was somewhat inexplicable, the result was still acceptable. After this battle, Kirigakure would probably not be able to reorganize its internal structure and invade the Land of Fire again for at least eight or nine years.

"Hahaha, very good! Sharing the good news from the eastern front with everyone is a testament to the efforts of every Konoha ninja!"

"yes!"

However, the development of the ninja world is always unpredictable.

In September, a spy lurking in Kirigakure sent back intelligence that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was dissatisfied with Kirigakure's retreat to the island and ordered Ao and Suigetsu Hozuki to be brought back to Kirigakure. He then decided to mobilize Kirigakure's elite forces to fight Konoha to the death on the front lines.

"."

After receiving the information, Shisui remained silent for a long time. He pondered for several days but could not figure out what the Mizukage was after.

Don't even mention that Kirigakure can't win; even if they did, what difference would it make?

The Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Stone Village, and the Hidden Sand Village—how could they sit idly by and watch the Hidden Mist Village take the spoils back to the Land of Water? Most likely, they would be ambushed by the Hidden Cloud Village and wiped out on the mainland before they even reached Konoha.

"Has the Water Shadow gone mad?"

After holding back for a long time, Shisui suppressed his anger and asked a question silently.

Suzaku Nara was speechless, and even Danzo and Homura Mitokado, who had been summoned for the discussion, were at a loss for words.

"This is very unusual. We should keep an eye on the movements of other countries. Perhaps Kirigakure and Kumogakure have made some kind of deal," Mitokado Homura could only speculate.

Danzo had a gloomy face and seemed to be thinking about something.

"That's all we can do. Let's prepare for battle and deal with whatever comes our way."

Although he couldn't understand it, things still had to be done. It was just that he had only released the news half a month ago that the war was about to end, and now he had to mobilize again, which was somewhat awkward.

Nara Suzaku didn't think too much about it and immediately went to make arrangements. As a result, a large number of ninjas received war missions in the following period of time, and the shadow of war once again loomed over Konoha.

This bizarre situation left Zhishui feeling uncertain, so he had no choice but to ask Sima Yi to go to the eastern front to command the army.

"Sigh~"

At Zhi Shui's home, outside the study, Sima Yi heard the familiar sighs outside the window and chuckled, "Why aren't you returning to Zhi Shui's side to report? Why are you sighing here? Come in and tell me what's on your mind."

Upon hearing this, the person outside the window chuckled and climbed over the window, then awkwardly approached Sima Yi.

"Hehe, Uncle Yi, I don't want to either, but the thought of being almost thirty years old with meager strength and no achievements keeps me up at night. Sigh~"

The person who came was Uchiha Teru. He had come to help Shisui retrieve some documents, but he suddenly had a sudden thought and stopped, which led to the scene just now.

"you?"

Sima Yi was taken aback and looked at Hui with surprise, as if he were seeing him for the first time.

"Haha, it's rare to find someone with such worries."

Seeing Sima Yi teasing him like this, Hui was not annoyed and moved even closer.

"I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing it for Konoha and the Uchiha! The village has so many enemies now, I can see Shisui's forehead wrinkles are forming, but unfortunately, I'm not strong enough to help!"

It would have been unimaginable before for a Jonin of the Uchiha clan to say that his strength was insufficient.

Hui did realize this, which made him somewhat worried.

"I see. So, you want a kaleidoscope too?"

"Yes, I want to! Which Uchiha doesn't? I want to so badly! Haven't you heard how arrogant Izayoi is now? He wasn't like this before!"

Hui's eyes widened, and he immediately began to recount the rumors he had heard about Izayoi.

Sima Yi stroked his long beard and waited for Hui to finish speaking before replying, "It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that the method of stopping water is indeed unreliable and needs to be improved."

He's been too busy with village affairs to investigate, which is why he hasn't mentioned it to you.

Hui knew all this, but he still couldn't help feeling disappointed after hearing it.

"However, if it's just about helping you improve your strength, I do have three methods."

Hui's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "As expected of Uncle Yi, tell me quickly, what method?"

"Hehe, for the first method, there's still a tailed beast in the clan, it's a waste to leave it there. If you want it, you can apply to Shisui to become a Jinchūriki. As long as you control the power of the tailed beast, you'll definitely see immediate results."

Hui suddenly realized that this was a good method. Controlling tailed beasts was quite easy for the Uchiha clan, but the Jinchuriki had many limitations. So he continued, "What about the second one?"

"The second method is that Orochimaru has the scroll of Ryuchi Cave, which is said to be a sacred place on par with Mount Myōboku, where one can practice Sage Mode. If you are interested, I can help you contact Orochimaru, but I have heard that practicing Sage Mode carries certain risks."

Hui nodded. Because of Jiraiya, Sage Mode was quite famous, and he immediately felt a longing for it.

"If one can cultivate immortal arts, some risks are still worthwhile!"

Being a ninja always involves taking risks, but Hui did not back down.

"As for the third method..."

Sima Yi stopped speaking abruptly, causing Hui to tilt his head and look curiously. To his surprise, he discovered that Sima Yi's single tomoe had actually turned into a triple tomoe, and the immense and eerie power of his pupils instantly pulled him into an illusion.

"It will be difficult to help you awaken your powers, but I have a pair of eyes like these here, which I can give to you if you are interested."

Hui stared in shock at the Mangekyou Sharingan before him, opening his mouth but unable to utter a sound.

However, Sima Yi dispelled the illusion in an instant.

"Uncle Yi, you, you, you~"

Hui pointed at Sima Yi's three-tomoe Sharingan, momentarily speechless. After a while, he reacted and asked in a low voice, "Aren't you a single-tomoe Sharingan? What's wrong?"

"Something unexpected happened. You know it, but it's best not to say more."

Hui's eyes were glazed over, and he quickly waved his hands, saying, "Yes, yes, I'm very tight-lipped, but does Zhishui know about this?"

"Of course he knows. So, do you want it?"

"No, no, no, I'd rather go practice sage techniques, or even tailed beasts. Could you please help me contact them, Uncle Yi?" Hui waved his hands repeatedly in refusal, retreating as he did so, before disappearing in a flash.

joke!

Those who take Zhishui's things would never take Sima Yi's. If Zhishui found out about this, he would tear him apart.

Seeing Hui leave in a panic, Sima Yi couldn't help but smile. He had almost finished studying the abilities of those eyes. Although he had some martial arts skills, he was definitely no match for a ninja who had been fighting for many years. If possible, he would really like to give them to Hui, so that he could at least get a loyal and powerful ninja.

"But I wonder if ordinary members of our clan can withstand this kind of eye power?"

Sima Yi stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then immediately wrote a letter, including Hui's matter in it, and sent it to Orochimaru.

After finishing his work, Sima Yi looked at another barrier diagram on the table.

"It'll be soon. Once it's finished, there's nothing to worry about."

Shisui was unaware of what was happening at home. He was gathering intelligence on neighboring countries through spies at the border and within enemy territory, and was already mentally prepared for facing the enemy on many fronts.

However, Shisui had clearly not yet witnessed all the strange and wonderful things in the world.

Just as Konoha was mobilizing its ninja army, preparing to reinforce the front lines at any time, a spy lurking in Kirigakure once again delivered intelligence.

The high-ranking officials of Kirigakure were dissatisfied with the Fourth Mizukage's reckless behavior. They gathered together and argued with the Fourth Mizukage for several days, during which they almost came to blows, bringing Kirigakure to the brink of collapse.

Meanwhile, Ao and Suigetsu Hozuki, who were captured from the front lines, were secretly released by the Kirigakure leadership to confront the Mizukage and explain the difficulties on the front lines, hoping that the Mizukage would rescind his orders. However, Ao discovered that the current Mizukage was actually being manipulated.

For a moment, the entire leadership of the Hidden Mist was stunned.

Then a guy wearing a tiger-skin mask and exposing his Sharingan suddenly appeared in the Mizukage's office and manipulated the Mizukage to blast the entire office to smithereens with a Tailed Beast Ball.

When the Kirigakure Anbu arrived, both the masked man and the Fourth Mizukage were gone, and Kirigakure was thrown into chaos!

"It's him! It's definitely him!"

The one who can control Jinchuriki so easily must have the Mangekyou Sharingan, it must be Obito, it must be Obito!

Shisui chanted frantically in his mind, his eyes filled with murderous intent. Now he finally understood why the Mizukage had made such an unwise move; it was all Obito's doing.

"His hostility towards the village is too great; we must find a way to get rid of him as soon as possible! We must get rid of him!" (End of Chapter)