I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 147 Report from the Ashes

Leaf.

The Hokage's office was filled with the thick smell of smoke as smoke billowed out.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, solemnly handed the intelligence report to his three old friends, saying, "Take a look at the battle report from the Kirigakure front."

It was clear that this battle report had caught Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention and even alarmed the higher-ups in Konoha. Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo, the Konoha leadership's F4, gathered together once again.

After everyone read the information, Shimura Danzo was the first to frown and reveal his sinister gaze. "Sarutobi, the strength of this brat from the Uchiha clan should not be underestimated. After all, he is young. If left unchecked, he may become uncontrollable."

Danzo Shimura saw the threat posed by the Uchiha clan, while Homura Mitokado remained calm, saying in a deep voice, "Sarutobi, are you worried about the Kirigakure ninja?"

Upon hearing Mitokado Homura's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Suigazan Hozuki, as the Fourth Mizukage's confidant, not only personally went to the front line, but also devised a decapitation plan. Although it failed, I'm afraid that Kirigakure reinforced the front line with at least two or three hundred ninjas. Otherwise, our various bases would not have suffered such severe damage."

"Danzo, stop focusing on that young man, Uchiha Yoru. Look at the bigger picture. What's the attitude of the Mist Ninja towards reinforcing their forces?"

As he said this, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo Shimura with a dissatisfied expression. Upon seeing this, Danzo snorted coldly, "What could it be? The Kirigakure just want to take this opportunity to annex the territory of the Land of Whirlpools. Not only can they seize a huge amount of resources, but they can also use it as a springboard in the future."

It was obvious that Shimura Danzo wasn't stupid; he had already seen through the Kirigakure's intentions. However, he was more concerned about the Uchiha threat. As for the strategic location of Uzushiogakure? How could Konoha possibly let it go? It was just a bunch of Kirigakure.

Koharu Utatane shook her head at Danzo Shimura's expression and said, "Sarutobi, the Mist Ninja's intentions this time are not good. The Mist Ninja have sent reinforcements, and we can also send reinforcements, but the problem is the Mist Ninja's attitude now."

This really struck a chord with him, and Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded solemnly, saying, "That's right. If the Mist Ninja increases their troops, we'll increase ours too. The key issue is that the war situation has escalated. What will the Mist Ninja's attitude be? What if they continue to increase their troops? Are we supposed to continue as well? I'm afraid the Land of Whirlpools will become a huge vortex."

"Because of the expansion of the war, there will be open friction between us and Kirigakure. The Third Shinobi World War has just ended, and other ninja villages are recuperating. Konoha cannot get bogged down in the quagmire of war."

This is what they are worried about. The five great ninja villages suffered heavy casualties in the three wars and now need to recuperate. If the fierce battle with the Mist Ninja continues, they are afraid that other ninja villages will recover and cause trouble.

Taking a deep drag on his pipe, Shimura Danzo coughed up thick smoke, causing him to wince. He said in a cold, menacing voice, "Sarutobi, the key to the war situation in the Land of Whirlpools lies in the attitude of the Mist Ninja."

In short, even if you don't want to fight, the Mist Ninja insist on fighting, and there's nothing you can do about it. After all, the strategic location of the Land of Whirlpools is too important, and Konoha absolutely cannot stand by and watch it become an outpost for the Mist Ninja.

It can be said that Konoha of the Land of Whirlpools could watch helplessly as it fell into the hands of the Nagashiki forces and became a chaotic place, but it absolutely did not want it to fall into the hands of the Kirigakure.

"I have ordered 430 ninjas to be transferred from the defense area of ​​the Land of Lightning to the Land of Whirlpools for reinforcement."

When the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, uttered those words, all three were startled. Koharu Utatane frowned and said in a low voice, "Sarutobi, isn't this too risky?"

"Yes, this means we now have a ninja army of over a thousand men in the Land of Whirlpools. This is an extremely dangerous sign."

Even Mitomon Homura became somewhat cautious, and Shimura Danzo, standing to the side, narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. Although he was a hawk, he still had to consider the gains and losses. He looked up, about to say something, but when he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's calm demeanor, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

"Sarutobi, are you trying to test the Mist Ninja?" As expected of his old buddy, Shimura Danzo immediately realized something when he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen's calm old face and couldn't help but blurt out.

Upon hearing Shimura Danzo's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with a gratified smile, "Indeed, Danzo, you and I are of the same mind."

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face showed a calm and composed demeanor as he said in a deep voice, "The losses suffered by Kirigakure in the Third Shinobi World War were definitely not small. Moreover, with the implementation of the Blood Mist policy, although the Land of Water is under blockade, everyone knows the situation of Kirigakure. Therefore, if Kirigakure wants to recuperate, choosing to start a war in the Land of Whirlpools at this time will only drag Kirigakure into the quagmire of war."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan was simple: it was a contest of courage. He argued that the Mist Ninja were no match for Konoha in this regard, and that the Mist Ninja were too risky to get bogged down in a war.

After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's analysis, Koharu Utatane thought about it carefully and realized it made sense. She nodded in approval and said, "Sarutobi, you're right. After Kirigakure implemented the Blood Mist Policy, they have always adhered to the principle of elite ninjas. It can be said that the number of ninjas in the Five Great Nations is only slightly stronger than that of Sunagakure."

The Sand Village was forced to implement an elite ninja training program due to the huge losses suffered by the defeated nation and the budget cuts imposed by the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. In contrast, the Mist Village's elite ninja training program was purely born from the bloodshed.

"That's true, but Kirigakure is still a big village, so we'll give them plenty of face."

Mitomon Homura's words made Sarutobi Hiruzen nod with a smile and say, "I will send this reinforcement to the front line under the pretext of replenishing supplies after heavy losses. We will give the Mist Ninja face. If the Mist Ninja choose to negotiate peace, or if they intend to control the war to a certain extent, then this reinforcement will just go to the front line for an inspection and then return."

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan, Danzo Shimura's face darkened. He snorted coldly and said with dissatisfaction, "Sarutobi, since you've already done everything, why did you call us here?"

Seeing Danzo's dissatisfaction, it was as if everyone had returned to the past. Hiruzen Sarutobi even showed a rare smile and said, "Danzo, if you have any opinions, you can raise them. This is not a plan that has not yet been implemented."

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's magnanimous demeanor only fueled Danzo Shimura's resentment. "You monkey, you're a real scoundrel! You've reached the highest position of Hokage, and now you're spouting these sarcastic remarks? Magnanimous? I'd be magnanimous even if I were in this position."

In a short time, the Konoha leadership's F4 formulated a plan to deal with the Mist Ninja, preparing to use oppressive force to compel the Mist Ninja to negotiate, or rather, to return the battle to a small skirmish with fewer than a thousand people.

Just as the Konoha leadership's F4 were envisioning things moving towards their planned outcome, they were unaware that the Fourth Mizukage was no longer in charge of the Mist Village. Any village leader, faced with this situation, would at least agree to contain minor skirmishes within a certain range, if not negotiate peace. Unfortunately, the Fourth Mizukage was being controlled.

……

A brief period of peace emerged between Konoha and Kirigakure in the Land of Whirlpools, but an eerie atmosphere permeated the air.

Despite their resounding victory, which nearly resulted in the capture of Kirigakure's commander, Suigetsu Hozuki, the Konoha ninja were filled with a sense of frustration.

The entire front line is spreading the word that the Mist Ninja have reinforced their troops and attacked their supply depots, putting them on high alert. If the Mist Ninja make any moves and attack a few more times, they will really run out of supplies.

The situation of the Mist Ninja was even more bizarre.

Inside the oppressive tent, Suigetsu Hozuki, his arms wrapped in bandages, revealed a frustrated expression. The mission failure and heavy losses were nothing to him; it was others who died. But the loss of Samehada made him restless. At least half of his strength came from Samehada.

"Damn it, what on earth is that Konoha Gourd up to?!"

Even though Konoha won, they kept saying that their own logistics warehouse was burned down and suffered heavy losses, without mentioning anything about them stealing Samehada.

It's worth noting that a ninja stealing the Samehada sword from the battlefield is a truly enormous achievement, yet none of the Konoha ninjas knew about it.

"Could it be that Konoha intends to resolve this matter privately, not wanting the situation to escalate?"

Suigetsu Hozuki seemed to have thought of something, and a look of sudden realization appeared on his fat face. Yes, that must be it. After all, Konoha didn't want the friction with Kirigakure to escalate.

Despite having achieved a resounding victory, Konoha now appears to have suffered a pyrrhic victory, clearly giving face to the Mist Ninja and preparing to settle things privately.

Thinking of this, Suigetsu Hobuki gritted his teeth and said, "Damn Uchiha brats, this time Konoha knows what's good for you."

After figuring this out, he immediately decided to conceal the news of Samehada's loss. After all, it would be embarrassing for him if it got out, and he would be back soon anyway. He decided to keep it a secret for now, since the Konoha ninjas wouldn't deliberately publicize it if they wanted to mediate.

This misunderstanding led to differing opinions from both sides, and sowed the seeds for future conflicts.

……

The Land of Whirlpools, the base of the Konoha ninja.

Inside the tent, Uchiha Yoru sat upright. His tired eye had recovered considerably. The Mangekyou Sharingan's abilities were indeed terrifying, but the side effects were also significant. He had to restrain himself from using it and take good care of himself regularly, or he would end up like Sasuke, known as the Mangekyou Sharingan user who went blind the fastest in Uchiha history.

"Night, this is the loss this time."

Kakashi Hatake handed over the loss report, and when Yoru Uchiha read it, a strange look appeared on his face. He looked up at Kakashi.

No one expected that the honest Kakashi Hatake would be so skilled in this art, and with a single burst of fire, he turned many accounts into undeniable facts.

"Kakashi, there seem to be quite a few losses reported this time."

Hearing what Uchiha Yoru said, Hatake Kakashi calmly nodded and said, "I secretly pawned all the chakra metal, refined iron, and some medical supplies this time, so I can make the bill look better."

Good guy!

As Kakashi Hatake calmly explained how he had made the embezzled accounts appear impossible to verify, Yoru Uchiha hadn't said anything yet, but Hizashi Hyuga and Shisui Uchiha, standing to the side, couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their eyes.

As the head of the branch family, Hyuga Hizashi had naturally been involved in some political affairs at a young age. He was well aware of the saying "too much clarity leaves no room for fish," but his skillful and untraceable methods were truly astonishing.

After Kakashi Hatake finished reporting, when it was Hizashi Hyuga's turn, he looked somewhat embarrassed. After all, as someone from a prestigious family, he had never done anything like this before. The fact that the Hyuga clan was once the main and branch families made the branch family dare not even think about such things.

"Lord Ye, this is the loss I'm in charge of at the camp. Thanks to timely rescue efforts, about 30% of the baggage and supplies were salvaged."

As expected, Hyuga Hizashi's courage is no match for Kakashi's; he actually managed to leave 30% behind. Look at Kakashi's report, it's almost a total loss.

The report clearly states that the Mist Ninja used a large number of explosive tags and fire-style ninjutsu to burn everything to ashes. To prevent being lured away from their stronghold, Kakashi specifically issued this order after the battle began. As a result, the ninjas obeyed the order and watched helplessly as the warehouse burned down, but they all held their ground and no one went to rescue them.

Although Kakashi wasn't at the camp at the time, the order was still valid.

When it was finally Uchiha Shisui's turn, he said in a firm voice, "Brother Yoru, all our supplies, medical resources, and other reserves were attacked by the Kirigakure. We only managed to salvage less than 10%, and the rest were completely destroyed."

Good heavens, all the areas under the responsibility of the three of them were attacked by the Mist Ninja, and the losses were extremely heavy, especially the area under Kakashi's responsibility. Although Kakashi was not guarding the camp due to his important duties, it has to be said that this was really ruthless.

No one knows exactly how much was burned, but the reason why the records that suddenly appeared in the warehouse are also unknown. In any case, the fire made all the troublesome bills with clues clear.

One sentence was all destroyed.

Seeing that the three understood, Uchiha Yoru silently tapped the table lightly, and finally lowered his voice to say to Hyuga Hizashi in a deep voice: "Hizashi, you are under a lot of pressure as the head of the branch family, so I don't know about your part. First, stabilize the family's expenses."

Hyuga Hizashi had a powerful family behind him, so the pressure was immense. Upon hearing this, he immediately showed gratitude and nodded firmly, saying, "Lord Yoru, I understand."

Once this debt was in their pocket, it was practically a death sentence for the Hyuga branch family to be tied to the Uchiha clan, but Hyuga Hizashi had no choice.

The Hyuga branch family is a hot potato right now; no one in Konoha dares to touch it, because anyone who does will offend the main family. Only Orochimaru's forces, who have followed them from the beginning, can find refuge there. It seems to be doing alright now; at least he sees hope.

Kakashi truly lived up to his reputation as the future Hokage. Not only did he possess the talent of a ninja, but he was also self-taught in this area, calmly embarking on his plan to embezzle public funds.

Are there problems with the accounts? Are you afraid of being caught? After a fire, they won't be responsible for covering the losses, so all the accounts will match up.

Thanks to: Brother '白夜归尘' for the 1500 points, Brother '我的世界吾之道' for the 500 points, and Brother '漂亮宇智波我贴贴' for the 500 points.

Thank you to all the brothers who supported the lucky koi! Those of you with monthly passes, don't rush, there's a double monthly pass event at the end of the month.

(End of this chapter)