I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 161 Orochimaru's Information

The situation in the ninja world changes as quickly as the weather in June, even more fickle than a woman's face.

The Sand Village and the Leaf Village righteously emphasized their alliance and pledged to work together to combat the ninjas who were using their names to cause trouble on the border.

Immediately afterwards, Iwagakure began to establish diplomatic relations with Sunagakure. Although they were not yet allies, it was clear to everyone that they had benefited from this.

One moment the ninja world was showing signs of the four great ninja villages working together against Konoha, but the next moment the tide turned. Sunagakure turned around and became close to Konoha again, and Iwagakure also showed a look of longing for peace.

It's clear that all three ninja villages got what they wanted. Sunagakure took the opportunity to reclaim 11.5% of the mission's share. Iwagakure clearly cooperated with Sunagakure and ultimately benefited as well, achieving their goal with great joy. Only Konoha relinquished some of the benefits to satisfy their greedy hearts.

The Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.

Inside the Raikage's office, the Fourth Raikage, A, angrily slammed his fist on the brand-new desk, smashing it to pieces. He roared in frustration, "Onoki! You despicable bastard!"

Just moments ago, Onoki was the most proactive in contacting them, explaining the pros and cons and proposing to join forces against Konoha. But behind their backs, he colluded with Sunagakure, and after taking a piece of Konoha's fat flesh, he kept quiet.

"Damn it!" At this moment, the Fourth Raikage A's eyes were bloodshot, filled with anger and hatred, but even more so with envy. This time, Konoha returned such a huge benefit to Sunagakure. How could such a big commotion be kept secret from those who were interested?

It's obvious that Onoki from Iwagakure also benefited from this, otherwise why would he turn against them so quickly?

So, after all the four major ninja villages went through all that trouble, you, Sunagakure and Iwagakure, got your share of the spoils and then left them to their own devices?

Sunagakure is, after all, one of the five great ninja villages. Twenty percent of its missions are high-level, which is enough to support a mid-level ninja village.

"Damn it! Onoki! You treacherous villain!"

The Fourth Raikage, A, was furious because the Sand Village ninja hadn't included him in their activities; he was also envious of the enormous profits involved.

The five great ninja villages in the ninja world have all suffered heavy losses in the Third Shinobi World War. In fact, none of them want to start a new Shinobi World War at this time, otherwise they would have really been in line with the wishes of some small countries.

Although the Third Shinobi World War was devastating, they still maintained their superior status as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. However, if the Fourth Shinobi World War were to break out now, and things really got out of hand, they could all fall from their pedestals.

"Pass down the order to incite hatred between the smaller ninja villages and Konoha, especially to say that the Mist Ninja are preparing to go to war with Konoha. In short, I want to make sure that Konoha's borders are never peaceful."

The Fourth Raikage, A, who gained nothing, was clearly envious, and now he could only make use of the current Kirigakure ninja.

Of the five great ninja villages, Sunagakure and Iwagakure chose to settle things peacefully, reducing the pressure on Konoha to two out of five. Although he was reckless, he didn't want to give away the opportunity to others for nothing, meaning that Kirigakure would still have to take the lead.

……

Snowflakes fell on the front lines of the Land of Whirlpools, seemingly putting a temporary pause on the war between the two sides.

The heavy snow symbolizes the passing of a year, and the ninja world welcomes a new year.

That year, Itachi Uchiha was eight years old, while Yoru Uchiha and Kakashi Uchiha turned seventeen, and were also the most dazzling geniuses of the year.

One is Kakashi Hatake, a genius who graduated as a genin at five, a chunin at six, and a jonin at twelve. The other is a genius from the Uchiha clan, a student of Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, and now a genius commanding a nearly thousand-strong ninja army on the front lines.

His calm mind, command of a ninja army several times larger than his own, and numerous battlefield achievements have established him as a genius no less than, and perhaps even surpassing, Kakashi Hatake.

This year has been incredibly difficult for Konoha. First, the Hyuga clan split, then came the Orochimaru incident, a potential Hokage candidate, and then the border, which had just begun to stabilize, suddenly became unstable.

Especially with the successive upheavals in Konoha, the greed of neighboring small and large countries was aroused, and the turbulent borders kept Konoha busy dealing with them for almost the entire year.

Konoha could only choose to defend itself against external threats, while internally it began to beautify everything, making the entire village seem to be in a peaceful environment, unaware of the current turmoil on the border.

The Land of Whirlpools.

The snow and ice covered the earth like a silver armor, and even the battlefields where battles used to rage seemed to have quieted down.

Konoha base.

"Captain Night, recently the Mist Ninja have attacked many of our strongholds. In accordance with the captain's strategic policy, we prioritized protecting the ninjas and then the supplies. Therefore, apart from the significant losses in supplies over the past few months, our casualties have not been great."

With the war temporarily over, the Konoha ninjas breathed a sigh of relief. During this period, they and the Mist Ninja had been constantly at war, with small battles every three days and large battles every five days. The entire forest had become a battlefield between their two countries.

The battles were almost evenly matched, with either the Mist Ninja ambushing them or them ambushing the Mist Ninja. In any case, it was a pretty good draw.

Both villages tacitly kept their ninja corps under a thousand men to avoid escalating the war. However, this was only the view of Konoha. Obito, who was hiding behind the scenes in Kirigakure, was more angry. Although he controlled the Mizukage, Kirigakure was not under his sole control, especially given the risk of escalating the war and triggering the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The Hidden Mist Village faces numerous obstacles, with neither the daimyo nor the village's Jonin believing that now is the time to escalate the war.

Listening to the latest battle reports inside the tent, Uchiha Yoru nodded with a gratified smile, "A few supplies are nothing compared to the preciousness of us ninjas."

The Jonin inside the tent looked at Uchiha Yoru with a kind of fanaticism in his eyes. After all, ninjas are just tools, no matter who is in a position of power. Even the Third Hokage only talked the talk and never actually did anything. But even so, the Third Hokage bewitched countless people with just his words.

Uchiha Yoru wasn't just talking; he was serious about carrying out his orders and had to do it thoroughly. He prioritized the lives of ninjas, and he would do everything in his power to protect even the wounded.

In Uchiha Yoru's words, they are all heroes! They are all us tomorrow!

"Keep a close eye on things lately. Although this blizzard has temporarily brought the Mist Ninja to a standstill, we must not let our guard down. I don't want our ninjas to be attacked again during the New Year period."

"Haha, Lord Ye, don't worry. Our reconnaissance team has already expanded the area, and we will definitely not let the Mist Ninja sneak over easily."

The ninjas inside the tent all wore straightforward smiles. Having spent so much time together, they had almost figured out Uchiha Yoru's character. As long as it wasn't a mission or a battle, he was definitely a very easy person to talk to, and he even liked to give pointers to talented people in the camp.

In less than a year since Uchiha Yoru arrived at the front lines, he first proved his strength with solid battle achievements, and then, over such a long period of time, his powerful personal charisma has made countless people feel a sense of belonging.

As night fell, a blizzard howled. The Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Iron were not too far apart, and it seemed that the blizzard in the Land of Iron had caused a once-in-a-century blizzard to occur here. Both Konoha and Kirigakure were caught off guard and chose to rest during this time.

……

The blizzard, with its howling north wind, was so strong that people couldn't even open their eyes, and all living things in the world seemed to have chosen to cower in at that moment.

The world was completely silent, especially the blizzard under the night sky, which exuded an aura of destruction.

Inside a huge tree hollow in the forest, Uchiha Yoru cautiously glanced around and, finding no one following him, secretly breathed a sigh of relief before slowly stepping into the hollow.

"Orochimaru-sensei, with the recent truce, there probably won't be many experimental materials available."

Inside the empty tree hollow, Uchiha Yoru spoke calmly to the deserted surroundings. But just then, a figure slowly emerged from the ground, accompanied by his unique, hoarse laugh.

"Heh, the recent ceasefire wasn't just because of the blizzard."

After Orochimaru slowly appeared, he looked at Uchiha Yoru with a meaningful smile. He never thought that his student would grow up so fast.

In such a short time, he has already replaced the position that he once held in the eyes of those on the front lines. Although he no longer cares about it, he has to admit that the other party has talent.

This is not just his talent in combat, but also his almost innate political acumen and his extremely high command talent on the battlefield. He is simply a perfect genius. If it weren't for the fact that his resurrection technique has now been found to have too many problems, the body in front of him would be the most perfect vessel.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru shook his head, a hint of regret appearing in his greedy snake eyes. It was a pity; turning to a body with a powerful soul would cause considerable damage to the soul, and he had already found another direction, so he had no choice but to give up this perfect vessel.

"Orochimaru-sensei, do you mean there's another reason for the ceasefire?" Uchiha Yoru immediately showed curiosity after hearing Orochimaru's words.

He never underestimated anyone, especially Orochimaru, who had been in Konoha for so many years. How could his forces be wiped out so quickly? You have to know that even ten years after the start of the story in the original work, there were still people in Konoha who remembered his existence.

He is good, but he still lacks in fundamental knowledge, which will take time to make up for.

In response to Uchiha Yoru's doubts, Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely and said, "The commander-in-chief of the defense of the Land of Water's border, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, has stabilized the rear. Although the friction in the Land of Whirlpools is not significant, there has been no substantial progress. Some people in the village do not want to drag it out any longer and want to end the war as soon as possible."

"After all, although the friction on the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools was not significant, the major ninja villages in the ninja world are now recuperating, especially the villages of Iwagakure and Kumogakure, which are secretly expanding their military power."

Upon hearing this news, Uchiha Yoru frowned even more. He really hadn't expected the village to start getting anxious. But then again, while things seemed to have changed little since his arrival, some things had actually become different.

"Orochimaru-sensei, are you saying the village is preparing to send Sarutobi Shinnosuke to the front lines to establish its prestige?!"

Although it was a question, he had already figured something out. Suddenly, a mocking smile appeared on Uchiha Yoru's face. "Someone with no great achievements, yet now trying to establish prestige on a small battlefield, actually dares to dream of becoming Hokage. It seems that this son of the Third Hokage is also ambitious, but unfortunately, his strength does not match his ambition."

"Heh, with those old guys pushing them along, it won't take more than a few years." Orochimaru's eyes clearly showed a hint of mockery as he said this.

"The third generation is getting old, and the vigor of the young Oshio is waning year by year."

When talking about the Third Hokage, Orochimaru's eyes were filled with complex emotions, including hatred and sorrow. It was truly tragic that such a great ninja had gradually become like this, and it also made him realize the fragility of life and how people lose their vigor as they grow old.

When Uchiha Yoru heard that Sarutobi Shinnosuke was coming to the front lines, clearly intending to take his place, he mocked him and sneered, "Does he think I'm made of clay?"

It's obvious that they're here to weaken his prestige and also to weaken the strength at the front lines.

After all, they're not one of our own, so we can confidently and recklessly wear them down, gaining dazzling victories for ourselves while weakening Orochimaru's old guard. For the old guys in Konoha, it's like killing two birds with one stone—why not?

"Heh, Night Lord, it seems the old folks of your Uchiha clan have been too busy keeping an eye on Root."

Orochimaru imagined that the Uchiha clan was so focused on keeping an eye on Shimura Danzo, who was the most hostile to the clan, that they underestimated the other three old guys.

With a gulp in his throat, Orochimaru spat out an intelligence scroll, then tossed it over, licking his lips and revealing a perverted smile as he hoarsely said, "That idiot Jiraiya was recently sent to the vicinity of Iwagakure to gather intelligence, and it seems that another of the Sannin has arrived here. And recently my research has reached a critical moment."

Another one of the Legendary Sannin? Princess Tsunade!

Upon hearing this name, Uchiha Yoru frowned and his face darkened. "Damn it, he has a good father." It was obvious that if Sarutobi Shinnosuke had any problems on the front lines, this guy would step in to help him through the crisis. It was a typical case of arranging for a powerful figure to protect him.

"Doesn't Princess Tsunade have hemophobia?"

Uchiha Yoru frowned and said something, while Orochimaru revealed a hoarse smile, "I didn't expect that Yoru-kun would also know this secret. I really underestimated Yoru-kun's intelligence capabilities."

"It's true that Tsunade has hemophobia, but you seem to have forgotten Tsunade's abilities. It wouldn't be too difficult for the strongest medical ninja in the ninja world to sever and adjust the nerves that cause her retinitis pigmentosa. Do you think she would still have hemophobia under such circumstances?"

After Orochimaru uttered this technical term, fortunately, Uchiha Yoru was also proficient in medical ninjutsu and knew what it meant. To put it simply, it meant severing the nerves in his retina that perceive red, which would make him colorblind. Although it would have some impact, at least he wouldn't be affected by hemophobia.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yoru suddenly realized something. He hadn't thought of this. In the original story, he didn't use this method in Tanabata Street, probably because Tsunade hadn't reacted yet or hadn't yet threatened her life, so she chose to dodge.

"Princess Tsunade!" Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yoru fell into deep thought. It seemed he would need to tone down some of his methods in the future.

I stayed up too late writing last night and forgot to set a timer. Luckily, I woke up early this morning.

(End of this chapter)