I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 196 The Situation in the Ninja World

Leaf.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with a pipe dangling from his lips, showed a rare hint of relief after seeing an urgent intelligence report. He had been feeling uneasy lately, but upon reading it, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

"Tsunade, as expected, you still care about Konoha."

The intelligence report stated that Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, was traveling to the Land of Water under the guise of an envoy from the Land of Fire.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was already familiar with Tsunade's decisive and efficient personality. Instead of being dissatisfied, he nodded with a satisfied smile.

"It certainly suits your personality. I hope your mission to the Land of Water will bring peace, and I also hope Shinnosuke will return safely."

As if emboldened by this good news, Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself, seemingly sensing that his son was about to return.

However, at this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware that, just as he had suspected, his son, Shinnosuke Sarutobi, was on his way back, but with news that brought both joy and sorrow.

Although Konoha and Kirigakure are not investing much in the battle in the Land of Whirlpools, it is still a friction between two major powers. For a major power, this is already a war friction at the level of a small country.

……

The Land of Water.

The elegant and graceful Tsunade was dazzling at the banquet held by the Daimyo of the Land of Water, almost the most radiant presence. However, the moment she entered her luxurious residence after the banquet, the noble and elegant smile on her face vanished instantly, leaving only a cold glint in her eyes.

"Lady Tsunade?"

Sensing something was amiss, Shizune asked nervously, but Tsunade coldly replied, "Shizune, you stay outside."

"yes!"

Although she didn't know what had happened, Shizune, as Tsunade's assistant, had long been used to following orders, not to mention that she was also a ninja.

After Shizune left, Tsunade stared indifferently at the window. "Come out."

A figure slowly appeared; it was a Kirigakure ninja from the delegation sent by the Kirigakure master at the banquet.

As the figure entered, it was obvious that Shizune outside the door had also heard the noise, but Tsunade calmly said to the person outside the door, "Shizune, go downstairs and keep a close watch. Don't let anyone step in."

"yes!"

As the footsteps faded away, the Mist Ninja slowly removed her mask, revealing her true face—it was none other than Mei Terumi from the Land of Whirlpools.

"Your Konoha's conspiracy!"

At this moment, Mei Terumi revealed her emerald green pupils, which were filled with frost, and she spoke through gritted teeth, while Tsunade remained silent, but in her heart she was already hating those old guys in the village to death.

Unbelievable! These old guys are incredibly bold.

"On the way here, Ao's Byakugan saw it clearly: the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Kaguchi, has another type of chakra in addition to his own and the tailed beast's chakra."

Faced with Mei's questioning, Tsunade was representing Konoha this time. Although she was already 80% sure she believed it, she wasn't going to be naive and admit it.

Tsunade gave a mocking sneer, "How would I know what the third type of chakra is? As for that brat's talk about the Mangekyou Sharingan, humph! Who would believe such nonsense?"

"What evidence do you have to prove that the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure was controlled by the Mangekyou Sharingan? Besides, if the Uchiha clan of Konoha had the Mangekyou Sharingan, the Nine-Tails' attack would never have happened! And..."

At this point, Tsunade coldly turned the tables, saying, "I now suspect that your Kirigakure secretly stole our Konoha's Sharingan for secret research. After all, didn't you already obtain the Byakugan?!"

"you!"

Facing Tsunade at her peak, the now-naive Mei Terumi was clearly no match, and was directly choked and glared angrily at her opponent.

Politics has no bottom line. As long as I don't admit it, what can you do about it?

Moreover, the two now represent their respective positions, not their personalities.

Mei Terumi took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and gave a cold laugh as she slowly took out a scroll from her bosom.

"Tsunade, this is a letter from our Kirigakure master, and there's also the Mangekyou Sharingan I haven't mentioned."

Mei Terumi's last words made Tsunade understand what they meant.

Upon opening the scroll and seeing the letter from the most senior master in Kirigakure, Tsunade's pupils contracted, but her expression remained unchanged. She calmly and slowly put the scroll away.

"I will convey your message to the village. As for how to proceed, that's up to you."

Looking at Tsunade, Mei Terumi fell silent. She really hadn't expected that her village would be manipulated by someone else's conspiracy. Kirigakure, as one of the five great ninja villages, had actually been controlled by someone else. They even had reason to suspect that it had already started during the time of the Third Mizukage.

After all, there are policies within the Blood Mist, and increasingly stringent policies targeting bloodline ninjas.

"If what he says is true, the old guys in Konoha are plotting something that could affect the entire ninja world."

Mei Terumi's final words represented her personal opinion, and then she fell silent as her body slowly dissolved into a pool of clear water.

Water clone!

With the other person gone, Tsunade, now alone in the luxurious palace, no longer concealed her anger. She slammed her fist on the table, shattering the stone table instantly.

"Damn a bunch of old geezers, aren't they afraid of stuffing themselves to death?!"

Such audacity is not something Tsunade rejects because of such ambition; what angers her is that she doesn't know the true strength of Konoha.

Let alone the prime of their reign, even if Konoha had the strength of World War II, she could still accept the conspiracy she orchestrated in the ninja world.

However, Konoha is currently riddled with problems. Not to mention the failure of the plan, even if the plan is leaked now, Konoha may not be able to withstand the backlash.

"That old Danzo has completely lost his mind, and that Third Hokage too, they're all acting recklessly."

Tsunade rubbed her brow with her slender fingers painted with red nail polish, her head throbbing with pain.

Mei Terumi did not tell the village's master about the Mangekyou Sharingan, so the only thing the Hidden Mist Village currently knows is that the Mizukage has been manipulated.

The letter from Master Yuan was very simple. He simply told Tsunade that there was a force in the Land of Water who was dissatisfied with the Mizukage's regime. They wanted a place to live outside the Land of Water as a pretext for a counterattack.

It gives the impression of betraying the interests of their own village, yet it is revealed to Tsunade and passed on to Konoha that they hope to develop in the Land of Whirlpools without affecting Konoha's interests.

"In other words, Kirigakure only knows that the Mizukage has been manipulated, but the Fourth Mizukage is currently quite powerful, and they need to accumulate strength."

With her eyes narrowed, Tsunade quickly discerned the scheme of the old man, the Kirigakure master. Ordinary ninjas could be trained and mass-produced, but bloodline ninjas were different.

The bloodline ninjas have produced the most geniuses, and they are currently the only force that can be relied upon.

The Mist Ninja want to overthrow the Mizukage's regime, but they need the help of Konoha.

"They're all a bunch of old guys."

After seeing through the intentions of the Kirigakure master, Tsunade cursed inwardly. It was obvious that he wanted to convey a message to the village through her: the Kirigakure were going to fight amongst themselves.

At that time, Konoha will definitely choose to sit back and watch the tigers fight, and may even agree to let this anti-government force reside in the Land of Whirlpools.

They're all old foxes.

"Mute".

Having figured this out, Tsunade gave a cold snort of annoyance, deciding not to get involved in these messy affairs anymore. Whether Kirigakure knew about it or not, this internal strife had severely damaged the village's strength, which would actually benefit Konoha.

"Lady Tsunade."

Shizune hurriedly walked in and bowed respectfully at a ninety-degree angle. Looking at the respectful Shizune, Tsunade waved her hand impatiently and said, "Make preparations. We'll go pay our respects to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire in a few days."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

Although Shizune was respectful, she was filled with doubt. It seemed that Lady Tsunade was different, not as dejected as before.

Tsunade, one of the three legendary ninjas of Konoha, was sent to the Land of Water, which naturally did not escape the notice of other villages. After all, this time it was all done in the open. However, Tsunade's actions this time also aroused suspicion from some people.

For example, at this moment, at the base of the leaf.

"Tsunade!"

Looking at the intelligence report in his hand, in the dark secret room, Shimura Danzo revealed his sinister single eye, which was filled with anger.

"Tsunade, are you trying to take the Hokage position?!"

In Shimura Danzo's eyes, Tsunade's behavior was a way of building momentum and creating a buzz for herself, which was entirely aimed at vying for the Hokage position.

He didn't take Sarutobi Shinnosuke seriously, but the Sannin were formidable. Especially Tsunade, with her personal prestige, background, and even strength.

Orochimaru may be the strongest and most difficult to deal with among the Legendary Sannin, but when it comes to the chances of competing for the Hokage title, Tsunade is almost superior to both Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

The First Hokage and the Second Hokage were her grandfathers, the Senju clan was the founder of Konoha, and the current Third Hokage is her teacher.

If Tsunade wants to rise to power, almost no one can stop her.

"I will not admit defeat! Once I obtain Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan, no one in Konoha will be able to stop me!"

Under the pressure from Tsunade, Danzo Shimura's eyes were filled with the flames of ambition. He became even more determined in his plan, and now he even hoped that Fugaku Uchiha would really possess the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Only in this way could he have the opportunity to fulfill his ambitions.

……

Inside the Hokage's office.

With a thud, the wooden pipe that he always carried fell to the floor, but this time no one picked it up, letting the burning tobacco smolder and die out.

"Shinnosuke!"

As Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the intelligence report in his hand, two lines of painful tears streamed down his cloudy old eyes. He hadn't expected the intelligence to arrive so quickly, but instead of the good news he had imagined, it brought only lamentation.

A hoarse, sorrowful voice emanated from Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth as he slumped into a chair, utterly dejected, as if all his strength had been drained.

As the bright sunlight streamed in, the Third Hokage of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was also known as the "Hero of Shinobi," seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.

Beneath his completely white hair, only an unfolded intelligence scroll sat on the table.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi was rescued; the enemy was the Hidden Cloud Village, but he remained unconscious. On his way back, they were ambushed, suspected to be due to a leak of information.

"Investigate! Investigate for me! Who is it?!"

However, at that moment, an ANBU member appeared in the office, respectfully handed over the intelligence, and said in a deep voice, "Lord Hokage, breaking news."

Upon opening the other intelligence report, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stared blankly at the report in his hand, trembling. He never expected it to turn out this way.

The intelligence report clearly states that among the group traveling together, one member of the Anbu was dissatisfied with Orochimaru's actions and was even more furious about the rumors circulating that Sarutobi Shinnosuke wanted to become the Fifth Hokage.

This person secretly leaked information, attracting an ambush from enemy ninjas. He believed that Sarutobi Shinnosuke was not qualified to become Hokage at all, whether in terms of strength, reputation, or magnanimity, which led to all of this.

"How could it be! It was I who killed my own son!"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, trembled and tears welled in his eyes. He had never imagined that all of this was caused by him.

If he hadn't rejected Orochimaru and chosen Shinnosuke, whom he trusted most at the moment, he wouldn't have been so confident that there would be no problem, completely disregarding human nature.

No matter who among the Legendary Sannin became Hokage, no one would say anything; that's what's called prestige. But it's different with Sarutobi Shinnosuke. Even with a group of high-ranking officials pushing him up, the people below would still look down on him from the bottom of their hearts.

Even Uchiha Yoru was probably baffled by this; he hadn't expected there to be something so unexpected.

Some things are simply unpredictable. As for when the Third Hokage's eldest son and daughter-in-law died in the original work, it is unknown, but perhaps it is related to this person.

……

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

"night."

"Brother Ye."

After Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui arrived at the camp, the three met again.

Looking at the two of them, Uchiha Yoru smiled and nodded, but after seeing Kakashi's somewhat remorseful expression, he couldn't help but comfort him.

"Kakashi, don't worry. Sarutobi Umeko fueled the Orochimaru incident last time, causing such great damage to the village. She deserves to die."

"As for Sarutobi Shinnosuke, don't worry. Although I am dissatisfied with the corruption in the village, I will never easily lay a hand on my fellow villagers. They will be fine."

Uchiha Yoru then recounted the events to the two men, completely pinning the blame for Sarutobi Shinnosuke's actions on the Hidden Cloud Village, thus clearing them of suspicion.

Upon hearing this, Kakashi Hatake secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much lighter in his guilt. As for Umeko Sarutobi, she certainly deserved what she got.

Uchiha Shisui, standing to the side, frowned slightly upon hearing this, and pondered silently as he looked at his brother, Night, who had a relaxed smile on his face.

Brother Yoru is too merciful. If Kakashi were to eliminate Sarutobi Shinnosuke during this opportunity, Kakashi would never be able to leave the crew. It seems I'll need to become a sharp blade in Brother Yoru's hand from now on.

Only in this way can the stubborn corruption in Konoha be completely eradicated.

If Uchiha Yoru knew what Shisui was thinking, he would probably just laugh it off.

People are different. Kakashi isn't the kind of person who will submit to you if you have something on him. On the contrary, if you treat him sincerely, let Kakashi see for himself who is right and who is wrong.

All he needed to do was give Kakashi a push to make that choice.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, starting tomorrow, Koi will resume its regular updates, with two chapters daily. Thank you all for your support during this time.

(End of this chapter)