Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

result,

I didn't expect the battle with the Iwa ninja to end so quickly.

Are the Iwa ninja really that weak?

Everyone couldn't help but speculate about the reason for the end of the battle. Was it because Onoki was too old and lacked energy? Or was it because Jiraiya displayed his great power and thwarted the old man Onoki's arrogance...? All sorts of thoughts jumped around in everyone's minds.

"Knock knock!!"

Zongxian tapped the table with his finger, drawing the attention of the somewhat distracted group back to the present. "You don't need to know the details of what happened. All you need to know is that the war in the Land of Grass is indeed over. And not only will Jiraiya-senpai lead his troops to our aid, but if nothing unexpected happens, the Iwa ninja will also cooperate with us to launch a pincer attack on the Kumo ninja."

"Really? The Hokage is assisting you, are you serious?"

Upon hearing this news, Nara Shiso almost jumped up.

As a member of the Nara clan, he learned through family channels that the clan head had proposed a rather crazy idea and sent Suzaku-senpai to Jiraiya's army to act according to the situation. Could it be that Suzaku-senpai really persuaded the Third Tsuchikage?

"Of course it's true. When Jiraiya sent the secret letter, he said that the army was already fully prepared to set off. Of course, the march of the main force is not as fast as the secret letter, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, the army should arrive in the Land of Hot Springs within the next two or three days. So... Saltwater, go and prepare for the welcoming work, help build the camp in advance, etc. I don't need to explain these things one by one, do I?"

"Please leave it to me!"

Nara Shio stood up and solemnly accepted the task.

"Hyuga clan leader, Aburame clan leader, do your best to eliminate those eyes that the Cloud Ninja have sent out. Before Jiraiya-senpai's reinforcements arrive, I don't want the Cloud Ninja to receive intelligence and choose to withdraw. I don't want to chase them all the way to the Land of Frost."

Even the Land of Hot Water has seen snowfall, and the already frigid Land of Frost has now reached sub-zero temperatures, where water freezes instantly. Although ninjas are quite adaptable to their environment, it's always best to avoid extreme weather conditions if possible!

"I will keep a close eye on things myself. With the Hokage assisting you, please rest assured that I will not let a single Cloud Ninja spy return alive to report back."

Hiashi Hyuga, beaming with pride, loudly agreed.

If we were to ask who among the people in the tent is the happiest right now, it would undoubtedly be Hiashi Hyuga. Although the others present also have no goodwill towards the Cloud Ninja, that is due to the hostility brought about by the conflict between the villages. However, in addition to this hostility, Hiashi Hyuga also has a deep-seated personal grudge!

The thought of his younger brother Hizashi committing suicide to protect him caused Hiashi Hyuga an unbearable pain in his heart, as if a knife had been stabbed through it. He had always endured this heartache for the sake of his family and the village. Perhaps time could slowly heal the wounds in his heart.

The problem is that less than five years have passed since Higashi's suicide, and such a short time is not enough to erase the hatred in his heart.

And now,

The opportunity to take revenge on the Cloud Ninja is just around the corner.

How could he not be excited?

Aburame Shiki glanced at Hyuga Hiashi, who was so excited he could hardly contain himself, and didn't try to steal the spotlight. He simply nodded to Sogen, indicating that he would also do his best.

that's it,

One task after another was assigned, and Shiozumi was also given the task of leading the Yu Ninja to help with logistics in Nara Salt Water. In any case, the Yu Ninja's mediocre skills would only make them cannon fodder if sent to the front line, just giving the Cloud Ninja free kills. On the contrary, they were excellent at logistics work in the rear!

[Chapter 205. The Reputation of the Iwa Ninja is Negative]

Over the next two days, the already ongoing small-scale conflicts between Konoha and Kumogakure intensified, raising the intensity of the battles several levels. The genin were no longer of any use, and the jonin and chunin were now the main actors on this stage.

Such a change could not possibly escape the notice of the Cloud Ninja.

However, all the spies that the Cloud Ninja had sent out were wiped out by the teams led by Hiashi Hyuga and Shiki Aburame. The round-the-clock, relentless, carpet-style high-intensity search mode left the Cloud Ninja's spies with almost no room to escape. This made it impossible for the Cloud Ninja to discover the actions and changes of the Leaf Village, and they could only speculate from the Leaf Village's series of actions.

"Did it still fail?"

"Nine of the ten squads sent out were wiped out. Only Xi's squad survived. The reason they were able to return was that they were ambushed by Konoha ninjas before they could penetrate deep into the Kusatsu mountain area. However, it was precisely because of this that they received timely reinforcements. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have been able to return."

Tsuchida's answer made the Fourth Raikage frown even more.

"Something's wrong!"

Ai frowned and said in a deep voice.

"There's definitely something wrong here, but our problem is that we don't know what it is. Konoha's sudden shift to such a defensive posture is really hard to understand." Tsuchida sighed softly. Anyone who wasn't a fool could see that the current situation was abnormal.

Unfortunately, they didn't know why things were wrong.

The lack of intelligence left them clueless about how to formulate a countermeasure.

"Could something have happened in Konoha?"

Ai couldn't help but guess: "I remember that some ancient documents in the village mentioned that no one in the Uchiha clan who awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan seemed to dominate the continent for a long time. It usually lasted for a few months to a few years. Soon those Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan would fall into obscurity. So far, the only exception in the documented records is Uchiha Madara!"

Although the history of the five great ninja villages is less than a hundred years,

However, almost every village has an ancient family that has been passed down for hundreds of years. Although they may not be as old as the Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, or Uzumaki families, they have left behind a lot of things. For example, almost every ancient family has relevant records of documents about the Uchiha clan.

There's nothing we can do about it.

The saying "a tall tree catches the wind" is no joke. The Uchiha clan is an ancient tree with a history of thousands of years, and for thousands of years it has always stood in the most dazzling position. It is impossible for them not to be noticed.

Ever since witnessing the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan on the battlefield,

During this period, all the major and minor clans in Kumogakure have been searching high and low for any documents or materials that could be related to the Uchiha clan. Not only the village's forbidden library and the individual clan libraries have been searched, but even personal collections have been thoroughly investigated. Almost the entire village has been mobilized.

The result did not disappoint.

The intelligence that Ai possessed was obtained through this investigation, most of which came from the libraries of various clans. The village's forbidden library, on the other hand, contained more materials on the development and research of various ninjutsu, and historical documents like these were quite rare.

"Possibly, but not necessarily!"

Tsuchida looked worried, his brows furrowed so deeply they could almost trap a mosquito. "According to our investigation, Uchiha Sogen and Uchiha Shisui are both quite young, and it's possible they haven't been awakening their Sharingan for very long. Rather than hoping they'll fade away like their ancestors, we should be more wary of the possibility of another Uchiha Madara appearing."

There were still some things he hesitated to say, unsure whether he should.

Compared to the Raikage's optimistic expectations, he always felt that Konoha's actions were covering up something that was detrimental to the Cloud Ninja. But the problem was, if Konoha had reinforcements coming, shouldn't they have made a big fuss about it to boost morale and put pressure on the Cloud Ninja?

Do you think that doing this will catch the Cloud Ninja off guard?

That's seriously underestimating people!

When the behavior of Konoha's army changed, the Cloud Ninja immediately strengthened their defenses, which had already been raised to the highest level. There were a large number of spies on all sides, in the east, west, and south, to guard against Konoha's surprise attack. As for the north... if Konoha had the ability to break through their defenses and stab them in the back, then the Cloud Ninja, who were so useless, deserved to be wiped out!

In short, Konoha's unreasonable actions made him feel uneasy. He wanted to try to persuade the Raikage to withdraw the troops, but... according to the previous agreement, at the very least, the Eight-Tails had to be rescued. Otherwise, withdrawing in such a humiliating manner would not only damage the morale of the troops, but more importantly, it would be difficult to retrieve the Eight-Tails!

after all,

The Third Hokage is dead.

The current Konoha leadership is dominated by hardliners, and the good old days when intimidation could bring benefits are long gone.

anyway,

We can't lose the Eight-Tails!

With this in mind, Tsuchidae ultimately swallowed the words he wanted to use to persuade the Raikage to retreat now.

"Uchiha Madara... It's not that easy. Besides, if an Uchiha Madara really does appear, to be honest, there's nothing we can do, right?"

Ai said frankly.

Having optimistic expectations doesn't mean he's blind to other possibilities. On the contrary, he sees things very clearly, but because of that, he doesn't think the Uchiha clan will produce another Uchiha Madara so quickly. If Uchiha Sogen or Uchiha Shisui really had that ability, they wouldn't have been forced to retreat so easily in the last great battle.

Don't bring up Killer Bee's selfless resistance.

Madara Uchiha was known in historical records for commanding tailed beasts like dogs, and apart from the First Hokage, he was unmatched throughout the ninja world.

"That's true."

Tsuchida sighed, admitting that he was worrying too much. Indeed, thinking about such things was pointless. If another Uchiha Madara were to appear... Sigh! Thinking about such questions was meaningless, but the worries in his heart didn't just disappear.

"Let's put aside the matter of Konoha for now. How is Yugito doing?"

"It still doesn't work!"

Tu Tai shook his head.

"The medical ninjas have tried everything, but to no avail. To be precise, they can't find anything wrong with Yugito. No matter how they examine her, there's nothing wrong. They have no way to treat her. Yugito is still the same as before. She hates war and killing. However, according to my observation, her loyalty to the village has not wavered. If you, Raikage, force her with orders, she should be able to go to the battlefield."

“Forcing people to comply is not a long-term solution.”

"Lord Raikage, we can deal with the future later. We can only hold out for now. Once we return to the village, there will be plenty of time to replace the Jinchūriki. Are you planning to launch a full-scale attack?" Tsuchida sensed the approaching war when he asked the two Yugitos.

"I still have some hope."

Ai did not deny it.

"Konoha's actions are too strange. I'm worried that if we continue to wait, we'll miss an opportunity."

"But this could also be a trap."

"I know, but I think it's better to take a gamble now than to wait passively. I don't expect to defeat the Konoha army in one fell swoop. As long as we can rescue Killer Bee or capture a few prominent figures from Konoha, we can make an exchange with Konoha. Tsuchidai, is there any news from Iwagakure?"

Ai explained clearly and logically.

"Yes, the Iwa ninja haven't given us a response yet."

"No response doesn't mean the Iwa ninja aren't making any moves. Perhaps the Konoha's strange actions are a cover for splitting their forces to resist the Iwa ninja. Of course, that's an optimistic view. That old devil Onoki might not act as we hope, but... staying in a hut like this isn't a solution."

"Iwa Ninja..."

Tsuchita's eyebrows furrowed, and the sight of the Iwa ninja made him inexplicably uneasy.

Instinctively, memories of what happened during the Third Shinobi World War flashed through his mind.

"Lord Raikage, will the Iwa ninja stab us in the back again this time?"

During the Third Shinobi World War, the Iwa ninja stabbed him in the kidneys, causing the Kumo ninja to almost break out into a bloody battle with the Iwa ninja. Whenever he recalled the sacrifice of the Third Hokage, Tsuchidai was so angry that he couldn't sleep at night.

Upon hearing Tu Tai's words,

Ai sat behind the table for a long time without saying a word.

Regardless of how good Iwagakure's reputation is elsewhere, it's definitely negative in Kumogakure. If it weren't for Konoha, their common old rival, the two sides would have been fighting each other long ago. Anyway, A sent people to contact Iwagakure with the real intention of using them. Cooperation and alliance were just a fig leaf.

only--

"The Iwa ninja shouldn't have the guts to do that, right? If Konoha couldn't stop our attack at all, they would definitely have to guard against the Iwa ninja using dirty tricks. But Konoha hasn't been defeated yet. No matter how greedy Onoki is, he wouldn't go that far..."

He couldn't continue his sentence halfway through. During the Third Shinobi World War, wasn't it the Iwa ninja who suffered a great loss at the hands of Konoha? Instead of seeking revenge against Konoha, under Onoki's leadership, they secretly plotted against the Kumo ninja, trying to bring everyone back to the same starting line.

As it turns out, Onoki is capable of doing something like stabbing someone in the back!

"Tsuchi, if we split our forces again, we might not be able to break through Konoha's defenses."

Ai frowned.

While the Cloud Ninja have substantial resources, they are by no means extremely wealthy. Moreover, in the current war with Konoha, their individual soldier quality is clearly inferior, making them even more reliant on group combat to compensate for the lack of individual skill.

At this point, splitting up forces to prevent a sneak attack from the Iwa ninja would be somewhat like tying their own hands!

If we fail to achieve our desired results due to insufficient troops at the front, it would be like losing the watermelon while picking up a sesame seed.