Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"······call!"

Ai let out a deep breath.

"To actually expect Uchiha Munen to be defeated and killed by someone else... I must be incredibly absurd."

"There's nothing shameful about it. Everyone has moments of confusion. As long as you don't get stuck in a rut and go down a dead end, temporary confusion and stagnation aren't necessarily bad things. It's good to stop and catch your breath occasionally." Tsuchida seized the opportunity and began to pour chicken soup into the Raikage's heart. This time, it was pure chicken soup.

"Hmph, Tsuchitai, go look in the mirror first and see the dark circles under your eyes before you say such things."

Ai said irritably.

"Haha! I'll train hope a bit more, and once hope has truly graduated, I can finally get some rest," Tu Tai said with a laugh.

matter,

And so it was temporarily suppressed.

The Hidden Cloud Village is still recovering. The last time it was defeated by the Hidden Leaf Village and then its base was raided by the Iwa ninja, it was really badly damaged. Unless it really encounters a unique opportunity where the timing, location, and people are all in place, it has no intention of getting involved in this drama for the time being.

The current Konoha,

It's no longer the Konoha that would choose to compromise and submit.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Hidden Mist Village.

Today, the Fifth Mizukage was neither handling official business in her office nor resting at home, nor was she going out to stroll under the pretext of inspecting the people's conditions. Instead, she came to the residence of the Genji after a long absence to visit this highly respected senior.

She hasn't come in person for a long time.

Even during festivals, Qing was only sent as an envoy to deliver a gift.

It wasn't that the Fifth Mizukage disliked his senior for being a hindrance. In recent years, the Master had truly kept to himself and avoided unnecessary contact with the young people in the village unless absolutely necessary. He had transferred all his power to the Fifth Mizukage so that this new Mizukage would not be influenced by his outdated governing philosophy.

Kirigakure ultimately belongs to the young.

An old man like him could not possibly keep Kirigakure under his control forever.

The Fifth Mizukage understood this principle, so she tried her best to avoid contact with Master Gen.

but--

Today's events were far more troublesome than she had imagined. She sat in her office for most of the day, struggling to think things through, her mind a jumbled mess. After much hesitation, just as it was almost time for dinner, she finally decided to visit Master Yuan.

As the saying goes, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure.

It's fine to be a little cautious on ordinary days, but there's no need to avoid them completely like the plague. The wisdom and experience of the elderly are a precious asset of Kirigakure, and there's no reason to leave them unused. Of course, they should be put to use when needed.

Therefore,

She came here.

In this six-square-meter tea room,

Master Yuan knelt on the prayer mat, silently looking at the documents in his hands.

Mei Terumi knelt opposite her, holding a cup of hot tea and waiting patiently.

"Rinnegan... Uchiha, is there any connection between the two?" Yuan Shi muttered in a low voice, so soft that only he could hear it, and even Mei Terumi, who was kneeling opposite him, could not hear what he said.

"Master Yuan? What's your opinion on this matter?"

Seeing that Genshi had closed the document, Terumi Mei put down her teacup.

We consulted Master Qi Yuan's opinion.

"Compared to my old man's opinion, what is your view, Mizukage-sama?" Genshi didn't answer Terumi Mei's question, but instead asked her in his hoarse voice.

"Konoha is too strong."

After careful consideration, Mei Terumi truthfully expressed her opinion.

"and then?"

Master Yuan continued to ask questions.

“Then…” Mei Terumi paused, then said in a deep voice, “I’m worried about what will happen to Kirigakure if the Sixth Hokage is going to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor and unify the ninja world by force.” Even though Kirigakure is now a loyal ally of Konoha, and has even sent the Six-Tails Jinchuriki to Konoha as an envoy, it is regarded as a hostage.

but,

There are no permanent allies in this world, only unchanging interests.

The alliance with Konoha was formed because it was beneficial to Kirigakure, but when the interests of Konoha and Kirigakure fundamentally conflict, the so-called alliance will no longer be meaningful.

"...Your concerns are not unfounded. I have no way of knowing whether Konoha intends to change the ninja world's current state of affairs that has lasted for sixty years. My advice to you is not to be the first to act. It is right to be cautious, but there is no need to be overly alarmed. In any case, whether or not there is this Rinnegan, whether real or fake, it will not affect Konoha's growing strength."

"If Konoha really intends to swallow up our Kirigakure, then... even my old bones can still light a fire."

The master's attitude made it clear.

As long as Konoha doesn't intend to break the system of one country and one village, then everything is fine. But if they want to sever the legacy of Kirigakure, then everyone should just take up arms and fight. There's no need for any nonsense. For Genji, who has no children or grandchildren, the village is everything to him.

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Mei Terumi nodded and said.

The village is everything.

In this day and age, this is a shared belief among many ninjas.

Aside from the ninja monks of places like the Fire Temple, most ninjas don't have a specific object of faith. Or you could say that the village and the Kage are the ninjas' faith. Dedicating everything to their clan and village is an extremely common belief.

"Go ahead and do it with confidence, Lord Mizukage. You did a great job."

The master solemnly affirmed Terumi Mei's efforts.

Thank you for your compliment.

Mei Terumi bowed respectfully, but just as she was about to take her leave, a thought suddenly occurred to her. She remembered something else, a message she had received that day. After hesitating for two seconds, she spoke up: "By the way, Master, Bubble sent back a message from Konoha. It seems that Konoha is preparing to hold an unprecedented Chunin Exam and is planning to invite all the ninja villages in the ninja world to participate."

"The Chunin Exams?"

Master Yuan's eyes twitched slightly.

"Invite all ninja villages to participate?"

“That’s right, and it’s said that Konoha is even planning to invite the leaders of various villages to attend.” Since only the leaders of the five great ninja villages are qualified to be called 'Kage,' Mei Terumi used the term “leader” here. “However, Homura also said that this is just hearsay, and it might not actually happen.”

"...This is an even larger-scale Five Kage Summit!"

Yuan Shi completely ignored the second half of Terumi Mei's words, already considering this matter as something that was bound to happen.

"Konoha... no, that Sixth Hokage is truly ambitious. This matter... Lord Mizukage, please proceed with caution. This matter... will definitely not be as simple as just an exam. That Sixth Hokage probably has enormous ambitions."

Master Yuan frowned deeply at this moment.

Although he no longer had eyebrows, the deep wrinkles on his forehead revealed the turmoil in his heart.

"I will be careful."

Mei Terumi didn't say anything more about whether this might actually happen. The principle of "better safe than sorry" doesn't need anyone to remind you of it. Besides, she still trusted Genji's intuition and judgment. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come here today.

only--

It seems there's no way the ninja world can stay peaceful for long!

[Chapter 404. Rumors about the Chunin Exams?]

"Kakashi-sensei... Eh? Why are you up? Didn't the doctor tell you not to move around?" The girl who pushed open the door saw that the patient, who should have been lying in the hospital bed, was now upside down against the wall, supporting himself with two fingers.

They had completely disregarded the doctor's orders.

"Sakura".

Kakashi ended his 'rehabilitation exercises' without the doctor's permission.

"You brought so much fruit again! We haven't even finished the last batch you brought!" Looking at the large fruit basket the girl was carrying, Kakashi suddenly felt his head start to throb again. Ever since he was hospitalized, the girl had been visiting him every few days, always bringing lots of fruit. Although he didn't dislike eating fruit, this constant force-feeding made him feel like he was turning into a monkey!

"The Dean of the Pharmacy said it himself, Kakashi-sensei, it won't hurt you to eat more fruit."

Sakura placed the bag of fruit she was carrying into the locker in the private hospital room.

“I eat it every day…” Kakashi shook his head, no longer dwelling on such trivial matters, and instead asked, “How has your training been lately? Is there anything you don’t understand? Although I don’t know puppetry, I’ve dealt with some puppeteers from the Sand Village before, so I know a bit about their fighting habits.”

When he first heard that his student had inherited the puppetry and medical ninjutsu from the Hokage, he was quite startled. He worried that Sakura might try to do too much at once, since both puppetry and medical ninjutsu were skills that even an ordinary person might not be able to master even with all their effort.

Moreover, it's even more important to consider both simultaneously.

The difficulty is extraordinary.

However, after talking with Sakura, he realized that his worries were unnecessary. The girl had a great talent for medical ninjutsu and received praise from the director of the pharmacist hospital, Nono, several times. Moreover, the puppetry she learned was not the traditional puppetry he knew. There are many intersections and overlaps between forbidden puppetry and medical ninjutsu.

This is the forbidden technique.

Kakashi felt a little awkward about it.

He didn't particularly like this forbidden technique that violated human ethics and morality, and of course he wouldn't gossip about it for no reason. This was a legacy passed down to Sakura by the Hokage, which meant it had the Hokage's permission. The puppet that the girl showed him yesterday was handed over to her by someone sent by the Hokage.

"I feel fine. I haven't encountered anything I don't understand yet. I'll ask if I have any questions."

The girl took a breath and looked at Kakashi, saying, "Um, Kakashi-sensei, when exactly are Naruto and Sasuke going to come back?"

Kakashi shook his head helplessly upon hearing this.

Ok!

This is the main reason why the girl kept coming to his hospital room every few days.

"Still unclear."

Kakashi replied.

He genuinely had no idea where his other two students were or what their situation was, even though he was the instructor of Team 7... Unfortunately, not knowing meant not knowing, even though it was said that Orochimaru had already been personally killed by the Hokage.

but,

Not only are Naruto and Sasuke currently missing, but even Jiraiya and others are not in the village.

Perhaps they are resting or cultivating in some secluded place right now?

"Sakura, don't worry. The Hokage himself said that he has rescued Naruto and Sasuke. Just be patient and wait. They will come back sooner or later. Anyway, I can't be discharged from the hospital for a while. Even if they come back, Team 7 won't be able to carry out their mission."

Kakashi comforted the girl as always.

only--