Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"But time is running out? If Konoha sends reinforcements from the front lines, then we'll have no chance at all."

On a hill quite far from the forest littered with corpses,

A group of Cloud Ninja gathered here.

Aburame Shiki's speculation was correct. It was indeed the Cloud Ninja who attacked them, or more precisely, the Cloud Ninja's spies planted in Konoha and the Land of Fire. These audacious individuals had already taken action before their Raikage could even give the order, after learning that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had left the village.

"We can't act rashly."

The speaker was a large man with gray hair and a weathered face. He clenched his fists and said resolutely, "It's difficult for us to deal with those guys protecting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki on our own. Taking action rashly will only cause us unnecessary losses. No one is allowed to make a move until reinforcements from the village arrive."

"What if the reinforcements arrive late?"

The question was asked by a young man.

"That means it's not the right time to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki yet. We can wait for the next opportunity. Don't be greedy and try to achieve instant success. Be careful not to fall to your death. It doesn't matter if you die, but it's the waste of the village's manpower and resources on you that's what deserves to die the most."

The middle-aged man with gray hair coldly reprimanded the young men under his command.

The young man, who had been scolded, shrank back and dared not utter another word. Seeing that his subordinates had all quieted down, the middle-aged man waved his hand, signaling everyone to go about their business.

When there is no one around,

The middle-aged man's face now showed deep exhaustion. He didn't know if his decision was right. He had mobilized almost all of the Cloud Ninja's spies planted in the Land of Fire and Konoha, all to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. If this operation failed…

He shook his head, trying his best not to think about it.

It's uncertain whether a battle will even break out. If reinforcements from Kumogakure don't arrive in time, they'll all have to retreat without even fighting. But if Kumogakure's reinforcements arrive in time, they'll naturally have more confidence to carry out the operation.

[Chapter 109. Or maybe we should just kill the Fourth Hokage!]

Kuroshio Castle.

Zongxian flipped through the document he had read many times before, clicking his tongue in admiration. His grandfather was truly skilled; he had actually persuaded the Fifth Acting Hokage to send the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to the front lines. Wasn't the old man the one who couldn't stand seeing brats circling around the wisteria?

Has she changed her personality?

Yagura sat opposite Sogen, holding a pristine white Go stone and waiting for Sogen to make his move.

However, no matter how long they waited, Uchiha Munen remained silent.

"Clan Chief Uchiha, are we still playing this game?"

Yagura was furious.

Where is there any logic in giving up halfway through a game of chess?

"What's the rush? There's no time limit for this game." Zongxian put the thin sheet of paper back, picked up a chess piece and pondered where to place it. "Speaking of which, Lord Shuiying, are you ready? If nothing unexpected happens, we'll begin our operation today."

"······today?"

Yagura frowned.

"An operation today? Why didn't I know anything about it?"

Didn't I tell you?

Zongxian placed his piece and looked at Yagura, who was opposite him, with some surprise.

Suppressing the urge to curse, Yagura's expression changed repeatedly before he finally managed to swallow his words, "What the hell are you talking about!" and forced a gentlemanly smile. "This is the first time I've ever heard of this."

"Oh! I must have made a mistake. I thought I had already told Lord Mizukage. It was my oversight, and I'm really sorry." Zongxian said with a smile, without any sincerity. "But it doesn't matter. Anyway, Lord Mizukage, you don't have any possessions. You can just travel empty-handed."

Yagura's face twitched, but he continued to endure.

When you're under a low eave, you have to bow your head.

These few days,

He had tried to mobilize the power of the Three-Tails many times, but found that he could not mobilize it at all. The Three-Tails was like a stone. Not only could its power not be mobilized, but the Three-Tails itself was also silent. No matter how much Yagura struggled in the sealed space, the Three-Tails did not make any move.

This made him realize just how terrifying the Uchiha clan truly was.

The Three-Tails is still sealed inside him.

But in reality, it's no longer his, and it no longer even belongs to Kirigakure!

"Since we're taking action today, does that mean we've already figured out where our Kirigakure command center is?" Yagura Karatachi suppressed his anger, placing a move while asking about the important matter. He didn't have much luggage or belongings to pack, but he still needed to prepare himself mentally. He had been thinking about how to inform all the Kirigakure ninja of their defeat and the alliance with Konoha to jointly pursue the mysterious person in the fastest and most efficient way.

"Of course we're sure. If we weren't sure, this decapitation tactic wouldn't be able to be used, would it?"

Just as Obito Uchiha manipulated Yagura Karatachi to behead the command center of the eastern border defense forces, Sogen was also preparing to end this war with the same tactics.

When do we make our move today?

As he spoke,

Yagura looked up, his gaze passing over the eaves and landing on the vast sea of ​​clouds in the sky. It should be around nine or ten in the morning. Judging from Uchiha Sogen's leisurely way of playing chess, he probably wouldn't make a move right now. Would he wait until after lunch? Or in the evening?

It couldn't possibly be at night, could it?

"We'll see. We'll set off whenever the person we're waiting for arrives," Zong Xian gave him an unexpected answer.

"Waiting for someone?"

Yagura raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the stack of documents and letters beside Sogen. "Are you waiting for Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? A mere Jinchuriki... is it worth wasting your time on?" This was the truth; he himself was a Jinchuriki, and now the tailed beast within him had taken the Uchiha surname.

For Uchiha Sogen, having one more or one less Jinchuriki would make absolutely no difference.

"Let the kids broaden their horizons. Such grand scenes are rare. If they miss this one, who knows when they'll get another chance? Besides, they're Jinchūriki! It won't hurt for them to see what a battlefield is like sooner!"

Zongxian said with a smile.

He didn't care what the village's reasons were for sending the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to him, but now that it was in his hands, he naturally had his own way of doing things. To be honest, he wasn't very interested in the Nine-Tails; at least for now, the tailed beast was of no use to him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have let the Three-Tails continue to exist inside Yagura's body. Wouldn't it have been better to extract it and use it as a 'summoning beast' and 'power bank'?

However, not being interested in Kurama does not mean not being interested in Naruto.

He quite liked the intelligent and understanding Naruto of today. As for the ethereal and elusive Ashura chakra, he was somewhat interested, but not very interested. His greater interest lay with Naruto.

He wanted to see.

What would Naruto be like if he hadn't lost his childhood cleverness as he grew up?

Under the influence of Ashura's chakra, he has become the cheerful and sunny Naruto who is not like a normal person.

Or,

Ashura's chakra wasn't actually that powerful, and Naruto would have taken a completely different path?

"To raise the next generation?"

Yagura gripped the Go stone tightly in his hand, his heart filled with envy and jealousy.

This is Konoha! The village that has been passed down from generation to generation. And look at our own Kirigakure... Internal strife has almost drained them of their blood. Fortunately, there are still a few good young people: Hozuki Mangetsu, Terumi Mei, Momochi Zabuza, Hoshigaki Kisame, and Ringo Ameyuri. As long as this group of young people can grow up steadily, perhaps there is still something to look forward to for the future of Kirigakure?

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.

An unnamed island at sea.

The island wasn't very large, but it was rare to find fresh water. So, when the Kirigakure's command center moved for the third time, they chose this nameless, uninhabited island. As for why they went through the trouble of moving the command center time and time again, the Fourth Mizukage gave the reason that it was to prevent Konoha from retaliating in kind and launching a decapitation strike against their command center.

to be frank,

Young people scoff at such reasons.

For example, Hozuki Mangetsu, a genius boy from the Hozuki clan, once publicly mocked the Mizukage for losing his courage after being beaten by the Uchiha. However, what was most surprising was that the Fourth Mizukage, who was known for his ruthlessness, did not give Hozuki Mangetsu a Coral Palm, but instead resolutely dispatched his troops to launch continuous attacks on the Konoha ninja.

Not only did he not care about the damage, he also did not leave the command center for even a moment. It was as if Hozuki Mangetsu had predicted that the Fourth Mizukage had lost all his courage because of the Uchiha.

The tide kept washing over the rocks on the shore. A beautiful girl stood on the rocks, her long reddish-brown hair hanging down her back. Her emerald green eyes were bright and captivating. At this moment, the girl was looking into the distance at a small boat that was moving quickly towards her on the sea.

The boat is really small.

If you put five or seven people in there, there won't be any room left.

However, the small boat was fast. With Hozuki Mangetsu, an expert in water sports, he could manipulate the currents and tides without even hoisting a sail. The small boat sped across the sea like a rocket, and in just a short while, it docked at the shore.

Hozuki Mangetsu, Momochi Zabuza, Hoshigaki Kisame, Ringo Ameyuri, and others came down.

Mei Terumi glanced at it twice and thought, "Not bad!"

Although almost everyone except Hozuki Mangetsu was injured, none of them were seriously hurt, and no one lost an arm or a leg.

"How was the harvest this time?"

Mei Terumi asked aloud.

"It's a mixed bag."

With his white hair, sharp teeth, and handsome appearance, Hozuki Mangetsu stretched. "I took down two teams, but they were just small fry. They weren't Uchiha or Hyuga."

"I'm being watched by the Hyuga clan. The Byakugan is really annoying; my silent killing technique is completely useless." Zabuza Momochi, whose face was wrapped in bandages and whose cold eyes were the only visible part, had a terrible attitude. Unlike Mangetsu Hozuki, who at least killed two groups of small fry, he was being watched closely by the Hyuga Jonin and hadn't managed to catch a single enemy.

"They wiped out a group of Konoha ninjas who used Fire Release techniques. They weren't Uchiha, but rather some kind of Sarutobi clan ninjas."

Kisame Hoshigaki wore a fake smile on his shark-like face, a smile that could stop a child from crying at night. Zabuza Momochi next to him snorted in annoyance.

"Bad luck."

Like Mei Terumi, she has long reddish-brown hair, but completely lacks Mei Terumi's social skills. Ringo Ameyuri's answer was concise and to the point, so brief that Mei Terumi had no idea what this "bad luck" meant.

Left with no other choice

Mei Terumi could only look at Hozuki Mangetsu.

"Yuri ran into that Uchiha woman again! Her Lightning Release technique was completely countered by that woman's Wind Release technique. If I hadn't happened to be passing by, Yuri wouldn't be back today." Hozuki Mangetsu clicked his tongue as he spoke. "The Sharingan genjutsu is really disgusting. If I hadn't been good at protecting myself, I would have been slashed by that woman."

When this topic came up, the others nodded subconsciously.

That's right.

The Uchiha clan's Jonin are their most troublesome enemies. The Sharingan's genjutsu is truly troublesome, and coupled with their fire jutsu, which is enough to rival ordinary water jutsu, even geniuses like Hozuki Mangetsu and his group have suffered a lot at the hands of the Uchiha clan in the recent fierce battles.

"Is it... Uchiha Chihaya?"

Mei Terumi frowned.

With the war between Konoha and Mist Ninja going on for some time, intelligence has naturally been circulating between them. As time goes by, both sides have a pretty good idea of ​​which outstanding young masters they have. On the Mist Ninja's side, it is undoubtedly Hozuki Mangetsu and his group.

On the Konoha side, most of them were from the Uchiha clan, and a small portion were ninjas from clans such as Hyuga and Aburame.

Chihaya Uchiha was one of them. Her rare Wind Release technique was extremely fierce, killing many skilled Kirigakure ninja. Including this time, Ringo Ameyuri had almost been killed by Chihaya Uchiha twice. Fortunately, she was saved by different people both times, so she did not die young.

"Were you being sniped?"