Uchiha's personal opinion

"The corrupt and incompetent Iwagakure in the north dares to confront my invincible Konoha, and even instigates border conflicts that cause casualties among our allies. This is a blatant provocation against Konoha!"

"By order of the Governor-General's Office and both houses of parliament—today the western border troops will move north and advance straight into the Land of Birds, so that the insignificant Iwagakure will see the consequences of daring to provoke Konoha!"

Victory is certain!

The ninja soldiers on the training ground shouted in unison.

"This northward march must be undertaken with the utmost readiness for battle, and all preparations must be made..."

Although he did not reveal the true purpose of his northward advance into the Land of Birds, Fugaku Uchiha still meticulously ordered his ninja army to prepare for war in a state of wartime readiness.

Uchiha Shisui secretly pulled out his cheat sheet and glanced at it, confirming that Uchiha Fugaku's words did not deviate from the scope of the battle plan. Then he pretended to be nonchalant and continued to stand at attention.

"...May you all enjoy long and prosperous military success!"

Fugaku Uchiha drew his katana from his waist and swung it diagonally northward.

"Victory!"

More than two thousand ninja soldiers drew their weapons at the same time and shouted loudly.

Then, led by their respective Jonin, they filed out of the training ground in single file and marched north.

"...Strict discipline and perfect order! Truly worthy of being called the invincible Konoha Ninja Army!"

This was the first time Uchiha Shisui had ever seen the ninja army marching into battle, and he couldn't help but be filled with admiration.

"War is cruel..."

Fugaku Uchiha had received instructions from Tokumitsu Uchiha beforehand, so he didn't mind teaching this young junior a lesson: "During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the ninja armies of the other four great ninja villages were no worse than this border army, but we were the final victors. Why do you think that is?"

"...The Konoha ninjas are numerous and powerful?"

Uchiha Shisui thought for a moment and then gave his first guess.

Fugaku Uchiha shook his head.

"Is it because we are united in spirit?"

"When it comes to unity, no ninja village in the ninja world can compare to Iwagakure."

Fugaku Uchiha continued to shake his head.

"..."

Uchiha Shisui gave several reasons, but Uchiha Fugaku did not agree with any of them.

"...Why was that village able to win the final victory?"

"It's because of us."

Fugaku Uchiha patted his junior on the shoulder, "Because Konoha has the Uchiha, Konoha had the last laugh."

Uchiha Shisui instinctively intended to refute, but upon further reflection, he nodded in deep agreement.

"It was Deguang-kun who established the clan's current dominance over Konoha. As his first disciple, you should have some awareness and understanding, understand?"

Fugaku Uchiha noticed Shisui's hesitant expression and offered another word of advice.

"I understand……"

Uchiha Shisui nodded in agreement.

"Whether you are a radical or a conservative, in Deguang-jun's eyes you are all compatriots of the same race. I hope you will not let him down."

Fugaku Uchiha patted Shisui on the shoulder again, then instantly sprang to the front of the ninja army's march, leading his men northward.

"A clan..."

Uchiha Shisui muttered to himself in a daze.

He also discovered the problem.

The Uchiha clan has no shortage of analyses of the Second Shinobi World War's history and battle examples, and he has read them countless times.

But when asked about the fundamental reasons that determined the course of the war, he unconsciously avoided mentioning family factors...

The First Shinobi World War, in which the Uchiha clan did not participate deeply and where Uchiha Tokumitsu did not fight the entire war, ended with the Senju clan suffering utter annihilation...

Faced with such illustrious military achievements, he subconsciously searched for irrelevant reasons to explain where the victory came from...

What's wrong with me?

Uchiha Shisui gave a self-deprecating laugh, then covered his face. "What happened to me in the past?"

……

"teacher!"

Panting heavily, Konan rushed into the cave where Jiraiya lived, her face still showing a hint of panic and beads of sweat.

"what happened?"

Jiraiya casually put away the notebook he had been writing furiously in and asked as if nothing had happened.

"Ninja Army... Konoha's ninja army..."

In her haste, Xiao Nan stammered.

"……intelligence!"

After gesturing for a while, Xiao Nan saw that the teacher still looked confused, so she simply handed over the original text of the information.

Jiraiya took the intelligence report and his expression immediately turned serious.

"More than two thousand ninja soldiers..."

This is almost the entire workforce mobilized.

However, since Konoha and Sunagakure have reconciled, the western border defense forces are no longer under pressure to deploy, so such a large-scale operation is normal.

"The Bird Country is closing in on Iwagakure..."

This is a direct attack on the main base!

Jiraiya couldn't sit still any longer.

Although based on his previous assessment, Jiraiya still believed that this was just a manifestation of the escalating conflict between the shogunate and Iwagakure, much like how border conflicts spread from west to east, and the current situation was simply a matter of chance.

Even so, Jiraiya was still somewhat uneasy.

"...Teacher, should we hurry up and evacuate?"

Seeing Jiraiya's uncertain expression, Konan timidly tugged at his sleeve and asked softly, reluctantly.

Since leaving the Land of Rain, she and her friends have been wandering the ninja world under the guidance of their teacher, and they have finally settled down a bit.

Although the secret base, where the sun never shines, is dark and damp, and filled with all sorts of frogs and snakes that she doesn't like, Xiao Nan prefers to stay in the little world of the cave and entertain herself rather than spend her time wandering.

Although she was young, she understood that the organization she belonged to was not tolerated by Konoha, the most powerful ninja village in the world. Now that the Konoha ninja army was heading north with unclear intentions, she couldn't help but think about it...

"It's fine……"

As a teacher, Jiraiya understood his disciples' thoughts.

Jiraiya gently ruffled Konan's bluish-purple hair and comforted her, "They're just passing through. We just need to stay home for the next few days."

"Oh……"

Xiao Nan nodded obediently, seemingly somewhat relieved.

"By the way, tell Kyusuke not to come back for now, and to keep an eye on the situation of the Konoha ninja army in the border towns..."

Jiraiya thought for a moment, then added a sentence.

Okay~

Xiao Nan answered crisply, then skipped away.

……

When the secret base was first established, Jiraiya took into account the existence of the Byakugan ninjas, so he sought advice from the two holy lands and obtained the concealment talisman of Ryuchi Cave.

After the talisman was activated, even the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan could only see layers upon layers of rocks, and could not see the secret base that had been hollowed out of the hill.

Jiraiya finally breathed a sigh of relief after the Konoha ninja army heading north crossed the mountain range where their base was located and headed straight for the border of the Land of Earth.

After thorough investigation and ensuring everything was in order, Jiraiya ordered Princess Ichikishima of Ryuchi Cave to remove the concealment barrier of the talisman. However, he still strictly controlled the ninja frogs and snakes in the base from going out, and even the transmission of information from all over the ninja world was temporarily suspended.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the Konoha ninja army, Iwagakure was also extremely anxious. The Tsuchikage, Onoki, rejected the request for battle from the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Rōshi, and not only withdrew all the Iwagakure troops stationed in the Land of Birds, but also retreated ten miles from the ninja army stationed on the border to avoid a more serious conflict.

Subsequently, a partial mobilization was launched within the village, gathering a group of Iwagakure members to stand ready. Finally, an envoy was dispatched to Konoha under the guise of congratulating the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two villages, in an attempt to ease the standoff between the two sides.

Jiraiya, who had secretly infiltrated the base and arrived in the town where the Konoha Ninja Army was located to gather intelligence, finally relaxed completely after learning about the movements of Iwagakure.

It seems it really was just a coincidence...

Chapter 351 Leading the Army to Pacify the Chaos

The Iwagakure envoys who arrived in Konoha as messengers were the Tsuchikage's bodyguard, Akatsuchi, known as the "Shield of the Tsuchikage," and Higashi Shijin, an elite Jonin from Iwagakure.

This was a helpless move by Onoki.

Although Akatsuchi is a highly respected bodyguard of the Tsuchikage, he has never been well-known outside the village. Appointing him as an envoy would neither be disrespectful nor cause Konoha to feel slighted. As for the other Jonin with relatively prominent status and strength, most of them have their own posts and cannot leave. This also reflects a problem that makes Onoki very uneasy - not only is there no successor to the next Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, but there is also a certain gap in the number of Jonin.

As for the established Jonin, they were either defeated by Uchiha Tokumitsu in the war or had unclear connections with the United Company. Letting them serve as the chief envoy would be asking for trouble.

"When can we meet with His Excellency the Governor or Mr. Sakumo?"

After being taken to the new district guesthouse by the Konoha Foreign Affairs Department ninjas, the Iwagakure envoy couldn't help but ask, "We are envoys of the Tsuchikage, so why can't we meet with your two lords from your village immediately?"

"Esteemed envoys, Lord Tokugaku and Lord Sakumo are very busy, especially with the upcoming village anniversary celebration, so they cannot spare the time to come..."

"Of course, if both of you have the time and are willing to meet with you, we will make arrangements immediately."

The ninja from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs greeted him with a polite smile.

Dong Siren was about to unleash a torrent of curses, but thankfully Chi Tu, who had some political acumen, stopped him.

"In that case..."

Akado thought for a moment and decided there was no point in staying any longer, so he came up with a compromise: "Do the four chairpersons of the Senate have any free time? If so..."

"Lord Sifang should be available, but the specific schedule needs to be confirmed with the Senate office, and then we will contact the two envoys to confirm it."

The ninja from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hesitated for a moment, then finally loosened his grip.