Hostile to the Uchiha? Don't regret relocating your entire clan!

Even if we defeat Orochimaru now, given Orochimaru's personality, we certainly won't be able to control him. If we want Orochimaru to do something for us, we'll have to wait until the time is right in the future.

Therefore, Yuzuru Uchiha never intended to waste too much of his eye power on Orochimaru from the very beginning.

"Let's end today's battle here, Ghana~"

Uchiha Yuzuru raised his hand and wiped his face, disappearing as if he had been wiped away.

"He's definitely a tough guy..."

Orochimaru stood there, frowning.

He could sense that Uchiha Yuzuru had no intention of fighting him, so after the battle, he gained no information other than that the other party was proficient in various escaping techniques.

Looking at the intense battle in the distance, Orochimaru sighed inwardly.

Even today's counterattack has yielded no results; this battle can only end in Konoha's defeat...

"hateful……"

Ai was panting heavily, and the initial excitement on her face had disappeared.

He overestimated himself.

Even with his mastery of the "Lightning Release Chakra Mode," Hatake Sakumo nearly died several times.

High speed, high attack power...

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have found it hard to imagine that someone could hone their swordsmanship to such a level.

Compared to Ai, who was covered in wounds, Hatake Sakumo was in much better shape. He gripped his short blade tightly and kept closing in on Ai.

"If I kill you, the situation will ease."

Hatake Sakumo took a deep breath, mobilized all his chakra, and seemed to become one with the short sword in his hand, transforming into a dazzling blade of light that slashed towards A.

"There's no way to avoid it..."

Ai's eyes were cold as he desperately mobilized the last of his chakra.

Since we can't avoid it, let's all perish together!

Just as the two were about to make contact, a bolt of lightning knocked Ai's body aside, and the Third Raikage's cheerful voice rang out: "You can't bully my son, Konoha's White Fang, I'll take you on!"

"Hell Thrust·Ipponsen Hand!"

The Third Raikage's fingers collided violently with Sakumo Hatake's short sword.

Immediately afterwards, the short sword shattered into countless fragments, and Hatake Sakumo was sent flying backward by the immense force.

"It's the Third Raikage! We've got this in the bag!"

"Brothers, let's follow Lord Raikage and kill them!"

"Let those Konoha bastards despair completely! Our Hidden Cloud Village is the strongest ninja village!"

Seeing the Third Raikage personally join the battle, everyone in Kumogakure became as if they had been given a shot of adrenaline, and launched a fierce attack on the Konoha ninja.

The tide of battle was turned in an instant.

In the original story, the Third Raikage faced tens of thousands of Iwa ninja led by Onoki alone, and only died from exhaustion after three days and three nights.

This demonstrates the formidable fighting prowess of the Third Raikage.

Ordinary ninjas' attacks couldn't even break through the Third Raikage's defenses, yet the Third Raikage could easily kill anyone.

Under his all-out attack, the Konoha ninja formation was quickly torn open.

"Damn it, of all times..."

"Why is the Third Raikage here? Aren't those guys from Kumogakure afraid their Kage will die on the battlefield?"

"No, we can't stop them at all! Lord Orochimaru, Lord Sakumo, Lord Jiraiya, anyone, please save us!"

Under the powerful offensive of the Hidden Cloud Village ninjas, the Leaf Village ninjas began to gradually crumble...

Faced with this situation, Sakumo Hatake, who was almost exhausted, had no choice but to watch helplessly as the situation continued to deteriorate.

The sound of retreat drums rang out from behind, and the Konoha ninjas, as if granted a pardon, immediately fled for their lives.

Jiraiya and Gamabunta stood at the back, coordinating their attacks to unleash a combination technique—

"Toad Oil Flame Bomb!"

The raging flames instantly halted the Cloud Village ninjas' pursuit, and then a gigantic python charged towards them.

Although they wanted to punish the enemy while they were down, they couldn't let their own village's ninjas be killed.

The Third Raikage and Killer Bee had no choice but to stop and continue dealing with the attacks from Manda, Gamabunta, and Jiraiya.

With the help of Jiraiya, Gamabunta, and Manda, the Konoha ninja finally managed to safely withdraw from the battlefield.

But their faces showed no joy at surviving a disaster; only a growing despair.

Gradually, this despair turned into discontent and anger!

If it weren't for the Third Raikage's sudden intervention, they clearly had a chance to win...

Where is our Hokage at this crucial moment?!

Chapter 52 Whose Fault Is It?

As the New Year approaches, Cloud Village is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and every villager's face is filled with a happy smile.

The battle between Kumogakure and Konoha ended with Konoha's defeat and payment of reparations.

This ending was almost completely unexpected by everyone.

No one expected that Konoha, which single-handedly fought against all the other ninja villages and won the final victory in the two previous Shinobi World Wars, would be defeated by Kumogakure in a one-on-one battle...

In an instant, the ninja world was thrown into turmoil.

Some people were amazed by the strength of the Cloud Village ninjas, saying that even Konoha's resources were insufficient to defeat them.

Some people mocked the Konoha ninjas for being short-sighted, actually handing over a prestigious ninja clan like the Uchiha.

Some people regretted not promising more benefits to win over the Uchiha clan.

Although everyone had different thoughts, they all shared the same idea—

The Uchiha clan proved through their actions why they could be called the number one clan in the ninja world.

The era belonging to Kumogakure... is about to begin!

The Third Raikage excitedly patted Uchiha Yuzuru on the shoulder and pulled him to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

"Yuzuru, look at the villagers outside, they are all cheering for your achievement!"

"You are a hero of our Hidden Cloud Village!"

Uchiha Yuzuru said calmly, "I only did some auxiliary work. When it comes to fighting on the front lines, I haven't killed as many enemies as you have."

Upon hearing this, the Third Raikage shook his head and said seriously, "You alone are worth a thousand troops. Without you, this war would not have gone so smoothly."

This wasn't the Third Raikage deliberately trying to curry favor with Uchiha Yuzuru; it was simply a fact.

With the help of Uchiha Yuzuru, they had a complete grasp of the Konoha ninja's troop deployment, trap locations, and offensive and defensive intentions.

It's as if they were fighting with a third eye.

Having experienced numerous wars, he had never won as easily as he had now.

Seeing that Uchiha Yuzuru remained unmoved, the Third Raikage continued, "The reparations from Konoha have been delivered, totaling 10 billion ryo."

"The village will take 5 billion ryo, and your Uchiha clan will take 5 billion ryo, how about that?"

“No problem.” Uchiha Yuzuru nodded.

Under Yuzuru Uchiha's instructions, not many members of the Uchiha clan actually participated in this battle. He was already quite satisfied with receiving half of the compensation.

Seeing Yuzuru Uchiha's expression, the Third Raikage couldn't help but say, "Yuzuru, you don't seem as happy as I expected."

Logically speaking, after being ostracized by Konoha, he turned around and humiliated Konoha. Shouldn't that be satisfying?

Uchiha Yuzuru gazed out the window and said slowly, "My goal is not just this. Those who want to win in the end will not have a smile on their face."

The Third Raikage paused for a moment, then became even more curious: "Then how did you get us to accept the Konoha reparations and ceasefire agreement?"

"How about we take advantage of this momentum and storm Konoha Village directly?"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yuzuru shook his head: "The money we've received is enough for us to develop peacefully for a while. Continuing to attack Konoha will only backfire."

The reason Konoha paid reparations was twofold: firstly, the villages of Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure were watching with predatory intent; secondly, the village had just experienced the Nine-Tails' rampage, and the villagers all wanted a period of peace.

However, if it really comes to a life-or-death moment, it will inevitably provoke a counterattack from Konoha and even the entire Land of Fire.

At that time, Orochimaru, Sakumo Hatake, and Jiraiya were not the only ones participating in the war.

For the sake of the village, Tsunade will very likely return.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura are also expected to be involved in the battle.

The major ninja clans would not resort to trickery or deception to preserve their strength.

The daimyo of the Land of Fire will also provide strong logistical support...

This is the essence of Konoha!

Even if we assume that the Hidden Cloud Village could actually defeat the Hidden Leaf Village, it would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

The Hidden Stone Village, the Hidden Sand Village, and the Hidden Mist Village will definitely not miss such an opportunity!

These are all things that must be considered.

Accepting reparations and ceasing hostilities now is the best option. In any case, he has already achieved his goal, and now it's time to let the Uchiha clan develop in peace and increase their population.

The New Year should be a joyous and celebratory holiday.

However, a bleak atmosphere permeates Konoha now.

The streets were deserted, and white ribbons were hung on almost all the houses and shops on both sides.

Only the tavern remained noisy.

Drowning one's sorrows in alcohol is probably the most popular way for Konoha villagers to vent their emotions these days.

This only applies to those who still have the money.

In order to compensate Kumogakure with 10 billion ryo, Hiruzen Sarutobi levied a fee of 10,000 ryo on every family living in Konoha.

It may not sound like a lot, but it's enough for many families to cover their living expenses for nearly two months.

The Uchiha clan leaving the village, the Nine-Tails' rampage, the war with Kumogakure...

The turmoil that lasted for several months left Konoha with almost no source of income.

If Orochimaru hadn't received financial support from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, many people in Konoha would probably have starved to death this winter.

A ninja took a sip of sake, slammed the cup to the ground, and roared, "Why has the village become like this? Shouldn't Konoha be the strongest ninja village?"

A burly man, drunk and sneered, "Isn't that all because of you useless ninjas? We were rebuilding homes for everyone in the village, but you ninjas lost the battle and ended up making us ordinary people pay compensation. It's disgusting!"

"What did you say?" The burly man's words provoked the ninjas' dissatisfaction. One ninja shouted, "We risk our lives to protect the village, and we're here to be criticized by you?"

"Did I say something wrong? If you can't beat ninjas from other villages, stop complaining. Have you ever really tried your best all these years as a ninja?"

"You bastard, what do you know!"

The burly man was punched to the ground by a ninja dressed in black. The ninja said angrily, "Those ninjas from Kumogakure are no match for us. If it weren't for the Uchiha clan ninjas helping them tame the Eight-Tails, we wouldn't have lost so badly!"

"Yes, and then there was that final battle. It was a close fight, but the Raikage suddenly charged out. What were we supposed to do?"

"You're already unwilling to pay even ten thousand taels, what about us?" a ninja wearing a Chunin tactical vest said with red eyes. "My comrades and wife all died on the battlefield, but now not only have we not received a single tael of compensation, we also have to hand over ten thousand taels to pay reparations to the enemy who killed our loved ones..."

"Hehehehe..."

After the ninja finished speaking, tears were already streaming down his face.

The tavern fell silent. After a long while, someone shouted, "If none of us are wrong, then who is wrong?"

People snapped out of their daze and began to frown and ponder.

Yes, the village has become like this now, whose fault is it?!

Chapter 53 You are a sinner of Konoha Village