At the entrance of Hidden Leaf Village, as Zhi Li and her group rushed back to the village, everyone wore a grave expression, sensing an unusual atmosphere.
"As expected..."
They stepped over the broken gate, a gentle breeze carrying faint cries, mixed with a pungent, fishy smell, blowing across their cheeks—not the smell of the sea, but of blood. The streets and buildings were ravaged beyond recognition, the cracked earth riddled with deep pits, and countless plumes of smoke gathered into strands, slowly dissipating.
They exchanged stunned glances, everyone wearing a somber face except for Uchiha Nen.
"We're too late!" Zhi Li said quietly, her voice filled with self-reproach.
"Damn it! Those lunatics actually dared to attack the village!" Tsunade exclaimed angrily, stomping her foot in rage, instantly creating a dent in the ground.
In Hell Valley, after the group worked together to subdue the Shop Assistant of the Blood Pond Clan, Zhi Li immediately used Genjutsu to extract all the information from the guy.
As Zhi Li had suspected, the so-called "Hell Valley disappearance incident" was indeed a conspiracy by the current Uchiha Clan Head to restrain his rivals. Those Uchiha clansmen hadn't really disappeared; instead, they had been hiding according to his orders, all to lure her into a trap.
But something went wrong along the way.
Months ago, this newly promoted Uchiha Clan Head, fearing that his position would be usurped, devised a vicious scheme:
He had a trusted aide feign an agreement with the Blood Pond Clan of Hell Valley, promising that as long as they eliminated the targets entering the valley, he would completely lift the Barrier and restore their freedom.
But this was actually a deception. Whether the Blood Pond clansmen fulfilled the plan or not, he would seal the Barrier, never intending to release them.
In the final stage of the plan, he intended to have several suicide soldiers enter the Barrier to lure Zhi Li and the others into the valley for rescue.
If Zhi Li ignored it, he could use his authority as the Clan Head to sanction her, solidifying her reputation as selfish and cold-blooded, abandoning those in need, thus diminishing her prestige. In that case, Zhi Li would become estranged within the clan and no longer pose a threat.
If Zhi Li entered the Barrier to rescue them, it would be even simpler.
The trusted aide, who had been hiding outside and masking his presence, would use a technique to seal the Barrier, blocking her retreat. Given the Blood Pond Clan's hatred for the Uchiha, Zhi Li and the others would inevitably be torn to pieces, with no burial place.
With this "close the door and beat the dog" strategy, he could eliminate his rival by using the Blood Pond's hands without paying any price.
That was how the plan was originally prepared, but before Zhi Li and the others arrived, something went wrong.
An Uchiha clansman suddenly betrayed them and launched a surprise attack, killing his fellow suicide soldiers who were supposed to enter the Barrier as sacrifices with lightning-fast methods. After throwing their Corpses into the Barrier, he completely opened it and quickly fled.
The anomaly in the Barrier's barrier quickly attracted the attention of the Blood Pond clansmen, and when those Corpses were discovered, unexpectedly, one of the Uchiha clansmen was still barely alive, not completely dead.
It was unclear whether it was a temporary mistake on the attacker's part or intentional.
For the Blood Pond Clan, although they couldn't understand this behavior, there was no reason to refuse such a great opportunity.
Years of imprisonment and humiliation were ignited by anger. They immediately took action, using the Blood Dragon Eye to extract all the information from the dying Uchiha, then killed him and refined all the Corpses into a Blood Pond.
Some radicals who had already awakened the Blood Dragon Eye and mastered its power also gathered the entire clan, preparing to launch a punitive revenge against the Uchiha Clan.
Living in the Valley for many years, they had been cut off from the outside world and had no idea what had happened. Fortunately, through the information in that person's mind, they learned about the current world situation and the current state of the Uchiha Clan.
Since the Uchiha had joined Hidden Leaf Village, then let Hidden Leaf Village also feel the Blood Pond's anger!
Of course, many Blood Pond clansmen who yearned for freedom disagreed with this attack.
At the meeting, everyone's opinions diverged, but this debate didn't last long because the clansmen who advocated seclusion were quickly controlled by those in power, suppressed with thunderous methods, or turned into puppets, or refined into Blood Ponds...
Until everyone became radicals who advocated launching an attack.
They immediately drew up an action plan and mobilized the entire army to head to Hidden Leaf Village. Since there were still Uchiha lambs coming to their door, there was no reason to let them go. To this end, they specifically left a strong expert in the Valley and set up traps using Genjutsu, with the aim of annihilating all the unsuspecting Zhi Li and the others.
Afterward, it was about the time the group entered the "Five Rules Inn" and had a great battle with the Shop Assistant.
"Sister, what do we do now?" Tong Ren asked.
Zhi Li took a deep breath, her eyes becoming firm. "Although this matter isn't my fault, it did indeed start because of me. You guys hide immediately. I'm going to stop these bastards!"
"We're all Ninja. How can we think of hiding when the village is in trouble!" Tsunade immediately stood out. From her eyes, it was clear that no one could stop her.
Orochimaru didn't speak, but he silently walked to the two of them, expressing his opinion with his actions.
"Tsunade is right. As disciples of the Third Hokage, how can we retreat!" Jiraiya looked righteous and awe-inspiring. "Moreover, our strength isn't just that of Genin..."
As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes unanimously drifted to Uchiha Nen at the very back. They exchanged glances, then tacitly looked away.
After resolving the crisis in Hell Valley, Nen had explained why he had mastered the power of the Wooden Style. Even he himself wasn't clear, only earnestly requesting everyone not to publicize this information for the time being, otherwise it would be difficult for him.
Orochimaru and Tong Ren, seeing this, spoke up together to defend Nen. According to their guess, Nen's Wooden Style Bloodline Limit was very likely related to the secret scroll that "senior" had given him back then.
As long as it was about that person, it had to be concealed.
Jiraiya immediately waved his hand, clarifying that he wasn't a gossipy person.
Although Tsunade was quite concerned about Nen's ability, she didn't have the habit of badmouthing people behind their backs.
After all, every Ninja's information was a matter of life and death, and a Ninja's battle was also an information war. Publicizing a teammate's information without permission was tantamount to stabbing them in the back.
Moreover, the few of them already had a friendship of fighting side by side. Xiao Gang wasn't the kind of person who would betray her teammates.
However, Nen's identity had already aroused her curiosity. After all, that was a power that even she, Hashirama's own granddaughter, hadn't inherited, yet it was mastered by Nen, this Uchiha.
She secretly resolved to pay more attention to this silent and low-key young man in the future. If it was really as she thought... the two of them... might be relatives...
Thinking of this, her cheeks flushed a faint red.
Ah, what am I thinking!
She shook her head, dispelling those wild thoughts.
After deciding on their course of action, the group still took Uchiha Chiri as their leader and joined the action to resist the Blood Pond Clan's attack.
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