Chapter 623: The Worsening Situation
Whoosh!
Just as the patrolling Konoha Ninja took out a signal flare, a streak of blue lightning struck him.
Bang!
Intense pain made the patrol Ninja's pupils dilate. The next instant, he was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
"Finish them quickly!" A ordered the Kumogakure Jonin rapidly approaching behind him.
Although Konoha had not deployed a full Ninja force nearby due to limited manpower, there were still Ninja guarding the border.
The first thing A and his forces had to do was eliminate Konoha's border defense forces in the northern Land of Fire, causing Konoha to lose visibility over the northern region to a certain extent.
Kumogakure had never imagined that a force of twelve hundred Ninja would be enough to defeat Konoha. They were merely the vanguard, responsible for opening the situation.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Kumogakure Jonin led the charge, swiftly sweeping through the surroundings and eliminating every Konoha Ninja within sight.
There were already fewer Ninja patrolling at night than during the day. Under the sweep of the Kumogakure army, they had no time to send news back to Konoha. At most, they could only alert nearby squads, but that was useless.
However, during such a sensitive wartime period, no news was also news. It was only a slightly delayed realization.
Several border patrol squads suddenly went missing, drawing Konoha's high attention. Elite Ninja squads from nearby forces were immediately dispatched to investigate.
"How is Orochimaru commanding this? Even when the Iwa Ninja force was about to attack the northwest front, he didn't transfer any Ninja from his own force. As a result, Kumogakure managed to sneak in without a sound!"
Looking at the grim intelligence from the front line, even the usually composed Homura Mitokado could not help but speak with some intensity.
Danzo Shimura had just died. If Konoha was invaded by Kumogakure right after that, it would undoubtedly make the other Great Shinobi Villages covet Konoha.
"The destruction of Root deprived us of a considerable portion of our intelligence capabilities. If Danzo hadn't died in the Land of Rain with Root, perhaps Orochimaru's side would have detected Kumogakure's movements." Utatane Koharu still harbored resentment over Danzo Shimura's unauthorized actions.
If he wanted to court death, fine. But he had also brought such great trouble upon Konoha.
"The most important thing now is not assigning blame, but solving the problem." Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the table and emphasized his point.
"There is an enemy Ninja force of unknown size inside the country. This is not only a threat to the Land of Fire, but also a huge threat to Konoha."
There were no rules in Ninja warfare saying one could not harm the homeland. If given the chance, Kumogakure would certainly be happy to engulf all of Konoha in war.
"Why don't we have Jiraiya lead his force back north, then have Orochimaru mobilize his own force to cooperate with him? That should be enough to eliminate the Kumogakure force in the north," Utatane Koharu suggested.
Jiraiya's Ninja force was in the Land of Grass, northwest of the Land of Fire, while Orochimaru's Ninja force was in the Land of Hot Springs, northeast of the Land of Fire.
If two large Ninja forces departed from their respective directions, then even if Kumogakure had a force of two thousand Ninja, they might not be able to withstand it.
"Jiraiya's side cannot be moved," Hiruzen immediately rejected.
"In recent years, Iwagakure and we have accumulated many grudges. If Jiraiya's force withdraws, Iwagakure is very likely to assemble another Ninja force for a surprise attack." Hiruzen shook his head.
Although Iwagakure had always been at a disadvantage in the wars between Iwagakure and Konoha, that was not enough to cause significant damage to one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Iwagakure still posed a huge threat to Konoha.
"Then let Minato or Mugetsu go, and draw some Ninja from various forces and Konoha to assist them," Homura thought for a moment and said.
Many Ninja in Konoha were qualified to lead a Ninja force. Many experienced Jonin could do it.
But if an additional condition was added, that they had to be capable of eliminating or repelling the enemy Ninja force, then the range of choices narrowed considerably.
Basically, only the strongest few Ninja of a certain era were qualified.
"This issue must be resolved as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be difficult to explain things to the Daimyo."
Although the Daimyo only nominally led Konoha, as the official military force of the Land of Fire, Konoha had the responsibility to protect the Land of Fire. If the Land of Fire suffered a foreign invasion, it was Konoha's fault.
"Then it will be Minato." Hiruzen nodded.
When it came to killing enemies on the battlefield, both Minato and Mugetsu could do it. But when it came to developing the Training Squad, Minato was definitely no match for Mugetsu.
So when Minato could be spared, Hiruzen did not want to send Mugetsu.
Due to Danzo Shimura's death, all the major Shinobi Villages had increased the number of spies they sent into the Land of Fire, paying close attention to the situation there.
As a result, the intelligence that Kumogakure's Ninja force had broken through the Land of Fire's defenses quickly reached the desks of the leaders of the major Shinobi Villages.
Hidden Mist Village, Mizukage's office.
The Third Mizukage put down the intelligence report. The corners of his lips curled slightly, revealing a sincere smile.
"As expected, someone couldn't stand the loneliness and made the first move."
The Third Mizukage truly wanted to defeat Konoha, regain the face he had lost before, and force Konoha to return the several Ninja blades of the Hidden Mist.
However, he did not want to be the first to act. He had been waiting for someone else to take the lead.
"Have Yagura come over," the Third Mizukage ordered an Anbu.
Although Yagura Karatachi had suffered a rather tragic defeat last time, the Third Mizukage believed the main reason was not Yagura himself, but that the opponent's strength had exceeded expectations.
Before Mugetsu appeared on the Hidden Mist battlefield, let alone the Hidden Mist, even Konoha had not expected Mugetsu to possess such strength.
"Lord Third Mizukage!" Yagura greeted the Third Mizukage respectfully after arriving at the Mizukage's office.
The Third Mizukage had always train him as the Fourth Mizukage, and Yagura had never forgotten that. Their relationship was very good.
"This time, you will still be the commander of the force. Work hard and retrieve everything our Hidden Mist lost, twofold," the Third Mizukage said with a smile.
Yagura looked at the Third Mizukage with gratitude.
Because the Third Mizukage had protected him, the great defeat last time had not brought him too much criticism. Even so, Yagura still felt tormented by it.
He was a Ninja with his own pride. After suffering such a painful defeat, he could not get past that hurdle in his heart.
"I will certainly not disappoint you or the Village's expectations. This time, we will crush the Konoha Ninja force!" Yagura said with a serious expression.
Since that great defeat, Yagura had learned from the painful experience. Not only had he studied more military strategies and tactics, but he had also strengthened his own training.
This change was not enough to call a complete transformation, but compared to before, there had certainly been progress.
Facing the same situation, he was confident he could do better than last time.
"It's good that you have such confidence," the Third Mizukage said with a smile.
Confidence was very important. If one did not even believe they could do it, how could they make others believe?
"When you reach the Land of Waves, don't rush. Wait for my orders."
Kumogakure's force had only just entered the Land of Fire and had not yet engaged in fierce clashes with Konoha's Ninja force, so the Third Mizukage was not in a hurry to have Yagura launch an attack.
The current Ninja World situation was chaotic. If there was an opportunity, they might even choose not to attack the Land of Fire and instead attack another great nation.
Revenge was important, but they could not forget the original purpose of participating in the war. The Hidden Mist joined the Shinobi World War to gain a share of the continent's interests. Nothing else.
Land of Wind, Hidden Sand Village.
Sunagakure Building, Kazekage's office.
"Still no major battle with the Konoha Ninja force, huh." Rasa put down the intelligence report in his hand with a look of regret.
He only wanted to see Konoha and Kumogakure fight until blood flowed like rivers, no matter whose blood it was.
Kumogakure had taken advantage of Sunagakure's internal strife, striking hard and dealing several severe blows to Sunagakure.
Even Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, had weakened after suffering continuous blows from internal strife and Kumogakure's invasion.
Therefore, Rasa was eager to see Kumogakure suffer.
As for Konoha, the reason was even simpler. The Land of Wind and the Land of Fire were separated only by the Land of Rivers. They were too close.
Rasa did not want a neighbor stronger than Sunagakure. If he had a choice, he wanted a half-dead neighbor that needed Sunagakure's help.
A neighbor that could bring benefits to Sunagakure was a good neighbor.
After thinking for a moment, Rasa called the Sunagakure Anbu and ordered, "Strengthen intelligence efforts in the Land of Fire and dispatch more spies there."
The internal strife and the war with Kumogakure had caused Sunagakure to lose many Ninja. At present, Sunagakure did not have the ability to directly contend with Konoha.
Rasa's idea was to pay more attention to Konoha and see if Sunagakure could pick up scraps and gain some benefits.
Compared to the restless Hidden Mist and the indifferent Sunagakure, Iwagakure's approach to the current Ninja World situation was another choice entirely.
Land of Rain, Six Paths City.
"In today's Ninja World, I'm afraid there isn't a Ninja who doesn't know Sōsuke." Kitsuchi looked at the increasingly prosperous town and could not help feeling emotional.
The first time he came to Six Paths City, it had not even been as good as some remote small villages. Now, it had become a seemingly prosperous town.
Sōsuke's growth was even more exaggerated than Six Paths City's.
The first time Kitsuchi had heard of Sōsuke, he was merely a Ninja with a small reputation in the Land of Rain.
Now, Sōsuke was famous throughout the Ninja World, becoming a legendary Ninja who had surpassed Hanzo the Salamander.
"As expected of him." Thinking of Sōsuke's character and abilities, Kitsuchi felt all of this was natural.
Then Kitsuchi withdrew his gaze and headed straight for the Shinobi Sect stronghold.
Kitsuchi often acted as Iwagakure's representative when interacting with the Shinobi Sect, and most Shinobi Sect Ninja were familiar with him. He quickly met Sōsuke in the Shinobi Sect's reception room.
"Regarding the misfortune suffered by your Sect, we of Iwagakure are deeply sorry. We never expected Konoha to still harbor ill intentions and covet the Land of Rain," Kitsuchi recited the speech he had prepared in advance.
It would have been truly difficult for him to come up with these words on his own.
Watching Kitsuchi say he was deeply sorry with such a resolute expression, Mugetsu felt that Kitsuchi's grades in disguise class at the Ninja Academy must have been poor.
"It may not be Konoha coveting the Land of Rain. Perhaps it is only Danzo Shimura himself who held prejudice against me," Mugetsu replied with a smile.
He could guess Iwagakure's purpose with a single thought.
At this time, coming to find Sōsuke, who had killed Danzo Shimura, what else could it be but an attempt to make the Shinobi Sect a pawn for Iwagakure to use against Konoha?
"Is there some hidden truth to this?" The heart of an Iwagakure Jonin who had arrived with Kitsuchi stirred, and he quickly asked.
Regarding the reason for Danzo Shimura's death, the most widespread rumor in the Ninja World was currently that Konoha wanted to seize Sōsuke's sage art inheritance, so they sent Danzo Shimura to assassinate Sōsuke.
However, Ninja from the Great Shinobi Villages did not really believe it.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages had deep foundations, possessing countless secret techniques and Ninjutsu. It would be too demeaning for them to act over a sage art inheritance whose contents were still unknown.
Saying that Konoha was suppressing the Land of Rain was slightly more credible, since the Land of Rain was indeed showing signs of improvement.
"Just a personal guess. After all, it happened suddenly, and I haven't investigated it thoroughly yet," Mugetsu said, shaking his head.
He did know the inside story, but it was impossible for him to reveal it.
The Iwagakure Jonin believed that Sōsuke was hiding something, but found it difficult to press further, so he closed his mouth.
They might be able to control the Shinobi Sect through various means, but they had no good way to deal with Sōsuke.
As the saying went, the barefoot were not afraid of those wearing shoes.
If Sōsuke was pushed too far and disbanded the Shinobi Sect, then went alone to the Land of Earth to cause destruction, Iwagakure would truly have a headache for quite some time.
"The cooperation with the Shinobi Sect has brought considerable gains to Iwagakure, so we want to deepen our cooperation with the Shinobi Sect."
Although Kitsuchi was not good at social niceties, he could see that Sōsuke did not want to talk much about Danzo Shimura, so he switched to another prepared line.
"What kind of deeper cooperation?" Mugetsu asked, feigning interest.
Even though he already knew the content of the upcoming conversation, he still had to put on an act.
After all, Iwagakure had contributed a great deal to the construction of Six Paths City and had also provided the Shinobi Sect with many commission fees. He should at least give them some face.
"Expanding the scale of Ninja training, jointly establishing Ninja Academies, and having Iwagakure entrust a portion of its missions to the Shinobi Sect," Kitsuchi stated the conditions Iwagakure could offer.
The Shinobi Sect only had so many Ninja, and any major actions were easily noticed. Recently, Iwagakure's forces in the Land of Rain had discovered the Shinobi Sect's plan to establish a Ninja Academy.
"There should be more than just these, right?" Mugetsu said with a smile.
Establishing a Ninja Academy had indeed been considerable pressure for the Shinobi Sect before, but that was only before Mugetsu took over Amegakure.
After taking over Amegakure, Mugetsu could completely arrange for some Rain Ninja to receive training and then serve as teachers.
Kitsuchi nodded and continued, "To protect the needs of our partner, Iwagakure will send Ninja to protect the Shinobi Sect and ensure the safety of our cooperation."
"Sōsuke, what do you think of this deeper cooperation?" Kitsuchi asked, looking at Sōsuke.
Kitsuchi felt that his father's conditions were already quite good, practically raising the Shinobi Sect like a small Iwagakure.
"Iwagakure's conditions are very good," Mugetsu said with a smile.
"Then..." A smile appeared on Kitsuchi's face. He thought Sōsuke was about to agree.
Before Kitsuchi could finish speaking, Mugetsu interrupted him.
"However, I refuse."
If he truly agreed to this so-called deeper cooperation with Iwagakure, then Iwagakure would be able to legally and reasonably station a Ninja force in the Shinobi Sect.
Forget Mugetsu. Even if Hanzo were here, he would absolutely never agree to such so-called cooperation.
The smile on Kitsuchi's face froze.
He had not expected Sōsuke to suddenly change his attitude.
.....
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