Chapter 96: If Konoha Hasn't Fallen, How Can There Be Infighting?
The Fourth Great Ninja War had indeed begun.
Unlike previous shinobi world wars, this time Konoha's strength was severely damaged. They no longer had sufficient power to keep enemies outside their borders.
Shinobi from various nations had already fought their way into the Fire Country's heartland. The closer to Konoha, the more fiercely the nations' shinobi battled each other.
Along their journey, Yasushi's group saw traces of warfare everywhere.
So-called shinobi weren't actually armies—they were mercenaries. Could one expect mercenaries to have military discipline?
For beautification purposes, the protagonist faction's actions were relatively upright—they wouldn't do things like burning, killing, and pillaging.
But named characters were ultimately the minority. More numerous were those low-ranking genin who could only take low-end missions daily and would be used as cannon fodder on battlefields.
Under constant life-and-death pressure, those who didn't become twisted had mostly already advanced to chunin or jonin.
Jonin had high incomes—they looked down on the meager food stores in poor families. Even if robbing, they'd definitely choose merchants.
But genin were different. A bag of rice or just a few rice balls might trigger murderous intent.
After all, wartime supplies were always scarce and distributed very unevenly. Genin could only scrape together some cold leftovers.
They might be killed the next moment—distributing so many supplies to genin, was that planning to supply the enemy?
Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha shinobi over a little food.
In their own countries, perhaps these people didn't dare go too far. But after entering enemy countries, what was there left to restrain?
Along their journey, Yasushi's group witnessed countless destroyed villages—burning houses everywhere, corpses littering the ground, and weeping crowds.
The entire shinobi world was fundamentally a massive hell. No wonder Uchiha Madara wanted to implement the Moon's Eye Plan—he truly couldn't find any other method to save the world!
This group had all killed on battlefields. They'd long anticipated such situations. No one would have sympathy overflow like protagonists and go save people.
As long as those chaotic troops weren't blind enough to come looking for trouble, they couldn't be bothered killing.
The current black robes with red clouds were brand-name clothing. Presumably, no one in any shinobi nation was unclear about what these robes represented.
The group traveled directly without needing detours. All shinobi who saw them retreated respectfully, not daring to provoke them.
But in such a small area, shinobi from several villages were fighting in pairs nearby. Battlefields were extremely dense everywhere—not something one could avoid just by wanting to. They couldn't very well stop fighting mid-battle just because Akatsuki showed up and immediately change locations!
Orochimaru was too lazy to act. Uchiha Yasushi was simpler—whenever he saw fighting involving Konoha people, he'd wave the Uchiha forward.
Originally tense battle situations would immediately collapse bloodily after one side gained three Uchiha jonin, easily being slaughtered by enemies.
Uchiha Yasushi did good deeds without leaving his name, directly patting his ass and leaving, continuing his own journey. After the three jonin completed their tasks, they'd naturally catch up from behind.
The closer to Konoha, the more shinobi fought.
Moreover, accumulated grudges existed between the Four Nations. When enemies met, eyes burned red with particular hatred. Even abandoning Konoha people and killing each other to the death was normal.
But this wouldn't do!
After witnessing another large-scale brawl between Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Uchiha Yasushi finally couldn't restrain himself. He directly leaped forward, pointing at both groups and cursing loudly:
"You bunch of fucking trash!"
"What are you fighting for?"
"Can't you figure out who your greatest enemy is?"
"Konoha hasn't even fallen yet and you've already started infighting—no wonder you're always suppressed by Konoha, bunch of incompetent losers!"
The sudden interloper made both sides' shinobi simultaneously stop their slaughter, retreating backward and gathering around their respective leaders, vigilantly surrounding Uchiha Yasushi.
"This clothing... it's the Akatsuki organization!"
"Then this person must be the Uchiha Yasushi mentioned in intelligence?"
The Iwagakure leader was an unfamiliar shinobi. His gaze swept over Yasushi's group and immediately matched him with the person in intelligence reports.
Previously, Uchiha Yasushi's group hadn't hidden their tracks. Along the way, they'd brushed past countless shinobi—intelligence had long leaked out.
However, considering they'd shown no hostility toward shinobi outside Konoha, all shinobi villages' orders to their subordinates were basically to keep respectful distance and not provoke them.
Seeing Uchiha Yasushi suddenly intervene, the Iwagakure leader immediately waved his hand.
"Everyone, retreat."
But Kumogakure's leader wasn't so perceptive. Whether naturally hot-tempered or having past grudges with the Uchiha clan, seeing Uchiha Yasushi intervene, he not only didn't retreat but shouted furiously:
"Hey! Kid! The matter between our two nations—what's it to you, an Uchiha?"
"Konoha is our Kumogakure's enemy. Iwagakure isn't our friend either!"
"They killed our Third Raikage. Us seeking revenge from them now—what's wrong with that?"
"Where do you, an outsider, get off meddling in our business?"
"Are you trying to reason with me? The Audacity!!!!!" Uchiha Yasushi roared explosively. Suddenly activating his Susanoo, he swung its staff and brought it down heavily on the loudmouthed fool.
"You..." The Kumogakure leader hadn't expected Yasushi to suddenly attack. He instinctively used his signature jutsu to block.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Shield!"
Leaping lightning-attribute chakra rapidly condensed before him into a massive shield that covered his entire body. Electrical current continuously flowed across the shield's surface, delivering electric shocks to any enemy who contacted it.
However, this level of defense was as fragile as an eggshell before Susanoo's attack—easily shattered with one strike.
The massive staff was like Mount Tai pressing down, directly pulverizing this fool. Blood mixed with flesh smeared the ground.
"Do I care if you have grudges?"
Uchiha Yasushi roared, swinging his staff in a chaotic assault on Kumogakure's shinobi squad.
"You've now entered deep into the Fire Country's heartland—that's an opportunity I created for you!"
"You actually don't properly treasure it, don't seize the time to destroy Konoha, and are still playing infighting here!"
"What use are you trash then?"
"If that's the case, then you might as well all die!"
"To avoid dragging down the Four Nations' allied army!"
These Kumogakure shinobi were merely ordinary shinobi. Though their coordination could contend with jonin squads, facing Susanoo—this overpowered super weapon—they had zero resistance capability.
In mere moments, this small squad was completely slaughtered by Uchiha Yasushi. They didn't even have a chance to retreat and escape.
After finishing the massacre, Uchiha Yasushi turned his blood-red eyes toward the Iwagakure group on the other side who hadn't yet had time to retreat.
The Iwagakure leader shuddered, hurriedly smiling and waving apologetically:
"We originally didn't want conflict with Kumogakure. They just insisted on avenging the Third Raikage and actively sought trouble with us."
"We had no choice..."
Halfway through his explanation, seeing Uchiha Yasushi's impatient expression, he quickly changed his words:
"We'll go attack Konoha right now!"
After speaking, he immediately led his team in retreat. After running far away and seeing no one pursuing, he finally exhaled deeply, saying with lingering fear:
"Quickly report this situation to headquarters in detail!"
"That guy called Uchiha Yasushi is even crazier than the intelligence described. Strongly recommend village shinobi avoid conflict with him!"
"Fortunately, his hostility toward Konoha is heavy. As long as we attack Konoha, we probably won't be troubled by him—maybe we can even get his assistance."
"Mm... let's just focus on attacking Konoha!"
*****
70+ ADVANCE CHAPTERS AT patreon.com/Eatinpieces