Chapter 107: 103: Undercurrent
"Hokage-sama, this is a bounty notice issued from within Kusagakure."
An Anbu appeared in the Hokage's office using Body Flicker Technique and immediately placed the intelligence file in front of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for him to examine.
Hiruzen had already been informed through Anbu channels about the terror attack on Kusagakure. However, there were still many unanswered questions, including why Kusagakure was attacked and the identity of the attackers.
The first question had already been assigned to Anbu for covert investigation to discover the reasons behind the attack on Kusagakure.
As for the second question regarding the identity of the attackers, Hiruzen examined the file, which showed a girl dressed as a shrine maiden, approximately sixteen years old, with an unfamiliar face. She was neither part of any village's ninja system nor had she been seen in the underground black market, making her an entirely unknown and strange dressed girl.
She possessed powerful Wind Release ninjutsu and the ability to fly freely in the sky, similar to the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, who also uses Earth Release for his flight. However, it was evident that her flight ability was based on Wind Release.
Besides this strangely dressed shrine maiden girl, there was also a non-humanoid, dark beast-like creature. It was small in size, about the size of a household cat, capable of using long-range Lightning Release attacks. It would coordinate with the flying shrine maiden to launch lightning attacks from the sky.
It was this combination of the girl and the beast that left the numerous Kusa ninjas helpless, their pride shattered.
Shortly after the attack on Kusagakure, bounties on this girl and the beastly creature began appearing in the underground black market.
Due to the girl's special flying ninjutsu and her ability to use large-scale destructive Wind Release jutsus, her bounty was set at 55 million ryo. The small, all-black creature's bounty was 15 million ryo. Together, their combined bounty totaled a high sum of 70 million ryo.
Even without an investigation, Hiruzen knew that the bounty hunters in the underground black market were already mobilizing to claim the heads of these two and collect the hefty reward of 70 million ryo.
"Have you made any progress in investigating the reason behind the attack on Kusagakure?" Hiruzen asked the Anbu ninja.
"The investigation is still ongoing, Hokage-sama, but we believe we will have results soon."
"Is that so? Continue the investigation, and be sure to find out why Kusagakure was attacked."
Hiruzen felt that this matter was not straightforward. During times of peace, it was unusual for small nation ninja villages like Kusagakure to face a direct attack. Whether it was their powerful jutsu that drew attention or if they had unknowingly offended someone, these were matters that concerned Hiruzen.
"I understand, Hokage-sama" the Anbu replied respectfully and withdrew.
After the Anbu left, Hiruzen thought about the situation. While this matter didn't directly involve Konohagakure, Kusagakure, where Kusagakure was located, was very close to the Land of Fire. As a precaution, he felt the need to further investigate the attack on Kusagakure.
Through this incident, he saw the vulnerabilities and hidden currents within the ninja world. Since the last Great Ninja War, although the surface appeared stable, Hiruzen was well aware that each of the nations' ninja villages had been accumulating strength secretly.
Particularly, Sunagakure and Kumogakure were noteworthy in this regard. The Third Raikage, in particular, was known for his combat prowess, and his village's military development had always been a concern.
During the last Great Ninja War, although Kumogakure didn't directly participate, Hiruzen had stationed a ninja force at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water, prepared to deter any sudden assault from Kumogakure.
He held a deep respect and wariness for the Third Raikage, rumored to engage in hand-to-hand combat with Tailed Beasts, a feat that was both astonishing and terrifying.
As for Konohagakure, Hiruzen noted that the Hyuga clan's main family members had gone missing, and their fate was unknown, possibly abducted by Kirigakure ninja who coveted their Byakugan. After the White Fang incident, their external deterrent power had diminished.
Additionally, the Uchiha clan and Danzo's Root were like water and fire, making it difficult for the village's leadership to negotiate with the powerful Uchiha clan.
Hiruzen was not inclined to see the Uchiha clan or Danzo's Root disbanded. Without Danzo's Root, his Anbu alone would not be sufficient to balance the Uchiha clan's formidable strength.
He was tasked with maintaining a stable equilibrium among these factions, but he knew that this balance could be disrupted at any time.
The only area where progress had been commendable was in medical education. Tsunade had nurtured successive generations of medical ninja within the ninja academy, providing ample funding and benefits.
These medical ninja had now officially been incorporated into the team structure, resulting in significantly reduced casualty rates during missions over the past two years.
As for the recent attack on Kusagakure, it had inadvertently revealed the undercurrents in the ninja world, tearing away the facade of peace that had covered the ninja world.
Hiruzen gazed thoughtfully out the window, wondering how long the current peace could be maintained.
Looking at the peaceful yet disrupted Konohagakure, Hiruzen gradually felt the weight of his responsibilities.
"In any case, your little escapade this time has caused quite a commotion, hasn't it?"
Ruri said to Shiraishi as she returned from her mission.
The attack on Kusagakure had already become widely known throughout the world. During the attack, it was reported that nearly dozens of Kusa ninjas had lost their lives, and over a hundred were injured. While civilians were not directly affected, significant facilities had been destroyed, resulting in heavy losses.
"To be honest, I didn't expect them to cause such a big commotion. Or rather, their strength was even greater than I anticipated." Shiraishi smiled helplessly.
In general, plans often encountered unexpected circumstances, leading to outcomes that diverged from the initial expectations.
Regarding this matter, though it had stirred animosity in Kusagakure, it had also indirectly demonstrated the strength of Ameyu and Raimei Maru. It seemed that things were developing in a somewhat favorable direction.
In the future, if there's a need to break through a village's defenses, we can consider using similar methods to achieve our goals.
After all, the ability to fly alone is enough to give many ninja a headache. According to what he know, there were very few ninjas in the world who possess the ability to fly.
Jutsus have their limitations, and in any form of combat, controlling the skies equates to having a natural advantage, both for offense and defense. If we were to engage in combat with Kusagakure on land from the beginning, then Ameyu and Raimei Maru wouldn't find it so easy.
"The remnants of the Uzumaki clan have been mostly settled. Forty-seven people from around the world have migrated to the Land Of Demons. This represents a vast pool of potential. If we can use their talents, the Land Of Demons won't have much to worry about" Shiraishi said.
Individuals from the Uzumaki clan generally had chakra levels beyond those of ordinary people, along with exceptionally robust life forces. They were well-suited to the natural energy system, and their future development could take various paths, potentially nurturing talents in many special fields for the organization.
"Anyway, we need to be cautious. The Uzumaki clan's situation is quite sensitive, and if it's discovered, it could attract unwanted attention."
"I understand this. Rest assured, I've already arranged for them to live in the underground space at headquarters. Their training and daily life will be mostly handled there, minimizing the chances of them interacting with outsiders. Furthermore, there are several sensory ninjas and a Byakugan user at headquarters, so there's no need to worry about surveillance and vigilance."
After the attack on Kusagakure, Shiraishi had also stationed Ameyu and Raimei Maru there to compensate for the lack of high-level combat power. With their abilities and the support of the personnel at headquarters, he believed they could handle most unforeseen circumstances.
Moreover, as time passed and the Uzumaki clan's descendants were developed into the backbone strength of the organization, concerns about their safety would diminish. It was speculated that at that time, the Five Great Nations' attention would be focused on the battlefield during the Great Ninja War, and they would not be particularly concerned with the neutral nation of the Land Of Demons, located on the outskirts.
Seeing Shiraishi's thorough arrangements, Ruri didn't express further concerns. She had only mentioned it because the recent incident had caused such a significant commotion.
"One more thing, are there more advanced chakra limiters like this one?"
Ruri took off the chakra limiter on her hand and tossed it in front of Shiraishi, indicating that she wanted a pair of chakra limiters with even greater restrictive abilities.
"So soon?" Shiraishi looked slightly surprised. He remembered that Ruri had taken nearly half a month to overcome the first limiter. However, after wearing the second limiter and pairing it with the first one, the constraint on her chakra increased several-fold.
From Shiraishi's initial estimate, it should have taken Ruri another month or two to overcome the combined chakra restraints of the two limiters. He didn't expect it to end so many days earlier.
"It's probably because of my recent training with Sage Arts. Also, I feel like my Sharingan has reached its limit, and any further progress can only be towards the Mangekyo Sharingan."
After mastering the Sage techniques, Ruri could sense that her ocular power had undergone further enhancement.
She had reached the limit of the Sharingan's Three-Tomoe state, which meant she had reached the end of the normal Sharingan's capabilities. If there were any unexplored powers within the Sharingan, they could only be part of the more advanced Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Mangekyo Sharingan? The legendary eye? Speaking of which, does that kind of thing really exist?"
Shiraishi mentioned the Mangekyo Sharingan upon hearing Ruri's mention of it, recalling some information about it in the Uchiha clan scrolls she had provided earlier.
The Mangekyo Sharingan was considered the ultimate visual jutsu of the Uchiha clan. However, since the fall of Uchiha Madara, it had become a legend, with no one in the Uchiha clan known to have awakened this legendary eye.
"It's not just a legend. I can sense it. There's definitely a higher level of power beyond the regular Sharingan."
Ruri asserted.
"But how do you unlock it?"
Shiraishi asked the crucial question.
Regardless of whether the Mangekyo Sharingan was a legend or a reality, it would be useless if it couldn't be awakened. Shiraishi had limited knowledge about the Sharingan, and he couldn't conduct experiments on a Sharingan user to determine if there were hidden powers within the eyes.
"I think it's probably similar to the regular Sharingan, where it requires strong emotional stimuli to awaken," Ruri speculated. Initially, her Sharingan had evolved step by step to reach the Three-Tomoe state, all through emotional stimuli.
With her Sage Arts now complete, Ruri felt that her ocular power had surpassed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan's limits. However, compared to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Shiraishi still felt that Ruri's ocular power, despite its recent growth, fell short.
Within the Uchiha clan, it seemed that many hidden secrets remained undisclosed.
As Shiraishi was preparing to return to the laboratory, General Tu emerged from the ground. It extracted a scroll from its body and placed it in front of Shiraishi.
Shiraishi was surprised but picked up the scroll and opened it to read the contents. The scroll only mentioned one thing:
"Sunagakure and Iwagakura have secretly purchased a large quantity of medical supplies from the Company, raising suspicions of war preparations."
...
"I didn't expect the remnants of the Uzumaki clan to be hidden in Kusagakure"
In a dimly lit environment, Danzo received the intelligence report handed to him by his subordinates and spoke these words.
It had been half a month since the attack on Hozuki Castle.
During this time, the focus of ninja villages from various countries had converged on Hozuki Castle. As expected, both the Anbu and Root divisions of Konoha had also concentrated their attention on Hozuki Castle, digging deeper into the reasons behind the attack.
Despite Hozuki Castle's efforts to conceal the truth, some subtle clues had led Root's investigators to suspect the presence of Uzumaki clan remnants within the castle.
However, after the attack had taken place, the Uzumaki clan remnants mysteriously disappeared from Hozuki Castle, and their current whereabouts were unknown.
Danzo held a wanted poster bearing the portraits of Ameyu and Raimei Maru and narrowed his eyes.
Was the attack on Hozuki Castle carried out in pursuit of the Uzumaki clan remnants?
First, they attacked Hozuki Castle as bait, drawing Kusa's troops to the city. Then, they swiftly launched an attack on Kusa while its forces were scattered and unprepared for an aerial assault.
On the second day after the attack, Hozuki Castle took stock of its losses and discovered that the Uzumaki clan remnants in the castle had vanished without a trace. The Hozuki Castle ninja guarding them had also disappeared without a trace, as if evaporated from the face of the earth.
This was the approximate conclusion reached by Root's investigators, although there might be some discrepancies in the details. The core of the matter was as follows.
"Danzo-sama, should we immediately commence an investigation into the whereabouts of the Uzumaki clan remnants?"
A Root ninja inquired.
"No need. Since the other party has taken such actions, they must have considered this possibility. Investigating now would likely yield no results and be a waste of resources. Rather than chasing the Uzumaki clan remnants' whereabouts, our top priority at the moment is to guard against the Uchiha clan."
Danzo shook his head.
The attackers had planned meticulously. Before the attack, they had already arranged their escape routes.
Investigating the reasons behind the attack on Hozuki Castle had already consumed a considerable amount of time. Conducting an investigation now would be entirely too late.
"Yes," the Root ninja lowered their head and then thought of something to add
"But, Danzo-sama, our people cannot get close to Uchiha Ruri at all. Everyone who was sent to monitor her has yet to return with any information, and we have no idea if they are alive or dead."
Though they wanted to relieve some of the pressure from Danzo, monitoring that fearsome Uchiha Ruri had already resulted in the loss of many Root skilled in espionage.
Continuing to send specialized covert operatives in this situation would be meaningless and would only deplete Root's strength.
After all, among the operatives sent previously, there was one whose concealment abilities were so advanced that even sensory ninjas couldn't detect them. However, even such a specialist had ultimately failed in their mission.
Either they had died, or they had been captured and imprisoned, and not a single piece of information had been transmitted back until now.
This kind of matter couldn't be reported to the Hokage. Root had conducted surveillance on Uchiha clan members without any official orders, and even if someone was killed, the blame would fall on Root itself.
"If only we had taken measures to eliminate her at all costs back then..."
Seated in his chair, Danzo found the situation tricky.
Even if he regretted it now, it was already too late. That Uchiha girl had grown to a point where even Root couldn't easily deal with her.
To eliminate her covertly, it would likely require several Jonin and dozens of Chunin working together and setting up an elaborate trap in advance.
However, now he couldn't even track her movements and daily schedule. Planning a trap like the one set a few years ago was an impossible task.
"I'm very sorry, Danzo-sama."
"This isn't your fault. The current situation between Root and the Uchiha clan is the balance that the Third Hokage hoped for, but this balance will eventually pose a threat to the village. Therefore, we must not underestimate the members of this clan."
Danzo made this judgment.
In his eyes, the strategy of maintaining this balance had been a compromise reached after dealing with the Uchiha clan for a long time.
This balance, while to some extent ensuring Konoha's stability, had also prevented the village from growing stronger multiple times.
Indeed, he was the most suitable person to be Hokage.
Thinking back now, the biggest regret he had was this incident.
And now, at this moment, it was the time for him to use the power of Root to save Konoha.
.....
Land Of Wind, Sunagakure.
In an inconspicuous meeting room, all the top ninja of Sunagakure, including the Third Kazekage, were gathered.
The advisors, Chiyo and her brother, were also present as the right and left-hand assistants of the Third Kazekage.
"Everyone, I've decided to launch an attack on Konoha in the coming year."
At the beginning of the meeting, the Third Kazekage got straight to the point.
After hearing these words, the high level ninjas in the room didn't show any surprise.
Upon careful consideration, Sunagakure had been secretly accumulating power since the previous Great Ninja War, preparing for the third Great Ninja War, which they would soon instigate themselves.
For the Third Kazekage to bring up this matter at this time was expected.
To warm up for the impending third Great Ninja War, the last Great Ninja War had seen the loss of Konoha's elite top ninja, including Kato.
Just last year, Konoha's White Fang had also committed suicide due to the errors made by Konoha's leadership. With these significant losses, Konoha's high level combat power had been severely depleted, presenting an excellent opportunity.
Furthermore, the Third Hokage needed to remain in Konoha to defend the village and couldn't be easily moved.
The only high-level combat power that Konoha could mobilize to the battlefield right now consisted of the three Konoha Sannin.
In the last Great Ninja War, although the three of them had performed admirably, they had only managed to hold off the Suna forces led by the Third Kazekage.
And so, the Third Kazekage's proposal at this moment was entirely within expectations.
While the Sannin had performed admirably in the last Ninja World War, they had weakened later on. Without a second White Fang, how formidable were the Sannin on the front lines, even with their Kazekage?
However, now what chances does Konoha have?
"Kazekage-sama, when is the specific time for attacking Konoha?"
A senior couldn't help but ask.
The overall plan is clear to the Jonin in the room. What needs to be discussed now is the best time to attack Konoha.
"I've already discussed it with Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo, and we believe that February next year is the best time. The second month of the new year will catch Konoha off guard."
After the Third Kazekage said this, the senior advisors Chiyo and Ebizo sat in their seats calmly, clearly agreeing with the Third Kazekage's opinion.
The rest of the high-ranking Jonin exchanged glances with each other. While some had reservations, since the three most influential members of the high command had already decided, attacking Konoha in February next year seemed to be a foregone conclusion.
"Elder Chiyo, I'll leave the preparations for supplies to you."
The Third Kazekage stood up from his seat and instructed his advisor Chiyo.
"You can trust me with that, Third Kazekage. I've already arranged for cooperation with the Purple Rose to provide us with a large supply of medical supplies."
Chiyo nodded in agreement.
Since it would be a winter march, even at the end of winter, the cold weather could affect their combat effectiveness, especially given the significant difference in climate between the Land Of Fire and the Land Of Wind.
Besides winter gear for warmth, various medical supplies needed to be prepared in advance.
Although the Purple Rose Company was a newcomer to the medical industry, their strength was not to be underestimated.
With their branch stores performing exceptionally well in Sunagakure, their research and development capabilities in the field of medicine were commendable. Their prices and effectiveness were well-received by both the civilian population and ninja of the Suna, making them quite popular.
Furthermore, this company represented the official stance of the neutral nation, the Land Of Demons. That's why Chiyo trusted them.
The Land Of Demons didn't participate in the Great Ninja War and wouldn't get involved in it either. They would never leak information unless they wanted to see how sharp Sunagakure's blades were.
"Now, Elder Ebizo, I'm entrusting Iwagakure to you."
To take a big bite out of the Land Of Fire, Sunagakure alone might not be enough, but with Iwagakure's support, it would be more feasible.
A year ago, he had already secretly contacted the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, to send Ebizo to Iwagakure at this time. This was to solidify the Suna's determination and formally initiate full cooperation with Iwagakure to share in the feast that was the Land Of Fire.
The Third Kazekage gazed excitedly out the window in the direction of Konoha, the Land Of Fire.
Without Konoha's White Fang, the Sannin would be unable to stop the alliance of the Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
This time, Sunagakure was sure to emerge victorious!!!.
-----------
Free and advanced chapters on my Patreon.
Patreon. com/chizihn
Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are published on freew(e)bnove(l).𝓬𝓸𝓶