Konoha: I, Ninja War Sakura, rely entirely on skills!

Chapter 293 The War Begins
The country of Taki

Takigakure

Golden chakra burned like flames on his body, his skin was covered with mysterious black runes, and even his originally blue pupils seemed to glow with golden light under this chakra.

Naruto has never known what war is.

No, he may know, but he has never been willing to face it.

However, he now has no choice but to face it.

And I also came to understand what war is.

He was appointed by the Hokage as the captain of the two hundred ninjas wearing chakra armor.

He had to take responsibility for the lives of his two hundred companions.

"Captain, the enemy has been completely wiped out."

A man with a pineapple-shaped haircut stood next to Naruto, took out a lighter, and silently lit a cigarette for himself.

"Well, I see."

The golden-haired boy spoke calmly, his face showing no sign of anything amiss.

Is this the battlefield that the perverted sage despises yet is forced to participate in...?

Looking at the desolation before him, Naruto felt a ripple of emotion.

He thought of his deceased master.

Upon learning of Jiraiya's death from Kakashi, Naruto had no time to grieve before being urgently appointed as the captain of the raiding force against Takigakure.

"Brother Zhuque, why do you think there are wars in the world?"

The boy, stepping onto the battlefield for the first time, looked at the man beside him.

Nara Suzaku gazed calmly at the war-torn village, his dark eyes fixed on the young boy beside him.

"Because I don't want to see this scene appear in Konoha."

Suzaku Nara did not answer Naruto's question directly, but instead chose to give an indirect answer.

"The human heart is both the most difficult and the simplest thing in the world to understand."

“Naruto, it’s inevitable that you’ll ask this kind of question since it’s your first time on the battlefield.”

Nara Suzaku exhaled a puff of pale blue smoke, his words calm yet firm:

"Since its founding, Konoha has never initiated a war against other countries."

"We have always been on the side of justice."

Nara Suzaku's words made Naruto fall silent for a moment.

"Naruto, you are excellent. You are part of the Hokage's Shadow Guard."

"You are a candidate for the next Hokage."

"In my opinion, the ninja world will be at peace for decades after this war ends."

"Keep trying, and defeat the enemy."

"This is what we can do."

Nara Suzaku's words made Naruto's eyes flicker slightly, and then he said somewhat inexplicably:

"Decades..."

"In other words, will there be war after peace?"

Hearing Naruto's naive words, Suzaku Nara did not scold him for his naivety, but pondered for a moment and said:

"You can't understand peace without war."

"One cannot cherish peace without experiencing war."

“A child living in peacetime cannot understand the cruelty and bloodshed of war, nor can he understand how precious the seemingly bland and tasteless daily necessities are.”

Nara Suzaku's words silenced Naruto.

The other party does not believe in lasting peace, but his teacher Jiraiya is pursuing this elusive peace.

Even Naruto didn't know whether this man was right or Jiraiya was right.

"Let's go, Naruto."

"Now that this matter is settled, we should leave."

Suzaku Nara patted Naruto on the shoulder and spoke softly.

Their mission was not to rule or occupy Takigakure.

Instead, they crushed the remaining forces of Takigakure, ensuring that the enemy could not regroup their forces in a short period of time.

This task is both cruel and merciful.

The complete defeat of the ninjas of Takigakure was almost equivalent to wiping them out.

However, he was very kind to the common people in the village, and almost never harmed them.

Even if there is some damage, it is a very rare occurrence and cannot be avoided.

"Ah."

The golden-haired boy nodded, and then disappeared into the ruined village along with Nara Suzaku and the two hundred ninjas.

Under the power of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the entire Takigakure village was almost completely wiped out, not to mention the two hundred ninjas wearing chakra armor.

From the moment the battle began, within an hour, the military forces of Takigakure were instantly destroyed, and then this force of no more than two hundred men quickly disappeared into the night.

No prisoners, no territory, no resources.

This force came solely to destroy this particular power.

When this news reached Amegakure, Iwagakure's Kotoki had just arrived in the Land of Rain with his army.

"It seems this Hokage is a bit impatient."

Black Despair held the intelligence report in his hand, his expression calm.

Inside the central tower
Konan, Black Zetsu, Obito Uchiha, Hiruko, Kisame Hoshigaki, Sasori of the Red Sand, and the remaining Akatsuki members are all here.

However, neither Pain nor Nagato were present.

"Then it is conceivable that this land will soon become a battlefield again."

Kisame Hoshigaki looked at Konan, who was standing near the light not far away, and spoke.

Xiao Nan didn't speak, but stood calmly in the distance.

Nagato is currently undergoing a transplant of so-called Wood Release cells with the help of White Zetsu.

The current leader of Amegakure is Konan.

But she was never a qualified leader.

She has always been the one silently standing behind Yahiko and Nagato.

Xiao Nan didn't know what to do at that moment, but a sense of responsibility kept pushing her forward, leading her step by step toward the position of leader of the Rain Village.

"Our Akatsuki organization's goal has never been war."

Xiao Nan opened her amber eyes and looked at the people in front of her.

Her words at that moment surprised the others.

After all, Konan usually followed Pain silently by his side.

Despite her considerable combat prowess, Konan was seen by others as nothing more than Pain's appendage.

"This war is the nobles' attempt to wipe out the Hokage, while our Akatsuki organization's goal is to capture the Tailed Beasts."

Xiao Nan quickly composed herself. She looked at the group of unruly rogue ninjas before her, her expression cold and indifferent, and uttered detached words.

"We don't need to lose too much in this war. Our target should be Konoha's Two-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails."

As for the Eight-Tails, Konan remained silent.

Black Zetsu Raikage Tingchen's identity has not yet been exposed, if the plan is followed properly.

The Eight-Tails, a powerful tailed beast second only to the Nine-Tails, is the easiest to capture, and currently, the Eight-Tails is needed to hold back some of Konoha's strength.

Xiao Nan frowned slightly, mentally processing the current situation, and continued speaking:
"We should take advantage of the Ten Nations Alliance's entanglement with Konoha to attack Konoha and forcibly seize the Tailed Beasts within its ranks."

Black Zetsu's heart stirred; Konan's thoughts coincided with his own.

Previously, all her attention was focused on Nagato, and Konan usually had a cold and aloof personality, so she had no intention of talking to him much.

Unexpectedly, this woman took over Nagato's position at this critical juncture of leaderlessness.

"According to White Zetsu's intelligence, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki has led Konoha ninja to attack the Land of Rice Fields, and the forces of Otogakure were instantly wiped out by her."

"Furthermore, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki also launched a surprise attack on Takigakure."

"That means that apart from the Four-Tails of Iwagakure, there is only one Seven-Tails in Konoha."

Hei looked on in despair as Xiao Nan tentatively spoke.

"Then Obito Uchiha will go to Konoha alone to capture the Seven-Tails."

Obito Uchiha's lips twitched upon hearing this.

He felt like he'd become the Akatsuki's workhorse ever since the tailed beast capture plan began. And sending him to Konoha alone was practically suicide.
"Of course, all of this can only be carried out after it is confirmed that the Hokage is not in Konoha."

Konan seemed to sense Obito Uchiha's doubts and then spoke up.

"And what about the main battlefield?"

Black Zetsu continued speaking.

"That depends on which battlefield the Hokage will arrive at before making a decision."

"However, I'm more inclined to believe that the Hokage will come here."

Xiao Nan pointed to the land beneath her feet and spoke.

"Pain hasn't finished his training yet. Do you really think you can withstand the Hokage by relying on Iwagakure?"

At this moment, Beiruhu spoke.

"Do not."

"The Hokage... I'll hold him off,"

Xiao Nan's words shocked everyone, even Hei Zetsu was slightly taken aback.

Everyone's gaze towards Xiao Nan changed involuntarily.

Could it be that this woman has some way to slow down the Hokage?

"Of course, this also requires your efforts."

"I need time."

"If handled properly, even if we don't aim to kill the Hokage outright, we can certainly severely injure her."

Obito Uchiha narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the woman on the stage.

Xiao Nan...

They actually had such a method hidden.

Obito Uchiha was arguably the person who had fought the Hokage the most times. Among those present, he knew best just how terrifying that Hokage was.

If it weren't for Izanagi, he would have died in the seas of the Land of Fire long ago.

However, Konan's claim that she had a way to seriously injure the Hokage forced him to reconsider his opinion of this woman.

"This war was launched by the entire ninja world, so that old bastard Onoki won't be able to get away with it."

"Moreover, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and Deidara are both in Iwagakure."

Black Zetsu looked directly at the woman named Konan.

Indeed, people's potential must be pushed out.

If it weren't for the current situation, this woman would have always stood by Nagato's side.

"The troops from Iwagakure have now arrived in the Land of Rain. You can have Huangtu send a message to the Tsuchikage to come here."

"After all, those nobles who want to kill the Hokage the most right now are the ones who are high and mighty."

Kisame Hoshigaki licked his sharp teeth.

"Then, let's see who comes out on top in this match."

Black Zetsu spoke softly.

Everyone's mood became heavy.

Even with all this effort, they were not confident of a sure win.

Moreover, the previous war was originally intended to weaken the fighting power of the five great ninja villages.

The weakening was successful.

However, this also gave birth to an extremely terrifying existence.

A ferocious tiger was born in Konoha.

What they want now is...

Tiger Hunt!

-

Land of Fire

Konoha
Naruto Building Rooftop
Looking at the somewhat desolate appearance of the village, Sakura remained calm.

This war, like the one three years ago, is a departure from the original story.

The battle is between Konoha and the entire ninja world, plus the Akatsuki organization.

The only good news that can give Sakura a little relief is that Yamato is still diligently working on crops at the Konoha Research Institute.

He was not captured by the Akatsuki and used Wood Release to copy White Zetsu.

"Lord Hokage, news has arrived from the front lines."

"Naruto Uzumaki's forces and Yugito Two-Tails' forces have successfully annihilated the military forces of Takigakure and Otogakure."

At that moment, an ANBU member appeared behind Sakura, reporting the latest intelligence.

"Yes, let Naruto head directly towards the Land of Frost without returning to Konoha."

"Yes."

Uzuki Yugao nodded slightly and was about to leave when Sakura turned back to look at her and whispered:

"Evening Glory".

"Next, you can report to the medical department."

Uzuki Yugao raised her head slightly, looking at the young Hokage in front of her with some surprise.

"You've actually wanted to quit the Anbu a long time ago, haven't you?"

"Ever since Gale died."

Sakura's calm words caused Uzuki Yugao to fall silent for a moment.

"But please rest assured, this war will end everything."

"From now on, at least while I'm still alive."

No one will die anymore.

A fair hand gently patted the shoulder of the purple-haired dark-skinned man, then turned and left.

When Uzuki Yugao turned around, all she could see was the Hokage's robe.

The pattern on the Hokage's robe, resembling rising flames, now seemed to be burning fiercely.

At that moment, Uzuki Yugao heard the Hokage's unquestionable command.

"Pass on my order: except for the ninjas who must guard the border, everyone else shall march towards the Land of Frost!"

"I need to receive news of the Raikage's death within three days!"

Hearing the Hokage's words, Uzuki Yugao lowered her head again, a look of melancholy appearing in her eyes, before softly saying:

"Yes."

Following the Hokage's order, the entire Hidden Leaf Village was quickly mobilized, and tens of thousands of troops began to converge on the battlefield in the Land of Frost.

At that moment, a figure was heading in the opposite direction from the tens of thousands of ninjas who had started from Konoha.

The Hokage went to another battlefield alone.

The land of rain.

The headquarters of the Akatsuki organization.

She was determined to settle things in one battle.

The pink figure flew at high speed in the sky, the Hokage robe fluttering wildly in the wind.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Rice Fields, the Two-Tails Yugito, along with his three hundred chakra-armored ninjas, was also heading towards the Land of Rain.

She also received a message from Konoha, informing her to go to the Land of Rain immediately.

The entire ninja world is at work at this moment, with forces of all sizes emerging from the shadows.

Meanwhile, along the coastline of the Land of Fire, several highly modern steel warships appeared out of nowhere.

These steel warships were shrouded in shadow.

This is……

The aircraft carrier of the Sky Ninja Village!

In this turbulent time, the remnants of the Sky Ninja, who had been defeated by Konoha in the Second Shinobi World War, finally surfaced.

Their purpose was extremely simple.

It's purely about taking revenge on Konoha.

At that moment, the instant these steel warships appeared, the ninjas guarding the coastline, who were originally on guard against Kirigakure, immediately noticed this massive fleet.

The piercing sirens of the police blared across the coastline in an instant.

(End of this chapter)