Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 257 Reinforcements for the Ninja Army

"Has Hiruzen Sarutobi been removed from his position as Hokage? Orochimaru has become the acting Hokage?"

The next day, Tamura Hao received the intelligence from that side. The main reason was that Orochimaru and others did not hide it at all, but openly sent a message back to Konoha to spread the word. The whole of Konoha knew about it, and Orochimaru even generously sent someone to inform the four-village alliance.

This move was truly unexpected for Tamura Hao, but upon closer reflection, Orochimaru is indeed the most suitable person to be the acting Hokage at this stage, as he can ease and mediate the conflicts between the various factions within Konoha and better unite them.

Moreover, when he saw Fugaku Uchiha, Tokisui Senju, and Hiashi Hyuga join forces, he guessed that something big was bound to happen in Konoha.

"Are we putting too much pressure on you?"

The Third Raikage stroked his long beard, thinking that the pressure exerted on Konoha by the Four Villages Alliance might have caused those people to have an excessive sense of crisis, which led them to unite.

"Isn't this better? Konoha is our enemy, as are the other ninja villages. Moreover, our real goal is the next Shinobi World War. The stronger Konoha demonstrates, the better the Four Villages Alliance can maintain itself until the next Shinobi World War."

Tamura Hao thought this was a good thing. At this stage, although he and the Third Raikage were very strong, Kumogakure was still far behind and not enough to swallow up the Land of Fire and contend with the other four great ninja villages.

We can only wait until the next Shinobi World War, in which case we will have to rely on the Four Villages Alliance to make use of the other three major Shinobi Villages again.

They will further weaken the other three great ninja villages and Konoha during the Third Shinobi World War, and then it will be time for Kumogakure to erupt.

"That's true!"

The Third Raikage smiled. Although the plan was a bit underhanded, it was indeed effective and most beneficial to their Hidden Cloud Village.

With Konoha leading the way, the attention of the other three great ninja villages can be better drawn. Once Kumogakure has completed its arrangements and development, then they can take action to eliminate everything.

"Can Konoha withstand the pressure after the Third Shinobi World War?"

Yotsuki Ai expressed concern for Konoha. According to their plan, they needed to take the Land of Fire and the surrounding small countries first, while the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Water could only come later.

Konoha is also difficult to completely destroy, not only because of the village's own inherent strength, but also because of the ancient and powerful figures hidden in the shadows.

That is the pinnacle of the ninja world; compared to that, their Hidden Cloud Village is far too weak.

Their Hidden Cloud Village needs to acquire the abundant resources of the Land of Fire, especially human resources, in order to further develop and grow stronger, and then unleash its power once it has accumulated enough strength.

Therefore, the alliance of the four villages needs to be maintained indefinitely, even after the Hidden Cloud Village occupies the Land of Fire and establishes a ninja nation.

This requires a powerful enemy to draw attention away from the enemy, and Konoha is the only option. But the question is, can Konoha take on this important task?

"At least they have that potential."

Tamura had great confidence in Lord Danzo. Lord Danzo had already embarked on the path to becoming an immortal or a god. As long as he obtained a portion of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he could have the Black Lotus of Annihilation devour it and gain even greater potential.

Then, if I swallow some of the tailed beasts, creating a damaged Ten-Tails like Obito Uchiha wouldn't be a problem, and then I could reach the Six Paths level.

Even if it's just the initial stage, as long as one can condense Truth-Seeking Balls, one can crush the power of the current ninja world and put pressure on the three major ninja villages.

The Third Raikage nodded in agreement, then asked about something else.

"How's the research on those eyes going? Are you able to master that power?"

Although they had the advantage of a surprise attack and kept pressing Otsutsuki Relic under pressure, not giving him a chance to unleash his ultimate move, they had to admit that their opponent was very strong.

Those eyes and the green chakra gave him a heavy pressure, clearly indicating a high level of power.

If we could master this power, it would be perfect.

"It has already fused with Samehada, but its compatibility with my body is limited. After all, we don't have that kind of bloodline, so it's difficult to control."

However, it can serve as a catalyst for the evolution of the Byakugan, provided that the purity of the Byakugan is high enough.

Tamura Hao revealed a concept: to use the Byakugan, which is similar to the giant Tenseigan, to guide others to evolve into the Tenseigan.

He already had a candidate in mind: Hyuga Neji, the unborn child of Hyuga Hizashi. Neji's talent was among the best in the Hyuga clan, and if he hadn't been limited by the Caged Bird Seal and his branch family status, his achievements would have been even greater.

He was even ranked second only to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura among the original twelve Konoha 12. If Sakura hadn't unleashed the Yin Seal, she definitely wouldn't be as good as Hyuga Neji.

Of course, there are also the Hinata and Hanabi sisters. Hinata, needless to say, is called the Byakugan Princess by the Otsutsuki main family on the moon, and even drew out the chakra of Otsutsuki Hamura.

Hyuga Hanabi's eyes were also awakened by Otsutsuki Toneri, revealing the Tenseigan, which is proof of her potential.

I'll capture those two sisters when I have the chance.

"Forget about the current Hyuga clan members, it has to be children born in our village."

The Third Raikage agreed to the proposal, but with a caveat: the person must be someone who genuinely integrates into their Hidden Cloud Village, preferably someone born within the village.

That's what a true native of the Cloud Recluse is like!

There's no way around it; this power is too strong. It absolutely cannot be given to those with impure motives, otherwise they'll be ruined if they get any bad ideas.

"That's what I think too. Hizashi-kun's child would be quite suitable. Although Hizashi-kun is from the Hyuga branch family, he is the direct descendant of the main family head and is a twin brother of Hyuga Hiashi."

Within the Hyuga main family, the head clan's bloodline is the purest, and their Byakugan potential is the highest. Therefore, Hizashi's offspring will certainly not be lacking.

This is the fundamental reason why Tamura Hao valued Hyuga Neji. In the world of ninjas, bloodline is highly valued, especially in the Otsutsuki system, where a good bloodline is essential for greater talent and achievement.

Neji Hyuga's bloodline is definitely no worse than Hanabi Hyuga's; given the right conditions, awakening the Tenseigan is no problem for him.

"That child is suitable."

The Third Raikage remembered this, and a large part of the reason he was able to persuade Hyuga Hizashi was by starting with the fact that Hyuga was about to become a father.

Hyuga Hizashi had experienced the persecution of the Hyuga family system and the Caged Bird Seal, and he certainly didn't want that fate to be repeated in his own children, which is why he came up with his original plan.

The follow-up plan went quite smoothly. After several months of guidance, more than half of the adult women from Hyuga that were brought with them have successfully found partners in Kumogakure. It's only a matter of time before they fully integrate into the village.

"We've also received news that the Senju clan has led their ninja army south, seemingly intending to make this the final battleground."

Ye Yue Ai revealed a new piece of information she had just received from Huang Tu: the Thousand Hands Clan was truly going to confront them head-on this time.

"The water source here is more abundant, making it more suitable for the use of the Thousand Hands Ninja and Wood Release techniques."

Tamura Hao thought this made sense. Konoha needed to pool its strength at this stage in order to prevent them from being defeated one by one.

Moreover, the grassroots forces of the Hokage faction have been largely depleted in the previous two wars, and most of the Edo Tensei army has been sealed away, so Hiruzen Sarutobi cannot pose much of a threat at this stage.

Therefore, it was natural for Thousand Hands Orange Water and the others to gather their strength for a final battle.

"What about Hiruzen Sarutobi? Can he still make a plan?"

The Third Raikage thought of the Third Hokage; he still preferred that Hiruzen Sarutobi continue as Hokage so that he could continue to suppress the growth of Konoha's geniuses, or even kill them.

This is much easier and more efficient than their laborious battle against Konoha.

"We definitely need to plan this out. We'll find an opportunity to severely damage Fugaku and the others, giving Hiruzen Sarutobi a chance to return to the fold and reclaim the Hokage position."

Moreover, now that Hiruzen Sarutobi is hiding in the shadows, he is better suited to strategize and can focus more on training to become stronger.

His skill level is far too low; he needs to improve it a bit.

Tamura Hao also wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi to continue as Hokage, even if it meant earning less Destiny Power.

"That old guy is probably already thinking about how to dig up graves and rob tombs."

Yotsuki Ai sneered. She had figured out Hiruzen Sarutobi's current methods: a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, Hashirama cells, Edo Tensei, and possibly Sage Mode.

The most effective way to enhance strength is through the Impure World Reincarnation technique. It has the lowest cost and the fastest improvement. As long as there is the flesh and blood of a strong person as a medium, a powerful combatant can be quickly created.

The three continued to discuss many issues before leaving. Tamura Hao didn't forget to control Thor, who had been playing the background role, as he walked out. Tamura Hao and Yozuki Ai even walked behind Thor, indicating that Thor was in charge.

After finishing their discussions, the Third Raikage went straight to the war room at Kikyoyama Castle, where the Third Kazekage, Onoki, and the Third Mizukage had already arrived.

"Tsuchikage, we need enough troops to fight off the Senju ninja army marching south."

After nodding to the arriving Third Raikage, the Third Kazekage spoke first, looking very tired, as he hadn't slept well for the past few days.

The two major battles resulted in heavy losses for Sunagakure, with over 5,000 ninjas killed and many more wounded.

Now that the Senju ninja army has marched south, their remaining ninja forces are simply not enough to fight them.

"I will send five thousand elite troops over."

Onoki didn't procrastinate; this was unavoidable, since the Senju Ninja Army had always been under the jurisdiction of Iwagakure.

Now that they're attacking from the south, Iwagakure will inevitably have to send troops to deal with them, and they'll have to pay the lion's share.

However, this also has its advantages for them, at least it shifts the battlefield to this side.

Thank you!

The Third Kazekage let out a long breath and then looked at the Third Raikage.

"Could the Hidden Cloud Village provide some ninja troops?"

Currently, only Iwagakure and Kumogakure are still in relatively good condition. Sunagakure and Kirigakure have both experienced fierce battles and suffered heavy losses, making it difficult for them to assemble a large number of troops.

The only way to recruit people is through Iwagakure and Kumogakure. The Tsuchikage has already agreed, so now it's up to Kumogakure.

Although the support from Kumogakure has been very helpful, this is the current situation. They need more troops and strong fighters to fight against the united Konoha.

"Our Hidden Cloud Village can provide support with three thousand ninja troops."

After some consideration, the Third Raikage gave the figure of three thousand.

Having a group of our own people fighting here is the best way to protect ourselves and also to deter Konoha.

Moreover, this war cannot end yet; it must be prolonged for a while longer, allowing the samurai legions controlled by the five great daimyo prefectures to fight each other and wear each other down.

Thank you!

The Third Kazekage thanked him again, then looked at the last of the Three Mizukage.

"Mizukage, we need a group of elites proficient in Water Release ninjutsu to take advantage of the Land of Rivers while countering the Senju clan's Water Release ninjutsu."

The land of rivers is full of waterways; it would be a shame not to take advantage of this.

Furthermore, the Senju clan is also skilled in Water Release techniques, which can even rival the Uchiha's Fire Release techniques. This is how the two clans fought each other during the Warring States period.

Without someone to restrain them, fighting the Thousand Hands Ninja here would be very passive.

"Our Hidden Mist Village will send a thousand elite troops to support us."

After a moment of silence, the Third Mizukage stated that he would provide support with a thousand people, which was the limit of what they could mobilize at this stage.

Thank you!

The Third Kazekage still expressed his gratitude, knowing that the situation in Kirigakure was not much better than that in Sunagakure, and that sending a thousand people was already quite an achievement.

"We have the manpower, but we don't have much of an advantage against the now united Konoha. What should we do next?"

Onoki looked worried. There was no way to deal with the united Konoha, especially when it came to high-level combat power.

Even a powerful village like Kumogakure would find it difficult to compete in this regard, mainly because the foundation left by the First Hokage was too deep. His own cell bloodline limit alone was enough to allow Konoha to create too many strong individuals.

At present, there are four strong individuals in Konoha who possess Wood Release: Shimura Danzo, Orochimaru, Senju Shirai, and Uchiha Fugaku.

Furthermore, all of these individuals possess the Mangekyou Sharingan; with Wood Release combined with the Mangekyou Sharingan, they are practically unbeatable.

"Raikage, didn't you gouge out Fugaku Uchiha's eyes? Also, the color of the Susanoo that Orochimaru put on Mokuryu seems to be the same as the one you gave Uchiha Meikyo in the information you provided."

The Third Mizukage suddenly looked at the Third Raikage, puzzled by this.

Onoki and the Third Kazekage also felt that there was something wrong with this.

"We did indeed gouge out Fugaku Uchiha's eyes. The pattern on his eyes now is different from before, and we don't know how we obtained them."

As for Orochimaru's Mangekyou Sharingan, after that battle, someone infiltrated and stole Uchiha Myōkyō's Mangekyou Sharingan, which was presumably Orochimaru's doing.

The magic of Ryuchi Cave possesses a powerful ability to conceal itself, making it extremely difficult to detect. Even with our numerous precautions, we were still able to succeed.

The Third Raikage displayed a gloomy and cold expression, even revealing a chilling murderous aura.

Seeing this expression, the three understood that the Cloud Village had probably suffered considerable losses, not just the loss of Uchiha Myōkyō's Mangekyou Sharingan.

They had all the information about the Sage Techniques of Ryuchi Cave, and knew that it indeed had a strong ability to conceal itself, capable of blocking the sensory abilities of ninjas, so it was not surprising that they could sneak in.

"Isn't your village going to make use of those kaleidoscopes?"

Onoki asked a question, revealing that he was quite envious of those Mangekyou Sharingan, and that the Hidden Cloud Village had seized quite a few Mangekyou Sharingan back then.

Speaking of this, the Third Raikage rubbed his forehead in distress and explained, "It's not that easy. Without the Uchiha bloodline, it's impossible to control the opening and closing of the Sharingan. It will continuously consume chakra, especially the Mangekyou Sharingan, which consumes even more. Using the eye techniques within it consumes more than ten times the chakra of an Uchiha ninja."

In particular, using Susanoo would drain the user's life force, and even the Uchiha rarely used that power.

Furthermore, excessive use of the Mangekyou Sharingan can impair vision and even lead to blindness. Back then, the Uchiha fought us for so long, and their Mangekyou Sharingan was greatly depleted, resulting in poor vision within it.

Perhaps only those who reach Madara Uchiha's level are immune to these side effects. The Tsuchikage seems to have fought Madara Uchiha and should have some knowledge of his eyes.

Finally, the Third Raikage turned the conversation to Onoki, saying that they needed him to testify for them.

"Uchiha Madara!"

Mentioning this name, Onoki's expression became more solemn than ever before.

He and his teacher did indeed face Madara Uchiha back then, and Madara Uchiha defeated them without even using his full strength, the difference in skill was extraordinary.

The main reason was that the Second Hokage had not yet mastered Dust Release at that time, and relying solely on Earth Release ninjutsu was far from enough to defeat Madara Uchiha.

"Madara Uchiha's power is far beyond what those people can compare to now. His eyes are also stronger than the current Mangekyou Sharingan, and may even be more advanced than the Mangekyou Sharingan."

The Sharingan itself possesses evolutionary characteristics; its limits are unknown, making it an extremely terrifying bloodline limit.

Madara Uchiha's strength remained fresh in his memory, and compared to it, the Susanoo unleashed by Fugaku Uchiha and others was far inferior.

Even the black Susanoo that his son reported last time, which suddenly captured the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, only met the standard in terms of size. He believed that in other aspects, it was definitely inferior to Madara Uchiha's.

Madara Uchiha's Susanoo was formed from pure Yin Release chakra, and that extreme Yin Release chakra seemed to have a suppressive effect on the chakra of others.

He felt as if his chakra was stagnant and difficult to mobilize.

If that black Susanoo had reached the level of Madara Uchiha, its extreme Yin Release chakra alone would have been enough to suppress the chakra of all the ninjas on the battlefield, but according to his son, there was no such sense of oppression.

Clearly, he is inferior to Madara Uchiha, still at the level of Mangekyou Sharingan, at most just a bit larger in size.

"So there were so many limitations. No wonder the Uchiha clan was suppressed by the Senju clan during the Warring States period."

The Third Mizukage suddenly realized that he didn't know much about the Uchiha clan, let alone the secrets of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Since the kaleidoscope has a limited number of uses, can we wear them down?"

The Third Kazekage has an idea: to exploit the weaknesses of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

If I can't beat you, I'll just wear you down.

Onoki and the Third Mizukage were quite interested; if they didn't have the Mangekyou Sharingan, those people would undoubtedly be much easier to deal with.

"I'm afraid that won't work. Judging from the strength and form of Orochimaru's Susanoo, he has clearly found a way to repair the Mangekyou Sharingan. The others' bursts of power are also very strong."

The Third Raikage shook his head in denial. He knew about this because the First Hokage's cells contained a power that could effectively repair damage to the Mangekyou Sharingan and even restore its power.

Konoha discovered this as early as the time of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, which is why those people at this stage all have the combination of Wood Release and Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Does this mean we have no choice but to piece it together little by little?"

The Third Kazekage was very unwilling; if they continued fighting like this, the damage to the village would be even greater.

Onoki was also very unwilling, after all, he was going to send 5,000 ninja troops this time, and the losses afterward would definitely be significant, and they might even lose everything here.

"We have no choice but to fight. Even if we can't destroy Konoha this time, we must weaken it greatly. Otherwise, with Konoha's strength, it will recover quickly and even become stronger, with more people like those few appearing."

We can only cultivate diligently, while they can quickly improve through shortcuts. In terms of the future, we can't compete with Konoha.

With a helpless and bitter expression, the Third Raikage said he had no choice but to give it his all.

(End of this chapter)