Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 28 The Vortex Deadlock

Hiruzen Sarutobi left the Root base to begin coordinating the arrangements, secretly mobilizing Jonin and some trusted Anbu ninja from his clan to go to Danzo Shimura's Root.

Danzo Shimura also brought out all the ninjas who had reached the Jonin level from his clan, and together with the elites he had trained and recruited through Root, he had a total of over a hundred people.

The key to this operation is secrecy; it's difficult to hide a large number of people, and a hundred is already the limit.

At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi also fabricated some intelligence and summoned the heads of various ninja clans to a meeting.

"Everyone, take a look at this intelligence first."

Once everyone had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi instructed the ANBU ninjas to distribute the fabricated intelligence.

Everyone examined the intelligence they had obtained, and their expressions all became serious.

"Traces of numerous ninjas have been discovered at several border locations. Have they joined forces?"

The Senju clan chief put down the intelligence report and looked solemnly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was also very serious. Although some of the information was fabricated, there was also a lot of truth in it.

The four great ninja villages had long been prepared to start the war, and Konoha would be their primary target, just like in the last Shinobi World War.

Upon receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi's response, everyone fell silent.

They dislike war because it kills people, even if most of the deaths are among ordinary civilians. Their ninja clan will inevitably suffer significant casualties.

But by then, the enemy had already begun to mobilize troops, so they had no choice but to take action.

"We must not allow the war to spread into the Land of Fire. We must keep the enemy out, or we will have a hard time explaining to the Daimyo."

Seeing that no one spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi set a hard target for the upcoming war strategy: the enemy must not be allowed to break in.

No one objected to this, nor could they say anything. This was the meaning of the existence of ninja villages. It was established when the ninja village system of one village, one country was set up, and no one could change it.

"Next, we need to make operational assignments. We need to send our elite troops to the front line as quickly as possible, seize advantageous terrain and establish a defensive line to prevent the enemy from advancing into the Land of Fire, while buying time for our ninja army to reach the front line."

The battlefield with the Land of Earth will likely be in the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass, where the Senju clan, whose primary elemental attributes are earth and water, is well-suited for combat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued speaking, his gaze falling on the Senju clan leader.

The Thousand Hands Clan Chief did not refuse and nodded.

Although their opponent was a major ninja village, the Senju clan had nothing to fear about fighting in such a place, especially with their mother there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Uchiha clan head and continued, "Secondly, there's the direction of Kumogakure. The ninjas of Kumogakure are skilled in ninjutsu and taijutsu, especially their lightning release ninjutsu and taijutsu, which are very fast. The Uchiha's Sharingan can largely counter them."

The Uchiha clan chief nodded to Hiruzen Sarutobi, indicating that they were indeed the most suitable to fight against the Cloud Ninja, who were proficient in ninjutsu and taijutsu. There was nothing more to say about that.

Then, looking at the Hyuga clan leader, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "Secondly, there's the battlefield in the direction of Kirigakure. Their most proficient attack method is assassination under the cover of the Hidden Mist Technique. The Hyuga clan's Byakugan can effectively counter and target them. In addition, for the sake of the war, Hyuga ninjas need to be assigned to other fronts to provide support."

The head of the Hyuga clan nodded and accepted the task.

"The Sarutobi and Shimura clans will hold off the enemy on the front line towards Sunagakure. In addition, different numbers of ninja troops will be deployed to support the various front lines as needed based on the battle situation."

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi, representing the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, took over Sunagakure. As the Hokage, he had to set an example, otherwise these ninja clans would not agree to it.

As expected, when Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke up and asked the Sarutobi clan to fight, the expressions of the clan leaders softened somewhat.

I'm really afraid the Sarutobi clan will stay put and not send anyone out; that would be disgusting, and their thoughts wouldn't be clear either.

……

After the clan leaders returned and convened clan meetings to discuss and decide on some matters, they began to prepare supplies. The next day, the clan's elite troops set off for various borders to set up defenses.

The war has not officially started yet. Their main purpose in going there is to occupy some strategic locations, establish defensive lines, and clear out enemy spies. The danger is not great.

This is also the main reason why the major ninja clans readily agreed, and the villages will send large forces to follow up afterwards, rather than sending them to fight against the major ninja villages individually.

They cannot launch an attack, but simply defending is much easier.

This major commotion in Konoha has put the entire ninja world on alert, leaving the four great ninja villages completely bewildered.

"What on earth is Konoha up to?"

In the council chamber of the Tsuchikage Building in Iwagakure, everyone was puzzled by this. Although they had sent troops to approach the Land of Fire to contain Konoha and prepare for the plan to attack the Land of Whirlpools, it hadn't even begun yet.

"Perhaps our plans for the Uzumaki clan have been exposed."

After pondering for a long time, Onoki said something, with some guesses in his mind.

"But if we are exposed, shouldn't Konoha concentrate its forces in the Land of Whirlpools to fight against us? Konoha and Uzumaki Village have been allies for many years, and the First Hokage's wife was even from the Uzumaki clan."

Murasaki didn't understand this, nor did she agree with Onoki's guess.

Onoki ignored the idiot, glanced at everyone present, and said in a deep voice, "The war in the Land of Whirlpools may be subject to change. Konoha may be our enemy, or it may be our friend. You will have to adapt to the situation when the time comes."

Finally, looking at the middle-aged man on his left, he was one of his most trusted confidants and the commander-in-chief of the war in the Land of Whirlpools.

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage, I understand."

The Western Dead Man realized what was happening, quickly got up and agreed, a smile appearing on his face.

That's really surprising!

The others present realized what was happening and all smiled.

"Looks like our strongest Hokage isn't having an easy time in Konoha!"

"What nonsense about being the strongest? The Third Hokage of the five great ninja villages are all the strongest in history. As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, that claim of being the strongest is just a sham."

"No wonder they sent the Senju clan to our side. We are indeed quite far from the Land of Whirlpools. Even if the Senju clan wanted to come and help us, it would be too late."

……

The group chuckled, their faces filled with mockery. What a fine Hokage!

"Zi, you should come along just in case."

Onoki remained calm, pondered for a moment, and looked at Yukari. Although he didn't think much of her brains, her strength was formidable.

Although the tailed beast seal is not perfect, he has mastered it well. Furthermore, he has fused his own Lava Release with the help of the Four-Tails' chakra. He would not be able to defeat the current Purple even without using Dust Release. It is no exaggeration to say that he is the second strongest in the village.

With Zi overseeing things, he could feel more at ease.

Although Yukari was still puzzled, she could only nod in agreement when Onoki gave the order.

Although he disliked Onoki's ideas, he loved the village just as much, and the Uzushiogakure project was also related to him.

If I could obtain a stronger and more suitable sealing technique, I would be able to better suppress the Four-Tails.

That big guy is not easy to deal with. If you're not careful, his chakra can corrupt you and cause you to go berserk and out of control, causing considerable damage to the village every time.

Sunagakure and Kirigakure also made the same arrangements, increasing their involvement in the war against the Land of Whirlpools.

Although it's just speculation, it's better to believe it than not. They need to get their hands on the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques so they can create a perfect Jinchuriki like the First Hokage's wife and perfectly control the power of the Tailed Beasts.

Konoha already has a perfect Jinchūriki, and the strongest one is the Nine-Tails. They also need to have their own perfect Jinchūriki.

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(End of this chapter)