Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 324 Emperor Huo Shi

"A brainless brute, he managed to outsmart me."

At an overseas base, Danzo Shimura, lying in a medical device undergoing examination, looked at the intelligence report that had been delivered and gave a disdainful sneer.

He has always been at odds with the Third Raikage, not only because he lost an arm to the Third Raikage in the Land of Whirlpools, but also because he looks down on people who are brainless.

If it weren't for the Raikage assisting Tsuchikage, the Hidden Cloud Village would have been ruined long ago, given the Third Raikage's intellect and temperament. How could it possibly have prospered?

Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, they were outmaneuvered by the Daming Prefecture. Anyone with a brain wouldn't have been nearly killed like that.

However, the foundation that Kumogakure has accumulated over the years is indeed solid enough to come up with such a tree-planting plan.

He knew very well the origins of that World Immortal Tree; it grew from the remains of the Divine Tree, similar in nature to the lotus he had discovered, only much larger. In addition, it was stimulated by the chakra crystal left by the First Hokage, which is why it grew in that way.

However, it was a defective product after all, and could only grow in size, far inferior to its own world-destroying black lotus.

"Lord Danzo, we have exposed many problems in this operation, especially those people who are all unreliable. Not one of them can be trusted."

While using instruments to view Shimura Danzo's various physical data, Pharmacist Nonou couldn't help but say that she had seen fragments of memories from the previous battle. Danzo's plan was fine, but he had too many useless teammates.

Especially Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was ordered to interfere with Nagato Uzumaki, but hesitated for half a minute before taking action.

That Otsutsuki Relic was also an idiot; he didn't understand planning at all.

"I was indeed too naive before!"

Danzo Shimura's tone was cold and gloomy. This time, he had indeed learned a lesson; none of those people could be trusted.

Especially that old buddy Hiruzen Sarutobi, he's a total jerk.

Now that the Hidden Cloud Village has this tree-planting plan, it can proceed step by step, and it's only a matter of time before they drive the Leaf Village out of the Land of Fire.

Given the current power gap between Kumogakure and Konoha, if Konoha dares to show its strength, it will inevitably be targeted and attacked.

Once Konoha leaves the fertile land of the Land of Fire, it will be difficult for it to develop again.

Ninja training requires a lot of resources; it's not enough to just have enough to eat.

The reason why Konoha was so powerful in the past was inseparable from the wealth of the Land of Fire.

Once he leaves the Land of Fire, Konoha will be crippled, and Hiruzen will inevitably become a sinner against Konoha.

Yakushi Nonou leaned over to look at the information and quickly noticed something surprising.

"The Sun God actually took the initiative to propose that you be addressed as the Fire Emperor, and that the Land of Fire be called the First Ninja Country. He even wanted to include this in the ninja academy's history textbooks, in order to reduce the pressure on the Hidden Cloud Village to establish a Second Ninja Country."

"That kid is very thoughtful."

Danzo Shimura smiled with satisfaction. Although the intelligence report stated that this was intended to reduce the pressure on Kumogakure to establish the Raiyun Ninja Kingdom, he knew that the kid wanted to use it to record his own achievements.

Although I failed, I ushered in the era of the Ninja Kingdom, which is enough for me to be remembered in history like the First Hokage. No matter how well others do, they are just imitating me.

The ninja country system is an inevitable development of the ninja village system. There is inherent conflict between the ninja villages and the daimyo's prefecture, and that conflict will only intensify.

If the ninja village wants to grow stronger, it will inevitably make the daimyo's government more and more wary, and then the daimyo's government will try every means to restrict the development of the ninja village.

The outbreak of the Ninja World War was also due to the covert manipulation and guidance of the various daimyo's offices, especially the war missions issued to each other during the war, which further pitted the five great ninja villages against each other.

Only one side can survive in the end, and the ninjas who control powerful forces will inevitably be the ones to have the last laugh, thus evolving the ninja village into a ninja nation.

I only accelerated the process, but unfortunately, I had too many incompetent teammates.

In this battle, I, Emperor Huoshi, was not defeated by the enemy, but by my own people.

"His loyalty to Lord Danzo is beyond question."

Yakushi Nonou also realized this: Hiten-kun was too loyal to Lord Danzo.

"Lord Danzo, what should we do next?"

With a change in expression, Yakushi Nonou felt somewhat lost about the future, unsure of how to help Lord Danzo achieve his great ambitions.

"First, we will train the Dark Ninja Army, using the cloning technology we traded with Orochimaru and the Dark Chakra as our energy source, to increase their size to 100,000."

Furthermore, I need to first collect the chakra of the tailed beasts to further evolve the World-Destroying Black Lotus. I was indeed too hasty this time; I should have accumulated more chakra first.

Having experienced previous failures, Danzo Shimura had developed a more mature approach.

The earlier escape of the Five-Tails, Six-Tails, and Nine-Tails made him realize that the foundation of the World-Destroying Black Lotus was indeed somewhat lacking. It was already nearing its limit in supporting two tailed beasts, unless it could devour another part of the Outer Path Demon Statue's body.

Nagato Uzumaki is very strong, and there are also Madara Uchiha and Otsutsuki Shari hiding in the shadows. It will be very difficult to obtain their Rinnegan and Gedo Mazo.

Now, the only option is to first gather some of the power of the nine tailed beasts to propel the Black Lotus of Annihilation to evolve and transform into something like a divine tree.

That's also a form of improvement, which can greatly enhance one's own strength, allowing for further strategic planning.

Moreover, although the three tailed beasts had broken away, their power had been partially absorbed by the Black Lotus of Annihilation over such a long period of time. All that is needed now is to obtain the chakra of the One-Tailed, Seven-Tailed, and Eight-Tailed beasts to complete the set.

As for the Four-Tails' chakra, it was originally inside the Gedo Mazo, which was discovered after we obtained the Gedo Mazo's arm.

Clearly, the Four-Tails did not fall into Hiruzen's hands, but was taken by Madara Uchiha and sealed inside the Gedo Mazo.

That is why Nagato was able to seal the main body of the Gedo Mazo into his body, making it a Jinchūriki and driving his own transformation.

This also conveniently suited him; he had already obtained the chakra of six of the nine tailed beasts, leaving only three.

"I will study that cloning technology thoroughly as soon as possible."

Yakushi Nonou resolutely declared that she would do everything in her power to assist Lord Danzo in achieving his great ambition and unifying the ninja world.

Only in that way can I be with Riten-kun. It's too dangerous for Riten-kun in Kumogakure. The sooner he comes back, the better.

Leaving aside Danzo Shimura's schemes, the Hidden Cloud Village also sprang into action. The Third Raikage, with his hair dyed white, led a thousand elite troops and used the Heavenly Delivery Technique to directly descend upon the Daimyo's residence and unleash a massacre.

The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning had already fled. After learning that the Third Raikage had been rescued, he knew he was doomed. He immediately led his men out to sea and disappeared without a trace. Even the ship they were on was massacred and the entire vessel was taken away.

This was naturally done secretly by the Hidden Cloud Village, but few people knew about it, and the only one who carried it out was Tamura Hao.

After destroying the Daimyo's mansion, the Third Raikage announced the establishment of the Raiku Ninja Kingdom to the entire ninja world, calling himself the Raijin Emperor, to distinguish himself from Shimura Danzo's title of Fire Emperor.

Following this, Iwagakure and Sunagakure also destroyed their respective daimyo's mansions and the monk lineages within their own countries, establishing the Ninja Kingdom.

Upon receiving this news, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was hiding in a mountainous area, was filled with envy. He longed to inherit the size of the Land of Fire, or even just become the second Fire Emperor.

Unfortunately, the Thunder God was stationed in the ruins of Konoha with the elite troops of Kumogakure, clearly preparing to fight them to the death.

In the previous battle, Konoha suffered another heavy blow, even losing their stronghold. Now they are like stray dogs, hiding in the shadows and not daring to show their faces.

"Lord Hokage, you wanted to see me?"

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was agonizing over his troubles, a figure walked in. It was Orochimaru, who was as elegant and composed as ever, like a noble young master, not at all like a ninja.

"How long has it been since you called me 'teacher'?"

Looking at his familiar yet unfamiliar disciple, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but sigh, wondering how their master-disciple relationship had deteriorated to this point.

Orochimaru remained silent, simply gazing at his former teacher.

He was completely disappointed in this person. There were two major turning points in the previous battle: one was the chaos caused by the Otsutsuki relic and the targeting of Uchiha Fugaku, and the other was Uzumaki Nagato.

With him and Fugaku and Hiashi dealing with Otsutsuki Reari, they can take him down given some time. Once they obtain his Tenseigan and the remaining Ten-Tails within him, their combined strength will greatly increase, allowing them to reverse the tide of battle.

There were no problems on this side, but something went wrong on Nagato's side. The old guy was supposed to use the Impure World Reincarnation to interfere with Nagato's chakra accumulation and burst attack at all costs, but he hesitated for a full half minute, which allowed Nagato to accumulate enough chakra to defeat their main fighting force, Danzo Shimura.

Compared to Shimura Danzo, this old guy was far inferior; the rotten smell of him made him want to vomit.

"You're aware of the current situation. Do you have any good suggestions for the village's future?"

He had considered several options, but couldn't make a decision right away, so he wanted to hear what this disciple had to say.

As for why they only sought out Orochimaru and not Jiraiya...

There's nothing I can do; Jiraiya's brain really can't offer any good advice.

"Set sail and quietly develop in the Land of Rainbows."

Orochimaru calmly offered a suggestion, and Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, waiting for his disciple to continue.

"I received information that Nawaki left Kumogakure and traveled south. Every so often, he used something similar to a seed to grow a thousand-meter-tall immortal tree with closely connected roots."

Judging from the looks of it, the Hidden Cloud Village intends to use the World Tree as a foundation and the power of Wood Release to continuously advance, and it's only a matter of time before they completely conquer the Land of Fire.

Given the current strength of the Hidden Cloud Village, there's no benefit in us staying in the Land of Fire and fighting against them.

We previously plundered the resources of major domestic powers, enough to sustain our development for a long time. Leaving is the best option.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

After saying that, Orochimaru turned and left without waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to speak.

Regardless of whether the old man listens or not, he plans to move to the Rainbow Country. It is the farthest of the five great powers among the many island nations overseas. At the same time, it is quite large and has abundant resources, making it very suitable for settling down and developing.

Moreover, if his guess was correct, the base established by Shimura Danzo should also be in that sea area, so they could look out for each other.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, puffing on his cigarette as he pondered, his mind in turmoil.

While going to the Rainbow Country would provide a more stable path for development, abandoning the Land of Fire would mean losing a lot, especially since the Hidden Cloud Village would easily take over, leading to faster future development.

It's really not a good time to fight a bloody battle with Kumogakure right now; what the village needs more is recovery and development.

With that thought in mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe and made a decision.

Set sail for the Rainbow Country.

After making the decision, he decisively ordered the secret transfer of personnel scattered throughout the Land of Fire overseas.

Although Konoha was defeated, the Land of Fire was still their territory, and they were extremely familiar with it, so it wouldn't be difficult for them to hide and retreat quietly.

Even though the Hidden Cloud Village sent 20,000 ninja to the Land of Fire, it was still difficult to stop the Konoha ninja from leaving in small groups, and they could only try to intercept and kill them as much as possible.

After regaining some of her strength in the Tsukuyomi illusion, Kurenai Yuhi donned the Kumogakure ANBU ninja outfit and approached her father, who was covering the retreat of a group of Konoha women and children.

"Watch out, there's a Cloud Hidden Guard."

Upon seeing the figure emerge from the woods, Kurenai Yuhi immediately called out a warning, and the accompanying Konoha ninja quickly became alert, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

Since they are ANBU ninjas from Kumogakure, there must be more than one of them.

"No need to look anymore, I'm the only one here."

With her hair tied in a curly ponytail, Kurenai Yuhi spoke calmly, the long sword in her hand, as smooth as a mirror, gleaming with a chilling light.

This is a sword given to her by her teacher. It is said to have been forged by that bastard. She can upgrade it into her own signature sword after she completes the next stage of her studies.

Although it is not yet a unique sword and cannot become one with the user, its material is very special and can enhance illusion techniques. It is a special ninja sword specifically designed for performing illusion sword techniques.

The girl's words attracted everyone's attention, and they couldn't help but look over. Then, they couldn't help but look at the long sword in her hand, and their eyes dazed for a moment.

"Kill him first!"

One of the Jonin couldn't hold back any longer, decisively gave the order, and threw out a kunai.

Everyone else followed suit, throwing out kunai, shuriken, and other ninja tools. But strangely, the girl easily dodged all the kunai she threw out; her speed and agility were too fast and too unpredictable.

Seeing that their first attack had failed, the group launched another attack, throwing out various ninja tools and even forming hand seals to perform ninjutsu.

However, only Yuhi Shinku, who held the sword in his left hand, had a solemn expression, because in his vision, his subordinates were only attacking thin air, and the girl had already walked up to him.

"What a brilliant illusion!"

After staring at the girl for a long time, Yuhi Shinku couldn't help but marvel at the power of her illusion magic, which was even superior to her own.

The other party simply didn't cast an illusion on him on purpose, not because he resisted or broke it.

"What is your purpose?"

Looking at her subordinates, Yuhi Shinku realized she had no chance to help dispel their illusions, and now even defeating this ANBU girl was a question.

Firstly, the opponent is very strong, and secondly, I am still injured, and I haven't found a suitable transplant for my severed right arm, so my chances of winning are not high.

"I want to fight you. Let's not compete in illusion magic; you're definitely no match for me. I want to compete in swordsmanship."

Kurenai spoke in a suppressed voice, eager to fight her father and show off the results of her training over the past period.

Although due to time and reality, she only recovered about 10% of her peak strength in the illusion, it was still not bad.

Because her main strength lies in genjutsu, which requires the least amount of physical strength and chakra, she can suppress her father's genjutsu power in this aspect. She is confident that she can break even if he uses the Red Sunset technique.

There was no way around it; she had witnessed her father's red sunset countless times in the illusionary world, and was already extremely familiar with it.

Now all I want to do is compete with my father in knife skills.

"Can!"

Although she was puzzled by the other party's words, Yuhi Shinku did not refuse, nor did she have the right to refuse now.

Seeing that her father agreed, Kurenai raised her hand and formed a hand seal of opposition, indicating that she was ready. Then she charged forward with her sword, even using the techniques of superhuman strength.

In the world of illusion, she had long since mastered superhuman strength to an extremely high level. This kind of purely technical method has far fewer restrictions and focuses more on precise control, which is precisely what she excels at.

"Clang!"

The two longswords clashed, and surprisingly, Yuhi Shinku's foot slid back half a step due to the impact. At the same time, the ninja sword in her hand was also cleaved in a huge gash by the opponent's longsword, cutting into the blade a third of the way.

"What incredible strength!"

Yuhi Shinku was surprised once again; the girl's superhuman strength and skills were truly astonishing.

Despite the shock, he remained calm, brandishing his longsword and engaging in a skillful exchange of blows, no longer resorting to direct confrontation.

It wasn't just the girl's explosive power that was astonishing, but also the extraordinary longsword in her hand.

Although his longsword was decent, it was only decent; it couldn't compare to the other man's sword. If he continued to fight head-on, it would inevitably be broken.

The two engaged in a swordsmanship contest, while the Konoha ninja on the other side continued their fierce attacks on a mass of thin air, completely controlled by Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu.

After fighting for several minutes, Yuhi Shinku's side was the first to be decided, mainly because her ninja sword was cut in half.

Even though he tried his best to avoid direct confrontation, it was only his best effort.

"I've lost. Kill me now, but I hope you'll spare them. They pose no threat to your Hidden Cloud Village."

Looking at the gleaming longsword that had slashed her neck, Yuhi Makoto sighed and admitted defeat, but hoped that the other party would spare her subordinates.

However, Kurenai Yuhi, who was holding the knife, was sweating bullets. She had gotten carried away with the blow and almost beheaded her father.

It's all that bastard's fault for making the illusion world so realistic that she developed a habit of it.

"Dad, I won this time."

Raising her hand to remove the mask, Kurenai Yuhi smiled and spoke in her original voice.

"Honghong?"

Hearing that familiar voice and seeing that familiar face, Kurenai Yuhi was stunned, then filled with disbelief.

The girl who defeated him turned out to be his own Honghong.

Keep in mind that it had only been a little over a month since his daughter was kidnapped, and at that time she was just a Chunin, but now she was able to defeat him.

Is this really my own daughter?

"Dad, I've come to take you to Kumogakure. You'll live with me there from now on."

Kurenai Yuhi revealed her intention: this time, she had to bring her father over; he couldn't stay on Konoha's broken ship any longer.

"What nonsense are you talking about? You should be the one leaving with me. Kumogakure is no good place."

Kurenai instinctively retorted, not forgetting the brat's face and words during the last great battle. He was almost spitting blood from anger back then, and it was in that battle that he lost his right arm.

"As expected, they weren't so easy to convince."

Kurenai sighed, knowing that verbal persuasion was useless and that she would have to resort to force to convince him.

With a flash of light, Yuhi Shinku's left arm and both legs were severed.

Kurenai quickly took out a spray bottle and sprayed it on her father's wound, forming a layer of gel to seal the wound. Then she took out a roll of sealing material, unwrapped it, revealing a large bucket containing nutrient solution, and finally stuffed her bewildered father's body and legs into it.

"Dad, you stay here for now. I'll let you out when we get to Kumogakure."

After saying that, without giving the old father a chance to speak, he sealed the lid of the nutrient tank and resealed it into the roll.

Kurenai glanced at the Konoha ninjas who were still firing at thin air, then ignored them and leaped away.

(End of this chapter)