Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Tamura Hao allowed the three tailed beasts to live in the village, but he also gave them instructions: to keep their tails tucked in and not to make them look so special that people would immediately associate them with tailed beasts.

Especially the Nine-Tails; Konoha is probably going crazy right now, searching everywhere for Naruto and the Nine-Tails.

Konoha has indeed gone mad; to be precise, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others who know the truth are on the verge of madness.

They hadn't expected that before the matter with the Cloud Village delegation was resolved, their own Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would be lost, and on the same night no less. This made them suspect that the Cloud Village had used a feint attack.

After all, what a coincidence! Moreover, the kidnapped young lady of the Hyuga clan was replaced and disappeared right under their noses, which proves that the Hidden Cloud Village has methods far beyond their comprehension.

Not to mention that the Hidden Cloud Village kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki back then. Although there was an element of their scheming involved, the Hidden Cloud Village did succeed in the end. Even the Third Raikage personally descended and forcibly took her away.

"Hiruzen, let the battle begin."

Upon his return, Shimura Danzo looked at his old comrade and proposed to wage war against Kumogakure once again.

He wouldn't even mention the previous schemes against the Hyuga clan, but this time, the theft of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was truly intolerable.

We must retrieve the Nine-Tails as soon as possible!

"How's it going in the Eastern Theater Command?"

Taking a drag of his cigarette, Hiruzen Sarutobi inquired about the situation in the Eastern Theater Command.

"Since the coup, Kirigakure has suffered a great loss of strength and is now in a state of complete retreat, almost closing itself off from the world. No one comes to the Land of Fire anymore."

Danzo Shimura replied that he had the confidence to propose war.

The Fourth Shinobi World War is almost over. The Iwagakure ninja army has been severely damaged since being annihilated by the combined forces of Kirigakure and Kumogakure, losing two Kage-level ninjas and a Jinchuriki. Now they have to defend against Kumogakure and Kirigakure while continuing to fight against Sunagakure, which puts them under considerable pressure.

Sunagakure is not having an easy time either. They have suffered repeated defeats on the battlefield, first being defeated by them, and then by Kirigakure. In addition, they do not have abundant resources, so they are already struggling.

The Hidden Cloud Village was also suffering greatly. It had been severely damaged by the Hidden Stone Village, with even the Third Raikage being surrounded and killed. The Fourth Raikage had only been in power for a few years, and the village was not stable internally. It had also suffered considerable losses in its bloody battle with the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Hot Water for several years. In addition, it had to guard against the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Mist Village, making it equally difficult for the village.

At this time, Konoha was under the least pressure, making it the perfect time to go all out and wage war against the Land of Hot Springs.

"What about Sunagakure and Iwagakure?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Homura Mitokado, his old friend who was in charge of intelligence work and knew these things best.

"The Land of Grass and the Land of Rivers are both peaceful, but last time it was only because of the appearance of Tsunade and Orochimaru that the thoughts of Sunagakure and Iwagakure were suppressed. We cannot draw troops from those two sides, otherwise it is hard to guarantee that the two sides will not have some ulterior motives."

In particular, Sunagakure was very dissatisfied with the terms of the previous contract.

With a furrowed brow, Mitokado Homura felt it was better to play it safe. Otherwise, if they were to go all out against Kumogakure and Sunagakure and Iwagakure suddenly attacked again, they would be in trouble.

It remains to be seen whether Tsunade and Orochimaru will reappear.

"My Root clan, combined with the Hyuga clan, is enough to suppress the Cloud Ninja."

Danzo Shimura still proposed war, as they had already deployed a considerable number of people in the Land of Hot Springs, including the elite Uchiha forces.

If they can fight the Cloud Ninja to a standstill, then if they add him and the Hyuga clan, they will be able to suppress them. Then they can take the opportunity to use sealing techniques to seal the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki in exchange for the Nine-Tails.

Although he decided to trade two for one, Danzo Shimura did not feel he was losing out.

Although they are both tailed beasts, there is a huge difference in their strength. The Nine-Tails almost crippled Konoha, but the Eight-Tails was often suppressed by the Third Raikage.

Therefore, the Nine-Tails must be retrieved.

"This is also an opportunity to weaken the Hyuga and Uchiha clans."

Koharu Utatane spoke up. They had wanted to weaken the Hyuga and Uchiha clans before, and now that they had this opportunity, they naturally had to seize it.

"The matter of the Nine-Tails needs to be kept secret for now, otherwise the other three ninja villages might get interested."

Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to his old buddy's proposal to start a war, but emphasized the importance of keeping the matter confidential.

Originally, he didn't want to continue fighting with Kumogakure, but Kumogakure had gone too far this time. Not only did they try to steal the Byakugan, but they also captured the Nine-Tails. This was intolerable.

The tailed beasts are a crucial element in maintaining balance among the various ninja villages, and the Land of Fire is situated in a region of constant warfare, making the power of the Nine-Tails even more vital and absolutely indispensable. They are willing to risk starting another war for this cause.

As for weakening the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, it was also necessary. He didn't want those two clans to seize the opportunity to stage a coup, or even follow the example of Kirigakure and hold a public trial.

Not only will he be infamous for eternity, but his entire family will also be implicated and wiped out.

Therefore, this battle must be fought, even if it means sacrificing all the people on that side.

The four discussed the matter further before dispersing to prepare for their own events.

Hiruzen Sarutobi went straight to the Hyuga clan, while Danzo Shimura led the Root elites north to the Land of Hot Springs.

The renewed war between Konoha and Kumogakure reignited the escalating Shinobi World War, which was on the verge of ending, and all factions quickly learned the inside story.

"The Hidden Cloud Village actually plotted against the Byakugan bloodline of the Hyuga clan."

At the front lines of Sunagakure, Rasa was astonished by the methods of Kumogakure after reading the intelligence that had been delivered.

The Sand Village also coveted Konoha's Byakugan, which was a strategic asset whose impact on the war far exceeded that of the Uchiha's Sharingan.

However, the Hyuga clan members all have strange curse marks on their bodies, making it impossible to obtain their Byakugan. According to their investigation, only a very small number of Hyuga clan members do not have such curse marks, but those people mostly stay in Konoha Village and rarely come out, so it is impossible to obtain them.

Who would have thought that Kumogakure would pull off such a big move, acquiring the bloodline of the Hyuga Byakugan?

That's a bloodline, not just a single Byakugan. Given time, it could develop into a new Hyuga clan, which would be of immeasurable value to the ninja village.

"Make the village ready. If the war between Konoha and Kumogakure expands further, transfer the ninja forces on the western front to the Land of Rivers."

The ceasefire agreement originally signed must be changed.

Thinking of the contract signed after the defeat, Rasa felt ashamed and felt he had to change it.

That was not just to wash away the shame, but also for the future development of the village.

Sunagakure's funds were already tight, and the contract stipulated that some of the village's employment tasks would be transferred to Konoha, which would significantly reduce the income of the village and its ninjas.

With less income, it will be difficult to train a large number of ninjas, which is extremely detrimental to the village's future development.

This is also the insidious aspect of Konoha's strategy—to use this to continuously weaken their Sunagakure village.

There was no opportunity before, but now that the opportunity is right in front of us, we naturally have to seize it.

"We also need to be careful with Kirigakure; that Fourth Mizukage's strength and potential are terrifying."

Chiyo was particularly interested in Kirigakure because the Fourth Mizukage was proving to be incredibly powerful, and he was only thirteen years old at the time.

It's truly unimaginable what level a twelve or thirteen-year-old Kage-level powerhouse can reach in the future.

"It's just that it relied on external forces. Orochimaru's method of resurrecting the dead must have limitations, and it's impossible to resurrect them perfectly."

Rasa was not afraid of this. In his opinion, the Fourth Mizukage mainly relied on the power of the puppet armor and ninja tools, and his own strength was just so-so.

Although their record was brilliant, they all relied on tricks.

The reason why the two Kage-level powerhouses and the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki of Iwagakure were able to be killed in the three-way battle at Yunwu Rock was twofold: first, the surprise attack was convenient; second, Iwagakure had fought a fierce battle with the powerhouses of Kirigakure first, which greatly depleted their strength, allowing the enemy to take advantage of the situation.

If they were at their peak, there would be no way they could be taken down so easily.

As for the coup in Kirigakure, although four powerful figures from Iwagakure were killed, including the Second Tsuchikage, they were all dead who had been resurrected through some means.

That forbidden technique couldn't be too overpowered, otherwise Konoha would have been invincible long ago, and wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat in this Shinobi World War, being ravaged by the Nine-Tails.

If the First Hokage could be resurrected, the Nine-Tails would have been easily suppressed long ago.

Therefore, that kind of technique has its limits. It's hard to say how much strength the resurrected dead can have, and it's not surprising that they are killed or suppressed.

"According to the information we received from Kirigakure, it seems that the resurrected dead can be suppressed with sealing techniques. We will send a group of sealing ninjas over to prepare for that."

"Now that Konoha is completely depleted, as long as we keep an eye on Tsunade and Orochimaru, we'll definitely be able to break through Konoha's defenses in the Land of Rivers."

Rasa was full of confidence. As long as they didn't face Konoha's main force, Sunagakure would definitely win.

"What's wrong?"

Suddenly noticing that Chiyo's expression was off, he asked her a question.

"I've been wondering why Tsunade didn't participate in this Shinobi World War; she only made a brief appearance last time."

It was originally thought that it was due to the inside story of the Senju clan's destruction back then, and that he himself had not returned to Konoha for a long time.

But recently we suddenly received some vague intelligence that might be advantageous to this war.

After thinking for a moment, Chiyo revealed the information she had about Tsunade.

"The deaths of her relatives and clansmen seemed to have caused her great psychological trauma, which is why she did not participate in this Shinobi World War."

She has rarely been involved in fights in recent years, and was even chased and forced to flee by a group of ordinary people who were collecting debts, which is very unusual.

"Psychological trauma".

With his eyes slightly narrowed, Luo Sha felt this was a golden opportunity.

What are the chances of success?

"I'm not entirely sure, but it shouldn't be bad; at least there's a reason why they can't participate in the war."

Chiyo couldn't make an accurate judgment either; she needed to face Tsunade directly to be certain.

"Bring Garuro and Yekura to me, and we'll open up the eastern front."

After some deliberation, Luo Sha decided to take a gamble.

He desperately needs a respectable victory. Since there are weaknesses on Konoha's side, he should take advantage of the situation and launch a strong attack to achieve even greater results.

There's no way around it; fighting Iwagakure here is just too boring and tedious. The main fighter here is the son of the Third Tsuchikage, who is very good at defensive combat. It's almost impossible to defeat him.

This isn't a desert, so I can't fully unleash my Magnet Release power here.

Since that's the case, it would be better to change the battlefield and start fighting Konoha again in the Land of Rivers.

"I will step in and lure Tsunade out again."

Chiyo agreed, as she also wanted to defeat Konoha. Her son and daughter-in-law had been killed by Konoha, and her grandson had fallen into depravity because of it, leading to the destruction of her family.

Although that person is dead, Konoha still exists.

It wasn't just Sunagakure that was having second thoughts because of the renewed war between Konoha and Iwagakure; Iwagakure was doing the same.

Furthermore, they were also very angry with Konoha and Orochimaru, after all, Orochimaru had resurrected those people, including their Second Hokage.

This matter must be thoroughly investigated. If we can lure Orochimaru out again, that would be perfect.

Even Onoki was prepared to personally investigate the matter of his teacher. If Orochimaru had indeed taken control of his teacher's spirit, then it had to be taken back.

It's not just a matter of honor or disgrace; it also concerns many secrets of the village, especially the secret of Dust Escape.

The Hidden Cloud Village was also shocked by Konoha's reaction.

"The Hyuga clan has dispatched five hundred ninjas, and Danzo Shimura has even led the Root group north. Do they intend to fight us to the death?"

Looking at the latest intelligence, the Fourth Raikage, who was stationed at the front line, was quite puzzled.

They had indeed been plotting to obtain the Byakugan from the Hyuga clan, while simultaneously using this opportunity to ascertain Konoha's attitude and strength.

But I really didn't get my hands on the White Eye bloodline, and even if I did, there wouldn't be such a big reaction.

"Perhaps it was the coup in Kirigakure and the fate of the Third Mizukage that spurred them on."

Tsuchida, who had been analyzing the intelligence, suddenly said that he had roughly guessed what was going on in Konoha.

The Fourth Raikage cast a questioning look at him. What was so exciting about this?

Tsuchikage explained, "Unlike our Hidden Cloud Village, the situation in Konoha and Hidden Mist Villages is much more complicated."

The Third Mizukage was the leader of the First Mizukage's Shadow Guard and had even participated in the First Five Kage Summit with the First Mizukage. He was originally supposed to succeed the First Mizukage as the Second Mizukage.

However, the head of the Hozuki clan suddenly allied with the three major ninja clans to seize the position of Mizukage and became the Second Mizukage.

After the Second Mizukage died in battle, the ninja clan's power was severely damaged, and the Third Mizukage was able to take over.

However, over the years, they have been fighting against the factions left behind by the Second Mizukage, which has gradually evolved into the Blood Mist Policy.

Once political struggles arise, they inevitably involve some underhanded tactics that cannot be brought to light.

Therefore, after the Third Mizukage grew old, he wanted to pass on the position to his disciple, Yagura Karatachi, in order to maintain the power of his own faction while also covering up and eliminating what he had done in the past.

But unexpectedly, the head of the Ringo family, Tamura Hiroshi, rose to prominence and forcefully suppressed the two factions after their fierce battle. He also publicly tried the Third Mizukage and others, permanently nailing them to the pillar of shame, and even implicated family members in the trial.

The situation in Konoha was similar, or even more complicated. Back then, the Second Hokage was being hunted down by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and passed the position of Hokage to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Because he did not return to Konoha to pass on the position publicly, only Hiruzen Sarutobi and a few others brought back the Second Hokage's last words, it was naturally difficult to convince the people, especially the Senju and Uchiha clans.

Therefore, Konoha has been embroiled in internal strife and infighting for decades. During the Second Shinobi World War, Uzushiogakure and the Senju clan were destroyed one after another, both of which involved figures like the Third Hokage.

Although they did it perfectly, it's hard to guarantee that no traces won't be left behind, let alone being publicly interrogated and judged with injected drugs like the Third Mizukage.

To avoid that situation, it is necessary to eliminate or weaken the forces within the village capable of staging a coup, which at present are only the Uchiha and Hyuga.

The Uchiha elites have been fighting us in the Land of Hot Springs, and this time they've even forced out the Hyuga clan's elite, clearly intending to use our strength to weaken, or even eliminate, those two great clans.

Tsuchitai believes this is the truth, and that the loss of the Hyuga bloodline is just an excuse, and it may even be a scheme orchestrated by the Third Hokage and others.

After all, who would kidnap someone from Konoha?

Do they really think the Third Hokage and the Konoha Anbu are just sitting around doing nothing?

Moreover, the fact that their people were able to infiltrate the Hyuga clan's territory is proof in itself. After all, their delegation must have been under surveillance by the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu long ago, and it wouldn't be easy to avoid their notice.

"They're using us as weapons!"

Her face darkened; Ye Yue Ai never imagined she would one day be used as a scapegoat.

"Can it be cracked?"

"It's difficult; the initiative is in the hands of the Third Hokage and his ilk."

Tsuchikage couldn't think of a way to break the deadlock for a while, and he guessed that the Hyuga clan and the Uchiha clan should have guessed the Third Hokage's sinister intentions. It was just a matter of how those two clans would deal with it.

"Is Kirigakure still hiding in its shell?"

Unable to find a way out either, Yotsuki Ai turned the topic to Kirigakure. At this stage, the only enemies of Kumogakure are Konoha and Kirigakure. They had already crippled Iwagakure last time, so it was impossible for them to gather more troops to attack again.

But Kirigakure is different, especially the Ringo ninja clan, which is not simple at all.

"The country has completely closed itself off from the world. All foreign ninjas entering the Land of Water will be killed, and even ordinary people will be interrogated and investigated. It's extremely sensitive."

Tsuchitai felt that Kirigakure wouldn't cause trouble anytime soon, since the losses from the coup were considerable, far exceeding the losses on the battlefield.

Not to mention that the Fourth Mizukage was particularly tough and ruthless, and he carried out a major trial, removing almost all of the village's high-ranking officials. It's estimated that Kirigakure's operations were paralyzed, and it won't be easy for them to recover.

Faced with the Hidden Mist Village retreating into its shell, they had no other options; they couldn't very well cross the sea to attack the Land of Water.

That would most likely result in an ambush by the Mist Ninja at sea. No one wants to face the Mist Ninja at sea; it would almost certainly mean certain death.

Meanwhile, in Kirigakure, Tamura Hao had read the latest intelligence on the Fourth Shinobi World War. He and Genji exchanged a knowing smile, their unspoken understanding unspoken.

He had previously handed over some intelligence he obtained from Konoha to Yuan Shi to use and manipulate, attempting to incite the Shinobi World War to continue, thereby weakening the four great ninja villages while diverting their attention so that he could develop in seclusion.

They themselves had little interest in this Ninja World War; their goal had always been the Ninja Nation Plan, so there was no need for them to suffer further losses in this Ninja World War.

The best option is to conserve and save your energy.

While developing Kirigakure, Tamura Hao did not neglect his own training. In fact, most of the time he would send a shadow clone to the Mizukage's office to handle matters.

He has been continuously cultivating himself and conducting numerous studies, especially those research projects which have progressed rapidly after receiving support from the entire Hidden Mist Village.

Tamura Hao himself mainly cultivates Yin and Water attributes, and studies the Dark Release Bloodline, hoping to fuse it into Dark Release.

Dark Release is a very powerful bloodline limit that can absorb the opponent's chakra and even ninjutsu, and return the ninjutsu to them. It is basically a weakened version of Momoshiki Otsutsuki's Rinnegan eye technique.

Furthermore, he has some ideas that need to be tried and implemented based on the Netherworld Escape technique, so the fusion of the Netherworld Escape technique is very important.

(End of this chapter)