Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

At the main gate of Kikyo Mountain Fortress, Mitarashi Shishou, who had been assigned to oversee the situation, finally felt relieved upon seeing Tsunade's arrival.

"Tsunade, it's so good that you're here."

"I really didn't want to come."

Tsunade, who was with Shizune, was very unhappy; she really didn't want to come over.

But since that idiot Jiraiya wrote a letter and things were indeed in a critical situation here, I had no choice but to come and check it out.

"Let's go inside and talk."

Mitarashi Shishou looked slightly embarrassed and quickly led the two of them to the conference room.

He knew some of what happened back then and understood the man's dissatisfaction with those people, but it was not something he was qualified to get involved in.

"What are those old guys trying to do? The war is about to end, but they pull this stunt."

Tsunade couldn't understand those old guys' actions. They were almost finished, but then they pulled this stunt.

She didn't believe the excuse that the Cloud Village had taken away her Byakugan bloodline. With the Cloud Village delegation being watched by the Anbu, it would be difficult for them to even leave the hotel, let alone infiltrate the Hyuga clan's territory.

It's obvious there's something wrong here; those old guys are definitely up to something again.

"I don't know the specifics either; I'm only in charge of the fighting here."

According to intelligence, Chiyo is leading the troops this time. You know her methods; currently, only you in the village can quickly neutralize her poison.

Mitarashi Shishou quickly changed the subject to the war. He dared not get involved in the village's internal affairs, nor did he want to discuss them, lest he bring trouble upon himself.

"They should really find someone to stage a coup and give those old bastards a public trial."

Tsunade was still dissatisfied, but she understood that it was useless to talk about it now; dealing with the current battle was the most important thing.

"I won't fight; at most, I'll provide medical support."

Her situation is rather complicated, and it would be bad if the Sand Village found out.

"Medical support is enough."

Mitarashi Shishou was very confident in his own strength and believed that blocking Chiyo would not be difficult. His only concern was Chiyo's poison.

However, they were quickly proven wrong, because in the afternoon, the three thousand Sand Ninja Army marched over to start the battle, and there was an additional character who was not mentioned in the intelligence.

"The Fourth Kazekage!"

Looking at the figure standing on the gold-flecked mat, Mitarashi Shishou's expression changed slightly.

This person wasn't in the intelligence; they were clearly brought in secretly.

This is going to be troublesome.

He could handle it if it were just Chiyo, but now there's also the Fourth Kazekage.

Just then, a large cloud of mist burst open, revealing a colossal creature.

It was an enormous slug, with a dashing figure perched on its head.

"It's Lady Tsunade!"

The Konoha ninjas, who had initially been somewhat panicked, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the giant slug and Tsunade on top of it; with her there, everything would be alright.

Upon seeing Tsunade appear, Rasa nodded to Chiyo below, then raised his hand to form a hand seal, releasing more gold dust that formed a wave that swept towards the defensive fortifications ahead.

"Disperse!"

Tsunade channeled her chakra into the slug, which quickly split into smaller slugs that crawled toward all the Konoha ninjas, providing remote healing services.

After scattering the slugs, Tsunade gathered her strength and slammed her fist into the ground, shattering the earth dozens of meters in front of her and blasting it towards the surging gold dust.

She's not good at hitting people now, but dealing with these ninjutsu creations is no problem for her.

"Tsunade, your opponent is me. Our rivalry from back then isn't over yet."

Chiyo rushed over, holding a sealed scroll in her hand, her carefully prepared trump card.

"You old hag!"

Tsunade was very displeased to see Chiyo charging towards her, but she did not back down.

She can fight puppets now without any problem, since puppets are not made of flesh and blood.

But the next moment her body froze. Chiyo approached and took out ten puppets from the sealed scroll. They were all bloody and mangled, some even with their heads missing.

Moreover, these people all looked like people Tsunade knew: her younger brother Nawaki, her tragically deceased boyfriend Dan Kato, and the others were all familiar clansmen, each one of them in a pitiful state.

Those tragic and bloody figures stirred up memories he didn't want to recall, and his body trembled slightly.

"really!"

Seeing Tsunade's reaction, Chiyo said "as expected" and continued to control the ten pitiful puppets to attack.

These puppets were carefully prepared by her. Although they looked miserable and were far inferior to the Chikamatsu Ten, they were still capable of fighting.

As the puppets charged at her, Tsunade trembled even more violently, her mind filled with memories of the past, making it impossible for her to react.

Just as he was about to be killed, a rope suddenly flew over, wrapped around him, and pulled him back. It was Shizune who had been watching from behind who made the move.

After pulling Tsunade back, Shizune carried her on her back and fled without hesitation.

Having followed Tsunade for the past few years, she naturally knew about her teacher's situation. Now that she was no longer able to fight, staying would inevitably lead to her being targeted and killed.

Moreover, judging from the methods used, the other party clearly already knew about Tsunade's situation and had to escape.

"withdraw!"

Mitarashi Shishou, who was dealing with the gold dust, noticed the unusual situation on Tsunade's side and decisively ordered the abandonment of the defensive fortifications and a retreat.

Now that Tsunade has been lost, he is alone and has no chance against two Kage-level powerhouses.

Especially for the Fourth Kazekage, who possesses Magnet Release, the existing defensive fortifications are meaningless to him, leaving him no choice but to retreat and preserve his strength to the greatest extent possible.

Mitarashi Shishou led the Konoha ninja in a retreat while fighting, while the Sand ninja pursued their victory, cutting all the way to the end and finally capturing Kikyo Mountain Fortress.

The occupation of Kikyo Mountain Fortress by the Sand Hidden Army has only temporarily come to an end, and they are resting and recuperating here.

They had marched all the way here and were not in good condition. They had also fought a battle before, which had further depleted their resources, so it was not advisable to continue the pursuit.

Rasa and Chiyo were quite satisfied with the results of this battle. Although they hadn't managed to defeat Tsunade and Mitarashi Shishou, there weren't many dangerous terrains in the area behind them that the Konoha ninjas could use for defense.

The next step is simply to advance steadily and gradually, then force Konoha to renew the peace treaty.

Meanwhile, Mitarashi Shishou, who had run hundreds of kilometers, finally stopped to count the number of people who had escaped, only to find that the original two thousand people had dwindled to less than thirteen hundred.

The remaining 700 people either got lost or were killed.

This number pained him deeply, but he knew now was not the time to grieve; he had to report it to the village as soon as possible and wait for their decision and support.

After writing the letter, he had it sent back by a ninja hawk before Mitarashi Shishou arrived at the location where Tsunade and her apprentice were.

"Tsunade-sensei probably can't stay here any longer."

Jingyin, who had just comforted the teacher, came over, feeling very sad.

Tsunade, who once made a name for herself in the ninja world and was known as the Flower of Ninjas, actually developed hemophobia. It sounds funny, but all she felt was sadness and anger.

"Were those events back then such a big blow to her?"

Mitarashi Shishou sighed. He knew some of what happened back then, but he never expected it to be such a huge blow to Tsunade.

"Take her away when it gets light."

There was no attempt to persuade her to stay. It was indeed not suitable for Tsunade to remain here any longer. Firstly, she would be targeted by Sunagakure again, and secondly, the previous defeat had left the survivors with some resentment, which was then directed at Tsunade.

Most of those people were unaware of what happened back then, and those events were impossible to explain.

It would be unfair to Tsunade to stay, and it might even worsen her condition.

Moreover, the battle has escalated to a point where it's beyond Tsunade's ability to resolve; more support is needed.

Most importantly, the fact that Sunagakure knew about Tsunade's situation should have been top secret, making him suspect that someone in the village might have done something.

This kind of thing is a headache to think about; we can only wait and see what the village does.

The letter quickly reached Konoha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two companions were dumbfounded after reading the information.

I thought it would be good news, but it turned out like this.

"Tsunade's information has been leaked."

Putting down the intelligence, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his two old friends, especially Koharu Utatane.

Few people know what happened back then, and even fewer have the motive to kill Tsunade; Koharu Utatane is one of them.

Because Koharu herself controls the village's medical system, Tsunade's return to the village would cause the most damage to her.

Even Mitokado Yan couldn't help but look over, and couldn't help but become suspicious.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Do you think I would harm her at such a crucial moment?"

Noticing the suspicious looks in their eyes, Koharu Utatane was quite annoyed.

What do you mean?

Am I such a reckless person?

"The front lines need a powerful medical ninja."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shifted the topic to the war, saying that there was no point in dwelling on the past. The key now was to stabilize the front line. Even if they couldn't recapture Kikyoyama Castle, they couldn't allow the Sand Village army to advance any further, otherwise they would have a hard time explaining to the Daimyo.

Besides Tsunade, the only other medical ninja in the village is Koharu Utatane.

Although Koharu Utatane is far inferior to Tsunade in medical ninjutsu, she is no less skilled in medicine. It shouldn't be difficult for her to prepare an antidote for Chiyo's poison in the past.

"Okay, but I need the support of Ino-Shika-Cho."

With an uncertain expression, Koharu Utatane finally agreed to go, but on the condition that she bring ninjas from the Ino-Shika-Cho clan.

She would naturally bring her clan's ninjas to provide support, but that would be far from enough, since there were two Kage-level ninjas there, one of whom was the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure.

However, most of the Kage-level shinobi in the village had gone to the front lines, even Danzo had gone, leaving only Hiruzen.

However, Hiruzen is absolutely not to be moved lightly. For now, the only option is to take Ino-Shika-Cho with us on the expedition, since the combined strength of Ino-Shika-Cho is not bad.

"I'll go talk to Qu Feng tomorrow."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, then looked at Homura Mitokado.

"Has any intelligence come in from the Grass Country front?"

"The Third Tsuchikage personally led three thousand ninja into the Land of Grass. Although Jiraiya's letter summoned Orochimaru, Orochimaru didn't have a good solution against the Third Tsuchikage and could only stall him."

Mitomon Homura revealed the intelligence he had received two hours earlier: the battle situation there wasn't good, but it wasn't too bad either; at least it was much better than the situation in the Land of Rivers.

"It would be good if we could just hold them off."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a slight sense of relief, realizing that the bond between Orochimaru and Jiraiya was still there; he had been genuinely worried that Orochimaru would ignore him.

"What about Kirigakure?"

He then inquired about Kirigakure, which was also a target that needed to be guarded against.

A large part of the reason they decided to go to war was that they were certain that Kirigakure would not be able to send any troops to fight, especially since the Fourth Mizukage would definitely not be able to personally lead the troops.

That person not only came to power through a coup, but also launched a major trial after taking power, and then carried out sweeping reforms, which will inevitably arouse dissatisfaction among many ninja clans.

If the village itself is unstable, there's no way to lead troops into battle; otherwise, another coup could easily break out.

The subsequent policy of isolation implemented by Kirigakure proved their suspicions, but unfortunately, Kirigakure was too tightly closed off, preventing them from obtaining information from that side.

"Still no movement."

Mitokado Yan shook his head slightly; this was good news.

They are already struggling to deal with three ninja villages at the same time. If Kirigakure were to intervene, they would surely collapse.

Previously, the reason why we were confident in defeating and suppressing the Cloud Village ninja army was that we transferred the manpower of the Eastern Theater to the Northern Theater. There were not many people left there, and once the Hidden Mist Village sent troops, we would definitely not be able to defend against them.

This is a high-stakes gamble; if they win, they can suppress Kumogakure and reclaim the Byakugan bloodline and the Nine-Tails.

As for losing, that's not within their consideration.

They believed that it wouldn't be long before Kumogakure couldn't withstand the pressure and would surrender, or that Danzo and his group would join forces to capture the Fourth Raikage or a Jinchuriki and use them in exchange.

They were wrong. After fighting in the Land of Hot Springs for half a year, the Hidden Cloud Village was indeed struggling and offered to cease hostilities, but refused to hand over the Hyuga clan's young lady, and didn't even mention the Nine-Tails.

Seeing that the Hidden Cloud Village was still so stubborn, there was no other way but to continue the fight.

This battle lasted for more than three years, pushing the Fourth Shinobi World War to a new climax, even more devastating than the previous two wars.

The main conflict was between Kumogakure and Konoha in the Land of Hot Springs, where both sides fought with fierce determination and refused to back down.

"They've fought like this, aren't they going to stop yet?"

Looking at the list of the dead again, Jiraiya, whose body was wrapped in bandages, was furious. There had been several opportunities to stop the war in the past three years, and Kumogakure had also expressed its willingness to stop the war, but that old man Danzo Shimura had rejected them all.

By now, the original 5,000 ninja troops have dwindled to less than 2,000, even after several reinforcements.

Danzo Shimura ignored Jiraiya's questioning, as he was thinking about how to capture the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki or the Fourth Raikage.

The two were much stronger than initially estimated, and most importantly, they were too fast. I tried several times but failed.

Moreover, the other party seemed to have seen through their intentions and was on guard, making it even more difficult to catch them.

"Bang!"

"Shimura Danzo, tell me what happened, or you can stay here and fight by yourself."

Shimura Danzo's disregard further angered Jiraiya, and at the same time, doubts arose in his mind.

He questioned Shimura Danzo many times and even wrote back to ask his teacher, but his teacher's response was to continue fighting and cooperate with Shimura Danzo to find an opportunity to capture the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

This made him realize that something was wrong; something must have happened.

And it's definitely not just because the Hidden Cloud Village stole the Byakugan bloodline; there must be something deeper going on.

Sensing the serious threat in his voice, Shimura Danzo glanced coldly at Jiraiya. Seeing that Jiraiya remained unyielding, he pondered for a moment and said, "Back then, Kumogakure not only stole the Byakugan bloodline, but also kidnapped the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, who was the Fourth Hokage's child."

Things have come to this point, and it's really hard to hide it anymore. Otherwise, once Jiraiya leaves, it will be difficult for them to even stop the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, let alone capture them.

"Minato's child? Naruto?"

Jiraiya was taken aback, then panicked.

"How could the children of Watergate have been kidnapped? Can't you even take care of one child?"

That's Minato's child, and the vessel for the Nine-Tails.

What are you people good for?

"Ask your teacher about that. Back then, I was still in the Eastern Theater Command keeping an eye on Kirigakure."

Danzo Shimura's indifferent statement that he wouldn't take the blame shows that his incompetence is that of his old friend.

"teacher!"

Jiraiya frowned, trying to calm down a bit.

"But continuing to fight like this isn't a solution."

"We can only keep fighting now. Only by capturing the Fourth Raikage or the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki can we exchange for the Nine-Tails."

Danzo Shimura also knew that it would not be easy to fight. In the past three years, his Root organization had lost a lot of manpower, and things were far more difficult than he had initially imagined.

Of course, a large part of the reason is also due to their lack of internal unity.

The composition here is very complex, with elites from both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans residing here, and the conflict between the two clans has existed for a long time.

At the same time, both sides disliked each other and their own subordinates, making it difficult to achieve perfect tactical coordination.

They even scheme against each other, which is the main reason why they failed to capture the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki multiple times.

He was also very annoyed by this, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Are you sure they were kidnapped by Kumogakure?"

After thinking for a while, Jiraiya realized there was a problem.

After three and a half years of bloody battles, not only did Konoha suffer heavy losses, but Kumogakure also suffered even greater losses.

Logically speaking, Kumogakure shouldn't have fought to this extent; if the fighting continued, both villages would be dragged down.

If they are truly dragged down, even if the Hidden Cloud Village obtains the Byakugan bloodline and the Nine-Tails, it will still be a net loss.

The Hidden Cloud Village already has two tailed beasts, one of which has become a perfect Jinchuriki, and the other is progressing rapidly. There's no reason for them to go to such lengths for a Nine-Tails.

Moreover, the Fourth Raikage had previously proposed a ceasefire on several occasions.

"The most suspicious is the Hidden Cloud Village, followed by the Mangekyou Sharingan that caused the Nine-Tails' rampage back then."

After a moment of silence, Danzo Shimura suggested another possibility.

He had also noticed something was wrong in the past two years; it seemed that the Hidden Cloud Village really didn't need to fight to this extent.

"You decided to start a war without first making sure everything was clear?"

Jiraiya was so angry he almost vomited blood. He thought he had solid evidence, but in the end, none of you were sure.

Is this how you do things?

It's important to know that the village has paid a heavy price in these three years. First, the Sand Village went to war again, and Tsunade was discovered to have hemophobia. Sand was almost killed and had to retreat in the end.

After two years of protracted negotiations, a ceasefire agreement was signed again, negating all the treaties signed in the previous ceasefire agreement.

The Hidden Stone Village also launched another attack from the Land of Grass, led by the Third Tsuchikage himself. The village paid a heavy price to stop them.

He had to swallow his pride and write another letter to Orochimaru, asking him to use that forbidden technique to stop it.

The battlefield in the Land of Hot Springs was even worse; it was a bloodbath, with both sides suffering far too many losses.

In the end, they gave an uncertain response. How am I supposed to explain this to the compatriots who died in battle?

How do we explain this to their families?

(End of this chapter)