Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 56 The Head-Splitting Naruto

After making some plans, the Third Raikage led his ninja army on their return journey. However, the ninja world was in an uproar. When the news of the war in the Land of Whirlpools reached the major ninja villages, they were completely dumbfounded and furious.

As Tamura Hidden Village and Tsuchidae had predicted, internal strife broke out, and the ninja clans and the Third Mizukage became completely opposed, tearing off all pretense of civility.

Although they haven't openly started fighting yet, they've already begun a covert struggle, especially over the two tailed beasts, with both sides wanting to control them.

The Sand Village was also furious. Not only did the thousands of elite ninja they sent not obtain the right sealing technique, but they were all killed. Only four people escaped back, and even Chiyo and Ebizo, who escaped back, were crippled and would need at least several years to recover.

Without much talk, the Third Kazekage personally led the ninja army to the border, preparing to give the Konoha ninja army there a severe blow.

The same was true in Iwagakure. When they heard that their trusted confidant, Nishiki, had died in battle in Uzushiogakure, and that he had been poisoned by Konoha, they were furious.

Although he did not personally lead the charge, he did send a large army to suppress the Fire Kingdom.

The Hidden Cloud Village naturally cooperated by sending troops. Even before Konoha sent its elite Uchiha forces there, the Third Raikage dispatched ninja troops into the Land of Hot Springs to establish a defensive line based on the advantageous terrain.

At the same time, Hanzo of the Salamander in Amegakure also declared war on Konoha, joining forces with Iwagakure and Sunagakure to target Konoha's ninja forces in the area.

The Land of Fire and Konoha panicked. Although Konoha was powerful, it was difficult to withstand the combined attack of three ninja villages, not to mention the demigod Hanzo of the Salamander, who was a strategic-level powerhouse.

However, what troubled Hiruzen Sarutobi even more was the exposure of the detailed process of the War of the Land of Whirlpools. He was under pressure not only from the three great ninja villages, but also from within Konoha.

The first lady has already sent someone to invite me over for a talk.

He even suppressed the pain of his family's elite being wiped out and the possibility that his son might die in battle.

The problems within the village must be suppressed, or everything will be over.

"Is this all you've done?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his old buddy across from him with great annoyance and disappointment. "I asked you to help me solve my problems, not to cause me trouble."

Furthermore, you've revealed your secret of having transplanted Sharingan eyes; the Uchiha clan leader has already sent someone to deliver a formal invitation.

This is with the Uchiha elites all outside; if they were still in the village, they would probably have rallied and attacked.

Seizing the bloodline power within the village is a major taboo.

Danzo Shimura remained silent with a cold expression. The war in the Land of Whirlpools was indeed not handled well. The biggest oversight was that he did not expect the Uzumaki clan to have defected to the Hidden Cloud Village and hide some of their members.

Those members of the Uzumaki clan have already sailed to Kumogakure, so things are really hard to say.

Furthermore, the complete annihilation of their elite forces was enough to severely damage both clans and the Root.

Mitokado Homura took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and said, "Hiruzen, getting angry now is useless. We can only deny the Uzumaki clan's affair to the death. It's a slander by Kumogakure. Given Mito-sama's personality and the current situation, it's highly unlikely that she will hold us accountable."

The most pressing issue right now is the Sharingan; it must be resolved as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the Uchiha ninjas on the front lines find out, they might immediately abandon everything and return to fight.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at Danzo Shimura opposite him and said coldly, "You'd better have a backup plan."

This matter is very taboo, after all, Danzo is a high-ranking member of the village and his confidant. In the eyes of the village's ninja clan, the two of them are one.

Danzo's actions will inevitably implicate himself.

If he makes a mistake and incurs the dissatisfaction of all the ninja clans, he, as the Hokage, might be forced to abdicate.

Danzo Shimura paused for a moment, then removed the sealing bandages from his eyes, revealing a strange eye, and said, "What I possess is not the Sharingan, but the Blood Dragon Eye of the Land of Lightning."

He was well aware of the many taboos surrounding the transplantation of the Sharingan, and that it would cause a lot of trouble if it were exposed, so he had made preparations long ago.

He sent someone to the Land of Lightning to get a Blood Dragon Eye. Although it was inferior to the Sharingan, it was still a decent eye and enough to explain the sealing bandages on his eyes.

"The Blood Pond Clan, held captive by the Uchiha Clan?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had some recollection of this; the events involving the Blood Pond Clan occurred very early, even before the First Hokage and his generation.

It seems that he offended the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning for some reason, and was then ordered to be exiled to a certain place and guarded by Uchiha clan ninjas.

In recent years, the Uchiha clan has even sent people there in rotation, which is a privilege granted by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, and the Hidden Cloud Village has no right to interfere.

As far as he knew, the Blood Dragon Eye of the Blood Pond Clan was a genjutsu bloodline that could rival the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan, possessing all sorts of strange and mysterious techniques.

"It looks somewhat similar; that kind of chakra is too cold and ominous."

Koharu Utatane looked at Danzo Shimura's eyes and nodded in approval.

With this eye, they could refute the words of the Hidden Cloud Village. All that was left was wrangling, something they were very good at. They could easily define this as a deliberate slander by the Hidden Cloud Village, a scheme specifically planned for the war, to disrupt the morale of the Uchiha ninjas on the front lines.

That's despicable!

"Come with me to the Thousand Hands Clan's territory first."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up. Now he could only deny it to the death, insisting that it was the slander of those few ninja villages and the conspiracy plotted by Kumogakure.

Then came the trip to the Uchiha clan's territory. Although it still couldn't completely clear his name, it at least provided some leeway.

Only after resolving these two issues can one do other things, such as redeeming one's son.

Since he is their own son, the Hidden Cloud Village is unlikely to kill him, which would give them a chance to negotiate.

Danzo Shimura didn't say much, and got up to follow.

Before long, the two arrived at the Senju clan's territory and, under the watchful eyes of many, went to the residence of the First Hokage's wife.

Mito Uzumaki didn't say anything, just quietly watched the two of them, but she put a lot of pressure on them, and they couldn't say the words they had prepared.

Only by facing this first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki can one understand how terrifying he is; he is not much less formidable than the first master.

After watching for a full hour, Mito Uzumaki finally spoke with a sorrowful and weary expression.

"The Uzumaki clan has allied with Kumogakure and is no longer an ally of Konoha. Remove all the vortex icons from the village."

She has lived from the Warring States period to the present day, witnessing the end of the Warring States period and the beginning of the Ninja Village era. She has seen far too many things.

She could see through Hiruzen Sarutobi and his companions' little tricks and didn't want to listen to their sophistry.

The Uzumaki clan was ultimately someone I owed something to. If I hadn't done what I did for Hashirama and for Konoha, becoming the first Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts, and even participating in the First Shinobi World War, the Uzumaki clan wouldn't have been targeted by so many people.

When her second uncle came to scold her back then, she guessed that this day would come, but she never expected that the one who would actually kill her would be Hashirama and Tobirama's student.

The only good thing was that the Uzumaki clan moved to Kumogakure instead of being wiped out, which made her feel a little better.

However, the friendship between the Uzumaki clan and Konoha came to an end, and it's better to sever some ties.

(End of this chapter)