They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 258 The Army Approaches Konoha

"Have you heard? The Third Raikage of Kumogakure was actually killed by the Fourth Hokage of Konoha!"

Inside a tavern in the Land of Iron, a permanently neutral country in the ninja world, a group of guests are having a heated discussion about the recent hottest topic in the ninja world: the Ninja World War.

"Furthermore, I've heard that the Third Raikage was completely powerless against Shimura Danzo, being instantly killed in a single exchange. Judging from this, the gap between Konoha and Kumogakure is probably deeper than we imagine!"

A traveling merchant dressed in hemp clothing finished his cup of cheap wine and shared his opinion on the outcome of the Ninja World War.

"If you ask me, the Fourth Hokage, who instantly killed the Third Raikage, can definitely be considered the strongest ninja in the world. With Danzo Shimura in charge, plus so many ninja clans in Konoha, I'm afraid the situation in this war isn't as clear as it seems. It'll probably be a long battle!"

Just as this man, emboldened by alcohol, was making his grand pronouncements, a burst of snickering came from another table in the tavern.

"You call Danzo Shimura the number one ninja in the world... The number one ninja in the world that you speak of has already been beaten to a pulp by Shingetsu Hozuki of Kirigakure. He barely managed to escape, and before the Third Hokage and the head of the Uchiha clan could even save him, he was wiped out along with his entire family. And you're still bragging about it here?"

"Nonsense!"

The man who had been interrupted angrily turned around and launched into a tirade against the other table of drinkers: "Who do you think Hozuki Shingetsu of Kirigakure is? Is it Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara? Someone who could kill the Third Hokage and the Uchiha clan head in a three-on-one fight, and even force the Fourth Hokage to flee in panic?"

"Even if you're trying to exaggerate to attract attention, could you please come up with a better reason? Only a child would believe something like that!"

The person who was being rebuked simply chuckled dismissively and turned back to continue chatting with his friends, clearly not wanting to waste his breath arguing with such a person.

"Breaking news! Breaking news! Kirigakure has decisively defeated Konoha! The Third Hokage and the Uchiha clan head have been killed in battle, and the Fourth Hokage has fled!"

Just as the man was feeling smug and turned around to his friends to continue showing off his views on the Ninja World War, the sharp shouts of newsboys suddenly came from outside the tavern.

"What?"

The man turned his head in disbelief and stared at the direction outside the tavern. He then rushed out of the tavern and, after a short while, returned to the spot looking dejected under everyone's gaze. He casually threw the newspaper in his hand at the other people at the table.

"It's actually true...!"

-

The news of the two Hokage of Konoha, along with the news of the Uchiha clan chief being defeated by Hozuki Shingetsu, spread throughout the ninja world at an unexpected speed.

The ninja world had just finished digesting the shocking news of the Third Raikage being killed by Danzo Shimura, and they thought Konoha was about to rise again, but unexpectedly, they were shocked by an even bigger bombshell.

Moreover, the protagonist of the previous big scandal became the background figure of this big scandal, which makes people sigh that each scandal is bigger than the last.

Thus, this explosive news spread throughout the entire ninja world in just two days, with the help of onlookers and various forces with unclear intentions.

The temporary camp of Kumogakure on the border of the Land of Lightning.

"What?! That old bastard Danzo Shimura was actually defeated by that bastard Shingetsu Hozuki? And Hiruzen Sarutobi and Fugaku Uchiha also lost their lives?"

Yoruichi Rai, who had just succeeded his father as the Fourth Raikage, was utterly incredulous upon hearing the news. He widened his eyes and grabbed the collar of the ninja who had come to report the news.

He certainly couldn't accept this news.

For the Fourth Raikage, who always revered his father, this news not only made everyone in the ninja world believe that his father's strength was far inferior to that of Hozuki Shingetsu, whom he had always looked down upon, but also made his father a laughing stock.

This also means that at this critical moment when the Hidden Cloud Village suffered a major defeat and the Hidden Mist Village succeeded, it is easy for the Hidden Cloud Village's leadership position within the alliance to be shaken, thereby affecting the Hidden Cloud Village's strategy of using the alliance to seize rights in this great war.

The sudden death of the Third Raikage had thrown the Hidden Cloud Village army into chaos.

Under the massive attack of the garrison in the northeast of Konoha, Kumogakure lost its forward base in the Land of Hot Springs and retreated thousands of miles back to the Land of Lightning.

This incident already caused the Hidden Cloud Village's international reputation to plummet, and now the contrast with the Hidden Mist Village further highlights their incompetence. This undoubtedly thwarted the Hidden Cloud Village's attempt to advance further through this war.

"Lord Raikage, the Konoha garrison on the other side has retreated!"

Just as the Fourth Raikage was raging, the Cloud Village's Anbu entered the camp to report on the unusual activities of Konoha.

"Konoha must have received the news from headquarters that both the commander and deputy commander of the southeast defense line have been killed in action, and Shimura Danzo has escaped back to Konoha. Although there are still a large number of ninja troops on the southeast defense line, it will probably not take long for Hozuki Shingetsu to break through it and enter the Land of Fire. So Konoha must have deliberately reduced its forces."

"Lord Raikage, while the death of the Raikage has caused us immense grief, our village's overall strength has not suffered much. Faced with this rare opportunity for Kumogakure to eliminate a powerful enemy, we should now press forward bravely to prevent Kirigakure from infiltrating Konoha first!"

Seeing that the Fourth Raikage was still furious, Tsuchida stepped forward to persuade him.

Under Tsuchida's persuasion, the Fourth Raikage, who was also holding back his anger, issued the order for a full-scale attack.

The news reached Kumogakure, and naturally, it reached Iwagakure as well.

While Onoki from Iwagakure wasn't as unlucky as the Third Raikage, their offensive situation was still rather complicated.

The commander and deputy commander in the northwest of Konoha are Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze.

Orochimaru, a cold-blooded individual who disregards the lives of his own people to complete his plans, is a natural-born commander. Combined with the Ten Thousand Snakes Formation, his various tactical schemes caused the Iwa ninja a great deal of trouble.

Besides Orochimaru's command skills, Minato Namikaze's personal strength was also clearly exposed in this war.

Especially in a crucial battle on key terrain, Minato Namikaze single-handedly defeated a hundred enemy Jonin, a feat that terrified the Iwa ninja and earned him the title of "Yellow Flash" throughout the Northwest battlefield.

Left with no other choice, Onoki had to issue another announcement, granting Minato Namikaze the same treatment as Sakumo Hatake.

This means that any mission that encounters Minato Namikaze can be abandoned unconditionally.

Moreover, Minato Namikaze was very clever. He knew the speed advantage brought by space-time ninjutsu and rarely participated in the frontal battlefield. He mostly carried out some tactical ninjutsu of roaming and flanking, using his strong personal strength to open up gaps for Konoha in some stalemate battlefields.

While Onoki certainly wanted to use his flying advantage and the powerful attack of Dust Release to ambush Minato Namikaze, flying was ultimately not as fast as teleportation. Onoki could only follow behind Minato Namikaze time and time again, watching helplessly as he treated the battlefield as if it were empty and began to roam freely.

Under Orochimaru's command and Minato Namikaze's personal tactical characteristics, coupled with the complex geographical situation of the Grass Country and Mountain Country to the northwest of Konoha, the Konoha garrison actually managed to withstand a huge numerical disadvantage and hold off the 20,000-strong army of Iwagakure at this line.

Just when Onoki was at his wit's end and could only rely on the numerical advantage of the Iwa ninja to advance by sacrificing lives, he suddenly discovered that one day the Konoha garrison in front of him had abandoned the large number of defensive fortifications that had been built at great expense and simply retreated.

Just as he was wondering, news finally reached his ears that Hozuki Shingetsu had defeated two generations of Konoha Hokage and taken down an Uchiha clan leader.

"Although I knew that kid was no pushover, I never imagined he would actually be able to rise to fame by stepping on the heads of Shimura Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Uchiha Fugaku..."

Onoki looked at the intelligence report in his hand, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was his old rival, and he had a clear understanding of the Hokage's strength. Even he wouldn't dare say he could defeat him with 100% certainty.

As for Shimura Danzo, needless to say, he was able to kill the Third Raikage in an instant. Even if he relied on some tricks, it is still clear that this "Dark Ninja" was no ordinary person.

As for Fugaku Uchiha... given his title as the head of the Uchiha clan, probably no one in the ninja world would consider him a fraud.

Even so, these three people were still defeated by Hozuki Shingetsu, which made Onoki wary of Hozuki Shingetsu.

"Although Kirigakure has produced Hozuki Shingetsu, its overall foundation is too weak. The most important thing now is to advance quickly and take this opportunity to destroy Konoha."

Having considered this, Onoki immediately issued an order, commanding the Iwagakure troops to seize the territory left behind by the Konoha garrison.

As a large number of Iwa ninjas crossed a mountain, no one could have imagined that Madara Uchiha, who once dominated the ninja world, was quietly waiting at the foot of the mountain, listening intently to the sounds of their passing.

-

"Lord Madara, Obito Uchiha has been rescued."

Madara Uchiha withdrew his gaze from the sky and turned to look at the White Zetsu standing on the other side.

"I understand... So? Still no news?"

Madara Uchiha got up and was about to leave when, as if remembering something, he casually asked the White Zetsu beside him.

The Zetsu he mentioned was none other than Black Zetsu of the Otsutsuki family, who had been tragically sealed away by Hozuki Shingetsu.

Since leaving home some time ago, Zetsu has lost contact with Madara Uchiha.

Because he was out gathering intelligence, Madara Uchiha didn't think much of it at first, but as time went on, he gradually realized that something was wrong.

There must be a problem if we haven't been in contact for so long.

"Alright, order the rest of the White Zetsu to continue the search!"

To him, Black Zetsu was merely a creation he had unintentionally made using Yin-Yang Release. He had only paid much attention to it before because he was quite comfortable using it.

However, having been out of contact for so long, he might have been exposed somewhere and killed. Such things have happened before, so Uchiha Madara shook his head as he looked at the White Zetsu, pondered for a moment, and put the matter aside.

Now, compared to Black Zetsu, he has even more important prey waiting for him to prepare.

"Obito Uchiha... Hah, you're truly lucky to have dedicated everything to the 'Eye of the Moon' plan!"

Madara Uchiha walked through the gloomy and dark corridor and came to a quiet room, where he finally met the chosen child.

At this time, Obito Uchiha's lower body was severely injured, and his entire body from the waist down was replaced with a White Zetsu body.

Hmm... It's worth mentioning that since White Zetsu are created from plants and are asexual, Obito Uchiha has successfully lost his manhood and undergone the first sex reassignment surgery in the ninja world.

At this moment, Obito Uchiha, whether out of concern for Rin or knowing that he had been castrated, was sitting blankly on the bed with a lifeless expression, ignoring Madara Uchiha's appearance.

"Want to resurrect your lover and create a world where she loves you?"

Madara Uchiha's seductive voice rang out, "It's very simple, you just need to become the god of the new world."

Upon hearing this, Obito Uchiha seemed to have thought of something, and he raised his head to look at Madara Uchiha, his eyes filled with an indescribable ambition.

-

After Iwagakure launched its massive attack, Sunagakure in the southwest followed suit. Their main reason for responding to the war was to divert attention from internal conflicts after the Kazekage's disappearance.

However, with the combined efforts of the experienced and steady Akimichi Torifu and the medically skilled Tsunade, the offensive of the southwestern defense line was difficult to describe.

Therefore, under these circumstances, facing the large empty area left behind by the Konoha defenders, they naturally did not hold back and began a frantic advance.

As for Kirigakure, which was the first to advance, by the time Hozuki Shingetsu received the news, the Kirigakure army had already broken into the Land of Fire and was less than a thousand miles away from Konoha headquarters.

"Uchiha Fugaku is dead?"

Looking at the intelligence report in his hand, Hozuki Shingetsu was initially shocked, but then secretly admired Shimura Danzo's ruthlessness.

He clearly remembered that he had not killed Fugaku Uchiha, and that Danzo Shimura had taken him with him when he left.

Now that news of Fugaku Uchiha's death has arrived, and it has been specifically pointed out that he died at Fugaku's hands, then the identity of the real mastermind behind this is self-evident.

"It seems that Danzo, in order to consolidate all forces to deal with the crisis, has begun to eliminate dissidents by any means necessary, preparing to consolidate his power!"

Hozuki Shingetsu was dismissive of Shimura Danzo's actions, because he didn't need to personally deal with him; he had already prepared a sharp blade six years ago.

The world will show him what it means to "rise by this principle, and perish by it."

The only one who can stop him now is the holder of the Rinnegan.

……

With the successive defeats of two Hokage, Konoha's morale plummeted. Coupled with Kirigakure's rapid advance on the southeastern front, Konoha was forced to order a reduction in its forces, concentrating all its resources on defending the Land of Fire.

However, given the vast disparity in strength, even though the Konoha ninja fought valiantly, they were still outnumbered and gradually eroded by the surrounding forces.

Thus, under these circumstances, the armies of the four nations of Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Water successfully joined forces in Konoha two months after the start of the Ninja World War.

(End of this chapter)