I'm retrieving corpses in Konoha.

He would never believe that the crack he just saw could have been created with physical strength alone.

The Uchiha clan is skilled in genjutsu, which further convinced Yamanaka Inoichi of Uchiha Natsu's explanation.

Even so, the strength that Uchiha Natsu displayed today far exceeded that of many Jonin.

"It seems that Xia has suffered a lot these past few years in order to become stronger."

Yamanaka Inoichi had already imagined a whole host of scenes of Uchiha Natsu training diligently and neglecting sleep and meals.

"We need to leave here quickly and return to Konoha. The Fourth Raikage is probably still chasing us," Uchiha Natsu said in a deep voice.

The others nodded immediately, and the team set off again, speeding towards Konoha.

.

In the forest of the Land of Lightning.

The Fourth Raikage blasted the last shadow clone apart with a single punch, then suddenly raised his arms to block it.

The large Rasengan in the shadow clone's hand suddenly exploded, and the resulting shockwave forced the Fourth Raikage to retreat several steps.

"This guy!" The Fourth Raikage gasped for breath, his brow furrowed.

Previously, he had his secretary, Mabui, use the Heavenly Teleportation Technique to teleport him here, thinking that he could conveniently block the path of the Konoha people.

But to his surprise, the Konoha squad was faster than he expected, and they had already passed through here some time ago.

Then, the Fourth Raikage found himself surrounded by hundreds of black-clad shadow clones.

The Fourth Raikage didn't want to get involved with these shadow clones, but after a little thought, he knew they were there to stop him.

There is definitely no physical entity inside.

But just as he was about to go around, all of these shadow clones rushed up to block him.

Like an unshakeable shadow, these shadow clones were incredibly fast, using Body Flicker Technique one after another, their chakra seemingly inexhaustible.

Therefore, the Fourth Raikage had no choice but to deal with these shadow clones first before chasing after them.

But after he successfully dealt with the last shadow clone, he was already feeling somewhat exhausted.

Standing still, the Fourth Raikage looked towards Konoha, his eyes bloodshot.

"When I destroyed the shadow clone, I deliberately dispersed the chakra within its body as much as possible. It seems that the person's original body now has almost no chakra left."

After a brief analysis, the Fourth Raikage concluded Uchiha Natsu's current situation.

"There are also Yumumen squads intercepting us outside the border. These people have suffered so much damage, they will definitely die at the hands of the Yumumen."

The Fourth Raikage was quite confident in Yugito's strength, so he decided to stop pursuing him and return to Kumogakure first.

Chapter 22 High-Level Meeting

In the forest, Uchiha Natsu and his three companions traveled quickly, gradually approaching Konoha.

At that moment, the team suddenly stopped advancing in unison.

Uchiha Natsu was the first to realize that there must be quite a few people ahead of them.

This is a forest on the outskirts of Konoha, so these people are likely a ninja army from Kumogakure.

Shisui activated his Sharingan, his expression turning serious: "There are many chakra fluctuations ahead, and nearly a hundred ninjas. They all seem to be from Kumogakure."

"Kumakure has indeed torn off its mask, but how is this possible!" Yamanaka Inoichi's face still showed disbelief.

Uchiha Natsumi and Shisui both understood the meaning behind Yamanaka Inoichi's words.

There are frequent border skirmishes between Kumogakure and Konoha, but they are all minor skirmishes.

Logically speaking, it's impossible for Kumogakure to engage in a major conflict with Konoha. This is because there's another ninja village watching from the sidelines.

The Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Stone Village are sworn enemies. If the Hidden Cloud Village invests too much military force into the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Stone Village might take advantage of the situation.

In order to guard against a sneak attack from Iwagakure, Kumogakure would never launch a full-scale attack on Konoha.

“What’s done is done, let’s hurry back to the village,” Uchiha Natsu said.

No matter the reason, Konoha must not be destroyed now.

Although Uchiha Natsu was not blinded by the Will of Fire, he still prioritized his own interests.

However, his current strength is not enough. If Konoha is destroyed, he will either have to flee or be captured.

If they flee, they can't retrieve high-scoring corpses if they flee to a remote small country.

If captured, they would be killed on the spot by the Raikage, with whom they had a grudge.

Only if Konoha still exists can he secretly collect corpses and increase his strength under the protection of this great tree.

Uchiha Natsu's ultimate goal is to reach the point where he can stand there and let others hit him at will, and even if they work themselves to death, they can't break a single hair on his head.

Only in that way can one live peacefully to the end.

Upon hearing this, Shisui nodded repeatedly. He had been extremely anxious for a long time, and among the four people, probably no one was more worried about the safety of Konoha than him.

Thus, with the help of Shisui's Sharingan and Yamanaka Inoichi's sensory abilities, the four of them managed to bypass the Cloud Village's ninja army and finally returned to Konoha.

.

Inside the Hokage's office in Konoha Village.

The four highest-ranking members of Konoha gathered here.

Besides the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who is in the Hokage position, there are two advisors on the right and Danzo Shimura leaning on a cane on the left.

"The Hidden Cloud Village not only launched a surprise attack on us, but they also joined forces with the Hidden Iwa Village." The Third Hokage said in a low voice, looking at the two advisors.

"I sent people to receive intelligence that the Sand Village had also been invited by the Cloud Village, but they refused to participate in this war, and they will not help us either."

The two advisors looked grim after hearing this.

They never imagined that the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Stone Village, who had always been enemies, would actually join forces this time.

Moreover, the Cloud Village had clearly agreed to sign a peace treaty, but they went back on their word.

After a pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued:

"This operation was probably not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Hidden Cloud Village had already deployed hundreds of ninja squads within our Land of Fire territory. It was because of their inside-outside cooperation that they were able to quickly take over the border outposts and appear on the outskirts of Konoha without anyone noticing."

Koharu was furious and said angrily, "They actually planned this all along. I'm afraid that sending someone of high status to sign the treaty was also a trap!"

At this point, Koharu Tsurugi suddenly paused for a moment.

She remembered that unassuming Uchiha Natsu, who seemed to have suspected it was a trap.

However, at that time, the negotiations had just been successful, and no one believed him.

The Third Hokage glanced at Koharu Utatane, sighed, and said:

"I'm afraid Shisui and Inoichi won't be coming back. The Fourth Raikage didn't participate in this raid, and the four of them alone have no chance of escaping from the Fourth Raikage."

The loss of Uchiha Shisui and Yamanaka Inoichi is an absolute huge loss for Konoha.

Uchiha Shisui was a bridge between Konoha and the Uchiha clan for the future, while Yamanaka Inoichi was an experienced and excellent Jonin. Both of them were Konoha's elites.

Now, before he could completely control Uchiha Shisui, everything was gone.

Xiaochun, who was turning over a new room, opened her mouth, her face looking rather unpleasant. But this was a shared responsibility, and she didn't believe it was solely her fault.

Just then, Danzo, who had been silent all along, tapped the ground with his cane.

"The Uchiha clan should be the focus right now."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two advisors all turned their gazes toward Danzo.

Danzo half-opened his left eye and glanced at the two advisors.

Finally, he fixed his gaze on the Third Hokage and said in a deep voice:

"The Uchiha clan is becoming increasingly unstable. If we don't deal with them beforehand, who can guarantee they won't rebel when the great war breaks out?"

"Danzo, what do you mean by this?" Koharu Utatane frowned. "Konoha is in crisis. Under these circumstances, the Uchiha clan, as members of Konoha, are on the same side."

She simply couldn't believe that the Uchiha, as part of Konoha, would betray them under such circumstances.

Danzo snorted coldly: "The power of the Sharingan is too great, and their clan is prone to extremism; there have been examples of this before. Therefore, we must be fully prepared."

The Third Hokage frowned in thought, seemingly considering the possibility Danzo had mentioned.

"We must first pacify the internal situation before dealing with external threats. The Uchiha clan is indeed a problem. I plan to involve the Konoha Police Force in the war as well, so that we can avoid that situation from happening." The Third Hokage then said in a deep voice.

Danzo said anxiously, "If they've planned this in advance and then betray us, our ninja forces will be in serious danger!"

"I suggest we completely eliminate this destabilizing factor. Let my roots handle it; I can guarantee it will be resolved before the big battle begins, without causing too much of a commotion."

Honestly, I've been using Wildfruit Reading to read and follow my favorite books lately. It has easy source switching, multiple reading voice options, and works on both Android and Apple devices.

Shisui, the only one with the Mangekyou Sharingan, died in the Land of Lightning.

Therefore, Danzo believed that the current Uchiha clan was absolutely no match for his Root.

The Third Hokage's expression turned cold: "Let's not bring this up again. The Uchiha clan will play their due role on the battlefield. We cannot weaken our strength before the great battle."

Danzo's eyes widened, and he gripped his cane tightly with his right hand.

After a long pause, he slowly relaxed and said in a deep voice, "Then let them form small teams with their own people and send them to powerful enemies."

Before the Third Hokage could refute, Danzo continued, "If we disperse them to other teams, and they rebel, we will lose most of our ninjas."

"When that time comes, Konoha will cease to exist. Who among you can bear that responsibility?"

Chapter 23 Uchiha Itachi

The Third Hokage remained silent.

Although the possibility Danzo mentioned is small, it does exist.

If it happens, the consequences will indeed be very serious.

Seeing that no one objected, Danzo half-closed his eyes and said:

"Let them form their own squads, so that even if they defect, they won't pose a threat to our ninjas. If they don't defect, that won't prevent them from being effective."

"As for sending them to powerful opponents, it would be best if they could kill the opponent. If not, it would also reduce some destabilizing factors."