I'm retrieving corpses in Konoha.

Hayate Gekko and the others bowed in agreement, then, along with the wounded, the Hokage, and the two advisors, headed towards the base.

At this time, Uchiha Natsu had already returned to the Uchiha clan's territory from underground.

Since the Uchiha clan's temporary base was on the very edge, less than three kilometers from the battlefield, its shadow clones had not yet dissipated.

At this moment, his shadow clone was already lying in a tent.

Only Uchiha Natsu lived inside the tent. Uchiha Natsu's main body emerged directly from the ground and dispelled the shadow clone.

The memories from this period also returned to the original body's mind.

Besides exchanging pleasantries with Fugaku Shisui, clan head Fugaku also visited alone once.

The purpose of talking to me is to win me over and try to make up for what I owed Uchiha Natsu in the past.

In fact, Uchiha Natsu did not feel that Fugaku owed him anything.

His parents, both Jonin, died in battle and were heroes of Konoha, yet the Third Hokage gave him a pitifully small amount of compensation.

However, Fugaku, as the head of the Uchiha clan, has been providing assistance to Uchiha Natsu over the years.

This allowed Uchiha Natsu to live a life no worse than others, and even richer than children with parents.

However, Uchiha Natsu did not have the habit of being extravagant.

Being cautious, he saved all the compensation money for a rainy day.

Just like the food rations for more than a year.

The only people who were unfriendly to him were the Uchiha clan members.

However, Uchiha Natsu didn't care. Aside from the impending extermination of the clan, the Uchiha clan members all had some mental issues.

After gaining strength, Uchiha Natsu deliberately made his clansmen suffer during this war.

For example, he participated in battles with Uchiha Hachimoku and others, or in battles at town strongholds.

Uchiha Natsu could have directly revealed his strength and avoided seriously injuring them, but he didn't.

The real intention was to make the Uchiha clan members experience enough pain and pay the price in blood and lives, so that they would wake up.

In retrospect, the results have been fruitful.

Most of the Uchiha clan members have now learned to lie low and have recognized their own shortcomings.

It's likely that the Uchiha clan will grow stronger in secret in the near future.

Given Uchiha Natsu's status within the clan, he would be able to obtain a great deal of benefits.

Chapter 54 Conspiracy

Night falls.

In the forest, the Konoha ninja army and the combined ninja army of Iwagakure and Kumogakure set up camps several kilometers apart.

The Konoha ninja camp was brightly lit.

Several hundred meters away from the camp, a dozen ninja squads and more than ten ANBU squads were taking turns patrolling.

Inside the patrol route, a tall earthen wall was built, surrounding the Konoha Ninja Army's base.

The earthen wall has two gates reserved.

One of them faces the Allied Shinobi Forces in the distance, while the other faces Konoha Village behind it.

At this moment, at the main entrance.

A four-man squad was acting as guards, with their hands on either side.

All four of them were quite tired and kept dozing off.

They've been waiting here for almost an afternoon.

A short while later, another four-person team came out from the camp.

"Shuimu, it's your turn to take over."

The captain of the guard squad was overjoyed to see the approaching four-person team.

Standing here bored, with your mind constantly on edge, is more torturous than fighting.

Among the four-person team walking towards them, a silver-haired youth at the front greeted him with a smile: "We've come to take over, Tonghe."

"I'm exhausted after this afternoon, and I don't know when the war will end."

The team leader, Tonghe, stretched and then patted Shuimu on the shoulder, saying, "You guys are on night duty, so you'd better stay alert."

"Haha, don't worry, we already slept all afternoon." Shui Mu smiled.

While the two were talking, the other three members of the team led by Mizuki had already taken over the guard positions from the previous shift.

Once the original guard squad had gradually moved away, Mizuki withdrew his gaze.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

There were four guards, two in front of the gate and one behind it.

Mizuki stood in the center of the gate, constantly observing the three of them.

At that moment, he was holding a watch in his hand, as if he were keeping track of time.

A moment later, the team member guarding the inner side alone frowned, looking somewhat uneasy.

His expression tightened, and he said to Mizuki, "Captain, my stomach hurts, I need to go to the restroom."

Shui Mu put on a concerned expression and quickly said, "You must have eaten something bad. I told you not to eat random things."

The team member looked a little embarrassed. He did have a craving for snacks and really liked eating strange and unusual treats.

"Alright, hurry up and go. Stay away, otherwise the stench will drift back and affect your duties." Shui Mu waved his hand helplessly.

The team member's expression was as if he had been granted a pardon, and he even used his teleportation technique to dash off towards the base.

[A book-reading app recommended to me by a friend I've known for ten years, Wild Fruit Reading! It's damn good! I use it to read aloud and listen to books while driving or before bed to pass the time. You can download it here.]

The two team members outside couldn't help but want to laugh, but they forced themselves to remain serious.

After the teammate with the stomach upset ran away, Shui Mu called out to the door, "You two, one of you guard the door and wait for him to come back."

The two exchanged a glance, and one of them immediately walked over and stood inside the doorway.

A sinister smile inadvertently appeared on Shui Mu's face.

When two people are face to face, they can keep an eye on each other's condition at all times. But when one person is alone, things become much easier.

A moment later, the team member standing outside widened his eyes.

Subsequently, his pupils dilated rapidly, and he completely lost all signs of life.

Shui Mu stood in the center of the gate, watching the team member outside being silently assassinated by a man in black, yet he maintained a smile throughout.

Then, seemingly casually, he walked over to the guards inside the gate, secretly gripping a kunai in his right hand.

The next moment, the player inside the goal fell to the ground.

Shui Mu waved towards the door, and then suddenly a large number of men in black appeared in the forest.

These people, all wearing headbands from Kumogakure or Iwagakure, are ninjas from the opposing side.

They filed in past Shuimu and quickly entered through the gate.

Mizuki glanced indifferently at the two corpses on the ground. By this time, Iwagakure personnel had already carried them away.

Mizuki remained unmoved, as if the two were not partners of the past year or so, but strangers.

Just then, an unusually tall man walked in, stopped, and glanced at Shui Mu.

Shuimu immediately knelt on one knee and respectfully said:

"Fourth Hokage, I have fulfilled my promise. Please remember our agreement."

Because of his lack of ability, Mizuki was never valued by the village and thus harbored resentment.

This war gave Shuimu an opportunity.

It took him a month to overcome numerous difficulties before he finally found the opportunity.

He successfully met the Fourth Raikage without Konoha's knowledge.

At the same time, an agreement was reached.

That is, while his squad was on duty, he let the allied forces from the two villages in.

In exchange, Mizuki demanded that the Book of Seals of Konoha be handed over to him after the village's destruction.

Inside are all the powerful forbidden techniques sealed by the First Hokage, possessing immense power.

Mizuki believed that as long as he obtained the Book of Sealing and learned the forbidden techniques within, he would become incredibly powerful.

The seniors and the Hokage have always warned that the forbidden techniques inside are extremely dangerous for the user.

Not only is it difficult to learn, but it can also endanger one's life.

Shui Mu scoffed at this, believing he could easily learn those techniques himself.

The Hokage said that because he wanted to monopolize power and didn't want others to become too strong and threaten his position.

The Fourth Raikage glanced at Mizuki as if he were an ant.

Then, too lazy to bother with him, he followed the short old man beside him and disappeared through the gate in a flash.

The Fourth Raikage agreed to Mizuki's conditions because only in this way could he easily launch a sneak attack on Konoha.

They had no idea what the patrols were like, and each of these guards had a signal flare that could be fired instantly.

With a gentle press, the leaf will react immediately.

Only an inside agent like Mizuki, with a minor position, could use his authority to uncover the complex patterns of Konoha's patrol teams.

For the Hidden Cloud Village, the sooner the decisive battle, the better.

Because another elite force of Cloud Hidden Army that he had dispatched had already begun its operation.

Before long, the Tsuchikage Onoki will receive news from the rear of Iwagakure.

Before that, the Fourth Raikage must conquer Konoha to complete his grand plan.