The Avengers of the Uzumaki Family

"Yes, Lord Raikage. The initiative is no longer in our hands. The attack from that Tsuchikage and Iwagakure will inevitably completely restrict us. Although we are reluctant to admit it, if the Iwagakure ninja are serious, we could pay a heavy price if we are even slightly careless. We cannot completely rule out the possibility that Iwagakure wants to take this opportunity to severely damage us and completely eliminate the threat from the east. The situation we are facing now is almost exactly the same as when the Third Hokage died more than ten years ago, but Iwagakure has a completely different situation. We cannot gamble on this. It is not a matter of probability, Lord Raikage."

Tsuchida made no attempt to hide his rebuttal to the Fourth Raikage's words, revealing his attitude in a blatant and undisguised manner.

After a moment of surprise, the Fourth Raikage, A, also became increasingly solemn and serious.

He realized that he had indeed made some assumptions.

To view the current situation through the lens of past dogmatism is a grave mistake.

What if Onoki doesn't back down this time? Is Iwagakure determined to press on until they've at least crippled Kumogakure?

That would bring an even heavier blow to the ninja village.

Thinking about this.

The Fourth Raikage's expression became more serious than ever before.

"You're right. We've lost control of the situation, and everything depends on the enemy's actions."

The Fourth Raikage, A, exhaled a breath of stale air, his expression somewhat unpleasant as he spoke.

This is a passive feeling that is beyond one's control.

The Fourth Raikage really wasn't used to it.

But as a Kage, the leader of a ninja village, he still needs to exercise this much restraint.

"Yes, Lord Raikage is wise."

"What 'mysticism'? From now on, you'll be in charge of all the arrangements. Tsuchidai, abandon what needs to be abandoned and keep the losses to a minimum. As for Kijin... try to negotiate with Konoha as much as possible..."

The Fourth Raikage chuckled, shook his head as if mocking himself, and said softly.

"Yes, Lord Raikage, I obey your command!"

Tsuchida also lowered his head in response, inwardly letting out a long sigh of relief. Sometimes he was genuinely afraid that if his Raikage got stubborn, he would charge down recklessly without regard for anything else.

In that case, their Hidden Cloud Village would have to bear even more risks.

This is a situation that Tu Tai absolutely does not want to see.

Steady defense and efforts to win over allies are the best solutions for their Hidden Cloud Village at present.

The Hidden Cloud Village was forced to make a choice.

Under the orders of the Fourth Raikage.

They abandoned the series of benefits that had been cleverly seized over the past ten years, which had already been consolidated. The Fourth Raikage still hoped to use these areas as a base to achieve further expansion of the ninja village.

Unexpectedly, a single defeat caused almost all of these benefits to vanish. Because of this, the Iwa ninja who advanced to the front lines, apart from some local stronghold elimination battles at the beginning, almost pushed forward all the way, gradually building their own village's sphere of influence and strongholds.

As long as they don't encounter a strong counterattack from the Cloud Village and other ninja villages, after three or four years of stability, this region and these countries can be openly said to be included in the sphere of influence of the Iwagakure Village.

From now on, all mission quotas in these countries and regions will belong to Iwagakure, which is the most common practice among the ninja villages of various countries.

Establish a stable control area.

To establish a strategic advantage for their own ninja village.

Then comes the task of harvesting the various types of tasks that may be issued to the people in this area.

This is also one of the fundamental reasons that directly triggered the three Shinobi World Wars.

Otherwise, do you really think those high-ranking members of the ninja villages are interested in so-called land? Ninjas don't need to farm; their profession is killing!

Ultimately, it's because only their own ninja village can cover a larger area, thus securing a larger share of missions.

The rewards will be higher.

Only in this way can more high-quality ninjas be trained.

Ultimately, this feedback loop leads to military confrontation, further compressing the enemy and expanding one's own advantages, creating a perfect virtuous cycle.

Konoha can maintain such a strong stance.

It's because the Land of Fire they belong to is so rich.

The people living in this wealthy country frequently issue missions, and the rewards are very generous. Surrounding small countries, as long as they have a choice, will issue missions to Konoha Village, and even other ninja villages.

This is one of the fundamental things that the four great ninja villages are fighting for with Konoha.

Now, Iwagakure has launched a powerful attack on Kumogakure.

The intention was similar: to severely damage Kumogakure and eliminate the threat on the eastern front. That was indeed important, but it was definitely not the only reason.

Humans are creatures that will never act without self-interest.

On this point, almost everyone in the ninja world sees it very clearly, and Huang Tu is no exception. Although he is kind-hearted by nature, it is only towards his own ninja village comrades. Just like the Fourth Hokage's approachability, it is only for his comrades. Once it involves the fundamental interests of the ninja village, he will not be kind to them.

These people are just as ruthless.

They all came from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the ninja world, so none of them would possess that kind of laughable naiveté.

In this military operation.

The goal of the Hidden Stone Village is also very clear.

As the frontline commander personally appointed by his father, the Earth Shadow, Huang Tu was well aware of the situation and was prepared to fight one fierce battle after another. However, after only a few clashes that could hardly be considered proper battles, Huang Tu was caught off guard.

They did not encounter any more Cloud Ninjas along the way.

Even the frontline reconnaissance units failed to encounter the Cloud Ninja who came to conduct reverse reconnaissance.

This greatly surprised Huang Tu.

Until Huangtu received further news.

"What? The Cloud Ninja have already retreated completely? Is that confirmed?"

Huang Tu raised an eyebrow, looking at the reconnaissance squad leader who had come to report with an incredulous expression, and asked in a slightly low voice.

Based on past experience, the Cloud Ninja are unlikely to abandon these frontline strongholds under normal circumstances.

Or at least we should play one match before making a decision.

This is almost a retreat from the very beginning.

Over the past decade or so.

I've never encountered it even once.

Huang Tu has dealt with the Cloud Ninja countless times, and in his youth, he even clashed with the Fourth Raikage.

I wouldn't say I know it very well.

However, it's somewhat surprising that Yunren's decision this time was a little unexpected.

However, it only lasted a few seconds.

Thinking of the losses suffered by the Cloud Ninja in that previous great battle.

The loess then suddenly realized.

"Send the message back to the village and ask Lord Tsuchikage for instructions. The entire army should set off immediately to seize the necessary strategic locations and bring this area completely under our control."

Huang Tu looked at the several Jonin from Iwagakure who had gathered around him and said solemnly.

"Yes!"

Since the Cloud Ninja have given up voluntarily.

Then there's no need for Iwagakure to be polite.

They'll swallow up the interests of the Land of Fields and the Land of Frost first; this is a piece of fat meat that Iwagakure is really eyeing.

This is the minimum standard that must be met in their intention to send troops this time.

The news reached Iwagakure afterward.

Onoki's orders were quickly relayed back.

Not just the Land of Fields and the Land of Frost.

Onoki's order was for Huang Tu to lead his troops straight to the border of the Land of Lightning. Self-interest was one thing, but severely damaging the Cloud Ninja was another.

This time, Ohnoki wants them all!

After receiving the order, Huang Tu also made great strides forward. The establishment of the stronghold and communication with the daimyo and nobles of the two countries were left to the professionals. Besides, these days, which country's leader wasn't a smart opportunist?

If you can't resist, then you can only submit to the end.

Follow whoever is powerful.

This is an eternal truth in the ninja world.

In any case, the ninja villages have no interest in national territory; for them, it is enough for their sphere of influence to extend outwards.

This is a common principle in the ninja world.

Those ungrateful nations and those small ninja villages have long since disappeared into the annals of history; those who remain can be considered 'smart' now.

The Iwa ninja arrived aggressively.

The Cloud Ninja have switched to full-scale defense.

Ultimately, a full-scale battle erupted on the western border of the Land of Lightning, reigniting the flames of war once again.

It also attracted the attention of ninja villages from various countries immediately.

A new Shinobi World War is about to begin!

This is almost a consensus among everyone.

And this was a time when the vast majority of people in the ninja world were worried that peace would be lost and death would come again.

The land of rain.

The most central area is Amegakure, a village shrouded in drizzle for almost the entire year.

There is a group of people who are happy to see this new round of battle.

Those were the leaders of the Akatsuki organization, the man who called himself 'God' and the woman who called herself 'Angel'.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 306 Lurking Malice