The Avengers of the Uzumaki Family

Ohnoki still had a shred of decency.

Secondly, why send your own people when you can solve a problem with money?

Another crucial reason is that such powerful groups often collude with other ninja villages.

Onoki wanted to see if any rival ninja villages like Konoha, Kumogakure, or Sunagakure were causing trouble behind the scenes.

Therefore, we cannot risk our own people.

It's best to leave this kind of work to the 'professionals'.

"With so little strength, they still dare to resist? How pathetic..."

Kisame Hoshigaki brandished his Samehada sword, looked at the leader of the target force who was barely breathing, sneered, and then forcefully swung his arm.

"Peng!"

It slammed down heavily.

They smashed him into a pile of minced meat, directly extinguishing the last bit of hope for this leader of the resistance force.

In the surrounding area, dozens of corpses lay scattered about. These people might have been quite strong, but in front of Itachi and Kisame, they were nothing but a joke.

Anyone can easily sweep them away.

The reason for requiring two people to come together, besides being to guard against potential traps, is more importantly because the Akatsuki organization has a rule that they must act in pairs, which can be considered a special precaution.

Although it's not that reliable.

But it's better than nothing, isn't it?

Just as Kisame Hoshigaki had killed his target, a soft footstep sound suddenly came from a distance.

Kisame Hoshigaki looked up.

Kisame saw Itachi Uchiha's familiar, cold face. In fact, judging from his age and seniority...

Kisame is definitely Itachi's senior.

There is no need to use honorifics.

But for some reason, Kisame trusted Itachi so much that he almost regarded Itachi as his mentor.

Therefore, Kisame always addressed Itachi with a respectful title.

"Oh? Itachi-san, you're back? How's it going? Is there some connection? Konoha? Kumogakure? It can't really be Sunagakure, can it?"

Kisame shouldered his Samehada sword and said with a smile.

"Yes, it's Sunagakure, but we weren't too involved. Sunagakure obviously didn't think such a force could amount to anything. They just provided some funding and necessary cover."

Itachi remained calm and spoke in a detached tone.

"So it really is Sunagakure? Tsk tsk, they can even provide some funds. This is really not like Sunagakure."

Kisame sneered.

This is not really slander.

After all, any ninja who has spent a few years in the ninja world knows that among the five great ninja villages, Sunagakure is notoriously poor. Otherwise, they wouldn't have only received one tailed beast when it was distributed. There's no reason why the other three ninja villages received two while Sunagakure only received one. To put it bluntly, it's simply because they couldn't afford it!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 307 The Stalemate

How could such a poor ninja village possibly allocate funds to support these foreign resistance organizations? It seems absurd no matter how you look at it.

"The pressure that Iwagakure put on Sunagakure was too great, especially after the defeat of Iwagakure in Konoha last year, the death of the Fourth Kazekage, and the capture of the One-Tailed Jinchuriki by Konoha. Iwagakure then launched a large-scale invasion of the northern region of the Land of Wind. Although it was not a full-scale attack, it still occupied some strategic locations. Sunagakure's northern fortress was almost captured at one point."

Itachi's eyes flickered slightly, and he spoke in a calm tone.

"Oh? I see. But the people they're supporting are too weak. Can we really expect them to pose any threat to Iwagakure?"

Kisame said dismissively.

In the five great ninja villages.

Kisame despised Sunagakure the most. His hometown, Kirigakure, at least had a lot of spirit and had a few glorious moments during the three Shinobi World Wars. It was quite famous in the Shinobi world. Not to mention Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure, they were all stronger than the others. Only Sunagakure, from the time it was founded, had never truly won in any battles with other Shinobi.

It's either a case of winning initially and then losing, or a complete and utter defeat.

Then you get caught in a vicious cycle.

They keep losing battles and getting weaker and weaker. Is that all? And the Sand Village still has to fight amongst themselves every now and then.

A ninja village that has almost never won a battle has a very awkward position in the ninja world. It is only because of the size of Sunagakure that the Land of Wind, no matter how poor it is, can continue to maintain its status as one of the five great ninja villages.

Otherwise.

Based on the previous three Shinobi World Wars, Sunagakure could have been completely knocked off its position as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

All I can say is that Sunagakure is incredibly resilient.

"In the end, it was just a foreshadowing. Since Sunagakure has no backup plan, let's leave. With this outcome, we can hand in the mission with these materials."

Itachi said softly.

"Ah."

Kisame nodded in agreement.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

After the two left the area, Itachi formed a hand seal and instantly conjured a giant fireball.

In an instant, the area that was covered...

They also burned all the corpses and houses to the ground.

Looking at the raging flames.

A faint look of contemplation appeared deep within Itachi's pupils.

The ever-changing landscape of the ninja world.

Itachi was genuinely worried about his village and especially about the safety of his younger brother, as this first major ninja war was likely to break out again.

'I hope everything goes smoothly. Also, regarding the organization, the plan seems to be about to begin. I should inform Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama as soon as possible...'

My own reflection in the flames.

Itachi's expression also turned slightly cold. For the sake of his own sense of justice, and even more so for his younger brother, Itachi would never stop his advance.

This is also what he believes to be the most correct approach.

The ninja world is in turmoil.

The successive appearances of various parties brought layer upon layer of chaos.

The Akatsuki chose to remain indifferent and quietly await the day when their organization's plan would officially begin.

The situation in the ninja world is becoming increasingly intense.

The Iwa ninja and the Kumo ninja have fought fiercely in the northern region, and in less than a few days, the number of casualties on both sides has reached several hundred.

In other words, Tsuchida arrived at the front line in time with Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure.

Otherwise, with the Iwa ninjas led by Huang Tu launching a powerful attack, the Cloud ninjas on the front lines would have a real hard time resisting.

Some strategic locations were also occupied by the Iwa ninja.

Onoki's orders were very direct and tough. This battle was not to destroy Kumogakure, but at least to ensure that Kumogakure would not have the strength to threaten Iwagakure on the eastern front for the next few years.

When the Iwa ninja got really into it, they were able to force the Kumo ninja to retreat in the beginning.

However, after Tsuchida arrived at the front lines with reinforcements, especially Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, the situation changed dramatically.

Tsuchida's military command capabilities are among the best in the ninja world.

Ninja battles differ from battles between ordinary national armies, requiring more sophisticated strategies.

Not everyone has the corresponding ability.

Tsuchida was already quite outstanding in this regard, second only to Shikaku. Under Tsuchida's command, the Cloud Ninjas skillfully used their geographical advantages to block the Iwa Ninjas' attacks layer by layer, and for a time they managed to withstand the Iwa Ninjas' further pressure.

The most crucial reason lies in the direct battlefield.

Killer Bee's move.

The key reason why the Cloud Ninja's defense line was truly stabilized was that he single-handedly withstood the attacks of Huang Tu and Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.

Otherwise, even the Cloud Ninja would likely have to pay a much heavier price.

Rao is so.

In the northern war situation.

The Iwa ninja still held a certain advantage.

However, it was inevitable that they would enter a stalemate.

This is a common situation in major battles between ninja villages. Unless a decisive battle results in an overwhelming victory, the occupation will continue for a long time until the attacking side, or both sides, can no longer hold out, or they feel it is pointless before it stops.

The same thing happened when Menma led the Takigakure ninja in a surprise attack on the Kumogakure ninja.

However, Menma cannot defeat the Fourth Raikage head-on.

If the consumption between them is at an equal level.

Even if the price the Cloud Ninja have to pay is higher.

That battle could not end quickly. Only after fighting to a certain extent would Menma be forced to retreat. Even if he temporarily gained a suppressive victory, as long as he could not achieve a complete defeat, the Fourth Raikage could still lead the remaining troops to retreat calmly, and then continue to send troops to the front line, and then join forces with the Konoha troops to crush them.

When that time comes, it will be Menma's side that suffers defeat.

Such battles have occurred countless times in the history of the ninja world. The most classic example of a near-instantaneous defeat was when Menma and Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, faced the Iwa ninja force led by Higashi no Shijin. He single-handedly used the overpowered advantage of the Flying Thunder God Technique to annihilate this elite Iwa ninja force in the blink of an eye.

If Minato hadn't been able to do that back then...

If the Iwagakure troops led by Higashi no Shijin gain a foothold, Iwagakure will definitely send reinforcements in a steady stream. At that time, it will be another protracted battle.

Now, Iwagakure and Kumogakure have entered into a typical, intense battle. The final outcome will depend on the decisions of the two Kage and the specific situation on the battlefield.

The various ninja villages are all paying close attention to the outcome of this battle.

Because the victory of different ninja villages will have different effects, especially for Konoha Village.