Naruto: Starting with the Two Kamui

Chapter 634 Three Inches of Human World, Strategic Planning!

Time flies, and two months have passed.

In the depths of winter, snow falls from the sky, draping the vast and prosperous land in a magnificent white cloak.

On the land of the Ninja Kingdom, all that could be seen was a vast expanse of desolation. Rivers were frozen, jade trees were carved into statues, snowflakes drifted in the sky, and smoke curled from the chimneys of the city.

"Hehehe~!" On the snow in front of the Heavenly Feather Pavilion in Feather Emperor City, Little Tornado, who is almost a year old, is running around pushing a snowball. Her little feet are covered with squeaky shoes, which make a 'clucking' sound with her cheerful steps, leaving two crooked little footprints on the snow.

Oh, and she was wearing a pink cotton-padded jacket that Kushina had sewn herself, and a purple cotton-padded hat with two small holes specially made to accommodate the two horns on the top of her head.

Ban and Zhili stood side by side on the snow slope, arms crossed in front of their chests, and laughed, "Hmph, other kids learn to crawl before they walk, but Juan'er learns to fly before she runs, the order is completely reversed..."

Zhili's beautiful eyes glanced at Ban's profile.

She had never known before that Madara, a battle maniac, would like children.

Zhili asked, "Aban, what should we name our future children?"

"Huh? A child?"

Ban had never even considered having a child before.

Without hesitation, he said, "Let's call it 'Dance'."

“Uchiha, Mai!?” Zhili’s expression was somewhat strange.

At Tenyukaku Onsen, rising steam creates a hazy, dreamlike scene, making even the snowflakes seem warm.

Yu, naked, leaned against a rock in the center of the hot spring, his face covered by a white towel. It was a rare moment of hot spring time, but his brows were furrowed, which was related to the current situation.

It turns out that since the Ninja Kingdom entered a state of war two months ago, Shin Uchiha's clone army has ceased any major operations.

The 100,000 White Zetsu searched almost the entire ninja world, discovering traces of the enemy several times, but these were all small groups of a few thousand or a few thousand people.

The enemy's main force has yet to appear, which is indeed somewhat unusual.

Hashirama was soaking in the water not far away, his sturdy body protruding above the surface: "Is there still not much progress in the search for clones?"

Yu said, "After a trace was discovered in the Land of Rivers about half a month ago, it hasn't been seen since..."

Hashirama stroked his chin: "Hmm, the Land of Rivers... it's almost in the southwest corner of the ninja world, bordering the sea. The enemy can't hide in the sea, can they? The living conditions don't allow it. Could it be an 'outer island'?"

A thousand years ago, the land on this earth was a single entity. Due to the battle between the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya, the earth was torn apart. After the battle, the Sage of Six Paths used his great supernatural powers to repair a large part of it, but a considerable portion of the land was carried by the ocean currents to distant places, becoming islands in the vast sea.

The largest known piece of land in the open sea was discovered by a navigator hundreds of years ago. The island had a pleasant climate and abundant resources, which attracted a group of people to migrate there. They have lived and multiplied there ever since, developing into the well-known water country.

However, the ocean is so vast, more than ten times wider than the existing land, that no one has ever set foot on the entire ocean. Therefore, there are many unknown islands that do not exist on any map, collectively known as 'outer sea islands'.

Yu said, "I had thought of this long ago. Hiding on an island in the outer sea would make it very difficult for the enemy to attack the ninja world... That would be putting the cart before the horse."

Hashirama, with a wild imagination, said, "What if the enemy had some means to quickly bring their forces from distant islands to the mainland?"

Yu shook his head and said, "This is impossible."

After pondering for a long time, Hashirama said, "Perhaps it is possible."

"Hmm?" Yu removed the towel covering his head and glanced at Hashirama.

Hashirama said, "Tobirama once developed a spacetime barrier technique that can transfer a target in one go."

The Space-Time Barrier is an S-rank forbidden barrier technique created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama. Only Minato Namikaze has mastered it since. In the original work, Minato used it to transfer the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball!

But shortly after he finished speaking, Hashirama denied it himself: "No, no, that's still wishful thinking. A spacetime barrier requires a huge amount of chakra to transfer millions of people over a very long distance. Only a chakra level of the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki can do that."

"If the enemy leader truly possesses such a vast amount of chakra, he wouldn't need to beat around the bush with us; he could simply confront us head-on."

"Upon careful consideration, hiding on an offshore island is also impossible; it's sparsely populated, living conditions are harsh, and even finding food to fill one's stomach would be a major problem..."

“To fill our stomachs…” Yu frowned and stood up abruptly: “The clones of Uchiha Shin have the structure of White Zetsu. Since they can travel underwater, could they also survive for a long time without food or water?”

Yu looked up at the falling snow in the sky: "Is that other Kabuto trying to pull this trick on me? No, now is not the time to soak in the hot springs."

Yu summoned the Five Shadows overnight for another meeting, where he shared his thoughts.

"The enemy is very likely playing psychological warfare against us."

"Imagine we're in a state of combat readiness for a long time, with our ninjas constantly on high alert, while the enemy is waiting in ambush, ready to launch a surprise attack when we make a mistake!"

Huang Tu said, "Then what should we do? If the war preparedness is lifted, wouldn't that be exactly what we wanted? But if it isn't lifted, wouldn't that make the situation even worse? Forgive my bluntness, but since the war preparedness was put into effect, the people have been confined to their homes, and production and life have come to a standstill. Many of the ninjas haven't slept for more than ten days!"

Rasa said, "Perhaps we should restore normal order, let people go back to work, and let ninjas resume their normal routines. A string that's been stretched too tight will break!"

Mei Terumi said, "Could it be that we're worrying unnecessarily? Maybe... the enemy doesn't actually have that much fighting power. After all, all the information we've gathered so far has come from Kabuto Yakushi. To be honest, I don't completely trust him."

Kakashi said, "Warfare is based on deception, and it is inherently a mix of truth and falsehood. In any case, we have already fallen into the enemy's trap. Whether it is Kabuto on this side or Kabuto on the other side, they are both extremely terrifying beings. Emperor Yu, whether the ninja world can overcome this crisis depends entirely on your strategic planning."

Yu said, "It's not up to me alone, but up to everyone here working together... The state of combat readiness cannot be lifted. Judging from the fact that the clones' ability to navigate underground is weaker than that of White Zetsu, their survival time without food and water is probably too short. Now we are relying on the strength of the ninja nation and its inherent advantage to defeat the enemy!"

"For the next month, the Ninja Kingdom's treasury will be open to distribute living allowances and survival supplies to the people of each city. At the same time, I will withdraw the 100,000 White Zetsu stationed outside and integrate them into the various cities, where they will take turns on duty with the ninjas to ensure their rest. As long as we work together and get through this harsh winter, it will be a victory for our Ninja Kingdom!!"

Chapter 635 A Three-Inch World, A Light Sent from Heaven!

This is an outer sea even more distant than the sea where the Land of Water is located.

In a windless zone, there is an island.

The doldrums are characterized by a unique climate where there is little wind throughout the year.

Therefore, sailboats powered by wind cannot reach this place.

Therefore, most of the undiscovered offshore islands exist in these calm zones.

This island is the external brain of Kabuto Yakushi, used as a nest to house the main force of the clone army!

Up to 80 clones have been placed here!

So the question is, how did Kabuto manage to house such a large army of clones in such a remote place while keeping it a secret?

There are simpler methods than large-scale migration.

The permanent nesting terminals for producing these clones were directly set up here, and these 80 clones have been on these islands since birth!

What about Shin Uchiha and his ilk on land?

That was just bait thrown out to confuse the ninja kingdom...

The 20 baits have been discovered and subsequently eliminated over the past two months...

In the depths of winter, the island is also covered in snow.

The cold facilities stand in the center of the island, surrounded by fences. The outer area is where the clones live.

Some of them sat leaning against the bare trees covered in snow, some sat on the open ground covered in snow, and some sat directly on the frozen water... 80 people filled the island completely.

During gene transmission or replication, mutations sometimes occur. Some are directed mutations to adapt to the environment, while others are random, non-directed mutations.

Undirected mutations can be beneficial or harmful.

Beneficial variations can promote the evolution of a species.

Harmful mutations create defective individuals. Those with severe defects are quickly eliminated, while those with minor defects are temporarily preserved, awaiting elimination.

Under normal reproduction, the probability of gene mutation is about one in several hundred thousand. However, the inhumane method of cloning increases the probability of mutation by hundreds of times, to one in several thousand, and almost all of them are harmful mutations!

The pursuit of quantity over quality in mass production inadvertently increases this risk!

On this small island, because the number of clones is so large, mutations occurring in one in several thousand are quite common.

Among the 800,000 individuals, some were as thin as a rake, like little old men, while others grew uncontrollably and became giants!

These are the ones that can survive; the worst are those that die shortly after birth!

The clones were in groups, yet also alone. They hugged their knees, their eyes vacant. Even when they were close at hand, they did not communicate. Even when they were shivering with cold, they did not know how to keep each other warm.

They don't even consider the meaning of survival; they just numbly wait for the 'master's' instructions.

On the other hand, their master, the 'external brain,' is receiving rapidly changing intelligence from the outside world and beginning to formulate the next strategy.

"Two months have passed, and the Ninja Kingdom shows no sign of reducing its military preparedness. Moreover, they've even recalled the White Zetsu searching elsewhere. Have they given up the search? Hmph, or do they believe that continuing the search will be futile..."

"It seems that Uchiha Yu has already noticed that my main force is not in the Inland Sea at all, and he has even figured out my strategic thinking. Although we are both 'Six Paths,' his mind is much sharper than Nagato's. Well, that's what makes things interesting..."

“On an isolated island, food is ultimately limited. Wild fruits and fish alone cannot feed 80 people. Fortunately, they have the ability to endure hunger derived from White Zetsu…”

thump!

Just then, on the island, a emaciated clone collapsed and died.

Due to individual differences, this individual was the first to reach their limit.

"Oh, it's almost at its limit... The death curve has clearly been trending upwards over the past 72 hours!"

Witnessing their companions starve to death, the clones' numb hearts would always stir with a tiny ripple of emotion.

"..." It was that slight fluctuation that made the external brain-computer interface of the device somewhat worried: "The unease of the group is intensifying. Even if they are not injected with something called 'emotion,' hunger and death will awaken the instinctive emotion called 'unease.' If the unease exceeds a certain value, unexpected variables may occur."

After careful consideration, the external brain made a decision: "Although the timing is not quite right, it is not advisable to delay any longer."

Boom!

In the center of the island, the doors of the facility opened, and as cold air escaped, a group of dark-skinned, silver-haired women emerged.

They are clones too!

"Mabui, the former secretary of the Raikage, I managed to obtain her blood, decipher her genetic structure, and clone her. Before mass-producing 100 million clones of Shin, I first mass-produced 1000 Mabui and cryopreserved them."

"The 'Teleportation Technique' of the hempen robe is unaffected by any conditions or area, and can teleport any item to any location at the speed of light. This technique is mainly used to teleport items and non-humans; ordinary people will die because they cannot keep up with the teleportation speed, resulting in their bodies being torn to pieces."

"Only the Third Raikage has ever successfully used the Heavenly Transfer Technique to move his position, because his body is strong enough. The Fourth Raikage, who inherited the bloodline of the Third Raikage, can also withstand this kind of intense friction generated from the air."

"Furthermore, the greatest advantage of the Heavenly Delivery Technique is that it does not require the large amount of chakra that the Space-Time Barrier Technique does... These 1000 clones in hempen robes are enough to deploy the pawns to the battlefield in batches."

Splash splash splash splash!

As the external brain issued the action order, Shin Uchiha's clones rose and gathered towards the center of the island.

For every hundred people, there was a person dressed in linen.

Swish!Swish!

The thousand men in linen clothes formed hand seals in perfect unison.

External Brain: "Hmph, as for the inability to teleport a physical body...!"

Noisy!