OberonLA
patreon
Mastermind of the Akatsuki 295
🕑 Added 2025-01-15 08:00:02 +0000 UTCChapter 295: Border Friction of Konoha
The next morning.
The Third Hokage rose from the cold leather sofa, lighting his pipe and exhaling smoke as he cleared his mind, preparing to properly handle the aftermath of the Uchiha massacre.
First, there was the vast inheritance of the Uchiha clan. While it theoretically belonged to the surviving Uchiha, Sasuke, due to his young age, it would have to be entrusted to the village for safekeeping.
As for the large Uchiha compound, the village wouldn't need to manage it for Sasuke; he could move in directly.
In addition, the Third Hokage needed to pacify the more restless ninja clans in the village. Although the Uchiha clan had been destroyed by the defector Itachi Uchiha, the other ninja clans might still fear for their own survival. If they united to attack the Hokage's office or simply rebelled, it would be very detrimental to the village's future development. While most of the village's ninjas came from commoners, the clan-born ninjas were more reliable at critical moments.
As the Third Hokage was thinking about these matters, there was a sharp knock at the door.
After permission was granted, the head of the Anbu, Shinzo, rushed into the office and quickly addressed the Third Hokage, “Lord Third, I have two urgent pieces of news to report.”
The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow, looking at his eldest son, and calmly said, “Is it good news or bad news?”
“There’s both good and bad news…” Shinzo’s expression darkened.
The Third Hokage straightened up, frowning as he looked at Shinzo. He replied, “Then tell me the good news first, followed by the bad. We’ll need to face both eventually.”
Shinzo nodded and said, “The good news is that, apart from Uchiha Sasuke, there are other Uchiha survivors in the ninja world. They were not harmed by Uchiha Itachi.”
The Third Hokage furrowed his brows, saying in disbelief, “There are still Uchiha survivors? Where did you find them? Did you bring them back?”
“It’s said that some ninjas saw Uchiha in a nearby town. However, after spotting the ninjas, they immediately fled, not giving us a chance to make contact.”
This wasn’t good news—it was bad news...
The Third Hokage’s mind was in turmoil, but the secret deal with Itachi was one that had to be kept forever. He couldn’t share this with anyone.
After a soft sigh, the Third Hokage said, “Perhaps it was Itachi’s massacre of his clan that frightened them, making them become paranoid and unwilling to trust anyone.”
Pausing for a moment, he continued, “Now, what’s the bad news?”
Sarutobi Shinzo’s expression grew serious as he spoke gravely, “Late last night, the ninjas stationed at the border sent us important military intelligence. Iwagakure has assembled a large force at the border and launched an offensive. Within just a few hours, they have already taken control of several border towns…”
Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage couldn’t help but speak up, “They took control of the border towns last night? Why specifically then?”
The timing was too suspicious, as if Iwagakure had known in advance that Konoha would experience the Uchiha Night, prompting them to launch the attack.
However, the information about the Uchiha rebellion was a top secret in Konoha—besides himself, very few knew about it.
Could it be that there was a mole within Konoha’s upper ranks, or perhaps when the Uchiha rebellion occurred, Itachi secretly colluded with Iwagakure’s Onoki?
Otherwise, how could some of the Uchiha have known the news in advance and left the village?
With internal and external troubles piling up, the Third Hokage’s scalp began to tingle. He didn’t know how to handle this situation.
At that moment, Sarutobi Shinzo spoke again, “Lord Third, the conflict on the front line could very well escalate into a war. You must make a decision quickly; we cannot delay any longer.”
“I know, you don’t need to tell me!”
The Third Hokage, unusually upset, snapped at Shinzo, saying, “You take Anbu members to the front lines and provide support. I’ll send reinforcements to you shortly.”
Seeing his father’s anger, Shinzo could only nod in agreement.
Given Konoha's current situation, it seemed like only Shinzo, the head of the Anbu, could take charge. After the Uchiha massacre last night, it was uncertain whether the other ninja clans would be willing to offer any support.
This was indeed the case.
After a morning of fermenting news, the Uchiha clan’s massacre and Iwagakure's army approaching Konoha's borders spread throughout the village, quickly reaching every corner of Konoha.
From the high-ranking advisors like Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, down to the common ninja, everyone learned of these two critical pieces of news and began heated discussions.
First, the news of the Uchiha clan's annihilation.
The Uchiha clan, which had once controlled the police force and had over a dozen elite jonin, had been completely wiped out in a single night. The perpetrator was none other than Itachi Uchiha, the future clan head.
Upon hearing this, the villagers couldn't decide whether the Uchiha clan was strong or weak.
If one were to say the Uchiha were weak, they would be right—over a dozen elite jonin and several dozen ninja were all killed by Itachi.
But if one were to say the Uchiha were strong, Itachi himself was the best proof. At just thirteen years old, he had the power to kill so many elite jonin. His talent had already surpassed that of the Legendary Three Ninjas, almost reaching the legendary power of the founders of Konoha, the Two Shinobi Heroes.
As for the news of Iwagakure’s forces gathering at the border, the villagers felt a chill in their hearts.
It had only been less than three years since the peace agreement, so why was Iwagakure attempting to start a war again, and at such a critical time, right after the Uchiha massacre?
The next few years would be difficult for the village, and they would have to live with the constant fear of not knowing whether they would survive each day.
Meanwhile, in the meeting rooms of the major ninja clans, the atmosphere was tense. The clan leaders and elite jonin sat across from one another, discussing the twin blows of the Uchiha massacre and Iwagakure’s invasion.
Regarding Itachi’s destruction of his own clan and his becoming an S-rank rogue ninja, the elite jonin of the major clans remained skeptical. Itachi was undoubtedly a genius, but the Uchiha clan's elite jonin were no pushovers. Even if they couldn’t defeat Itachi, they had the ability to escape.
Thus, the attack on the Uchiha clan last night could not have been carried out by Itachi alone. Others must have been involved.
As for who those others were, the elite jonin had their suspicions. It was either Danzo, who controlled the Root organization, or possibly even the Third Hokage himself.
Itachi could not have colluded with outsiders to annihilate his own clan.
After such thoughts arose, the elite jonin began to grow wary of the Third Hokage. They did not want another "Itachi Uchiha" to emerge within the village and potentially wipe out their clans for unknown reasons.
To prevent such a situation, they only had two options.
One was to fully align themselves with the Hokage’s office, giving it the power to decide their fate. The other was to play it safe during this war, trying to weaken the Hokage’s power as much as possible.
Faced with these two choices, some ninjas chose to become loyal dogs of the Hokage’s office, fully aligning with the Hokage faction.
Others began to silently resist. As long as their clans fell into disarray and became weak, they wouldn’t have to worry about being exploited by the Hokage faction.
The representative of the former choice was the Ino-Shika-Cho trio clan, while the representative of the latter was the Hyuga clan, which was as famous as the Uchiha clan.
