The interior of Konoha was filled with gloom and gloom at the moment.
The war that finally ended had another twists and turns due to something happening.
That was the leader of the Yunyin Village mission to Konoha. Due to some reasons, he died unexpectedly on Konoha's territory.
Moreover, the person who carried out the attack was Hinata Hizashi, the leader of the Hyuga clan and the limited clan of Konoha blood successors.
Important figures in Konoha are involved, and Kumogakure's mission to Konoha is also involved. When the two are involved, things naturally become troublesome.
Now Cloud Hidden Village is using this incident as an excuse to require Konoha to hand over the body of Hinata Hizashi, the leader of the Hyuga clan, otherwise it will attack the Country of Fire at all costs until it sees the body of Hyuuga Hizashi.
Nowadays, the diplomatic issues between Konoha and Kumogakure have created a huge gap.
And this kind of estrangement is likely to lead to war again.
Although the Kingdom of Earth and the Kingdom of Wind have ceased operations, the Kirigakure Village in the Kingdom of Water seems to be still resuming production due to the coup a few years ago. It has banned all contact with other ninja villages and is in a state of severe "isolation". Kumogakure from the Kingdom of Thunder was now very aggressive, threatening to start a decisive battle with Konoha again.
In order to deal with Kumogakure, since the sacrifice of the fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, Konoha finally spent the lives of countless ninjas in exchange for the peace it has today. Now that I heard that war was coming again, the atmosphere in the village immediately became solemn.
To this end, Konoha held a Jonin meeting more than once, and all the named Jonin attended this meeting.
There was intense discussion over the matter.
The conservative Jonin advocates seeking peace. Konoha cannot withstand the setbacks now. Since the death of the Fourth Hokage and the war of attrition with Kumogakure that lasted for more than two years, the military strength has declined a lot. We should focus on development now, and we can no longer fight Yunyin.
But the people from the martial arts faction believed that they should fight back immediately.
After more than two years of war, they are basically evenly matched with Kumogakure, and this is because Konoha's power has been consumed by Iwagakure and Sunagakure too much ninja power. From this point of view, Konoha's overall strength is Still have the advantage.
There is no shortage of high-end combat power in Konoha. If they turn from defense to offense, they may not be able to directly attack the borders of the Kingdom of Thunder and teach Kumogakure a profound and unforgettable lesson.
After that, look for development.
The two sides were at a stalemate, and the high-level officials did not express their stance at the meeting. Kumogakure, however, was eager to see the body of Hinata Hizashi, and had once again deployed troops on the border of Yuno Country, planning to launch an attack on the Fire Country at any time.
After the Jonin meeting, Konoha's top brass gathered in a separate small conference room to discuss the matter of Kumogakure and Hinata.
"According to the previous jounin meeting, most jounin believed that such matters should be resolved peacefully, and fewer jounin chose to continue the war... But to hand over the body of Hinata Hiashi, Kumogakure would be too deceptive."
After going to bed, Koharu frowned and told the statistical results of the previous Jonin meeting, while expressing dissatisfaction with Kumogakure's attitude.
"Yes, a peaceful solution is best. If that doesn't work, we won't hesitate to start a war again. The Hyuga clan's Byakugan cannot fall into the hands of others."
Mito Menyan's attitude is also very determined.
The leader of the Kumogakure mission died in Konoha. Konoha is willing to make compensation, but it must not be exchanged for the body of Hinata and Hizu.
This has exceeded the bottom line that Konoha can bear.
As senior leaders, they naturally understand the power of the Hyuga clan's Byakugan.
The strategic significance is great. If this kind of blood succession limit falls into the hands of other villages, it will be more terrible for Konoha than losing a war.
"What did the Hyuga clan say?"
As the Hokage, Hiruzen also understood that Hinata's Byakugan could not fall into Kumogakure's hands, but compared to this, the attitude of the Hyuga clan was also very crucial.
"Of course they would not agree, and their attitude was very firm. Moreover, speaking of it, it was Kumogakure's fault in the first place. They went to the Hyuga clan's territory and stole the daughter of the Hizu. I guess they put the place where the armistice agreement was signed. In Konoha, the purpose is not to sign an agreement at all, but to come for Hinata’s bloodline."
Because the whole thing was really weird.
Only a fool would sneak into the Hyuga clan's territory and steal the Hyuga clan's heir.
Even if you could rush in immediately, it would be impossible to get out.
The leader of the Kumogakure mission had no intention of leaving the Hyuga clan alive.
All Yunyin wants is an excuse.
Use another war to threaten Konoha and obtain the Hyuga clan's blood inheritance limited Byakugan.
"I don't hesitate to do this just for Bai Yan..."
Mito Monoyan shook his head. The methods of Kumogakure Village were still as unscrupulous and aggressive as ever.
Immediately, he looked at Danzo, who had been silent since he came in from the side.
Thanks to the previous war, the roots have grown unprecedentedly in the past two years.
Danzo himself has more and more say in the village, and for the Hokage, it has become a situation that cannot be lost.
"The Fourth Raikage himself had the experience of being defeated by the Byakugan ninja head-on. In addition, the Kumogakure troops on the battlefield also suffered a lot from the Byakugan. Naturally, Kumogakure Village's covetousness for the Byakugan is at an all-time high."
Xiaochun was not surprised at all when he went to bed.
After understanding the true thoughts of Kumoyin Village, it would be strange if the Hyuga clan did not take measures.
I just didn't expect to pressure Konoha and Hinata in such an extreme way.
"Hyuga Ayane... speaking of it, I haven't heard any news from those people in the past few years. They seem to have disappeared from the ninja world."
Mito Kadoyan smiled bitterly.
Originally, they planned to secretly deal with those dangerous rebellious ninjas as soon as possible and wipe out the Uchiha and Hyuga bloodlines that were living outside. Unexpectedly, since the beginning of the Third Ninja War, the situation around Konoha has not been stable. .
With the death of the Fourth Hokage, Konoha's military strength has once again weakened somewhat.
If you want to deal with three powerful S-class defecting ninjas... it is estimated that if the entire ANBU loses money, the whole army may be annihilated.
A few years have passed, and no one knows how far those three people have grown. Especially since there are many Uchiha and Hyuga ninjas around them, their power is really quite large.
Even if the armistice agreement was successfully signed with Kumogakure this time, it would be impossible to focus on those defecting ninjas in the next few years.
After all, there was another Orochimaru who also escaped.
With Orochimaru's departure, Konoha lost not only a high-end combat power, but also a lot of important intelligence and data.
Thinking of this, Mito Kadoyan glanced at Hiruzen who was thinking silently.
If after the death of the Fourth Hokage, Orochimaru was immediately replaced as the Fifth Hokage instead of Hiruzen coming back to take charge of Konoha, would the situation be better?
But then I thought about it, if Orochimaru were to come to power, with the tough attitudes of him and Danzo, it is estimated that the two advisors would be completely marginalized and lose their original status.
"Let's not talk about this matter for now. I plan to go to the Hyuga clan in person to discuss this matter with the Zong family. I need their opinions on how to deal with it. I'll leave it to you to take care of it."
Hiruzen knew that there was no room for error in the Byakugan, but he first had to know what the attitude of the Hyuga clan was before he could decide the next direction.
His original intention is also to solve the problem peacefully, but it is definitely not a peaceful solution by compensating Bai Yan.
Because Konoha cannot afford the loss of Byakugan, especially if it falls into the hands of a shinobi village with strong ambitions like Kumogakure, it is absolutely impossible.
Maybe surrendering the Byakugan can buy temporary peace, but it will harm the future of Konoha. This kind of thing must be stopped from happening.
"Okay...but before that, we need to send additional troops to the border of the Land of Fire to prevent the Kumogakure ninjas from raiding."
Koharu and Mito Menyan had no objection to sleeping together.
Hiruzen nodded, and then glanced at Danzo, who was always silent there. Not knowing what he was thinking, he stood up and walked out of the conference room.
◎
"Azabui, will Konoha agree to hand over the body of Hinata Hiashi?"
The Fourth Raikage Ai, who was far away in Cloud Hidden Village in the Land of Thunder, was sitting in his own office and asked his secretary Azabui next to him.
No wonder he is so eager. After all, the Byakugan strategy is of great significance. If Kumogakure also has such a blood inheritance limit, the pressure will be much less when facing Konoha again in the future.
Facing the fourth generation Leiying's question, Azabuyi shook his head rationally and said: "Generally speaking, this situation will not happen unless Konoha wants to force the Hyuga clan to rebel."
After all, what was involved was the leader of the Hyuga clan. No matter how wrong Konoha's decision-making was, it was impossible to hand over the body of such an important figure to Kumogakure for disposal.
When it comes to the strategic level of blood inheritance limits such as Byakugan, Konoha will definitely consider it carefully and carefully.
Although he already knew the answer, the Fourth Raikage couldn't help but be disappointed.
Byakugan's blood inheritance limit added a lot of trouble to Kumogakure on the battlefield.
He himself also had the experience of being defeated by the Hyuga clan ninja.
It was precisely because of this that he knew how terrifying the Byakugan was.
Compared to the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan, he was even more afraid of it.
"Besides, our original intention is not to get Byakugan... It would be best to get them, but to be honest, it is simply impossible to take hostages from the Hyuga clan."
Even if the Kumogakure ninja succeeded because they were right for a while, they would definitely be pursued later.
The current situation is very much in line with their plan.
Their goal this time is to use this incident to cause a conflict between conservatives and radicals within Konoha, to make their policies contradictory, and to continuously consume Konoha's effective strength, so that Konoha cannot recover as quickly as possible even in peacetime. Strength, on the contrary, will be further reduced due to this internal friction.
Kumogakure can take advantage of this opportunity to continue to vigorously develop its military. Under the circumstances, Kumogakure's military power will inevitably surpass Konoha in the next few years.
As a Ninja Village, we should not only focus on the small profits in front of us, but also pay attention to the future development of the village and create obstacles for other Ninja Villages.
Since the death of the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, Konoha has been experiencing internal conflicts.
The conservative third-generation Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen has returned to power, while the martial arts faction's Shimura Danzo and the third-generation Hokage are fighting openly and secretly, and have serious political differences with each other.
Orochimaru of the Sannin defected, and Tsunade and Jiraiya were said to have temporarily left Konoha for some reasons and disappeared.
It can be said that Konoha's military strength at this moment has been weakened to a historical low.
But even so, the current Konoha should still be stronger than Kumogakure's overall strength.
Those ninjas are the real key.
Especially the Uchiha and Hyuga clan who took the lead.
The inheritance of these two limited blood families is extremely complete, and the inheritance of the limited blood family has never been cut off, and they can continuously produce elite combat power for Konoha.
Once the number of these ninjas increases, the power generated when they gather together is more powerful than the three ninjas alone.
The blood inheritance limit and the secret ninja clan are the true heritage of Konoha, and civilian ninjas are just cannon fodder on the battlefield.
If you want to weaken Konoha, you must first target the ninja villages of Konoha and use the conflicts between them to cause internal friction.
This is the future strategic plan for Konoha proposed by Kumogakure's high-level meeting.
For now, Konoha has fallen into the trap they designed.
When the Third Hokage wanted to resolve the matter peacefully, the matter was already irreversible.
According to the Third Generation Hokage's long-standing and gentle stance, he definitely does not want to restart the war.
As the personal secretary of the Fourth Raikage, Azabu Yi naturally saw this matter very clearly.
It is her duty to study the current situation and development of major ninja villages on behalf of her boss, the Fourth Raikage, and make accurate judgments and analyses.
"Next, Raikage-sama, you just need to calm down and wait for the results from Konoha. The Daimyo side will also put pressure on the Fire Country."
Linen looks confident.
Although the comprehensive strength of the five major countries is the Fire Nation, that is a thing of the past.
Now is the era of ninja wars in which ninjas replace ordinary soldiers. Ninja villages are the military power of a country.
The stronger a country's ninja village is, the louder its voice will be internationally.
Konoha, which was already at a disadvantage in terms of momentum, naturally could not stand up to the Fire Nation.
"I always feel a bit mother-in-law, can't you think of a once and for all solution?"
The Fourth Raikage's brows furrowed on his dark face.
"If the pressure is too tight, the other ninja villages will have objections. As far as I know, because we, Kumogakure, have been expanding the ninja's armaments over the years, the other ninja villages have begun to be wary of us."
Azabu Yi sighed, hoping that the Fourth Raikage could calm down a little bit.
"That old man Onoki? Let's do it this way. During this period, I will also concentrate on training to further enhance the power of the Thunder Escape Armor."
The Fourth Raikage snorted, naturally knowing the current situation of Cloud Hidden Village.
As ninja villages from the five major countries, they are all wary of each other's growth. Kumogakure has always advocated a strong military policy, which would arouse the fear of other ninja villages, which is reasonable.
"I understand. I will take care of government affairs during Raikage-sama's absence."
Azabu Yi nodded slightly, but did not stop the Fourth Raikage from doing this.
In fact, the Fourth Raikage doesn't look like the kind of impatient ninja who works peacefully in an office.
It was only in the past few years that he became the secretary of the Fourth Raikage. Occasionally, in casual chats, I heard other fellow Jonin say that their Fourth Raikage had been defeated by the Byakugan and Soft Fist of the Hyuga clan.
Over the years, he has been sharpening his Thunder Escape Armor in order to one day overcome the shame he felt at that time.
As one of the Five Kages in the world, being suppressed head-on by a defecting ninja from Konoha has always been a thorn in the heart of the Fourth Raikage.
Even a renegade ninja who fled Konoha had such strength, Azabu Yi was thankful more than once.
Fortunately, such a ninja defected to Konoha before the war began.
Otherwise, the Third Ninja World War will be an absolute victory for Konoha over the other ninja villages.
After the Fourth Raikage left, Azabu Yi continued to deal with the documents on his desk.
Picking up a document and scanning it, Azabu Yi frowned slightly.
This document records some intelligence information about Kirigakure Village.
The person currently in charge of the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure is Goju Yagura.
This Fourth Mizukage is a very dangerous person.
The first Five Kage in the ninja world to successfully ascend to power through a coup.
During the coup, he massacred thousands of Kirigakure Blood Mist ninjas in one fell swoop. With his ruthless iron-blooded tactics, he completely became the biggest dictator of Kirigakure Village.
The blood mist that is bloodier than the blood mist refers to this fourth generation Mizukage.
Now, under the initiative of the Fourth Mizukage, Kirigakure Village is closed to the outside world. Information is rarely revealed and it is completely isolated. It has become a transparent existence among the five great ninja villages.
But Azabu Yi didn't dare to underestimate the baby-faced Mizukage, and her attention to him never diminished.
Judging from the way this Mizukage rose to power, he is probably the most dangerous person among the Five Kages today.
As the secretary of Kumogakure Raikage, she was also frightened by his iron-blooded tactics.
"After dealing with Konoha, we need to pay a little attention to the movements of Kirigakure Village. After the coup, they immediately closed down the country. Although it was because of the heavy losses to themselves, I always feel that Kirigakure Village is deliberately hiding something..."
The rise of Yunyin Village still has a long way to go.
◎
When Ayane came to Konoha, it was already nine o'clock in the evening, in the dead of night. At this time, most people had already gone to bed.
For her who was once a Konoha ninja, sneaking in without attracting anyone's attention was extremely simple.
Even though Konoha was evacuated through a secret passage at that time, another passage was reserved a long time ago, hidden with secret techniques, connecting the inside and outside of Konoha. As spies lurking inside Konoha, they could retreat alive. road.
But only a few management members really know about this retreat route.
The Hyuga clan's territory has changed a lot. On the day of their defection, they suffered large-scale destruction of detonating symbols and kerosene, so it is reasonable to reorganize it.
But for Ayane, this is still a familiar path.
She had already obtained the new defense map of the Hyuga clan through the secrets left inside the Hyuga clan, and studied it thoroughly.
However, Ayane did not sneak into the Hyuga clan's territory rashly. She could avoid Konoha's perception barrier, but it was impossible to avoid the detection of the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan.
Especially not long ago, the Kumogakure ninja stole the blood of the Hyuga clan. Now everyone in the Hyuga clan is in danger, using the Byakugan to contact all directions.
If you get too close there, you will be noticed by the white eyes.
Blood inheritance limits like Byakugan are more difficult to defend than Sensory Ninjutsu.
Ayane set out towards a park in Konoha, the place she had agreed on in advance.
On the way here, she got an idea of what was going on.
Kumogakure coveted Byakugan's power and stole the daughter of Hyuga clan leader Hyuga Hiashi. However, he was noticed by Hyuga Hiashi in the middle of the journey and pursued her and killed her with a missed palm.
Kumogakure then came back and denied stealing the blood of the Hyuga clan. He said that Konoha had no sincerity in peacefully trudging war with Kumogakure. He used this to threaten Konoha to hand over the body of Hyuga Hyuzu who killed the leader of the Kumogakure mission, otherwise it would happen again. War on Konoha.
Generally speaking, Ayane doesn't want to get entangled in the issue of who is right and who is wrong.
The stance of Kumogakure and Konoha has nothing to do with her, an outsider.
She just wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to further develop her plans within the Hyuga clan.
Arriving in the quiet forest not far from the park, only the gentle evening breeze blew.
A ninja from the Hyuga clan with pure white eyes seemed to have just arrived.
Although it has been eight years and she has not returned to Konoha, Ayane's current appearance has not changed much compared to the past. She is very young, so this ninja of the branch family recognized her at first sight.
"Lord Ayane."
The ninja of the branch clan, who was obviously older than Ayane, addressed him with respect and admiration.
It's not about age.
Ayane, who was the first to dare to break the caged bird of the clan and lead many branch families to gain freedom, was naturally the idol worshiped by many branch families.
Even though this admiration and respect cannot be expressed normally due to some reasons, my heart is already full of such thoughts.
Suffering from the arrogance of the Zong family, they have never extinguished their ideal of freeing themselves up.
Their freedom and personality are restricted, and the more they are suppressed, the more they want to break through that barrier and become real people instead of a tool used by the Zong family.
With their freedom and personality restricted by 'caged birds', they are no different from thoughtless tools.
"You seem a little older."
"Ayane-sama, I am already over forty years old...Ayane-sama, on the other hand, has not changed at all from the past. It is as if Ayane-sama, your departure from Konoha was just something that happened yesterday."
The separated ninja smiled helplessly and sighed.
When she left Konoha, Ayane was only nineteen years old, less than twenty, and now she looks almost twenty.
The separated ninjas were not too surprised by this.
There are many ninjutsu in this world to prevent aging. For example, Tsunade, one of the three ninjas, is forty years old, but she still looks like a woman in her twenties.
When it comes to their attitude towards appearance, all women probably have the same thoughts and do not want to grow old early.
"Without mentioning this in advance, what is the current status of the negotiations with Kumogakure? What is the attitude of Konoha's top brass towards this matter?"
After a brief reminiscing about old times, Ayane started asking about serious matters.
The Separation Ninja also knew that there was no need to delay. He only had ten minutes to come out. Any time beyond this time would arouse the vigilance of the Zong Family and some lackey Separation Ninjas.
"Kumogakure is still insisting on it. The attitude of the senior officials is unknown for the time being, but I hope that we, the Hyuga clan, will make our own decision."
The separated ninja said this.
The meeting of the Hyuga clan naturally also involved the elders of the branch families. Among them, two elders of the branch families with real power joined Ayane.
He got this news from his parents.
This time he came out to contact Ayane, and it was the two branch elders who were helping to cover him.
"I hope the Hyuga clan can make up their own minds?"
"Yes."
"This rhetoric is still as ambiguous and ambiguous as ever. As expected of the Sandaime, He Xini's skills have not failed at all."
Ayane said this, whether it was a compliment or a sarcasm.
"So, what are we going to do here, Ayane-sama? Do we want to leave Konoha immediately?"
The separated ninja hoped so.
Among the Hyuga branch family, there are many people who have this idea.
"How can so many people be transferred safely without the proper time and opportunity? What's more, your family members are now strictly monitored by the Zong family, and the difficulty is not at the same level as last time."
No matter how confident Ayane is, she can't guarantee that hundreds of people can be transferred to the Kingdom of Ghosts safely.
The clan elders of Konoha and the clan would not give them a second chance like this, so they must be on strict guard against it.
"I'm just too whimsical."
The separated ninja sighed.
"Don't worry, I've been through it for so many years, and I don't need this little time. I still need you to personally 'lead the way' for Konoha when the time comes."
"Guide the way?"
The separated ninja was a little confused.
"You will know when the time comes. The matter is so important that we can't talk about it now."
"I see."
The separated ninja knew that Ayane must be planning some very grand plan.
"That's about it. It's pretty much what I expected. I've already figured out how to deal with this. I'll give this scroll to the elder. He knows what to do."
Ayane took out a scroll and put it in the hands of the branch ninja.
The separated ninja solemnly took the scroll.
Although I really want to know what is in the scroll, I also know that I shouldn't talk too much at this time.
Watching the separated ninja leave, Ayane raised her head and glanced at the full moon in the sky.
The sound of salsa rang out in the woods, and there was no one on the ground except for a few fallen leaves flying gently in the middle of the night.
