The Fall of the Land of Whirlpools

The next day, when he went to class at the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Homura was wrapped head to toe in bandages.

In the classroom, everyone kept turning back to look at him. Even Teacher Kimura wore a strange expression.

They had experienced this exact scene before—Hyuga Soji, one year ago.

Well then, had bandages become contagious now?

After Hyuga Soji, it was Uchiha Homura. Would Minato Namikaze be next once Homura was done?

Or would it be the Ino-Shika-Cho trio?

That was what most of the class thought.

The looks from his classmates made Uchiha Homura deeply uncomfortable. Several times, he nearly lost his temper, but he forcibly held it back.

He kept telling himself, Don't get angry. Don't get angry. Once the training is over in a while, I can take off these ugly bandages.

"Soji, what's going on with Homura? Or is wearing bandages some weird shared hobby between you two?" Minato asked, half-joking and half-curious.

"This has nothing to do with me. How would I know what Homura is thinking? That guy has always been strange anyway, so there's nothing unusual about him dressing like this today." Soji sold Uchiha Homura out without hesitation.

There was no way he would admit that he had been injured back then, much less that it had been some weird hobby!

Seeing that he could get no answer from Soji, Minato was already planning to ask the man himself later.

Of course, Minato's question was destined to yield no answer. As proud as Uchiha Homura was, how could he possibly tell anyone that he was covered in bandages because his entire body was injured?

Uchiha Homura also made up his mind: he absolutely would not skip class with Soji again anytime soon. For something as humiliating and painful as this, he would rather go back to the clan and find someone there to help him train.

For some reason, everyone was unusually well-behaved today. Not a single person considered skipping class.

The day passed quickly.

After returning home, Soji received a message that the Clan Head had sent to the entire clan—the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha's steadfast ally, had fallen!

This did not affect Soji much. He had long known that the Land of Whirlpools would likely be destroyed around these next two years, yet he had done nothing.

It was not that he was unwilling, but that at his young age, he simply could not change anything. Though to begin with, he had never intended to change it anyway.

In this world, Soji's greatest advantage was his knowledge of the Original Storyline.

If he rashly interfered and flapped the butterfly's wings, he truly could not be sure whether the future would still follow history.

To better grasp his own future, he had never considered changing the fate of strangers.

The person Soji cared about most right now was his only family member, his grandfather, Hyuga Kumokawa.

Beyond that, if he had to mention anyone, it would be his clan and a few friends. As for the village, it truly did not hold much weight in Soji's heart.

If he became strong enough in the future and the village was prepared to act against him without distinguishing right from wrong, he had not ruled out becoming a rogue ninja.

Of course, in Soji's mind, the odds of that happening definitely did not exceed one in ten thousand!

Who would become a rogue ninja for no reason? Sleeping rough, barely getting enough to eat, and having to stay on guard against pursuing ninja every day.

Life in the village was comfortable, and besides, Soji was a member of the Hyuga Main Family.

If he wanted to, having clothes brought to him and food served to him would be no dream at all. He would have to be crazy to make that choice.

Soji might not have cared much about the fall of the Land of Whirlpools, but to Konoha's entire upper echelon, it was nothing short of a massive earthquake.

It could even be called the worst news Konoha had received since the outbreak of the Second Ninja World War, without exception!

Uzushio Hidden Village in the Land of Whirlpools had been founded by the Uzumaki Clan. It could be said that the entire village was inhabited by members of the Uzumaki Clan.

As an analogy, it was like the Hyuga Clan or Uchiha Clan leaving Konoha on their own and establishing a ninja village belonging exclusively to their clan.

Calling it a ninja village was less accurate than calling it a ninja clan.

The Uzumaki Clan were distant blood relatives of the Senju Clan, Asura's descendants, and every member of the clan excelled in Sealing Techniques.

Even Mito Uzumaki, the wife of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, and the first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, had come from the Uzumaki Clan.

The relationship between the Land of Whirlpools and Konoha was like the system the Celestial Dynasty had used for Hong Kong Island in Soji's previous life.

The Land of Whirlpools belonged to Konoha, yet it also maintained its own system.

When Hashirama Senju founded Konoha, he invited Ashina Uzumaki, the Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan, to join Konoha. The two sides had depended on each other under this arrangement ever since.

To represent the friendship between the two nations across generations, Konoha altered the Uzumaki Clan crest by adding a protruding corner at the lower left and an extra stroke at the upper right, making it Konoha's symbol.

Konoha's upper echelon also had the Uzumaki Clan's mark printed on jonin uniforms.

Thus, the two nations had always maintained a deep friendship and bond.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, it was still the Third Hokage and the three members of the Council of Elders.

As for the other elder advisor, Danzou Shimura, he was currently leading Konoha's ninja forces through the Land of Whirlpools, pursuing the culprits responsible for its destruction.

The news of the Land of Whirlpools' fall had been sent by Danzo.

"Three days ago, the Land of Whirlpools sent a request for aid. I never expected that even though we dispatched a ninja force immediately, we would still be one step too late." It was the Third Hokage who spoke. His expression was grim, filled with heaviness and grief.

"I never expected the other four great nations to be so ruthless this time." Mitokado Homura spoke with an equally ashen face.

"The fall of the Land of Whirlpools has severely weakened Konoha's strength." Utatane Koharu also felt deeply helpless.

It was not that they had been unwilling to save their ally. The Land of Whirlpools had simply fallen too quickly—so quickly that Konoha had no time to react at all.

Three days earlier, the Third Hokage had received a request for aid from the Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan.

He had not hesitated. He immediately ordered the only Kage-level ninja in the village besides himself, and also a member of the Council of Elders, Danzou Shimura, to lead a force of two thousand ninja there.

It could be said that from receiving the news to setting out, there had not been the slightest hesitation. Yet no one had expected the Land of Whirlpools to be destroyed before it could even hold out for a single day!

The Uzumaki Clan was no small clan. Even compared to the Hyuga Clan and Uchiha Clan, they were not inferior in the slightest—in fact, they might have been even stronger!

For such a powerful clan to be wiped out just like that was beyond anyone's expectations.

When Danzo arrived in the Land of Whirlpools, only the aged and frail old Clan Head, Ashina Uzumaki, and a little girl were still alive in the entire country.

The other Uzumaki clansmen had either fled and been scattered or been killed.

Seeing this, the large ninja force led by Danzo charged in and drove back every remaining enemy.

Danzo also learned from old Clan Head Ashina Uzumaki who the true culprits were.

It was a joint operation by the other four great ninja villages besides Konoha.

The ninja villages of the four great nations had acted both to weaken Konoha and to covet the Uzumaki Clan's powerful Sealing Techniques.

Thus, they discussed the matter and dispatched a joint ninja force, which secretly infiltrated the Land of Whirlpools and launched an attack.

Since each ninja village had only deployed a few hundred ninja, and because Kirigakure and Sunagakure had suffered defeats while the Kumogakure and Iwagakure fronts were deadlocked, Konoha had lowered its guard.

As a result, they had failed to detect this joint force from the four great ninja villages immediately.

In the end, after entrusting the little girl by his side to Konoha and handing over all the Sealing Techniques treasured by the Uzumaki Clan to Danzo, old Clan Head Ashina Uzumaki passed away.

For Konoha, the fact that the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques had not been lost and that the little girl was still alive was a small blessing amid the misfortune.

But for Danzou Shimura of Konoha's Hawk Faction, he intended to wipe out every member of the joint ninja force that had destroyed the Land of Whirlpools right under their noses!

That was why Danzo remained in the Land of Whirlpools even today.

As for how the Hyuga Clan had learned of the Land of Whirlpools' fall, it was naturally because members of the Hyuga Clan had been among the ninja force led by Danzo.

It was not just the Hyuga Clan. The other ninja clans had also received the major news of the Land of Whirlpools' destruction almost immediately.

This news left the upper echelons of the various ninja clans sighing endlessly.

Before the ninja village system had been established, the various ninja clans had more or less dealt with one another, whether those relationships had been good or bad.

Now that another ninja clan had vanished, all the clans that still endured were glad that they had chosen to band together for warmth.

The system of one nation, one village, one clan truly no longer suited the current era. Even the powerful Uzumaki Clan of the Land of Whirlpools had been unable to escape destruction.

"Hiruzen, Danzo is still pursuing that joint ninja force. Should we call him back first? After all, he is carrying rather a lot of things with him right now." Mitokado Homura asked meaningfully.

"No. Not only will we not call Danzo back, I will have the Anbu notify him to act without restraint. Do everything possible to make sure not a single member of that joint force escapes!" A rare trace of ferocity appeared on the usually gentle face of the Third Hokage.

Mitokado Homura was startled by this. It seemed that the fall of the Land of Whirlpools had truly touched Hiruzen Sarutobi's reverse scale.

At this moment, the Third Hokage had only one thought: destroy that joint force and avenge the Land of Whirlpools. It was the only thing Konoha could still do for them.

"Hiruzen, Danzo is pursuing the joint force alone. If the four great ninja villages send more ninja over, Danzo will be in great danger." Utatane Koharu also wanted Danzo to return first.

"Don't worry. I will not give the four great ninja villages that opportunity." The Third Hokage spoke with a cold smile.

"Hiruzen, what else are you planning?" What Mitokado Homura wanted to say was that this was truly the first time he had seen Hiruzen like this.

"I will have the Anbu notify Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya at the front lines to lead their ninja armies in launching attacks against the four great nations at the same time. They will have no time to worry about anything else. This joint ninja force absolutely cannot be allowed to remain!" the Third Hokage declared domineeringly.

Just as Mitokado Homura was about to say something more, Utatane Koharu stopped him with a look.

"Sigh, I know you want to persuade me, but this time is different. If I do not do something for those who died in the Land of Whirlpools, I fear I would be unworthy of the First Hokage's and our teacher's teachings. I would also be unworthy of the symbol Konoha bears. If they were still alive, I believe they would agree with what I am doing."

The Third Hokage naturally noticed the silent exchange between his two companions, but this time, he had no intention of compromising.

The portraits of the First and Second Hokage still hung on the wall. He did not want to feel uneasy every time he looked up at them in the future.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu fell silent.

The two of them were considering Konoha's current interests, while the Third Hokage had shown his human side at this moment.

Thinking about it, perhaps this was why their teacher, the Second Hokage, had chosen Hiruzen Sarutobi as the Third Hokage.

Afterward, they also agreed with the Third Hokage's decision.

As for Danzo... he was probably thinking about annihilating the joint ninja force and claiming greater credit in this war.

One acted for emotion, two for profit, and the other for merit.

Perhaps that was the greatest difference between the Third Hokage and the Council of Elders—the four of them.

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