Kushina's Greetings

"Damn it!"

Watching the Kumogakure Ninja leave in a hurry, Jiraiya's smile stiffened. There was nothing he could do—he could only follow them and leave once again.

He had arrived at the battlefield shortly after Uchiha Shisui and Kumogakure's A-B Combination began fighting.

However, he had not shown himself. After Uchiha Shisui forced the Kumogakure Ninja back, he followed them as they withdrew, tailing Raikage A all the way to this small town in the Land of the Moon.

He had known about Tsunade's presence here for a long time and had intended to take her away in advance, but the debts Tsunade owed were rather "large."

It would have been fine if she did not settle them.

But when he suggested taking her away, Tsunade refused.

Now that Raikage A had paid off her debts, who knew how much longer Tsunade would stay.

After thinking it over, Jiraiya wondered, Could it be that Tsunade deliberately stayed in the Land of the Moon to make money?!

He could not keep thinking about it. He was about to lose Raikage A's trail.

Once Raikage A returned to the frontline Command Center, a new development from the rear was reported at the right moment.

The Coastal Outpost on the border with Iwagakure had ceased responding. A small Iwagakure force was suspected of infiltrating.

Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito had already led a team toward the coastline, joining the two thousand ninja troops dispatched earlier to surround and eliminate Iwagakure's infiltration unit.

Raikage A did not pay much attention to this. Such infiltration units could at most be led by jonin. It was well known that Iwagakure had many jonin, but their combat strength was not much different from Konoha's Special Jonin.

Not to mention that Kumogakure's jonin were naturally among the stronger ones in the Five Great Ninja Villages.

And Yugito was a perfect jinchuriki. How could they lose?

"Any new intelligence on Konoha?"

Raikage A asked the Female Secretary again. She took out a folder and flipped through it.

"No new intelligence has come from Konoha. The latest information is already two days old."

"Hm? Why is there no newer intelligence?"

"Konoha has been too conservative. They have not launched any large-scale incursions into our occupied territory. They have always operated in small squads, and our squads have had relatively high win rates these past two days."

"Hm? Weren't our squads at a disadvantage before?"

"Because the number of Uchiha ninja in Konoha's squads has dropped sharply."

Raikage A immediately realized that this was another round of Konoha's internal infighting.

If only the Uchiha Clan belonged to Kumogakure—so many powerful ninja.

"What a waste." Raikage A's expression turned grim as he gave the order. "All frontline personnel, fall back thirty li and contract the defensive line."

"Yes!"

Konoha's frontline Command Center.

The support ninja led by Kushina had already arrived.

Nara Shikaku, who had received Kushina, also received intelligence sent back by the frontline squads.

The Kumogakure Ninja had withdrawn.

This was not good news to him.

Because just one day earlier, a ninja wearing an Anbu mask had delivered new orders.

After learning of the victories at the front, Lord Hokage stated that they needed to strengthen their defenses against Kumogakure. They were not to impatiently launch attacks forward, but to proceed steadily and minimize casualties.

Yet appended to that order was a follow-up directive written in clearly different handwriting.

The Uchiha Clan would serve as the vanguard. The number of Uchiha ninja in dispatched squads would be reduced. Once a direct battle began, the Uchiha, Konoha's strongest ninja clan, would serve as the assault force, with Uchiha Shisui designated as vanguard captain.

Nara Shikaku understood that Danzo of the Advisory Council had added his own touch to the order, but he decided to comply.

He had to consider the safety of his own clan. This order also benefited ninja clans like theirs that were not part of the Uchiha Clan. With the order as evidence, even if the Uchiha Clan wanted to cause trouble, they would not be able to pin it on the Nara Clan.

But a day later, the situation had changed. The previously aggressive Kumogakure Ninja had voluntarily withdrawn, and all the intelligence their squads had gathered about Kumogakure's Command Center needed to be investigated again.

After arriving at the frontline Command Center, Kushina immediately asked Nara Shikaku about the Uchiha.

Anju had already persuaded her on the way. Once she reached the front, she needed to meet the Uchiha Clan first and learn the latest intelligence.

Moreover, this was also a statement of her stance. She wanted the Third Hokage to understand that her relationship with the Uchiha Clan was now very good, and that he should not casually set his sights on Naruto.

Kushina's actions also made Nara Shikaku understand one thing: the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki stood with the Uchiha. He needed to handle the Hokage's orders even more carefully, especially that additional directive.

"Lady Kushina."

"Lady Kushina."

"..."

After arriving at the several tents occupied by the Uchiha Clan on the front lines, quite a few Uchiha ninja along the way took the initiative to greet Kushina.

Kushina often visited the Uchiha Clan, and she was extremely friendly toward them. She had even sent her son to the Uchiha Clan to receive an education.

Furthermore, the clan head treated Lady Kushina with great courtesy, so these Uchiha Clan members all held a favorable impression of her.

Now that Uchiha Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and it was rumored that the Mangekyō Sharingan possessed the ability to control the Nine-Tails, Kushina still came to visit Shisui first thing after arriving at the front lines.

This trust was also something these Uchiha Clan members should be grateful for.

Inside Uchiha Shisui's tent, after three Uchiha chunin led Kushina in, she noticed Shisui sitting there with his eyes closed.

Minato, within the Sealing Space, was full of vigilance.

He was worried that Uchiha Shisui would make a move to control Kushina. He had originally been strongly opposed to Kushina meeting Uchiha Shisui, but the moment Kushina said she wanted to go, Minato gave in.

Of course, he was confident now that even if Anju were controlled by Uchiha Shisui, he could immediately seal Anju away.

But he feared that Shisui might directly attack Kushina. If that happened, he would not have time to protect her.

Uchiha Shisui had also learned of Kushina's arrival. "Lady Kushina, you've come."

"Yes. I heard that you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"Yes, Lady Kushina."

"Will you make a move against me?" The moment Kushina said that, the entire tent fell silent.

The Uchiha Clan members did not know whether Shisui would make a move either, but they became tense as well.

On one side was their clan's hope; on the other was the clan's supporter in Konoha.

"I will not, Lady Kushina. These eyes of mine will not be turned against a comrade."

Minato in Kushina's Sealing Space also breathed a sigh of relief. Anju shot Minato a contemptuous look from the side.

"I told you, Uchiha Shisui is just like you—someone brainwashed by the Will of Fire. What were you so worried about?"

"Hmph, what do you know? The Uchiha Clan is highly emotional. What if he gets carried away and does something inappropriate?"

Minato's words made Anju frown. That did make some sense. Take Minato's student, that old lady's friend in Konoha, for example.

After Rin died, wouldn't that be rebellion—revolution, ahem, rebellion against the dream of becoming Hokage?

Still, Anju knew very well that even after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, Shisui had not betrayed the Will of Fire. Otherwise, how could Danzo possibly have succeeded in ambushing him?

"Lady Kushina, you came to see me in order to..."

"Oh, I'll leave after staying for a while. Get some proper rest. This is merely a formality, so you needn't mind it." After Anju finished speaking within the Sealing Space, it glanced at Minato again before lying back down.

After repeating those words, Kushina did not linger any longer and turned to leave Shisui's tent.

Leaving the several Uchiha ninja inside Shisui's tent looking at one another.

Shisui chuckled softly. "All right, everyone, go get some rest."

"Yes." The other Uchiha Clan members left. Shisui touched his eyes and muttered to himself, "Exposing you... was that the right choice or the wrong one?"