A Difficult Choice
Then Yichen entered Sage Mode and, after a full day of flying at full speed, arrived at the dense jungle in the southernmost part of the Land of Fire.
After another half-night of searching, they finally found the Monkey Clan's settlement within the area designated by Atsumi Akino.
The Monkey Clan is one of Konoha's important allies, and almost all members of the Sarutobi Clan have Monkey King Enma as their Summoning Beast. This is how Sarutobi Clan ninjas start out far ahead of other ninjas.
Fortunately, this clan, which had inflicted immense damage on other ninja villages in several major battles, was wiped out by Yichen in a single night.
Although one escaped, calling it the extermination of the entire clan is not an exaggeration. After all, in the original story, there were clearly three men still alive in the Uchiha Clan, yet everyone insists that they were wiped out.
Even if no one knows about Obito's existence, and even if Itachi Uchiha was missing-nin, Sasuke Uchiha is still alive, isn't he? Since the Uchiha Clan, with only Sasuke Uchiha, can be considered wiped out, then the Enma Monkey Clan, with only Monkey King Enma as its leader, can naturally also be considered wiped out.
I just wonder if Enma will be able to reproduce for the Uchiha Clan like Sasuke?
Anyway, Yichen can proudly tell his disciples that he once single-handedly wiped out an entire ninja clan.
In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly sensed that Enma was contacting him, so he used Summoning Jutsu.
These past few days, Shikaisen Nara has encountered many unreasonable things in Iwagakure, Hiruzen Sarutobi has never stopped communicating with the Monkey Clan, so he didn't think much about Enma's request for a summoning.
Although it was strange that it was Enma who contacted him personally this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi still responded promptly.
Bang!
After a puff of smoke, Enma appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was about to ask if there was any news from Shikaisen Nara Hiruzen Sarutobi, stopped himself, because he saw the obvious battle marks on Enma's body.
The intense Chakra fluctuations within the Enma's body also served as a reminder to Hiruzen Sarutobi that just a moment ago, it was engaged in a fierce battle.
The Enma is fighting, yet it still wants me to communicate with it through spirit mediums. Is the Enma pleading for help?
But hasn't the Enma always lived in its Monkey Clan's settlement?
As this thought Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, a terrifying idea suddenly arose. Then, all the bizarre events that had occurred in Iwagakure over the past ten days suddenly connected.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. Suppressing his unease, he asked Enma with a sliver of hope, "Enma, what happened?"
"My entire clan was wiped out by the Tsuchikage." The Enma spoke without much emotion.
He had already vented his anger and fought, and now he was utterly despondent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi heard the last thing he wanted to hear, and before he could catch his breath, he closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground.
No wonder he reacted so strongly. The Monkey Clan and the Sarutobi Clan have been inseparable and steadfast allies for countless years. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't say when or why the two clans came together.
Anyway, as early as the Warring States Period, the entire Ninja World had already reached a consensus that the Sarutobi Clan had Monkey King Enma as their Summoning Beast and were not to be trifled with. The Monkey Clan had been part of the Sarutobi Clan for a very long time.
During his decades-long tenure as Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in the name of being an ally of Konoha, provided the Monkey Clan with substantial resources to support Monkey Clan development.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought that even if he were gone one day, the Sarutobi Clan would still be one of Konoha's top clans, thanks to the strength of the Monkey Clan.
During his tenure as Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi suppressed various ninja clans and cultivated Civilian Ninja, so he couldn't support the Sarutobi Clan too much.
So Hiruzen Sarutobi devised a way to increase the strength of the Monkey King Enma. He openly and legitimately provided benefits to the Monkey Clan in the name of Konoha's allies, but the Monkey Clan were always just Summoning Beast of the Sarutobi Clan.
In this way, Hiruzen Sarutobi indirectly increased the strength of the Sarutobi Clan.
However, decades of abusing power for personal gain have been wiped out overnight. No, in one night, not only were Hiruzen Sarutobi's decades of hard work wasted, but he also lost all his investment.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi collapse, Enma disregarded his own heartache and rushed forward to check on him. "Hiruzen, Hiruzen, what's wrong?"
Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi was only a temporary shock to his heart and blood, and his strong body allowed him to wake up quickly.
"Enma." Hiruzen Sarutobi called out as he sat on the ground, trying to say something, but found that he couldn't utter a single word.
"Sigh!" Enma sighed and said, "Hiruzen, I'll stay in Konoha for a while. You go and take care of your business."
The Enma knew that the annihilation of their Monkey Clan was definitely related to Konoha, and that Hiruzen Sarutobi, the former Hokage and advisor, must have many things to deal with, so it didn't want to bother him. At the same time, the Enma also wanted some peace and quiet.
After Enma left, Hiruzen Sarutobi shed two tears and sat alone on the ground for a long time.
However, he was ultimately a man of Ninja Legend, and after experiencing grief, he eventually recovered from the blow.
After washing up, Hiruzen Sarutobi went to the Hokage Building.
Soon, Tsunade, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, Shikaku Nara, and Danzo were all summoned to a meeting by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Once everyone had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, "Last night, the Fourth Tsuchikage launched a surprise attack on the Monkey Clan's settlement, wiping out the entire Monkey Clan. Only Enma escaped through my summoning."
Everyone was taken aback, and the conference room fell into an eerie silence. No one could quickly recover from the shock of the news.
In the end, it was Shikaku Nara who first realized what was going on, blurting out, "Could it be that the Iwa ninja's frequent trouble-making is so that we repeatedly pass information through the Monkey Clan? So that they can easily locate the Monkey Clan's position?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi; he had already analyzed the reason.
"The Iwa ninja's research on Space-Time Ninjutsu has progressed so quickly?" Shikaku Nara felt somewhat incredulous.
First of all, learning Space-Time Ninjutsu is incredibly difficult. Konoha only produced one Minato Namikaze in decades. How long has it been since Iwa ninja obtained the Flying Thunder God Technique training method? How could they possibly find a ninja with the talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu easily?
Secondly, Shikaisen Nara in Iwagakure witnessed Sarutobi Akira using Summoning Jutsu time and time again, so his experience was more direct. Shikaku Nara, on the other hand, mostly only saw or heard information and didn't see Hiruzen Sarutobi use Summoning Jutsu. Therefore, his attention wasn't on that.
Then, Sarutobi Akira was only a Chunin, and repeatedly using the Summoning Jutsu consumed a lot of chakra, which is why it could evoke Shikaisen Nara's association. But for Hiruzen Sarutobi, summoning a few little Monkey King Enma to deliver messages didn't feel like it consumed Chakra.
So Shikaisen Nara in Iwagakure was able to figure out where the problem lay, but Shikaku Nara was analyzing intelligence in Konoha, did not guess the outcome.
The thought that his own people's misjudgment and repeated communication with the village had led to the extermination of the Monkey Clan filled Shikaku Nara with a chill.
The Nara Clan has really put the Sarutobi Clan in a difficult position. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi is reasonable and doesn't hold it against them, what will the other members of the Sarutobi Clan think?
Without the Monkey Clan, the strength of the Sarutobi Clan members would drop by at least half. Originally, the individual strength of the Sarutobi Clan members was comparable to that of the Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans.
But now, it seems the Sarutobi Clan has no hope of joining that group.
Another point is that, having become accustomed to fighting alongside Monkey King Enma, can they change their combat habits? Some of the more extreme members have even trained in Ninjutsu specifically to work with Monkey King Enma; do they still have a chance to turn back?
Just as Shikaku Nara had predicted, the deed was done. What kind of setbacks hadn't Hiruzen Sarutobi experienced? His teacher died in battle, his student died in battle, his grand-student died in battle—he had persevered through it all. What else could possibly break him?
Therefore, as the biggest victim in this matter, Hiruzen Sarutobi comforted Shikaku Nara: "Shikaku, this is not Shikazumi's fault. It was my order to communicate with the village in time. Don't blame yourself. When Shikazumi comes back, you should also talk to him and tell him not to do anything rash."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice; the deed was done. Blaming Shikaisen Nara now would only alienate his ally, the Nara Clan, and Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't be that foolish.
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi told himself that he must go back and have a good talk with his clansmen, and not show any hatred towards Shikaisen Nara.
Danzo took it all in. He sneered, thinking, "Hiruzen is as hypocritical as ever. But the annihilation of the Monkey Clan doesn't seem to be a good thing for me."
Although the Monkey Clan supports Hiruzen Sarutobi, once I find an opportunity to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi, given our relationship, the Monkey Clan will have to obey my orders. Yichen is weakening his future power.
The Fourth Tsuchikage is too arrogant. Don't think that just because you cooperate with me I'll tolerate your offense. It seems it's time to teach him a lesson.
While Danzo was envisioning his grand plan to unify the Ninja World, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his Danzo had figured out that everything the Chunin Ninja Exams delegation encountered in Konoha was aimed at the Iwa ninja Monkey Clan.
"The extinction of the Monkey Clan is a foregone conclusion. Let's discuss how to deal with this next," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"The Monkey Clan's settlement is no longer safe. Let Senior Enma move to the village," Tsunade said.
"Yes!" Hiruzen Sarutobi; that was his plan too.
At this moment, Danzo forcefully interjected, "The Fourth Tsuchikage attacked our Konoha's allies without cause. We must respond strongly to this. Otherwise, who will dare to ally with us?"
That's absolutely true. Konoha, the former overlord, is still recognized as the strongest ninja village. The fact that it didn't even utter a sound when its ally was wiped out is a serious consequence with a terrible impact.
When the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out, Konoha at least sent reinforcements. Although they didn't do much, they still contributed. Many elite Anbu died.
Despite this, over the years, some smaller ninja villages have continued to break away from Konoha's embrace. For example, Amegakure in the past, and now Kusagakure, Takigakure, and so on.
The betrayal of these small ninja villages may well have been partly due to the annihilation of the Uzumaki Clan.
Previously, the Uzumaki Clan represented the Land of Whirlpools, which was an ally. Now, the relationship between the Monkey Clan and Konoha is clearly closer, considering that Enma also wears Konoha forehead protector.
The status of the Monkey Clan in Konoha is similar to that of the Inuzuka Clan's Ninja Dogs, the Hatake Family's Summoning Dogs, Uchiha Clan's Ninja Cats. They are all considered to be officially registered ninjas of the village.
If this matter is not handled properly, it's hard to say whether these Ninja Beast clans will have other ideas.
Tsunade was having a headache. A full-scale war with the Iwa ninja was impossible; if Konoha really did that, the Cloud ninja and Sunagakure would probably laugh themselves to death, and even that rascal from the Mist ninja might not stay put. But if she did nothing, morale would crumble, and the team would be difficult to lead.
Utatane Koharu said, "How about we say the culprit is a Sunagakure? We're planning to ambush the Sunagakure, so this excuse would be perfect."
Tsunade frowned; she didn't quite agree with this appeasement approach. However, she didn't have any better solutions and could only acquiesce.
As for whether Konoha High-ranking officials can truly keep this from the Ninja Beast clans, as long as Enma, one of their own, doesn't say anything, they can still cover it up for a while.
Even if outsiders like Yichen ramble on and on, the Konoha High-ranking officials will have their own explanations.
However, it will inevitably require the Enma to make some sacrifices.
Fortunately, the Enma is now all alone and has nowhere to go, so this kind of small matter should be easy to discuss.
This is so embarrassing! Nobody answered correctly. I was even hesitating about whether to add more chapters. Then my wife got the answer directly from me, and then downloaded the Qidian App...
That's good, now I have 1 more favorites.