I Suspect You've Been Bought by Iwagakure!

Upon returning to Konoha's frontline operational area, Uchiha Sanpo quickly untied Uzumaki Huiyi and signaled for her to put away Kusagakure's ninja headband.

Uzumaki Huiyi silently did as she was told, but her heart was filled with unease toward this unfamiliar environment and whatever might happen next.

After walking for a few minutes, they ran into Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Tekkai head-on.

Uchiha Tekkai looked overjoyed and hurried over, his voice full of concern. "Brother Sanpo, it's great that you're okay!"

Uchiha Inabi quickly turned his attention to Uzumaki Huiyi, his eyes full of confusion. "Brother Sanpo, who is this woman?"

Uchiha Tekkai Uchiha Inabi

Uchiha Sanpo smiled and introduced her. "She's Uzumaki Huiyi, my woman. You should call her sister-in-law!"

At those words, Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Tekkai exchanged a glance, then respectfully called out in unison, "Hello, sister-in-law!"

Uzumaki Huiyi had never experienced a scene like this before. Her cheeks instantly flushed as she shyly replied in a soft voice, "Mm... hello."

Uzumaki Huiyi

Seeing the grim expressions of the surrounding Konoha ninjas as they hurried back and forth, Uchiha Sanpo felt a trace of doubt. After all, he had only been gone for two days.

He looked at Uchiha Inabi and asked, "Inabi, it's only a little past nine. Why are you heading back to the base already? Did something happen?"

Uchiha Inabi sighed helplessly, looking exhausted. "Sigh, the supply quota for the past two days has only been half of what it used to be. We've used up all our kunai and explosive tags, so we're heading back to the base to resupply."

Uchiha Tekkai added, "Brother Sanpo, you don't know this, but Iwagakure's attacks have been fiercer than before lately. Yet the village's logistical supplies still haven't arrived. Casualties over the past two days have been thirty percent higher than usual. I heard the higher-ups are already considering abandoning the frontline base in the Land of Grass!"

Uchiha Sanpo's eyes shifted slightly as countless thoughts ran through his mind, but he did not comment immediately.

He changed the subject. "Let's head back to the base first. It isn't very safe here."

"Alright..."

Before long, they arrived at the base.

Uchiha Sanpo looked at Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Tekkai and instructed them, "Inabi, Tekkai, help me look after Huiyi. I'm going to report in!"

"Don't worry, Brother Sanpo. We'll take good care of her!"

The two patted their chests as they made their promise.

Uchiha Sanpo turned and headed toward the command room. Before he even entered, he heard fierce arguing from inside.

"Utatane Runa, fifty-three members of my Kurama Clan died in your Medical Department within two days. You must give me an explanation, or I'll kill you today!"

Kurama Unkai's voice was filled with fury and grief.

Utatane Runa tried to calm him down, though her voice lacked confidence. "Clan Head Kurama, please calm down!"

"Calm down? To hell with calming down! Since the war began, out of the Kurama Clan's thousand ninjas, four hundred and one have died, and one hundred seventy-two have been crippled. More than half are casualties! How am I supposed to calm down? Utatane Runa, if you don't give me an explanation right now, I'll kill you!"

Kurama Unkai's roar made the tabletop tremble slightly.

Utatane Runa's eyes reddened as she pleaded pitifully, "You want an explanation? Fine. The logistical supplies haven't arrived, and medicine is scarce, causing many wounds to become infected. Some severely injured patients chose suicide to save medicine. Our medical team hasn't slept for days while trying to comfort the other wounded. We've already done everything we could!"

Kurama Unkai clasped his hands together and roared at the sky, "Ah... Shimura Taro... I'll kill you!"

"Unkai, please calm down. This isn't my fault either. You all know that after Iwagakure's elite squad ambushed the logistics transport team last time, the supplies were burned. I requested emergency supplies from the village three days ago, but the village still hasn't sent them. So even if you kill me, it won't do any good!"

Shimura Taro's voice carried helplessness and grievance.

Having heard this much, Uchiha Sanpo roughly understood the situation. He lightly knocked on the door and called out, "Clan Head, I have important intelligence to report!"

Uchiha Fugaku's cold voice came from within the tent. "Come in!"

Uchiha Sanpo gently pushed open the door, entered, and casually shut it behind him.

Seeing him, Shimura Taro frowned deeply and said in an unfriendly tone, "Uchiha Sanpo, weren't you captured by an Iwagakure jonin? How did you come back? Did you betray the village?"

Uchiha Sanpo remained calm, activating his Three-Tomoe Sharingan as he said coldly, "I pretended to be captured, then used genjutsu to control the Iwagakure jonin. Only then did I infiltrate Iwagakure and obtain important intelligence!"

Uchiha Fugaku's gaze burned as his fingers lightly tapped the tabletop, producing a steady thump, thump, thump.

Only then did he slowly say, "Sanpo, what intelligence did you uncover? Tell us."

"After Iwagakure ambushed and killed the Third Raikage, two factions emerged within Iwagakure. The first is the radical faction. They believe morale is high right now, and that they should use this opportunity to cripple Konoha. If they do, Iwagakure will become the number one ninja village in the Ninja World. The ones attacking our base lately are precisely these radicals."

Uchiha Sanpo paused before continuing, "The second is the conservative faction. They believe that once the Third Raikage's son takes power, he will definitely wage war against Iwagakure. At that point, the war between Konoha and Kumogakure will cease. Konoha and Kumogakure may even join forces to attack Iwagakure. To defend against a sneak attack from Kumogakure, Iwagakure's conservatives have already begun deploying troops along the border of the Land of Waterfalls."

After hearing the report, everyone in the room looked at one another, each wearing a different expression.

Mimura Hamaki looked at Uchiha Fugaku and asked, "Commander Fugaku, if Iwagakure is moving personnel and supplies to defend against Kumogakure, should I still lead a hundred men to defend Kannabi Bridge as ordered by the village?"

Uchiha Fugaku lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "Since it is the village's order, you should still lead your men there and hold it."

Hearing this, Uchiha Sanpo hurriedly objected. "No! Kannabi Bridge lies at the border between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Earth. Jonin Hamaki cannot defend it with only a hundred men. Sending them there would be nothing more than sending them to their deaths!"

Hearing someone question the higher-ups' orders, Shimura Taro slapped the table and roared, "Insolence! This is an order from the village leadership. If they're being sent there, the village naturally has its reasons! Uchiha Sanpo, you keep speaking up for Iwagakure. I suspect you've been bought by Iwagakure and must be interrogated!"

Seeing that the atmosphere had turned tense, Mimura Hamaki hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "The order said that the village will send Namikaze Minato as reinforcements, so it won't be too dangerous!"

Uchiha Fugaku also pulled a stern face. "Sanpo, leave for now. I don't want you spreading the intelligence about Kannabi Bridge."

"Namikaze Minato is the commander-in-chief of the eastern battlefield. Since the village can send him here, it means the village leadership has reached a peace agreement with Kumogakure. Since the war with Kumogakure has ended, the conservatives can withdraw more than three thousand ninjas. If the village truly intended to support our northern battlefield, it should send at least a thousand reinforcements. But the village sent no reinforcements and sent Namikaze Minato instead. Therefore, he isn't coming to support us. He's coming to steal the credit!"

After saying that, Uchiha Sanpo saw everyone's expressions instantly darken, then directly turned and left the room...

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