The Lightning and Earth Go to War, Heroes Return

The news of the Cloud Village's rampage in the heart of the Land of Wind was initially only circulating within the Sunagakure; other villages had not yet received any information about it.

However, these kinds of things can never be kept secret, and it's only a matter of time before the outside world finds out.

Sunagakure was initially baffled by the Cloud Village's attack, but after two or three mines were attacked by the Cloud Village in succession, Sunagakure realized the Cloud Village's purpose.

These Northern Front barbarians are nothing but bandits. They've crossed thousands of miles of ocean just to rob us. What could be more infuriating than this? For one of the Five Great Ninja Villages to do such a despicable thing is truly an eye-opener.

Faced with the shameless behavior of Cloud Village, Sunagakure, after some discussion, had no choice but to temporarily withdraw the team that was just preparing to support the front line, led by the Fourth Kazekage, to encircle and annihilate the Cloud Village force within the country.

Sunagakure was also gambling on this, betting that Konoha wouldn't sit idly by and watch Cloud Village reap the benefits. The two kingdoms of Fire and Wind were fighting to the death on the front lines, suffering heavy losses, and then Cloud Village came along to steal the spoils. Anyone would be furious in that situation.

Therefore, Sunagakure no longer cared about Konoha on the front lines. Their top priority was to deal with Cloud Village, who were inside the village. They were the biggest threat to Sunagakure at the moment, having both humiliated Sunagakure and shaken Sunagakure position in the Land of Wind. As for Konoha, they truly looked down on Sunagakure's meager resources.

After this back and forth, another two days passed, and the news that Sunagakure had been attacked by Cloud Village finally spread.

The first to receive the news were naturally the Konoha front lines. Although Taiichi had left, Minato was still there. Since there had been virtually no fighting on the front lines during this period, he was asked to go to the Land of Wind to gather intelligence.

Sunagakure was not fooled by Minato's large-scale operation to suppress them within the country. In just one day, he had Scout everything and the frontline Camp received detailed intelligence.

Immediately, voices urging to fight poured in to Jiraiya, but he had received clear orders from the village to remain still.

It now seems that the village had anticipated that Cloud Village would attack the Land of Wind, otherwise they wouldn't have told him not to attack so early on, their purpose being to observe the battle between Sunagakure and Cloud Village.

As Konoha received this news, Iwagakure followed suit, learning of this information that was neither good nor bad for them.

Land of Earth, Tsuchikage Office.

A crisp sound of a cup shattering rang out, followed by the Third Tsuchikage's roar, "What is Cloud Village trying to do? Is that Third Raikage all brawn and no brains? Attacking Sunagakure at this time, just for that little bit of mineral deposit? Is he out of his mind?!"

A series of angry curses poured out of Tsuchikage's mouth. Poor Kitsuchi, who was standing opposite him, was sprayed with his father's spittle all over his face. But he couldn't dodge and could only obediently endure it. Otherwise, he would suffer more than just spittle. He might even get a loving iron fist.

After venting his anger, Tsuchikage finally let it all out. He looked at the motionless, sturdy figure in front of him and felt another headache coming on, but he still patiently asked, "What do you think about this?"

Kitsuchi was taken aback, not expecting his father to consult him. He scratched his head and took the opportunity to wipe the drool off his face with his sleeve, which made Tsuchikage's forehead veins throb again.

"Cloud Village is trying to take advantage of Sunagakure's weakness to seize the benefits first. Judging from their posture, they probably sent people there a month ago. They probably want to take advantage of Sunagakure's war with Konoha, leaving the Land of Wind vulnerable, Sunagakure might not be able to spare the strength to deal with them. They're thinking of making a quick buck and leaving."

"Even the Third Raikage probably didn't expect Sunagakure to be defeated so quickly, and Konoha even seemed to be sitting on the sidelines watching the fight. This put the Cloud Village's Sunagakure force in danger. I guess the Cloud Village's raiding force will be thinking about how to escape the Land of Wind next."

The Tsuchikage looked at his son. While not exactly brilliant, he wasn't too stupid either. "You've come up with this idea, which shows you have some sense, but your thinking is still too simplistic."

The Tsuchikage slowly floated up, crossed the Kitsuchi, and came to the window, looking out at the entire Iwagakure.

"The Third Raikage may be a bit reckless, but he's willing to take risks. Do you believe he might have planted Jinchuriki among this Cloud Ninja?"

"No way, he dares to send Jinchuriki on such a mission? Isn't he afraid of being killed or captured alive by the Sunagakure?" Kitsuchi Tu was filled with disbelief. This was no ordinary Jonin. If the Jinchuriki died, whether the Tailed Beast could be found again was unknown.

"So he's a gambler. Since he sent people to raid Sunagakure, he must have wanted to make a big profit and solve their long-standing needs for rare minerals all at once." The Tsuchikage said calmly, as if he were standing right behind the Third Raikage, seeing through all his plans.

"Then—Father, no, Lord Tsuchikage, is there anything we need to do?" Kitsuchi asked uncertainly, as if he had a premonition of something.

"He wants to make a big profit, but I can't let him have his way. In recent years, Cloud Village's ambitions have grown bigger and bigger, and their provocations against us on the border have never stopped. If we let them get this batch of supplies smoothly, wouldn't we be even more passive?"

Tsuchikage suddenly turned around and looked at Kitsuchi. "Since he loves to cause trouble so much, then we'll play along with him until he's had his fill. Issue the order to convene a high-level meeting to discuss the attack on Cloud Village."

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage." Kitsuchi immediately accepted the order and went out to summon all the high-ranking officials in the village.

Although it was called a meeting to discuss the matter, it was really just the Tsuchikage making a statement, and the meeting smoothly passed the proposal to wage war against Cloud Village.

During this period, Iwagakure was so eager to fight that they wanted to provoke Konoha, Sunagakure, and their old rival Cloud Village. They also had the strength to do so, since Iwagakure had the largest number of ninjas among the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Supporting so many ninjas would be a significant burden for any village, so expanding outwards, or rather, seizing missions from other villages, is an urgent need. And what could be faster than winning a war to acquire these ninjas?

On the same day, a force of 2,000 people was assembled and marched in a grand procession toward the border between the Lightning and Earth Kingdoms. At the same time, a declaration of war was issued to the Ninja World, announcing that Iwagakure was declaring war on Cloud Village.

Like a stone thrown into a still pond, Iwagakure's actions stirred up a thousand waves, making the already turbulent Ninja World even more turbulent. Iwagakure's behavior was truly unexpected by most people, and no one expected that Iwagakure would start a war with Cloud Village at this time.

However, the news of the start of the war made Sunagakure extremely happy. Regardless of Iwagakure's motives for doing so, their actions truly helped to lighten Sunagakure's burden considerably.

The very next day, after receiving news that Sunagakure had declared war on Iwagakure Cloud Village, Sunagakure also announced its own war against Cloud Village. They didn't even need a reason anymore, as Cloud Village's sneak attack ninjas were still wreaking havoc in the Land of Land of Wind.

Ignoring the turmoil in the Ninja World, the Konoha leadership was filled with joy.

In the Hokage's Office, the usual somber atmosphere had changed. Even the ninjas who occasionally came to report on missions could see that the Hokage-sama was smiling much more often lately.

As for the reason, everyone knows it. The great victory on the Southern Front, coupled with the fact that Sunagakure and Cloud Village are fighting each other, and Iwagakure and Cloud Village are also fighting each other, has greatly improved Konoha's situation. The situation of being attacked by multiple ninja villages at the same time has been alleviated, which has made all the high-ranking officials of Konoha breathe a sigh of relief.

At this moment, only Hiruzen Sarutobi Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura were in the office. Shimura Danzō, who had been there all along, had led the Root forces to the Western Battlefield two days earlier.

This is one of the reasons why Hiruzen Sarutobi has been smiling more lately. Danzo's growing power in the village is also a source of pressure for Hiruzen Sarutobi. This time, taking advantage of Root's large-scale operation, Scout Root's strength and weaknesses, which has made Hiruzen Sarutobi much more relaxed.

"Hiruzen, now that Sunagakure and Iwagakure have declared war on Cloud Village, these two ninja villages are fighting us at the same time. Shouldn't we do something?" Mitokado Homura suggested to the Hokage with a sinister look, not forgetting to make a downward slashing gesture, indicating that we could cause some trouble.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Mitokado Homura with amusement. It seemed that he had been annoyed by these two ninja villages recently, otherwise he wouldn't have said such unwise things. Sunagakure and Iwagakure had indeed declared war on Konoha, but Cloud Village was no better. On the Northern Front, the Cloud Ninja and Orochimaru were fighting a fierce battle.

"Ignore them for now. This is the best situation. Let them fight like dogs. The more fiercely they fight, the better it is for Konoha's interests. We'll clean up the mess after they've fought enough."

"Yes, our war with Sunagakure is currently at a standstill. Iwagakure originally only declared war on us, but now they've also declared war on Cloud Village. This will inevitably distract them, making things much easier for Danzo."

From this perspective, this period is arguably the most relaxed since the start of the war. We should take this opportunity to prepare more war supplies. We don't know how long the war will last, so the more supplies we have, the better.

Utatane Koharu has been busy raising money lately, knowing how quickly it disappears. Even though the Daimyo just allocated 200 million taels for war expenses, after several major battles, this money is just a drop in the bucket and will be gone in the blink of an eye. Therefore, she is particularly concerned about this free period.

Mitokado Homura realized that his suggestion was somewhat presumptuous and did not take into account the overall situation of Konoha, so he suppressed his anxiety and continued to talk about the next matter.

"The ninjas on rotation from the southern front, along with the seriously wounded, will arrive in Konoha this afternoon. How will the village welcome them?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled upon hearing this. These were all heroes of the village, returning victorious, and the village naturally had to bestow upon them the corresponding glory.

"These are the first frontline ninjas to return since the start of the war, and they're coming home after a victory. Organize the villagers to welcome them along the streets, make the scene lively, and let the heroes know that their sacrifices were worthwhile."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke from the bottom of his heart, believing that these ninjas were Konoha's most precious treasure.

"Yan, Koharu, before they enter the village, you two come with me to greet them. We need to make these returning ninjas understand that the village values them highly."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged glances, clearly not expecting Hiruzen Sarutobi to take this welcoming ceremony so seriously.

After all, this was only a partial victory, not a complete rout of an entire ninja village. But they couldn't voice any objections; welcoming the hero back was politically correct everywhere, especially since it was just an honor.

The two nodded in agreement. It wasn't difficult for them; it wasn't the first time they'd made such an arrangement, and they were quite adept at it.

Soon, the Konoha government released the news, and thanks to the efforts of those with ulterior motives, the news quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Konoha.

The Konoha Ninja on the Southern Front, led by Lord Jiraiya, dealt a heavy blow to Sunagakure, giving Konoha a significant advantage.

This afternoon, some of the ninjas and wounded soldiers from the front lines will return to the village in triumph. Everyone went to the village gate to welcome our heroes.

The villagers were quickly stirred by the news. The Ninja World was no longer what it was at the beginning of the story, when people had television and movies to entertain themselves. Nowadays, people lacked entertainment, so their enthusiasm for this sudden news was quite high.

More importantly, this is the first time the village has officially released information about the battle situation at the front, and this news is closely related to them. Only if the war on the front is won can their peaceful and stable lives continue for a long time.

"Do you know when the heroes will return? I'm going to greet them!"

"Didn't they say this afternoon? The village will definitely notify us then. We'll just wait for the news."

"I wonder if there are any handsome young men among them. I'd like to marry my daughter to one of them."

"That's a ninja master! Why would he even look at your daughter!"

Discussions filled the air throughout Konoha, the villagers filled with curiosity and enthusiasm for the returning hero.

Time quickly passed to 2 PM. A group led by the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with two Hokage following behind and numerous Jonin close behind, began walking from the Hokage Building toward the Konoha Gate.

The news of the Hokage's movements quickly spread among those who had been discovered, and everyone immediately knew that this was the return of a hero, with the Hokage-sama leading a group of people to welcome him.

The news spread like wildfire, and soon more and more people gathered at the back of the procession, following them toward the Konoha Gate. They wanted to be among the first to see the heroes returning from the front lines.

As the massive procession slowly approached the Konoha Gate, not long afterward, a long line appeared in everyone's sight at the far end.

Immediately, cheers erupted from the crowd. "They're here! They're here! The heroes of Konoha are here!"

As the crowd drew closer, their specific appearance came into view.

There was nothing gleaming or dazzling about them; on the contrary, they looked travel-worn, and many seriously wounded ninjas were lying on the carts, being carefully looked after by others.

But all of this couldn't overshadow the team's heartfelt joy and deep pride.

That's right, it's pride. They defeated Sunagakure and severely damaged Sunagakure main force with minimal losses, laying the foundation for victory in the war. This alone makes them proud.

More importantly, they fought for their families and for Konoha. This glory was earned with their lives, and they rightfully deserve to enjoy it.

All the Konoha Ninja returning from the front lines held their heads high, even the wounded. As long as they could walk, they were supported by their comrades, striving to maintain their proud image as they faced the scrutiny from the Hokage, the higher-ups, and the villagers.

From the crowd, someone shouted "Victory!"

Immediately afterwards, shouts of "May you win!" spread from this center.

Until all the villagers at the gate simultaneously shouted "Victory!" to the returning hero.

"Victory!"

Enjoy