The State of the Ninja World

On the vast sea, two figures raced across the water. Only after confirming that there were no Konoha pursuers behind them did they slowly come to a stop.

"It seems Konoha has no intention of pursuing us." Mizunuki Asuka panted heavily, looking back at the battlefield that was no longer visible.

"Damn it, this Taichi Matsushita is so amazing, he's completely different from what I imagined," Karatachi Yagura couldn't help but complain.

This First Shinobi World War was originally intended as a casual affair to wear down Kaguya and Hozuki's ninjas, but little did they expect Taichi Matsushita be so powerful, immediately entangled him and Mizunuki Asuka, giving them no chance to escape.

It is said that plans can't keep up with changes. No one knew beforehand that their purpose in this attack was not revenge, but to deplete their own ninjas.

So, without a commander, everyone fought extremely bravely, which completely exceeded Karatachi Yagura's plan.

More importantly, there's Taichi Matsushita's strength. Everyone says Taichi Matsushita is amazing, but no one has truly witnessed it. There's always a gap between them, so they don't really know just how powerful he is.

It was this slight cognitive bias that led to their crushing defeat.

"Send the signal! Gather the ninjas who have escaped. We need to move the Camp immediately, relocating Camp to the open sea. This location is still too dangerous."

Karatachi Yagura was filled with helplessness. This battle was a huge mistake. When the news reached the village, he didn't know how the Mizukage would punish them. Just thinking about it made his head ache.

However, looking at Mizunuki Asuka beside him, it was fortunate that this guy was there to keep watch. After all, in terms of rank, he was the Commander, while he himself was just someone sent by the Mizukage to supervise.

While Mist Village was busy relocating its Camp and Konoha was busy building its Camp, the entire Ninja World was also busy.

Because Mist Village directly engaged in war with Konoha, it redeployed troops that had been assisting Sunagakure in their attack on Konoha, Southern Front returned to calm, with only low-intensity reconnaissance and harassment operations remaining.

As a result, Minato Namikaze, Yohei Uchiha, Kakashi, and others who performed exceptionally well on the Southern Front were all transferred away from the Southern Front.

The original Minato Squad was assigned to the Western Front, while Yohei and Saori were assigned to the Northern Front.

On the Western Front, Mimura Hamaki was greatly relieved of pressure after receiving support from Minato. He not only held Iwagakure back in the Land of Grass, but also showed signs of launching a further counterattack.

However, knowing that her current foundation was unstable, Mimura Hamaki suppressed her impulse and focused on stabilizing her base. She frequently sent out Minato Squad to harass Iwagakure's rear, which greatly increased Iwagakure's logistical pressure and even affected their offensive.

On the Northern Battlefield, Orochimaru, after receiving help from Yohei, deviated from his usual approach and launched an offensive, not only occupying the entire Land of Hot Water but also pushing the battle line into the heart of the Land of Moon.

During this period, Yohei also shone brightly on the battlefield.

"Riding a red giant."

"The Crimson Lotus Hellfire from the underworld warrior."

"The Wrathful Wisdom King."

Various rumors circulated, and it was unclear whether they were praise from the enemy or attempts to undermine one's own people.

However, Orochimaru did achieve considerable success with Yohei's help, which made him even more interested in the Sharingan of the Uchiha Orochimaru his spare time.

Compared to Taiichi's gradual and traceable progress through continuous learning, the Sharingan, a bloodline that can drastically increase strength once the Mangekyou Mangekyo is awakened, is far more appealing to a research fanatic like him.

Aside from Konoha, the war between Iwagakure and Cloud Village has never stopped and is even showing signs of intensifying. The latest intelligence indicates that the Third Raikage has personally gone to the front lines and joined the battle.

This is also why Orochimaru stopped his attacks in the Land of Moon; these two factions fighting like dogs is exactly what Konoha wants to see.

In an underground cave in the Land of Earth.

Jue, with a face that resembled two different colors, walked into the empty hall, followed by two swaying White Zetsu.

In the hall, on a giant, withered wooden chair, the emaciated and aged Ban had his eyes tightly closed, his chest not rising or falling at all, like a corpse.

Behind him, several flexible tubes connected him to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, from which flashes of green light occasionally appeared.

Zetsu walked up to Madara Uchiha, and despite seeing Madara's lifeless body, he still bowed and reported.

"Lord Madara, Obito Uchiha has arrived in the Land of Earth with his team. Should we continue to monitor him?"

The question was asked, but there was no response for a long time. One of the White Zetsu couldn't hold back any longer.

"Is Lord Madara reminiscing about the feeling of pooping? I'm so envious!"

Even with such a withered face, one could still see the corners of Ban's mouth twitching noticeably.

Opening his cloudy eyes, Madara didn't even bother to look at these brainless White Zetsu; his gaze fell on the Black Zetsu standing at the very front.

What is his current situation?

A weak voice rang out, giving the impression that the person was about to die.

"His eyes are still the Sharingan with One-Tomoe, unchanged, but his Taijutsu and Ninjutsu have improved considerably." Black Zetsu hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Lord Madara, is it really okay to find him? I think this guy is a bit silly, all he does is hang around the girls in his squad all day, he has no ambition at all."

Black Zetsu harbored great resentment. After observing Obito for so long, he still couldn't find anything particularly outstanding about him. However, it was Madara Uchiha's decision, and he couldn't disobey it given his current status.

Madara Uchiha's eyes widened slightly, somewhat surprised by Black Zetsu's reaction.

"What's wrong? Is Obito Uchiha strangely?"

Although White Zetsu is unreliable, Black Zetsu, born from his will, is still quite measured in his actions. The fact that he said such things today must mean he was provoked by something.

"Back on the Southern Front, he had Yohei Uchiha, and he was quite diligent in his training. Now that he's in the Land of Earth, without Yohei Uchiha's supervision, he's completely let himself go. I seriously doubt whether someone like that can really accomplish your grand plan?"

Upon hearing Madara Uchiha's wide eyes returned to normal, and a dismissive smile appeared on his lips.

"Wow, you still don't understand the Uchiha. Darkness can only be born from light. The kinder the Uchiha are, the stronger their ideological conflict will become once they awaken."

Obito Uchiha, he just hasn't experienced this transformation yet, but that moment is coming soon, and I believe he won't let us down then."

Madara Uchiha explained leisurely, a hint of self-satisfaction in his words, as if a craftsman had personally polished a treasure hidden in a stubborn rock until it became dazzling, and the sense of accomplishment at that moment was the greatest enjoyment.

"Why does it have to be Obito Uchiha? I think Yohei Uchiha would be better. We don't even need to bother getting him to awaken the Mangekyo; he's already awakened it on his own."

An untimely voice of a White Zetsu rang out, bringing up a tragic past that even Madara didn't want to mention.

After monitoring the Uchiha Clan for so long, the target they finally chose was still a ninja with One-Tomoe, but this Yohei Uchiha had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan through his own growth.

Isn't this ironic? Isn't it infuriating?

When Black Zetsu first reported to Madara Uchiha that Yohei Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyo and was already able to summon Susanoo, Madara initially thought Black Zetsu was joking with him.

After confirming it several times, Ban remained silent for a full five minutes before accepting the fact that he might have misjudged the situation.

However, the preliminary preparations are not yet complete, and since the Mangekyo awakened so early, it cannot be used now.

Madara Uchiha could only console himself with this thought.

Now that this painful memory has been brought up again, Madara's eyes, which were about to close, widened again, staring at the White Zetsu who was speaking.

"Fine, let's send this guy back for a makeshift rehabilitation program. Someone so brainless will inevitably cause trouble sooner or later when he's out on assignments."

Speaking the most hurtful words in the softest voice, even a dim-witted creature like White Zetsu knew he was in deep trouble. "Lord Madara, did I say something wrong? Please give me another 10 minutes so I can experience the feeling of defecating before I'm sent back to the furnace, otherwise my life will be full of regrets--"

Before the White Zetsu could finish speaking, two other White Zetsu walked in from outside the hall and dragged the still-rambling White Zetsu away without a word, and the hall returned to silence.

"Lord Madara, shouldn't we deal with Yohei Uchiha? Will the existence of such a Mangekyo affect our plans?"

Black Zetsu was somewhat worried. It was one thing to worry about others, but from daily surveillance, it was clear that Yohei Uchiha had a significant influence on Daishi, second only to Kakashi and Rin Nohara, who were in the same squad.

"Ignore him. Yohei Uchiha has already established his power. The price we pay to influence him would be too high. Let's focus our efforts on Obito for now."

Madara Uchiha's voice grew increasingly weak. In order to slow down the passage of his life, he could only sit here and rest most of the time each day, and even speaking a few words was a luxury.

"How's Nagato doing? Is my Rinnegan still alright?"

Compared to Obito's side, he's at most an agent. If things work out, great; if not, Black Zetsu will simply take his place.

But Nagato's side is the most important, and the key to the whole plan is the Rinnegan that Nagato sees.

"Everything is going according to plan. Nagato and his group have killed Hanzo and occupied Amegakure. They are now taking advantage of the chaos among the Five Great Ninja Villages to reorganize their internal affairs."

Madara Uchiha finally smiled.

Good, everything is going smoothly on Nagato, and the progress seems quite rapid.

A deep sense of exhaustion washed over him. Madara Uchiha knew that his time was up again. To better complete his plan and for the ideal Ninja World in his heart, he had to continue this agonizing existence.

The next day.

After a full night's rest, the Konoha Ninja, fully refreshed and led by Taiichi, Fugaku, Hiashi, marched proudly towards the Mist Village Camp.

All the Konoha Ninja were full of confidence. The victories in the two major battles made everyone believe that this attack would definitely wipe out this group of Mist Ninja.

Until--

"My lords, no Mist Ninjas were found on the island. They must have left the island yesterday."

On the high seas, a Hyuga Clan ninja was giving a report.

Taiichi and the other two exchanged glances, and each could see a hint of disappointment in the other's eyes.

"We're still a step too late!" Fugaku Uchiha sighed, his words tinged with disappointment.

"Wasn't this expected? After two crushing defeats, Mist Village doesn't dare to stay here any longer. We're just here as a precaution!"

Taiichi didn't seem to care. Mist Village had retreated to the outer sea, and if they wanted to pose a threat to Konoha again, they would have to wait for Kirigakure's support. Now they could finally relax for a while.

Hiashi activated his Byakugan and scanned the surrounding sea extensively. As expected, he found no Mist Ninja, not even a single island.

"Taiichi, it seems the task of finding the Mist Village Camp will still have to be entrusted to you. Once we reach the outer seas, ordinary ninjas are simply not up to the task of Scout."

Hiashi was also helpless. Although the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was a huge advantage, their own Chakra was not a significant advantage, so Scout missions at sea like this were not something they could handle.

Taiichi calmly nodded and accepted the task. He recalled his previous collaboration with Hizashi, and this task was really not difficult for him.

After inspecting the island again and confirming that the entire island had been cleaned up, the group led their disappointed subordinates back to their Camp.

News of the great victory over Mist Village at the front lines quickly reached Konoha.

After reading the battle report in his hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally let out a long sigh of relief, and a long-lost smile appeared on his aged face.

He reached out and handed the battle report scroll to Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, who were still anxiously waiting, while he picked up the pipe on the table and took a few satisfying puffs.

A wisp of smoke billowed from his mouth and nose, Hiruzen Sarutobi said with satisfaction, "Tsunade finally didn't disappoint us. Her battle with the Mist Ninja was swift and decisive; Mist Village back in just one month."

At this moment, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also finished reading the battle report, and nodded in agreement with Hiruzen Sarutobi's praise of Tsunade.

"Great!" Utatane Koharu exclaimed. "With the situation in Mist Village stabilized, the problems on the other fronts will be easily solved."

Hiruzen Sarutobi in agreement. Seeing that Konoha still possessed such fighting power, and that it had easily dealt with Mist Village, the major ninja villages would hesitate to continue investing more in Konoha, given the unrest within their own communities.

"That being said, Tsunade fought very well, but this is the report on her achievements; isn't that somewhat biased?"

Mitokado Homura pointed to the end of the battle report, where the ranking of battle achievements was recorded. Taiichi was ranked first, and the number of Jonin killed by him, whose names were recorded, exceeded five. This did not include the other missions he had completed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Utatane Koharu were also aware of this, but neither of them commented on it.

It wasn't that they trusted Tsunade that much, but rather that they trusted the signatures of the heads of various clans on the back of the battle report.

Fugaku Uchiha, Hyuga Hiashi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Akimichi Choza —none of them would do something that would harm their clan's interests for Tsunade's sake.

"The battle report is fine; otherwise, with so many families on the front lines, they wouldn't approve of it. Tsunade wouldn't make a mistake on such a small matter."

Mitokado Homura naturally knew that the contents of this battle report were correct, and that was never his purpose.

"Hiruzen, have you decided on the Fourth Hokage?"