Undercurrents Surge

After Sarutobi Hiruzen signed the documents, he relayed the news of Ying Yue Squad's promotion.

Soon, the three of them—Ying Yue, Ayane, and Chinatsu—received the notification and were summoned to the Hokage Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at them with a satisfied smile on his face: "Your performance has been outstanding, living up to my expectations. Ying Yue, Ayane, Chinatsu, from today on, you are officially Chunin of Konoha."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage." Ying Yue bowed respectfully to Sarutobi Hiruzen on behalf of the squad, his heart filled with gratitude.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly, his tone carrying a hint of encouragement: "You are the future of Konoha. I hope you continue to work hard and contribute even more strength to the village. Becoming Chunin is merely a new starting point; there are many more challenges awaiting you ahead."

Ying Yue Squad replied in unison: "Yes, Lord Hokage!"

After leaving the Hokage Office, Ying Yue Squad stood outside the Hokage Building, bathed in sunlight, their hearts filled with anticipation for the future.

"Becoming Chunin is just our first step; there is still a long road ahead," Ying Yue said to his teammates, his eyes full of determination.

Ayane and Chinatsu nodded in agreement: "No matter how difficult the path ahead may be, we will walk it together."

Uchiha Ying Yue looked at his teammates before him, his heart brimming with confidence and resolve. His bond with his teammates had been further sublimated through this assessment; they would face future challenges together, fight side by side, and march toward higher goals.

In the days following the Chunin exams, Uchiha Ying Yue maintained a high level of vigilance and combat readiness.

Not only did Uchiha Ying Yue continue to improve his personal strength, but he also kept a constant watch on the operations of the Shadow Curtain Organization. Under Ying Yue's leadership, the Shadow Curtain Organization gradually infiltrated every corner of the Ninja World, providing him with a wealth of valuable information.

During this period, intelligence personnel from the Shadow Curtain Organization noticed some unusual movements.

Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure were frequently mobilizing troops and had begun purchasing large quantities of weapons and supplies.

Such large-scale mobilization and procurement were highly abnormal during peacetime, especially in the absence of any clear signs of war.

Through the intelligence gathered by Shadow Curtain, Uchiha Ying Yue quickly realized the gravity of the situation. The abnormal actions of the major hidden villages indicated that they seemed to be preparing for some large-scale operation, and such preparations most likely signaled an impending war.

After organizing the gathered intelligence, Uchiha Ying Yue carefully analyzed the movements of the major hidden villages.

Recalling key events from the original story, Ying Yue began to ponder the conspiracy that might be hidden behind these unusual troop movements.

"Kirigakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure... for these three villages to conduct large-scale troop movements almost simultaneously without any direct conflict is clearly no coincidence," Ying Yue muttered to himself, a more complete picture gradually forming in his mind.

Combining the intelligence with the original plot, Ying Yue realized that this time period might be exactly when the Land of Whirlpools was about to suffer the catastrophe of national annihilation.

The Land of Whirlpools was famous for its powerful sealing techniques and was the homeland of the Uzumaki Clan.

However, the country's powerful sealing techniques had also attracted the covetous eyes of other hidden villages.

"The sealing techniques of the Land of Whirlpools are too powerful; every major village wants to master this strength. If they unite to attack the Land of Whirlpools, it will be a devastating blow." Ying Yue's expression turned grave. He was almost certain that the unusual movements of the major villages were directly related to the fall of the Land of Whirlpools.

Although Uchiha Ying Yue was not certain of the exact timing, he knew that the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools was likely already in the works.

Uchiha Ying Yue felt the urgency of the situation; he had to take action as soon as possible.

Although the power of the Shadow Curtain Organization was limited, he still hoped to provide some assistance to the Land of Whirlpools during this disaster, or at least provide an early warning to minimize losses.

"The fall of the Land of Whirlpools will have a profound impact on the landscape of the Ninja World, especially for Konoha," Ying Yue weighed the pros and cons in his heart. "The Uzumaki Clan has deep ties with Konoha; if the Land of Whirlpools truly suffers a national annihilation, Konoha will also be plunged into turmoil."

Uchiha Ying Yue decided to report this important intelligence to the high-ranking officials of Konoha immediately.

Ying Yue knew he could not face this alone; he had to unite the village's strength to deal with the coming crisis together.

At the same time, Ying Yue was also considering whether he could use the Shadow Curtain Organization's intelligence network to contact survivors of the Land of Whirlpools or provide them with evacuation routes.

Ying Yue understood that while the fall of the Land of Whirlpools might be difficult to prevent, he could still fight for a glimmer of hope for those innocent people.

"I cannot sit idly by," Ying Yue decided firmly. "Even if I cannot stop the outbreak of war, I will do my best to save those lives."

Uchiha Ying Yue immediately summoned the core members of the Shadow Curtain Organization to further analyze and organize the gathered intelligence.

Uchiha Ying Yue then decided to go to the Hokage Building in person to report this urgent intelligence to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

In the Hokage Office, Ying Yue calmly reported the troop movements and weapon procurement of the major hidden villages to Sarutobi Hiruzen, expressing his concern that the Land of Whirlpools might be facing annihilation.

After hearing Ying Yue's report, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face turned exceptionally grave.

He realized that Ying Yue's speculation was highly likely to be accurate, which meant the Ninja World was about to face a new wave of turmoil.

Sarutobi Hiruzen knew well the importance of the Land of Whirlpools; the relationship between the Land of Whirlpools' sealing techniques and Konoha was extraordinary. He immediately summoned the village's high-ranking officials to discuss and deploy response strategies.

After leaving the Hokage Office, Uchiha Ying Yue returned to the Shadow Curtain Organization immediately to begin arranging the next steps of his plan.

Uchiha Ying Yue ordered the Shadow Curtain intelligence personnel to strengthen their monitoring of the major hidden villages and to attempt to save as many of the Uzumaki Clan members from the Land of Whirlpools as possible.

Uchiha Ying Yue frowned, pondering to himself: "Can the high-ranking officials of Konoha really rescue the Uzumaki Clan properly?" Ying Yue recalled the original plot: the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, the Uzumaki Clan was almost wiped out, and only a few survivors were left, scattered and fleeing to every corner of the Ninja World.

Yet, Konoha seemed not to have reached out a helping hand.

As an allied nation of Konoha and a distant relative of the Senju Clan, the fact that such a relationship did not result in timely aid made Uchiha Ying Yue feel that the matter was not simple.

Uchiha Ying Yue decided to tell Lady Uzumaki Mito about this situation to see what her thoughts were on the matter.

Uchiha Ying Yue understood in his heart that this crisis was imminent, and he had to be fully prepared to face the coming storm.