Back in the camp barracks, Qi Luna quietly closed the tent flap, trying not to disturb her sleeping companions.
He walked over to the table and, by the dim candlelight, pulled a sealing scroll from his robes. Then he summoned a notebook from the scroll.
Qi Luna spread the notebook out on the table and began carefully recording the training methods for New Vortex Style Taijutsu. His pen scratched across the paper, every stroke filled with focus and anticipation.
As she wrote, she furrowed her brow slightly, lost in memories of the details from the Naruto story in her previous life.
Familiar yet dark details surfaced in her mind:
Madara transplanted his Rinnegan into the young Nagato;
He sent White Zetsu disguised as a Konoha Ninja to kill Nagato's father, Ise, and his mother, Uzumaki Fuso. This awakened Nagato's Rinnegan while planting seeds of pain and darkness in his heart;
He controlled the Third Mizukage and launched Kirigakure's first Bloody Mist Village policy, preparing for the Eye of the Moon Plan;
And then there was Black Zetsu, the Ninja World's most filial son, who used Yin-Yang Release to disguise himself as Madara's will...
But that happened after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge in the Third Shinobi World War...
Suddenly, a breeze swept through. The candle flame flickered, and dancing shadows played across the walls.
Qi Luna came back to herself and pressed her fingers to her brow. Her gaze had grown more resolute.
She closed the notebook and walked to the window. As she watched the fine rain falling from the night sky, leaves occasionally drifted past his sleeve on the wind, as if telling him that in this storm-tossed Ninja World, he was no longer a wandering soul apart from the world...
In the days that followed, all three of Konoha's battlefronts fell into a stalemate, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.
Then news arrived from the distant Land of Waterfalls, completely shattering the deadlock!
"Those brutes from Kumogakure finally did something right. After that sneak attack, Ōnoki the short potato shouldn't have any strength left to invade our Land of Fire, right?"
In the main tent, Jiraiya finished reading the intelligence he'd snatched from Orochimaru and let out a hearty laugh.
"That's right. Teacher Sarutobi has ordered Elder Koharu to lead half the force from the Iwagakure front back to the village to recuperate. After that, they'll head to the Sunagakure front in the south of the Land of Rain to relieve Tsunade. Tsunade will then be transferred to our northern Amegakure front as soon as possible."
"Still, although the Iwa ninja threat is gone and we have more troops to deploy, Amegakure can also now concentrate the strength of its entire village against us. It looks like the decisive battle won't be far off..."
Orochimaru remained calm and composed. Unlike Jiraiya, he wasn't blindly optimistic. Instead, he carefully analyzed how Kumogakure's sneak attack on Iwagakure might affect Konoha's plans going forward.
"Ah! That's true. Salamander Hanzo was already hard to deal with, and a while back he used Ibuse's poison mist as cover to wound Jonin Tianxian. Now it'll be even harder for us to face Salamander Hanzo head-on."
"It's strange, though. Jonin Tianxian wasn't badly hurt, and under that Qi Luna... brat's treatment, he'd already almost recovered. Why did the old man suddenly send him back to Konoha? And it wasn't just Jonin Tianxian. Almost all the other Uchiha ninja were recalled too. It makes no sense..."
Thinking back over the recent setbacks on the battlefield, Jiraiya scratched his head of white hair. But with his current naive nature, he couldn't figure out why.
"Heh. A rat in a dark corner couldn't stand seeing others do well, so he panicked and lashed out."
Orochimaru gave a cold laugh, his golden, slit-pupiled eyes filled with indifference. His words seemed to carry another meaning...
And his guess was entirely correct.
Just a few days earlier, Shimura Danzō had returned to Konoha and spent a long time recovering. After receiving reports from the various battlefronts, he saw that although Konoha was still at a disadvantage against the strongest fighters on the Amegakure front, the three battlefronts were, overall, gaining a slight advantage.
Thanks to Konoha's ninja being, on the whole, slightly better than those of Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Amegakure, Konoha had the initiative on all three fronts and was already in an unassailable position.
All that was missing was a significant victory—one powerful enough to settle things on every front.
But the more good news came in, the darker Danzō's expression grew.
"When I was in charge of the Amegakure front, they all acted like wilted eggplants. The front advanced slower than a snail!"
"After I was wounded, stepped down, and returned to the village to recuperate, they all started acting like they'd been injected with something, fierce as wolves and tigers! The front began advancing by leaps and bounds!"
"They're obviously messing with me! What a bunch of damn ingrates!"
Shimura Danzō slammed the table with his only remaining left hand. The lights in the Root Base had never been bright to begin with, but after his chakra flared, they flickered even more, making both the base and Danzō's expression seem increasingly gloomy...
The more reports Danzō read, the angrier he became. When he saw the Uchiha Clan's major achievements, he flew into a rage, stood up, and prepared to demand an explanation from Sarutobi Hiruzen!
"Bang!"
"Sarutobi, you must have received the reports from all the battlefronts by now, haven't you?"
The door to the Hokage Office suddenly flew open with such force that it seemed a beast had slammed into it. Wood splintered, and the hinges let out a grating squeal.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even raise his head. He continued working through the documents in front of him, gave a few brief instructions, then dismissed the Anbu kneeling before his desk.
Everything proceeded in perfect order, as if the scene that had just unfolded hadn't disturbed him in the slightest.
That was only to be expected. In Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen could tell who would barge straight into the Hokage Office without even thinking about it.
Aside from Tsunade, who was still on the Sunagakure front in the south of the Land of Rain, only his old classmate and longtime comrade, Shimura Danzō, would be so rude.
And Danzō's hoarse, resentful crow's voice only confirmed Sarutobi Hiruzen's guess.
Sarutobi Hiruzen adjusted his Hokage hat and finally replied in a low voice to Shimura Danzō's question:
"Danzō, you should knock before coming in. I have received the reports from the various battlefronts. So what? Do I need to report to you?"
"Several more Uchiha have awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan. If we don't keep them in check, the Uchiha Clan will inevitably dominate Konoha one day. That inherently evil clan will become a grave threat to our village sooner or later!"
Apparently unaware that anything was amiss in Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone, Shimura Danzō simply voiced his thoughts. As he spoke, the malice in his heart spilled out, twisting his expression into an increasingly savage grimace.
"Are you even listening to me, Sarutobi?"
When Sarutobi Hiruzen remained unmoved, Danzō brought his only remaining left hand down hard on the desk in front of him.
"We have to keep the inherently evil Uchiha Clan in check and nip the possibility of another Uchiha Madara in the bud!"
"Enough, Danzō!"
As if some word had struck a nerve, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up, his eyes cold beneath the Hokage hat.
Looking at his old friend, so unlike the man he'd once been, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt nothing but deep helplessness.
"Stop going around calling them inherently evil. The Uchiha are part of Konoha. They're our comrades in the village, and Kagami's clan, too! I've considered what you said."
"I'll make arrangements for Tianxian and the others to return to Konoha and help maintain order and security. But you should explain something to me...
Why did you come here already, when I'd only just finished reading the reports from the various fronts?!"
Danzō's heart jolted. His body, tense with emotion, went rigid as he stared in stunned silence.
Was Sarutobi calling him to account? Just because Root worked more efficiently than his Anbu?
Danzō was baffled, but he didn't think he'd done anything wrong. He held firm to his position.
"They're only Kagami's clan, not Kagami himself. Just sending them back to Konoha isn't nearly enough. They should be sent to assassinate Salamander Hanzo of Amegakure, Chiyo and Sanosuke of Sunagakure! And the one from Iwagakure..."
"I said... enough! I've made up my mind, and there's no point arguing. And when the war is over, the Root budget will be cut in half! That's all. You may leave!"
Danzō had been prepared to keep arguing his case, but when he heard Sarutobi Hiruzen threaten to cut Root's budget, he was left dumbfounded.
"What... did you say?"
"I said! Root's funding... will be cut in half!"
"Sarutobi, you'll regret this!"
"Bang!"
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could even say that he was the Hokage, Shimura Danzō had already slammed the door on his way out...
Before you continue