The Fourth Great Ninja War? / Reunited After Eight Years

The normally elegant Sasori of the Red Sands, in a very inelegant manner, rolled to the side like a hungry dog pouncing on its prey.

The next moment, the Iron Sand barrier was cut open. After the sand blade broke through the Iron Sand barrier, its momentum did not diminish. It cleaved through the ground and cut a hideous scar on the earth.

At this moment, at the edge of this battlefield, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi stood silently outside the safe zone, watching the white giant who was Kamui in the arena.

Orochimaru's eyes flickered, Kabuto Yakushi lost control of his expression.

"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto Yakushi had lost count of how many times he'd adjusted his glasses, "Is this the kind of battle a ninja can fight?"

At this moment, he felt fortunate that he had been honest enough in Hidden Leaf Village.

Otherwise, wouldn't he be cleaved into dust by a single strike from 800 meters away?

"The complete Susanoo, the strongest forbidden technique of the Uchiha Clan." Orochimaru stared intently. "The legendary Leaf Village Asura of Konoha possessed this kind of power."

"This Lord Shingen is already comparable to that Asura?"

"Who knows?" Orochimaru shrugged. "I've never seen Leaf Village Asura."

"It seems I can abandon my identity as Sasori of the Red Sands's subordinate now..." Kabuto Yakushi said.

If he could defeat it, he wouldn't be called Sasori of the Red Sands.

Kabuto Yakushi looked at the land before him; it was no longer recognizable as it once was, but had been transformed into a desolate desert of death.

The sky was blue, but the earth was yellow, and no other colors could be seen. Terrifying cyclones swirled the yellow sand high into the air. Although we were only a step away from this desert, the heat was overwhelming. The folds of the sand, like solidified waves, stretched into the distance, majestic yet not silent.

"You're jumping to conclusions too easily again, Kabuto." Orochimaru glanced at his assistant.

"I'm very sorry, Lord Orochimaru."

"Well, let's go. If Scorpion hadn't died this time, he probably wouldn't have come near here again. What a pity."

Chapter 40 The Fourth Shinobi World War?

I'm in Susanoo, and the scenery is quite beautiful.

Seeing the forest ahead crumble into large swathes of sand at a visible speed under the influence of Ninjutsu, Uchiha Shingen stopped unleashing his Magnet Release Ninjutsu.

The complete form of Susanoo can only be released in Sage Mode.

The wonder of Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu lies in their comprehensive buffs, but their duration is indeed an issue.

He no longer uses the Senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave to activate buffs. The Dragon Cave Sage Technique can continuously improve his physique with Natural Energy, so spending Natural Energy on this is a bit of a waste.

However, this kind of wide-range Ninjutsu is not very effective against masters of the Five Kage level.

Everyone's MISS skill is maxed out.

Uchiha Madara looked down on the Five Kage and would use Wood Release to trap people before setting them on fire and poisoning them.

Susanoo is best suited for targeting large targets; of course, if you can unleash a group of them, that's a different story.

Uchiha Shingen, controlling Susanoo, strode forward and left the desert.

Looking back, the environmental protection aspect really deserves a bad review.

I can no longer sense Sasori's Chakra; he probably escaped using Space-Time Ninjutsu again.

Uchiha Shingen felt he needed to research how to interfere with other people's Space-Time Ninjutsu.

The celestial markings faded from his face, Susanoo dissipated like Utakata, Uchiha Shingen manipulated his Chakra, falling back to the ground.

He searched around and found some remains of the Third Kazekage Human Puppet.

Upon inspection, it was discovered that these were all artificial objects that had been reassembled, yet they looked like original human bodies.

He has been making progress over the years, and these renowned masters from the original timeline have not stood still either. For example, Sasori of the Red Sands is also updating the technology of Human Puppet.

He made a lot of changes this time around, which naturally had some effects.

Oh well, there's nothing we can do now that they've run away.

It's strange. These experts were all incredibly powerful in their original timeline, so why do they keep running away in this one?

This is very ninja-like, but not at all Hokage.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Uchiha Shingen changed course and headed towards the Land of Iron.

As the only nation on this continent with a samurai system, the Land of Iron's strength is neither particularly high nor low, but the samurai are closely integrated with the nation, and the samurai group is the master of this country.

In contrast to the Ninja Country, where ninjas and nobles each had their own roles, the situation in the Land of Iron has always been very stable.

This is something ninjas can't learn.

As an envoy of Leaf Village, Uchiha Shingen entered the Land of Iron through official channels.

From the perspective of the Land of Iron, the samurai also hoped that the war between Iwagakure and Cloud Village would end as soon as possible.

There are also hawks in this country who advocate using military means to drive the ninjas out of the Land of Land of Iron; such voices do exist.

However, the samurai's higher-ups were aware that while their samurai had a significant advantage over Genin and Chunin, they were not as strong as the Jonin.

Not to mention Cloud Village, the master and disciple pair from Iwagakure alone could blow the Land of Iron's proud samurai army into the sky.

In this situation, they saw Leaf Village's mediation as their hope.

Uchiha Shingen was received with great courtesy by the Land of Iron.

The samurai leader personally received him.

Samurai leaders were given the title of general, and at this time, the general of the Land of Iron was already Mifune.

Uchiha Shingen had also heard of his name.

It is not easy for a samurai to gain widespread acclaim within the ninja community.

The place where Mifune met Uchiha Shingen was in a forest, where three mountain peaks stood like wolf heads.

This is the birthplace of the Land of Iron and the headquarters of the samurai group.

For the people on the mainland, the Land of Iron all year round, is not necessarily much better than the Land of Wind. Apart from Hanzo, no other ninja country has ever initiated a war against the Land of Iron.

The samurai in charge of guiding the way led Uchiha Shingen into the building inside the mountain.

This place is well-connected and has a comfortable temperature, much more comfortable than outside. The Five Kage Summit in the original timeline should have been held here.

Uchiha Shingen met Mifune in one of the meeting rooms here.

This exemplary samurai's hair was not yet noticeably gray, and his clothes were neat and impeccable.

"Lord Shingen, welcome to the Land of Iron."

Despite his serious and stern Mifune's tone of voice is actually quite gentle when he speaks.

In contrast, his subordinates were rigid from beginning to end, as if a smile would kill them.

Samurai weren't necessarily all stern and unsmiling, but there were always those who were afraid their behavior wasn't serious enough.

It wasn't that he had any bad intentions; at least when serving tea to Uchiha Shingen, the high-ranking samurai made a great effort to keep his expression friendly.

It's clear he doesn't do this often and is rather inexperienced.

"You're too kind, Mifune. Let's get down to business," said Uchiha Shingen.

The main reason is that I feel these people would suffocate if I started chatting with Mifune all the time.

"Okay." Mifune nodded. "The Land of Iron is a poor country. Of course, we don't have the ambitions that a small country shouldn't have. Hidden Leaf Village understands that. But this war has caused our country a lot of pain, and everyone has accumulated a lot of resentment."

"That's why we're here to mediate. The Land of Land of Iron's neutral status is recognized by both Leaf Village and the Fire Daimyo's Court." Uchiha Shingen reassured the other party first, "Mifune, there's no need to worry. Neither Iwagakure nor Cloud Village would want the Fourth Shinobi World War to begin now."

"Thank you for your understanding. The Land of Iron will fully cooperate with Leaf Village's mediation efforts. Please forgive our impatience. How will Leaf Village mediate?"

"In theory, we would seek mediation from Iwagakure, but Iwagakure is the one being attacked this time, and Leaf Village is bound by its agreement with Cloud Village, so it cannot support Iwagakure's defensive actions. Therefore, this time we can only communicate with Cloud Village."

At this point, Uchiha Shingen reminded him, "But as you know, due to certain special circumstances, Kumogakure still doesn't have Fifth Raikage, only Dodai as the acting Raikage."

"Do you mean that starting a war was the collective decision of the ninjas of Kumogakure?"

"That's about right. The fact that no Raikage has been chosen means that Kumogakure currently lacks the strongest person who can command respect, so they are making decisions collectively."

"The Land of Iron can send troops," Mifune said. "If Hidden Leaf Village is willing to intervene militarily, the samurai army can cooperate with Leaf Village's actions."

"I'm sorry, Mifune, but due to the constraints of the agreement, unless Cloud Village takes direct military action against Leaf Village, we are also unable to take military action in principle." Uchiha Shingen rejected Mifune's proposal. "While I appreciate your trust, our mediation is conducted through negotiation."

If the samurai of the Land of Iron cooperate with the Hidden Leaf Village, then it will truly be the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The current scale of the battle is already close to that of the Second Shinobi World War, but it hasn't entered the chaotic stage yet and Jonin World War.

If Leaf Village gets involved, a chaotic battle will ensue.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Iwagakure is currently under siege; in the end, it will likely turn into a siege of Leaf Village.

Nagato will definitely not let this opportunity slip by.

Uchiha Shingen didn't want these people to act rashly now; wouldn't it be better to save their strength to stop the Three-Eyed Girl's resurrection?

"Negotiations probably won't stop Cloud Village." Mifune looked at Uchiha Shingen. "Sitting on the sidelines and watching the tigers stalk the horde might attract the wolves' covetousness. If the war continues, ambitious individuals or villains addicted to killing will only make the situation worse."

"Does Lord Mifune have any intelligence?"

"No, it's just speculation. In terms of intelligence, how could the Land of Iron dare to compare with the Five Great Nations?"

Chapter 41 Reunion After Eight Years

The meeting with Mifune was brief; both sides' attitudes were clear, so there was no need to waste words.

Following this brief meeting, Mifune explained the Land of Iron's position, expressing disappointment that Leaf Village would not directly intervene, but stating that they would do their best to support Leaf Village's mediation efforts.

The Land of Iron wasn't originally this easy to talk to, but now the flames of Land of Iron.

In the original timeline Land of Iron even took the initiative to organize a meeting of the Five Kage, as avoiding war was the Land of Iron's diplomatic principle.

After finishing his conversation with Mifune, Uchiha Shingen left Three Wolf Mountains and headed north.

He needed to see for himself just how far the battle Cloud Village and Iwagakure had progressed.

The agreement says "absolute non-interference," but if a literal agreement were effective, there would have been no Ninja World War.

In this respect, the only difference between the five great ninja villages is how well they do it.

There has never been a lack of trust.

Whenever Uchiha Shingen was involved in anything, he always prioritized an exit strategy.

If even people within the same village have so many problems, imagine how much more so people from different villages would have.

What's more terrifying than actively breaking a contract is executing a contract that has already begun to harm you.

Amidst the vast expanse of white snow, Uchiha Shingen entered the northern region of the Land of Iron.

The temperature is lower here, and the forest coverage is greater.

The sky was gray too.

The snow in the woodland was deep, a vast expanse of white as far as the eye could see. In many places, the sky was completely obscured by the canopy of trees, which resembled a giant veil, making the light dim and gloomy.

Uchiha Shingen didn't even encounter any large animals.

He suspected he had been beaten for being treated like wild game.

Hunting wild game is also a good way to supplement military rations. When ninjas go to war, the local ecology is usually severely damaged.

Even supernatural beings need to eat.

But that's how unreliable the logistical supply system is in war; no matter if you have supernatural powers or not, it will inevitably break down.

At times like these, if a large animal comes out, it would be against one's conscience not to hunt it down and make game.

The world is quite environmentally friendly; large wild animals are common. The main task of Genin missions is to eliminate these big guys that invade human settlements.

After walking through the forest for a while, Uchiha Shingen suddenly heard a rumbling sound in the distance.

It sounds like thunder, but with a different rhythm.

He quickly jumped onto the canopy of a tree.

Standing at the very top of the tree, the dense canopy looks like a meadow, but after extending a distance, it reveals a snowfield.

On the snow-covered plains, fiery flowers are blooming.

The Byakugan can be used as a telescope, but at this distance, the Sharingan cannot function as a telescope.

Uchiha Shingen used a Light-Weight Rock technique to fly over.