Chapter 33
Creak!
Two ninja pushed the gates open!
"For the glory of the Senju Clan!" the man at the front roared.
"For the glory of the Senju Clan!"
The Senju Clan's cries shattered the surrounding silence.
Liuyun swept his gaze across every face in the Senju Clan.
Understanding dawned on him. He began to see why the Senju Clan had committed its entire fighting force, unafraid of sacrifice.
The glory of the Senju Clan! They were the First's family! Perhaps protecting Konoha was another way of protecting the Senju Clan.
"Move out!" came a ringing roar.
The members of the Senju Clan marched away in perfect step.
Under the sunlight, their departing figures seemed strangely forlorn.
The wind wailed over the cold waters of the Yi; the warriors departed, never to return!
Glory brought their rise, and glory brought their fall!
Liuyun looked up toward a building where Uchiha Fuchu and the other Uchiha leaders were gathered.
"Then what exactly is the Uchiha Clan's glory?"
Protection? Family bonds? An obsession with younger brothers? Older brothers? Or the law of the jungle passed down from the Warring States era?
Liuyun shook his head. He did not know, anyway. Perhaps once he understood, he would shoulder that burden himself.
He questioned himself inwardly. Would he really shoulder it?
Leaving the area, Liuyun went to see Kushina.
Whenever he had visited the Senju Clan Compound before, he would always run into a few members of the clan.
Now... it was desolate, lonely, and empty!
Nothing impeded him all the way there.
Liuyun found Kushina. The girl was in low spirits, her eyes red. She had probably just finished crying.
Beside her, Mito Uzumaki looked as warm and kindly as ever.
She patiently comforted Kushina, showing no sorrow over the departure of so many Senju Clan members.
After chatting with Kushina and cracking a few jokes, Liuyun rose to leave.
Before leaving, he sensed Mito Uzumaki with his chakra and fell silent.
The flame of Mito Uzumaki's life had dwindled to a tiny flicker.
At this rate, Mito Uzumaki would die within two years at most.
In two years, Kushina would have to become a jinchūriki. Two years would be enough for him to gain the kind of overwhelming strength Hashirama Senju had possessed!
When that time came, if Kushina refused, no one would be able to force her.
After leaving the Senju Clan Compound, Liuyun did not return straight to the Uchiha Clan. Instead, he wandered the streets.
Only after making all three of today's choices did he return home.
Forcing himself to resist his little wife Mikoto's tempting fishnets, Liuyun headed into the woods.
As a top-tier, level-eighteen veteran of the abstinence forum in his previous life, he had at least that much self-control!
Truthfully, though, his body was still too young. He simply couldn't manage it!
(Today's updates are done. Time to check out Mado and unwind! Please send some flowers! I changed the Eight Gates Released Formation chapter to make it time-limited, but it got blocked. Boohoo!)
The conspiracy emerges: the Pot King makes his move! (First update!)
Another month flew by!
As Liuyun walked down the street with Kushina and Mikoto, he could not help sighing inwardly.
He had still underestimated the impact of the Second Shinobi World War. It had barely begun, yet Konoha's economy had already suffered a severe blow.
Before the Second Shinobi World War, the streets had bustled with crowds and traffic, thriving with activity.
After the Second Shinobi World War began, the economy slumped. The streets were sparsely populated, and far fewer people were selling goods. There was simply no comparison!
Over the past month, Konoha had made several deployments.
The Hyuga Clan and some smaller clans had headed to the border with Kirigakure to defend it!
The Ino-Shika-Cho, the Inuzuka Clan, the Aburame Clan, and a scattering of smaller clans had headed out to defend against Kumogakure.
Only the Uchiha Clan remained in Konoha to maintain security, which caused considerable dissatisfaction within the clan.
Uchiha Fuchu had even sought out Hiruzen Sarutobi specifically over the matter.
A few casually delivered words from Hiruzen Sarutobi had left Uchiha Fuchu utterly speechless.
"Fugaku! I know your Uchiha Clan is eager to contribute to the village!"
"But you must understand that the village has already deployed a great many personnel. Our internal defenses are thin!"
"If we send you out too, Konoha won't have any fighting strength left!"
"If the enemy launches a surprise attack, our home base will suffer terrible losses!"
"With you here to deter them, we can rest easy. Your Uchiha Clan is Konoha's final line of defense!"
"Could you really bear to let so many of Konoha's civilians fall into danger?"
Just listen to that! How beautifully put! The Uchiha Clan was Konoha's final line of defense?
Only an idiot clan leader like Uchiha Fuchu would fall for that.
Were Root and the Anbu all good for nothing?
Liuyun chuckled without exposing the lie. I'll just sit back and enjoy the show. Do whatever you like.
It was worth mentioning that, in his previous world, Liuyun had read conspiracy theories about the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars in Naruto.
They claimed that during both wars, the ninja from those four old schemers' families had all remained in Konoha on security duty.
Not a single one had been sent to fight in the Second or Third Shinobi World War.
So, a few nights earlier, he had secretly visited those families to investigate.
Just as those online experts had predicted, the ninja of the Four Families were all on duty in Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi truly deserved to be called Konoha's greatest schemer.
"Liuyun! I want that!" Kushina pointed at the dark, fried food in front of her.
"What is that, ma'am?" A hint of distaste appeared in Mikoto's lovely eyes.
"It's called deep-fried stinky tofu. I just invented it! It may look ugly, but it tastes wonderful!"
The vendor chuckled, skewered three freshly fried pieces with wooden sticks, added various seasonings, and handed one to each of them.
"Give it a try! It's delicious!"
Mikoto and Kushina each took a bite, and their eyes immediately curved into crescents.
"So delicious!" ×2
"Ma'am! Five servings!"
"I want three!" the two girls said in turn.
Liuyun stared at the fried stinky tofu in front of him, lost in thought. Wasn't this a delicacy from his previous world?
How did this world have it too? It really proved the saying that good food knew no dimensional boundaries.
A little later, the two girls were happily eating the dark food in their hands while Liuyun paid.
Watching the two eat with such relish, Liuyun muttered inwardly.
It may look dirty and dark, but plenty of people still want to eat it!
He stole a discreet glance below the two girls' waists, then gulped down the fried stinky tofu in front of him. He wanted a taste so badly, too!
The three wandered aimlessly through Konoha's streets, sampling all its delicacies until Kushina clutched her little belly and cried that she could not eat another bite.
Only then did they escort Kushina back to the Senju Clan Compound.
As soon as they entered, they saw Senju Nawaki standing at the entrance.
Nawaki no longer looked as spirited as he had before.
Instead, he looked lonely and sad. Bandages covered parts of his face and hands, probably from training.
"Nawaki! You're back!"
Seeing someone familiar, Kushina smiled and ran over.
"Kushina! You're back!" Senju Nawaki smiled gently.
Then he turned his gaze toward Liuyun.
"Liuyun! Can I speak to you alone?"
"Sure!"
Liuyun nodded.
"Mikoto, you go home first!"
"All right!" Mikoto nodded softly.
The two went somewhere deserted, and Senju Nawaki's serious expression immediately turned pitiful.
"Liuyun! You absolutely have to help me this time!"
Nawaki's sudden change left Liuyun completely baffled!
"Nawaki! Just tell me what's wrong! If I can help, I will!"
"I heard you're heading to the front in three days. Could you take me along?" Hope filled Senju Nawaki's eyes.
Liuyun frowned, sensing something was off. "Who told you that?"
"When I was training at the Training Ground just now, I happened to overhear two ninja from the Sarutobi Family talking quietly."
Liuyun narrowed his eyes, his voice turning cold. "What else did they say?"
"They said they're sending your squad to deliver provisions to the front tomorrow, along with some other newly graduated genin! They said it was to give you experience!"
Senju Nawaki failed to notice Liuyun's tone and kept talking.
"So! Could you take me along? My clan won't let me go to the battlefield. Do you have any idea how stifled I feel?"
Senju Nawaki clung pitifully to Liuyun's shoulders, looking every bit as pathetic as Naruto could.
"No! Unless Teacher Tsunade agrees, I won't agree either!" Liuyun nodded without hesitation.
With that, he turned and left. He did not want Nawaki's stupidity rubbing off on him!
Nawaki really had no brains. Two ninja from the Sarutobi Family discussing tomorrow's deployment slots?
And he just happened to overhear them? Liuyun would never believe there was no conspiracy involved.
(I have an older sister named Angel Yan. Anyone interested? Send some flowers!)
Heading to the front: Nawaki still gets out! (Second update!)
They had let Senju Nawaki "accidentally" overhear who would be transporting provisions to the front in three days!
Then they had let him "accidentally" hear Liuyun's name. Given Nawaki's restless nature, and the fact that Liuyun was Tsunade's student, Nawaki would come asking him for help.
They probably assumed Liuyun would find it difficult to refuse. Once he took Nawaki out, the fate awaiting Nawaki would be easy to imagine!
The Second Shinobi World War had only just begun, and Mito Uzumaki was still alive, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi and those other three old schemers could no longer hold back.
As Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not act personally. That meant the one making the move could only be Danzo.
He would sell their travel route to the Sand Ninja or the Rain Ninja!
Then they would be ambushed along the way!