Chapter 244: Ninja World Trembles, War is About to Begin

"Has the authenticity of the intelligence been confirmed?"

Wearing the Raikage's conical hat, Ai had a resolute expression; as he spoke, faint sparks of electricity flickered in his hair. He was obsessed with training, constantly pursuing the realm his father had once reached.

But at this moment, the importance of this intelligence forced him to pause his training rhythm.

Killer Bee, who was never serious all day, also appeared by Ai's side wearing sunglasses. The two were the absolute core of combat power for this generation of the Cloud Hidden Village.

The scout responsible for the intelligence was also brought over at this time. He nodded, his expression serious, and confirmed:

"It is absolutely true. Uchiha Shisui of the Uchiha Clan, along with a fellow clansman, engaged in battle with unidentified ninja in a small border town not far from the frontier, and in the end... they went missing."

The name Uchiha Shisui had already become famous during the Third Shinobi World War. As a top-tier powerhouse who had emerged once again from the Uchiha Clan, even a ninja like Killer Bee, who spent his days in the village studying rap, had heard of his reputation.

After the death of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, he had long since become a major target of caution for other Ninja Villages, especially given that pair of Sharingan he possessed...

Ai still had a frown on his face; there was none of the joy the scout had imagined would appear.

"Ai, just before this battle occurred, there was news that Konoha had lost a piece of top-secret intelligence, and the content of that intelligence was deliberately spread by someone."

"The Uchiha seem to be very much at odds with the Konoha high command. This incident is likely... another instance of internal strife in Konoha."

This was the answer that the group of strategists in the Cloud Hidden Village deemed most likely after synthesizing intelligence from all sides.

A guy of Uchiha Shisui's level could not be easily defeated by mysterious ninja who appeared out of thin air, and Konoha had always had a tendency for such "internal friction."

The death of the White Fang of the Leaf, Hatake Sakumo, some years ago had already left these Ninja Villages barely able to hide their joy. Unexpectedly, Body Flicker Shisui had also met with misfortune this time.

A heaven-sent opportunity!

"Would the high command of Konoha do such a stupid thing as cutting off their own arms?"

Some also questioned this, because such a thing did indeed sound too inconceivable.

Clearly the strongest force among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, yet they kept losing top-tier combat power outside of war; such a thing was simply a fantasy.

One must know that when the previous generation's top combat power of the Cloud Hidden Village, the Third Raikage, was killed on the battlefield, he had been fighting tens of thousands of people alone. Top-tier ninja of this level were truly the heavy weapons of a nation.

And Konoha just got rid of him like that?!

Ai pondered for a moment and stood up abruptly. Although he also held doubts about this analytical result, with such a major event occurring, the Cloud Hidden Village could not afford not to react.

As the Ninja Village with the deepest blood feud with Konoha and the one closest in strength, the Cloud Hidden Village could not let any opportunity slip by.

The Land of Lightning had also long coveted the fertile and vast lands of the Land of Fire.

"Immediately send all personnel on the border of the Land of Fire and those who have infiltrated inside. We must confirm the authenticity of this intelligence within one day."

"Also, find a way to investigate the current situation inside Konoha. If Konoha falls into civil war, we will declare war immediately!"

"Begin war mobilization now!"

Ai's style had always been swift and decisive, very tough. Even if he could not be fully certain, he still issued the war mobilization.

"Ha!"

The group of ninja responded in unison and left quickly to begin preparations.

They were all vaguely excited in their hearts. The Fourth Shinobi World War might be about to start soon, and this time... Konoha would surely be defeated!

Inside the Rock Hidden Village, the Elite Jonin of the Rock Ninja, Huangtu, reported this intelligence to his father, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.

Onoki was short in stature, draped in a robe that almost completely covered his body, and floated in the air. As one of the very few ninja who had mastered the Bloodline Elimination, which was above the Bloodline Limit, he could fly freely in the air.

"You mean, Uchiha Shisui has likely already been defeated by that mysterious ninja?!"

Huangtu nodded. Compared to the Cloud Hidden Village, the Rock Hidden Village had an information advantage: the squad they had sent out to seize that top-secret intelligence had not been completely wiped out. At this moment, several of them had also arrived in the Tsuchikage's office.

Facing Onoki's inquiry, the few of them looked at each other and nodded, saying:

"We received news at the time that someone inside Konoha had leaked a piece of top-secret intelligence. Jonin Huangshi led a team to compete for it, and eventually stood in a standoff with the intelligence squad led by Ayayi of the Cloud Hidden Village."

"At that time, several mysterious ninja suddenly appeared in the town's inn. One of them unleashed a terrifying Wind Style, killing Captain Huangshi. Another guy with a very tall build defeated the Cloud squad and snatched away the woman who held the intelligence. The Cloud Jonin Ayayi has likely also been killed."

"Combining this with the intelligence obtained this time, we infer that the top-secret intelligence was likely about the Uchiha being at odds with the Konoha high command and having thoughts of rebellion, which led the Uchiha to send Uchiha Shisui to pursue them, only for him to be defeated and go missing."

Onoki slowly descended from the air. He had complex feelings about the Uchiha Clan. When he was young, he and his master, the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, were both severely wounded by Uchiha Madara, and he was quite wary of this clan.

He pondered for a moment and suddenly said:

"Huangtu, go arrange a few intermediaries to go to the Uchiha Clan in Konoha and pass on a message: say that we, the Rock Hidden Village, are very willing to accept the Uchiha Clan to join us!"

Huangtu was startled, not expecting his father, who was always stubborn and tough, to actually use such a clever trick of sowing discord at this time.

"Father, you..."

Onoki waved his hand and snorted coldly.

"The words I speak are naturally not false. If the Uchiha are truly willing to join our Rock Hidden Village, I will naturally treat them with courtesy."

He was telling the truth. Even if the Uchiha Clan would bring a lot of trouble, he was willing to deal with those troubles for the sake of that kind of power.

However, everyone knew that Konoha could not sit by and watch such a thing happen. The signal he sent would exacerbate the dissatisfaction between the Konoha high command and the Uchiha. As long as Konoha began internal strife, then the opportunity for the Land of Earth would arrive.

He looked at the village beginning war mobilization, with large numbers of ninja assembling, and sighed. War was always cruel, but if one could not seize such a moment, what would happen to his own country and people once Konoha became strong again?

Hatred could never be ended. All he could do was ensure that his own country was not the one to be eliminated.

Inside the Hokage Building in Konoha, the situation was extremely grave at this moment.

Uchiha Fugaku sat opposite Sarutobi Hiruzen with his arms crossed, while the elites of the Uchiha Clan, such as Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Yashiro, all stood behind their clan leader with cold expressions. Their scarlet Sharingan looked indifferently at the group of high-ranking officials before them, their eyes as if looking at worms.

Utatane Koharu frowned. She also did not like these people of the clan; a group of guys who would go crazy at any time because of power, being too emotional, often caused outliers to appear in this clan, making it very difficult to integrate into the village.

"Fugaku, the Uchiha..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen began to speak, but hesitated for a moment and did not mention the event that left no room for maneuver for either side, saying instead:

"Have Shisui and Itachi really gone missing?"

Uchiha Fugaku opened his eyes, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan rotating slowly. He also rarely showed emotional fluctuations at this time.

"The village should know more about that kind of thing than we do. Shouldn't your Anbu have been keeping an eye on them all along?!"

Uchiha Fugaku did not believe that there really could be mysterious ninja capable of defeating Shisui and Itachi. Although the two were young, their strength was extremely high. In this Ninja World, to want to achieve such a thing, it must have been the top-tier combat power of the major Ninja Villages taking action.

"Lord Hokage, I have a rough idea of the identity of the person who attacked Uchiha Shisui."

At this moment, Tianyi, wearing an Anbu mask, walked in from outside and spoke, breaking the tense atmosphere.

She calmly met the gaze of several pairs of Sharingan filled with anger.

"Roughly speaking, it is a madman named 【Tao Baibai】."

——

In a swamp in the Land of Rain, Uchiha Shisui regained consciousness; his whole body was in excruciating pain, and he was completely unable to move, as if every bone in his body had been shattered, and his eyes were wrapped in something, preventing him from opening them.

A familiar laugh appeared by his ear.

"Heh, look, Uchiha Shisui, because of your disappearance, this world is in complete chaos; war... is probably about to begin."

Uchiha Shisui shuddered all over; amidst the intense pain, he wanted to release Chakra, but his wounds burst open, and a massive sense of exhaustion washed over him.

"Hey, hey, don't get excited; it took me a great deal of effort to save your life."

"If you want to stop everything, if you want to save the life of this boy named 【Itachi】, then become my servant, and bring me everything I desire..."

(End of chapter)