Chapter 208: All World Affairs, Bizarre and Unpredictable

209. Chapter 205: All World Affairs, Bizarre and Unpredictable

Eastern front, the ruins of the Whirlpool Nation, Mist Village's main camp.

"How's the morale in the troops?"

Lord Qing, forced to take command, rubbed his head in pain and asked.

"Morale…"

The assistants on either side opened their mouths, at a loss for how to describe it.

"In three Shinobi World Wars we've never seen this; the ninja have no fighting spirit, they truly can't fight any longer!

Lord Qing, perhaps speak to Lord Mizukage again; at this rate, without a Konoha attack, everyone will flee on their own!"

Qing sighed, "Lord Mizukage refuses to see me; what's the point of me saying anything? I only hope there is progress on the Yuan Master side, otherwise Mist Village will truly be doomed."

"Lord Qing, trouble!"

While the three were discussing, a ninja suddenly burst into the tent, looking panicked.

"Has the Konoha launched an attack?" Qing's face changed, and he rose quickly.

"No, but a large number of kunai were suddenly shot into the camp from outside, each with a note attached. Look!"

The ninja said, handing over the kunai with the note.

"Huh? These kunai"

Qing took the kunai, letting out a light "huh", and saw they were merely rough castings, unsharpened; unless thrown with great force, they could hardly wound anyone.

Such a strange act made Qing's heart skip a beat; he hurriedly unfolded the note, which read: "Have you ever thought, we were strangers across the river, why then do we clash with bloodied blades?"

It is indeed Mizukage Kujitsu Yagura, disregarding humanity, arbitrarily stirring border conflicts, causing the people on both banks to lose relatives and friends, and to be displaced from their homeland.

In the grand August celebration, you and I have long dwelled in peace, sharing family bliss, yet the treacherous Yagura's rebellion forces us to fight here, causing loved ones to weep and comrades to spill blood.

All for relatives, for orders; truly helpless, regrettable and lamentable.

Now I hear of a righteous man who refuses chaotic orders, retreats from the battlefield, hides in various nations, yet worries about being pursued.

Therefore, in the name of the Fifth Hokage of the Konoha, Shisui Uchiha, I hereby promise that those who love peace and withdraw from the battlefield, if they are willing to live peacefully, the Konoha will never hunt them.

If anyone binds themselves and surrenders, the Konoha will not harm them a bit; after their identity is verified, they may even reside in the Konoha for a long time.

After reading the letter, Qing's face turned green; this was a blatant excavation of Mist Village's wall corner.

Qing immediately ordered: "Destroy all these letters at once; no one may keep any privately!"

"Yes!"

"It's probably already too late, Lord Qing. We should withdraw immediately. Right now everyone has no fighting spirit; each day at least thirty to fifty ninja desert the camp. If we linger, I'm afraid the Konoha won't arrive before we collapse on our own."

"How did it become like this? How did it become like this!"

Qing shook his head, his head throbbing as if about to split. He couldn't understand how a once fine Mist Village turned into this nightmare, or how a respectable Mizukage became so outrageous; he now wished an assassin would quickly kill the Mizukage.

The two assistants looked at each other, both sighing; the atmosphere in Mist Village was truly terrible.

"Retreat, first to White Tiger Island, and await further orders."

After a moment, Qing caught his breath and finally ordered the retreat; as for any punishment from the Mizukage, he could no longer concern himself. If they didn't leave, the blood‑stained ninja in the camp might actually run to the Konoha.

"Yes!"

The two were overjoyed, finally not having to endure here, and immediately went down to prepare.

A hasty retreat was impossible, so Mist Village Daytime launched a symbolic attack as a cover.

The small‑scale battle started quickly and ended quickly; just as Hinata Nissoku was preparing to counterattack, Mist Village swiftly withdrew from the field.

"What's going on? Did the Hokage's letter provoke them? The Mist Village, which had been cowering for so long, suddenly took the initiative to strike?"

Hinata Nissoku frowned, thought for a moment but could not find an explanation, so he ordered, "Tonight Mist Village may still be active; all divisions strengthen vigilance. Jonin Kyouhei, write a letter informing the Hokage of Mist Village's response."

"Yes!"

The order issued, a large number of patrol ninja lingered near the warning line until dawn, when a ninja finally noticed the Mist Village main camp seemed unusually quiet.

Hinata Nissoku's complexion changed; he immediately dispatched personnel to investigate, and the result was that Mist Village had completely withdrawn from the continent, crossing the sea to leave.

"Damn!"

So many fled under the gaze of the Byakugan; for the Hyuga clan this is a disgraceful humiliation.

"Mist Village's camp left behind most of its supplies; it must have been a hasty retreat. It seems last night's attack was merely a distraction," Sarutobi Hirano reported after inspecting with his men.

"What now? Should we pursue?" Uchiha Kyouhei asked.

"No need. First send some people to monitor their movements. Hirano, you take men to repair this place; we will garrison here. Kyouhei, report these matters to the Hokage."

"Yes."

To attack the Fire Nation from the Water Nation, the old sites of Wave Country and Whirlpool Nation are unavoidable footholds; without the Whirlpool Nation's foothold, Mist Village can only travel by boat or wade through water, undoubtedly increasing the difficulty of their offensive.

As for Wave Country, it is too small and still faces the Fire Nation across the water, not a main battlefield.

Now that we have fully seized this place, Mist Village's threat to the Konoha will be greatly reduced.

On the other side, Shisui received two battle reports sent by Kyouhei in succession, and understood that, unsurprisingly, the war with Mist Village was about to end.

Although somewhat inexplicable, the outcome is acceptable; after this battle, Mist Village likely won't be able to reorganize internally and invade the Fire Nation again for eight or nine years.

"Hahaha, excellent. Tell everyone the good news from the Eastern front; this is the merit of every Konoha ninja!"

"Yes!"

However, the development of the Shinobi world is always unexpected.

In September, a spy hidden in Mist Village sent back intelligence: the Fourth Mizukage Kujitsu Yagura was dissatisfied with the two‑front Mist Village's cowering islands, and had Qing and the Watermelon Mountain River Ghost brought back to Mist Village, then decided to send Mist Village's elite to the front lines for a death battle with the Konoha.

"."

Shisui, having received the intelligence, remained silent for a long time; he racked his brain for days but could not fathom what the Mizukage truly desired.

It's not just that Mist Village might lose; even if they win, what then? Cloud Village, Rock Village, Sand Village would not simply watch Mist Village bring spoils back to the Water Nation; most likely, before reaching the Konoha, they would be ambushed by Cloud Village and have their entire army accounted for on the continent.

"Has the Mizukage gone mad?"

After holding it in for a long time, Shisui suppressed his anger and asked silently.

Nara Suzaku fell silent, and even Danzo and Mizuto Monen, who had been summoned for the discussion, didn't know what to say.

"This is very abnormal; keep an eye on other nations' movements. Perhaps Kirigakure made a deal with Kumogakure," Mizuto Monen could only guess.

Danzo wore a gloomy expression, his thoughts unreadable. "We have no choice but this; let's prepare for battle first—troops block, water shields, earth covers."

Although he couldn't understand, the matter still had to be handled. He had only announced half a month ago that the war was about to end, and now a new mobilization felt rather awkward.

Nara Suzaku didn't overthink; he immediately went to make arrangements, and in the following period a great number of ninja received war assignments, and the war's dark clouds once again shrouded the Village.

The bizarre situation left Shisui uneasy, so he had to ask Sima Yi to command the main army on the Eastern Front.

"Ah~"

In Shisui's home, outside the study, Sima Yi listened to the familiar sighing outside the window and couldn't help but chuckle, "You didn't return to Shisui's side to report; why are you sighing here? If there's something, just come in and speak it."

The person outside the window heard this, let out a chuckle, and flipped straight through the window, then shyly approached Sima Yi.

"Hehe, Uncle Yi, I don't want to either, but thinking that I'm nearing my thirties, with feeble strength and no achievements, I can't sleep night after night, ah~"

The newcomer was Uchiha Hui; he had originally come to fetch some documents for Shisui, but suddenly felt something and stopped, which led to the scene just now.

"You?"

Sima Yi was startled, looking at Hui with surprise as if meeting him for the first time.

"Hahaha, you still have such worries; that's truly rare."

Seeing Sima Yi teasing him like that, Hui wasn't annoyed and moved a little closer.

"I'm not doing this for myself; I'm doing it for the Village and the Uchiha! With so many enemies of the Village now, I see Shisui already has a furrow on his brow, yet my strength is insufficient to help!"

As a senior ninja of the Uchiha, admitting insufficient strength was unimaginable before.

But Hui indeed realized this, which made him somewhat worried.

"I see, so you also want the Kaleidoscope?"

"Of course! Which Uchiha wouldn't want it? I want it so much. Haven't you heard how arrogant Shiliuye is now? He wasn't like this before!"

Hui's eyes widened, and he immediately listed the rumors he had heard about Shiliuye.

Sima Yi gently stroked his long beard, and after Hui finished speaking, replied, "It's not that I don't want to help you, but Shisui's method is indeed unreliable and needs improvement.

He has been busy with Village affairs and hasn't had time to study, which is why he never mentioned it to you."

Hui also knew this, but upon hearing it he couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.

"However, if it's just about boosting your strength, I have three methods."

Hui's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "No wonder you're Uncle Yi, speak quickly, what are the methods?"

"Hehe, the first method: our clan still has a tailed beast, leaving it idle is wasteful. If you wish, you can ask Shisui to become a jinchuriki. Once you control the tailed beast's power, the effect will be immediate."

Hui's eyes cleared; this was indeed a good method. Controlling a tailed beast with Uchiha abilities is relatively easy, but becoming a jinchuriki has many restrictions, so he asked, "What about the second?"

"The second method: Orochimaru possesses a scroll of the Dragon Earth Cave, said to be a sacred site as famous as Myoboku Mountain, where one can practice celestial technique. If you're interested, I can contact Orochimaru for you, though I've heard cultivating celestial technique carries certain risks."

Hui nodded; because of Jiraiya's influence, celestial technique is well known, and he instantly felt yearning.

"If I can practice celestial technique, some risk is worth it!"

A ninja never shies away from risk; Hui did not retreat.

"As for the third method..."

Sima Yi spoke, then suddenly stopped, causing Hui to tilt his head curiously. He was surprised to see Sima Yi's single tomoe had turned into a triple tomoe; the massive, eerie eye power instantly pulled him into a genjutsu.

"Awakening it for you is difficult, but I have a pair of such eyes here; if you're interested, I can give them to you."

Hui stared in shock at the Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye before him, opening his mouth but unable to make a sound.

But in an instant, Sima Yi dispelled the genjutsu.

"Yi Yi Yi Yi Uncle, you you you you~"

Hui pointed at Sima Yi's triple tomoe Copy Wheel Eye, at first not knowing what to say; after a moment he recovered and whispered, "Weren't you a single tomoe? How?"

"Some incident occurred; it's enough that you know, no need to speak further."

Hui's gaze went blank, and he quickly gestured, "Yes, yes, I'm tight‑lipped, but does Shisui know about this?"

"He certainly knows. So, do you want it?"

"No, no, I'll stick to celestial technique; the tailed beast works too. Uncle Yi, please help me contact them," Hui waved repeatedly to refuse, stepping back, then instantly vanished.

Just kidding!

"If you can take Shisui's, you certainly can't take Sima Yi's; if Shisui found out, he'd tear him apart."

Seeing Hui flee in haste, Sima Yi couldn't help but smile. He had already studied the ability of those eyes quite thoroughly; although he possessed some martial skills, they couldn't compare to a ninja who fights daily. If possible, he'd really like to give them to Hui—at least he'd gain a loyal and powerful ninja.

"But I wonder, can ordinary clan members endure such eye power?"

Sima Yi stroked his beard, pondered, then immediately wrote a letter, including Hui's matter, and sent it to Orochimaru.

After finishing, Sima Yi looked again at another Barrier diagram on the desk.

"Almost done; once it's completed, there'll be no worries."

Shisui was unaware of what was happening at home; he was gathering intelligence from border and enemy‑country spies to understand the surrounding nations, already preparing mentally for multiple enemy confrontations.

Yet the world's bizarre affairs, Shisui clearly hadn't witnessed them all yet.

Just as the Village mobilized its ninja army, ready to reinforce the front at any moment, a spy hidden in Kirigakure sent intelligence again.

Kirigakure's high command, displeased with the Fourth Mizukage's misconduct, gathered and argued with him for days, nearly coming to blows, causing Kirigakure to almost split.

Moreover, the Qing and the Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon captured from the front were secretly released by Kirigakure's high command, intending to confront the Mizukage and demand he retract orders. As a result, Qing discovered that the current Mizukage was being controlled by someone.

For a moment, the entire Kirigakure high command was stunned.

Then a figure wearing a tiger‑skin mask, with an exposed Copy Wheel Eye, suddenly appeared in the Mizukage's office and, controlling the Mizukage, fired a tailed beast ball that obliterated the entire office.

When Kirigakure's ANBU arrived, both the masked man and the Fourth Mizukage were gone, and Kirigakure fell into chaos!

"It's him! It has to be him!"

The one who can so easily control a jinchuriki is definitely Mangekyou, it's Obito, it must be Obito!

Shisui muttered frantically in his mind, kill intent never leaving his eyes; now he finally understood why the Mizukage would take such an unwise step—it was all Obito's doing.

'His hostility toward the Village is too great; we must find a way to get rid of him as soon as possible, we must get rid of him!' (End of chapter)