At the border of the Land of Grass.
The Uchiha had already been gathered here for quite some time. Granny Huan had brought Chumo Nian Gui, Jinwulang, and more than a hundred Iga shinobi, along with more than fifteen hundred Red Eyes, to carry out the invasion of the Land of Grass.
Jōsuke of Kōga had come along as well. He had been terribly bored, and since Lord Kei had ordered it, he came too.
Minato had also come.
Because this operation was intended to rescue the members of the Uzumaki clan, Minato Namikaze had brought more than five hundred shinobi to provide support.
It was just that they had been dawdling around in the rear, and nobody knew what they were doing.
The Uchiha could only pretend those people didn’t exist and act on their own.
Today was the final ultimatum.
Once tonight passed, they would launch a full-scale invasion of the Land of Grass.
An invasion on this scale could not possibly be concealed.
Nanha had already made its position perfectly clear.
In one sentence:
We’re coming to war with you.
Now it was up to the Land of Grass to decide.
Fight or flee.
The choice was theirs.
The Uchiha merely had to respond appropriately.
The Land of Grass was no match for the Five Great Nations, but it was hardly an insignificant country in the shinobi world.
It had once been the country that possessed the title of the strongest shinobi nation.
Of course, that had happened after the Kaguya clan destroyed the previous regime and the new nation rose from its ashes, eventually earning that title.
Unfortunately, those days were long gone.
Still, a country with such a glorious past would generally retain some sense of pride.
Very few would surrender without a fight.
Huan estimated that the Land of Grass was far more likely to choose war.
That was also why she had concentrated her forces.
Only by concentrating their own troops could they force the enemy to concentrate theirs as well.
A decisive battle of this nature would allow them to eliminate the enemy’s main force at the earliest opportunity, making everything afterward much easier.
But the Land of Grass was not making the final preparations for battle as Huan had imagined.
Instead, the country was in complete panic.
The world was anything but peaceful.
To the south, enormous fires were blazing through the forests of the Land of Rain. They hadn’t even figured out what had happened there when the Uchiha came knocking on their door.
And without giving them any reason at all.
Could our collusion with the Land of Earth have been exposed?
"Why?"
"What exactly is Konoha trying to do?"
The leader of Kusagakure looked at several of his subordinates and spoke in a low voice.
"Did anyone send people to ask what Konoha is trying to do?"
One of the jōnin hurried forward to answer.
"My lord, we don’t know. Konoha only ordered us to surrender. They never explained why they invaded."
The answer made the leader of Kusagakure even more worried.
He hadn’t even considered whether Konoha’s invasion was justified.
Because he knew very well how much the Land of Grass deserved to be beaten.
Life was difficult for a small country.
The Land of Grass was wedged between the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Fire. Its geographical situation was just as poor as that of the Hidden Rain Village.
And Kusagakure didn’t have someone as powerful as Hanzo to protect it.
For the sake of survival, they had no choice politically but to pass intelligence back and forth between the Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Land of Wind, trading information for opportunities to survive.
Militarily, they also frequently stole ninjutsu from shinobi of various nations in order to strengthen themselves.
However, to prevent their actions from being exposed, the Land of Grass would capture shinobi they could afford to offend, learn their techniques, and then execute them on the spot to prevent the information from leaking.
Although all of this had been done out of desperation, the actions of the Land of Grass had indeed seriously damaged the interests and security of other countries.
It was inevitable that, sooner or later, some piece of information would expose one of the major nations’ secrets and bring disaster down upon them.
Therefore, the leader of the Land of Grass wasn’t surprised that Konoha had come knocking.
There was no helping it.
How could a small country survive if it wasn’t shameless?
"So... there’s no room for negotiation?"
The leader of Kusagakure’s expression became even uglier.
If Kei had the fortune to meet him, he would discover that this man would eventually become the Preta Path of Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain.
But at this moment, he was the strongest person in Kusagakure.
The leader of the Grass shinobi.
Seeing his lord’s expression, one of the Grass shinobi lowered his head.
"We truly don’t know how we can negotiate with Konoha."
"And this time, the people Konoha brought are all red-eyed Uchiha!"
"Thousands of them!"
"Without ten thousand shinobi, we simply can’t stop them!"
The Grass shinobi spoke with a trembling voice.
The Uchiha’s reputation had once again resounded throughout the shinobi world on the back of the Sarutobi clan’s heads.
It was said that only three hundred Uchiha had defeated eight thousand members of the Sarutobi clan.
That kind of record was enough to terrify anyone.
The Grass shinobi’s voice shook.
"They... they even defeated our patrol force!"
"A few of them defeated an entire patrol squad of dozens of shinobi!"
The words made the leader even more furious.
They hadn’t even started fighting yet, and his men were already afraid.
What were they supposed to do now?
"Uchiha! Why does it always have to be the Uchiha?"
"Why have they been so active lately?"
Kusagakure survived by relying on intelligence, so its information network was somewhat better than those of other countries.
They knew very clearly that the Uchiha had successfully risen to power within Konoha.
They even knew how the takeover had happened.
The combat strength displayed by those fewer than three hundred Uchiha had indeed been shocking.
But the leader of the Land of Grass didn’t believe every Uchiha was that powerful.
Those had to be the Uchiha’s elite.
And now, with Konoha itself unstable, they had dispatched so many Uchiha to the Land of Grass.
This matter was clearly not simple.
It was very likely that Konoha was launching a full-scale invasion of the Land of Grass!
Perhaps this was merely an attempt to ease tensions between Konoha and the Uchiha, and the Land of Grass had nothing to do with it.
They were simply bullying the Land of Grass because it was easy to bully.
The leader understood the logic.
But he was unwilling to accept it.
He calmed himself and thought carefully.
When the intelligence was unclear, it was better to make a strategic misjudgment than to underestimate how bad the situation could become.
Let’s make this big.
"Have our elites disguise themselves as Iwagakure shinobi."
"Launch a surprise attack on the Uchiha’s supply lines, then flee into the Land of Earth!"
The leader of Kusagakure raised his head and stared into the distance.
"We don’t have the strength to withstand Konoha on our own!"
"But..."
A Grass jōnin wanted to persuade him otherwise, but the leader of Kusagakure cut him off forcefully.
His gaze gradually hardened.
"Those are... Konoha’s Uchiha."
"You all know what they did to the Sarutobi clan."
"If the Land of Grass wants to survive, we have no choice but to do this!"
"We have no choice!"
"..."
The leader of Kusagakure forced himself to remain calm as he waited for the Uchiha to enter Kusagakure.
Then he would trigger a conflict between Konoha and Iwagakure and use it to resolve the crisis facing the Land of Grass.
He had even dispatched three separate groups to deliver letters of surrender to Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha at the same time.
Once the three great nations accepted the surrender, he no longer cared what kind of chaos would unfold within the Land of Grass.
What he wanted was for shinobi from all three nations to meet here.
That would make Konoha hesitate to act.
He wanted the shinobi world to understand that the Land of Grass was not so easy to bully.
And in a small house somewhere in the Land of Grass...
Grass shinobi who had just returned wounded from the front lines were lined up outside the door.
Only a few were allowed inside at a time.
Outside, a group of red-haired old people and children supported one another.
The children timidly shed tears.
The adults helplessly held them in their arms, covering their mouths so they wouldn’t cry aloud.
A burly Grass shinobi viciously dragged another girl out of the crowd.
She had developed well for her age, but she was still underage.
With a lecherous grin, he said,
"This one will do too."
"Come inside."
"Remember to behave and listen obediently."
"Otherwise, the Land of Grass won’t take you in either!"
The red-haired little girl stumbled and fell to the ground.
She was completely at a loss.
This wasn’t what Kusagakure had originally told them.
They had promised to shelter the Uzumaki clan as long as the Uzumaki were willing to serve the Grass shinobi.
But they had never said that "serving" meant using their own bodies as medical supplies and providing blood for the Grass shinobi.
Uzumaki Rakusō had previously led his clansmen into the abyss because of his own mistaken judgment.
In order to make up for his mistake, he had sacrificed himself and fulfilled the Land of Grass’s needs alone.
The medical system of this little shinobi village was completely dependent upon the people who had escaped from Uzushiogakure.
They even treated the Uzumaki as precious medicinal resources.
But recently, something seemed to have happened in the Land of Grass.
More and more shinobi were returning wounded.
They had completely abandoned the promises they had made in the beginning.
Every able-bodied Uzumaki was dragged into the medical rooms.
The brutality brought about by war had made the Grass shinobi even more ruthless.
It was like a festival held at the end of the world.
The Grass shinobi had completely lost whatever compassion and pity they had once possessed.
Two nights ago, an Uzumaki woman had died in front of everyone because she had lost too much blood.
It had left the Uzumaki deeply grief-stricken.
Yet in order to ensure that the shinobi of the village could recover their combat strength, these shinobi from a small country felt not the slightest bit of regret.
They had even begun setting their sights on the children...
And the Uzumaki finally understood.
Having lost their country, they were no longer people.
They had become objects.
Although all of this had been done out of desperation, the actions of the Land of Grass had indeed seriously damaged the interests and security of other countries.
It was inevitable that, sooner or later, some piece of information would expose one of the major nations’ secrets and bring disaster down upon them.
Therefore, the leader of the Land of Grass wasn’t surprised that Konoha had come knocking.
There was no helping it.
How could a small country survive if it wasn’t shameless?
"So... there’s no room for negotiation?"
The leader of Kusagakure’s expression became even uglier.
If Kei had the fortune to meet him, he would discover that this man would eventually become the Preta Path of Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain.
But at this moment, he was the strongest person in Kusagakure.
The leader of the Grass shinobi.
Seeing his lord’s expression, one of the Grass shinobi lowered his head.
"We truly don’t know how we can negotiate with Konoha."
"And this time, the people Konoha brought are all red-eyed Uchiha!"
"Thousands of them!"
"Without ten thousand shinobi, we simply can’t stop them!"
The Grass shinobi spoke with a trembling voice.
The Uchiha’s reputation had once again resounded throughout the shinobi world on the back of the Sarutobi clan’s heads.
It was said that only three hundred Uchiha had defeated eight thousand members of the Sarutobi clan.
That kind of record was enough to terrify anyone.
The Grass shinobi’s voice shook.
"They... they even defeated our patrol force!"
"A few of them defeated an entire patrol squad of dozens of shinobi!"
The words made the leader even more furious.
They hadn’t even started fighting yet, and his men were already afraid.
What were they supposed to do now?
"Uchiha! Why does it always have to be the Uchiha?"
"Why have they been so active lately?"
Kusagakure survived by relying on intelligence, so its information network was somewhat better than those of other countries.
They knew very clearly that the Uchiha had successfully risen to power within Konoha.
They even knew how the takeover had happened.
The combat strength displayed by those fewer than three hundred Uchiha had indeed been shocking.
But the leader of the Land of Grass didn’t believe every Uchiha was that powerful.
Those had to be the Uchiha’s elite.
And now, with Konoha itself unstable, they had dispatched so many Uchiha to the Land of Grass.
This matter was clearly not simple.
It was very likely that Konoha was launching a full-scale invasion of the Land of Grass!
Perhaps this was merely an attempt to ease tensions between Konoha and the Uchiha, and the Land of Grass had nothing to do with it.
They were simply bullying the Land of Grass because it was easy to bully.
The leader understood the logic.
But he was unwilling to accept it.
He calmed himself and thought carefully.
When the intelligence was unclear, it was better to make a strategic misjudgment than to underestimate how bad the situation could become.
Let’s make this big.
"Have our elites disguise themselves as Iwagakure shinobi."
"Launch a surprise attack on the Uchiha’s supply lines, then flee into the Land of Earth!"
The leader of Kusagakure raised his head and stared into the distance.
"We don’t have the strength to withstand Konoha on our own!"
"But..."
A Grass jōnin wanted to persuade him otherwise, but the leader of Kusagakure cut him off forcefully.
His gaze gradually hardened.
"Those are... Konoha’s Uchiha."
"You all know what they did to the Sarutobi clan."
"If the Land of Grass wants to survive, we have no choice but to do this!"
"We have no choice!"
"..."
The leader of Kusagakure forced himself to remain calm as he waited for the Uchiha to enter Kusagakure.
Then he would trigger a conflict between Konoha and Iwagakure and use it to resolve the crisis facing the Land of Grass.
He had even dispatched three separate groups to deliver letters of surrender to Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha at the same time.
Once the three great nations accepted the surrender, he no longer cared what kind of chaos would unfold within the Land of Grass.
What he wanted was for shinobi from all three nations to meet here.
That would make Konoha hesitate to act.
He wanted the shinobi world to understand that the Land of Grass was not so easy to bully.
And in a small house somewhere in the Land of Grass...
Grass shinobi who had just returned wounded from the front lines were lined up outside the door.
Only a few were allowed inside at a time.
Outside, a group of red-haired old people and children supported one another.
The children timidly shed tears.
The adults helplessly held them in their arms, covering their mouths so they wouldn’t cry aloud.
A burly Grass shinobi viciously dragged another girl out of the crowd.
She had developed well for her age, but she was still underage.
With a lecherous grin, he said,
"This one will do too."
"Come inside."
"Remember to behave and listen obediently."
"Otherwise, the Land of Grass won’t take you in either!"
The red-haired little girl stumbled and fell to the ground.
She was completely at a loss.
This wasn’t what Kusagakure had originally told them.
They had promised to shelter the Uzumaki clan as long as the Uzumaki were willing to serve the Grass shinobi.
But they had never said that "serving" meant using their own bodies as medical supplies and providing blood for the Grass shinobi.
Uzumaki Rakusō had previously led his clansmen into the abyss because of his own mistaken judgment.
In order to make up for his mistake, he had sacrificed himself and fulfilled the Land of Grass’s needs alone.
The medical system of this little shinobi village was completely dependent upon the people who had escaped from Uzushiogakure.
They even treated the Uzumaki as precious medicinal resources.
But recently, something seemed to have happened in the Land of Grass.
More and more shinobi were returning wounded.
They had completely abandoned the promises they had made in the beginning.
Every able-bodied Uzumaki was dragged into the medical rooms.
The brutality brought about by war had made the Grass shinobi even more ruthless.
It was like a festival held at the end of the world.
The Grass shinobi had completely lost whatever compassion and pity they had once possessed.
Two nights ago, an Uzumaki woman had died in front of everyone because she had lost too much blood.
It had left the Uzumaki deeply grief-stricken.
Yet in order to ensure that the shinobi of the village could recover their combat strength, these shinobi from a small country felt not the slightest bit of regret.
They had even begun setting their sights on the children...
And the Uzumaki finally understood.
Having lost their country, they were no longer people.
They had become objects.
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