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Naruto: Uchiha Shiroge Rebellion
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The outbreak of a major conflict is never due to a single cause. This includes the latest clash between the Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Leaf. While most outsiders only saw the death of Darui and the other Cloud ninja as the trigger, that was merely the direct cause—not the only one, and certainly not the root cause.
Of course, only a select few elites could see through this. The other 99% were just watching the spectacle.
On the Leaf's side, their deployment against the Cloud's actions and, more importantly, their tough response, made the Fourth Raikage furious. He was used to being the one pressuring others. How could he accept such a forceful counter-response from the Leaf!?
Without hesitation, he ordered the Cloud ninja on the front lines to create friction and conflict.
At the same time, he spread rumors claiming that the rogue Six-Tails Jinchuriki from the Mist had already fallen into the Leaf's hands. He even claimed the Leaf had secretly recaptured the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki long ago, restored its full power, and was about to bare its fangs against the entire ninja world.
To this end, he called upon all other nations and ninja villages to join a crusade against the Leaf. It wasn't that the Fourth Raikage was afraid of the Leaf; in a one-on-one fight, he didn't think his village would lose. Even if Jiraiya and Tsunade were seniors who had come of age long before him, he wasn't scared.
His only worry was that if they really got into a heated all-out war with the Leaf, other villages might take advantage of the situation.
Either other villages would fight each other, or everyone would besiege the Leaf together.
The Fourth Raikage wasn't stupid enough to do all the hard work just so others could reap the benefits.
Releasing this news was intended to muddy the waters and reignite the fear and covetousness of the major villages toward the Leaf!
What? No evidence? No one believes it?
Don't be silly. This was a pure open conspiracy. Once released, the Leaf couldn't disprove it, and everyone would choose to believe it.
The reason was simple.
Who asked the Leaf to be so strong, so rich, and so enviable!?
A man is innocent, but possessing a treasure makes him guilty!
The major nations coveted the Leaf's prosperity and feared its power.
Either the Leaf crushes the major nations with overwhelming force, making all villages submit, or it declines and cedes most of its interests to feed the other villages.
Only then might peace be possible.
But it was more likely they would perish in weakness.
Because the chasm of human desire can never be filled.
A world where people understand each other?
Laughable!
In the original story, didn't Hashirama Senju and later Naruto Uzumaki first rely on power to make everyone acknowledge them before opening the path to so-called peace!?
That is the falsest peace.
And the most unstable peace.
Because it relies entirely on the safety of one person.
Thus, once Hashirama died, the ninja world returned to chaos. Once Naruto and Sasuke died, a chaotic era was entirely foreseeable.
Between people, especially between people of different factions, such collisions are inevitable!
Clearly, the current Leaf was a thorn in everyone's side.
Almost as soon as the Cloud released the news and initiated friction at the border, the major ninja villages began to stir.
Even the Sand, which had re-signed an alliance treaty with the Leaf less than half a year ago, showed signs of looking eastward. It wasn't that the Sand had grown bold or had improper thoughts again—they hadn't even recovered from the losses of the last war.
The Sand's movements were purely for self-preservation.
If the Leaf really had thoughts of further dominating the ninja world and put them into action, the Sand would have to resolutely oppose it.
Maintaining the status quo was most in the Sand's interest.
As for the Stone, Ohnoki's attitude appeared somewhat ambiguous. Although the old man didn't deploy excessive troops to the border, Stone spies frequently appeared within the borders of the Fire and Lightning countries.
His intent was also glaringly obvious.
The biggest reaction came from the Hidden Mist.
Remember, before this, the Mist pursuit unit reported that they had lost the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and highly suspected he was taken by the Leaf. The subsequent battle between Menma and Jiraiya seemed like the best supporting evidence.
Now, with the Cloud practically pounding their chests to confirm this intelligence as secondary proof, the Mist would 100% point their spear directly at the Leaf.
With Terumi Mei not yet in power, the de facto ruler of the Mist was the elder Genji. (In fact, even after Terumi Mei took power later, as long as Genji was alive, he remained the person with the highest prestige and power in the Mist, though he wouldn't interfere unless necessary to avoid being annoying.)
Although the Mist had gone through a particularly bloody and dark period, causing the village's overall strength to decline significantly—making them brothers in hardship with the Sand—normally, they should be entering a stable period of recuperation.
But this involved their own village's Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
Genji was steady, not cowardly.
After careful consideration, Genji also dispatched personnel to question the Leaf and moved over a thousand Mist ninja to an island just a line away from the Land of Waves. Using that as a springboard, the Mist could easily invade the interior of the Fire Country.
This wasn't the First Great Ninja War anymore. With the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzushio Village, the Leaf lost its most natural barrier. The Mist could directly threaten the Leaf's vital hinterlands.
Of course, compared to the Fourth Raikage's aggressive wording, the notice dictated personally by Genji appeared much milder in language.
But the objective was clear.
The Leaf had to give the Mist an explanation: either hand over the Six-Tails Jinchuriki or provide ironclad proof that the Six-Tails was not in their control.
Otherwise, for the village's interests and the dignity of a great nation, the Mist would have no choice but to declare war on the Leaf.
Upon receiving the Mist's notice, Tsunade almost couldn't suppress the primordial force within her.
They clearly didn't do it, yet everyone wanted to dump the blame on them. Prove it!? How to prove it!?
With what?
This was a dead end, wasn't it?
But the other side had a legitimate reason—at least on the surface. Not to mention the Mist's tone seemed so "mild." Although essentially no different, Tsunade had to patiently explain.
Local friction with the Cloud had already begun in the north. The combined number of ninja committed by both sides exceeded three thousand. If the conflict expanded, and the Mist declared war in the southeast, the Leaf would fall into the predicament of fighting on two fronts.
This wasn't the past.
Leaving aside the decline in ninja quality and quantity, just the top-tier commanders couldn't compare to the old days.
From any perspective, the Leaf had to stabilize the Mist side. Because of this, after weighing the options, Tsunade leaked the intelligence about Orochimaru to the Mist.
The village's interests and safety were paramount and had to be prioritized above all else.
Whether the Mist believed it was their business, beyond Tsunade's control. She could only try her best to stabilize the current situation.
She also sent special envoys to coordinate with the Sand. If a great war broke out, the Leaf needed an ally like the Sand—even if not that strong, they at least carried enough weight to divert some attention and energy, right?
Like dealing with the Stone in the northwest?
The relationships between the Five Great Nations had been vividly displayed over the past decades. Often, it depended not just on individual strength but also on diplomatic means. After all, no one now reached the level of Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha, who could truly decide everything with a word.
One person could flatten the entire ninja world.
The road to peace is always paved with blood.
The schemes of the Five Great Nations, especially the military deployments of the three major powers, triggered a new round of turmoil in the ninja world.
Unlike the previous disturbance which looked dangerous but landed smoothly, this time the Cloud took the lead in fighting the Leaf, and Stone and Mist reconnaissance forces entered the Fire Country.
The entire Hidden Leaf Village entered Level 1 Combat Readiness.
Jiraiya and Naruto's journey was forcibly interrupted. Originally intending to return briefly before continuing their training trip, the current situation meant the Leaf couldn't do without Jiraiya. Once a great war broke out, Jiraiya needed to be responsible for the pressure on at least one front.
Otherwise, relying on Tsunade alone, with Kakashi, Shikaku, Choza, and others below her, it would be hard to provide greater support.
The dark clouds of war now completely covered the sky above the Hidden Leaf Village.
All revolving around the series of issues triggered by the struggle for the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
---
Two days before the conflict between the three major nations erupted.
In the Land of Tea, southwest coastal region, Orochimaru's main base.
Because he had promised to provide more Tailed Beast chakra for Orochimaru's research, and with Sasuke's matter involved, Menma naturally had to detour to Orochimaru's base first.
Inside that spacious yet very dim room.
Orochimaru looked at the special sealing scroll in his palm, then slowly turned his slitted snake eyes to Menma and Utakata sitting on the left. Orochimaru chuckled: "Heh, Menma-kun's efficiency is really much faster than I expected. This means you can provide me with the chakra of the Six-Tails and Seven-Tails."
"After all, this is what we agreed upon, isn't it? Orochimaru-san. Besides, helping you is helping myself. You should know better than I do about the great nations' pursuit of Tailed Beasts and the true goal of that organization," Menma smiled lightly and replied.
Only Utakata beside him frowned slightly, feeling somewhat unadapted. Not just because of the atmosphere here, but more importantly, because of Orochimaru in the main seat. Honestly, Utakata wasn't good at dealing with, nor did he like, people with Orochimaru's style.
"That is true. But actions like Menma-kun's easily attract more attention. You know your identity is already very special, Menma-kun. Who knows when those people might come," Orochimaru said meaningfully, a glint of bewitchment in his pupils.
"That will require Orochimaru-san to bear a bit more. Not too much, just enough to let me make the necessary preparations. I think Orochimaru-san should be willing to help with this small favor," Menma looked straight back at Orochimaru, saying word by word.
Paper can never wrap fire. Even if it holds for a while, it will eventually burn through.
The news of Utakata joining his side would be exposed sooner or later, especially since he met Jiraiya and others in the Land of Spring at that specific time. No evidence didn't matter; being guessed was already "checkmate."
Therefore, Menma needed to make more preparations.
Orochimaru was his best "camouflage"!
"Heh, cooperating with Menma-kun really requires paying a lot of prices," Orochimaru smiled lightly, sounding as if he were troubled.
"But the gains are equally rich, aren't they? Orochimaru-san? We are both seekers of truth. Perhaps at some point in the future, we will diverge, but at least for now, we are on the same path. Or rather, only I can walk side-by-side with you, Orochimaru-san."
Menma knew exactly what Orochimaru pursued.
Eternal life, supreme power, the truth of the ninja world.
And Menma could offer chips for all of these.
What? Just lip service? Getting something for nothing? Don't make it sound so ugly. As long as Orochimaru was willing to accept, these were chips of sufficient weight.
To put it bluntly, no one, no creature in this ninja world possessed more intelligence than Menma. Not Obito, not Nagato, not Madara, not even the sages of the Three Great Holy Lands.
Even that pitch-black guy (Black Zetsu) couldn't compare.
A transmigrator's greatest cheat is the omniscient plot reference!
Even if his intrusion had changed a lot, some things were still fixed.
The things Orochimaru pursued were these fixed things.
And they were things only Menma could provide!