[This Chapter Is Sponsored by Jack Herd! Everyone, please thank him in the comment!]
The situation in the Shinobi world is as unpredictable as the weather in June, even more fickle than a woman's face.
The Sand and Leaf villages have emphatically strengthened their alliance, even collaborating to strike at rogue ninjas on the border who are causing chaos under their names.
Following this, the Stone village has begun diplomatic relations with the Sand village. Though not an alliance yet, anyone can see that they have gained benefits.
Just a moment ago, there was a trend among the four great Shinobi villages to unite against the Leaf. Now, the winds have changed; Sand has grown close to Leaf again, and Stone appears to desire peace.
Clearly, these three villages have gained something satisfactory. Sand managed to reclaim 11.5% of its mission share. Stone clearly collaborates with Sand and has also gained, meeting their objectives joyfully. Only the Leaf village has sacrificed some benefits to satisfy others' greed.
In the Land of Lightning, Cloud village.
Inside the Raikage's office, the Fourth Raikage smashes his brand-new desk in anger, yelling, "Onoki! You deceitful scum!"
You were the most active in contacting us, speaking about mutual interests and forming an alliance against the Leaf, but then you secretly colluded with Sand and kept quiet after gaining benefits from the Leaf.
"Damn it!" The Fourth Raikage's eyes are red with rage and envy. It's obvious that the Leaf has given such significant benefits to the Sand, and this couldn't be hidden from those who are observant.
Clearly, Onoki of the Stone village also gained something, or why would they change sides so quickly?
So, after all this hustling among the four great Shinobi villages, Sand and Stone gain benefits and forget about everyone else?
Sand, being one of the five great Shinobi villages, now holds 20% of high-level missions, enough to sustain a mid-level Shinobi village.
"Damn you, Onoki! You treacherous little man!"
The Fourth Raikage's greatest fury is that Sand didn't invite him to share the immense benefits.
At this point, none of the five great Shinobi villages wants to start another great Shinobi war. They still maintain their superior status but starting a fourth war could bring them down.
"Send orders to stir up animosity between the small Shinobi villages and Leaf, especially stating that the Mist is preparing to wage war against Leaf. In short, I want to make Leaf's border unstable."
The Fourth Raikage, having gained nothing, is obviously jealous. Now he can only exploit the current situation with the Mist.
Of the five great Shinobi villages, Sand and Stone chose to keep the peace, leaving Leaf to face two, obviously reducing the pressure. Although he is impulsive, he doesn't want to give advantages to others for free; this means Mist has to take the main role.
...
The snowflakes drift down at the front line of the Land of Whirlpools, seemingly pressing the pause button on the war for both sides.
The heavy snow marks the passage of another year, and the world of Shinobi welcomes a new year.
This year, Uchiha Itachi is eight years old, Uchiha Yoru and Kakashi both turn seventeen, and they are also the most dazzling talents of the year.
One is Kakashi Hatake, a prodigy who graduated at five as a Genin, became a Chunin at six, and a Jonin at twelve. The other is a genius from the Uchiha clan, also a student of one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, and now commands nearly a thousand ninja on the front lines.
With a calm mind, commanding multiple times more troops, and multiple battlefield achievements, he has solidified his status as a genius on par with, if not surpassing, Kakashi Hatake.
This year has been disastrous for Konoha. First, there was the split within the Hyuga clan, followed by the Orochimaru incident regarding the Hokage candidacy, and then the borders destabilizing just as they had somewhat settled down.
Especially with the consecutive turbulence, it has attracted the greed of neighboring small and large countries. The disturbances on the border have left Konoha struggling to cope for most of the year.
Externally, Konoha can only choose to hold firm, while internally, they start to beautify everything. The entire village seems to be in a peaceful environment, oblivious to the current border instability.
Land of Whirlpools.
Under the snow cover, it's as if the earth has put on a layer of silvery armor. Even the battlefield, usually rampant with killing, seems to have quieted down somewhat.
Konoha's base.
"Captain Yoru, recently the Mist shinobi have attacked several of our strongholds. Following your strategic guidelines, we prioritized protecting our shinobi first and then resources, so our material losses have been relatively large, but our casualties have not been," someone reports.
With the temporary cessation of the war, Konoha's ninjas also breathed a sigh of relief. They haven't had a break from fighting the Mist shinobi recently, engaging in minor skirmishes every three days and major ones every five days. The entire forest has become a battlefield for both countries.
Both sides have had their wins and losses. Either the Mist shinobi are attacking them, or they are ambushing the Mist shinobi. In any case, the situation is not bad; the war is at a stalemate.
Both large ninja villages have tacitly kept their respective ninja forces under a thousand to avoid the situation from escalating. But only Konoha thinks so, while the Mist's hidden mastermind, Obito, is more angry. Although he controls the Mizukage, the Mist Village isn't just his to command, especially when there is the risk of starting a fourth war.
There are various obstacles in the Mist Village; from the Daimyo to the Jonin in the village, no one believes that now is the time to escalate the war.
Listening to the latest battle report in the tent, Uchiha Yoru revealed a relieved smile and nodded, "It's just some resources, nowhere as valuable as our shinobi."
The elite ninjas inside the camp looked at Uchiha Yoru with a certain fanaticism in their eyes. After all, ninjas are just tools, regardless of who the superior is. Even the Third Hokage only talked about it but never actually did anything. Despite this, the Third Hokage had influenced countless people with just his words.
But Uchiha Yoru wasn't just talking; he was truly going to execute his plans and do so diligently. He considered the lives of ninjas as the most important, even going to great lengths to protect those who were disabled.
In Uchiha Yoru's words, "They are all heroes! They are all our future!"
"Keep a close watch recently. Although the snowstorm has temporarily halted the Mist ninjas, we must still be cautious. I don't want our ninjas to be attacked during the New Year period."
"Haha, don't worry, Lord Yoru. Our reconnaissance team has already expanded its range. There's no way we will let the Mist ninjas sneak in easily."
The ninjas in the camp all showed hearty smiles. They had spent a long time together and had almost completely figured out Uchiha Yoru's character. He was a very agreeable person as long as it wasn't about missions or battles, and even enjoyed guiding those with talent in the camp.
Uchiha Yoru had been on the front lines for less than a year and had first proven his strength through solid combat achievements. Over this period, his strong charisma also made many people feel a sense of belonging.
As night gradually fell, the snowstorm howled. The Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Iron were not too far apart. It seemed that the storm in the Land of Iron had influenced the weather here, leading to a once-in-a-century heavy snowstorm. Both the Leaf and Mist ninjas were caught off guard and chose to recuperate during this time.
...
The howling north wind and the blizzard make it impossible for people to open their eyes. All the creatures in the world seem to have chosen to curl up at this moment.
The world is even more silent, especially under the cover of night and the blizzard, exuding an aura of utter destruction.
Inside a forest, in a large tree hole, Uchiha Yoru cautiously looks around to make sure he's not being followed before letting out a sigh of relief and slowly entering the tree hole.
"Orochimaru-sensei, I'm afraid there won't be much experimental material due to the recent ceasefire."
Inside the empty tree hole, Uchiha Yoru calmly speaks to the empty surroundings. However, at this moment, a figure slowly starts to materialize on the ground, accompanied by a unique raspy smile.
"Hehe, the recent ceasefire is not just due to the blizzard."
Orochimaru slowly appears, looking at Uchiha Yoru with a meaningful smile. He never thought that his student would grow so quickly.
In such a short time, he has already replaced the position Orochimaru once held in the eyes of the people on the front lines. Although he no longer cares, he can't help but acknowledge the other's talent.
This is not just combat talent; it's almost a natural political acumen, and also a very high level of command ability on the battlefield. He's simply a perfect genius. If it weren't for the many problems he's discovered with his Reanimation Jutsu, the body in front of him would be the perfect vessel.
Thinking of this, a look of regret appears in Orochimaru's greedy snake-like eyes. Unfortunately, transferring to a strong soul's body causes considerable damage to the soul, and he has already found another direction, so he has to give up this perfect vessel.
"Orochimaru-sensei, do you mean that there are other reasons for the ceasefire?" Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Uchiha Yoru shows a curious look.
He never underestimates anyone, especially since Orochimaru has been in Konoha for so many years. How could his forces be completely eradicated so quickly? In the original story, even after ten years, people in Konoha still remember his existence.
He may be good, but he's still lacking in this depth; this is something that needs time to make up for.
In response to Uchiha Yoru's question, Orochimaru laughs raspingly, "The commanding officer defending the borders of the Land of Water, Sarutobi Shinzō, has already stabilized the rear. And although the friction with the Land of Whirlpools is not significant, there has been no substantial progress, and some people in the village don't want to drag it out any longer. They want to end the war soon."
"After all, although the friction in the Land of Whirlpool's battlefield is not large, all the major ninja villages are now recuperating. In particular, the villages of Iwa and Kumo are secretly expanding their military power."
When he heard the news, Uchiha Yoru's brows furrowed tightly. He really hadn't expected the village to start panicking, but it made sense. Although his arrival didn't seem to make much of a difference on the surface, things had already started to change.
"Orochimaru sensei, are you saying that the village is planning to send Sarutobi Shinzo to the front line to build prestige?"
Even though he was asking, he had already guessed something. A mocking smile appeared on Uchiha Yoru's face, "Someone with no significant achievements now wants to build prestige on a minor battlefield, yet dreams of becoming the Hokage. It seems that the son of the Third Hokage is ambitious, but unfortunately, his abilities don't match his ambitions."
"Heh heh, with those old guys pushing from behind, it won't take many years," Orochimaru also revealed a mocking look in his eyes as he spoke.
"The Third has aged, and his vigor as a ninja has declined year by year."
Speaking of the Third, a complicated expression filled Orochimaru's eyes, a mix of hatred and sadness. A once great ninja had gradually turned into this; it was indeed pitiable and made him realize the fragility of life, that people lose their edge as they age.
Hearing that Sarutobi Shinzo would come to the front line, which was obviously to replace him, Uchiha Yoru sneered. They were clearly trying to weaken his influence and the frontline's strength.
It wasn't their person, so they could recklessly consume resources and earn eye-catching achievements, while weakening Orochimaru's old foundation. For the old guys in Konoha, it was killing two birds with one stone.
"Heh heh, Yoru, it seems that the Uchiha clan's old guys are only focused on the Root."
Orochimaru thought the Uchiha clan was only watching their most hostile clan, Shimura Danzo, and had underestimated the other three old guys.
Orochimaru spit out an intelligence scroll and threw it while showing a perverse smile, "Jiraiya the idiot was recently sent to scout near the Rock village, and another of the Legendary Sannin seems to have come here. My research has also reached a critical point."
Another of the Legendary Sannin? Princess Tsunade!
Upon hearing the name, Uchiha Yoru frowned. If Sarutobi Shinzo ran into problems on the front line, she would undoubtedly come out to help him through it.
"Isn't Princess Tsunade afraid of blood?"
Uchiha Yoru frowned, and Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely, "I underestimated your intelligence capabilities, Yoru."
"Tsunade's fear of blood is true, but you seem to have forgotten her abilities. The strongest medical ninja adjusting her own retinal pigments and nerves isn't too difficult. Would she still have the phobia in this situation?"
Upon hearing these medical terms, fortunately, Uchiha Yoru, who was proficient in medical ninjutsu, understood. In plain terms, it meant cutting off the perception of the color red in her retina, essentially making her colorblind. Although it would have some impact, at least she would not be affected by her fear of blood anymore.
Hearing this, Uchiha Yoru showed a look of realization. He hadn't thought of this point; probably Tsunade hadn't reacted quickly enough or hadn't faced life-threatening danger yet.
"Princess Tsunade, huh!" Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yoru fell into thought. It seemed that he would need to be more cautious in his future actions.