Blood & Tears I

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Chapter 26: Blood & Tears I

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"Only the dead have seen the end of war." ~ Plato

Today was the day, the beginning of an all-out war. Befitting of the occasion, Konoha was very silent, with an air of depression about.

It's been that way for a while, and it's only been getting worse as people realize that their loved ones are heading to war, but never coming back.

However, most shinobi were determined, and fully willing to head to the war that would likely end in their death.

Still, it was quite the gloomy morning as they put on their combat uniform, Konoha's combat uniform which consists of a green flak jacket, worn over blue clothes that have Konoha's symbol.

They picked up their shinobi tools, kunai, blades, and scrolls with other necessities, and only then did they assemble into four groups.

Each group will be responsible for a specific place in the borders of the land of fire.

The situation of the war was very messy, many small villages and countries were in dispute with each other, although most of the focus was on the great shinobi villages.

However, even in such a situation, the great shinobi villages still found it in themselves to start wars with each other, especially Iwagakure who has been the most active around the Fire country's borders.

The ones responsible for watching over Iwagakure's side was none other than one of the legendary shinobis of Konoha, Jiraya, accompanied by his student, Namikaze Minato.

The nearest to them would be Orochimaru who will be watching over the borders by the land of Wind's side, in fear of Sunagakure taking action, although there were no signs of that just yet.

The land of the Wind, however, was the closest to the land of Earth where Iwagakure resides, thus why Orochimaru was put there, so he could go there at a moment's notice if Jiraya needed help.

The two were supported by many shinobis from the major clans of Konoha, including but not limited to the Aburame, Akimishi, and Nara Clans.

However, neither the Uchiha nor the Hyugas were included as they were responsible for different sides of the border.

The Hyuga are responsible for the land of Water's side while the Uchiha are responsible for the land of Lightning's side.

Isaac was among them, walking beside Uchiha Fugaku, the latter's son following behind them along with hundreds of the Uchiha.

The Uchiha don't mind war at all, well, most of them anyway. They had been raised this way by their parents who only knew war, so they naturally taught their children the same.

Even if they were raised that way, there were still many who hated seeing their children off, likely never coming back.

It was a gloomy morning of only tears as people saw their loved ones off, wishing with all their hearts they would come back.

'Yeah, leaving this place is the right move,' Isaac was assured as he walked through Konoha's streets along with the Uchiha.

What assured him doesn't have to do anything with the war, but Konoha's people and environment.

Konoha, despite going through multiple wars before, it's still one of the most peaceful and stable in the world.

That doesn't say much considering the state of the world, but it says something in regard to how they behave and react to progress, not very well.

Konoha was strangely the place most resistant to Isaac's progress as the latter found it quite difficult to change it in a significant way.

In contrast, the common people all around the Fire country jumped at any opportunity he gave them, without even a single bit of hesitation.

The reason is simple, one group of people can not make ends meet while the other are mostly satisfied with their life.

Therefore, the common people outside of Konoha never fail to clutch onto every opportunity Isaac throws at them.

What followed was a long arduous journey of running through the woods, and leaping from tree to tree. That's the level of transportation in this world, at least for ninjas.

For the common people, carts pulled by horses are their best friend, although the lack of smooth roads is certainly a problem in most places.

The Fire Country started to combat that problem as Isaac took it upon himself to build roads, and set up the necessary infrastructure for when he inevitably creates all types of vehicles.

It took a long time even with ninjas' natural agility to reach the war camp, and if the air in Konoha was gloomy, then the air in the war camp was that of sorrow.

The war camp was established a while ago with a lot of ninjas within, awaiting reinforcement, but the enemy didn't wait as several small skirmishes took place here and then.

This side of the Fire country doesn't directly border the land of Lightning, but it's the latter's path to reach them.

It happened before in the previous wars, and it will happen again. However, what's different is that while Konoha is wary of the Lightning country's invasion, it also has to deal with many different enemies.

The enemies are specifically the countries that border the Fire country directly, and those are responsible for the skirmishes that have been going on for a while. The enemies include the Hidden Villages of Waterfall and Frost.

However small those skirmishes were, to the ninjas before Isaac, they were devastating for every fight means losing a neighbor, a friend, or a loved one.

The arrival of the Uchiha only made things more depressing, simply due to most Uchihas' cold personalities.

"Hm, what do you think?" None of the people's feelings mattered to Fugaku as he looked through the scout reports of the past few weeks.

He was in the meeting room with a bunch of individuals, all Uchiha, the high-ranking of the Uchiha as well as Isaac.

"Let me have a look," Said Isaac as he took the reports, slowly reading through them, "Hmm, the Frost and Waterfall countries aren't in an alliance just yet. They seem to be in conflict, but that may change with us here."

"Does that matter?" Fugaku raised a brow, "Even if they were in an alliance, would that change a thing?"

"Now that we are here? No," Isaac shook his head before adding as an explanation, "But we can ensure minimal casualties while preparing for the wolves to come."

"Are you certain that Kumogakure will fully join the war?" Tekka Uchiha questioned, "They'll have to travel way beyond their territory. That would be too much of a risk to take, no?"

"I think they definitely will," Uchiha Fugaku answered in Isaac's stead, "Who of the previous Raikages wasn't a war maniac?"

"Have a plan?" Fugaku then asked Isaac.

"Just sewing some seeds of doubt," Isaac nodded, "The Frost country seems to be the most violent of the two so let's go after it however you want. We just need to send a different group to mess with their food supply while dressed as ninjas of the Waterfall country."

"Will they fall for that?" Inabi Uchiha had to wonder.

"As I said before, it doesn't have to be too believable as we're just trying to sew some seeds of doubts," Isaac responded, "The war will be long, and we will have plenty of time to turn those doubts into reality."

"The enemy has three known camps. The main one is here, while the others are here, and here," Fugaku opened a map of the Fire country and its surroundings, pointing to several specific places.

"We'll start by attacking here, sending just a small squad and attracting the main camp's attention to send reinforcements. We will be here on standby until they happen, only then will we attack the main camp."

"Understood,"

"Understood,"

"Understood,"

"Let's show them what the consequences are for starting this war," Coldly Said Fugaku as he stood up, "I want to see their land stained in blood."

The Uchihas are quite the war-loving clan, most of them anyway. Their arrival could only mean one thing, this land will be stained with blood and tears.