Another Battlefield

The Kumogakure spring offensive ended in failure. The ninja forces led by Shintaro won the battle. This event caused an uproar throughout the ninja world and became the focus of everyone's attention in the ninja world.

For the village of Konoha, under the deliberate publicity of the Third Hokage, this victory nearly became a household name.

It was clear that Hiruzen's goal was to restore the confidence of Konoha's villagers. After all, following the tragic ninja war and the Kyuubi incident, the people of Konoha had long gone without hearing such uplifting news.

However, at the same time, Shintaro himself and the Uchiha Clan also gained widespread praise and respect.

Fugaku took this opportunity to reform the Konoha Security Forces. Originally, the Security Forces and Konoha were closely tied, but now a large number of Uchiha Clan members had gone to the battlefield, and many other ninjas were assigned to the security forces.

Therefore, Fugaku took advantage of this opportunity and applied to the leadership of Konoha to change the logo of the Konoha Guard Forces.

After all, the original symbol of the Konoha Guard was the emblem of the Uchiha Clan, which was clearly no longer appropriate.

After some discussion and decision-making, the new logo for the Konoha Guard was finally determined: it was a simple shuriken pattern, replacing the family crest that originally represented the Uchiha Clan. In this way, the "re-Uchiha" goal was achieved.

Not only that, Fugaku knew that changing the image required a comprehensive effort. He issued an order requiring all members of the security forces to pay special attention to their demeanor while on duty in the village and to completely abandon the past arrogant and dominating style.

This series of actions undoubtedly brought great benefits to Konoha, and the senior officials certainly could not find any reason to oppose it.

Gradually, in the minds of Konoha's villagers, the image of the Uchiha Clan improved to some extent. They were no longer seen as the arrogant and harsh clan they once were.

Instead, people began to see the efforts made by the Uchiha Clan to protect the village, and their views of them gradually changed.

Konoha bestowed great rewards on the ninjas who fought tenaciously on the front lines. At the same time, they also comforted the families of the ninjas who died on the battlefield, sent timely reinforcements to support them, and successfully stabilized the defensive lines.

However, Kumogakure found itself powerless in the face of the situation before them. Despite the setbacks, they were reluctant to withdraw their troops and leave. Thus, both sides became embroiled in an awkward and tense confrontation on this battlefield.

As Konoha and Kumogakure were deadlocked with each other, another power began to move. Iwagakure in the Land of Earth could no longer hold back its restlessness and decisively chose to join this chaotic dispute.

They sent forces to launch a covert attack on the area located in the northwest region of the Land of Fire, attempting to gain an advantage and benefit from the rich Land of Fire.

In the last ninja war, Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure were the three strongest ninja villages, and they also retained the most power after the ninja war.

Konoha is located in the Land of Fire, which has the most pleasant environment and rich, fertile land. It has the most powerful Bijuu and ninjas trained by the most advanced education system in the ninja world during the era of the First Hokage, making it the No.1 and strongest ninja village.

Kumogakure towers high on mountain peaks, like a mysterious fortress. The ninjas here are all battle-hardened, brave, and fearless, with top-level combat power.

Whenever thunder rumbles in the mountains, it seems to symbolize the truly astonishing power of this village.

At the same time, Kumogakure stands alone on the barren rocky desert highlands. Although living conditions are harsh, the ninjas here have honed perseverance and an indomitable spirit.

They deeply covet the fertile land of the Land of Fire, making them longtime rivals of Konoha.

The other two villages, Sunagakure and Kirigakure. Among them, Sunagakure is located in the desert interior of the Land of Wind, which is even more remote and barren than the Land of Earth.

Endless winds and sandstorms rage, and the harsh natural environment makes life in Sunagakure extremely difficult. However, it is this environment that has shaped the brave and fierce character of Sunagakure's ninjas, making them the first to initiate almost every ninja war.

But because they were too weak, Sunagakure always lost in every ninja war. Moreover, after the last ninja war, there was almost no one left in Sunagakure to lead, leaving Pakura, who was initially considered an outcast, to become the Fifth Kazekage, but she could never compare to the other five great ninja villages.

Kirigakure is located on a corner of the Land of Water, a small island country overseas. Surrounded by treacherous seas and filled with mist, it gives people a sense of obscurity and confusion.

Perhaps because of this, the ninjas of Kirigakure have developed a unique fighting style, known for its strangeness and transformations.

The situation of Kirigakure in the last ninja war was only slightly better than Sunagakure's. Due to the failure of the attack on Konoha, they lost a large number of troops and Bijuu, but did not oust a Kage like Sunagakure.

However, Kirigakure has a poor foundation. Before the Ninja War, it was the weakest of the five great ninja villages. This was due to the geographical environment. The Land of Water is the weakest and smallest of the five great countries.

Sunagakure and Kirigakure are currently of equal strength, both being at the bottom among the five great ninja villages.

As a result, the five major ninja villages currently must be divided into two tiers—three top villages and two bottom villages.

There is no doubt that Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure are the top three villages. The two bottom villages are named Kirigakure and Sunagakure.

Therefore, in the conflict following the end of the Third Ninja World War, Kirigakure and Sunagakure, ranked at the bottom of the five great ninja villages, were completely unqualified to intervene.

At present, only three forces could sit firmly at the card table: Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure.

However, the sudden attack by Iwagakure meant that the three "players" personally ended the game, and the entire game instantly became turbulent and entered a very heated stage.

Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, was not idle. He was dissatisfied with the terms of the peace talks with Konoha during the Third Ninja World War, so he took advantage of the confrontation between Konoha and Kumogakure to boldly attack the Land of Fire again.

In the Third Ninja World War, the main direction of Iwagakure's attack was Kumogakure. When Kumogakure and Konoha were fiercely fighting on the front lines, Onoki led 10,000 ninja troops to cross the sea and sneak into Kumogakure.

However, he never expected that the Third Raikage would use his life to block the attack of ten thousand ninja troops for three days and nights and drag it out until Kumogakure's reinforcements arrived, causing the sneak attack to fail.

This had implications for the secondary battlefield with Konoha and was also affected. In addition, Namikaze Minato became famous in the battle of the Kannabi Bridge and cut off Iwagakure's supply line, forcing them to negotiate peace with Konoha.

In fact, although Iwagakure suffered two frustrated attacks, it did not suffer significant damage; it cannot be said that it was unscathed, but it can also be said that its muscles and bones were not harmed.

Therefore, although the outcome of the peace talks forced Konoha to give up some of its interests, for the ambitious Iwagakure, this was still far from satisfying their appetite.

Moreover, after the Third Ninja World War ended, Konoha not only experienced the chaos caused by the Kyuubi but also the death of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki, and the conflict with Kumogakure. The conflict could be said to be internal and external problems.

So, at the end of the spring of Konoha's 53rd year, Iwagakure saw the right opportunity, decided to regroup, and return.

This time, the shrewd Onoki changed his attack strategy and decisively gave up on attacking Kumogakure; instead, he chose to fight alongside Kumogakure against the most powerful Konoha.

Iwagakure has always been known for having many ninjas. In this operation, they spared no effort and sent a ninja force of a thousand elite ninjas. The venerable Onoki personally led the expedition, leaving all matters in the village to take care of.

It was precisely because of Iwagakure's intervention that the dispute, which initially involved only Konoha and Kumogakure, instantly escalated into a large-scale battle. Its intensity was comparable to the Third Ninja World War!

In the last Third Ninja World War, these three powerful villages did not exhaust their full war potential. Now, they are once again engaged in war and starting a localized war.

In the midst of the turmoil, the three ninja villages each adopted unique strategies. On one hand, they continued to accept and dispatch various missions as usual to maintain the village's normal operations; on the other hand, they quickly mobilized troops and continuously reinforced the front lines at the borders.

Faced with the threat from Iwagakure Village, especially when they learned that Onoki was leading the forces in an attack, the entire village of Konoha could not afford to show any signs of negligence. After all, Onoki was a powerful figure with a widespread reputation.

After discussions among Konoha's higher-ups, a wise decision was finally made to send a thousand elite ninjas to fight, with Orochimaru, one of the three Sannin, as their leader.

The candidate for this team's leader was fully considered. Since the enemy was led by Tsuchikage himself, the candidate sent by Konoha had to be able to compete with the Kage in terms of strength and status.

Hiruzen could not easily leave the village to fight, as Konoha currently had no clear successor like Iwagakure did.

Onoki left instructions before going to war. If he died in battle, Kitsuchi would take over as the Fourth Tsuchikage.

After the death of the Fourth Hokage in Konoha, there had been no clear answer regarding the successor to the Hokage position. If Hiruzen died in battle, the position of Hokage would remain unclaimed, inevitably leading to a major crisis.

Therefore, Hiruzen could not lead the team on the expedition, and under the Hokage, the most famous and powerful person in Konoha was the Sannin.

Among the three Sannin, Tsunade suffered from hemophobia and was not suited for battle. Moreover, as a taijutsu ninja, she would struggle to compete with Onoki, who could fly.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, was free-spirited and undisciplined. At the moment, he was out gathering intelligence, and his whereabouts were unknown. At least Tsunade was in the casino, while Jiraiya couldn't be found when he traveled.

Thus, only Orochimaru was left to lead the team in battle. Although Hiruzen considered Orochimaru to have a wicked mindset and unfit to inherit the Hokage position, he could still lead the team to fight for the village.

Furthermore, Orochimaru was known as a genius ninja who came once every fifty years, skilled in the five elements of ninjutsu and capable of using lightning elements to counter the earth elements of Iwagakure Village.

There were indeed other candidates besides the Sannin, but they were not as suitable as Orochimaru.

For instance, Uchiha Fugaku, the leader of the Uchiha Clan, the foremost ninja clan in Konoha, had enough strength and reputation. However, as the captain of Konoha's police force, he was responsible for ensuring the village's safety, making it inconvenient for him to go to war.

Not only that, but the Konoha higher-ups also had another level of concern. Uchiha Shintaro, who was currently leading a team to fend off Kumogakure Village's attacks in the northeastern Fire Country, was also a member of the Uchiha Clan.

If another Uchiha, like Fugaku, was sent to the northwest to lead the battle, the Uchiha Clan's power would grow rapidly, and even a highly respected figure like Hiruzen might not be able to contain their rise.

The Hyuga Clan, the second-largest ninja clan after the Uchiha Clan, currently had its leader participating in the battles in the northeastern Fire Country, so he couldn't be sent to support the northwest battlefield.

From a tactical perspective, Hiashi was clearly more suitable to stay in the northeast to fight Kumogakure Village. After all, the offensive strategy employed by Kumogakure Village was often a surprise attack carried out by small-scale troops. This style of warfare could be effectively countered by the Byakugan abilities possessed by the Hyuga Clan.

In contrast, Iwagakure Village on the northwestern front adopted a more stable tactic. It could be said that they formed a fortress and fought wastefully; stationed in a fortress and attacking with a large force was very effective.

Additionally, Konoha also considered Shikaku Nara, the leader of the Jonin squad, but Shikaku was not like Shintaro; he was an intellectual talent, whereas Shintaro was more of the strength type.

Although Shikaku had the strength of an elite Jonin, he still fell far short of Ohnoki, making him less suitable to lead the team.

Konoha finally chose Orochimaru to lead the team, and Hiruzen summoned Kakashi and asked him to convey the orders on his behalf.

"Orochimaru has been hiding in his lab all day and who knows what he's up to. Kakashi, go find him and tell him the orders to go to war. He must contribute to Konoha again."

"Yes." Kakashi replied, then set off for Orochimaru's lab.

Perhaps only Orochimaru himself knew how many laboratories he had in Konoha.

Kakashi had no choice but to search for Orochimaru in the well-known labs in the village one by one.

He finally found the right spot after running through several places.

"Orochimaru-sama, Hokage-sama has ordered you to lead a thousand troops to the northwest of Konoha to fight against the invasion of Iwagakure Village."

Kakashi stood in front of the lab door under the dim light and shouted the reminder.

The iron door of the lab was tightly closed, and a red indicator light was flashing, indicating someone was inside, and of course, Orochimaru was inside conducting an experiment.

However, there was no answer from inside the door, but after a while, the iron door opened with a loud creak.

Orochimaru stepped out, wearing a Konoha Jonin vest, his long black hair hanging down his back, his face very pale. He stuck out his extremely long tongue and licked the side of his lips like a venomous snake spitting out a message.

"Excellent, another experimental subject is coming."

Orochimaru's voice was low and magnetic, exuding an evil nature.

Kakashi felt uneasy and didn't want to stay any longer. Seeing that Orochimaru had come out, he immediately left the place.

Orochimaru's eyes stared at Kakashi's back, "Haha, is my appearance that terrifying? Fortunately, I still have to help Konoha fight, how ridiculous."

His tongue licked again, with a greedy look in his eyes, "But it's okay, it's getting harder to find experimental subjects in the village lately, so it's easier to do it on the battlefield."

It was clear that Orochimaru no longer considered Konoha as his own at all, and only his experiments were in his heart.