Chapter 96 Cloud and Mist Join Forces
I wish it could go that smoothly.
The Souji thought this, but did not say anything to dissuade him.
Although the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, has a baby face, his personality is the opposite of his appearance. He is very domineering and forceful.
Although the two have never had any open conflicts, the 70-year-old marshal still judged that he should not easily show that he disagreed with the Mizukage.
Reaching an agreement with Kumogakure while simultaneously launching an attack on Konoha sounds like a good idea...
However, for some reason, Konoha seemed to be stronger than before this time.
They won their attacks on Sunagakure and Iwagakure without paying much of a price.
On the contrary, Sunagakure and Iwagakure suffered heavy losses and had to retreat to their own territories in just over a month.
Then, considering that even this newly emerging young man, Mochizuki Souji, could easily kill ten Jonin, led by Umino Rokuro and his two companions, in one fell swoop...
The current strength of Konoha seems completely different from what I knew.
Am I really getting old, my understanding falling behind the times...?
And it's not just Konoha...
Since Hashirama Senju founded Konoha and ended the Warring States period, in just a few decades, the Fourth Shinobi World War has broken out again and again, and strange and inexplicable events have been occurring in various places...
For example, Tobirama Senju died at the hands of the mere Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers.
For example, a large number of members of the powerful Senju clan died by coincidence.
For example, when the Uzumaki clan was besieged by multiple forces led by Kirigakure, Konoha did not send any reinforcements and watched them perish.
Too many coincidences, and they cease to be coincidences.
I have a feeling... that someone is doing this in the shadows.
If such a person really exists, who would it be?
Will this person make a move again in this great battle?
...
Souji and his party returned to Tanba Port.
First, they had Konan make a large number of rice balls.
Then, they dispelled the summoning spell and had the Celestial Dragons take the rice balls back to Dragon Island as payment.
The members of the Kage lived outside Konoha as before.
Only Souji rode alone on the back of the dragon named Celestial Dragons, returning to Konoha in a very cool and stylish manner.
When Celestial DragDragons'rmous wings flapped powerfully, he slowly landed in front of the Konoha gate, leaving the two ninjas guarding the gate stunned.
Immediately afterwards, many Konoha residents, high-ranking ninjas, and even the Hokage came out to investigate what had happened.
Upon hearing Souji say that he had gone to Dragon Island specifically to successfully sign a summoning contract with the Celestial Dragon Clan, the Hokage was also filled with disbelief.
He knew that even the First Hokage had tried to form a contract with the Celestial Dragons, but was ultimately rejected.
Even with the strength and character of the First Hokage, he couldn't gain the approval of the Celestial Dragon Clan.
How did Souji manage to do it?
However, Souji did not elaborate on the details, as it was his personal secret.
As long as it did not involve anything that would harm Konoha, even the Hokage could not delve too deeply into it.
Souji brought Celestial Dragons back to Konoha to build a powerful image for himself, and he accomplished this very well. Celestial DragDragons'rmous size, imposing appearance, and obvious strength instantly elevated Souji's status in the hearts of everyone in Konoha.
This kind of intuitive visual experience is more effective than any of the achievements the Souji has made before.
After all, this is something they have actually seen and felt with their own eyes, while their previous achievements were just rumors.
How many enemies they killed, which powerful figures they defeated, and what great things they accomplished are all very abstract to most people, and they have no real experience with them.
After that, Souji stayed in Konoha and lived a peaceful daily life for a while longer.
With ample funds, sasoSasoriramping up the production of puppets, seemingly trying to find a way to achieve the eternal and indestructible beauty he seeks through the continuous creation of puppets.
Yahiko and the other two continued their training as usual.
However, perhaps due to their recent experiences and insights, which far exceeded those of their previous stay in the Land of Rain, their progress became quite rapid.
Young ninjas often experience explosive growth in strength, given the right opportunity.
Yahiko and his two friends are only teenagers.
As long as they grow mentally, they can easily increase their chakra reserves significantly, and their ninjutsu skills will also become stronger.
Souji leisurely spent his time in Konoha, enjoying the moonlit nights and interacting with various prestigious ninja clans.
It wasn't that I didn't want to go out and do other important things, but because the intelligence network had received information, I didn't want to run around, so I stayed in Konoha and waited for the next round of war to break out.
This did not disappoint him.
The Hidden Cloud Village launched a powerful invasion of the Land of Earth, attacking the Hidden Stone Village.
Although they initially came on strong and indeed gained the upper hand.
However, Iwagakure, which is most skilled at using Earth Release ninjutsu for defensive positional warfare, defended its own land of Earth, which it had cultivated for many years, with an impregnable fortress.
The Hidden Cloud Village launched several attacks, and although they suffered no losses, they also failed to achieve any noteworthy results.
The Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Stone Village are respectively known as the strongest spear and the strongest shield in the ninja world.
Now, judging from the results, the spear that came from afar could not break through the shield that had the advantage of terrain.
After about half a month of this stalemate, Kumogakure, seeing that it could not do anything to its opponent, retreated to the Land of Lightning.
Then, Kumogakure and Kirigakure declared war on Konoha almost simultaneously, and the ninja armies of the two villages launched their attacks.
This cooperation suggests that while the two sides may not have allied, they at least cooperated to some extent.
In the previous battle, Iwagakure focused on defense, and although Kumogakure failed to achieve any success, it did not suffer many losses and is still in almost its prime.
The strength of Kirigakure should not be underestimated.
Although, both now and in the era of Naruto, Kirigakure's strength ranks second to last among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
However, the actual strength of Kirigakure in the two eras differed greatly.
The decline of Kirigakure in later generations was because the Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was controlled by Obito with his Sharingan and carried out various heaven-defying operations, turning the once prosperous Kirigakure into the Blood Mist Village.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist fled, and both the population and the economy collapsed.
However, Yagura Karatachi is currently in a normal state. While his governance of Kirigakure may not be outstanding, it is at least free of major problems.
Kirigakure, on the other hand, enjoys the advantage of being located on an island with a thriving maritime trade, making it arguably the wealthiest of the five great ninja villages.
The Hidden Cloud Village has over 20,000 ninjas, including the Third and Fourth Raikage father and son, and the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails.
Kirigakure has about 15,000 ninjas, but the upper echelons are relatively weak.
The only Kage-level ninja is Mizukage Yagura Karatachi.
The Fleet Admiral is too old. Although the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are all-powerful elite Jonin, it would be difficult for them to face a Kage-level opponent head-on without all seven of them working together.
As for Jinchuriki, Kirigakure currently only has Utakata, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
As for the Three-Tails... according to Konoha's intelligence, because no suitable Jinchuriki has been found, it is currently sealed in a specially made sealing container.
Although Kirigakure may not seem strong, they occupy the advantageous terrain of the ocean, allowing them to attack or defend as they please.
If they cooperate with Kumogakure, they are still quite threatening.
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end of this chapter...