"Every man, woman, and child in this bandit camp—none shall be spared. Understood?"
Ueno Hidekazu calmly commanded the three of them as they stood before a fortified settlement.
Hana Inuzuka hesitated. "Why must even the children..."
Hiroki Hyuga said nothing.
Although he had been the one ordering Zetsu to stir up conflict between Kumogakure and Konoha, this was his first time personally carrying out murder—with killing involved, it was natural to feel some unease.
As for Itachi Uchiha, his expression didn't shift at all.
Such matters of taking lives were something he had long since experienced.
"One might better call this place a bandit camp. They survive by looting, killing, and dealing in human lives—and they live better than most."
"Even the children have grown by trampling over corpses. Their bodies carry on the blood of criminals."
"A flower blooming from mud—can you really expect it to become pure and kind-hearted someday?"
"Don't hesitate."
After a few cold words, Hidekazu flung a Flash Bomb into the bandit camp.
The Flash Bomb's blinding light shattered the quiet encampment, throwing it into chaos. Many rushed forward with weapons in hand.
"Who the hell dares cause trouble here?!"
"Damn it, those meddling ninjas again."
"What a pain."
Needless to say, Hidekazu handled things ruthlessly—Hiroki and the others had no choice but to fight back now, even if unwilling.
As for Hidekazu himself, he leapt onto a tree branch and observed their reactions.
If his students were in danger, he'd step in when necessary.
Itachi Uchiha immediately threw kunai and charged straight into the crowd. After cutting down several opponents, he returned covered in blood near where Hidekazu stood, saying emotionlessly, "My mission is complete."
Hidekazu paid him no mind.
He already knew of Itachi's reputation as a prodigy—one brilliant boy like this required no special concern.
Hiroki inhaled sharply.
[Eight Trigrams – Thirty-Two Palms]
Activating the full power of the Eight Trigrams technique, not a single drop of blood stained his body despite the slaughter he performed.
Gritting her teeth, Hana Inuzuka charged alongside the Gray Trio toward their enemies.
Twenty minutes later, rows upon rows of corpses lay dead.
Hidekazu flashed over and raised an eyebrow. "Continue—the houses still hold survivors."
Under his cold stare, Hiroki and Hana weren't given a second to catch their breath, entering each room to swiftly execute anyone still alive.
The killing went smoothly and quickly.
Only after their bodies finally relaxed completely did the unusual sensation wash over them.
Both Hiroki and Hana fled from the carnage, leaning against trees, pale-faced and vomiting violently.
"Hurry up!" Hidekazu shouted from a distance.
Suddenly, the usually silent Itachi spoke up curiously. "Teacher, are we your first batch of students?"
"Yes."
"Were you once part of Anbu?" Itachi asked cautiously.
Hidekazu smiled faintly—neither confirming nor denying.
Itachi seemed to understand something.
Compared to his former teacher, Mizukazu, the current Hidekazu Ueno was much more decisive and cold-blooded. He didn't give a damn about his students' breaking points—he seemed to push them to the edge on purpose. It made him wonder if Hidekazu had come from Root or Anbu—places where results mattered more than anything, even people's sanity.
"I'll remember this feeling forever," Hiroki Hyuga forced out through his throat, nearly vomiting up stomach acid.
He hadn't expected that Hidekazu wouldn't give even a moment's pause before ordering them to slaughter everyone in the entire village.
Maybe this was the cruel truth hiding beneath the warm tales.
War-time ninja training must have looked just like this—rough, brutal, and effective.
Without anyone constantly monitoring and adjusting their mental states, no wonder so many ninja went insane.
Hiroki Hyuga's understanding of the ninja system's twisted structure had deepened further.
"Kaguya, lend me some of your chakra."
Kaguya: "I only receive offerings—I don't hand anything out."
Despite saying that, Hiroki still felt something different flowing inside his body.
He pressed his palm to the earth and channeled out chakra.
Zetsu could fuse with the earth itself, sensing everything across the terrain. By releasing Kaguya's chakra into the ground, Zetsu would soon find it.
In the Land of Lightning—Kumogakure.
Inside the Raikage's private office.
"Do any of you have opinions? If I head to the frontline, our village's defenses might become vulnerable."
Konoha's war preparations couldn't escape Kumogakure's notice. Sitting in her chair, Yugito looked at the three men before her and asked.
Her attention mainly focused on the man standing in the center—an austere-faced individual with dark skin.
He was a member of the Yeyue clan—Yeyue Ibuki.
Unlike Konoha Village, which was filled with competing factions, Kumogakure did not have such internal divisions—but family clans still existed.
The Yeyue clan were the most prestigious among them.
Both the Third and Fourth Raikage came from the Yeyue clan, and even Kumogakure's sacred cultivation site—the Cloud Thunder Ravine—originally belonged to this clan.
Beside them, Mafuki took notes during the meeting.
She had originally thought that when Yugito became Raikage, she would reshuffle the personnel completely. Instead, everything remained unchanged.
Maybe that was just how confident she was.
The three questioned fell silent, lost in thought.
If numbers were the deciding factor, Kumogakure certainly wouldn't fall short compared to Konoha. But they severely lacked high-level fighters like A and Bee.
Originally, A and Bee were considered elite fighters. For them to die now was a serious blow…
The others caught themselves before going further—the deaths of A and Bee were better left unspoken.
Noticing everyone's glances frequently brushing over himself, Yeyue Ibuki finally spoke after considering his words carefully: "Honored Raikage, back during the Third Great Ninja War, there was an elite mercenary organization called [Akatsuki] who participated in the conflict. Perhaps we could request their assistance..."
"Mercenaries? Can we rely on an organization motivated purely by profit? If Konoha hires them too, won't they break their contract midway?"
"Raikage, there's no need for us to fight Konoha to the death. Even if we seize land from the Land of Fire, it would become a remote enclave for the Land of Lightning—difficult to control and maintain. The gains may not even justify the cost."
The layout of the Ninja World is almost poetic—each of the Five Great Nations separated by smaller, vulnerable states.
This setup leaves small nations trapped between mighty powers, forced to fight for survival without ever seeing the frontlines of great wars.
Except for the harsh environment of the Land of Wind, none of the other great nations have considered relocating their headquarters.
Besides, the regional lords—known as Daimyos—would never allow such a move in the first place.
If any nation—Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, or Earth—tries to tip the scales, the others will gang up on them.
That's why every war between ninja villages boils down to one thing—fighting over resources.
Yugito gave a firm nod, motioning for him to go on.
Suddenly shifting his tone, Yeyue Ibuki said, "Raikage, I have a plan that could secure massive resources for us while simultaneously causing internal discord within Konoha..."
A strange look slowly crept across Yugito's face.
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