Naruto: I have an attribute panel

Chapter 234 The War Begins on Thunder and Earth, Heroes Return

Chapter 234 Thunder and Earth War Begin, Heroes Return (Second Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

The news of the Cloud Village wreaking havoc in the heart of the Land of Wind was initially only circulating within the Sand Village; other villages had not yet received any information about it.

However, these kinds of things can never be kept secret, and it's only a matter of time before the outside world finds out.

Sunagakure was initially baffled by the Cloud Village's attack, but after two or three mines were attacked by the Cloud Village in succession, Sunagakure learned of the Cloud Village's purpose.

These northern barbarians are nothing but bandits. They've crossed thousands of miles of ocean just to rob us. What could be more infuriating than this? For one of the five great ninja villages to do such a despicable thing is truly an eye-opener.

Faced with the shameless behavior of the Cloud Village, the Sand Village, after some discussion, had no choice but to temporarily withdraw the team that was just prepared to support the front line, led by the Fourth Kazekage, to encircle and annihilate the Cloud Village force within the country.

Sunagakure was also gambling on this, betting that Konoha wouldn't sit idly by and watch Kumogakure reap the benefits. The two kingdoms of Fire and Wind were fighting to the death on the front lines, suffering heavy losses, and then Kumogakure came to steal the spoils. Anyone would be furious in that situation.

Therefore, Sunagakure no longer cared about Konoha on the front lines. Their immediate priority was to deal with Kumogakure, who were inside the village. Kumogakure was currently the greatest threat to Sunagakure, having both humiliated Sunagakure and shaken its position in the Land of Wind. As for Konoha, they truly looked down on Sunagakure's meager resources.

After this back and forth, another two days passed, and the news that Sunagakure had been attacked by Kumogakure finally spread.

The first to receive the news were naturally the Konoha front lines. Although Taichi had left, Minato was still there. Since there had been virtually no fighting on the front lines during this period, he was asked to go to the Land of Wind to gather intelligence.

Minato was not fooled by the fact that Sunagakure was carrying out such a large-scale operation within the country. In just one day, he found out everything, and the front-line camp also received specific intelligence.

Immediately, voices urging to fight poured in to Jiraiya, but he had received clear orders from the village to remain still.

It now seems that the village had anticipated that Kumogakure would attack the Land of Wind, otherwise they wouldn't have told him not to attack so early on, their purpose being to observe the battle between Sunagakure and Kumogakure.

As Konoha received this news, Iwagakure followed suit, learning of this information that was neither good nor bad for them.

Land of Earth, Tsuchikage Building.

A crisp sound of a cup shattering rang out, followed by the Third Tsuchikage's roar: "What is Kumogakure trying to do? Is that Third Raikage all brawn and no brain? Attacking Sunagakure at this time, just for that little bit of mineral deposit? Is he out of his mind?!"

A series of angry curses kept pouring out of Tsuchikage's mouth. Poor Huangtu, who was standing opposite him, was sprayed with his father's spittle all over his head and face. But he couldn't dodge and could only obediently endure it. Otherwise, he would suffer more than just spittle. He might even get a loving iron fist.

After venting his anger, the Earth Shadow finally let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the motionless, sturdy figure in front of him and felt another headache coming on, but he still patiently asked, "What do you think about this?"

Huang Tu was taken aback, not expecting his father to consult him. He scratched his head and took the opportunity to wipe the drool off his face with his sleeve, which made Tu Ying's forehead veins throb again.

"Kumakuna wants to take advantage of Sunagakure's weakness to seize the benefits first. Judging from their posture, they probably sent people there a month ago. They probably want to take advantage of Sunagakure's war with Konoha, leaving the Land of Wind vulnerable, and Sunagakure might not be able to spare the strength to deal with them. They're thinking of making a quick buck and leaving."

"I'm afraid even the Third Raikage didn't expect that Sunagakure would be defeated so quickly, and that Konoha would just sit back and watch the fight. This put the Cloud Village's raiding force in danger. I guess the Cloud Village's raiding force will be thinking about how to escape the Land of Wind next."

The Tsuchikage looked at his son. Although he wasn't particularly clever, he wasn't too stupid either. "You've come up with this idea, so you do have some brains, but you're thinking too simply."

The earthen shadow slowly floated up, crossed the yellow earth, and came to the window, looking out at the entire Hidden Stone Village.

"Although the Third Raikage is a bit reckless, he is someone who dares to take risks. Do you believe that he might have planted a Jinchuriki among this group of Cloud Village ninjas?"

"No way, he dares to send a Jinchuriki on such a mission? Isn't he afraid of being killed or captured alive by the Sand Village?" Huang Tu was filled with disbelief. This was no ordinary Jonin. If the Jinchuriki died, whether the Tailed Beast could be found again was unknown.

"So he's a gambler. Since he sent people to attack Sunagakure, he must have wanted to make a big profit and solve their long-standing needs for rare mineral resources all at once." The Tsuchikage said calmly, as if he were standing behind the Third Raikage and had seen through all his plans.

"Then—Father, no, Tsuchikage-sama, is there anything we need to do?" Huangtu asked uncertainly, as if he had a premonition of something.

"He wants to make a big profit, how can I let him have his way? In recent years, Yunyin's ambition has grown bigger and bigger, and the provocations against us on the border have never stopped. If we let them get this batch of supplies smoothly, wouldn't we be even more passive?"

The Earth Shadow suddenly turned around and looked at Huang Tu. "Since he loves to cause trouble so much, then we'll play along with him. Issue the order to convene a high-level meeting to discuss the attack on Kumogakure."

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage." Huang Tu immediately accepted the order and went out to summon all the high-ranking officials in the village.

Although it was called a meeting to discuss the matter, it was really just the Tsuchikage making a statement. The meeting smoothly passed the proposal to wage war against Kumogakure.

During this period, Iwagakure was so eager to fight that they wanted to provoke Konoha, Sunagakure, and their old rival Kumogakure. They also had the strength to do so, since Iwagakure had the largest number of ninjas among the five great ninja villages.

Supporting so many ninjas would be a significant burden for any village, so expanding outwards, or rather, seizing missions from other villages, is an urgent need. And what could be faster than winning a war to acquire these resources?

On the same day, a force of 2000 people was assembled and marched in a grand procession toward the border between the Lightning and Earth Kingdoms. At the same time, a declaration of war was issued to the ninja world, announcing that Iwagakure was declaring war on Kumogakure.

Like a stone thrown into a still pond, Iwagakure's actions stirred up a thousand waves, making the already turbulent ninja world even more turbulent. Iwagakure's behavior was truly unexpected by most people, and no one expected that Iwagakure would start a war with Kumogakure at this time.

However, the news of the start of the war made Sunagakure extremely happy. Regardless of Iwagakure's motives for doing this, their actions have indeed helped to alleviate a considerable burden on Sunagakure.

The very next day, Sunagakure received news that Iwagakure had declared war on Kumogakure. Sunagakure also announced that it was going to war on Kumogakure. They didn't even need to find a reason, as Kumogakure's sneak attack ninjas were still rampaging through the Land of Wind.

Ignoring the turmoil in the ninja world, the Konoha leadership was filled with joy.

In the Hokage's office, the usual somber atmosphere had changed. Even the ninjas who occasionally came to report on missions could see that the Hokage was smiling much more often lately.

As for the reason, everyone knows it. The great victory on the southern front, coupled with the fact that Sunagakure and Kumogakure are fighting each other, and Iwagakure and Kumogakure are also fighting each other, has greatly improved Konoha's situation. The situation of being attacked by multiple ninja villages at the same time has been alleviated, which has made all the high-ranking officials of Konoha breathe a sigh of relief.

At this moment, only Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado were in the office. Danzo Shimura, who had been there all along, had led the Root Clan to the western battlefield two days earlier.

This is one of the reasons why Hiruzen Sarutobi has been smiling more lately. Danzo's growing power in the village is also a source of pressure for Hiruzen Sarutobi. This time, taking advantage of Root's large-scale operation, he was able to investigate Root's strengths and weaknesses, which made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel much more relaxed.

"Hiruzen, now that Sunagakure and Iwagakure have declared war on Kumogakure, these two ninja villages are fighting us at the same time. Should we do something?" Mitokado En suggested to the Hokage with a sinister look, not forgetting to make a downward slashing gesture, indicating that we could cause some trouble.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Homura Mitokado with amusement. It seemed that he had been annoyed by these two ninja villages recently, otherwise he would not have said such unwise words. Sunagakure and Iwagakure had indeed declared war on Konoha, but Kumogakure was no better. On the northern front, the Kumogakure and Orochimaru were fighting a fierce battle.

"Ignore them for now. This is the best situation. Let them fight like dogs. The more fiercely they fight, the better it is for Konoha's interests. We'll clean up the mess after they've fought enough."

"Yes, our war with Sunagakure is currently at a standstill. Iwagakure originally only declared war on us, but now they have also declared war on Kumogakure. This will inevitably distract them, which will make things much easier for Danzo."

From this perspective, this period is arguably the most relaxed since the start of the war. We should take this opportunity to prepare more abundant war supplies. The subsequent battles are far from over, so the more supplies we have, the better.

Koharu Tsurugi has been busy raising money lately, knowing how quickly it disappears. Even though the daimyo has just allocated 200 million taels for war expenses, after several major battles, this money is just a drop in the bucket and will be gone in the blink of an eye. Therefore, she is particularly concerned about this free period.

Mitokado Homura realized that his suggestion was somewhat presumptuous and did not take into account the current situation of Konoha in a big picture, so he suppressed his anxiety and continued to talk about the next thing.

"The ninjas on rotation from the southern front, along with the seriously wounded, will arrive in Konoha this afternoon. How will the village welcome them?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled upon hearing this. These were all heroes of the village, returning victorious, and the village naturally had to bestow upon them the corresponding glory.

"These are the first frontline ninjas to return since the start of the war, and they've even won a victory. Organize the villagers to welcome them along the streets, make the scene lively, and let the heroes know that their sacrifices were worthwhile."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke from the bottom of his heart, believing that these ninjas were Konoha's most precious treasure.

"Yan, Koharu, before they enter the village, you two come with me to greet them. We need to make these returning ninjas understand that the village values ​​them highly."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged glances, clearly not expecting Sarutobi Hiruzen to take this welcoming ceremony so seriously.

After all, this was only a partial victory, not a complete rout of an entire ninja village. But they couldn't really voice any objections. Welcoming the hero back was politically correct everywhere, especially since it was just an honor.

The two nodded in agreement. It wasn't difficult for them; it wasn't the first time they'd made such an arrangement, and they were quite adept at it.

Soon, the Konoha government released the news, and with the help of those who wanted to spread it, the news quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Konoha.

The Konoha ninjas on the southern front, led by Jiraiya, severely damaged Sunagakure, giving Konoha a significant advantage.

This afternoon, some of the ninjas and wounded soldiers from the front lines will return to the village in triumph. Everyone went to the village gate to welcome our heroes.

The villagers were quickly stirred by the news. The ninja world was no longer what it was at the beginning of the story, when people had television and movies to entertain themselves. Nowadays, people lacked entertainment, so their enthusiasm for this sudden news was quite high.

More importantly, this is the first time the village has officially released information about the battle situation at the front, and this news is closely related to them. Only if the war on the front is won can their peaceful and stable life continue for a long time.

"Do you know when the heroes will return? I'm going to greet them!"

"Didn't they say it would be this afternoon? The village will definitely notify us then. We'll just wait for the news."

"I wonder if there are any handsome young men among them. I'd like to marry my daughter to one of them."

"That's a ninja master! Why would he want your daughter?"

Discussions filled the air in Konoha as the villagers were filled with curiosity and enthusiasm for the returning hero.

Time quickly came to 2 p.m. A group led by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with two Hokage following behind and many Jonin close behind, started walking from the Hokage Building toward the gates of Konoha.

The news of the Hokage's movements quickly spread among those who had discovered it, and everyone immediately knew that this was the return of a hero, with the Hokage leading a group of people to welcome him.

The news spread like wildfire, and soon more and more people gathered at the back of the procession, following it toward the gates of Konoha. They wanted to be among the first to see the heroes returning from the front lines.

As the massive procession slowly approached the gates of Konoha, not long afterward, a long line appeared in everyone's sight at the far end.

Immediately, cheers erupted from the crowd: "They're here! They're here! The heroes of Konoha are here!"

As the crowd drew closer, their specific appearance came into view.

There was nothing gleaming or dazzling about them; on the contrary, they looked rather travel-worn, and many seriously injured ninjas were lying on the carts, being carefully looked after by others.

But all of this cannot overshadow the team's heartfelt joy and deep pride.

That's right, it's pride. They defeated Sunagakure and severely damaged its main force with minimal losses, laying the foundation for victory in the war. This alone makes them proud.

More importantly, they fought for their families and for Konoha. This glory was earned with their lives, and they rightfully deserve to enjoy it.

All the Konoha ninjas returning from the front lines held their heads high, even the wounded. As long as they could walk, they did their best to maintain their proud image with the help of their comrades, as they faced the scrutiny from the Hokage, the higher-ups, and the villagers.

From the crowd, someone shouted "Victory!"

Immediately afterwards, shouts of "May you win!" spread from this center.

Until all the villagers at the gate simultaneously shouted "Victory!" to the returning hero.

"Victory!"

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