Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 133 The Devastation of Konoha

Most of the families in Konoha Village are like duckweed swaying in the wind and rain, beginning to waver.

Since the founding of Konoha Village by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, these clans have gradually joined like rivers flowing into the sea, making Konoha Village a dazzling pearl, gathering many clans and becoming more prosperous.

In the past, whether under the leadership of the First Hokage or the Second Hokage, Konoha Village implemented policies as firm as iron, requiring all clans to regard Konoha Village as the supreme entity and to jointly protect the village, making it a warm home for all clans. This approach was like providing a huge protective umbrella for the children of Konoha Village, allowing them to thrive in a stable and safe environment.

Although the Second Hokage was relatively more inclined to support commoner ninjas, he acted like a scale, ensuring fairness and impartiality within Konoha, treating all clan ninjas equally without any bias. In external wars, the Senju clan, which had produced two Hokage, always charged into battle like fierce lions.

In the eyes of the First and Second Hokage, all the ninjas of Konoha were simply there to shelter the children from the wind and rain. There were no distinctions of clan; they were all ninjas of Konoha. The Will of Fire, passed down through generations, deeply influenced most of the clans in Konoha, who also strongly identified with the meaning of Konoha's existence, and all clans and commoners of Konoha fought for it.

Make Konoha the number one ninja village in the ninja world, and make the Land of Fire the number one powerful nation in the ninja world.

But what happened today has shaken these families' faith in Konoha's existence. These families may have their own schemes and calculations, but they are all sacrificing for Konoha.

The Sarutobi clan and those families who supported Hiruzen Sarutobi enjoyed the best resources in Konoha, but never thought of fighting for Konoha and winning.

Konoha is no longer the village it once was, and most of the clan leaders have come to terms with this reality. Their clans have suffered heavy losses on the front lines, to the point of crippling their existence, making their decline inevitable. However, they believed that as long as they could acquire Konoha's resources, they could eventually recover. But now it seems that Konoha's resources are not intended for these clans. It appears that Hiruzen Sarutobi and other Konoha leaders actually hope that their clans will continue to decline, turning Konoha into the private property of the current leadership.

These Konoha clans have now fully understood. Tsunade's departure, Orochimaru's disappearance, and even Sakumo Hatake's suicide all point to a change in Konoha. Previously, they lacked a proper understanding, viewing these events merely as power struggles where the losers bore the consequences of their failure. But Orochimaru has never shown any interest in becoming Hokage, so why has he stopped appearing in Konoha? Moreover, with the war progressing to this point, Orochimaru shows no intention of joining the fray; there must be more secrets behind it all.

These families are now starting to make their own plans, using various means to transmit orders and requirements to the front lines. The orders and requirements are very simple: self-preservation.

They were instructed not to engage in a decisive battle with the other ninja villages, but rather to obey orders and retreat from the front lines to their villages. As for the outcome of the war, that was no longer within the control of their families.

Since Konoha Village is neither able to protect its own clans nor provide them with the various resources they need, consolidating the clans' power to ensure their own safety is the top priority for these clans at present.

Upon receiving messages from their clans, many members of the Konoha forces at the front lines lost their will to fight, instantly turning the previously hopeful battle into a precarious situation. Some clans began to secretly plot, determined not to sit idly by and wait for their doom, but to take the initiative and fight for their rightful gains. At this critical moment, the situation in Konoha Village became increasingly tense, and even the once-rock-solid defensive line began to crack.

On the battlefield, the morale of Konoha's army plummeted, and they retreated repeatedly. Taking advantage of this weakness, the enemy launched a fierce attack, plunging Konoha into an unprecedented crisis.

Every battlefield was in a precarious state, and Konoha's defeat seemed inevitable.

Okay, here's the content with more rhetorical devices added:

However, on the front lines of the fierce battle against the Mist Ninja, the Uchiha clan stood like an impregnable Great Wall, largely unaffected. They marched the entire clan, giving their all, intending to achieve unparalleled glory on this bloody battlefield and secure a chance for the Uchiha clan to ascend to the Hokage position. The Uchiha clan, instead of viewing Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions as a divinely granted opportunity, saw it as a golden opportunity. After all, Hiruzen's dereliction of duty had severely weakened Konoha. If the Uchiha clan could win the battle against the Mist Ninja, they would undoubtedly gain unparalleled glory within Konoha, and ascending to the Hokage throne would be a piece of cake.

The Uchiha clan firmly believed that if they led Konoha, they could lead the village back to its former glory, just like the Senju clan had done in the past! The Uchiha warriors fought like tigers descending from the mountain, their Sharingan constantly evolving in battle, unleashing powerful ocular techniques. Clan leader Fugaku Uchiha spearheaded the charge, leading his people in a life-or-death struggle against the Kirigakure ninja.

Meanwhile, the ninjas from other clans, like frightened birds, retreated en masse. They had lost faith in Konoha and were only concerned with saving their own lives. The situation on the battlefield was dire, and Konoha's fate was hanging by a thread. Could the Uchiha clan turn the tide and save Konoha from this dire situation? What kind of turmoil would this war bring to Konoha?

The fierce battle between the Uchiha clan and the Kirigakure unfolded like a storm. The Uchiha were agile, their eyes sharp, and the Sharingan in their hands gleamed with a mysterious light.

During the battle, the Uchiha's Fire Release techniques clashed with the Kirigakure's Water Release techniques, creating a massive shockwave as fire and water intertwined. Flames and mist filled the air, making it feel like a chaotic world.

The Uchiha clan members are adept at using the power of the Sharingan, allowing them to see through their enemies' movements, anticipate their actions, and launch counterattacks. Meanwhile, the Kirigakure ninja, with their superior stealth and assassination skills, attempt to find opportunities amidst the chaos of battle.

The two sides traded blows, neither giving an inch. Every attack was a contest of strength and skill, every defense a test of endurance and will. The intensity of the battle escalated, with both the Uchiha clan and the Kirigakure ninja fighting with all their might, hoping to defeat the other.

During the battle, the Uchiha gradually discovered the Kirigakure's tactical characteristics and adopted corresponding countermeasures. They cooperated with each other, unleashing powerful ninjutsu, and for a time, the battlefield was filled with dazzling light and the shouts of battle echoed everywhere.

This fierce battle was not only a contest of strength, but also a battle of wits and courage. Both sides fought for their honor and beliefs, and who would emerge victorious became the focus of attention for all the ninja villages in the ninja world.

On other battlefields, the Konoha ninja were exhausted, their chances of victory slim, and they could only retreat step by step. Konoha desperately needed a decisive victory to boost morale and rekindle confidence, and the Uchiha clan's forces had undoubtedly become their last lifeline. The other ninja villages also knew that if the Uchiha clan's forces won against Kirigakure, they would rush to reinforce the other battlefields. At that point, given the Uchiha clan's formidable strength, whether they could defeat Konoha would become uncertain.

As expected of the number one clan in the ninja world, the Uchiha clan, after unleashing their full power, defeated the Hidden Mist Ninja, who, despite having an absolute advantage in the number of ninjas, were directly crushed by the Konoha ninja led by the Uchiha clan and could only retreat in disarray.

The Uchiha clan completely turned the tide of the battle. Kirigakure no longer had the strength to reorganize an attack, allowing the Konoha ninja to seize the initiative on this battlefield, and the Uchiha clan's reputation soared.

However, the Uchiha clan paid an unimaginable price to defeat the full-scale attack of Kirigakure. The majority of their elite ninjas suffered heavy losses, essentially crippling the Uchiha's foundation. Over 3% of their thousands of ninjas were lost, including three high-ranking members of the clan, and the clan head, Fugaku Uchiha, was severely wounded.

However, Konoha still won the battle and repelled Kirigakure. This was Konoha's first battlefield victory so far in the Third Shinobi World War, even though Konoha suffered heavy losses. It proved that Konoha was not a piece of cake that other ninja villages could easily swallow.

Upon receiving the news, Hiruzen Sarutobi's first reaction wasn't joy at Konoha's victory over Kirigakure, but rather concern that the Uchiha clan had gained immeasurable prestige, making it much harder to suppress them in the future. Without victories on other battlefields, the Hokage position would likely fall into the hands of the Uchiha clan.

"No, we must find a way to weaken the Uchiha clan's prestige. Fortunately, the villagers of Konoha haven't learned about the battlefield yet, so there's still a chance to salvage the situation."

With a grim expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to devise a new plan targeting the Uchiha clan.

News from other battlefields indicated that Konoha ninjas were constantly retreating, unable to resist the overwhelming offensive of other ninja villages. Moreover, Kumogakure was continuing to penetrate deeper into the Land of Fire. Although the Hiruzen Sarutobi clan and other supporter clans had been mobilized to stop them, Hiruzen Sarutobi lacked confidence in his ability to withstand the enemy's advance.

Therefore, it would be feasible to mobilize the Uchiha clan to other battlefields. Since the battle with the Mist Ninja is already in the stage of reaping the fruits of victory, it would be perfectly feasible to move Minato Namikaze there to receive the spoils of war, while we ourselves could shift the propaganda in the village towards Minato Namikaze.