Kapitel 73: Chapter 73: Turmoil After the Battle
In the Tsuchikage's office, Iwagakure.
Onoki squinted at the intel report his team had submitted, his aged face creased with tension. A flicker of fear appeared in his eyes as memories surfaced—memories he would never forget.
He could still recall the time he accompanied his mentor, the Second Tsuchikage, to negotiate in Konoha. That was when he first encountered Madara Uchiha. The man's power was overwhelming, paralyzing Onoki with a mere glance, freezing him to the spot with fear. That image of Madara had long since embedded itself as a demon in Onoki's heart.
"Madara Uchiha… Rinnegan… Konoha… heh," he muttered under his breath, a smirk breaking through despite the lingering terror.
Nearby, Kitsuchi, his son, looked at him, bewildered. Just moments ago, Onoki had been visibly shaken, yet now he was laughing? Onoki cast his foolish son a sidelong glance, uninterested in explaining himself.
Madara Uchiha had reappeared, and the Fourth Hokage and his wife had fallen because of it. Surely Sarutobi Hiruzen was far more troubled by these events than he was. As a Konoha shinobi, Sarutobi would understand Madara's strength better than anyone. So why should Onoki, Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, be the one trembling in fear?
A gleam of satisfaction crossed his face. The attack on Konoha involved not only Madara but also another formidable ninja with the Rinnegan. And both of them—Konoha's enemies.
Onoki's smile widened as he looked at the ever-confused Kitsuchi. Though his son had some talent, he was far too dim-witted to take on the mantle of Tsuchikage.
"Is Orochimaru still in charge of guarding Konoha's border?" Onoki asked.
"Yes, Father. According to our information, he's stationed along the borders of the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls," Kitsuchi replied respectfully.
Onoki stroked his chin, pondering for a moment. "Good. Let's send our agents to infiltrate those areas. I'd love to see Sarutobi Hiruzen scrambling to keep control," he said with a sinister chuckle.
"Understood, Father," Kitsuchi replied, preparing to leave.
"Hold on," Onoki interrupted. "And tell the intel department to hurry up with gathering information on this so-called Nagato."
So far, the hidden villages had little concrete information on the Rinnegan, only that its wielder was known as Nagato.
"The Rinnegan, the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths… and now they've surfaced again in this era. Could we see the rise of someone as powerful as Hashirama Senju?" Onoki frowned. "If that's true, Iwagakure needs to be ready. Maybe I'll even witness the end of the Great Nations…"
...
In the Raikage's office, Kumogakure.
"What did you just say? Minato Namikaze is dead?"
The Raikage, a mountain of a man, roared in disbelief, staring down at his blonde-haired secretary as she delivered the report.
The secretary sighed and repeated, "Raikage-sama, according to intel, the Fourth Hokage and his wife were both killed last night."
"Impossible. Who could've taken him down?" Raikage A shook his head, extending his hand. "Give me that report. I need to see who was capable of such a thing."
"Madara Uchiha? Are they kidding me?" Raikage A read the report, doubting his own eyes.
"Are you sure this isn't a mistake?" he asked, giving his secretary a hard look.
The secretary gave a bitter smile. "Raikage-sama, I double-checked. There's no way this information is incorrect."
"So, a dead man really did come back to life…" he muttered, continuing to read the report.
His eyes narrowed. "The Rinnegan? Even something like that's come into play now?"
He had to admit, in light of this, Minato's fall seemed almost understandable. With someone wielding the Rinnegan, even Konoha's 'Yellow Flash' wasn't invincible.
"Madara Uchiha and the Rinnegan… if they're real, then maybe the old tales about the Sage of Six Paths are true too. And the stories of Kinkaku and Ginkaku having the Sage's bloodline…" Raikage A frowned thoughtfully.
After a pause, he looked at his secretary and said, "Send out the orders. I want the intel department to dig up every scrap of information on this Nagato."
"Madara reappearing, and now the Rinnegan… something big is brewing in the ninja world," Raikage A thought to himself, his gaze intense.
"If Minato is gone, maybe it's time to rethink my training approach for the Chakra Mode…"
...
Elsewhere, in the Mizukage's office in Kirigakure.
Loud laughter echoed throughout the Mizukage's building, audible even from the street below. The Third Mizukage was laughing as if he'd never known joy before.
When it came to Konoha, the Mizukage held nothing but hatred. Out of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, six had fallen at Konoha's hands. Both the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails had been lost to Konoha's influence. And just when he'd come close to securing the Byakugan, his team had been wiped out in the final stretch.
There was a blood feud between Kirigakure and Konoha.
Now, hearing of Konoha's misfortune, the Third Mizukage was overjoyed beyond measure.
"Dead! They're finally dead! Hahaha…" His laughter echoed, drawing curious looks from shinobi on the streets below.
Elsewhere in the village, Fuguki looked over at Yagura, who was barely the size of a child, and asked, "Yagura, do you know what's got the Mizukage so happy?"
As one of the high-ranking shinobi in Kirigakure, Yagura had his own sources and knew the news from Konoha.
But instead of explaining, he simply shrugged. "No idea. But if the Mizukage is laughing this much, it must be good news. We'll all know soon enough."
"Pffft." Fuguki grunted, giving Yagura an irritated look, before hefting his Samehada and disappearing into the mist.
Watching him go, Yagura's face remained expressionless, but a cold smile crept onto his lips as he muttered,
"Soon… soon I'll end this era of bloodshed and bring true order to this village."
...
In Sunagakure, the Kazekage's office.
Rasa reviewed the intelligence he'd received with a broad grin.
During the Third Shinobi World War, Sunagakure had suffered a crushing defeat, even losing out on missions and resources to Konoha. Seeing Konoha in such turmoil now was, to him, deeply satisfying.
"It's about time. Too bad it's just the Fourth Hokage and his wife—hardly enough to truly cripple Konoha…" Rasa murmured to himself, grinning as he considered the implications.
With Konoha in chaos following the Nine-Tails attack, tensions rippled through the ninja world, and confrontations among the Great Nations began to flare once more.
Three days later, Sarutobi Hiruzen, having stepped down from the role before, returned as Hokage.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Read more than +70 chapters and support me on Patreon
Patreon(.)com/Jixo
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein