Naruto: Becomes a Rebel Ninja After Annihilating the Hyuga Clan

Retreating was only natural.

Jiraiya had taken most of Konoha’s combat strength, and Tsunade had taken a small portion of the mid- and high-level forces. If Kumo attacked now, Konoha’s limited defenses would be as fragile as paper.

Even so, on the western front, Jiraiya was still not gaining the upper hand against Iwagakure. Even with the additional support from other Konoha clans, who contributed funds and effort to hire many mercenaries, they were barely holding a stalemate. And this was with Iwagakure not launching a full-scale assault.

Iwagakure, although the first to raise the banner against Konoha, was cunning. They made a grand display of their forces but fought conservatively on the battlefield in the Land of Rain.

This was because, despite Konoha losing the Uchiha and Hyuga clans’ top-tier combat power, it still retained considerable strength. Iwagakure wasn’t foolish; they merely aimed to tie down Konoha, creating opportunities for other villages to invade, without intending to go all-out and perish with Konoha.

Many villages resented Konoha. With other villages still observing, Iwagakure’s role was to act as a catalyst, encouraging them to join the fray against Konoha.

“The key is, how many should we withdraw? If Jiraiya retreats from the Land of Rain, Iwagakure will surely realize that other villages are pressuring Konoha and will pursue relentlessly,” Koharu Utatane interjected.

“I suggest leaving Jiraiya and a few elite ninjas on the Iwagakure front to create the illusion that Konoha’s main forces are still there, while having Shibi Aburame and others lead the main forces back to the village to defend against Kumo’s invasion with us,” proposed Inuzuka Kou, a representative of the Inuzuka clan in Konoha.

“No!”

Both Koharu and Homura Mitokado sternly rejected the proposal simultaneously.

Inuzuka Kou’s face turned pale and purple, filled with frustration, as he was opposed by Konoha’s two senior advisors. Many present exchanged helpless glances, acknowledging the high feasibility of the proposal, yet Koharu and Homura saw it as an attempt by the Inuzuka clan to seize power.

After all, the prolonged stalemate in the Land of Rain, mixed under Jiraiya’s command, offered little merit. Even if they successfully repelled Iwagakure, would that be more meritorious than defending Konoha against Kumo before the eyes of nearly ten thousand Konoha villagers and colleagues?

Moreover, having Jiraiya with only a few hundred remnants bluffing on the western front, if exposed, what future would he have as the Hokage candidate pushed by Sarutobi?

To think maliciously, in the fierce competition for the Hokage position, who could guarantee that no one would leak information to Iwagakure to eliminate Jiraiya?

Of course, such divisive thoughts couldn’t be voiced directly.

Homura looked at Inuzuka Kou and shook his head:
“If Tsunade’s information is accurate, Kumo’s sneak attack on Konoha won’t be minor. They must be coming with the determination to destroy Konoha in one blow, possibly led by the Fourth Raikage A himself. I don’t doubt Shibi’s comprehensive capabilities; he has made significant contributions in the battle against Iwagakure. But facing such an opponent, what role can he play if he returns?”

Koharu bluntly added:
“I know your Inuzuka clan and the Aburame clan have a collaboration, but you better put aside your schemes. Bringing Shibi back isn’t helping him; it’s harming him. Can he stop the Raikage? No, he can’t!”

Hearing them demean their clan leader, Aburame Shikuro, an elder of the Aburame clan, couldn’t help but speak up:
“Shibi does have abilities…”

“Can he stop Kumo? If not, why bring him back?!”

“Then should Jiraiya come back?” Inuzuka Kou slammed the table, standing up.

Many in Konoha disapproved of Sarutobi, and even more disapproved of Koharu and Homura. But only the Inuzuka clan, heavily affected by Neiki’s bombing, dared to express their anger and dissatisfaction so openly.

Especially Inuzuka Kou, a young, strong Jonin who witnessed the decline of the Inuzuka clan due to Neiki and the Nara clan’s manipulations, harbored strong resentment towards Konoha. He was left in Konoha as the clan’s representative, likely due to his defiant nature.

Being refuted so directly, Koharu’s face darkened with anger.

Attending a meeting with such an impudent young man was infuriating.

“Jiraiya is still stronger than Shibi Aburame!” Homura retorted angrily.

“Can Jiraiya stop Kumo? He can’t even defeat Iwagakure!” Inuzuka Kou shouted.

Konoha’s top brass, used to resolving issues discreetly, had never seen such open confrontation. Inuzuka Kou was exploiting his “youthful fervor,” and the surrounding ninjas, including Aburame Shikuro, urged him to calm down and speak more rationally.

In the midst of the chaos, an Anbu member whispered something into Hiruzen Sarutobi’s ear and handed him a report. Hiruzen read it, his eyes flickering with thought.

Meanwhile, representing the Shimura clan, Danzo Shimura sat with his eyes closed, deep in thought.

The scene was chaotic, but the situation was clear.

After Hiruzen ceded the next Hokage selection to the village, the Inuzuka clan allied with the Aburame clan, who also suffered greatly from Neiki’s bombing, to push for Shibi Aburame as the next Hokage candidate.

This was why Inuzuka Kou fervently supported Shibi.

If Shibi achieved enough merit to ascend to the Hokage position, he could implement policies favoring both clans.

But Koharu and Homura were opposed. Sarutobi’s decision weakened their power, and while they couldn’t oppose him, they were reluctant to let the clans push their candidate. Jiraiya was their top choice for Hokage.

Thus, the debate was a power struggle between Konoha’s old guard led by Hiruzen Sarutobi and the new forces led by the clan heads.

Koharu squinted and said:
“The stalemate in the Land of Rain is due to you clans fighting independently. You bear the primary responsibility!”

This statement caused all clan representatives’ faces to change.

“Lady Koharu, did Lord Jiraiya tell you this?” Yamanaka Inoichi, a Jonin and first-time high-level meeting attendee, asked seriously.

“Inoichi!” Shikaku Nara quickly admonished.

### Chapter 94: Turning Point

Yamanaka Mitsuyo snorted coldly. Clan Head Inoichi had instructed him to follow Shikaku’s command, so now that Shikaku had spoken, Mitsuyo had nothing more to say. However, he remained deeply dissatisfied with Koharu Utatane’s attempt to shift responsibility.

In the Land of Rain, although Jiraiya was nominally in command, he could only issue orders to the official Konoha forces he had brought with him. The other ninja clan forces and the mercenaries they had recruited were not obliged to follow Jiraiya’s orders. He could only suggest actions to them, not command them. Otherwise, if everyone followed him, how could there be any competition for the Hokage position?

Therefore, even though Jiraiya commanded Konoha’s main forces, the Hokage candidate pushed by the Aburame and Inuzuka clans, Shikuro Aburame, and the candidate proposed by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Yamanaka Inoichi, were all leading their respective clans and mercenary groups on three separate fronts.

This situation had its advantages: high mobility and battlefield activity, with each ninja fighting for their clan and interests. The competition for merit among the three sides also enhanced their combat enthusiasm.

The downside was poor coordination and high difficulty in cooperation.

Fortunately, ninja wars didn’t typically involve large-scale battles. Small, elite units skirmishing, pursuing, surrounding, and counter-surrounding in various locations, often losing sight of each other, was the norm in ninja warfare.

Koharu snorted but did not respond, and the conference room once again fell into a state of varied thoughts.

“Is everyone finished?”

Seeing the room finally quiet down, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe and placed the report the Anbu had just delivered onto the central table.

“This is the latest battle report from the Land of Rain. Take a look.”

Would reading it make any difference? It was likely just more stalemate news… Homura Mitokado wondered, but he was the first to grab the report. As he flipped through a few pages, his eyes widened.

“Excellent!”

“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!”

Homura repeated “excellent” three times. For someone as picky as him to show such an expression, could there be a turning point in the Land of Rain?

“Just two hours ago, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki from Iwagakure, Han, who had previously caused us significant trouble, was captured by our forces,” Hiruzen explained with a smile.

Danzo Shimura slowly opened his eyes, a trace of surprise flashing across his face.

Everyone else was delighted.

“Great, that’s really great!”

“Can we use him to force Iwagakure to withdraw?” suggested Yamanaka Mitsuyo.

Choza Akimichi shook his head:
“Han is said to have a poor relationship with the Third Tsuchikage, even clashing at times. It’s strange enough that he came to the Land of Rain to help Iwagakure fight. Using him to force Iwagakure to retreat might be difficult.”

“I see. But… this is still a rare victory on the western front.” Yamanaka Mitsuyo sighed.

“Who captured Han? They must be credited significantly,” Homura couldn’t help but ask, as the report did not detail how Han was captured.

Koharu glanced at Inuzuka Kou and sneered:
“Hmph, who else? Shibi Aburame and Inoichi aren’t suited for battle, and those mercenaries are just a bunch of slackers. It must have been Jiraiya or one of his Jonin underlings!”

“Wrong, Koharu. Not all mercenaries are as useless as you think. This time, Han was captured by a mercenary group under Jiraiya’s command, called ‘Akatsuki.’ The leader of this group seems to be a former student of Jiraiya,” Hiruzen corrected with a smile.

Koharu and Homura were stunned, then even more pleased. The achievements of the mercenary group would be directly credited to Jiraiya, who had hired them. With such merits, as long as they could repel Kumo’s invasion, the position of the Fifth Hokage would surely go to Jiraiya!

Yamanaka Mitsuyo, who had been happy earlier, now showed a bitter smile. He glanced at Shikaku Nara beside him. Unfortunately, Shikaku was a smart man who had hedged his bets, providing only token support to Clan Head Inoichi. Otherwise, the Yamanaka clan might have had a chance…

Inuzuka Kou’s expression darkened, both out of jealousy for Jiraiya’s good fortune in hiring such a powerful mercenary group and in reaction to Koharu’s earlier mockery.

“Students? Are they Konoha ninjas?” Shikaku Nara asked, picking up on Hiruzen’s mention.

“No, they were orphans from the Land of Rain.”

“That’s a pity…” Homura sighed. Konoha desperately needed such powerful forces capable of capturing a seasoned Jinchuriki.

“It’s not a pity. Hiring mercenaries is just a matter of money. The supplies recently supported by the Fire Daimyo have arrived. If they are so capable, it is entirely feasible to hire them to guard against Kumo’s invasion,” Hiruzen said cheerfully. With the situation in Iwagakure changing, Konoha’s tense situation had immediately eased.

“Currently, Jiraiya is requesting to press on and defeat Iwagakure before returning to Konoha,” Homura read out the last part of the report and turned to Hiruzen. “They still don’t know about Kumo’s impending attack.”

“It’s too late.” Shikaku shook his head.

“Yes, Kumo could attack at any moment. I suggest informing Jiraiya to retreat appropriately and hurry back to Konoha. At a critical moment, we can use the Tailed Beast within Han as a bargaining chip to force Iwagakure to retreat,” Koharu said coldly.

Using “the Tailed Beast within Han” as a bargaining chip meant releasing the Tailed Beast at a crucial time and place, forcing Iwagakure to retreat. During the Third Shinobi World War, Kirigakure had attempted a similar tactic by placing the Three-Tails in Rin Nohara and sending her back to Konoha to release the Tailed Beast and create chaos. Though Kakashi had stopped it, the high-level officials of Konoha clearly remembered this tactic and had made corresponding plans and preparations.

It had a very high success rate.

Hiruzen nodded in agreement.

After the rebellion of Neiki and the Uchiha, to cope with the looming crisis in Konoha, they had broken many of their long-held principles, formulated numerous plans and arrangements that might violate ethical standards, and even resumed research and experimentation on many forbidden jutsus, overlooking the clan’s employment of Konoha rogue ninjas.

All of this was just to survive.

Not far away, Danzo sneered. Hiruzen looked at his old comrade, the former dark force of Konoha, and calmly asked:
“Do you have anything to say, Danzo?”

Danzo raised his eyelids slightly: “I don’t oppose your arrangement for the Jinchuriki, but I must remind you, have you asked if the Akatsuki organization agrees to hand over the Jinchuriki…”

“And relying on outsiders often results in poor outcomes.”

“That organization is dangerous. I don’t recommend excessive contact with them.”

“Do you have any information to share? Konoha is facing a crisis of destruction; we have no choice,” Homura said, frowning.

“There is a choice, many choices,” Danzo shook his head lightly. “Just take a step back, or two, or three, and you’ll see that we have plenty of options…”

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