socalfunplaces Chapter 165 The Leaky Hidden Leaf Village
Chapter 165 The Leaky Hidden Leaf Village
Chapter 165 The Leaky Hidden Leaf Village
Although Shiba Kiyokawa, Konan, and Nagato all despised the Hidden Cloud Village's past condescending behavior, Shiba Kiyokawa would still mercifully answer their questions now that they had come to ask so sincerely.
"The alliance is negotiable, but I think Cloud Village should also show some sincerity."
If there are benefits, then Shiba Kiyokawa can turn the page on those past events.
After all, the Land of Rain and the Land of Lightning are not adjacent, are far apart, and have no direct conflict, so there is a sufficient basis for cooperation. Therefore, there is no need to refuse to unite just because of a momentary grudge.
Moreover, perhaps due to the convergence of timelines, or perhaps because Konoha is indeed blessed with a bit of destiny, the situation in Konoha is gradually improving, thanks to Minato Namikaze's efforts to revive the village.
Shiba Kiyokawa also needs more methods to help him create space and time.
The Akatsuki organization has now completely opened up the route from the border of the Land of Rain all the way to the mountainous area where the Kannabi Bridge is located.
With each additional day, his preparations became more thorough.
However, a week later, an unexpected turn of events occurred, and news that was even more favorable to Konoha arrived—
On the southern battlefield, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were ultimately unable to stay together to watch the next New Year's fireworks.
Might Guy, a perennial genin of Konoha, unleashed his full power, opening the Eight Gates and shattering the pride of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen with a single kick.
That kick shattered our legendary dream — by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Thus, the Mist Shadow's offensive came to an abrupt halt, forcing them to shift from strategic offense to strategic defense, and the vigorous amphibious landing operation fell into an embarrassing stalemate.
Konoha breathed a sigh of relief as a result.
Jiraiya, who was in charge of the southern war zone, once requested to go to the north to provide support, but was dissuaded.
Even so, Konoha also dispatched some ninjas from the south to the north to provide support, further relieving the pressure on Minato Namikaze!
The entire situation of the Ninja World War was interconnected, and because of the incompetence of Kirigakure in the south, Shiba Kiyokawa, who was in the north, ended up feeling even greater pressure.
This left Shiba Kiyokawa speechless for a time.
"It's only been a little over a month, and Minato Namikaze has actually managed to turn the situation around. This is truly... a cruel twist of fate."
Shiba Kiyokawa could only sigh silently, lamenting that Konoha's fortunes had not yet faded.
Fortunately, he wasn't completely idle during this past month or so.
The new recruits have seamlessly integrated into the original six battalions, while the mountain defenses near Kannabi Bridge have begun to be fully taken over by the Akatsuki organization.
He even summoned Hiruko, and every day they carefully observed the location and structure of the Kannabi Bridge on the mountaintop, pondering a plan that no one else knew about.
At the same time, Shiba Kiyokawa did not dare to slack off in external reconnaissance and intelligence gathering!
He was keeping a close eye on Konoha's next move.
Fortunately, Minato Namikaze doesn't have many options at the moment. In order to quickly end the war in the north, he ultimately set his sights on the Kannabi Bridge in the Land of Grass!
Minato Namikaze wasn't unaware of the Akatsuki's movements, but he had no better option.
The pressure from multiple fronts in Konoha ultimately prevented him from directly breaking through the pack of wolves surrounding him; cutting off supply lines was the most cost-effective option in the short term.
So even though he suspected that the Akatsuki might get involved, he still had no choice but to do it.
Konoha then pushed its battle lines forward and re-established forward bases within the Land of Grass.
Then, Minato Namikaze slowly moved his troops toward the mountains, preparing for his long-awaited, deadly attack!
For a time, fate seemed to have come full circle, returning to its original trajectory.
What's meant to happen will happen eventually!
Just before the crucial final battle, one day, Shiba Kiyokawa unexpectedly heard about a little incident.
"You said you met Uchiha Shisui in the land of cats?"
That day, as he listened to Xiao Nan's story, he was momentarily stunned.
Since defeating Hanzo the Salamander, he hadn't personally visited the Cat Country for a long time.
Later, Konan also formed a contract with a ninja cat. Occasionally, when there was a real need to go to the cat village to make a trade, he would ask Konan to help him.
The purpose of doing this is to avoid encountering Uchiha Shisui again.
He had heard the intelligence beforehand: Uchiha Shisui had successfully awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, so the risk of continuing to deceive Shisui would greatly increase, while the potential gains would decrease.
So he simply and decisively used the "death escape" ruse, acting like a scumbag who started something and then abandoned it.
But now, by a twist of fate, Konan has re-established contact with Uchiha Shisui.
However, Shiba Kiyokawa's first concern was for Minami.
"Are you alright, Nana-nee? Did he use genjutsu on you? Do you have any special feelings towards Konoha Village and the Uchiha clan now? Or do you feel like there's something wrong with you?"
He hadn't forgotten: in the original story, Shisui's kaleidoscope was the super illusion Kotoamatsukami, capable of distorting a person's will!
Fortunately, after a moment of bewildered surprise, Xiao Nan chuckled and said, "Don't worry, he meant me no harm. He didn't even activate his Sharingan the whole time, and after hearing that I was from the Akatsuki organization, he kindly helped me a lot."
"yes……"
"Yes, he was just reminiscing about an old friend during our conversation, a Rain Ninja named Aizen Sousuke. I wonder if the Kiyokawa Chief remembers this powerful Rain Ninja?"
When Xiao Nan said this, her tone couldn't help but playfully rise slightly, and she deliberately emphasized the word "Rain Ninja".
Shiba Kiyokaze immediately understood: Konan-nee had already guessed that this was his doing.
So instead of answering, he asked, "And what was your answer to him?"
Konan laughed and said, "Of course I told him: We have no record of this Rain Ninja's death, nor have we taken in such a powerful ninja."
However, I also told him that after the war, many Rain Ninja who followed Hanzo the Rain Ninja did not leave or join Akatsuki. They simply chose to stay in the Land of Rain and live in anonymity. Our Akatsuki organization never tried to exterminate these people; on the contrary, we welcomed them to stay and continue building the Land of Rain.
Shiba Kiyokawa smiled upon hearing this.
He immediately understood: Konan must have guessed who was behind Aizen's disguise back then. By telling Uchiha Shisui this, she was clearly implying that Aizen was still in the Land of Rain, leaving a glimmer of hope to keep Shisui hanging.
"You've become bad too, Sister Xiaonan."
Konan blinked her big, watery eyes twice, feigning innocence, and said, "Have I told a single lie? Besides, isn't this all thanks to the teachings of a certain great leader? Don't you think so, Uchiha's mentor: Aizen-kun?"
Shiba Kiyokawa could only look away from her gaze, coughing twice to cover his embarrassment.
Then Shiba Kiyokawa asked, "Did Shisui say anything else?"
"He asked me, of course, to help him find Aizen Sousuke. He kept saying he really, really wanted to see that old friend again, and I agreed. So, what are the next instructions, Chief Kiyokawa?"
The unexpected incident also gave Shiba Kiyokawa a moment to think.
While pondering this, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself: How come it always seems like he can find Konoha's "traitor" from some strange angle and in some ingenious way before he's about to have a decisive battle with Konoha?
He should marvel at the wonder of fate;
Or should we admire how Konoha is like a sieve, riddled with holes and leaking air everywhere?
(End of this chapter)