NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 135: Chapter 28: The Reason
At the entrance of Konoha Village, when Uchiha Naori and her group rushed back to the village, everyone wore solemn expressions, sensing something unusual in the air.
As expected...
They stepped over the shattered gates, the faint wails carried by the breeze mingling with the pungent stench of blood that brushed against their cheeks—not the salt of the sea, but the iron of blood. The streets and buildings lay in ruins, the cracked earth riddled with deep craters, countless plumes of black smoke coiling into thick, lingering tendrils.
They exchanged stunned glances, their faces darkening—all except Uchiha Nian.
"We're too late!" Naori murmured, her voice thick with self-reproach.
"Damn it! Those lunatics actually attacked the village!" Tsunade spat, stomping her foot in fury, the ground denting beneath her heel.
In Hell Valley, after several people worked together to subdue the Blood Prison Clan's shop assistant, Naori immediately cast a genjutsu to extract all the information from the man through interrogation.
Just as Naori had suspected, the so-called "Hell Valley disappearance incident" was indeed a scheme by the current Uchiha clan head to restrain his competitors. Those missing Uchiha clansmen weren't truly lost—they had gone into hiding under his orders, all to lure her into a trap.
But something went wrong along the way.
Months earlier, this newly appointed Uchiha clan head, fearing his position might be usurped, had devised a vicious plan:
He had his trusted subordinate feign negotiations with the Blood Pond Clan of Hell Valley, promising to completely dismantle the barrier and grant them freedom if they eliminated the targets entering the valley.
But this was actually deception—regardless of whether the Blood Prison Clan fulfilled their part, he planned to permanently seal the barrier, never intending to release them.
In the final stage of the plan, he prepared to send several suicide operatives into the barrier to lure Naori and her group into the valley under the pretense of a rescue mission.
If Naori chose not to intervene, he could then invoke his authority as clan leader to condemn her for selfishness and cold-bloodedness, solidifying her reputation as someone who abandons allies. This would erode her standing within the clan until she became isolated and no longer posed a threat.
If Naori were to enter the barrier to rescue them, it would be even simpler.
The trusted subordinates lying in wait outside, masking their presence, would then activate a technique to seal the barrier, cutting off her retreat. Given the Blood Prison Clan's hatred for the Uchiha, Naori and the others would undoubtedly be torn to pieces, left without even a grave to bury them.
This "shut the door to beat the dog" strategy would allow him to eliminate his competitors using the Blood Prison Clan's hands—without paying any price himself.
The plan was originally set up this way, but before Naori and the others arrived, something went wrong.
A Uchiha clansman suddenly turned traitor and launched a surprise attack, swiftly killing the death squad companions who were supposed to be sacrificed to enter the barrier. After throwing their corpses into the barrier, he completely opened it before quickly fleeing the scene.
The disturbance in the barrier's walls quickly caught the attention of the Blood Prison Clan members. When the corpses were discovered, to everyone's surprise, one Uchiha was found barely alive among them, not completely dead yet.
It was unclear whether this was an oversight by the attacker or intentionally left this way.
For the Blood Prison Clan, while they couldn't comprehend this behavior, they had no reason to refuse such an incredible windfall.
The humiliation of years of imprisonment ignited their fury, and they immediately acted—using the Bloodline Eye to extract all intelligence from the dying Uchiha before killing him, then refining all the corpses into a blood pool.
Some radical factions who had already awakened the Bloodline Eye and mastered its power rallied the entire clan, preparing to launch a retaliatory campaign against the Uchiha clan.
After years of living isolated in the valley, they had been completely cut off from the outside world. Fortunately, through the intelligence extracted from that man's mind, they learned about the current world's situation and the present state of the Uchiha clan.
Since the Uchiha have already joined Konoha, let Konoha also experience the wrath of the Blood Prison!
Of course, many Blood Prison clansmen who yearned for freedom opposed this attack.
During the meeting, opinions diverged, but the debate didn't last long. Those advocating for a reclusive lifestyle were swiftly subdued by the ruling faction—either crushed with overwhelming force, turned into puppets, or refined into blood pools...
Until everyone became radicals advocating for launching an attack.
They immediately formulated a plan, mobilizing their entire force to head for Konoha. Since there were still fat sheep from the Uchiha clan coming to them, there was no reason to let them go. For this purpose, they specifically left one strong warrior in the valley and set up a genjutsu trap, aiming to completely annihilate the unsuspecting Naori and the others.
After that came the incident where several people entered the "Goshuku Inn" and fought fiercely with that shop assistant.
"Sister, what should we do now?" Kirito asked.
Naori took a deep breath, her gaze turning resolute. "Though this matter isn't my fault, it did start because of me. All of you should hide immediately—I'm going to stop these bastards!"
"Everyone here is a shinobi! How can we even think of hiding when the village is in danger!" Tsunade immediately stepped forward, her determined eyes making it clear that no one could stop her.
Orochimaru remained silent but moved to stand beside the two, his stance making his position clear.
"Tsunade's right. As the Third Hokage's students, how could we possibly retreat?" Jiraiya declared with righteous conviction. "Besides, our strength goes far beyond mere genin level..."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Uchiha Nian at the very back. They exchanged glances before tacitly looking away.
After resolving the crisis in Hell Valley, Nian had once explained why he possessed the power of Wood Release—though even he himself wasn't entirely clear about it. He had earnestly requested everyone to keep this information confidential for the time being, as its disclosure would place him in a difficult position.
Seeing this, Orochimaru and Kirito simultaneously spoke up in Nian's defense. According to their speculation, Nian's Wood Release Kekkei Genkai was likely connected to that secret scroll given to him years ago by their "senior."
Anything related to that person had to be kept under wraps.
Jiraiya immediately waved his hand, clarifying that he wasn't the type to gossip.
Although Tsunade was quite interested in Nian's abilities, she also didn't have the habit of talking behind people's backs.
After all, every ninja's intelligence concerns their very life - ninja battles are also information wars. Releasing a teammate's information without permission would be no different from betrayal.
What's more, the group had already formed bonds through fighting side by side. Little Tsunade wasn't the type to betray her comrades.
However, Nian's identity had already piqued her curiosity. After all, it was a power that even she—Hashirama's own granddaughter—had failed to inherit, yet this Uchiha named Nian had mastered it.
She secretly resolved to pay more attention to this quiet and low-key boy from now on. If her suspicions were correct... the two of them... might actually be relatives...
At this thought, a faint blush spread across her cheeks.
'Ah, what am I even thinking!'
She shook her head, dispelling those wandering thoughts.
After deciding on their course of action, the group—still with Uchiha Naori as their leader—joined the operation to resist the Blood Prison's assault.
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