Avengers of the Whirlpool Family

"It's hard to say at the moment. Let's just wait and see. For the time being, the leader Shibuki is a little interesting, but we still have to wait and see. It's hard to say for sure."

Menma said with a smile.

Because of Shibuki, because of the Heroic Water, and more importantly, because of the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki Fu, Takigakure Village is of course Menma's first choice. As long as it is possible, Menma will do his best to take control of Takigakure Village in the future, but Menma is very clear about how difficult it is.

But no matter how difficult it is, he has to do it.

This is one of the most reliable options.

As for the outcome, that depends on fate.

The time left for Menma is not much, but not too little either. Three years is enough to change everything.

"Oh? Then what does the mission you asked them to carry out mean? And the people you are looking for? Who are they?"

Karin nodded as if she understood, then as if she had thought of something, she widened her eyes and looked at Menma and asked.

"Oh, that, it's just a matter of following the trend. We can't just go to a ninja village without any reason and look for a meeting with the leader of a ninja village, right? In addition, this mission can be carried out for a long time, so that we can contact Takigakure Village from time to time and make further arrangements. The people we are looking for are, first, the descendants of the former daimyo of the First Kingdom, Suzaki Gossa, who I promised to Urushi before, and the descendants of our Uzumaki clan who are scattered in the ninja world, as well as some other specific candidates."

Menma paused for a moment before continuing.

"That's it!"

Karin nodded and replied.

"As I said before, how things will develop in the future depends on both our choices and theirs."

Menma turned around, as if he could see through the layers of mountains and see the interior of Takigakure Village. A faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth and he spoke softly.

"Come on, Karin, it's time to go back."

"Ok!"

Following from that.

Menma and Karin each exploded their chakras and walked side by side, quickly flying back towards the location of the Land of Fields on the east side.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 149 Each choice

The bustling ninja world.

The situation is still one of confrontation among all parties.

The turmoil of the Sand Village and the Sound Village jointly raiding Konoha has not subsided even after more than ten days. Especially when the Konohagakure Village has not been able to confirm the Fifth Hokage for a long time and has not sent a very strong signal to the outside world, the attention of the ninja villages in various countries has never diminished. Every ninja village that has been defeated by Konoha is paying attention to Konoha with infinite malice at this moment.

Among them, the Hidden Cloud Village is particularly bad.

Several years ago, due to the "Baigan Controversy", the Hidden Cloud Village almost started a war against Konoha. Later, due to Sarutobi Hiruzen's special response, the Hidden Cloud Village lost the excuse to start a war. More importantly, they were afraid of Konoha's strength and had to consider the attitude of the neighboring Iwagakure Village, so they chose to abandon the original plan.

And now, the pain of the Third Ninja World War has long been healed. After more than a decade of silence, the Hidden Cloud Village has returned to its peak and once again feels that it can dominate the entire ninja world.

The death of the Hokage, the loss of the Nine-Tails, and the deaths of many ninjas in battle.

In the Hidden Cloud Village, especially in the eyes of the hot-tempered Fourth Raikage Ai, this is the best opportunity. Of course, although he is hot-tempered, the Fourth Raikage Ai will never act impulsively, and his straightforward style does not mean that he is brainless.

If they really want to take action, they will definitely conduct multiple investigations.

And the most important thing is to distinguish between major and minor issues.

In the opinion of the Fourth Raikage Ai, the first thing to confirm now is the whereabouts of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Menma.

Konoha should be put at the back.

Because this tailed beast is more powerful than his own Eight-Tails.

However, nearly ten days had passed, and there was still no useful information from their own intelligence team.

The land of thunder.

In the easternmost area.

Yunyin Village.

In the office in the middle of the upper floor of a magnificent building that stands at the highest point.

"Peng!"

The Fourth Raikage Ai finally couldn't suppress his inner restlessness anymore.

That huge fist that struck with all its might.

It fell with a dull sound.

"Crack!"

"Crash!"

The desk, which had obviously been replaced not long ago, seemed to let out a whine.

It shattered directly.

The other Cloud Ninjas on one side had already gotten used to it. The temper of their Fourth Raikage was far superior to that of the previous Raikages. He would indeed control his emotions in major events, but the more he did so, the more likely he would find other ways to vent his emotions. On average, the "lifespan" of this table was only three or four months, and the longest one was no more than half a year.

"What the hell is going on!? It's been ten days!? I don't ask for an exact location, but at least a rough estimate of the situation, right? What on earth is the reconnaissance squad for? Huh!?"

The Fourth Raikage Ai's eyes were wide open with anger, and at this moment his huge and sturdy figure exuded a terrifying and cold aura.

Ordinary Cloud Ninjas would be terrified if they saw their own Raikage in this state, but the Cloud Ninjas who could stay in this room at this moment were all absolute confidants of their own Raikage who had long been accustomed to their own Raikage's personality.

For example, the one-eyed man with an eyepatch on the far left - Dodai. In terms of seniority, he was the absolute think tank during the Third Raikage period, and the Fourth Raikage Ai needed to give him basic respect. Then on the right side, the dark-skinned young man with white hair and slanted bangs covering his left eye is Darui, who is currently recognized in the village as the strongest contender for the next generation Raikage.

There is also a remaining dark-skinned pretty lady and a blonde woman with an extremely majestic chest, who are also the Raikage's absolute confidants, Ma Buyi and Samui who serve as confidential secretaries.

These people are the current decision-making group of the Hidden Cloud Village.

"After all, he left with that Orochimaru. It is indeed difficult to obtain basic information in such a short time, Lord Raikage."

Tutai, who was sitting next to him, spoke in a very calm tone.

"Humph, there can't be no information at all, right? This is a golden opportunity. Konoha has finally revealed such a big gap. We absolutely cannot miss it. And that old man in Iwagakure must have a similar attitude!"

The Fourth Raikage Ai was of course aware of this, but he just couldn't accept it. He now wished he could capture Menma in the next second.

"We still need to give it some time. Also, Lord Raikage, I think we should not take any harsh measures. Since Uzumaki Menma has chosen to defect from Konoha, it means he will never be able to return to Konoha. Don't forget that he is the son of the Fourth Hokage. Now this news has spread throughout the ninja world. We don't need to worry about anything else. Besides, this boy is only 12 years old and has great potential for shaping. We can approach him as an equal and may be able to convince him, rather than using a tough approach."

Tutai paused, and then spoke in a very serious tone.

This was not the first time that the Fourth Raikage had heard such words.

The last time he received news from Konoha, regarding the issue of Menma Uzumaki, Dodai suggested that his side could contact Menma in a friendly manner, but the Fourth Raikage ultimately felt that it was not that safe since Menma was not a ninja trained by their own village.

Grab Menma.

The Fourth Raikage thought that the most correct approach was to extract the Nine-Tails and re-seal it in other outstanding ninjas of his own village. He had already made sure of its location and was ready to lead a team to capture it himself.

"I also think what Todai-san said makes sense, Lord Raikage. A 12-year-old boy is still very malleable, and his identity is destined to have an irreconcilable hatred with Konoha. This is a point we can start with. As long as everything goes well, we can save a lot of trouble."

Ma Buyi, the representative of the rational faction, also spoke seriously.

They are the ones who know best how powerful the tailed beasts are.

There are two tailed beasts in our own ninja village.

Now we have to set our sights on the strongest Nine-Tails. If we really choose to capture it by force, think about the scene when the Third Raikage fought against the Eight-Tails. Anyone can see how high the risk is.

Especially from Tsuchida's perspective, his own Fourth-Kage is still a long way from being the strongest Raikage of all time, the Third-Kage.

"We'll talk about these later. Right now, the priority is to determine the exact location of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Also, is there any further news from Konoha?"

After frowning and thinking for a while, the Fourth Raikage Ai still didn't want to change his mind easily. In most cases, he was rational and listened to the reasonable suggestions of his subordinates, but in some aspects he was still very stubborn.

This is a common problem among all the Raikages of the past.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 150: Exploding Public Opinion Environment (Part )

On the subject of Uzumaki Menma.

The Fourth Raikage obviously displayed his stubborn nature. He only believed in 'his own people', his own people in the purest sense.

After exchanging glances with Ma Buyi, Tutai could only helplessly let it go for the time being. There would still be chances later, so there was no need to be too anxious. Persuasion also required methods, occasions, and timing. Not to mention, hadn't they found Menma yet?

"In Konoha, the situation remains the same as before. Apart from the additional forces deployed to the northern border, there is no other movement."

Samui, who was in charge of investigating Konoha's intelligence, answered directly when the Fourth Raikage asked the question.

"Huh, they really are so secretive? Have they still not decided on the fifth generation candidate?"

The Fourth Raikage snorted and said.

"Yes, there is still no more news in this regard, but we speculate that the fifth Hokage should be that Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya?"

As people who can be considered to be of the same generation.

During the Second Ninja World War and the Third Ninja World War.

The Fourth Raikage Ai had met Jiraiya several times and had a certain degree of understanding of this hero of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Jiraiya becoming the Fifth Hokage does seem to be the most likely thing at the moment.

"The intelligence and espionage teams must conduct a more in-depth investigation and not miss any clues. Also, Darui, you must go to the south in person. If there is an opportunity, do not hesitate. I fully authorize you!!"

The Fourth Raikage Ai looked sharply at Darui, who was sitting on the right with a lazy look on his face, and spoke with a murderous tone.

"Yes, Raikage-sama."

"Yes, I understand."

Ma Buyi and Darui also replied one after another.

"Humph, Konoha, this time, I will definitely not miss the opportunity!"

The Fourth Raikage Ai first nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and, through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, he seemed to be able to see the Hidden Leaf Village in the far south, and said with a murderous look between his brows.

Kumogakure is taking action, and Iwagakure is also taking action.

But compared to the Fourth Raikage Ai, he was in such a hurry.

Ohnoki, who is already in his second half of his 70s, seems much calmer. He will of course pay attention to the great changes in Konoha and search for the trace of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Uzumaki Menma, but he will not put too much effort into it.

For Ohnoki, the most important thing is to maintain the current situation of his own ninja village.

To use Ōnoki's own words from the high-level meeting.

"Old man, I don't need to be anxious at all. I just need to see what others do first. The best way is to strike back and then take action!"

But this is just a different choice.

In this situation, the two major ninja villages still hold their own dominant power.

Unlike the Sand Village, it has already entered the most uncomfortable and weak period.

The Kage died in battle and the Jinchūriki was captured.

There were also hundreds of elite Sand Ninjas who died.

It can be said that in the past ten days, the Sand Village has really been living a miserable life. It was only because Maki hurriedly invited the two elders, Chiyo and Ebizo, to take charge of the situation, otherwise the Sand Village would have been torn apart.

Even Chiyo and Ebizo could only maintain the situation temporarily.

If they cannot end the war with Konoha and recover the captured Sand Ninjas led by Gaara, the Sand Village will never be able to truly stabilize. They are the most passive party.

No control is in my hands.

As for the remaining Kirigakure Village, it had been in a silent standby state from beginning to end, and had not released any comments on this incident. From the perspective of those who were paying attention, there was no sign of a large army moving in the Kirigakure Village.

It was as if he had no idea what was happening in the outside world.

This has attracted the attention of some people to some extent.

Of course, the most eye-catching core figure is still in the Hidden Leaf Village.

This is not just the opinion of the outside world, but also a problem within the Hidden Leaf Village. After the news spread that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki - Uzumaki Menma is the biological brother of Naruto Namikaze and the biological son of the Fourth Hokage.

The outside world is almost all in a state of eating big melons.

But the public opinion in the Land of Fire, especially within the Hidden Leaf Village, was completely out of control.

Especially those people who had spoken bad words to Menma and treated him with disgust and hostility, as well as some ordinary ninjas at the bottom of the society were all stunned.