Naruto: Starting by Teaching Tsunade Modernization

Haruki received news from the Oshima Chamber of Commerce in the Land of Fire.

The Akatsuki Organization's whereabouts were leaked, and they were ambushed by Hanzo, suffering heavy losses.

Worst of all, the relationship between the Oshima Chamber of Commerce and the Akatsuki Organization was also exposed.

After being targeted by Hanzo, Oshima Yoshiyuki promptly withdrew most of the personnel, but some still remained trapped with the Akatsuki Organization.

Haruki's first reaction upon seeing the news was not about the internal issues within the Akatsuki Organization, but about Madara Uchiha and White Zetsu.

They originally intended to implement the plan ahead of schedule, but it was not easy to deceive Obito now.

The only way was the same as that in the original story, to let Obito suffer a great blow and break down mentally, then instigate him.

What Madara Uchiha worried about most was Haruki.

With the ongoing war against the Cloud Hidden Village, he had no time, and no one would notice his actions in the dark.

Although he didn't know Haruki's true identity, by a lucky coincidence, he happened to choose a good opportunity.

Madara Uchiha himself couldn't wait any longer.

Haruki, who knew the original story, could easily guess what he was going to do next.

Actually, it wasn't complicated.

The key to breaking the situation was that Rin Nohara couldn't die.

As long as she didn't die, Obito wouldn't go crazy, nor would he want to create a new world out of love.

And as a Medical Ninja, it wasn't that easy for Haruki to let Rin Nohara die.

On the contrary, this was actually the best opportunity to improve Obito's strength.

Moreover, he didn't have to be the bad guy.

After careful consideration, Haruki simply fulfilled Madara Uchiha's wish and sent Kakashi and the other two to perform duties in the Land of Rain.

The final outcome would depend on how things developed.

He couldn't predict how the current situation would develop.

Haruki left the Metropolis of the Land of Fire alone.

Minato stayed behind to organize the Black Armor Army and, by the way, see how to dispatch the private armies of each clan.

According to past conventions, in battles between ninja villages, it was simply a matter of the losing side paying compensation.

But perhaps no one in the ninja world could have imagined that Konoha Village this time intended to annex the Cloud Hidden Village along with the Land of Lightning.

If it were just the Cloud Hidden Village, Haruki really wouldn't have to go through so much trouble.

At the border of the Land of Fire.

A series of tents were set up.

"Who's there?"

Sakumo Hatake stood up warily, reaching his right hand behind him to grasp his Tanto.

"It's me."

Haruki lifted the cloth door and entered the tent.

"Haruki."

Sakumo Hatake was about to bow, but then remembered they were in the army, so he raised his right hand and saluted, "Front - line commander Sakumo Hatake pays his respects to Lord Haruki!"

Haruki returned the salute and smiled, "It's just the two of us. There's no need for this."

"The rules you set still have to be followed."

Sakumo Hatake sat back on the Tatami, poured a cup of tea for Haruki, and said, "Eight thousand of the ten - thousand - strong ninja troops have arrived. The remaining two thousand are on the way. They are from the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan. They're a bit slower."

Haruki took the teacup. Hearing about these two ninja clans, he couldn't help but shake his head and said, "They're not very enthusiastic because of the large disparity."

"After all, they used to be one of the most prominent clans. It's a pity that since the death of Third Hokage-sama and Tanzo Shimura, they haven't produced any geniuses."

Sakumo Hatake talked about the once-taboo topic without restraint.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tanzo Shimura were alive, even he wouldn't have spoken about these things openly.

But in Konoha now, one won't be punished for words.

Unless you blatantly slander Konoha or the Hokage.

Otherwise, it doesn't really matter to talk about these things.

"I heard that Asuma Sarutobi has become a Chunin. Maybe he'll have a chance to revive the glory of Third Hokage-sama."

Thinking of the news Kakashi had passed on to him in the morning, Sakumo Hatake couldn't help smiling. "I really have to thank you, Haruki, for cultivating Kakashi. In two years, I won't be able to beat him."

There was a great deal of pride in his words.

As a father, he was naturally happy to see his son doing so well.

Moreover, he could clearly see the situation in Konoha. The possibility of him becoming the Hokage was slim.

After all, he had successively encountered Tsunade and Minato.

He didn't really want to be the Hokage either.

But Kakashi seemed to have the intention.

He couldn't compete with Minato, but he was young.

After Minato, Kakashi was undoubtedly one of the top candidates.

He was Haruki's student and had the support of his own connections. If his strength was sufficient, there was a very high probability that he would become the Hokage.

"It's just what I do as a teacher. Have the results of the Chunin Exams come out? Tell me about it."

Haruki had been in the Land of Fire, dealing with matters related to the Daimyo and The Akatsuki Organization, and hadn't paid attention to the Chunin Exams.

"From highest to lowest, they are Sasori, Kai, Kakashi, Obito, Pakura, Shisui Uchiha, Baki, Rin, and Asuma."

"This ranking is about what I expected."

Haruki paused for a moment, then turned to the map on the wall and said, "According to the Anbu's information, Cloud Hidden Village has announced that A will be the Fourth Raikage. They've gathered nearly fifteen thousand ninjas and are coming towards the Land of Fire."

"Which country will they come through?"

Sakumo Hatake looked at the map and asked.

Strictly speaking, the Land of Lightning is a maritime country, bordered by the sea on three sides. It's connected to the Land of Fire in the east through two small countries. There are two other small countries on the left and right sides of these two.

These four countries are very likely to become the battlefield between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire.

"No, it's us." Haruki shook his head.

Sakumo Hatake was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized and asked, "Do you mean we're going into the Land of Lightning?"

"Right."

"But isn't this too risky?"

Sakumo Hatake frowned. Like others, he thought that Haruki just wanted to defeat the Land of Lightning and Cloud Hidden Village and then demand compensation, rather than completely annihilating them.

In fact, this was also the purpose of previous wars.

"The Land of Lightning has many mountains and a complex terrain, which isn't suitable for large - scale military operations. Moreover, we're not familiar with it, so we'll lose the advantage of favorable terrain. At the same time, when fighting in the enemy's country, Cloud Hidden Village's reinforcements will arrive faster than ours. It's very disadvantageous."

Sakumo Hatake continued.

"Sakumo, what do you think this battle is for?"

Haruki looked at him seriously and asked, "It's not for the Daimyo, nor for compensation, but for the entire Land of Lightning."

"What!"

Sakumo Hatake showed an incredulous expression. He couldn't control his emotions for a moment.

He swallowed hard and asked, "Do you want to unify the Land of Lightning?"

"Exactly."

Haruki curled up his lips in a faint smile. "Sakumo, don't you have the confidence to put an end to the turbulent times? Just like the Sage of Six Paths in the past, creating a new ninja world."

Sakumo Hatake fell silent.

To be honest, he had never thought of such a grand goal.

But somehow, he, who was always calm, was a little excited at this moment.

It was as if his blood was boiling.

Put an end to the turbulent times.

What an alluring four words.

"Let's have a go." Haruki looked at him. "We also have enough strength."

"Okay!" Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but feel heroic.

...

On an ordinary day, a lot of things could happen.

The metropolis in the Land of Fire was unusually bustling.

Armies kept leaving the city gate and disappearing into the distance.

Kengo Hirabayashi and Minato Namikaze stood on the city wall.

"This is the sixth family. The head is Noriyuki Okawa, the current Dainagon who participates in political discussions and can be regarded as my deputy. He holds a high position and great power."

Kengo Hirabayashi introduced the army that had just passed by to Minato.

There were exactly three thousand of them.

It was the first time he had seen the private armies raised by these big families.

Each of them was wearing full armor.

Except for the Black Armor Army, they were almost as good as the five former standing armies.

No, they might even be more elite.

"The Black Armor Army will keep an eye on their movements."

Minato wasn't very concerned about whose army it was. Anyway, there would definitely be a purge in the end.

"According to the nobles' actions, they should launch an attack on the Land of Lightning. They'll probably do it while Konoha and Kumogakure are at war."

Kengo Hirabayashi wasn't optimistic about them.

Due to the previous great war in the Land of Fire, all five standing armies had suffered heavy losses.

Although they were rebuilt under the order of Nobuaki Oda, their combat effectiveness was poor.

Originally, Minato planned to use the Black Armor Army as instructors to give them special training, but the war broke out too quickly.

He had no choice but to recall the Black Armor Army.

The standing armies of the Land of Lightning were no worse than those of the Land of Fire.

They also had five armies of comparable size.

Unless the Black Armor Army participated in the war, the nobles had no chance of winning.

But they were blinded by the position of the Daimyo.

"I hope they won't be defeated too badly."

Kengo Hirabayashi sighed.

"Don't worry. Teacher Haruki has his own arrangements."

Minato looked at the army in the distance and said, "Teacher is going to deal with the nobles, not these civilian armies. If the nobles disappear at that time, their positions will naturally need to be filled, and the war is their chance."

Kengo Hirabayashi nodded silently.

He was well-aware that a lot of people would kick the bucket in this fight.

But in order to make changes in a feudal era that had lasted for thousands of years, peace was impossible.

Haruki, or the Xia Organization, hoped that people would overthrow this corrupt world with their own hands.

Only in this way would they have the courage to overcome the fear that had persisted since ancient times.

Instead of being haunted by new fears, they won't let the Xia Organization become their source of fear either.

"When will the Black Armor Army set off?"

Kengo Hirabayashi snapped out of his thoughts and asked.

"The main force has already headed to the Land of Lightning," Minato said. "I'll lead the remaining people there later."

Kengo Hirabayashi knew about his Flying Thunder God Technique, so he didn't ask further.

After a moment, he asked again, "Where are you planning to go through?"

"The Land of Iron," Minato didn't hide it.

"The Land of Iron?"

Kengo Hirabayashi repeated in surprise, "The Land of Iron is a neutral country. Will they be willing to let us from the Land of Fire pass through?"

"They will," Minato said with certainty. Noticing his gaze, he added, "That's what the teacher said."

"I see."

Although Kengo Hirabayashi didn't know what method Haruki had, like Minato, he had unconditional trust in him.

Inside Sakumo Hatake's tent.

After hearing about the Land of Iron, he also had the same doubts as Kengo Hirabayashi.

"I know Mifune from the Land of Iron," Haruki explained.

During his travels in the Land of Iron back then, he had a good relationship with Mifune.

"If we can really borrow a passage through the Land of Iron, crossing it and then crossing the sea into the Land of Lightning will be faster than going through the two small countries in the middle. Moreover, we might even be able to ambush the Cloud Hidden Village," Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but get a bit excited.

The Cloud Hidden Village would never expect Konoha to come from the Land of Iron.

Because as a neutral country, the Land of Iron doesn't allow and won't favor either side.

Otherwise, it can't be called neutral.

Once it breaks the rule, the consequences would be unimaginable.

So the Cloud Hidden Village assumes that Konoha will pass through the two small countries in the middle.

The story continues...

But in that case, the distance would be the longest, and they'd have enough time to respond.

No, they should think that Konoha will use these two small countries as the battlefield.

"Good," Haruki pointed to a city on the map. "Our goal is this port. It's the maritime outlet of the Land of Lightning and one of the weapon and grain transfer stations for the Cloud Hidden Village. Apart from the land corridor, it's undoubtedly the transportation lifeline. Once we take control of it, we can transport our supplies by sea."

"Chiba," Sakumo Hatake read out its name.

The Land of Lightning looks like a mango that's narrow on both sides and wide in the middle on the map.

Chiba is the key point at the bottom.

"What about the ships?"

Sakumo Hatake thought of this crucial question. "If we rely solely on chakra to cross the sea, it would consume too much. It would be best to have ships."

"Wood Release," Haruki stretched out his hand, and a tiny sprout emerged from his palm.

"You?"

Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but widen his eyes. He remembered the incident with the Hyuga clan and then associated it with the big event where Tanzo Shimura was watched by thousands of people.

"So it was all..."

"Shh," Haruki put his finger to his lips and smiled. "You can't just make wild guesses without evidence."

Sakumo Hatake immediately fell silent.

With his intelligence, he could piece all the things together.

Because of this, Haruki seemed even more terrifying.

But he wouldn't say anything.

The changes in Konoha in recent years have proven Haruki's correctness.

Moreover, the most important thing is that neither he nor Kakashi has ever suffered unfair treatment.

At noon, everyone had arrived.

Haruki also waited for Mifune.

He led a large number of samurai.

If he didn't notice that Konoha had mobilized over ten thousand troops during the whole morning, he would be really useless.

"So it's you."

Mifune was obviously a bit surprised when he saw Haruki, but he didn't exchange many greetings.

"Please detour, everyone from Konoha. According to the rules set by the Five Great Countries, the Land of Iron, as a neutral country, won't get involved in any war and won't provide any convenience for Konoha."

Haruki smiled and wasn't angry because of the rejection.

He asked, "Mifune, what do you think about the outcome of the battle between Konoha and Cloud Hidden Village?"

"It's hard to predict. They're evenly matched."

Mifune shook his head.

In his opinion, it was indeed the case.

As two of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha and Cloud Hidden Village were the strongest, and their overall strengths were similar.

It was normal for either side to win or lose.

"No, in my opinion, it's definitely Konoha that will win."

Haruki shook his head and said, "You should know that Cloud Hidden Village attempted to assassinate Tsunade during the Chunin Exams but failed, resulting in the death of the Daimyo. Do you know that the Third Raikage is dead and the Jinchuriki of the Two - Tails, Yugito, has been captured?"

Mifune was slightly shocked and couldn't help asking, "But didn't Cloud Hidden Village say that the Third Raikage was just missing?"

"It's because A and B fled in a hurry and didn't see the body of the Third Raikage. They thought he was too powerful to die."

Haruki's words made Mifune show an incredulous expression again.

Cloud Hidden Village never mentioned that the Fourth Raikage and B had fled in a miserable state.

After being shocked, he frowned and said, "Even if your Konoha has a greater chance of winning, what does it matter to me?"

Haruki squinted his eyes and said meaningfully, "You should know that so - called neutrality cannot last indefinitely."