bioinnovel Chapter 508 The Shocking Change in Kusagakure Village
Chapter 508 The Shocking Change in Kusagakure Village
In the afternoon, the sun was high in the sky, baking the earth and filling the air with a sweltering heat.
The Uchiha group quickly arrived at the outskirts of Kusagakure.
The terrain of Kusagakure Village is flat, and the only defenses are low wooden fences, revealing the low houses inside, which are so simple that they are almost laughable.
The two sentries at the village entrance were dozing against a tree trunk, drool still hanging from the corners of their mouths, when they were suddenly awakened by the approaching footsteps of the Uchiha group and the slight tremor of the ground.
They rubbed their eyes, and when they saw the dark mass of Uchiha ninjas in front of them, their legs went weak and their faces turned pale with fright.
Upon hearing the news, the leader of Kusagakure rushed over, followed by more than ten high-ranking officials and hundreds of ninjas.
He wore the clan chief's robes embroidered with floral patterns, his hands gripping the short sword at his waist: "Lord Uchiha, my clan and your village have never had any enmity. Why have you mobilized so many troops to surround our village?"
His gaze swept frantically across the Sharingan flashing in the Uchiha group, his eyes filled with fear.
He had witnessed the power of the Uchiha ninjas during the battle between Iwagakure and Konoha. Their overwhelming fire-style attacks and bizarre genjutsu still terrify him to this day.
The high-ranking members of Kusagakure behind them also had solemn expressions. Some of them quietly took a half step back, trying to find an opportunity to escape, but were held back tightly by the people around them.
Uchiha Mitsumine stepped forward, and the Mangekyou Sharingan patterns became clearly visible, causing the Kusagakure members to involuntarily take a step back.
"No enmity? During the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha fought to the death against Iwagakure to help the Land of Grass, with thousands of Konoha ninjas buried here, in exchange for the peace of your Grass Village. And what have you done? You've repeatedly sold Konoha's information to Iwagakure, causing the deaths of many Konoha ninjas, and even secretly assassinating lone Konoha ninjas. Shouldn't we settle this score?"
His tone was icy, each word like a knife, and his gaze swept over the panicked faces of the Grass Village's higher-ups.
"I have only two conditions: First, pay compensation ten times the value of the intelligence to make up for Konoha's losses; second, hand over all the Uzumaki clan members in the village, without any concealment or omission. Remember, if even one Uzumaki clan member escapes or dies, I will kill a high-ranking Kusagakure official to pay with my life, until you have all paid."
An elder standing beside the leader of Kusagakure's clan suddenly changed his expression and said in a trembling voice, "Lord Uchiha, the Uzumaki clan members fled to our village on their own accord back then. We merely took them in..."
"I don't want to hear your explanations, I just want results!"
Mitsukazu interrupted him, the light from his Mangekyou Sharingan growing increasingly cold.
The leader of Kusagakure's expression changed drastically. Gritting his teeth, he forced a smile and said, "Uchiha Sanpo, are you trying to fight to the death? Kusagakure may be weak, but we are not pushovers!"
Having said that, he waved his hand to signal the ninjas to attack, a desperate madness flashing in his eyes.
Before he could even lower his hand, the elder beside him grabbed his arm tightly and said in a low, urgent voice, "Clan leader! No! We are no match for them. If we resist, the entire Kusagakure will be destroyed!"
The leader of Kusagakure froze, staring at the murderous Uchiha team before him. His madness was gradually replaced by fear, and his raised hand froze in mid-air.
"You think you're worthy of a fight to the death?!"
Uchiha Mitsuhine sneered and fully activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. The skeleton of Susanoo gradually took shape, muscles... layers of armor covered it... The orange Susanoo, over eighty meters tall, stood between heaven and earth... instantly blocking out a large area of sunlight and shrouding Kusagakure in shadow.
He manipulated the giant hand of Susanoo, and with a single grasp in mid-air, he crushed the leader of Kusagakure in his palm as if he were catching an ant.
The leader of the Grass Village was squeezed by the enormous force, his face turned purple, and he had difficulty breathing. He could only wave his arms in vain.
"If you can't do it, I'll kill you and replace you with someone who can make the decisions."
The sound of Susanoo was like thunder, causing the ground to tremble slightly. The Grass Village ninjas retreated in all directions, and many of them were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, dropping their ninja tools. They didn't even have the courage to raise their heads.
The villagers screamed and hid inside their houses, closing the doors and windows tightly and using tables and chairs to prop up the doors, fearing they would be implicated.
With a slight exertion of force, Uchiha Mitsumine controlled Susanoo, and the leader of Kusagakure let out a painful groan, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. The last trace of stubbornness in his eyes was also crushed by fear.
He knew that the man in front of him meant what he said, and if he resisted again, he would surely die.
His survival instinct completely broke him down. He begged for mercy, his voice hoarse and filled with extreme fear: "I surrender! I will cooperate fully! Quick, bring out all the money in the village and bring all the Whirlpool Clan members here! Quick!" He was terrified that Sanfeng could crush his body with a single thought, and even his voice was trembling with sobs.
The high-ranking members of Kusagakure exchanged glances and quickly reached a consensus.
Even the five great ninja villages like Iwagakure obediently handed over 250 billion ryo in war reparations. The small Kusagakure village had no power to resist. Rather than be destroyed, it was better to obediently compromise.
A high-ranking official quickly turned around and shouted to the villagers behind him, "Quick! Bring out all the money in the village, and then go and tie up all the Whirlpool Clan members!"
Before long, dozens of villagers hurriedly arrived carrying heavy wooden boxes, which were clearly boxes for storing money.
They neatly stacked the wooden crates in front of the Uchiha ninja. The glittering gold coins and bundled banknotes came into view, but the amount was far less than expected.
Dozens of Kusagakure ninja escorted seventeen Uzumaki clan members over. Among them were the elderly, women, and children; they stared intently at the Uchiha ninja before them as if they were their enemies.
Uchiha Mitsunori looked at them, his gaze sweeping over each face, trying to find traces of Uzumaki Megumi.
"That's all?"
He had already anticipated that Kusagakure would be short of funds, but he hadn't expected that there would be so little, not even a fraction of the compensation from Iwagakure, and far from enough to make up for Konoha's losses.
Uchiha Tetsuka stepped forward and whispered, "Boss, should I use genjutsu to interrogate him and see if he's hiding any money?"
Uchiha Mitsumine shook his head slightly, his gaze returning to the leader of Kusagakure, awaiting his explanation.
The leader of Kusagakure was slightly loosened by Susanoo, allowing him to breathe with difficulty.
He gasped for breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and explained in a trembling voice, "My lord, spare my life! Grass Village is just a small village. We make a living by growing herbs and taking on low-level tasks. We're already short of funds, and this is all the village's savings! If you don't believe me, you can interrogate me using illusion magic. I would never dare to hide anything!"
His eyes were full of pleading, as if he wanted to prove to himself immediately that he was not lying.
Uchiha Sanfeng waved his hand and said to Tetsuka behind him, "Distribute the money among the brothers, according to each person's merits in battle."
Uchiha Tetsuka bowed and replied, "Yes, leader."
Having said that, Uchiha Sanfeng's gaze fell on the seventeen Uzumaki clan members, fearing that Kusagakure was hiding something: "Are these the only Uzumaki clan members left in your village?"
"Yes! Absolutely all of them!"
The leader of Kusagakure hurriedly defended himself, afraid of angering the demon in front of him: "More than ten years ago, when Uzumaki Village was destroyed, twenty-nine members of the Uzumaki clan fled to our village. In recent years, they either contracted serious illnesses and died, or they couldn't bear it and secretly ran away. We have sent people to look for them, but there has been no news of them. They have most likely met with misfortune."
He grew increasingly anxious, his voice filled with fear: "My lord, I truly wouldn't dare lie to you. If I've hidden anyone, you may tear down the entire Hidden Grass Village and search it!"
"You should know the consequences of lying to me."
Uchiha Mitsurugi's Mangekyou Sharingan grew increasingly profound, and Susanoo's hand tightened its grip accordingly.
The leader of Kusagakure coughed up fine beads of blood, which quickly stained a patch of soil red: "I truly wouldn't dare to deceive you, sir! Your subordinate would never dare to deceive you!"
At this moment, the seventeen Vortex Clan members were glaring at them with hatred, and many of them subconsciously clenched their fists.
In their eyes, Konoha Village was full of traitors... When Uzushiogakure was destroyed, Konoha Village did not lend a helping hand, allowing them to be slaughtered by the multinational coalition and their homes destroyed.
Now that these Uchiha have come knocking, they probably don't have any good intentions.
An older man with a swirling vortex, his face covered in wrinkles and his eyes filled with a resolute determination to face death, quietly shielded the child beside him behind him. He was willing to risk his own life to protect the younger generation of his clan.
Looking at the hatred in their eyes, Uchiha Sanfeng remained strangely calm: "The destruction of the Land of Whirlpools was neither participated in by the Uchiha, nor did we take advantage of their misfortune... You should think clearly about who you should truly hate... It is the country that destroyed you... After returning to the border camp, I want to hear your answers before deciding how to arrange your future."
His tone contained no coercion, only statement, yet it subtly changed the mindset of the Whirlpool Clan.
An elderly man clenched his fists, his eyes filled with hesitation, his lips moved but he couldn't utter a word.
The escape was so chaotic back then, with war raging and cries echoing everywhere. All they knew was that it was a multinational coalition that had attacked.
What exactly do these Uchiha people want? Do they genuinely want to give them a way out, or do they have ulterior motives?
A slightly younger girl timidly tugged at the old man's sleeve and asked softly, "Grandpa, is what he said true?"
The old man gently patted her hand, his eyes filled with confusion: "I don't know either... but we have no other choice now."
Their survival instincts made them think quickly, but no one dared to speak easily, and they could only watch Sanfeng in silence.
Seeing this, Uchiha Mitsunori said nothing more and gestured for the Uchiha ninja to step forward.
The Uchiha ninjas quickly walked up to the Uzumaki clan members, untied the ropes binding their wrists, and said without any intention of making things difficult for them: "Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you."
The moment the ropes were untied, a sharp pain shot through the wrists of the Whirlpool Clan members, and many instinctively rubbed their wrists.
Uchiha Mitsunori instructed, "Protect them well, and do not allow anyone to make things difficult for them. If anyone dares to lay a finger on them, they will be punished according to the clan rules."
The two ninjas bowed and replied, "Yes, leader."
Then, the Uchiha ninjas surrounded the Uzumaki clan members, and the group moved slowly toward the Konoha camp.