Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 132 The Sarutobi Clan

Hiruzen Sarutobi was rebuffed by Orochimaru; faced with Orochimaru's unyielding attitude, he was helpless. It was no longer possible to use Konoha's loyalty to manipulate Orochimaru.

Looking at the still cold and aloof Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that the other man was no longer the Orochimaru of the past, and that his feelings for Konoha had completely dissipated.

When did Orochimaru become so unlike the Orochimaru of Konoha? Now that Konoha is in such a critical situation, Orochimaru remains indifferent, showing no intention of helping Konoha whatsoever; even his heart is no longer with Konoha.

It seems Orochimaru's change in attitude towards Konoha began with the death of his disciple, Senju Nawaki. Tsunade's departure and Orochimaru's indifferent attitude left Hiruzen Sarutobi feeling somewhat frustrated. In the end, he could only leave Orochimaru's experimental base with a gloomy face.

Hiruzen Sarutobi never thought he had done anything wrong. He comforted himself again and again, telling himself that everything he did was for Konoha Village.

"Whether it's Sakumo Hatake, Tsunade, or Dan Kato, they are all destabilizing factors in the village, threatening Konoha's stability. I'm simply eliminating these threats for Konoha, so that it can remain more stable and prosperous. How could Orochimaru not understand my good intentions?"

Throughout the journey, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to complain about Orochimaru, his former favorite disciple. He believed Orochimaru had become a destabilizing factor for Konoha and began plotting again to eliminate Orochimaru's threat to the village.

This Fourth Shinobi World War differed significantly from the original story. Firstly, Orochimaru never appeared on the battlefield to fight for Konoha. The absence of a powerful and talented commander naturally weakened Konoha's strength. Orochimaru's reputation as the "Cold-Blooded King" was formidable, and countless ninjas feared him; even the Kage of major ninja villages held him in some apprehension.

Orochimaru's absence from the battlefield meant more than just Konoha losing a powerful ninja. It significantly impacted the pressure on other ninja villages on the front lines and greatly affected the morale of Konoha's ninja. He was far more formidable than Minato Namikaze, who had just begun to gain recognition. It wasn't just a difference in strength, but more importantly, his influence on the morale of the frontline troops.

In the original story, Orochimaru led his troops to the battlefield immediately upon the outbreak of war, and promptly repelled the Sand Village's attack, completely halting their advance in the vicinity of Mount Kikyo. Later, with reinforcements from Konoha, he drove the Sand Village out of the Land of Fire, inflicting a significant blow and laying the foundation for Konoha's eventual victory over the Sand Village.

The current situation is that while Jiraiya is also very strong, Konoha needs to fully support Minato Namikaze's team against Iwagakure. After all, Minato doesn't have Jiraiya's strength or prestige to boost the morale of his troops, so Konoha can only offer the most support they can.

Minato Namikaze was Hiruzen Sarutobi's chosen successor to the Hokage position, so naturally, ensuring his achievements and the overall battlefield situation required significant reduction in support for other battlefields. Without substantial support, Jiraiya's ability to maintain the current situation against the Sand Village's all-out attack already demonstrates his formidable strength. Faced with the combined attacks of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, along with Chiyo and the One-Tailed Jinchuriki—three Kage-level powerhouses—Jiraiya could only temporarily retreat and avoid direct confrontation.

On the battlefield in Kirigakure, in the original story, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans joined forces against Kirigakure. The Hyuga clan even dispatched members of their main branch to the battlefield, essentially mobilizing most of their clan's ninja, just like the Uchiha. Later, they received reinforcements led by Orochimaru, so defeating Kirigakure seemed inevitable. Although Minato Namikaze ultimately secured the victory, Konoha's foundation for victory had been laid, and Kirigakure's defeat was unavoidable.

Although the Hyuga clan is currently sending ninjas to the battlefield, it maintains its core strength. All Hyuga clan ninjas currently serving in Konoha have gone to the battlefield, but the clan has not sent those not officially employed by Konoha. These ninjas are the true elite of the Hyuga clan, and there are quite a few of them.

Without the full support of the Hyuga clan, the Uchiha clan, even without effective support from Konoha, would have been able to hold out on the Kirigakure battlefield solely on their own, facing a village that had endured the brutal Blood Mist policy and was now under full-scale attack. This was entirely due to the extraordinary strength of the Uchiha ninja! However, relying solely on the strength of a single clan and a portion of Konoha ninja to contend with a massive, relentlessly powerful nation-village like Kirigakure, even the exceptionally strong Uchiha clan had no chance of winning; defeat was only a matter of time.

It can be said that Konoha is now living under the shadow of imminent defeat, with each battlefield barely holding on. Only the Iwa ninja battlefield, which gathers most of Konoha's strength, can maintain a slight advantage, but with the arrival of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, that slight advantage has been wiped out, and they can only maintain the status quo.

Furthermore, the latest intelligence indicates that, without the flank threat of Onoki, Kumogakure has gradually recovered from the turmoil of losing the Third Raikage and has not immediately retaliated against Iwagakure. Instead, like other ninja villages, it has turned its attention to Konoha, which appears to be in dire straits.

The continuous troop deployments to the Land of Hot Springs clearly indicate preparations to attack Konoha. Konoha is now seen as the most lucrative prize by other ninja villages, and Kumogakure (the Hidden Cloud Village) won't let such a golden opportunity slip by. Konoha, the most powerful village in the ninja world, is a thorn in the side of all other villages; if they can dethrone the strongest village, none will let it go.

The newly appointed Fourth Raikage, A, was also persuaded by the village's think tank that now was the best opportunity to divide up Konoha and make Kumogakure the number one ninja village in the world. Kumogakure naturally suppressed its plan to retaliate against Iwagakure immediately and prepared to divide up Konoha first before looking for an opportunity to retaliate against Iwagakure.

Now, almost all the ninja villages have their sights set on Konoha, the richest village. If Konoha is defeated, its vast share of missions and immense resources will become the spoils of this war. War reparations will allow these villages to make up for their losses.

The addition of the Cloud Village was like the final straw that broke the camel's back for the Leaf Village.

The Cloud Village's forces advanced rapidly, and the Leaf Village had no troops left to mobilize to stop the Cloud Village's attack, allowing the Cloud Village to relentlessly penetrate deeper into the Land of Fire.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is now truly panicked. Since its founding, Konoha has never lost a war against other countries. Moreover, Konoha, which was already deeply dissatisfied with the Daimyo for being invaded by other ninja villages into the Land of Fire, is now being attacked deep into the Land of Fire by the Hidden Cloud Village, seriously threatening the Land of Fire's status as the strongest ninja country in the world.

It's likely that after this war, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the current Hokage, will be the most derelict Hokage in Konoha's history. No one in Konoha will trust him anymore. This isn't just a simple matter of relinquishing the Hokage position; he will likely be forever branded with shame. Forget about regaining power in Konoha; he'll be lucky to escape punishment altogether.

Hiruzen Sarutobi now knows that he must stop the Cloud Ninja from advancing further and drive them out of the heartland, no matter the cost. Otherwise, he, as Hokage, will likely be the first Kage to be convicted by the Daimyo.

The Sarutobi clan ninjas, originally hidden within Konoha, were no longer bothered to conceal themselves and were directly dispatched by Hiruzen Sarutobi to stop the Cloud Ninja. The sheer number of Sarutobi ninjas mobilized caused other clans to gasp in shock. The Sarutobi clan, originally a small family, mobilized over 1500 ninjas, while those supporting Hiruzen Sarutobi sent at least 500 each, thus forming a force of over 4000 ninjas.

Even the Uchiha clan, the most powerful clan in Konoha, only has a little over 1000 ninjas, and that's the number accumulated over many years. The Sarutobi clan, however, is a small clan. Even with Hiruzen Sarutobi becoming Hokage and receiving various benefits, it's impossible for the clan to have grown so dramatically. Hiruzen Sarutobi has only been Hokage for 10 years; how could the Sarutobi clan have produced so many ninjas in that time?

Training a ninja isn't just about talent; it also requires a vast amount of resources to successfully develop into a qualified ninja. Even the Hyuga clan, with its millennia-long tradition, couldn't afford to spend such enormous resources in a short period. Therefore, powerful clans typically maintain a ninja force of around a thousand, requiring a long and gradual accumulation of talent.

During Hiruzen Sarutobi's reign, Konoha continuously reduced the resources available to clan ninjas, but under the guise of increasing investment in civilian ninjas, these civilian ninjas were encouraged. However, it now seems that the Sarutobi clan has also been treated as civilian ninjas by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and even as the most favored civilian ninjas. Otherwise, how could the Sarutobi clan have trained such a large number of ninjas in such a short period of time?

The high-ranking members of Konoha's clans weren't fools; they naturally understood what the appearance of so many Sarutobi clan ninjas signified. They considered that their own clans, in their pursuit of resources, had even dispatched their last remaining elite ninjas to the battlefield, fighting desperately, all for the sake of their clan's better development. But what about the Sarutobi clan and the ninjas of the clans that supported Hiruzen Sarutobi? They were acquiring the most resources from Konoha, and even as the war in Konoha reached such a perilous state, they remained comfortably within the village, enjoying Konoha's benefits.