Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou-Chapter 361: Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou []

Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.

"Long live the Fourth Raikage!"

The Fourth Raikage, A, showed no hint of a smile on his face; instead, he snorted coldly:

"Everyone, return and prepare for battle. This time, the Five Great Ninja Villages must join forces to destroy the Akatsuki!"

His younger brother, Killer Bee, had been captured, and his tailed beast had been extracted. Most likely, he hadn't survived.

This filled the Fourth Raikage, A, with immense rage. Without another word, he turned and strode off with his guards toward the Land of Iron.

"Raikage-sama!"

Two of the Fourth Raikage's bodyguards, Darui and C, respectfully followed behind him, gradually disappearing as the Cloud ninja watched.

Meanwhile, inside the Raikage's office in Hidden Cloud Village, the door slowly opened, and Samui, with her luxurious blonde hair and ample chest, entered.

"The Raikage is gone. Now, we are finally in charge of Cloud."

As soon as she entered, Samui saw Mabui sitting at the Raikage's desk and couldn't hide her excitement.

"Sister Mabui, Yugito is already in hiding. Once the time comes, we'll lead the white ninja to reclaim Cloud Village!"

Seeing Samui's impatience, the more composed Mabui smiled beautifully.

"What's the rush? The war hasn't started yet. Wait until the Five Kage Summit ends and the war begins. Most of the black kumo ninjas will be deployed to the front lines, leaving the village vulnerable. That will be our perfect opportunity to strike."

As she spoke, Mabui slowly raised her head and revealed the plan she had made on her desk.

"In our world, we had no strength then and were driven out. But here, we have enough power. When the time comes, we'll rally everyone and make these bastards taste what it's like to be homeless! The tables have turned!"

There was a flash of determination in Samui's eyes. She had waited too long for this chance and would not let it slip by.

"No need to be hasty. Right now, everyone's attention is on Killer Bee's incident. Coincidentally, the ones in charge at the Cloud-Lightning Gorge are white kumo ninja, and this mess happened under their watch.

It's the perfect cover for the recent racial conflict in the village. As long as we stick to the plan, the white kumo ninja will soon have their own Hidden Village!"

A glint of ambition shone in Mabui's eyes. She wanted more than just revenge—she wanted the white kumo ninja to rule Hidden Cloud.

Her methods weren't sophisticated, but they were perfectly timed.

There had always been tension between black and white kumo ninja in Hidden Cloud; it just needed a spark.

Using Killer Bee's abduction by Akatsuki as that spark, igniting internal conflict seemed reasonable and justified.

A tough battle with Akatsuki was looming, and shifting internal conflict outward could even boost morale.

Because of this, the Fourth Raikage didn't take these issues seriously, giving Mabui her chance.

While he was away at the summit, several key incidents had already occurred quietly in the village—all according to Mabui's plan.

...

Konoha.

The bold and valiant Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, waved goodbye to the cheering crowd as she left the village gates, teasing her escorts:

"Who would've thought I'd have two Uchiha Mangekyō users as my guards?"

Her two guards were, of course, Uchiha Shirou and Uchiha Hikari. Hikari remained impassive as if she hadn't heard, her eyes only on Shirou.

Shirou nodded with a smile:

"Kakashi's squad is scouting ahead—nothing will go wrong."

With both Shirou and Hikari as her bodyguards, and Kakashi leading the way with his team—

The team included Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and two Hinatas. After the last incident, Naruto was grounded and forbidden to leave the village.

Jiraiya was also watching over him since Akatsuki's target was still the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"The Five Kage Summit—looks like your plan is about to begin,"

Tsunade said meaningfully, clearly aware of everything.

Shirou nodded lightly, smiling:

"But there's no rush in this world. We'll let Akatsuki take the heat first.

After all, we already know about the hundred thousand White Zetsu. Once the major villages send their elites and both sides are heavily damaged, that's when we'll strike..."

After everyone exhausts themselves against Akatsuki's army of White Zetsu, he could swoop in for the win.

Suna wasn't a problem. Hidden Cloud was in chaos per Mabui's plan. Mist had just emerged from the Bloody Mist era—if things went well with Mei, it'd be easy. After all, Mist in another world was already under control.

Maybe the two worlds' Mist Villages could talk.

Iwa was even less of an issue.

In short, the Five Great Villages were merely pieces on his chessboard, used to buy time. freēwēbnovel.com

He needed time. He could face Rinnegan Madara, but against Six Paths Madara or Kaguya, he still needed to develop his strength.

"Six Paths, huh..."

Thinking this, Shirou narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky, at the moon that wasn't there.

According to this world's intel, the moon could help him achieve Sage of Six Paths power ahead of time, giving him the strength he needed for future battles.

"Otsutsuki descendants... Tenseigan!"

A smile crept onto Shirou's lips, his pupils flashing with the purple of the Rinnegan.

This world's Rinnegan—one had been taken by Black Zetsu, and the other was corrupted by Black Zetsu's power, but to him, both were sources of power to consume.

Inside the village.

"Why isn't Kakashi-sensei's team taking me? I'm a member of Team 7 too!"

Naruto complained, clearly upset. He was a Team 7 member, after all.

Lately, things hadn't been easy for him.

His former teammates had grown distant. Even when he tried to laugh it off and invite everyone for ramen, they all made excuses.

Even Lee, usually all about youth and hot-blooded spirit, just said he had to train.

"Why, Ero-sensei? Why is everyone—why is the whole village like this? It wasn't like this before."

Naruto was filled with frustration. Everyone had once accepted him, and happily greeted him, but ever since Akatsuki attacked the village, even villagers who once accepted him now kept their distance.

"Naruto..."

Jiraiya rubbed his white hair and sighed:

"Naruto, you have to understand, that the respect you got in the village was because you're the Fourth Hokage Minato's son.

Minato sacrificed himself as the Hokage to protect the village, so people respected you because of your father."

Jiraiya's words would have devastated most people, but Naruto was Naruto.

With his usual thick-skinned sincerity, Naruto nodded:

"I know my dad was a hero, but why is everyone acting like this now?"

Jiraiya was speechless. That thick skin had its uses, but sometimes nothing could get through.

No matter how you explained, the other person just wouldn't hear it.

"Naruto, before, people respected you because of your father. But now, because Akatsuki targeted you, they think you brought disaster to the village..."

Jiraiya implied that the Fourth Hokage's glory would eventually fade, and to earn everyone's recognition, Naruto needed to rely on himself.

But Naruto, with his passionate spirit, gritted his teeth and said angrily:

"But why didn't Kakashi-sensei take me? I..."

Jiraiya's eye twitched. Wasn't it obvious? After all your reckless stunts, people had lost trust.

Even your old teammates—because of your impulsiveness for Konohamaru, everyone else...

Jiraiya could only sigh. The Sarutobi incident had left him helpless, but for the village's peace, he could only turn a blind eye.

"Naruto, you're too impulsive. You let your emotions control you and never think about the village or your comrades. What you did hurt your friends..."

"Pervy Sage! What did I do wrong? Isn't Konohamaru our comrade too? Was I supposed to just let them do the wrong thing? We're all comrades. If we just trust each other—"

Jiraiya both admired and felt helpless at Naruto's stubbornness.

"All right, Naruto. For now, come with me to Mount Myoboku for some training. Think carefully about your relationship with your friends and the village. For now, everyone just sees you as a regular teammate..."

Jiraiya shook his head. He wondered if Naruto would ever find happiness living in his dream world.

...

Land of Iron.

Amidst the howling wind and snow, the Kage from the Five Great Villages arrived at the so-called neutral country.

"So this is the Land of Iron, the neutral land? All the samurai here use chakra."

Looking out the window at the armored, masked samurai, Kankuro couldn't help but marvel. Such professional samurai were rare.

Inside their temporary quarters, Gaara stared gravely at the book his sister Temari had given him.

"Peace... can only truly be realized after unification? How is that possible? Shouldn't it be about mutual understanding..."

As the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara's words lacked the purity they once had—he was less sure now.

He frowned, reading the book's story—a firsthand account of peace through mutual understanding.

"Without overwhelming force, relying solely on mutual understanding will eventually lead to conflict, starting with small issues and escalating to major conflicts, since no one suppresses them. The conflict evolves and grows...

Until eventually, war breaks out. Even peaceful villages can be swayed by rhetoric and blindly follow, and strength isn't just about power, but also about strong ideals of peace..."

Such an accurate depiction of peace, along with practical examples, made Gaara ponder deeply.

If mutual understanding could bring peace, why hadn't he achieved it in his village, even as Kazekage?

"Gaara's really something, reading all the way here,"

Kankuro complained, but most of his attention was on watching the other ninjas from the villages arriving today.

That was his mission: protect the Kage and gather intelligence.

In the snowy fields, Mist envoys arrived, crunching through thick snow, and were personally received by General Mifune of the Land of Iron, before being led into the ancient castle.

"Welcome, Fifth Mizukage."

Mifune led a dozen samurai in a formal welcome. Many were surprised—the Fifth Mizukage was a woman.

Meanwhile, other ninja village envoys secretly began collecting information.

"This blizzard... we're finally here."

With a lazy, seductive voice, the Mizukage removed her hat, stunning many with her beauty.

"Fifth Mizukage, we've prepared resting quarters for you all,"

Mifune said calmly. The Mizukage, Mei Terumi, raised an eyebrow.

"So, Mifune-dono, have the other Kage arrived?"

"Except for the summit's initiator, the Fourth Raikage, who is still on the way and expected tonight, the Hokage should arrive soon. The Third Tsuchikage and Fifth Kazekage arrived yesterday."

"I see."

Hearing the Hokage would arrive today, Mei's eyes lit up with interest.

Among the Five Kage, only she and Konoha's Hokage were women.

"Report, Mifune-sama! The Hokage's party has arrived!"

At that moment, a samurai guard reported loudly, letting everyone know the Fifth Hokage was about to arrive.

Hearing this, Mei's expression faltered.

That man is coming too!

For a moment, Mei's eyes clouded with hesitation, unsure how to face him, but quickly regained her composure.

Why should she panic? That man was from another world her husband, not hers. If anyone should panic, it'd be him.

"Mizukage-sama?"

Chojuro asked in confusion, seeing the Mizukage pause.

But Mei just smiled, radiating unmatched poise.

"Since the Hokage is here, as the only two female Kage of the Five Great Villages, we should meet first."