Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 181 No News is Good News

Until the last sound faded away.

Tranquility returned to the world.

He slowly straightened up.

He turned around and looked behind him.

There, the village is still brightly lit and full of life.

It formed a stark contrast to the all-consuming darkness ahead.

"well……"

Nara Shikano let out a long sigh and raised his hand to scratch his already somewhat messy hair.

"This is... such a hassle."

He muttered to himself, and slowly, all the laziness and helplessness faded from his usually listless face.

A profound calm and solemnity gradually surfaced on his face.

"So..."

"My war should begin."

◆

The midday sun was scorching and blinding.

In stark contrast to the perpetually gloomy fog of the Land of Water, the sea at this moment was an endless expanse of azure.

Golden light spilled onto the surging waves, shattering into millions of shimmering scales.

The air was filled with a warm, salty, and fishy smell.

A massive fleet is sailing silently and repressively on this overly bright sea.

Dozens of jet-black warships, like ancient behemoths emerging from the deep sea, cleaved through white waves.

Their ships were long and sturdy, with no ninja village markings on their sails, only some grotesque flags that seemed to belong to pirate gangs and whose meanings were unclear.

This is a ghost fleet.

The ninjas on the ship seemed out of place amidst the bright sunshine.

They were standing or sitting, emanating a chilling murderous aura.

The bow of the flagship.

Kaguya Sonosuke, the patriarch of the Kaguya clan, was sitting cross-legged on the deck.

His upper body was bare, and his pale skin reflected a sickly sheen in the sunlight.

In his hand, he held a freshly polished bone whistle made from the leg bone of some kind of giant sea beast, which he placed to his lips and gently blew.

No sound was emitted.

But Kūnosuke seems to be able to hear a kind of resonance from deep within his bones that only he can hear.

A bloodthirsty and fanatical smile appeared on his face.

Those red eyes gazed into the distance where the water met the sky, as if they could already see the island called the Land of Whirlpools, and the countless living flesh and bones on the island.

Not far from him.

The head of the Yuki clan, Yukinojo, was leaning gracefully against the ship's side.

The sea breeze ruffled his pristine white hunting robe and light blue hair.

He didn't look at anyone, but simply watched with great interest the spray from the waves crashing against the bow of the ship.

In his eyes, the waves that were cut, rolled, and finally returned to calm by the hull contained a unique beauty.

A kind of beauty that is disrupted by external forces, breaking the original order and ultimately fading away.

He stretched out his slender fingers, and on his fingertips, a tiny, almost invisible ice crystal quietly condensed, then vanished instantly in the light, as if it had never existed.

At the other end of the deck, the atmosphere was much more lively.

"call out--!"

A figure in light blue glided swiftly across the deck, navigating a smooth waterway and weaving through the expressionless Hidden Mist ninjas, creating gusts of wind in the process.

"Wuhu~"

Hozuki Shio let out a series of silvery laughs, spreading her arms wide as she enjoyed the thrill of dancing on the edge of a knife, completely ignoring the stares from the ninjas she had disturbed.

"How boring!"

She executed a beautiful drift, stopping in the middle of the deck, and sighed to the heavens.

"When will this wrecked ship ever get to shore? We can't even see a single seagull!!"

"Hey! Shio! Stop wandering around on the boat!"

A cold voice came from the side.

Hozuki Shio made a sharp stop and turned around, only to see her brother, Hozuki Kaigetsu, standing with his arms crossed, coldly watching her.

The girl made a face at him and stuck out her tongue.

"Bro, don't you find this boring? The sun's practically melting me!"

"Why aren't we here yet? I want to fight."

Hozuki Kaigetsu ignored her complaints and appeared in front of her in a flash.

"Bang!"

A crisp flick landed precisely on Hozuki Shio's forehead.

"Ouch! You bastard onii-san! You hit me again!"

Hozuki Shio covered her forehead, glaring at him angrily.

"Quiet."

"Don't cause trouble on the ship."

Hozuki Kaigetsu's voice, like his personality, was cold and devoid of any warmth.

"I'm just bored!"

Hozuki Shio pouted in dissatisfaction, moved closer to her brother, and poked his cold, hard cheek with her finger.

"Onii-san, let's chat for a bit, or you'll really turn into a block of ice!"

"....."

"Quiet."

Hozuki Kaigetsu uttered two words indifferently, turned and walked away, continuing to lean against the mast and wipe his ever-present ninja sword.

"Tch, boring ice cubes."

Hozuki Shio pouted, but ultimately didn't dare to cause any more trouble. She could only walk listlessly to the ship's side and draw circles in the air with her finger.

The atmosphere in this fleet was just that strange.

Passion, elegance, and boredom.

All sorts of incompatible emotions were forcibly mixed together by a glue called war.

Inside the flagship office.

The third Mizukage, Mizuki, stood quietly by the window, overlooking his fleet.

Behind him, Elder Yuan Shi leaned on his cane, his aged face showing a hint of worry that he could not hide.

"Lord Mizukage."

Master Yuan finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Our water ghost squad that we sent to Konoha has been gone for quite some time now, and so far, we haven't received any news from them."

"Do you think they might be...?"

"Master Yuan."

Jian Yue calmly interrupted him, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"No news is good news."

He turned around, his deep eyes like bottomless pools.

"This means they have successfully infiltrated Konoha and are planning something according to our plan."

A cold smile curved the corners of Jian Yue's lips.

"Even if they fail, and are discovered and wiped out by Konoha's Anbu, it doesn't matter."

"Just a few insignificant pawns. Their lives can be used to tie down even the slightest bit of Hiruzen Sarutobi's energy and attract a small portion of Konoha's attention."

"Then... their sacrifice has value."

Upon hearing these extremely cold words, a complex emotion flickered in Yuan Shi's cloudy eyes.

This old friend was, in some ways, even more decisive, and even...ruthless than him.

Perhaps this is the quality that a qualified water shadow must possess.

"We have only one goal."

Seeing Yue turn around again, her gaze fixed on the distant expanse of blue where the sea and sky met, as if she had pierced through the barriers of space and seen the island hidden on the nautical chart.

"The Land of Whirlpools"

"By the time Hiruzen Sarutobi finished dealing with all those matters and came to his senses... our fleet had already razed the Land of Whirlpools and returned laden with spoils."

His voice was calm, yet full of confidence.

It's as if all of this is just stating a given fact.

Master Yuan remained silent.

He had to admit that the Mizukage's plan was meticulously crafted and almost flawless.

They formed an alliance by exploiting the vengeful spirit of the Hidden Cloud Village.

They used a feint attack to confuse Konoha.

Everything was like a well-woven net, slowly tightening its grip on the prey called the Land of Whirlpools.

But for some reason, there was always a faint unease in his heart.

The source of that unease came from a name.

Hiruzen Sarutobi.

That man who, during the Second Shinobi World War, manipulated everyone with an almost monstrous wisdom.

Would he really sink into depravity in the village so easily?

Just then.

"Knock knock knock".

There was a gentle knock on the office door.

"Come in."

A sensory ninja from Kirigakure entered silently and knelt on one knee.

"Lord Mizukage."

"speak."

"A large fleet has been spotted ahead."

Sensing the ninja's voice, calm and professional.

"Is he/she our 'ally'?"

A slight smile appeared on Jian Yue's face.

"Yes."

The sensory ninja nodded.

"Judging from the flags and the style of the ships, it is the fleet of Kumogakure. Their size is larger than we expected."

"Oh."

The Third Mizukage lightly tapped the location of the Land of Whirlpools on the map with his finger.

"It's much earlier than the agreed time."

"It seems that the Third Raikage, that brute, is even more impatient than we are."

A playful smile appeared on his lips.

"Perfect... saves us from waiting."