"Clan head?"
Tsunade found it hard to accept, her brows tightly furrowed: "Are you messing with me?"
What kind of joke is this? Anyway, I find it hard to believe, impossible to imagine that in the blink of an eye, the Uchiha clan head would just change like that.
Honestly, this is too outrageous.
She found it a bit difficult to comprehend this matter.
Facing Tsunade's doubts, Bai Mu didn't intend to explain too much; a brief explanation would suffice.
"No, I am already the clan head. You should have seen my efficiency. I deduce that the Third Hokage must have sent someone, who should be arriving soon. The first thing they will do is definitely ask us to return to the village. If you're unwilling, there might be a letter for you, playing the master-disciple card."
"Hmph, you certainly understand," Tsunade said, her expression subtly changing. She clearly knew that what Bai Mu said was basically correct, but she didn't want to talk too much about it.
"It's not so much understanding as being able to roughly guess," Bai Mu said slowly, giving Tsunade a meaningful look.
Hearing this, Tsunade raised an eyebrow and fell into deep thought.
A moment later, she began to analyze.
"Regardless of my teacher's intentions, his reason for wanting us back is nothing more than the Hidden Mist matter. However, the Hidden Mist, due to the death of the Third Mizukage and the collapse of their main forces on the front lines, has had its remaining troops withdraw, likely back to the Land of Water. What the Hidden Mist's current movements are is also something we need to be concerned about. It's not that just because the Hidden Mist has retreated and the Mizukage has died that we can rest easy. From my experience…"
At this point, Tsunade paused, then continued: "I believe the Hidden Mist will gather troops and once again raid our positions, which means our main camp is not safe, and our defenses will still face challenges."
Bai Mu softly said, "The Uchiha are still here, so you don't need to worry about the front line's safety. Moreover, if the Hidden Mist invades again, with Uchiha ninja stationed at the front, border security will not be threatened in any way."
Esdeath felt that Tsunade, in considering these issues, completely ignored the Hidden Mist's losses. It should be known that the elite troops brought by the Third Mizukage, those Hidden Mist elites, could be said to have suffered a crushing defeat, with only a handful of survivors returning. Not to mention that the Hidden Mist's main forces on the front lines also collapsed.
In such a situation, the so-called residual forces would be doing well to have one or two hundred people, and it's even more likely to be less than a few dozen. How can one expect these terrified, defeated soldiers to organize another elite force to fight? In her opinion, it was completely impossible, so Tsunade's thoughts on these matters were entirely superfluous.
"You're overthinking it a bit. The Hidden Mist is fighting on multiple fronts, and this area was originally a stalemate. Furthermore, with the islands and the sea as the main battlefield, they had a complete geographical advantage, but what was the result? A crushing defeat, even losing their Mizukage. I ask you, in this situation, would they fight again? Give me a break, that's impossible!"
As soon as Esdeath's analysis came out, Tsunade's face immediately darkened, clearly annoyed by her words.
However, she then realized that Esdeath's analysis really had no flaws.
What followed, naturally, was suspicion.
This analytical ability... Honestly, it's truly extraordinary.
Then this is a bit too impressive.
Being strong can be considered special, but to also possess such insight, especially in analyzing the war situation, it's truly incisive... Hiss, strange, too strange.
Esdeath's abilities are basically those of someone who has served as a commander; even Tsunade seemed inferior. The other party's battlefield insight and analytical skills were far superior to hers, so what was this person's background?
Tsunade fell into deep thought.
Bai Mu didn't reveal too much, which made her very suspicious of Esdeath and Alice Liese. Even though Bai Mu had clearly stated there was no need to worry, Tsunade couldn't help but have concerns and worries in this regard.
Just as Tsunade was about to speak, Uchiha Mina's voice rang out from outside the tent.
"Lord Bai Mu, the Anbu have arrived."
Hearing this, Bai Mu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he chuckled softly: "Oh, they've finally arrived."
"Who is it?"
Tsunade walked out directly.
In her haste, she didn't even consider whether walking out like this would cause any misunderstandings, simply because Tsunade only wanted to know who her teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would send to the front lines.
Uchiha Mina didn't directly answer Tsunade's question; instead, she looked at Bai Mu, who was behind Tsunade. Only after the latter gave a confirming look did she open her mouth to answer the question.
"It's the Third Hokage's son!"
Is it Sarutobi Mirai?
As the Third Hokage's disciple, Tsunade couldn't possibly not know the Third Hokage's son, so she immediately understood that it was his eldest son, Sarutobi Mirai.
The Anbu's captain, specifically responsible for this special organization directly commanded by the Hokage.
"Where is he?"
Tsunade asked again.
She was genuinely anxious now. Knowing it was Sarutobi Miroku, she feared a conflict between the Uchiha Clan and him. Such a situation wasn't impossible.
"Lady Tsunade, you don't need to worry. We, the Uchiha Clan, know how to treat Anbu members, and we can go see him shortly."
Bai Mu understood Tsunade's anxiety and tried his best to reassure her.
Tsunade: "..."
How can I not be anxious?
I'm well aware of the conflict between your Uchiha Clan and the Hokage faction. The Anbu Commander, who is also the Hokage's biological son, has arrived. What if something goes wrong? What then?
I don't want an uncontrollable variable like this to appear during a critical period of war. If something unexpected happens, how will it be resolved?
But she knew that she and Bai Mu couldn't communicate right now; their perspectives were different. So Tsunade knew she needed to first ascertain the Village's latest instructions.
Of course, Tsunade also understood her teacher's intentions. She knew that as she was on the front lines, he definitely wouldn't want her staying here, so calling her back was a given. But besides that?
What did the Old Man plan to do about Bai Mu's issue?
She thought of Bai Mu's mysterious and unpredictable abilities: granting her immense power, allowing her to awaken Wood Release, her Chakra comparable to her grandfather's, plus this terrifying healing ability. Previously, she needed the power of the Yin Seal to use Creation Rebirth and activate the Strength of a Hundred Seal to gain rapid healing.
However, this consumed an immeasurable amount of Chakra. Even for Tsunade, who was from the Senju Clan and habitually compressed surplus Chakra into the diamond mark on her forehead using the Yin Seal, gaining an almost infinite Chakra supply upon release, these expenditures were still enormous. So Tsunade knew she couldn't compare to her grandfather Senju Hashirama's seal-less healing ability. But now?
She had gained the same healing ability as her grandfather.
And all of this was thanks to Bai Mu. So she naturally understood what this meant. Moreover, Bai Mu wanted to initiate reforms, not just for the Village, but for the entire Ninja World... Undoubtedly, this would be very troublesome, extremely troublesome.
"That's not what I meant. I just need to remind you that nothing must go wrong before we return." Tsunade could only express her hope that nothing would happen.
The war was stalemated, the pressure immense; internal strife was unacceptable.
If you want to target the Hokage faction, you'll have to wait, at least until the war ends. Internal conflict cannot happen now.
"Don't worry, I won't actively stir up trouble, but that's on the condition that others don't either." Bai Mu shrugged when he heard this, saying nonchalantly.
Tsunade: "..."
Your tone and manner really don't put me at ease.
However, realizing she was already on a 'pirate ship,' she couldn't think of any way to restrain Bai Mu. Or rather, if she couldn't beat him, what could she use to restrain him?
...Within the Land of Whirlpools.
The main tent of Konoha's front-line headquarters.
Sarutobi Miroku was currently very confused and bewildered.
Logically, he was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage's eldest son, and the Anbu Commander. He wasn't some inexperienced young Ninja who hadn't seen the world; he'd witnessed plenty of grand scenes. But the current situation truly exceeded Sarutobi Miroku's imagination.
The Uchiha Clan had undergone a drastic change.
The Clan Head had been replaced, by Uchiha Bai Mu!
Uchiha Bai Mu, does that name ring a bell? A little, but not much, really not much.
As the head of the Anbu, Sarutobi Miroku naturally focused on the Uchiha hawk faction. Bai Mu truly hadn't left him with any deep impression.
It wasn't until this time, when the Uchiha were dispatched to the Land of Whirlpools to fight the Hidden Mist, that he displayed extraordinary strength. And then there was the matter of eliminating the Third Mizukage.
Currently, of course, it was still in doubt, but since Tsunade said it, it was highly likely to be true. It was only after Bai Mu achieved such a feat that he truly entered the Anbu's — and even Konoha's high command's — line of sight.
They began to pay attention to Bai Mu after his brilliant victory, but before that, he had genuinely not been given much thought, even overlooked.
Because Bai Mu had been too low-key before, Konoha's high command overlooked this point. Being unremarkable and having little presence naturally meant they wouldn't waste time... human and material resources, weren't those costs?
Their focus was definitely on Uchiha Fugaku and the hawk faction, such as the Old Man Uchiha Setsuna, and the group of stubborn Uchiha elders close to him.
As for Bai Mu?
Sorry, they truly didn't know about him before.
And now, the Uchiha Clan had undergone such a major upheaval? Uchiha Bai Mu, this young prodigy who had just shone brightly on the Hidden Mist battlefield, had actually become the new Uchiha Clan Head?
Wasn't this preposterous?
Sarutobi Miroku could only understand it this way. How could anyone be so absurd as to casually replace the Clan Head on the front lines?
Even if you had changes, you couldn't make them now. Doesn't it seem ridiculous?
Uchiha Fugaku hadn't come; he was still recovering from his injuries.
The one responsible for receiving them was Uchiha Yatsushiro.
He remained vigilant towards Konoha's high command at all times.
It was Anbu who came, and it was Sarutobi Miroku.
The Third Hokage's son, so he certainly couldn't be careless.
Although Anbu all wore masks, the problem was Sarutobi Miroku wasn't trying to hide his identity. Moreover, if one didn't know who the Anbu Commander was... then they shouldn't be in this line of work, truly not.
For such a critical department and a critical position, if one didn't even know this, how could they operate? They couldn't, not at all.
"Where are the Jonin of the Nara Clan and Hyuga Clan? Where are Hyuga Reijin and Nara Shinichi?" Sarutobi Miroku knew it was useless to ask the Uchiha, so he asked the Ninja of other Ninja Clans on the front lines.
For example, the Hyuga Clan and Nara Clan; their leaders on the front lines should know the situation.
"Jonin Hyuga Reijin is currently scouting the enemy, and Jonin Nara Shinichi, I don't know." Uchiha Yatsushiro answered the question neither subserviently nor arrogantly.
The Hyuga Clan?
They had to be responsible for reconnaissance.
Although the main Hidden Mist forces were almost annihilated, there were still stragglers, and it was also possible they would organize another counterattack.
Therefore, the Hyuga Clan now needed to deploy personnel for external reconnaissance to prevent the Hidden Mist from landing in the Land of Whirlpools again.
As for the Nara Clan? Isn't it normal that they're not in the area where we, the Uchiha, are located?
Each had their own designated areas, clearly divided. They just needed to stay in their respective places. They couldn't be mixed together, could they?
That would be illogical without even thinking about it. My suggestion is for you to look in the Nara Clan's tents. Why insist on asking me here? Is it intentional, unintentional, or deliberately done?
Sarutobi Miroku: "..."
Indeed, I don't like dealing with the Uchiha Clan.
Deeply influenced by his father, Sarutobi Miroku naturally shared his father Hiruzen Sarutobi's strong prejudice against the Uchiha Clan.
Although he knew that Uchiha Yatsushiro's words were not wrong—the main camp would certainly designate areas for rest, and the camp areas were clearly divided, which was perfectly fine—knowing it didn't make Sarutobi Miroku happy.
Of course, he was the Anbu Commander, Hiruzen Sarutobi's trusted eldest son, and extremely capable. So even though he was inwardly angry, he maintained self-control.
Just as Sarutobi Miroku was contemplating his next move, Bai Mu and Tsunade finally arrived.
Upon seeing Tsunade, Sarutobi Miroku immediately stepped forward and respectfully said to her, "Lady Tsunade, this is a letter from Hokage-sama. He also instructed me that he hopes you will return and bring Uchiha Bai Mu back to the Village. There are some matters that need clarification; regarding the Third Mizukage of the Hidden Mist, Hokage-sama wishes to personally understand the inside story."
"I know."
Tsunade knew Sarutobi Miroku, but she was currently thinking about what Bai Mu would do upon returning, so her response was somewhat impatient, no different from usual.
But for Sarutobi Miroku, Tsunade saying "I know" without any further response surprised him greatly.
Because, judging from previous situations, Tsunade was very resistant to returning. It was known that Anbu had been ordered to find Tsunade, but each time her answer was no, and it came with a hint of threat.
But now, this was quite different. So, had she come to her senses?
No, that's unlikely. Sarutobi Miroku couldn't claim to fully understand Tsunade, but he at least knew her temper. She wasn't someone easily swayed. This current situation must be due to some sudden change...