Chapter 296: Hidden Rock Road
The border of the Fire Nation.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ohnoki, was standing on a cliff, looking down at the forest in the distance with a condescending attitude, his eyes revealing an ambition that was difficult to conceal.

Because the Earth Country is poor and the Fire Country is rich, the Iwagakure Village had plans and actions to invade the Fire Country as early as when the Second Hokage was alive.

However, due to Konoha's profound heritage, every military operation against the Fire Nation ended in failure.

This is also something that can't be helped.

Although the Land of Fire is surrounded by enemies on all sides and is the primary target of attack among many ninja villages, this wealthy land has never lacked powerful and determined ninjas.

Even though it was besieged by several ninja villages, Konoha was able to win the war with its own strength.

However, those are things of the past.

With a series of events such as the Third Ninja World War, the Night of the Nine-Tails and the Uchiha Rebellion, Konoha has fallen into an unprecedented state of weakness.

As long as you seize this opportunity and take a big bite, you will definitely be able to gain huge benefits.

Of course, the premise of all this is that Uchiha really launched a coup, otherwise the military action led by himself would most likely end in failure.

Just as Ohnoki was worried about the future, Huangtu walked up to Ohnoki and said excitedly:

"Father, your judgment is correct. A great turmoil broke out in Konoha a few days ago. Itachi Uchiha, a genius of the Uchiha clan, killed all his clan members and defected from the Konoha Ninja Village."

After hearing this, Ohnoki was slightly stunned and complained in his heart:

"Wasn't the Uchiha clan planning to launch a coup? How did it become Uchiha Itachi killing the entire clan and defecting from Konohagakure? How is this different from what was agreed upon?"

But it didn't take long for Ohnoki to figure out the key.

Uchiha Itachi killed the entire clan. This was just the official announcement of Konoha. The real situation could not be that simple. No matter how talented the young man named Uchiha Itachi was, he could not destroy the entire clan by himself.

Moreover, Uchiha ninjas value feelings the most, so how could they kill the tribesmen they value most?
After a little thought, Ōnoki began to imagine the real situation in Konoha at that time.

It was highly likely that the Konoha high-level officials had discovered the Uchiha clan's plan to launch a coup and dispatched hundreds of ninjas to surround the Uchiha clan's territory, thus nipping the Uchiha coup in the bud.

The Uchiha boy named Itachi is most likely the only survivor and is wanted as a murderer.

After thinking about this, Ohnoki felt inexplicably emotional.

He knew the two old foxes, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, too well. He understood that if these two old foxes knew that someone in the village was restless, they would definitely use these means.

The wrongly accused Uchiha boy was pitiful. Not only was his family destroyed, but he also had to bear such a serious crime.

After calming down, Ōnoki began to think about the next attack against Konoha.

During the past two days of military operations, he and his Iwagakure Corps had captured a dozen border outposts and several military camps of the Fire Country. As long as they could break through the next pass, they would be able to reach the heart of the Fire Country.

If everything goes well, it will only take a few days to reach the outskirts of Konoha Village.

This is a unique opportunity for the Iwagakure Village. Once they reach the outside of Konoha Village, the myth of the invincibility of Konoha Village will be completely defeated.

Iwagakure will replace Konohagakure as the top ninja village in the ninja world. Huang Tu noticed his father's excited eyes and said excitedly: "Father, you really predicted it this time. After this battle is over and we take the land of the Land of Fire, Lao Zi and Han will definitely be convinced by you."

After hearing this, Ohnoki's inflated mentality was instantly brought back to normal.

Was he the one who made the important judgment on the situation in Konoha? Not him at all. The one who really knew the situation in Konoha was Bai Ye from the Hidden Rain Village.

As early as half a year ago, Bai Ye predicted that the Uchiha would launch a coup, and the prediction was confirmed not long ago.

When he thought of Bai Ye's terrifying strength that was comparable to that of the first Hokage, and his ability to analyze intelligence that could be called a prophecy, Ohnoki couldn't help but shrink his clothes. He shuddered.

Thinking of this, Ohnoki patted Huangtu's shoulder and said, "Our target this time is not the land of the Land of Fire, nor have we thought about attacking the Konoha Village."

Huang Tu was stunned and looked at his father in disbelief.

Didn't my father usually love land the most? He never stopped his espionage activities against the Stone Kingdom and the Grass Kingdom, so why did he suddenly show no interest in land?

Ohnoki said meaningfully: "Our goal is to make Konoha give up its military alliance with other small countries and give up its position as the number one ninja village. The rest can be discussed later."

Hearing this, Huang Tu understood Oonoki's thoughts.

This act of taking advantage of Konoha's internal strife is being carried out. Once Konoha recovers, the Iwagakure Village will surely be plunged into the quagmire of war.

Although there are a large number of Iwagakure ninjas, there are also a lot of Konoha ninjas, and their quality is even higher.

Taking advantage of the internal strife in Konoha, the Iwagakure Village can gain a huge advantage in the early stages.

But if it is delayed for a long time, it will be a different story.

Apart from anything else, the surrounding Sand Village, Cloud Village, and Mist Village will definitely not stand idly by, which is something that neither he nor his father want to see.

Of course, what Huangtu didn't know was that Oonoki was most afraid of the Hidden Rain Village.

If the Iwagakure Village really swallows up the Earth Style of the Fire Country, it will form an encirclement around the Rain Village, and the two ninja villages that were originally cooperating secretly will also come into conflict due to their own interests.

In terms of the overall strength of the village, the Hidden Rain Village is definitely no match for the Hidden Rock Village.

But there are too many strong people in the Hidden Rain Village. Once these masters launch an attack on the Hidden Rock Village, the Hidden Rock Village will never be able to carry out its mission normally again.

Especially towards the White Night of the Hidden Rain Village, Ohnoki was filled with nothing but fear.

In Ohnoki's opinion, Byakuya is a younger version of Uchiha Madara, and he also possesses the cunning and vicious mind of Tobirama. He is the most terrifying ninja today.

Faced with such a powerful ninja, if you do not accept cooperation now, the only option left in the future will be surrender. After all, there is no Hashirama Senju in the ninja world today.

After staring at the yellow earth for a few seconds, Ōnoki left the cliff and landed among the crowd.

He looked in the direction of Konohagakure and shouted to the surrounding Iwagakure ninjas: "Iwagakure ninjas, we must take the pass ahead today and penetrate the heart of the Land of Fire!"

"Iwagakure will become the most powerful ninja village in the ninja world!"

(End of this chapter)