UK:GSW Chapter 432 – The Hidden Cloud Tries to Threaten Konoha, but Backs Off
Gaara knew certain things because of Naruto.
Due to his relationship with Naruto—and because Naruto believed Gaara would become a companion in their path forward—Naruto decided to tell him some things.
Before that, however, Naruto first sought Gaara out, giving him many reminders, and very seriously warning him that after learning certain matters, if he wished to back out later, at the very least his relevant memories would have to be erased.
To this, Gaara agreed without hesitation.
For no other reason than this was the bond between him and Naruto!
In the shinobi world, bonds were an invincible force.
Of course, another major reason was that, in Gaara's view, such drastic changes in Konoha must have a purpose. Naruto's attention toward him was, in effect, an indirect hint that for the Hidden Sand Village to have a future, it had to keep in step with Konoha.
Gaara did not know why Naruto would hint in this way, but he believed Naruto must have a reason. Just as in the original story, to Gaara, Naruto was his salvation—the one who had saved him multiple times. So he was willing to place in Naruto a trust that went beyond his village and past grudges, to walk with him in creating a new era.
Thus, Gaara quietly came to Konoha, and through Naruto's connections, learned the hidden secret of the genjutsu games, learned of the existence of parallel worlds, and was even sent to see the situation in that other world.
Seeing the prosperity and strength of the main world's Konoha, and learning that the two Konohas had already begun cooperating in secret, Gaara understood: neither shinobi world could resist the power of "Konoha." Whatever Konoha decided to do to either shinobi world, the Hidden Sand Village could not oppose it.
In such a great tide of change, the Sand could only keep in step with Konoha if it wanted a place in the future.
Especially after Naruto told him the Akatsuki had indeed been destroyed by Konoha, with all the spoils falling into Konoha's hands, Gaara's certainty only deepened.
So Gaara made his stance clear—as Kazekage, he declared his willingness to advance and retreat alongside Konoha.
Because of this, Gaara was able to meet Shukaku in the genjutsu network—a Shukaku who was now living it up in the form of a chubby little avatar, wandering around and playing everywhere.
After being "taught a lesson" last time, Shukaku eventually behaved himself. After all, unable to resist Tamamo-no-Mae's tyranny, and knowing that misbehavior might get him skewered and roasted, no matter how stubborn he was, he had to fall in line. Otherwise, he'd simply be asking to suffer—something that was far from enjoyable.
In the end, Shukaku, like the other Tailed Beasts, was given an alias and allowed to roam freely in the genjutsu network and genjutsu games. There was even a place called the "Great Genjutsu World" that, subjectively, felt even more enjoyable than moving freely in the real world.
After all, in the real world, freedom only attracted human fear and greed, bringing endless trouble. But in the genjutsu world, there was no need to worry about such things—he could do as he pleased.
Unsurprisingly, this experience made Shukaku a staunch supporter of "What's wrong with living in the genjutsu world?"
It was in such circumstances that Gaara met Shukaku again. Both were full of thoughts, their perspectives completely different now.
Once, man and beast had been mortal enemies. But after the Akatsuki's attack, Shukaku's extraction, and Gaara's death and revival, their mindsets had changed.
They couldn't help but think: if they had reconciled earlier, and built mutual trust, would the outcome of that battle have been different?
Perhaps it would.
After all, Deidara had only threatened the Hidden Sand Village to force Gaara to consume large amounts of his own chakra to protect the village, which gave Deidara his chance. If Shukaku and Gaara had been in harmony at the time, Gaara could have drawn directly on Shukaku's chakra—perhaps even gone into full Tailed Beast Mode.
Unfortunately, that was a regret that could never be realized. Now that he had finally gained freedom in the genjutsu world, Shukaku was not going back into Gaara's body.
Still, the two would have plenty of time to interact in the future. Once the Sand of the No. 2 World connected to the network, Gaara could meet Shukaku anytime in the genjutsu network.
Shukaku's true body could even be placed back in the No. 2 World's Sand.
The reason was simple: with Gaara openly committing the Sand to Konoha, the network connection was inevitable. And to maintain a stable connection capable of seamless cross-world linking with the main world's genjutsu network, a stable base station was needed—and Shukaku could serve as that base.
For now, though, with the No. 2 shinobi world unstable, and with Gaara needing to solve internal issues in the Sand before joining formally, Shukaku could not be sent back yet. Until then, the No. 2 Sand could only use floating base stations as a substitute.
This meant some network delay, and no direct cross-world connection, but linking to the No. 2 Konoha's genjutsu network was possible. The No. 2 Konoha had built many base stations, and the Nine-Tails inside Naruto served as a stable cross-world network hub—allowing near-synchronization with the main world. But for now, to hide the existence of the two worlds, the external network was blocked; the No. 2 world could not connect to the main world's genjutsu network.
Even so, for a shinobi world just discovering genjutsu games and networks, this was already revolutionary—enough to shake traditional norms to the core.
It was in such a situation that the Hidden Cloud suddenly spread news that Konoha had destroyed the Akatsuki, encouraging others to speculate that Konoha had seized the Akatsuki's legacy—including the Rinnegan and various Tailed Beasts.
This, of course, made Konoha appear as the greatest beneficiary of the Akatsuki's actions. Some even maliciously claimed that the Akatsuki might have been propped up by Konoha from the start—meant to weaken other villages and seize all the Tailed Beasts, only to be eliminated by Konoha once their usefulness ended.
A vicious speculation indeed!
And one that could be voiced without restraint—after all, the No. 2 Konoha's influence was far less than the main world's Konoha. It had been weak for over a decade, and though it had recently recovered, it was still far from its pre–Nine-Tails Rampage glory. Many did not take it seriously and freely dumped slander on it.
Many forces assumed that Konoha, facing such a storm of public opinion, would try to prove its innocence—falling into a self-defeating trap to clear its name and avoid public outrage.
After all, in the Hyuga Clan Incident years ago, the whole shinobi world knew Konoha had been the victim, yet because of its weakness and fear of war, it submitted to the Cloud—offering the life of the Hyuga branch family's head. It became a laughingstock.
Later, in Orochimaru's Konoha Crush, another Hokage died in office—meaning the Third and Fourth Hokage died in succession. And for various reasons afterward, Konoha handled the Sand, one of the culprits, with leniency, letting them off with little consequence. Orochimaru, the other culprit, roamed free for years, untouchable.
Such a Konoha had no prestige—fit to sit at the "kids' table" alongside the Mist.
In some ways, it was even worse than the Mist—at least the Mist's "Blood Mist" policy was frightening to others, and its offshore location made it hard to attack directly. At worst, they were mocked, but rarely threatened.
Only Konoha, located in the fertile heart of the Fire Country, had been weak for more than ten years. Though small nations still respected its power, there was far more mockery and disdain—seeing it as ripe for replacement.
Thus, in the current situation, many assumed Konoha would once again back down.
Some were already considering what spoils to demand from Konoha—and soon enough, eyes turned to the genjutsu games and networks.
After experiencing them, everyone knew they were priceless. Whoever obtained the technology or hardware would reap immense benefits.
The Hidden Cloud thought so too—after all, they had once extorted benefits from Konoha by threat.
But this time, Konoha ignored all outside noise and malicious speculation.
Yes—ignored it entirely. The No. 2 Konoha responded to such claims only with, "That is not the case," when officially asked by other villages.
The stance was icy-cool—an attitude of "believe it or not."
This shocked the shinobi world. No one had expected Konoha's response to be so firm and indifferent, giving many the eerie thought: "This isn't the Konoha we know. What village is this?"
Then, in this climate, the new genjutsu game The Last Ninja's promotion arrived—revealing its upcoming release. The promotional content was unlike anything seen before, including scenes of Konoha in ruins—leaving many baffled and amazed.
They couldn't make sense of it—especially with their shallow understanding of genjutsu games, far behind the main world. The confusion only deepened.
Too strange. One look…
Still too strange. Another look…
That was the honest reaction across the shinobi world.
In this atmosphere, after careful thought, the Fourth Raikage Ai slammed his desk and decided to perform a traditional move—just as he had once intimidated Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha's leadership—by threatening Konoha with war.
A case of habitual thinking.
This was the news from the main world: Konoha #2 was in trouble.
Of course, it was only "trouble." The No. 2 Konoha, though far less powerful than the main world's Konoha, was no longer something the Cloud could simply bully—and certainly not the weak Konoha of the past.
Faced with the Cloud's war threat, the No. 2 Konoha's leadership convened urgently. In the end, Fifth Hokage Tsunade responded on Konoha's behalf.
Her words were lengthy, but the summary was: "We have already answered this matter. If you refuse to believe and threaten war—then war it is. Do you think Konoha fears you?"
Then, the Hokage's advisor Kakashi Hatake personally led Konoha's elite forces to the Fire Country's border for a standoff—making clear that Konoha was not afraid to fight.
At the same time, the message was sent to the Fire Country's daimyo, stating that Konoha would stand firm and hoped the daimyo would stand with them.
The daimyo was stunned—he had not expected the once-weak Konoha to suddenly become so strong-willed. Since the Nine-Tails Rampage, more than a decade had passed, and the whole shinobi world—including the current daimyo—had gotten used to Konoha being weak.
By the way, this daimyo was not the same as in the main world—he was the son of the previous daimyo, having taken the throne after the Third Shinobi World War. During his reign, Konoha had always been in a weakened state, and he had grown used to it.
Now, seeing such a forceful Konoha, he felt unaccustomed to it.
Still, though surprised and unaccustomed, the daimyo was pleased. Konoha was, after all, his shinobi village. Its weakness had left him embarrassed before the other great daimyos. Now that Konoha was standing tall, he would fully support it—at least he'd have the capital to boast next time.
Yes—to a daimyo, conflict between shinobi villages—even the so-called Shinobi World Wars—was far removed from their own lives. It was their "war game."
If they won, they gained extended security and extracted benefits from other nations. If they lost, they merely lost some benefits and face. Compared to the shinobi fighting and dying on the battlefield, the daimyos were far removed from the war, in complete safety.
That was why, even in the face of a Fourth Shinobi World War–level event, the daimyos could be unconcerned, playing games and treating it like a vacation.
Such was the disconnect caused by centuries of rigid class division in the shinobi world—the aristocratic daimyos did not even live in the same worldview as ordinary people and shinobi.
This was also why the main world's reformists, led by Minato Namikaze, wanted to completely change the shinobi system.
As for now, the winds of change had yet to blow into the No. 2 shinobi world.
For the moment, the traditional shinobi way of settling matters would do.
One week before The Last Ninja's release, the No. 2 shinobi world saw a standoff on the Fire Country–Tan Country border.
The Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire did not share a border—several small nations lay between them. In any great nation conflict, these small countries automatically became battlefields; every Shinobi World War had been like this.
Once, those small nations between Lightning and Fire had been Fire's client states. But after the Nine-Tails Rampage, Konoha's power contracted. Forced to compromise with the Cloud, these countries became Lightning's client states.
Now, with the Cloud seeking trouble, their forces crossed several nations to reach the Fire Country's border—presenting an overwhelming force that pressured both the Fire Country and nearby small nations.
At least 2,000 Cloud shinobi massed at the Fire border, looking ready to invade at any moment—putting huge pressure on the region.
Yet Konoha showed no panic. Kakashi Hatake led just over 1,000 shinobi to confront the Cloud at the border. Though they did not attack, their stance was strong—showing no fear.
Such decisiveness and strength shocked the shinobi world. No one expected Konoha to act so forcefully—it was as if the entire village leadership had been replaced. No one could understand why Konoha dared to act this way, or what gave it the confidence.
Whatever the reason, this stance disrupted the Cloud's plans—and completely derailed the schemes of other powers.
For the moment, the shinobi world entered a strange, tense calm before the storm.
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium