Chapter 176: The Cold War Between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water
"I can't help but feel like something's off in the village..."
Walking through the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, Sarada glanced around.
Although the village looked more or less the same as when she left, Sarada couldn't shake the feeling that the atmosphere had changed.
A tense air hung over everything. The carefree, relaxed expressions of the villagers were gone, replaced by somber, heavy looks.
"Jar Merchant, I'm heading home for now."
With that, Sarada vanished in an instant.
"At this hour, Mom should still be at the Leaf Hospital..."
Leaf Hospital.
"Sarada?!"
Seeing Sarada suddenly appear, Sakura was momentarily confused before her face lit up with joy and she rushed forward to hug her.
"Mom, I'm back."
Sarada patted Sakura on the back, and her eyes began to mist up as well.
After all, this was her first time being away from home for such a long stretch. It would be a lie to say she hadn't missed her parents.
"Sarada, what happened to your eye?" Sakura looked worriedly at the eye patch covering Sarada's right eye. "Weren't you off training with that jar?"
"Yeah." Sarada nodded and took off the patch. "Mom, this is the result of my training."
Revealed beneath the patch was a Rinnegan.
Although it looked noticeably dim, it was unmistakably a Rinnegan.
Shock and concern appeared on Sakura's face. Taking Sarada by the hand, she said, "Come with me to the Hokage's Office. Your father should be there too."
When it came to people in the Leaf Village who knew the most about the Rinnegan, none could compare to Sarada's father—Uchiha Sasuke.
Hokage's Office.
Hearing the door open, Naruto looked up from his paperwork.
"Sarada, you're back. And Sakura, what brings you here too?"
"Sakura, Sarada."
Standing next to Naruto, Sasuke turned toward his wife and daughter.
"Sasuke, take a look at Sarada's eye."
At Sakura's words, Sasuke's face turned serious. For the Uchiha clan, the most important thing was undoubtedly their eyes.
If they had to choose between kidney failure and problems with their eyes, most Uchiha would absolutely pick the kidney issue.
The reason it's "most" and not "all" is because there were always some oddballs in the clan—like Uchiha Shunhi.
He could put up with anything—except kidney problems.
Even though Shunhi had long since adopted a health-conscious lifestyle with goji berries in a thermos, he'd never admit to any kidney trouble.
"Sarada, look up."
Sasuke stepped in front of her, gently lifting her chin as he stared into her eyes.
"What is it, Sasuke?" Naruto walked over and glanced at Sarada's eye as well, his expression turning to shock. "That's a Rinnegan, isn't it? But... it looks so dull."
"Yeah," Sasuke nodded solemnly. "This is likely due to chakra depletion. Sarada, have you been overusing the Rinnegan's abilities?"
After a moment's hesitation, Sarada began recounting everything she had experienced in detail.
"I see... So that's how it is..."
Although Naruto didn't entirely grasp the theory about a parallel ninja world outside of their own, that didn't stop him from nodding thoughtfully.
"Sasuke, will Sarada be okay?" Sakura asked worriedly.
"She's fine. It's just that her ocular chakra has been drained. She'll just need some time to recover... Think of the Rinnegan as a fishpond, and the chakra inside it as the fish. If all the fish are caught, you just need to restock the pond with some fry, and before long, it'll be full again."
Sasuke explained to Sarada using an analogy.
Sarada nodded, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Seventh Hokage, has something happened in the village? The atmosphere feels weird... And where are Boruto and Shuyu? I haven't seen them around."
"About that... Actually, Sarada, Boruto, Shuyu, and Kawaki—also known as Ino—were sent on a mission to the Hidden Sand Village in the Land of Wind."
Naruto replied.
"The reason for the strange atmosphere in the village right now is because the Land of Water might go to war with the Land of Fire," Sasuke added.
"That's right." Naruto nodded. "The Daimyō of the Land of Water refused to hand over Ao and the intel about Kara, so the relationship between the two nations has gotten tense."
In fact, the Water Daimyō had already begun deploying ninja forces along the coastal border shared with the Land of Fire. As a result, the Fire Daimyō ordered Konoha to do the same.
The deployment was led by the Hyūga clan under Hanabi Hyūga's command.
"Seventh Hokage, is there a mission I can take on?"
Sarada looked directly at Naruto.
"You just got back, Sarada. Why don't you rest a bit first?"
"No need, Seventh Hokage."
"...Alright, then. Sarada, I'll have you go support Boruto and the others."
Naruto nodded slowly.
With Gaara's protection in the Land of Wind, there shouldn't be any major danger.
"Understood."
The coastline where the Land of Fire and the Land of Water face each other—also the only coast the Land of Fire has.
"Kara operative! Stop right there!"
Although the Water Country's ninja hadn't made any aggressive moves, Kara's members had been constantly harassing the Konoha forces stationed along the shore.
Yet Konoha couldn't openly condemn the Land of Water for this. Everyone knew the Water Daimyō had close ties to Kara, but the country had never publicly announced any alliance with the organization.
"You really like chasing people, don't you, little girl?"
Kara's female operative Delta suddenly stopped and turned to Hanabi Hyūga, who had been pursuing her relentlessly.
"State your reason for infiltrating the Land of Fire!"
Hanabi also came to a halt, staring at Delta.
"Hanabi Hyūga, heir to the Hyūga Clan. I'm not wrong, am I..."
Delta fixed her eyes on Hanabi, a dangerous glint in her gaze.
"If you don't want the Hyūga Clan to lose its future head, you'd best not get in my way. Do you hear me, Hanabi Hyūga?"
"Hmph. Like I'd let that happen. Since I'm heading back to the Leaf anyway, I'll just take you with me."
As Hanabi spoke, she moved into her Gentle Fist stance.
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