The Ninja World had been anything but peaceful lately. Shocking events kept happening one after another. Never before had these shinobi felt that the world had undergone such tremendous changes.
First, Itachi Uchiha had died. The news exploded among the Five Great Villages like a thunderclap. This missing-nin from Konoha had been an elite evil genius even within the Akatsuki Organization, yet he had died at such a young age.
The second matter was no less shocking. Orochimaru had revived using Sasuke's body. Everyone had long expected such an outcome; after all, Orochimaru was like someone who simply could not die. Whenever people thought he had reached the end of the road, he always managed to wriggle back to life at the worst possible time.
But this time, they were truly panicking—especially Konoha. After all, it had been the Third Hokage who had cost Orochimaru his hands. The Konoha Crush Plan was still fresh in their memories. Could Konoha truly bear Orochimaru's revenge?
That was a man who had mastered countless forbidden jutsu. Even the Third Hokage had died at his hands. No matter how dangerous Itachi Uchiha had been, he was dead now. Orochimaru, however, was still alive and well.
Konoha had more than just that to worry about. The Akatsuki Organization in Amegakure, led by someone called Pain, had also announced war against Konoha at this time. According to Jiraiya, that man was the leader of the Akatsuki Organization. They had been hiding in Amegakure, and now that their lair had been completely exposed, they seemed prepared to fight Konoha to the death.
In truth, these events were connected, and quite closely at that. Nagato had not dared to act against Konoha rashly because Itachi Uchiha had been around. But now that Itachi was dead, Nagato's plans against