No War on the Western Front

As time flew by, another month passed in silence.

The Five Great Nations could not exactly be said to be sleeping with their weapons at the ready, but they were at least waging a covert war.

Other than an all-out, large-scale ninja war, nearly every possible method had already been employed.

Assassinations, poisonings, theft, diplomacy, politics—every moral and immoral measure capable of weakening the enemy and strengthening themselves was being used in turn.

At times, to deal with Sunagakure ninja charging straight at Konoha's water sources in suicide attacks, Konoha's Water Release ninja were temporarily gathered to fill specially excavated pools with water, ensuring nothing went wrong.

As for Kumogakure and Stone Village, the border was so lively at night that it sounded like firecrackers popping everywhere. Ninja from all sides slaughtered one another in the darkness, determined to put their enemies in the grave.

However, as Blut Vene began to spread, small-scale team battles became exceptionally troublesome when people could activate their little invincibility and close in to fight.

Other than the occasional jonin capable of breaking through the defense and killing them, those Pale Blue veins had become the nightmare of ninja stationed along the border.

Yet precisely because it worked so well, Stone Ninja and Kumogakure were drawing closer and closer. At times, the ninja themselves even spontaneously formed something akin to an offensive-defensive alliance. Reports also indicated that Stone Ninja and Kumogakure appeared to be showing signs of cooperation.

This news gave the Third Hokage a splitting headache. Kumogakure and Stone Village were already major powers with considerable strength. He had thought the emergence of Blut Vene could overturn the situation on local battlefields, but because it was too outstanding, the enemy had begun to recognize how terrifying it was and had started joining forces. The pressure on the border defenses suddenly soared, as though everything had returned to square one.

Sunagakure and Stone Village faced off against Konoha in the Land of Rain, while Kumogakure and Stone Village exchanged furtive signals and used small infiltration units to sabotage Konoha, leaving Konoha's ninja exhausted and miserable.

More importantly, the internal investigation that the Third Hokage valued even more remained utterly without leads. There was not the slightest clue regarding those strange ninja in haori; it was as if they had simply appeared out of thin air, with no idea where to begin searching.

To some extent, such a massive search also exposed the instability within Konoha. The demands placed on Sosuke Aizen were understandable enough. As Konoha Acting Advisor, with the Third Hokage's orders pressing down on him, all he could do was wear a bitter expression and plead with everyone to take a step back for the sake of saving face. But Danzō and the other two advisors were different.

As the investigations continued, all kinds of conflicts erupted throughout Konoha, turning the village upside down. Yet the core thinking of the Third Hokage and Danzō was that one must first pacify internal enemies before confronting external ones. Konoha was invincible beneath the heavens; only enemies within were truly important.

They would rather call back a jonin like Minato for questioning and clearance than allow any issue to arise with Konoha's internal purity. Though it was already obvious to the naked eye that something had gone wrong, the arrow was on the string and had to be loosed.

He had already tossed Konoha into such chaos. Could anyone really expect him to suddenly say, "Oh dear, the impact is too great, so let's stop"?

Compared to the unity between Stone Village and Kumogakure, Konoha's growing trend toward factionalism and division was hardly news to the other nations. But just as the Third Hokage had asserted—

They were the number one ninja village in the world, the number one great nation in the world. Even if they were so internally divided that they wanted to fight each other outright, they still looked down on outside infiltration and negotiation. Why would they want your worthless scraps when they could just take them by force?

And amid this chaos, something that could be called a turning point finally appeared.

In October, as the weather gradually turned colder and everyone began preparing supplies for winter, civil war broke out in Sunagakure.

"Sunagakure has fallen into civil war? Excellent!"

Reading the words on the report, the Third Hokage slapped the table and rose to his feet. Then, seeing the strange looks from the advisors and jonin, he coughed and sat back down.

Behind the Third Hokage sat the two advisors who were gradually being sidelined, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, both wearing exceptionally ugly expressions. In the corner of the conference room stood Shimura Danzō, wrapped in bandages and leaning there with an indifferent look.

As Konoha Acting Advisor, Sosuke Aizen did not overstep his bounds by taking the High Position behind the Hokage. Instead, he sat slightly below and to the Third Hokage's left, adjusting his glasses as he read the intelligence report. Minato Namikaze stood beside Sosuke Aizen like a bodyguard, vigilantly sweeping his gaze over every place where an accident might occur.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi, holding a major meeting every so often had become an instinct engraved into his DNA.

Especially now that the information concerning the ninja in haori had descended into a chaotic dead end, he increasingly enjoyed using these gatherings to dispatch ninja from all sides and reaffirm his authority.

Only when the ninja were set in motion could they recognize the Hokage's authority. The Third Hokage's political thinking remained thoroughly authoritarian. Though his actions appeared exceedingly weak, and he prioritized pacifying internal enemies before confronting external ones, he was still quite skilled at building prestige.

As usual, he had gathered Konoha's jonin and advisors today to display his authority. But just then, a ninja from the intelligence division delivered news that had been confirmed repeatedly—news that might not even count as news anymore.

After the Kazekage disappeared, Sunagakure had begun going mad in every direction. Though Konoha was highly suspect, Konoha had already admitted to driving White Fang to his death and had even offered apologies and compensation. What more did they want?

Could they really fire the first shot ahead of time? Konoha was currently sleeping with its weapons at the ready. Whoever fired first would inevitably face a thunderous counterattack.

Even if the major nations wanted to join forces and take down Konoha first, who could guarantee that nothing would go wrong? What if Konoha pulled out another Hashirama Senju, who laughed heartily as he wiped them all out? The era of the God of Shinobi was a legend to Konoha, but to the other ninja villages, it had been a very real and terrifying natural disaster.

Thus, Sunagakure's humiliation and rage, along with the accumulating conflict between the rational faction and the younger faction, eventually erupted into bloodshed. The younger and conservative factions of Sunagakure began a brutal civil war.

It had not reached the point of beating one another's brains into mush, but reports from the Land of Rain front—don't ask why the Land of Rain had become Konoha's front line—claimed that even personnel from several Sunagakure fortresses had begun withdrawing, leaving behind considerable strategic empty space.

Stone Village's intelligence was far better informed than Konoha's. Compared to a tough bone like Konoha, Sunagakure looked like someone who could not fight at all, so Stone Village naturally kicked them while they were down. By the time the news arrived, the front-line assessment was that Stone Village had likely already occupied the region between Sunagakure and Stone Village, along with the buffer countries.

The Third Shinobi World War could be said to be on the verge of breaking out. If Stone Village began a formal, large-scale invasion of Sunagakure, Konoha would absolutely not stand by and watch.

A superstate that merged the lands and resources of two great nations—even if it could at most reach the level of the Land of Fire—was something Konoha could never accept.

But that was only if they could truly accomplish it. The Land of Fire could strategically confront several nations because it had always been number one beneath the heavens; the Ninja Village era itself had been created by them.

But would Kumogakure and the Mist Ninja simply watch another superstate rise? Even if they had to stab them in the back in secret, no one wanted to see that happen. On this point, the interests and circumstances of the major nations were entirely aligned.

"I never expected Sunagakure to be the first to run into trouble."

With his pipe between his teeth, the Third Hokage happily read the document before placing it on the table for the other ninja to pass around.

Though he had gradually begun focusing on cultivating the next generation and his own authority, the Third Hokage's current methods and thinking remained exceptionally clear.

Regarding Sunagakure's present situation and the possibility that Stone Village might attack them from the side, the Third Hokage swiftly formed a plan that could keep the flames of war away from Konoha for a while.

"Temporarily abandon the Land of Rain defense line, recall the Sannin, station them within Konoha, and spread rumors that the internal power struggle has reached its limit. That way, Stone Village can attack Sunagakure without any worries."

"Whether Kumogakure and the Mist Ninja intervene or not, the war will certainly begin between Sunagakure and Stone Village. Konoha will gain extremely precious time to recover and build its strength."

"And during that time, Konoha will likely complete another technological upgrade, fully equipping Blut Vene to preserve our tactical and battlefield advantage."

Seeing the impressed looks in the ninja's eyes, the Third Hokage finally let out a breath of relief.

Even with his prestige, allowing Shimura Danzō to wreak havoc for so long carried certain political risks.

Therefore, he had to appear more authoritative and convincing now. This seemingly flawless plan was clearly an open scheme; no great nation could resist such temptation.

Konoha would obtain the time it wanted most. The children and the technology would grow at the fastest possible pace, and more importantly, they could finally dig out the stubborn vermin within Konoha.

The witnesses to the White Haori, his three most trusted disciples—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru—would be enough to stabilize Konoha's current political situation and improve the entire environment.

I truly am a political genius.

"..."

Glancing at the Third Hokage sitting at the head of the table with barely concealed delight, then at the jonin passing around the documents with happy expressions of their own, Sosuke Aizen calmly recorded everything that had happened at the meeting in the archives.