Prelude to the Third Shinobi World War

They rested for roughly half a day.

Once Might Duy was able to walk normally again, the group set out once more, heading for the destination of their commission—Shimotsuki Town in the Land of Grass.

They encountered no further mishaps along the way and arrived safely at their destination.

"Thank you both for escorting me. This is the payment for this commission... I sincerely apologize for withholding some information earlier!"

Upon reaching the town, Urabe Daisuke took out a banknote worth five hundred thousand ryo, presented it with both hands, and bowed to Feng Ye.

Feng Ye took the money Urabe Daisuke handed over, ran his fingers across it, gave it a quick count, and nodded. "Then this commission ends here."

Just as Feng Ye was about to split the payment with Might Duy, his expression suddenly shifted slightly. He turned to look into the distance, his eyes flickering several times.

Instead of dividing the money, he stuffed it straight into his pocket.

"Senior Duy, move!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

As soon as the words fell, Feng Ye bolted back the way they had come.

Might Duy was briefly startled, then quickly followed. Chasing after Feng Ye, he asked, "What is it? Did you notice something?"

"Ninjas are coming..."

Feng Ye drew a breath without slowing down and continued running. He cast a deep glance toward the town behind them. "A large number of ninjas. At least a hundred."

Might Duy showed a trace of shock at Feng Ye's words. "That many? Are they ninjas from the Land of Grass?!"

"No."

Feng Ye shook his head, his gaze profound. "They don't feel like ninjas from the Land of Grass, and there may be even more of them... Senior Duy, war may be about to begin."

With that, Feng Ye entered a state of double speed, accelerating slightly as he swiftly raced out of town and farther away. Seeing this, Might Duy opened the first of the Eight Inner Gates and rapidly chased after Feng Ye.

After moving far away from the town—

The two leaped into the forest and traveled from treetop to treetop. As they glanced back between jumps, they could vaguely see a great number of figures pouring into the town behind them.

Though they were too far away to make out those people clearly, they could still vaguely identify their attire. They were not ninjas from Kusagakure, but from Iwagakure!

"War..."

Might Duy could not help but draw a breath, his eyes filling with gravity.

So many Stone Shinobi entering the Land of Grass could not possibly be for some ordinary mission. Perhaps they intended to conquer the Land of Grass, use it as a front line, and attack the Land of Fire!

Though he was rather slow when it came to such matters, he understood perfectly what war meant, because he had experienced the bloodshed and brutality of the Second Great Ninja War!

Might Duy said gravely, "Let's hurry back to the village and report this."

"Mm."

Feng Ye nodded.

The Third Great Ninja War—was about to begin!

Land of Grass, Shimotsuki Town.

A large number of Stone Shinobi flooded into the town and took control of the entire place in an extremely short time. The scattered Kusagakure ninjas were utterly unable to withstand the Stone Shinobi.

"Y-You... What are you trying to do?!"

Urabe Daisuke had already been seized by the Stone Shinobi. His voice trembled as he spoke to them.

Standing before him was a burly Stone Shinobi. She raised one finger and softly shushed him. "Quiet down a little. We're only borrowing your territory as a temporary camp for the war."

War!

At those words, Urabe Daisuke's face immediately turned pale.

Anyone who had lived through the Second Great Ninja War knew what war meant. Especially for small countries caught between great powers, they would essentially become frontline battlefields for the major ninja villages, with no power to resist at all. They could only let the ninjas from both sides ravage their lands.

"Lady Kurotsuchi, the town has been secured."

A Chunin flashed into view, dropped to one knee, and reported to the Stone Shinobi who had spoken.

Kurotsuchi stood with her hands behind her back and said slowly, "Do not harm too many civilians. We still need to requisition them as laborers to prepare places for the troops behind us to rest."

"Yes."

The Chunin acknowledged the order and immediately left to relay it.

Kurotsuchi casually swept her gaze over the pale-faced Urabe Daisuke and several high-ranking figures from Shimotsuki Town who had been captured, then waved a hand, signaling that they were all to be imprisoned.

Just then, another ninja flashed down before her. "Report, Lady Kurotsuchi. There is no news of Jonin Huoguang and his group."

"How can there be no news?"

Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow. "That commission they took in the Land of Grass should have been completed several days ago. Keep looking. Once you find them, notify them that they do not need to return to the village to hand in the mission. Have them come directly to the frontline camp and join the vanguard."

"Yes!"

The ninja answered and swiftly disappeared.

Upon hearing Kurotsuchi's words, Urabe Daisuke's gaze froze slightly. He seemed to realize something and cautiously glanced at Kurotsuchi, but after hesitating, he said nothing.

However, the actions of an ordinary man could naturally not escape Kurotsuchi, an Elite Jonin. She immediately noticed that single unusual look in his eyes.

"Wait."

Kurotsuchi stopped the ninjas who were preparing to escort Urabe Daisuke and the others away, then looked at Urabe Daisuke. "You seem to know something?"

"No, I don't know anything..."

Urabe Daisuke responded instinctively.

Slash!!

Blood splattered.

A kunai pierced through Urabe Daisuke's shoulder, leaving behind a bloody hole. Blood sprayed out and dripped down his clothes, while the intense pain instantly drained all color from his face.

"Aahhh..."

"You don't know anything?"

Kurotsuchi spun the kunai on her fingertip and spoke in an even tone.

Urabe Daisuke clutched the wound on his shoulder. Cold sweat covered his forehead as his trembling body collapsed to the ground. Fear appeared in his eyes as he said, "I-If it was a team of ten ninjas, then they... they were killed by Konoha ninjas..."

"Hmm?"

Kurotsuchi's expression immediately changed.

The kunai in her hand went straight to Urabe Daisuke's forehead as she barked, "Konoha ninjas? What exactly happened?!"

A ten-man squad led by a Jonin being wiped out by Konoha ninjas was extremely serious intelligence. It meant Konoha might also be making moves in the Land of Grass!

They might even be targeting their vanguard!

If they were careless, they could fall into an ambush and encirclement by Konoha's ninjas. The disastrous consequence would be entering a massive disadvantage at the very beginning of the war.

"Cough... cough... The details... the details are..."

Urabe Daisuke's forehead had been pierced, and blood ran down the bridge of his nose. His voice trembling, he recounted the commission and everything that had happened earlier.

As he spoke, Kurotsuchi revealed a look of astonishment.

The other Stone Shinobi nearby also wore uncertain, incredulous expressions. Huoguang's group had not fallen into a Konoha ambush. They had been killed by two Konoha ninjas who had accepted an escort commission!

It was simply absurd!

Huoguang's achievements within the village had already nearly qualified him as an Elite Jonin. The squad he led had ten members, including sensory ninjas and Medical Ninjas. Even if they encountered Konoha's elite Anbu, they should at least have been able to put up some resistance.

To effortlessly wipe out Huoguang's elite ten-man squad with only two people, they had to be at least two of Konoha's Elite Jonin. They might even have been figures on the level of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha!

But—

The images of those two Konoha ninjas described by Urabe Daisuke bore absolutely no resemblance to such individuals!

They might not remember every ordinary Jonin of Konoha, but Elite Jonin were extremely few in number, and they could identify nearly every one of them. Yet the two people Urabe Daisuke described were complete strangers!