The Second Shinobi World War

"So disgusting." With a look of distaste, she washed the grime off her hands. Even though she could shake off the dirty water like a dog flicking its fur, Hyuga Ao still chose to wash with water.

Only washing with water made her feel clean—it was a psychological thing.

Team Nine had been doing low-level tasks for a month now: weeding, farming, catching cats.

A large part of Konoha's productivity relied on newly graduated genin and those without talent during peacetime.

For fresh graduates, these tasks rotated. This time, it was their turn to take on the river-cleaning mission.

So why not use Shadow Clones?

Everyone knew that when a Shadow Clone was dispelled, all its information came rushing back. Cleaning a river was a continuous ordeal, and when the clone vanished, the stench it had endured for hours slammed into you all at once.

Hyuga Ao nearly fainted on the spot and spent the whole day listless.

"Sigh." Recalling that miserable experience, she couldn't help but shudder.

The more she did these miscellaneous D-rank tasks, the more she wondered—with this level of productivity, wouldn't farming be better?

But if she went farming, that might be a whole other story.

Beneath Konoha.

Root.

Danzo was reviewing intelligence on the Land of Rain.

After a long moment, he looked up and asked an unrelated question.

"Are the Land of Earth spies around Mito Uzumaki's barrier still in place?"

"Yes, sir. The Land of Earth spies are already under strict surveillance by our department."

Wu, the Head of Intelligence, responded.

"Good. Leak the news of Mito Uzumaki's death to him."

With that, he stood and headed for the Hokage's office.

A month later.

Ōnoki of Both Scales studied the intelligence scroll in his hand, recalling the time when the Lands of Earth, Sand, Lightning, and Mist had conspired to carve up the Land of Whirlpools.

Konoha had arrived late, and when the allied forces withdrew, there had been the sky-obscuring chains and the Tailed Beast Bomb that pierced through their ranks.

Senju Hashirama's alliance with the Uzumaki Clan, using the Land of Whirlpools as a barrier to defend Konoha against enemies from the sea, hadn't been a bad idea.

But he overlooked that when many clans banded together to form a village, their strength was no longer comparable to before.

The thin Land of Whirlpools could only support the Uzumaki Clan; it couldn't form a truly powerful ninja village.

So when the Land of Whirlpools was secretly carved up, Konoha didn't even have time to react.

Snapping back to the present, Ōnoki confirmed, "Is it certain?"

After receiving a definite answer, he said, "Send word to Hanzō and the Sand ninja."

Land of Rain.

Hanzō of the Salamander caught the seemingly endless rain of the Land of Rain in his hand, a wave of irritation washing over him.

"One day, the Land of Rain will no longer be shrouded in this endless downpour!"

Chiyo, Hanzō, and Ōnoki held a secret meeting within the Land of Rain.

Hanzō of the Salamander stood up. "It's settled. Once the supplies from the Lands of Earth and Wind are in place, I will lead my forces into the Land of Fire."

"Excellent. As expected of the Half-God Hanzō, so decisive. Once your Land of Rain troops march, we will follow."

With that, Ōnoki laughed heartily and exchanged a glance with Chiyo.

Everything was understood without words.

Konoha.

Hokage's office.

Danzo slammed a stack of intelligence reports onto the Third Hokage's desk, furious.

"Hiruzen, how can you still not see it? Are we just going to wait for them to attack us?"

"You're disgracing the legacy of the previous Hokages!"

Faced with his old friend's urging, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unhurried. He refilled his pipe with fresh tobacco and took a long, satisfying puff.

Amid the swirling smoke, his face was half-hidden.

Then he spoke in a low, steady voice.

"Order the Second Division of Anbu and Root to assist in deploying to the Land of Fire's border. Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya—Orochimaru takes command, with Tsunade and Jiraiya as support. Lead a thousand ninja to form a line at the border."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused in thought, then added, "Have White Fang take the First Division of Anbu to station at the junction of the Lands of Wind, Rain, and Fire, ready to maneuver."

"We don't want war, but we're not afraid of it either!"

With Hiruzen Sarutobi's command, the leaf of Konoha—this war machine created by Senju Hashirama and forged by Tobirama Senju—finally began to turn once more in the hands of their disciple, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The First Shinobi World War was so long ago that people had already forgotten the horrors of war.

Geography and culture determined that no other nation could ever match Konoha's inherent advantages, no matter how much they developed.

Especially at the junction of three nations, the forceful rise of the Land of Rain added fuel to the already turbulent shinobi world. The three great nations would not allow another powerful state to emerge on their borders.

Thus, with an unspoken understanding among the high-ranking officials of each nation...

In Konoha Year 33, due to the active aggression of Amegakure, where Hanzō of the Salamander's poison was unmatched, Konoha issued multiple warnings, but Amegakure continued its reckless actions.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, resolutely declared war on the Land of Rain.

War had begun!

"Gurgle, gurgle." Team Nine was in the middle of an escort mission.

A month had passed since the frontline battles started.

But strangely, after Hanzō of the Salamander initially struck to tear open the Land of Fire's border defenses, he did not directly invade the heartland of the Land of Fire. Instead, after breaching a gap, he found a spot to station himself, as if waiting for something.

So Konoha now had a brief window to reorganize troops and transport supplies.

"Ao'er, what do you think Amegakure is waiting for?" Minato asked Hyuga Ao, while Hyuga Hotaru leaned in, equally curious.

"I don't know, but I do know that after this escort, our supplies will be fully prepared. Then we'll set up local defenses and take on part of the early-warning duties."

Hyuga Ao replied absentmindedly. Her posture was especially strange at the moment—she appeared to be walking normally, but a closer look revealed a hint of stiffness.

This was Hyuga Ao's new discovery. Since Shikotsumyaku could control bones, what if she only controlled the bones and let them drive her body's movements?

The Quincy had a technique called Puppet Dance, which used spiritual threads to pull oneself into action, never giving up until the very last moment.

Now Hyuga Ao was adapting that technique, turning thread-controlled movement into bone-controlled movement to drive her body.

But the initial experiments were still fraught with difficulties, because the human body was a system—one move affected the whole.

So Hyuga Ao was now experimenting with how to move and how much force to use, aiming for the most natural and suitable reactions.

Right now, she was trying to control her bones to make herself walk.

She planned to name this technique Dance of the Dead Body.

Because when she had to use this technique, Hyuga Ao would surely be gravely wounded, perhaps with only a sliver of consciousness remaining.

Her body would be close to death, life and death separated by just a single step—hence, Dance of the Dead Body.

Thinking of this, Hyuga Ao recalled the person who had once amazed her—Kimimaro.

To be honest, Kimimaro's first appearance had a completely different aura and presence from everyone else.

White hair, green pupils, red eyeshadow, two vermillion dots at his brows, white robes and white bones, and his final dance—Early Wisteria Dance.

In the end, Kimimaro's right hand turned into a bone spear as he charged toward Gaara, the tip of the bone about to pierce Gaara's eye before he collapsed from exhaustion and died.

No wonder so many reincarnators wanted to recruit him.

Hyuga Ao controlled Shikotsumyaku, growing a bone flower in her palm, studied it for a long time, then dismissed it.

"Kimimaro... there will be a chance."

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