Temari and Kankuro

As time entered the winter of Konoha Year 58, with the fall of the first snowflake, the landscape of the ninja world had already undergone earth-shaking changes.

The Star Country's war against the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth had ended in an overwhelming victory. It had not only completely annexed the Land of Wind and its ninja village, Sunagakure, but had also forced the Land of Earth to cede territory and pay reparations, reducing it to a vassal.

This rising nation, with its suddenly expanded territory, astonishing resource output, and the terrifying combat strength displayed by the Star Ninja Army, had brazenly forced its way into the ranks of the Five Great Nations. Its momentum was so tremendous that it even faintly seemed poised to surpass the long-established great power, the Land of Fire.

However, because the two countries had not clashed directly, a fragile peace was still maintained on the surface. Thus, the titles of the ninja world's acknowledged greatest nation and greatest ninja village still temporarily belonged to the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf Village.

But beneath that thin layer of ice, undercurrents surged.

Whether it was Hiruzen Sarutobi in the Hokage's office, the Fourth Raikage far away in Unraikyo, or the Fourth Mizukage and the adviser elder Genji deep within the Mizukage Building, all of them clearly realized that, with the Star Country's displayed momentum of swallowing everything in its path, the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War had almost become a foregone conclusion. All that remained was a matter of time.

For a time, the major ninja villages all hastened to expand their ninja forces and stockpile military supplies, and the entire ninja world was filled with a tense atmosphere, as if a storm were about to break.

Within the