The War Begins

Konoha.

After Harada Tōru and the others were branded spies and publicly executed, the villagers' emotions temporarily settled down.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that beneath the calm surface, undercurrents still churned.

With friends and family dead, their homes destroyed, and having to keep working on houses through the bitter winter...

Anyone in that situation would be filled with resentment.

And once that anger was ignited, even he, the Third Hokage, might be powerless to contain it.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi agonized over how to preserve his reputation under such circumstances, Shimura Danzō pushed open the door and entered the Hokage's Office.

He held a scroll in his hand and tossed it directly onto the desk in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hiruzen, a letter from the Third Raikage."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Konoha and Kumogakure had never had a particularly good relationship.

After the Second Hokage died at the hands of rogue ninjas from Kumogakure, the two sides had never contacted each other again.

And now, Kumogakure had taken in members of the Uchiha Clan, further worsening the relationship between the two villages.

Why was the Third Raikage contacting him at a time like this?

As he pondered, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll in his hand.

After giving it a quick read, Hiruzen Sarutobi's chest began heaving violently.

He slammed a palm onto the desk and roared, "Those bastards have gone too far!"

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's fury, Shimura Danzō asked curiously, "Hiruzen, what happened?"

"Those bastards from Kumogakure say we must return the Uchiha Clan's assets in the Land of Fire, or they'll declare war on Konoha!"

Taking in Konoha's rogue ninjas without permission was one thing, but before Konoha could even go after them, they had the nerve to come demanding money?

Unreasonable!

Utterly unreasonable!

Shimura Danzō was also stunned by Kumogakure's outrageous move.

He had thought his own skin was thick enough, but he never expected someone in this world to be even more shameless than him.

Shimura Danzō instinctively wanted to say, "Then let's fight."

But remembering Hiruzen Sarutobi's usual way of doing things, Shimura Danzō changed his words. "How much do they want? Are we going to compensate them?"

"I'll compensate them with my ass!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly, "If they want to fight, then we'll fight. If the tiger doesn't show its might, they'll really think we're soft targets."

At that, Shimura Danzō looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in surprise and asked in confusion, "Hiruzen, are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "I'll send Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru to the front lines. Let's see how long those bastards can keep acting arrogant!"

"Hiruzen, you've finally made me see you in a new light."

Shimura Danzō gave him a thumbs-up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi seized the chance to say, "Danzo, send your Root to support the front lines too."

"But then again, I think we can still negotiate with Kumogakure..."

"Enough nonsense. Go make the preparations!"

After driving Shimura Danzō away, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared blankly at the ceiling.

It was not that he was being tough. He simply could not afford it.

Ten billion Ryo!!!

Those bastards really dared to demand an outrageous sum!

They even said that, based on an annual income of one hundred million Ryo, they were only charging for a hundred years.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was so angry he laughed!

Never mind whether he was willing to pay; even if he wanted to, he could not come up with that much money right now.

After the Nine-Tails' rampage, the village was desperately short of funds.

Clearing the ruins, rebuilding houses, compensation for the dead and wounded, workers' wages, material costs...

There was still no way to cover those expenses, let alone pay compensation.

Those innately evil Uchiha!

You lived in the village for so many years, so how could you be so heartless toward us now?!

Land of Fire.

Border.

More than a dozen Konoha Ninja patrolled the border, their expressions remarkably relaxed.

"Seriously, Hokage-sama is being too cautious. I don't believe those people from Kumogakure would dare attack Konoha first."

"Yeah, we won two Ninja Wars. If those Cloud Ninja dare come, we'll kill every last one of them."

"So the Uchiha Clan joined Kumogakure. What the hell do they have to be so smug about?"

"Do they really stupidly think Konoha became the strongest ninja village in the Shinobi World because of those Uchiha?"

"Hahahahaha..."

The Konoha Ninja burst into unrestrained laughter.

Suddenly, a bolt of blue lightning flashed past. One Konoha Ninja was sent flying, his chest caved in as life left his body.

Heavy Explosive Flow!

Another shout rang out. A strongman wrapped in crackling arcs of electricity drove an elbow into a Konoha Ninja, sending his head flying clean off.

"Damn it, enemy attack!"

Only then did the remaining Konoha Ninja react, all traces of their earlier composure gone from their faces.

Someone in the group had just reached for a signal flare to call for aid when he found a fierce-looking man standing before him.

Crimson Red three-tomoe Sharingan slowly spun in the man's eyes.

"The Uchiha Clan will prove that you only became the strongest ninja village in the Shinobi World because of us."

A flash of blade light swept past, piercing the Konoha Ninja's chest.

In only an instant, all of the dozen-plus Konoha Ninja were killed.

Not long afterward, ripples spread through space, and Uchiha Yuzuru's figure appeared out of thin air.

"All the outposts have been cleared. Fugaku, A, lead your respective men and attack Konoha's main border camp!"

"Yes!"

The two immediately accepted their orders and departed.

Even A did not dare utter any nonsense at this moment.

In a large-scale battle like this, discipline had to be strict.

If they disobeyed orders, Uchiha Yuzuru had the right to execute them on the spot.

Watching the Cloud Ninja, who had long been lying in ambush, charge toward Konoha's border headquarters, Uchiha Yuzuru's expression remained as still as an ancient well.

The war...

Had begun.

Konoha's border camp.

Large numbers of Konoha Ninja continuously patrolled the area. From time to time, ninjas carrying intelligence scrolls entered and exited, and everything was orderly.

Inside the enormous central room, Nara Shikafū frowned at the intelligence reports on the table, a sense of unease rising in his heart.

Akimichi Chō beside him asked, "Shikafū, why so serious?"

Nara Shikafū said in a deep voice, "Something's wrong. The outermost outposts haven't sent any word for over three hours. I suspect something happened."

Yamanaka Ike, on the other side, asked in surprise, "That can't be, can it? We have so many outer outposts. If there were any emergency, they should have sent us a signal already."

"That's exactly what worries me." Nara Shikafū's expression grew increasingly grim. "So many outposts losing contact at once... we may be in trouble again!"

The moment he finished speaking, the ground began to tremble nonstop, as if thousands upon thousands of troops were galloping at once.

Then, bloodcurdling battle cries rose from the distance.

A bead of cold sweat ran down Nara Shikafū's forehead. "Quick! Notify everyone and prepare to meet the enemy immediately!"

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