Konoha had become a village in the twilight of its days.
More than half its buildings had collapsed, its streets lay shattered, and the three enormous crater-like pits at the village center—like the aftermath of a natural disaster—proclaimed the calamity that had once struck this place.
Every villager and shinobi walking along Konoha Street looked lifeless. The atmosphere of laughter and cheer was gone.
After so much time had passed, Konoha still had not recovered from the destruction Naruto had caused.
Or rather, they had never been given the time to recover and rebuild.
Not long after news of Konoha's attack spread, Sunagakure directly declared war on Konoha.
After hurriedly taking over as Hokage, Tsunade had not even had time to calm the villagers before she had to begin mobilizing troops to the borders of Konoha.
The once-unrivaled Konoha, which had fought one against four, now struggled even against Sunagakure alone.
Inside the Hokage's office.
The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, sat at her desk, expressionlessly reading the intelligence that had just arrived from the front lines.
No matter what intelligence she read, it was difficult for her expression to show any emotional fluctuation.
This was not calmness. It was numbness.
She had only been Hokage for a little over a month, yet it felt like decades had passed. Every day left her overwhelmed, with reports of setbacks from every front arriving daily. After all, even the Fourth Kazekage had personally gone to the battlefield.
All sorts of people caused trouble in Konoha every day as well, and she had to find ways to deal with those troublesome civilians.
She already wanted to give up. This had been a complete mess from the start.
There was no way they could win.
"Ha..."
Tsunade could not help sighing. She tossed aside the document