Kurotsuchi: Wait, What?

At that moment, on the border of the Land of Lightning.

A main force of just over ten thousand Stone Ninja was stationed there, led by the Fourth Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, who was known as the Leg Shadow of her generation.

However, despite their considerable numbers,

the Stone Ninja forces this time were clearly much weaker than they had been during the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Most of the ten thousand-plus were Genin, with only a tiny fraction being Tokubetsu Jonin and Jonin.

There was a conspicuous, cliff-like gap in the ranks of the Chunin.

Clearly, after the Fourth Great Ninja War, Iwagakure had also suffered a serious shortage of up-and-coming talent. A certain Leg Shadow had been fretting over it for ages. On top of that, the chain of turmoil and losses caused by the artificial humans Ōnoki had created in his old age had sent Iwagakure into a steady decline.

Even Sunagakure, which had once been at the bottom of the pack, was now faintly pulling ahead of Iwagakure.

And after her grandfather, the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, passed away, Kurotsuchi had lost that bedrock of support. As his successor, she was even more worried and under immense pressure.

She was no longer as lively and radiant as she had been back then.

To say nothing of the Fifth Ninja World War suddenly breaking out now. It had nearly made Kurotsuchi lose her hair from worry.

"Fourth, you're up early. Aren't you going to get some more rest?"

Akatsuchi, her senior and the Tsuchikage's guard, found the Leg Shadow Kurotsuchi gazing into the distance. He was carrying two meat buns for breakfast.

"I can't sleep!"

Kurotsuchi irritably scratched her head, pulling out a few more black hairs.

"Have something to eat. Worrying won't help. We can't escape the war that's