The Four Great Ninja Villages and Otogakure declared war on Kusagakure, Amegakure, and Sunagakure.
It came as no surprise.
This involved the former Five Great Ninja Villages. Was this not another great shinobi war?
The shinobi world, which had been peaceful for years, became lively once again.
Although the Four Great Ninja Villages had decided to fight, forming an alliance army from all four villages plus Otogakure was no simple matter.
After all, this was not like the previous few times, when they simply formed an alliance and the two villages still fought separately!
This battle...
To defeat Kusagakure, they had to put aside their prejudices, open their hearts, treat one another sincerely, advance and retreat together, and watch each other's backs.
Otherwise,
they would be extremely likely to fall into the Grass Bandits' schemes!
In the end, after negotiations that lasted an entire winter, the Ninja Alliance was officially established!
First came the leadership, composed of the Kage of the Four Great Ninja Villages: Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi, Raikage—Ai, Mizukage—Karatachi Yagura, and Tsuchikage—Ōnoki.
The Fourth Raikage would serve as supreme commander.
Originally, the Third Hokage had been qualified for the role. Although Konoha had declined in recent years, it was still the ninja village founded by the God of Shinobi. Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a highly respected senior figure in the shinobi world. Even the Third Tsuchikage could not compare to him in that regard.
Unfortunately...
The Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi—was gravely ill. He was still confined to a wheelchair and could not handle the demanding work of a commander. Thus, under the pretext of giving the younger generation a chance to train, the position ultimately fell to the Raikage.
As for the chief strategist... Shimura Danzō, who claimed to have an in-depth understanding of Kusagakure, naturally stepped forward to recommend himself.