The War Begins

The uproar over Hatake Sakumo's resignation died down a week later. The voices criticizing him in the village were silenced, as if nothing had ever happened.

Now that he had left his post and returned home, Hatake Sakumo sat on his knees in front of the tea table, boiling water and brewing tea. He looked utterly at ease.

"Father, your choice really surprised me."

After speaking, Karot picked up his teacup and drained it in one gulp.

"Good tea."

"You little rascal, who drinks tea like that? How can you savor its flavor if you gulp it down?"

"You're the one who's mistaken, Father. Everyone has their own way. What makes you think mine is wrong?"

His son's sophistry left Hatake Sakumo both amused and exasperated.

"You still haven't answered my question, Father."

"If I have to choose, then I'll choose you and Kakashi."

Hatake Sakumo said with a smile. Not everyone had the resolve to give up their current position, but to him, his family was more precious.

Time passed quietly, until an unexpected piece of news sent shockwaves through the entire Ninja World: the Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history, had mysteriously disappeared. Though Sand Village tried its best to keep the matter hidden, no secret could stay buried forever. The village was crawling with spies from other nations, and Sand Village had to search for its missing Kazekage. Naturally, the secret couldn't be kept.

In the Land of Lightning, Raikage A heard the news and realized his chance had come—a chance for the Land of Lightning to dominate the ninja world. It was time to push Konoha aside.

"The war is about to begin," A said, leaning back in his chair.

"Is this true, Lord Raikage? Are we going to war with Sand Village?" one of his advisors asked excitedly. The Cloud Ninja loved war; it let them seize resources. And Sand Village was weak—the advantage was theirs.

"Hmph. I have no interest in a mere Sunagakure. We'll declare war on Konoha and Iwagakure as well."

"What?"

The advisor hadn't expected the Raikage to be so ambitious.

"Lord Raikage, isn't that a bit too much? We'd have no trouble defeating Sand Village one-on-one, but there's no need to antagonize Konoha and Iwagakure."

The advisor was simply doing his job, offering his opinion for the Raikage to consider.

"What are you afraid of? Our Kumogakure has two perfect Jinchuriki. Taking on the other villages will be a piece of cake."

A spoke arrogantly. Kumogakure was ruled by the Raikage's word alone, and his orders were soon issued. The village's war machine began to stir.

The disappearance of the Third Kazekage plunged the entire Ninja World into turmoil. The smaller villages wanted to claim a share of the spoils, but they forgot that only five villages were players. The rest were pawns.

Land of Fire, Konoha, Hokage's office.

"Danzo, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take down Sunagakure."

Kimura Danzo, a warmonger, made his fervent recommendation. War meant countless military achievements, and those achievements would be Danzo's stepping-stone to becoming Hokage. Anyone who stood in his way would die.

He had prepared thoroughly this time, even bringing the other two advisors to appeal to Hiruzen Sarutobi's feelings and persuade him.

"That's right, Hiruzen. The reparations from a village at war would benefit us immensely," Utatane Koharu chimed in. Konoha could take on Sunagakure with ease, and she wouldn't have to set foot on the battlefield. All she had to do was talk, and she'd still reap the benefits. Only a fool would turn that down.

Mitokado Homura said nothing, but the fact that Danzo had invited him to lend his support made his position clear.

"Do you know how many shinobi would die in a war? How many families would lose their breadwinners? Do you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the compassionate shinobi bear of the Ninja World; he had yet to become a political ruler.

"A few sacrifices are inevitable for Konoha's future," Danzo said firmly. He claimed to be acting for the village, but in truth, he was acting for his own future.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to continue persuading them, an Anbu member suddenly appeared in the Hokage's office and whispered a few words in his ear. Hiruzen's expression changed instantly, turning to one of disbelief.

"Hiruzen, what happened?"

The few words that had made Hiruzen's expression change so suddenly piqued Kimura Danzo's interest.

"The Third Shinobi World War has begun. Kumogakure has declared war on us, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure."

"What? Which lunatic in Kumogakure did this? How dare he?"

Mitokado Homura asked in disbelief. Was the man out of his mind, starting a war against three countries at once?

Everyone present looked troubled. Only Danzo could barely conceal his excitement. The Ninja World War! The last one had made Hiruzen Sarutobi Hokage. This time, Danzo would claim the title without question. He was already imagining himself ascending to the Hokage's seat.

"Hmph. If he dares come, I'll dare kill him."

A trace of killing intent rose from Danzo.

"Recall Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze. Call a strategy meeting. Suspend all missions for now and recall every shinobi."

Since war was unavoidable, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed his resolve. He ordered every measure to give way to the war effort.

"How unusual. They've gathered all of us here."

Orochimaru looked around before speaking. The meeting room was packed with Konoha's senior officials.

"I have some bad news for everyone. The Third Shinobi World War has begun."

Once all the senior officials had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi announced the shocking news.

An uproar erupted. The shinobi below turned to one another, whispering among themselves. Everyone had been stunned by the sudden announcement.

"So, what do we do now?"

While everyone else was at a loss, Orochimaru had already taken in the information and started looking for a way to respond. No wonder he was a contender for Hokage—he was always one step ahead. I can't even do my experiments in peace. They just have to force my hand.

"Here are the deployments for the various borders. I hope everyone will work together."

"Jiraiya, go bring Tsunade back. We need her."

"Understood, old man."

The Ninja World was in turmoil. From the Kazekage's disappearance to Kumogakure igniting a world war, events came one after another, leaving everyone reeling. No one could understand what Kumogakure was thinking. They planned to fight three villages at once; everyone could only conclude that they were insane.

"What are we going to do? With Lord Kazekage missing, can we still hold off Kumogakure's attack?"

The Third Kazekage was known as the strongest Kazekage, and to the Sunagakure shinobi, he was like a stabilizing pillar. Now that he had disappeared, some of them were already thinking of retreating or surrendering.

"That's right. We only have the One-Tail, while Kumogakure has the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails. What can we use to stop them?"

The elders debated among themselves, but none could come up with a workable plan.

Chiyo stepped forward.

"It's not as if we have no chance. Rasa is our opportunity."

"Rasa is a shinobi who can wield Gold Dust. He can replace the Third and become our Kazekage."

"But can Rasa alone hold off Kumogakure?"

One of the elders asked, confused.

"That's right, Rasa alone can't do it. But we're a unified whole, and the strength of the whole is great. We have two advantages over Kumogakure."

The elders stared intently at Granny Chiyo, waiting to hear what advantages Sunagakure had.

"First, we're defending our homeland. We have a duty to protect our land, and that will bolster our morale. Second, the Cloud Ninja are arrogant. They've split their forces three ways and look down on us, so their strength is bound to be spread thin. That means we can protect ourselves."