Escalation

After much discussion among those closest to him, everyone agreed: Shiba Seika's intelligence had never been the issue, but his taste in naming was truly beyond reproach.

In the end, it was Konan who suggested naming his new jutsu "Wind Rest Three Flash."

"I actually wanted to call it Gale Slash," Shiba Seika muttered silently to himself.

Unfortunately, the art of "Wind Release · Hasaki" was still too ahead of its time for the current shinobi world, and the group unanimously stripped him of his naming rights from then on.

This made Shiba Seika can't help but think of a character from the original story who was also frequently mocked for his terrible naming sense: Minato Namikaze.

Speaking of which, Minato Namikaze's days lately had been far from comfortable.

The storm stirred up by Yūno Ryōma's death, after a period of quiet, had finally blown its way to Konoha.

At first, Danzo tried to claim that nothing had happened.

But Yūno Ryōma was, after all, the supreme commander of Root, and his disappearance inevitably caused the entire organization's operational efficiency to decline.

As time passed, the front lines naturally felt the lag in intelligence work, and more and more complaints filtered back to the village.

So in the second phase, Danzo attempted to convince the village: perhaps something had indeed happened, but we shouldn't take action.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, out of consideration for their long years of camaraderie, once again chose to trust his old partner.

"Do your intelligence work properly, Danzo! I don't want to hear any more complaints like this coming to me," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a light warning and let it go.

But the intelligence gap remained unresolved in the short term!

What's more, during this period, rumors that Konoha was weak and its glory had faded began to spread simultaneously from Sunagakure and Iwagakure!

Naturally, Shiba Seika had a hand in this.

By the third phase, Danzo was still insisting: perhaps we should take action, but the conditions don't allow it—we can't do anything.

By this time, Minato Namikaze, stationed in the north, was clearly feeling the pressure!

He tried to alert the village, but with little effect.

Until another half-month passed, with only three days left until the end of the year, something that Konoha neither expected nor could bear finally happened—

Iwagakure entered the fray and declared war on Konoha!

With this, the Third Great Ninja War officially entered its all-out chaos phase!

Aside from Kirigakure, which was mired in the Bloody Mist and shrouded in mystery, the other four great shinobi villages were now fully embroiled in the war!

Iwagakure's entry, attacking Konoha's northern border from the east while Kumogakure struck from the west, turned Minato Namikaze into a firefighter.

Flying back and forth every day, rushing to every emergency!

Even then, Danzo was still saying: perhaps we should have done something back then, but now it's too late.

This whole routine was deeply reminiscent of the governing essence of a certain British prime minister.

Unfortunately, the others in Konoha weren't buying it.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, practically slammed the table as he roared, "Danzo! Is this how you handle intelligence work?! Why didn't you get any information before Iwagakure declared war on us?!"

To be fair, this couldn't be entirely blamed on Danzo—after all, the four great shinobi villages ganging up on Konoha was practically historical inertia, a matter of fate.

Even the Sage of Six Paths probably couldn't have changed that course.

But who could blame Danzo for Root's failure at this critical juncture?

Someone had to take the fall, and Sarutobi Hiruzen thought to himself: It's not like I'm going to shoulder this blame, am I?

Danzo ground his teeth in hatred, instinctively wanting to blurt out, "You'll regret this."

But this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even give him the chance.

"Danzo, if Yūno Ryōma's disappearance is indeed true, then you might as well go to the northern border yourself."

Those words froze Danzo on the spot.

Danzo had indeed considered leaving the village to stir up trouble—in the original story, he went to the Land of Rain himself.

But that was in the later stages of the war!

With his personality, how could he be willing to go to the front lines when the war was at its most intense?

Yet Konoha's situation was indeed dire.

Even in the original story, this period was Konoha's darkest, most difficult hour.

It wasn't until later, when Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru each unleashed their full power, winning the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and the Battle of Kikyo Mountain, and then Kirigakure entered the fray, bringing Mr. Duy's final dance after ten years of enduring hardship, that Konoha's fortunes turned around.

But none of the people in Konoha at the time had future sight; they couldn't see the victories that would come next year or the year after.

And with Shiba Seika, that little time-traveling butterfly, stirring things up, their situation was even worse than in the original story.

So it was an undeniable fact that many civilians and shinobi clans in Konoha lacked confidence in the current war, even brimming with pessimism!

Faced with this situation, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally set aside old ties and issued Danzo an ultimatum.

"Danzo, go to the north and help Minato stabilize the Iwagakure front."

"I... I disagree! I still need to command Root and coordinate intelligence from all directions!"

"Then I will have the Uchiha clan join the battle."

"..."

Danzo couldn't help but want to offer his warmest regards to Sarutobi Hiruzen's family.

In the original timeline, the Uchiha clan had almost exclusively participated in the war against Kirigakure, and Kirigakure was the last of the Five Great Shinobi Countries to enter the fray.

Clearly, Konoha had kept the Uchiha shelved away until the very end.

Unfortunately, in this current timeline, due to Shiba Seika's interference, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's strategic resolve was far weaker than in the original.

The earlier trial of Kakashi—which had fizzled out anticlimactically—had already severely shaken the authority of Konoha's upper echelons, and now Root's intelligence work had suffered a major blunder.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had to find a way to restore the people's confidence!

Lately, he had been hearing more and more villagers and shinobi murmur: if the White Fang hadn't died three years ago, would the current situation really be this ugly?

Every time he heard that, he wanted to strangle Danzo.

Three years had passed, and everyone had nearly forgotten about the White Fang. Why did you have to go and provoke Kakashi for no reason?!

Danzo felt just as wronged: Kakashi's change started after he returned from the Land of Rain. I already sent people to investigate, didn't I?

If I don't investigate, you blame me. I do investigate, and the investigator dies, and you still blame me!

Am I just fated to be your scapegoat, Sarutobi Hiruzen?!

In the end, after agonizing for a long time, Danzo could only force out a sullen reply. "Then let that wicked clan offer their last strength for Konoha."

He couldn't resist trying to save face at the end.

"Hiruzen, you will regret this sooner or later."

Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't about to indulge him this time. He even followed up with a combo.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage now! Even if I step down, I will leave the position to Minato Namikaze!"

What had once been a single break had now evolved into a double break!

Danzo turned and left, slamming the door with extra force this time. A deafening "bang" rang out.

The butterfly effect brought by Shiba Seika's transmigration was only growing more intense!