Third Shinobi World War

While the entire Shinobi World had turned its attention to the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, one piece of news struck everyone like a thunderclap out of nowhere.

The Rock Ninja had officially declared war on Konoha!

No one could have imagined that the first village to declare war on Konoha would be the normally silent Rock Ninja. While the Land of Lightning was still negotiating with the Land of Fire over the "missing caravans," the Rock Ninja had already taken direct action without any warning.

This move was both typical and atypical of the Rock Ninja.

The sudden attack was typical of their usual style, but the fact that the first one to step forward was Ōnoki, that old schemer, was completely out of character!

That old bastard usually waited until everyone else was battered and exhausted before stepping in to reap the benefits. His abnormal behavior this time had caught Konoha completely off guard.

Although it was called a declaration of war, it was actually announced three days after the surprise attack on the Land of Fire's border. They had boarded the carriage first and bought the ticket afterward.

The reason Konoha's defenses had proven as fragile as paper was mainly that the enemy had not attacked through the Land of Rain, the battlefield of the previous Ninja World War. Instead, they had invaded from the Land of Grass.

Konoha had never imagined that the Land of Grass, which had always maintained friendly relations with it, would become a bridgehead for an attack. As a result, the defenses there were the weakest, and the Rock Ninja had broken through them in a single clash.

"Heh. 'Unable to resist'? Does he take me for a three-year-old child?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the intelligence report in his hand onto the table. The violent noise startled many of the ninjas present into shuddering.

Many young ninjas had never seen the "Ninjutsu Professor," Third Kazekage, lose his temper. He had always been a kind and generous elder, but precisely because of his consistently benevolent image, his outburst this time was all the more frightening.

"I said long ago that we couldn't place our hopes in Kusagakure. Those people are nothing but ungrateful dogs. They took so many benefits from Konoha every day, then turned around and teamed up with Ōnoki."

Danzo's expression remained unchanged. He merely shook his head lightly and spoke in a rather rueful tone.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face immediately turned livid. Seeing that, those who had wanted to echo Danzo fell silent as well.

"Now isn't the time to discuss that. Let's get through the crisis in front of us first."

Hyuga Hiashi folded his arms across his chest, his expression unchanged.

This ninja, only twenty-five or twenty-six years old, had already been head of the Hyuga Clan for many years. He had earned the respect of Konoha's Great Clans through his own strength and methods. His words at that moment also eased the minds of many anxious people.

Faced with this troublemaker, Danzo did not look at him. Of course, it might also have been because turning his one-eyed head that far was inconvenient.

"Shikaku, tell us about the situation at the border."

"Yes."

Shikaku Nara walked to the map and pointed toward the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire. "Because we weren't adequately prepared, our defensive line was forced to retreat a hundred miles. Elite Jonin Mimura Hamaki is in command of the defenses. The enemy's known experts are Dong Siren, Mahiru, Huo Guang, Da Shi, and Sumashi. I fought them during a previous mission. Aside from Sumashi, they're all extremely formidable ninjas. I wouldn't be confident of victory in a one-on-one fight."

"Do you think Hamaki can hold the line?"

Shikaku Nara shook his head without hesitation. "I don't know whether the enemy has any other cards up their sleeve. Judging only by the forces they've revealed, we're no match for them. We might even—"

"We might even be completely wiped out."

After hearing Shikaku's assessment, everyone fell into deep thought.

Although this twenty-year-old youth still looked somewhat immature, the moment the name Nara preceded his words, no one could afford to ignore them.

"There's no time to hesitate. We have to send reinforcements to Lord Hamaki as soon as possible."

Minato Namikaze stood up and volunteered. "Let me go!"

But his words received no approval. Koharu frowned. "Minato, it isn't time for you to act yet."

Mitokado Homura nodded and agreed. "The Rock Ninja's threat is ultimately not as great as that of the Cloud Ninja. If we truly go to war with the Cloud Ninja, the Land of Fire will face battlefields in both the east and west, separated by an enormous distance. Even with the Flying Thunder God, it would be difficult for you to handle both at once. The situation is still under control. You should remain in the village in case of emergencies."

Mitokado Homura's words won the approval of many people.

In the eyes of those present, the threat posed by the Cloud Ninja was far greater than that of the Rock Ninja.

The latter had more defeats than victories against Konoha and was inferior in every respect. The Cloud Ninja were different. Although they had launched a surprise attack, it was an indisputable fact that Lord Tobirama had died at their hands. The two villages had clashed countless times, and Konoha's record against them was nowhere near as impressive as its record against the Rock Ninja. The enemy was not much weaker than Konoha at the Elite Jonin level.

Most importantly, if the Cloud Ninja took the sea route, they could quickly penetrate Konoha's hinterland and directly threaten Konoha!

Even Konoha would be hard-pressed to defend its long coastline with the troops available. Now that it also had to deal with the Rock Ninja, it was even less possible to station heavy forces there. They could only rely on powerful individuals to deter the enemy while also protecting Konoha.

After all, once war broke out, external threats had to be guarded against, but internal threats did too.

Uchiha: It's not me, is it?

Between the border and the village, which was more important went without saying. Minato Namikaze's task was extremely demanding.

"Have the Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan make up most of the Jonin, then select some Chunin from the village to reinforce the border. Shikaku, you'll be responsible for arranging this."

The Third Kazekage glanced at everyone. When no one spoke, he assigned the work of organizing the reinforcements.

"Hm? Yes."

Shikaku seemed to be thinking about something. He only came back to himself after hearing Hokage-sama's words.

"What are you thinking about?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at this capable subordinate of his—and of Minato's—and asked.

"I'm just curious. Ōnoki is steady by nature and always thinks things through carefully. Why would he suddenly launch such a reckless attack on the Land of Fire?"

He rubbed his chin and frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

There were no fools among those present, and Shikaku's words made them uneasy as well.

That man, who had lived as long as the ninja village itself, would not act so impulsively. What other move did he have prepared?

Just then, the door to the Meeting Room was pushed open.

The newcomer was gasping for breath. He held two envelopes in his hand, and his expression was filled with panic.

"Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took the envelopes. His eyes suddenly narrowed, and when he looked at the other one, his expression changed drastically.

He stood up and said solemnly, his voice heavy as he addressed everyone, "Our spy saw Ōnoki's guards at the Raikage Building in Kumogakure. There's a strong possibility that the two sides have already joined forces."

"Is the intelligence accurate?"

Koharu could no longer sit still. She knew the possibility of a mistake was extremely small, but she still hoped otherwise.

After all, these two countries harbored a feud as deep as the one between Konoha and the Cloud Ninja.

Everyone knew that during the previous Shinobi World War, if the Cloud Ninja had not crossed the ocean to give the Rock Ninja some fiery "attention," forcing them to retreat from the battlefield in the Land of Rain and return home to defend themselves, the Rock Ninja would not have suffered such heavy losses or been defeated so badly.

This could be called the second greatest humiliation of Ōnoki's life. The odds of these two countries forming an alliance were comparable to Palestine and Israel holding hands and singing We Are a Loving Family together.

Yet everything was this absurd: the two sides had truly formed an alliance!

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. "I wish it were a joke too, but just now, the Cloud Ninja attacked our defensive line in the east."

After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. His gaze swept over every person present before he spoke solemnly. "Everyone, abandon any wishful thinking. The Third Shinobi World War has begun!"

Thanks to @BookFriend20210710160041820 for the two Monthly Tickets!

I forgot that I had only updated one chapter today, so I hurriedly made up for it. I couldn't make the midnight update in time. I'll post again during the day. Sorry!