War Erupts

Harvesting was followed by cultivation.

Kazamatsuri Harume cast the Wood Release: Winter Storage Technique, turning all the green stalks into organic fertilizer to increase the soil's fertility and depth.

Next, the children combined their chakra, like trickling streams merging into a surging river, and worked in unison to cast the Earth Release: Cultivation Technique.

The amount of chakra, comparable to that of a jonin, propelled the ninjutsu, and in an instant, one-third of the terraced fields were plowed and leveled.

The soil became loose and aerated, perfect for sowing.

Performing joint ninjutsu requires an extremely high level of coordination; the children's lack of control caused some damage to the terraces.

Fortunately, the damage was not severe, and the four-year-olds quickly repaired the breaches.

When the Rising Sun Organization finished the second round of cultivation and filled the terraces with winter wheat, the work was handed over to the children's parents.

For the adults, this truly fertile land and the sprouting winter wheat were the most reliable sources of hope.

However, one terrace was not enough to house all the adults, and if Kazamatsuri Harume did not participate directly, the income from the terraces would not be enough to support forty-three families.

Thus, Yamanaka Chujiu led the children to build a workshop to research methods for refining refined salt using ninjutsu.

Konoha sold refined salt, but the refining technology was quite primitive, and the process consumed massive amounts of fuel, time, and labor costs.

Therefore, the quantity of refined salt was low and the price was exorbitant, making it a luxury item rather than a daily necessity.

Based on the principle of temperature differences in solution saturation, Yamanaka Chujiu guided the children of the Rising Sun Organization in their research and successfully developed the [Water Release: Dissolution Transformation Technique].

Using ninjutsu to purify crude salt was not only a hundred times more efficient than traditional refining techniques, but it also eliminated the need for massive amounts of firewood, reducing costs to one-tenth of the traditional method.

The profit margin was so immense that if exposed, the small Rising Sun Organization would be wiped out in an instant.

Because both refined and crude salt were controlled by the Sarutobi Clan, Yamanaka Chujiu not only tearfully reduced production, limiting the workshop to one refining session per day, but also sold the refined salt to the Sarutobi.

By sharing profits with the Sarutobi Clan, he suppressed the covetous hearts of other ninja clans and nobles.

He also raised the banner of Orochimaru to suppress the greed of the Sarutobi Clan.

At the same time, Yamanaka Chujiu deliberately spent manpower and resources to create the illusion of high production costs due to the massive consumption of firewood and purified water.

The children pretended to work hard, barely earning a meager living, making the greedy hyenas feel it wasn't worth clashing with Yamanaka Chujiu over such a small amount.

Yamanaka Chujiu was a newly accepted student of Orochimaru, so it was only natural for him to hold onto such a small benefit.

Even a troublemaker like Shimura Danzō wouldn't offend Orochimaru for such a pittance.

Just as everything was getting on the right track, the war predicted by Yamanaka Chujiu broke out.

The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure assembled thousands of Kumo ninja and personally led the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B, to attack the Land of Fire from the Land of Hot Water.

Although there were more Konoha ninja blocking their path, there was no powerhouse capable of stopping the Fourth Raikage, nor any ninja who could halt the rampaging Eight-Tails jinchūriki.

Led by the two powerhouses, the Kumo army routed the Konoha ninja, causing thousands of casualties in just a few days.

The front line was pushed into the Land of Fire, and the Konoha ninja only managed to reach a stalemate by relying on the terrain, but they certainly couldn't hold out for long.

Requests for reinforcements flooded the Hokage's office like snowflakes.

The dire consequences of losing the Fourth Hokage were fully laid out before the Third Hokage, leaving him breathless.

Almost instinctively, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to consider whether he could use concessions and compromises to induce the Fourth Raikage to withdraw his troops.

The proud Konoha ninja could not accept compromise, and Shimura Danzō, who styled himself as the Root, clamored for a counterattack, even going so far as to use rumors to resonate with countless Konoha ninja.

Feeling the immense pressure, Hiruzen Sarutobi flew into a rage, caught Shimura Danzō, and gave him a sound thrashing, cutting off half of the Root's funding and making Shimura Danzō instantly obedient.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated over whether to compromise and how to communicate with the Fourth Raikage A, Kirigakure also launched an offensive.

The Fourth Mizukage led the team himself and captured the Land of Waves in a single morning; the daimyo of the Land of Waves surrendered immediately.

Having obtained the best springboard for attacking the Land of Fire, Kirigakure launched a large-scale landing operation, pushing the front line into the Land of Fire with almost no fighting.

Konoha fell into a two-front war, and the situation became precarious, even more dangerous than when the four great ninja villages besieged Konoha two years ago.

Almost overnight, everyone in Konoha felt the crisis of annihilation.

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer deceive himself; he had no choice but to seriously mobilize troops, assign missions, and organize the Konoha ninja army to launch a counterattack.

But as the Konoha ninja on the northern and western fronts were redeployed, the Suna ninja, who had previously had their spines broken, actually began to stir.

Iwagakure, which had been left dispirited after the battle that killed the Third Raikage, also began to grow active, with Iwa ninja sneaking around in the Land of Rain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer believed in any ceasefire agreements; he didn't even dare to trust the movements of his ally, Sunagakure.

As for the previously signed ceasefire treaties, they were nothing but waste paper filled with words waiting to be torn up the moment Konoha fell into danger.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to abandon his illusions, seriously prepare war supplies, mobilize Konoha ninja on a large scale, and exhaust all efforts to draw upon the resources of the ninja clans.

The myriad of tasks drove him to the brink of madness.

At this time, the Third Hokage's wife passed away, and Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even need to return home; he lived directly in the Hokage's office, working frantically day and night.

Whenever he was exhausted, he would go to the balcony to smoke a pipe, and his numb brain would always involuntarily recall the past: how was that crisis, when they were besieged by the four great ninja villages, finally resolved?

Oh, he remembered.

It was Orochimaru who commanded the Konoha army to hold off the Iwa ninja in the Land of Rain, buying enough time for Konoha to destroy the Suna army.

It was Namikaze Minato who erupted with extraordinary combat power, shattering the Sunagakure army at the most perilous and critical juncture.

It was the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, who made a disastrous misjudgment, choosing to backstab his arch-rival Kumogakure with the premature arrogance of someone celebrating victory before the game was even over.

The Iwagakure army even managed to exhaust the Third Raikage to death through a grueling three-day-and-three-night siege.

Now that Namikaze Minato had sacrificed himself and Orochimaru had been deeply wounded, would Ōnoki make another mistake after suffering such a setback?

The more the Third Hokage thought about it, the more his confidence wavered; he felt no certainty of victory, and the urge to compromise surged within his heart like a rising tide.

He could not help but sigh, "Alas, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Raikage, Mizukage—why can they not understand me and abandon their covetous desires toward the Land of Fire?"

"Why do your ninja not yearn for peace, and why do you refuse to take the initiative to end this war?"