The next day, news that the Kumogakure envoys had died unexpectedly in Konoha began spreading through the village.
In the meeting room of the Hokage Building.
BAM! Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist on the table. He surveyed the village's senior officials seated around him and said coldly:
"Who let this news get out? It only happened in the second half of last night, yet by this morning, the whole village was talking about it."
"And they died unexpectedly? What kind of accident was it?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze settled on the man seated to his left. His eyes held both scrutiny and suspicion.
"Hiruzen, it's possible the ninja who handled things yesterday didn't cover their tracks properly, and someone from Kumogakure got away."
"I heard the person who took down the kidnapper last night was a child who'd only just graduated from the Ninja Academy. He may be talented, but young people can be careless. It's only natural that he might have let the information slip."
"Now isn't the time to investigate how the news got out. Kumogakure will probably make a move soon, won't they?"
The man speaking was the one Hiruzen Sarutobi had been watching. The X-shaped scar on his chin made Danzō's expression look somewhat sinister as he spoke.
"Danzō has a point. Minato Namikaze is still young, so it's understandable that he might have made a mistake like this."
"What we need to do now isn't dwell on how the news got out, but prepare properly for Kumogakure's response."
"I hear their current Raikage has a volatile temper. We need to get ready."
Mitokado Homura agreed with Danzō and spoke up in his support. His words left Hiruzen Sarutobi silent.
What frustrated Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't the leak itself. There was no way to hide the deaths of the Kumogakure envoys; Kumogakure would find out soon enough. What truly bothered him was that the news had leaked without his knowledge, leaving him completely unprepared.
He had planned to use the incident to his advantage and put Konoha in control of the public narrative. But now that the story of their "accidental deaths" had spread among the villagers, no matter what information he released, no one would believe it. It would only look like he was trying to cover something up.
"Damn it!" Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered. He knew some things had already slipped beyond his control.
The meeting moved on from the leak and began discussing how to deal with Kumogakure.
But what was happening in the Hokage Building's meeting room had nothing to do with Uzumaki Jiuming. As usual, he was in the hidden room of the study, researching the various secret techniques Uzumaki Mito had kept hidden. By now, Jiuming's daily routine had become firmly established.
He got up in the morning and studied techniques. Researching all kinds of Fuinjutsu took a great deal of time. In the afternoon, he practiced Taijutsu, with Uzumaki Mito as his sparring partner. Mito had also mastered Fuinjutsu, and when she sparred with Jiuming, she often incorporated its applications.
Other people's Taijutsu practice was purely physical, but Jiuming's training focused on combining techniques with Taijutsu.
In the evening, Jiuming returned to the study to research ninjutsu. Often, he felt the urge to go out and have some fun. But whenever he remembered that even Kushina had been kidnapped while inside the village, he chose to keep his head down.
Everyone knew that if you wanted to live long, you had to know when to lie low. As long as Jiuming stayed inside Mito's estate, no enemy could threaten him. If the entire Shinobi World was a dungeon, then Konoha was the beginner's village, and Uzumaki Mito's estate was the starting point—a place that was all about safety.
The only difference was that most starting points didn't let you level up. Uzumaki Mito's estate did. Jiuming could grow stronger here, too.
"It'll take a few more years to condense the Yin Seal's chakra. I'd better stay home until then."
"Once you start making waves, you draw aggro. Draw too much, and you're dead."
"I'd better play it safe and study Fuinjutsu. That way, I can start practicing the Flying Thunder God as soon as possible."
Jiuming's goals were clear. Simply staying home wasn't enough to survive in a chaotic age. Uzumaki Mito had been getting sleepier and sleepier, and Jiuming knew she probably didn't have much time left. Once she passed away, no one would be left to protect him and his older sister.
Tsunade was still too young. Though she held a lofty position, she had no real authority, and her strength was still far from its peak. There was no way she could protect him and Kushina. If Mito passed away and Kushina inherited the Nine-Tails, becoming its second Jinchuriki, her personal safety wouldn't be a concern.
But her younger brother, Uzumaki Jiuming, wouldn't be so fortunate. It was only a matter of time before he was sent to the battlefield.
"As long as I master the Flying Thunder God and don't do anything stupid—like using my body to take the Nine-Tails' claws—keeping my life should be no problem."
As he read through the techniques, Jiuming didn't forget to mock Minato, whom he'd met just the day before. Thinking of how he'd heard villagers discussing the Kumogakure envoys that morning, he knew the current peace wouldn't last much longer.
In Year 31 of Konoha, negotiations between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning broke down. The Raikage of Kumogakure seized on the deaths of his village's delegation in Konoha, insisting that Konoha had killed them. The Third Hokage had no way to explain himself. He couldn't very well tell people that Kumogakure had tried to kidnap Konoha's second Jinchuriki, could he?
Wouldn't that tell their enemies that Uzumaki Mito didn't have much time left?
So Hiruzen Sarutobi could only smear the Kumogakure envoys with fabricated accusations. But since the story had been made up on the spur of the moment, the other hidden villages quickly exposed it. In effect, he'd handed Kumogakure the perfect excuse.
Tensions between Kumogakure and Konoha rose at once. The other hidden villages began to think war might break out, and a new arms race began.
"Lord Hokage, Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning is making a move. A large force of ninja is advancing toward the Land of Hot Water and will soon reach our border!"
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage was sitting at his desk, handling paperwork. An Anbu operative wearing a mask suddenly appeared in the room, dropped to one knee, and reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi. At the same time, Danzō, in his underground base, received the same information.
"What? Kumogakure is moving so quickly? Didn't I already send someone to negotiate? Have they not arrived yet?"
At the report, the Third Hokage abruptly stopped writing. He gently set down his brush, picked up his pipe, and lit it.
"Report: we've completely lost contact with the delegation. It's been two hours!"
"We were supposed to check in once every hour. It seems they've run into trouble."
The Anbu's report plunged the Third Hokage into silence. He needed time to digest the news and decide how to respond. But Shimura Danzō, in the underground base, had already made up his mind.
"Orders: have Units 1 through 30 rush to the border at full speed. They must stop Kumogakure's elite forces from infiltrating the Land of Fire."
"Once they get there, requisition all the border guard ninja. Let the battle take place in the Land of Hot Water!"
If you looked at a map of the Naruto world with the Land of Fire at its center, the Land of Fire was the middle of the world. The Land of Hot Water lay in the central region between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. When two great nations went to war, the small Land of Hot Water often became a buffer zone and battlefield.
The Land of Moon, north of the Land of Hot Water, was another buffer zone despite having no hidden village of its own. While the Third Hokage was still considering how to respond, Danzō had already issued his orders and was trying to seize control of the border forces.
Before you continue