Summary of the Second Shinobi World War

The plot of Naruto is relatively fluid, but it is also overly convoluted. It frequently relies on flashbacks, weaving the narrative through memories to recount past events, which results in an unclear timeline. Furthermore, some character data remains undisclosed by Kishimoto; for instance, all information regarding Minato Namikaze is inferred from flashbacks—though, of course, it is likely accurate. Consequently, writing about events preceding the start of the main plot becomes quite frustrating. Readers likely do not mind too much, thinking, "I'll just watch whatever the author writes; if you say this person was born at this time, I'll accept it." Therefore, I will provide a detailed and relatively authoritative timeline for everyone.

First, regarding the Warring States period, the founding of the village, and the First Shinobi World War: please refer to my other book, The Great Demon King. Those periods are written quite clearly there, and aside from the addition of a transmigrated protagonist, everything else is factual. I have also corrected some obvious loopholes, such as the discrepancy between the time Tsunade drank and the time Hashirama died, so I will not dwell on those here.

The following is the focus.

First, we must understand that the Naruto world is fictional, meaning there will inevitably be many loopholes. We can only try our best to patch them rather than overturning everything to write our own version, unless some points are truly impossible to reconcile.

The Second Shinobi World War (Konoha Year 34–36), lasting two years.

1. Regarding the participating nations: Unlike the other two world wars (excluding the Fourth), the main battlefield of this war involved Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure centered around one country. Which country was this? It was the Land of Rain, home to Hanzo of the Salamander, who was known as a "demigod" at the time.

Evidence is as follows:

1. Land of Fire side: There is a famous story from the Second War: Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru fought against Hanzo of the Salamander. Though they lost, it was an honorable defeat, and they were granted the title of "Sannin" by Hanzo. Although three against one resulted in a loss, Konoha won the war overall. From Nagato's flashbacks, it is evident that Konoha ninjas were already sweeping through Amegakure, and Nagato's parents were mistakenly killed because they were perceived as ninjas. Amegakure was merely a sacrifice in the war between major powers. At the time, Iwagakure of the Land of Earth and Sunagakure of the Land of Wind were also participating, so their forces were present as well.

Note: After this war ended, Tsunade and Orochimaru returned to Konoha, but only Jiraiya stayed behind. Everyone should remember the reason: the trio of Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan. The Sannin accidentally encountered the wandering trio. Orochimaru suggested killing them to spare them the suffering of war, but Jiraiya refused. After the war, Jiraiya stayed behind to teach the trio for a period before returning to Konoha. It was also at this time that Madara Uchiha transplanted his Rinnegan into Nagato. Based on the timeline, this should be between Konoha Year 36 and 37.

2. Land of Earth side: Everyone should have a deep impression of the moment Nagato awakened his eyes. What was the reality? Shortly after the trio was taken in by Jiraiya, a ninja attack occurred. From the manga or anime, we can see that the ninja was from Iwagakure. He was referred to by Nagato as a "remnant of the ninjas," which indicates that the main force of Iwagakure had been defeated. Out of a desire for revenge, these remnants began harassing the Land of Rain, even attacking and killing civilians for food.

3. Land of Wind side: After Chiyo was reanimated via Impure World Reincarnation, it was revealed that Hanzo was her old rival. She knew the antidote to Hanzo's poison and the time required for his summoning, the Salamander, to generate it. The conclusion is self-evident: the Land of Wind also participated in this great war, and Chiyo had indeed fought against Hanzo of the Salamander.

Additionally, the fact that Sasori's parents were killed by the White Fang and that all of Chiyo's poisons were neutralized by Tsunade occurred during this time, showing that these individuals all displayed their prowess in this war.

4. Besides this main battlefield, there was also a conflict between the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. From the flashbacks of the AB brothers—the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki—we know they fought against Iwagakure ninjas at the time.

II. Timeline.

1. In Konoha Year 60, which is the start of Shippuden, Sasori is 35. According to Sasori's profile, he graduated at age 7, meaning he graduated in Konoha Year 32. From Chiyo's flashbacks, we know his parents were killed before he had even learned ninjutsu; Chiyo later taught him puppetry to cheer him up. This means his parents died before he graduated, roughly five years prior, which we can tentatively place at Konoha Year 27. Thus, the start of the war must be pushed back further; the Second War began in Konoha Year 34 or earlier.

2. Nawaki died in the Second War. From his ninja registration, we see he died at age 12, with ninja ID 550. Another character, Mikoto Uchiha—the mother of Itachi and Sasuke—has ID 548, only two digits lower than Nawaki's, meaning they were almost certainly in the same class. As for their graduation age, because it was a time of war, many ninjas graduated early, so we cannot confirm if they graduated in the same year. Analyzing Mikoto Uchiha's profile, she died at age 35. In Konoha Year 60 (everyone knows why this is the reference point; it's the start of the plot), Itachi is 18, and he wiped out the clan at 13—five years ago. If Mikoto had lived to Konoha Year 60, she would have been exactly 40. Nawaki would have been around the same age. Nawaki died at 12, meaning he died 28 years ago. 60-28 = 32, so he died in Konoha Year 32.

The start of the Second War is further narrowed down to Konoha Year 34 or earlier.

3. From Jiraiya's flashbacks, we know Nagato mastered five nature transformations by age 10. In Konoha Year 60, Nagato died at age 41 (these ages at death are official data from Kishimoto). This means he met Jiraiya 31 years ago, which would be Konoha Year 29. By then, the war had already ended, and Jiraiya stayed in Amegakure to look after the trio. This implies the great war in Amegakure must have ended in Konoha Year 35 or late 36 (perhaps Jiraiya met them right at the end of the year).

Additionally, we know Yahiko was always the "big brother" figure in the trio, suggesting he was around Nagato's age or slightly older; let's assume they were the same age. From the Pain's Assault arc, we know Choji described the Deva Path's appearance as being around 25. This means Yahiko died at 25 (the body remains the same age after being turned into a Pain puppet). We previously analyzed that in Konoha Year 35, Nagato was 10, so Yahiko was also 10. 25 years later would be Konoha Year 50, which is exactly when the Third War's Battle of Kannabi Bridge ended and Obito fell. After Yahiko died, Nagato accepted Obito's plan—this fits the plot perfectly.

4. Naruto talks to the Eight-Tails, wanting to know the past of the "Eight-Tails uncle." Then Motoi (the one responsible for receiving Naruto on the island) begins to reminisce. 30 years ago, in Konoha Year 30, the Eight-Tails went berserk, and Motoi's parents died. At the time, Motoi and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, were both 5 years old. This year was right in the middle of the Second War. From the flashback, we also know that Killer B began following his older brother, the future Fourth Raikage, onto the battlefield at this time. The AB brothers' combo made Iwagakure suffer.

5. From the manga, we know Dan Katō (Tsunade's lover) died during the Second War. Based on his age at death—27—we can deduce his birth date as Konoha Year 5 or 6, five years older than Tsunade. This fits the female psychology of admiring an older man. There is only one inconsistency: Dan calls Choza Akimichi "Big Brother Choza." There is no way around this; we must assume it is a mistake by Kishimoto, as it is otherwise impossible to reconcile.

Thus, as we analyzed earlier, during the war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind in Konoha Year 34 or earlier, the White Fang killed Sasori's parents. In other words, around Konoha Year 34, on the battlefield between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, the White Fang killed Sasori's parents, while Dan fell in Tsunade's arms.

The above is basically all the information regarding the Second Shinobi World War, including key figures and participating nations. We can see that all combat times are concentrated between Konoha Year 34 and 36, so we conclude that the Second Shinobi World War began in Konoha Year 34 and ended in 36, lasting two years.