Summary of the Third Shinobi World War

We know that the catalyst for the Third Great Ninja War was the disappearance (and death) of the Third Kazekage. With the leader of Sunagakure gone, other nations naturally began to stir. A long time had passed since the previous great war, and every nation had finished recuperating, possessing sufficient strength to vie for interests once more. Thus, the Third Great Ninja War erupted.

I: Participating Nations: The Five Great Nations were essentially all drawn into the war.

1. Regarding the Land of Wind: There was a battle during the Third Great Ninja War that determined the course of the conflict, namely the "Battle of Kikyo Pass" (Kikyo Pass lies on the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire). This battle ended with Konohagakure defeating Sunagakure. Konohagakure captured many young enemy ninjas, including a young Kabuto. At the time, Kabuto had already been placed under a curse by Sasori, becoming his sleeper agent. Other agents of Sasori included Yura (the spy Sasori and Deidara used when capturing Gaara) and another unfortunate soul who ended up as a sacrifice for the Phase Transition Technique.

2. Regarding the Land of Earth: During the Third Great Ninja War, Minato Namikaze rose to fame in a single battle. This fame-defining engagement was the Battle of Kannabi Bridge against Iwagakure—Iwagakure dispatched over a thousand ninjas to attack the border of the Land of Fire. At the time, Minato Namikaze was still a Jonin, and in his capacity as a Jonin, he was ordered to destroy the enemy's supply lines, with the strategic stronghold being Kannabi Bridge. After this battle, Obito's name was carved onto the Memorial Stone, Kakashi became the "Copy Ninja," and Minato killed 50 enemy ninjas in an instant. It was also in this battle that the Flying Thunder God Technique shone brilliantly, and the title of "Yellow Flash" became renowned far and wide. Iwagakure issued an order to its ninjas: if they encountered Minato, they could abandon their mission without facing any disciplinary action.

3. Regarding the Land of Water: The war between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire is only briefly mentioned in the original work, with no famous battles. In fact, the Land of Water seems to have had no noteworthy military engagements, which is related to their geographical location. However, the Mizukage's bodyguard, Ao, the man with one Byakugan eye, is judged to have obtained that Byakugan during this war.

This battle also reveals a problem. First, regarding the Hyuga Clan: the branch family of the Hyuga Clan all have curse seals placed upon them, so even if captured, they would not leak the secrets of the Byakugan. This means that in this battle, the main family of the Hyuga also participated. Additionally, Ao mentioned that he had crossed blades with Shisui Uchiha and greatly admired his genjutsu, which means the Uchiha Clan also arrived at the battlefield against Kirigakure. This shows that Konohagakure was under immense pressure, fighting one against four. If the pressure hadn't been great, they wouldn't have sent the Uchiha, a clan skilled in Fire Release, to deal with Kirigakure ninjas who were skilled in Water Release.

4. Regarding the Land of Lightning: From flashbacks, we know that Minato once had a battle with the AB Brothers. This battle made the future Fourth Raikage and Killer B fully understand what true speed was. The AB Brothers walked through the gates of hell, and the Fourth Raikage remained obsessed with Minato ever since because of this encounter. Afterward, the high command of Kumogakure issued an order similar to that of Iwagakure: if you encounter Minato, you may flee immediately.

During this battle, Minato told the Fourth Raikage (who had not yet become Kage) that their next battle might be fought as Kage. This indicates that at this time, Minato already realized he had accumulated enough political capital, and the position of the next Kage was essentially in his grasp, causing the other candidates for the Fourth Hokage, led by Orochimaru, to fall out of contention.

II: Timeline: Konoha 46-47.

1. In Konoha 60 (when the plot begins and Orochimaru destroys Konoha), Kakashi is 26 years old. One year prior, in Konoha 47, Kakashi was 25, participating in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge as a Jonin under Minato's leadership. It was mentioned at the end of the manga that the fighting of the Great Ninja War ended after this battle. This means the Third Great Ninja War ended in Konoha 47.

2. In Konoha 6, Sasori was 5 years old. According to Chiyo's recollections, Sasori left Sunagakure twenty years ago, which was Konoha 4. After several years of lurking and accumulating enough capital, Sasori snuck back into Sunagakure to kill the Third Kazekage. Adding the time Sunagakure spent searching, this means the Third Great Ninja War broke out between Konoha 44 and 45.

3. When Sasori left Sunagakure, he placed a Puppet Curse on three people. The key figure, Kabuto, was 0 years old in Konoha 60, so he would have been 4 years old in Konoha 4. He should have still been in the Sunagakure ninja academy, and it is normal for him to have shown enough talent to be noticed by Sasori. During wartime, children graduated very early; for example, Kakashi graduated at 5 and became a Chunin at 6. One must remember that Itachi later graduated at 7. Based on Kakashi's graduation age, we assume Kabuto also graduated at 5, which would be Konoha 45. Since he graduated during wartime, he naturally had to go to the battlefield. Later, Kabuto participated in the Battle of Kikyo Pass, where Sunagakure was defeated. Kabuto, as a child, was captured by Konohagakure, sent to an orphanage, and later scouted by Danzo and Orochimaru, sent to various parts of the world as a spy, and eventually ended up under Orochimaru's command. This confirms that the Battle of Kikyo Pass occurred in Konoha 45 or later. Of course, if Kabuto graduated a year later, the Battle of Kikyo Pass would have occurred in Konoha 46 or later, which seems a bit tight compared to the war ending in Konoha 47, but considering the Second Great Ninja War only lasted two years, it is not impossible.

4. We have another key figure, Itachi Uchiha. In Konoha 60, Itachi is 18, and his file states he "witnessed the Great Ninja War at age four." As everyone knows, Itachi was a genius among geniuses, training from a very young age, graduating at 7, becoming a Chunin at 10, entering the Anbu at 11, and becoming an Anbu squad leader and wiping out his clan at 13. This means "witnessed at age four" implies the war broke out when he was four, not that he only just started remembering things at four. If Itachi was four in Konoha 46, the Third Great Ninja War broke out then, and based on the previous deduction, the Battle of Kikyo Pass was likely the start of the war.

5. In Konoha 60, Neji is 14. According to memories, when he was 4, which was Konoha 50, Hinata was kidnapped by a Kumogakure ninja leader. This was three years after the end of the Third Great Ninja War; Kumogakure judged that Konohagakure did not want to provoke another war, so they carried out this conspiracy, which fits the situation at the time.

Through the above analysis, narrowing down the timeline step by step, we finally conclude that the Third Great Ninja War began in Konoha 46 and ended in 47, lasting two years.