Six Years Later

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, six years had passed. Yet in those short six years, the changes in the ninja world—or rather, the entire world of Naruto—had been so drastic that no one had expected them.

Over the past six years, from south to north and east to west across the continent, people in both large and small nations had noticed that the atmosphere around them had somehow become exceedingly strange. Not only had ninja begun appearing everywhere, but the soldiers of local lords had also started frequently entering their sight. However, the elderly people who had experienced the Warring States era had long since passed away. Thus, although the citizens of the Five Great Nations had sensed something amiss, they had yet to grasp the true meaning behind it.

The smaller nations, however, were different. They had already begun to keenly feel the air of slaughter. Small nations—especially those wedged between great powers—had suffered for years under ninja wars, and their people were far more sensitive than those of the great nations. Their nobles in particular had access to far broader sources of information than ordinary citizens. The four great powers of the continent were constantly massing troops along their borders, while ninja from their respective hidden villages were entering their territories at a far greater frequency than usual. That was enough to make them realize that something was wrong.

Meanwhile, on the eastern ocean, the Lands of Fire, Lightning, and Water had successively issued proclamations over the past six years to eradicate pirates and protect trade routes. The naval vessels of all three nations cruised everywhere, and the tension at sea was even greater than on land. Naturally, the Land of Water possessed the largest fleet. While the warships of the Lands of Fire