The True Apex!

The eastern border of the Land of Fire, where it meets the Land of Hot Water.

Small nations like the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Grass, sandwiched between the Five Great Nations, were deliberately left to exist.

If the great powers shared direct borders, it would be far too easy for a disagreement to escalate into war; these small nations served as necessary buffers.

Furthermore, if the great powers were to go to war, they could keep the battlefield within these small nations, ensuring their own homelands remained untouched.

The Land of Rain was originally intended to be such a place, but the difference was the emergence of a figure like Hanzo the Salamander, forcing the great powers to take it seriously.

In the borderlands, a man of immense, imposing stature stood upon a mountain peak, facing the lush greenery in the distance.

The Third Raikage's eyes darkened as he watched in silence.

That was the Land of Fire, the very heart of the ninja world.

Hashirama Senju had ended the Warring States period, bringing a peace to the ninja world unseen in a thousand years.

Yet, he was no selfless saint; the Land of Fire occupied the most fertile region in the ninja world, and Konoha was the core of that core.

Why was it that every time a Great Ninja War broke out, the other four nations besieged Konoha, while Konoha never initiated a war itself?

It was not because Konoha was kind-hearted, but rather...

What wealthy tycoon has any interest in stealing a beggar's bowl?

Sunagakure went without saying; water was a massive issue there, let alone other necessities.

Iwagakure's environment was no better, with barren land and scarce resources.

Kirigakure was isolated overseas, its resources heavily dependent on imports, making it difficult to export internal problems and prone to civil unrest.

The Land of Lightning was slightly better off; its peninsular terrain was easy to defend and hard to attack, and its mountainous regions could support livestock.

However, compared to the Land of Fire, its territory was far too small, lacking strategic depth and suffering from limited influence due to its distance from the center of the continent.

The foundation of the Land of Fire—or rather, Konoha—was simply too deep.

There was no need to mention the era of the First Hokage; during the era of the Second, Konoha fought the four nations in turn and remained undefeated.

Sarutobi Hiruzen...

The Third Raikage was, of course, familiar with him; they were the ones who had continued the unfinished business of the Second Hokage and signed the ceasefire agreement between their two nations.

He acknowledged Sarutobi Hiruzen's strength; in terms of versatility, no one in the current ninja world could surpass him.

And besides... Konoha did not only have Sarutobi.

Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, the Third Raikage spoke in a deep voice.

"Have you found that bastard yet?"

The man shook his head, saying helplessly, "Still no leads."

Ever since the Kumogakure ninja moved into the Land of Hot Water, showing signs of a potential southward invasion of the Land of Fire, several malicious incidents had occurred within their own borders.

Ninja going missing, intelligence leaks, old grudges between ninja clans reigniting...

Although there was no evidence to confirm it, the Third Raikage's intuition told him it was the work of Shimura Danzō.

The methods of inciting unrest were entirely that man's style.

Trying to force me back, to keep me from joining the war... Heh!

"Keep looking. Once you lock onto his location, I will crush this annoying pest with my own hands!"

"Yes!"

"Lord Raikage, there is one more thing I must report to you."

The Kumogakure ninja presented a secret letter with both hands: "This is the intelligence sent back by Iron Plow."

The codenames for spies varied by village; Kumogakure had a habit of using farming tools, believing it offered better concealment.

The Raikage tore open the envelope to reveal the decrypted text.

Rip—

After reading the letter, a flash of lightning sparked from the Raikage's fingertips, turning the paper into dust.

"So that brat's younger sister has even greater talent..."

He could not wait any longer.

The lessons of the past showed that Uchiha geniuses, once tempered by the fires of war, would only become more difficult to deal with!

"How many people do we still have in Konoha?"

"Currently, there are seven we can still contact within Konoha: two jōnin and five chūnin."

"There are six performing missions abroad, one jōnin... and those on the battlefield..."

The report concluded, and the man's voice lowered: "Iron Plow, who sent back the intel... is confirmed dead."

Iron Plow was his younger brother.

The Raikage remained silent for several seconds.

"I recall he had two children. Take good care of them."

"Contact all sleeper agents. The original plan is to be moved up!"

"Understood!"

The Raikage looked back toward the direction of Kumogakure, his eyes tinged with a trace of sorrow.

--

--

Land of Rain.

A lone figure walked through the downpour.

"Kaminazuki, stop being so unhappy."

A white snake with sleek, lustrous scales poked its head out from his collar, its tongue flicking as it spoke: "Mikoto has grown up. She will have a life of her own; it's impossible for everything to go exactly as you wish."

"People change, just as we snakes shed our skin."

"She is your most important younger sister, after all. Go back and apologize to her; it'll be troublesome if she stops making me delicious offerings next time."

The last sentence was likely the real point.

Kaminazuki ignored the white snake and continued walking.

Behind him, a ninja cat with glossy black fur and four snow-white paws elegantly avoided a puddle, letting out a soft meow as an opening line: "Alright, Xiaobai, you know how stubborn this guy is."

"This young lady is tired of walking. Move aside, I'm coming up to hitch a ride."

"You got it, Lulu."

Kaminazuki paused imperceptibly, allowing the black cat to land steadily on his shoulder, leaving four wet prints behind.

Perched on his shoulder, the black cat's mouth curled in a human-like smirk: "Guess what... you're planning to go cause trouble for Hanzo, aren't you? That guy made such a huge splash, and you're still fuming."

"I heard Orochimaru's analysis too. We don't need the Third Hokage; we are the perfect counter to Hanzo!"

"You aren't afraid of poison at all, and Xiaobai and I can still use that super powerful ultimate—Meow!"

Kaminazuki stopped in his tracks, and Lulu nearly tumbled off.

"The ability for Summoning Beasts to talk is a bit redundant. If you get any noisier, I'll replace you."

The white snake shrank its head back, saying timidly: "Don't do that. Dabai eats more than I do; I'm much easier to keep."

Dabai was the name of the other white ninja snake, the one following Orochimaru—the one that kept the Kusanagi Sword in its stomach.

The two white snakes possessed the ability to store and exchange items, and only that snake could replace Xiaobai's function.

Lulu let out a soft huff, raising her head proudly: "Hmph! The ninja cats of Cat Village are all my underlings; who would dare replace me!"

"I could ask Sakumo for a ninja dog."

"Meow! No! Absolutely not a dog! I hate dogs the most!!"

"Then be quiet!"

Usually, when executing missions, Kaminazuki would bring Shikaku along to save some brain cells.

This time was different.

Kaminazuki did indeed want to go find Hanzo.

Of course, it wasn't for the childish reason the black cat suggested... alright, maybe just a little bit.

The most important reason was that Orochimaru's creation was initially complete, and his own techniques had been perfected over the past year.

He wanted to see...

Just how far he was from the recognized pinnacle of the ninja world.

And whether he was qualified to meet that...

The true apex of the ninja world!

--

--

An unknown underground palace, lit by flickering candles.

White Zetsu emerged from the ground and spoke to the withered old man on the stone throne.

"Madara, Kaminazuki has gone to find Hanzo, all by himself."

"Should we orchestrate something to stop him? If he faces Hanzo now, he'll likely die, won't he?"

Madara Uchiha slowly opened his eyes. In his sockets, there were no longer Rinnegan, but a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.

"If a mere Hanzo is enough to claim his life, then he is not qualified to be my successor."