The Cause of the Second Battle

It was clearly...

Just a mere Orochimaru...

Click—

A crisp sound of bone fracturing rang out. Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged. "Could you be a little gentler? My hand bones seem to have shattered."

Kaminazuki rose indifferently and released Orochimaru's hand.

"What can you teach me?"

This cold attitude was a stark contrast to his previous eagerness to perform.

Orochimaru did not mind his attitude and said slowly, "That can only be determined after I have a sufficient understanding of your body, but at the very least, I can teach you taijutsu and swordsmanship."

"Your movements rely too much on physical strength, and there is still plenty of room for refinement."

"If you are willing, could you tell me what you know about your own abilities?"

Kaminazuki hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Heavenly Restriction. That is the name I gave this ability."

"It is a binding I was born with. The moment I fuse spiritual energy and physical energy to form chakra, that chakra is directly applied to strengthening my physical body."

"Is that so... A simple and easy-to-understand description."

Orochimaru reached out and pressed his hand onto Kaminazuki's shoulder. "Then, can chakra transmitted to you by others also be used for physical reinforcement?"

"You can try. People from my clan have already tried."

Kaminazuki curled his lip and said, "The purity of their chakra was too low; it was useless."

Orochimaru attempted it using Mystical Palm Technique, feeling as though he were transmitting energy into a piece of metal with no chakra compatibility.

Clearly, his chakra was useless as well.

"Perhaps it isn't a purity issue," Kaminazuki said, attempting to save face for Orochimaru.

"No, it should be exactly the purity issue you mentioned."

Orochimaru pinched his chin and said earnestly, "Since your own chakra can convert, there is no reason why other chakra cannot."

"High-purity chakra..."

Such things did indeed exist in the ninja world.

Orochimaru thought of something, but as it involved that respected lord, he immediately dismissed the notion.

"We will discuss that later, but your constitution..." Orochimaru frowned. "What if you get injured? Wouldn't medical ninjutsu be useless on you?"

Bang—!!

Kaminazuki raised his hand and smashed a boulder by the riverbank, sending debris flying everywhere.

"I don't think that is a big problem. With my current physical strength, minor injuries heal quickly on their own."

"As for severe injuries... when facing that kind of enemy, the hope of being saved is slim anyway."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Kaminazuki-kun."

"In any case, today I will first teach you some bone-setting techniques and suturing. Let's use the hand you just crushed as the template..."

"My apologies, Orochimaru... sensei."

Orochimaru smiled faintly. "Don't worry about it. I will get my revenge during the taijutsu training phase; snakes are very vengeful, you know."

The next day.

"Good morning! Kaminazuki-kun!"

Nawaki was as full of vigor as ever, waving to greet him.

Kaminazuki gave a slight nod and walked past.

Nawaki's hand froze in mid-air, his eyes welling up with tears.

Yesterday, his morning, noon, and afternoon greetings had all been ignored by Kaminazuki, and he had held no hope of receiving a response...

Today, he nodded!!

Maybe tomorrow he will greet me back! As long as I keep at it, we will definitely become friends!

He's actually quite easy to get along with! Kaminazuki-kun!

Greatly encouraged, Nawaki stopped listening to the lecture and kept pestering Kaminazuki from across Hiashi. "Hey, hey! Kaminazuki-kun, what do you think of Fujiwara-sensei's lecture? I think it's super boring!"

"The principles of the Clone Technique and such are too hard to understand. I really envy you for not having to learn it..."

"Shut up! One more word and I'll slaughter you!"

"Don't just go around saying such terrifying things! My apologies, Nawaki!"

Because of Orochimaru, Kaminazuki still wanted to give Nawaki a bit of face.

He was wrong.

Someone like Nawaki would take an inch and run a mile; one absolutely could not let their guard down!

He had no desire to get tangled up with a dead man walking.

Fujiwara, the teacher on the podium, could hear everything.

But as a commoner teacher just collecting a paycheck, he wasn't bored enough to meddle with these scions of noble clans—did he have a death wish?

Hiashi was having an even worse time than Fujiwara.

He couldn't endure another day of this damn class; if he couldn't change his seat, he would drop out, even if it meant facing his father's punishment!

--

--

Hokage Building, office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe while processing documents when someone walked in without being announced.

"How is it?" Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't look up, his tone more like a conversation with an old friend than a subordinate.

The visitor sat on the sofa. He had a distinct cross-shaped scar on his chin, neat black hair, sharp eyes, and angular, cold features.

Konoha's advisor to the Hokage, Shimura Danzō.

Resting his chin on his hands, Danzō said in a low voice, "Hanzo has been making bigger moves lately. According to the intelligence I've received, he is likely preparing to make a move on the Land of Iron."

"The Land of Iron..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped his pen and looked at the map of the ninja world on his right.

Between the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron lay the two small nations of Grass and Waterfalls.

The Land of Grass was the type of small country anyone could pass through, while the Land of Waterfalls sat behind a massive waterfall, its natural barrier keeping it unaffected by the ninja wars.

There was no such thing as a "First Great Ninja War" yet, after all, the second hadn't even begun.

However, it was coming soon...

"Hanzo's ambition is by no means limited to this. He likely intends to conquer the weapon-rich Land of Iron first, and then invade Konoha."

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly; he trusted Danzō's judgment.

Moreover, the warmongers in every major village shared a consensus: if you have the strength, try attacking the Land of Fire first.

After all, the Land of Fire was the most resource-rich and economically prosperous nation in the ninja world; only by attacking the Land of Fire could one guarantee the spoils of war.

War was not just about hatred; most importantly, it was about profit.

Therefore, as the great wars progressed, they often devolved into Konoha versus everyone else.

Only someone with a brain as abnormal as the Second Mizukage would travel thousands of miles just to perish together with the Second Tsuchikage for zero gain.

"Should we stop him?"

Danzō paused, then shook his head: "No, we can take advantage of the gap while Hanzo is in the Land of Iron to pass through the Land of Rain and attack the Land of Earth!"

"The reason?"

Danzō pulled out a scroll and tossed it to Sarutobi Hiruzen: "This is the deployment of Iwagakure's forces in the Land of Grass. It is too close to the Land of Fire's mainland."

"By attacking what the enemy must save, we can pull the battlefield into the Land of Rain, which will also force Hanzo to return to defend and halt his expansion."

Although the First Great Ninja War that engulfed the entire ninja world had ended, friction between Konoha and Iwagakure remained constant, with small-scale battles occurring frequently.

That guy Ōnoki didn't know what kind of gunpowder he'd eaten; he looked at Konoha with extreme displeasure and had no intention of signing a ceasefire agreement.

Hoo—

Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a long cloud of smoke and nodded: "Very well, I leave the front lines to you."

"Notify me immediately if the intensity crosses the critical threshold, and I will come."

He had stabilized his position by relying on Tobirama's final orders and the newly signed peace treaty with Kumogakure, but he knew he lacked decisive prestige.

At this moment, he even hoped for a great war to prove himself.

After reporting the intelligence, Danzō stood up to leave, then paused and looked back: "I heard there is a very strange fellow in the Uchiha clan?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with a faint smile: "A very interesting youth. His name is Kaminazuki, and Orochimaru has taken him as a disciple."

Danzō hesitated for a moment before saying: "Keep a close eye on him. I hope Orochimaru can cultivate him into a comrade like Kagami."

Even Danzō was not as gloomy and acerbic as he would be in his old age; because of Kagami Uchiha's sacrifice, he still held expectations for the Uchiha.

Time and war are the things that change a person the most.

"I will, I trust Orochimaru, and you must be careful as well."

"Mn."

Danzo closed the office door gently behind him, without any of the traditional theatrics.

The golden age of Konoha would be forged by their hands, and it would be destroyed by those same hands.