In Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, the Third Kazekage began to regret signing a peace treaty with Konoha too early.
He had believed that reaching an agreement with Konoha would buy Sunagakure enough time and resources to consolidate its gains in the Land of Rivers.
However, as Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure—the three major ninja villages—successively launched campaigns of invasion and expansion, the Third Kazekage suddenly realized that he might have underestimated the changing situation in the Ninja World.
When the Third Kazekage saw the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, successfully invade the Land of Grass; the Third Raikage, A, swiftly force the surrounding minor nations into submission to the Land of Lightning; and the Third Mizukage begin annexing the islands around the Land of Water, new thoughts arose in his mind.
The Third Kazekage realized that these expansionist acts made Sunagakure appear comparatively conservative and cautious within the Ninja World, while the peace agreement he had signed with Konoha seemed to have restrained Sunagakure's actions.
He had once believed that by swiftly occupying the territory and resources of the Land of Rivers, he had achieved his goal of expansion. But now, it seemed that the ambitions of the other Kage far exceeded his expectations. The Third Kazekage even felt that he had already fallen behind.
Looking back on these changes, the Third Kazekage gradually realized that peace in the Ninja World was becoming impossible to sustain.
Competition for resources and territorial expansion among the major nations had brought the shadow of war close once again.
He realized that although Sunagakure was not presently capable of immediately launching another war, consolidating its existing gains had become critically important.
He calculated inwardly that if Sunagakure wanted to secure an advantageous position amid the coming turmoil of the Ninja World, it had to treat