The Raikage's Death

Land of Fire

Eastern Stronghold

On the former territory of the Land of Whirlpools, Naraku, accompanied by a group of guards, was touring the area.

Originally, Uzushio Village in the East Land of Whirlpools of the Land of Fire was the front line of Konoha's Kirigakure against Kirigakure Land of Water.

Since the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools during the height of Second Shinobi World War, it has remained abandoned to this day.

"Taki, how does it feel to return to your childhood hometown?"

As the group walked through the ruins of Uzushio Village, Naraku asked the red-haired young woman behind him.

"If only we could rebuild Uzushio Village."

With a nostalgic look on his face, Uzumaki Taki said softly.

Naraku did not answer. After investigating the Land of Whirlpools, he prepared to return.

"Let's go back to base."

"Hi!" X8

After the vanguard of Kirigakure was defeated last time, it fell silent again, leaving Naraku unsure of what to say.

Originally, the Eastern Defense Line had 3,500 ninjas. In the last battle against Hidden Mist, more than 700 ninjas were killed, but Hidden Mist was repelled again.

The Eastern Stronghold only had about 2,800 Konoha Ninja, so the Hokage mobilized 1,500 ninjas from the Eastern Stronghold to reinforce the Northwestern Stronghold.

In the northwestern Iwagakure, a force of 20,000 ninjas attacked Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen to concentrate his forces and fight a fierce battle against Iwagakure.

The original four defensive outposts outside Konoha each had a garrison of one thousand men during peacetime. Naraku now has a force of over 1,300 ninjas, which is not much different from his peacetime defensive strength.

If the main force of Hidden Mist were to attack, Naraku wouldn't be afraid, but the disparity in ninja strength between the two sides would be so great that the battle would have to rely entirely on Naraku's efforts. Naraku was somewhat displeased with this situation.

If Naraku were the Hokage, Naraku the Hidden Mist Land of Water, but the reality is that Naraku is not the Hokage. Although Naraku superb Ninjutsu, he certainly wouldn't be so selfless.

"If the Hidden Mist attacks, we'll retreat immediately and request reinforcements."

Naraku that he had already crossed the strait and reached the East Coast of the Land of Fire.

Howl! Howl!

"Um?"

Naraku looked at the howling of the eagle in the sky. Uchiha Zensui stretched out his right hand, and the Swift Hawk in the sky swooped down and landed on Zensui's arm.

Uchiha Zensui took the letter from the Swift Hawk and handed it to Naraku.

"The war in the Northwest Land of Earth has ended, the Third Raikage has perished, and reinforcements will arrive soon. We hope you can hold the Eastern Stronghold."

Naraku took the note and read it aloud. At the end of the note was the Hokage's stamp, indicating that Sarutobi Hiruzen had personally sent the message. However, the note contained a great deal of information, which surprised Naraku.

Hearing Naraku's muttered words, Uchiha Inabi asked softly with some doubt:

"Rumor has it that the Raikage is engaged in a fierce battle in Sunagakure. Sunagakure is a village where even the Kazekage can disappear. How could they possibly have Third Raikage?"

"Lord Fugaku didn't go to the Northwestern Stronghold for very long, and he ended the Northwest campaign. Fugaku is indeed mighty."

Uchiha Zensui made a judgment based on the information read out by Naraku, believing that Uchiha Fugaku Kamui and turned the tide of the battle.

"Let's talk about it back at base."

Naraku said softly, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Naraku, of course, aware of the situation regarding the Hokage's message.

As expected, the war in the Northwest came to a halt because the Tsuchikage Ōnoki surrounded and annihilated the Cloud Village Kumogakure force, Third Raikage fought against 10,000 Iwagakure.

This led to the death of the Third Raikage. In the Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, a hero named Rasa emerged and repelled the invasion of the Kumogakure. However, the Kumogakure's retreat was intercepted by the Iwagakure of the Land of Earth.

Pakura, the second hero of Hidden Sand, used her Scorch Release to defeat the invasion of Hidden Mist.

The Sunagakure has been leaderless for over a year since losing the Kazekage. This defeat of the Kumogakure should lead to the selection of the Fourth Kazekage, which will bring a short period of relative stability.

After several initial battles in Konoha Iwagakure in the northwest, Ōnoki, seeing that he had no way to defeat Konoha, withdrew his fist. When he threw another punch, he didn't aim at Konoha. Instead, he punched the unsuspecting Kumogakure, knocking their noses crooked.

In the initial chaotic battle, Iwagakure was very restrained. Unexpectedly, their first major attack yielded such great results. The feud between Iwagakure and Kumogakure has now become very serious.

Naraku and his group quickly returned to the Eastern Stronghold command camp.

"You can rest for a while and move around freely."

Naraku addressed the guards behind him.

"Hi" X8

Naraku returned to the command tent, where he saw Hatake Sakumo holding a letter, seemingly lost in thought.

"Sakumo, what are you thinking about?"

"Ah, Naraku, you've come."

Naraku's greeting roused Hatake Sakumo from his reverie.

"The Daimyo White Fang was actually distracted. If I had tried to assassinate him just now, I might have become an idol for foreign ninjas."

"Hehe"

Hatake Sakumo wasn't in the mood for Naraku's joke and just gave a dry laugh.

"Tsk tsk."

Naraku was somewhat curious about Hatake Sakumo's unusual behavior.

Seeing Naraku's gaze, Hatake Sakumo didn't hide his feelings, a smile appearing on his lips as he softly said:

"Kakashi has been promoted to Jonin."

His tone was quite strange, a mixture of pride and helplessness.

"Jonin, the Jonin is going to carry out A-rank and S-rank missions for Konoha."

Naraku, noticing Hatake Sakumo's distraction, nodded in response.

"Yes, I wonder if Kakashi is capable of handling A-rank and S-rank missions."

Hatake Sakumo murmured.

"If I remember correctly, Kakashi is only twelve years old. He's a true genius."

Naraku could understand Hatake Sakumo's unusual behavior.

Rank A and Rank S missions are mostly extremely dangerous, and as Jonin of Konoha, one must complete these dangerous missions for Konoha.

The rewards and commissions are very high, but the dangers involved are just as great as the rewards.

Amidst the chaotic warfare in the Shinobi World, ninja forces from various countries suffered heavy losses, leading to a rapid promotion of ninjas at all levels.

Genin graduate early, Chunin are promoted faster, Jonin selection is accelerated.

During the Shinobi World War, Hatake Kakashi set another record by being promoted to Jonin by the village at the age of twelve.

This broke the record for the youngest Jonin Konoha, who was thirteen years old. During Second Shinobi World War, many geniuses in Konoha were promoted to Jonin the age of thirteen. It was thought that this was the limit, but Konoha broke the bottom line again.

This demonstrates that the lack of military strength and ninjas at all levels in Konoha is accelerating the development of new ninjas at each level.

"Genius, perhaps. I truly wish there were no more conflicts in the Shinobi World. The original purpose of Konoha was to achieve peace."

"Let the children never go to the battlefield again. Now, because of the Shinobi World War, the village is forced to deplete its potential."

Hatake Sakumo softly, expressing his concern for Kakashi's dangerous mission after Kakashi's promotion to Jonin. This was a father's worry.

"Konoha is on high alert everywhere. If we can eliminate the threat from Kirigakure in the Land of Water, perhaps we can delay sending some children to the battlefield."

Hatake Sakumo's eyes gradually turned sharp, and he added menacingly.