In the ancient river of time, countless things changed in the blink of an eye.
Only time itself held fast to its solitude. It never uttered a sound, yet remained ever present in the consciousness of living beings, leaving its unique mark on everything in the world.
A year had passed since Sosuke defected from Konoha.
During that year, Sosuke seemed to have vanished from the Ninja World. Not a single place had any news of him.
And the Ninja World had not changed because of Sosuke's disappearance.
Everything continued along its usual course, developing one step at a time.
After the battles, Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure had all suffered heavy losses. They had temporarily ceased hostilities, and their villages had entered a period of recuperation and recovery.
Sosuke, the one who had brought all this about, had gone missing without a trace.
Fortunately, Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, seemed to have little interest in the inland territories.
Even with the three villages now greatly weakened, it simply remained in its own corner, holding fast to its coastline.
During this period, Kirigakure in the Land of Water had also, for reasons unknown, chosen to seal itself off.
Kirigakure, the village most skilled in assassination, enjoyed a uniquely advantageous geographical position.
The mists that shrouded the village almost year-round made it mysterious and indistinct. Since it excelled at assassination, Kirigakure received more assassination contracts than any other village.
But now that Kirigakure had sealed itself off, that stream of missions had been cut off completely.
Many of the missions of this kind were redirected to the other three villages, which were still recovering.
In the Land of Fire, Konoha.
Inside the Hokage Office, at the heart of the village.
"Phew..."
Seated at his desk, Sarutobi exhaled a deep