After the meeting among the higher-ups ended, the intelligence brought back by Orochimaru and the others quickly spread among the Konoha Ninja.
When the Konoha Ninja heard the news, they could hardly believe their ears.
Sosuke... Sosuke, who had been missing for so long, had actually joined forces with the Rock Ninja and was preparing to attack Konoha!?
At the thought, everyone remembered the invasion by the Rock Ninja a few years earlier. They recalled just how terrifying Sosuke's strength had been when he chose to betray Konoha at the same time.
He had blocked the Tsuchikage's attacks with ease, remained perfectly composed while facing two Kage, and fought both of them single-handedly without falling behind.
What was hardest for everyone to accept was that Sosuke had once been trusted by them all, and had even been selected as the Fourth Hokage.
If Sosuke had merely become a rogue ninja, they might have been able to accept it.
But when they heard that the former Fourth Hokage was going to join forces with the Rock Ninja to attack Konoha, no one could remain calm.
They did not even know how they should feel when facing the former Fourth Hokage on the battlefield...
After all... he had once been someone they revered...
In a quiet corner of Konoha, a modest little house stood in peaceful solitude.
It was a traditional Japanese-style home, with even a small garden bed in front of the yard.
At that moment, a white-haired man was crouching in the garden bed, gently tending to a few green plants. His careful expression made anyone watching feel an urge to protect them too.
The man wore a traditional gray kimono, one sleeve hanging empty.
He looked somewhat old, a trace of melancholy lingering between his brows. His clear black-and-white