Starting a War

The next morning.

The Land of Wind, Sunagakure.

The sun blazed overhead.

Sunagakure stood in the middle of an endless desert.

Its harsh geography, combined with the Daimyo of the Land of Wind's constant cuts to the ninja budget,

had left the village steeped in an air of desolation and primitivism.

In short... it was poor.

But in fact,

before the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, took office, Sunagakure had been even poorer than it was now.

If Rasa hadn't used his powerful Gold Dust abilities to keep mining gold from the desert and cover the village's expenses,

Sunagakure's economy would have collapsed long ago.

Even so, the desolate desert environment still made life miserable for the ninja.

Naturally, every Kazekage hoped to expand the village's territory and secure a better location for Sunagakure's base.

Unfortunately, the Kazekage throughout history had almost all failed.

But today,

as Fourth Kazekage Rasa looked over the intelligence report in his hands, excitement surged through him.

"The leader of Amegakure, Hanzo of the Salamander, is dead?"

"And the Uchiha Clan of Konoha has been wiped out?"

The two pieces of news struck everyone present like bolts from the blue.

They were all stunned.

But after the shock came an instant rush of delight!

A senior adviser sprang to his feet and turned to Kazekage Rasa, his face alight with excitement.

"This is our chance!"

"We've finally gotten our chance!"

"In the past, we lost to Konoha in the Ninja World War and were forced to sign a treaty. But my Sand Hidden has nearly become their vassal village!"

"But now, we finally have a chance to escape this predicament!"

"Lord Kazekage!"

"Please order an attack on Amegakure at once and expand our territory!"

"If we succeed this time, it could be the beginning of Sunagakure's rise!"

"From now on, Sand Hidden won't have to care what Konoha thinks!"

The senior adviser spoke with unrestrained excitement.

"!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the others joined in, voicing their agreement.

"That's right! Konoha has always stopped us from extending our reach into Amegakure, but now they won't have the strength to interfere!"

"Exactly! If the Uchiha Clan really has been wiped out, Konoha's strength must be at an all-time low. They can't stand in our way anymore!"

"If Hanzo of the Salamander is dead, Amegakure is no threat either!"

"Lord Kazekage, please give the order!"

The old advisers blushed with excitement, their eyes shining.

They offered advice in a rush, as if they'd found a life-saving source of water in the desert.

After all, they were talking about Amegakure!

Its territory bordered three of the Five Great Nations—the Land of Lightning, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Fire—making it a strategic location of enormous importance!

Taking it would bring Sunagakure nothing but benefits!

Now that they had received such classified intelligence, there was no reason not to try!

After hearing what everyone had to say,

Kazekage Rasa felt his own ambition stir.

He wasn't a fool.

Konoha had finally reached a low point. If he didn't seize the chance to rise now, would he have to be Konoha's dog for the rest of his life?

Of course not!

But...

He still needed to carefully verify the intelligence.

After all, what if the Uchiha hadn't actually been wiped out? That would be awkward...

After a long period of thought and deliberation,

Kazekage Rasa finally made up his mind. He raised his head and spoke gravely.

"Notify all Sunagakure Anbu members to assemble at once!"

"We must confirm the full truth of both reports as quickly as possible!"

"Once we've confirmed them,"

"we can launch a war against Amegakure!"

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Though the Ninja World seemed calm and still, a storm was already brewing beneath the surface.

Sunagakure,

on Fourth Kazekage Rasa's orders, five mysterious Anbu squads slipped out under cover of night!

Two headed east, and three headed north!

The eastern Anbu squads were headed for the colossal village of Konoha in the Land of Fire.

They had only one objective—

to investigate whether the Uchiha Clan mentioned in the report had really been wiped out.

The northern Anbu squads, meanwhile, headed straight for the small nation of the Land of Rain, which bordered the northern territory of the Land of Wind.

Unlike the first squad,

they had two objectives.

First: infiltrate Amegakure and determine whether its leader, Hanzo of the Salamander, was still alive.

Second: if both reports proved true,

their squad would serve as Sunagakure's vanguard and launch an attack on Amegakure!

This was the final plan Fourth Kazekage Rasa had settled on!

At that moment,

on the edge of a lake in Amegakure,

a group of masked ninja in unusual attire crouched in several patches of dense undergrowth, closely watching what was happening across the lake.

They were the three Anbu squads sent by Sunagakure!

"Everyone, listen up!"

"Be careful as you infiltrate. Don't let any ninja or faction spot you!"

"If you're discovered—"

"Take them out as quickly as possible and destroy the bodies!"

"Understood?"

"—Understood!"

Every member answered in a serious, hushed voice.

They all knew that this mission was crucial to Sunagakure's plan to rise to power. They couldn't afford the slightest mistake!

As Anbu under the direct command of the Kazekage, they were already prepared to fight!

Among them were some of Sunagakure's most elite jōnin.

This plan was certain to succeed!

"Good... move out!"

Just as the Sunagakure ninja began their infiltration,

in Amegakure,

inside a cozy little restaurant,

Chen Xiaoxi sat in a private booth, enjoying a lavish dinner.

"I have to say,"

"this free food really never gets old."

Chen Xiaoxi's dinner was free.

The only reason was that he was wearing an Akatsuki uniform.

In Amegakure,

Pain and Konan were deeply respected and beloved by the common people. They were respectively honored as "God" and "Angel."

As it happened, the owner of this restaurant had once been saved by the Angel, Konan.

So when the owner saw Chen Xiaoxi come in wearing the same uniform, he immediately warmly offered him a free meal.

Chen Xiaoxi was happy to take him up on it.

After all, freeloading might be shameless, but it was human nature.