Inside Konoha, wails of grief filled the air, and everything was a complete mess.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood atop Kage Rock, looking at the disaster he had created with his own hands, tears streaming down his aged face.
Yet in this world, there had never been such a thing as truly sharing another's pain.
There was only kicking someone while they were down, taking their life while they were sick.
Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
Inside the Raikage's office, the atmosphere was explosive, like an arsenal ready to blow at any moment.
"Bang—!!!"
A desk carved from a single slab of granite was smashed into flying chunks of stone by a dark, sinewy iron fist.
"Iwagakure! Uchiha Yoru!"
The Fourth Raikage, A, looked like a furious bull driven completely berserk.
Veins bulged across his terrifying bodybuilder-like muscles, while blue Lightning Release chakra arcs flickered wildly over his skin, crackling with piercing bursts.
"Those dirt-diggers have been getting more and more disrespectful toward Kumogakure lately!"
A's voice was thunderously loud, making the entire Raikage Building hum.
Staring at the intelligence scroll in his hand, he was so furious his lungs felt ready to burst.
First, they had absorbed Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Mist Village. Now, they had even extended their reach into the mining business of the Land of Lightning.
That old bastard Kakuzu, relying on Iwagakure's backing, had been wildly throwing money around on the black market and snatching several of Kumogakure's key trade routes!
"Big brother, calm down."
Beside him, a burly dark-skinned man in sunglasses with eight swords slung over his back chewed bubble gum while trying to mediate in an atrocious rap.
"Yo, yo, Iwagakure's moves have gone a little too far, but there's no need for us to clash head-on, check it out."
The Eight-Tails' jinchuriki, Killer