War Was Imminent

In the capital of the Land of Water, the Hidden Mist ANBU First Division's Second Squad, led by its captain Purple, was carrying out the mission Qing Si had assigned them.

After receiving Qing Si's orders, the Second Squad spared no chakra and traveled day and night to the capital of the Land of Water, arriving at eleven o'clock on the second night.

After arriving in the capital, Purple followed the contact method Qing Si had recorded in the mission scroll and quickly got in touch with the member at the Underground Bounty Station responsible for gathering Shinobi World intelligence for Qing Si.

After following the method Qing Si had taught her and undergoing a round of identity verification, Purple obtained their mission target.

It turned out that on the very day Qing Si had assumed command of the First Division, while on his way to ANBU Headquarters, he had received an emergency contact signal from Dark Crow, the intelligence agent who was supposed to collect and deliver Shinobi World intelligence to him every month.

Dark Crow was an intelligence agent Qing Si had specially selected from the intelligence division of the Underground Bounty Station under his control to gather information exclusively for him.

Communication methods in the Shinobi World were still extremely underdeveloped. Most messages could only be delivered by manpower, or through specially trained messenger ninja hawks, which only major ninja villages like Konoha and Hidden Mist could raise by mobilizing the entire village.

Alternatively, messages could be delivered through summoned beasts, but only a very small number of summoned beasts possessed both intelligence and strength sufficient to use summoning and reverse summoning for communication.

When Qing Si had assigned Dark Crow to gather Shinobi World intelligence for him, he had specifically instructed him to use emergency contact only for intelligence of utmost importance concerning Hidden Mist Village. Therefore, when he saw the emergency signal, he took it very seriously.

It just so happened that he had recently taken office, so after swiftly defeating and subduing Suikazan Fuguki and Purple, he sent Purple to the capital to retrieve the detailed intelligence.

Purple quickly scanned the intelligence using the code Qing Si had given her, and her expression changed drastically.

The Second Squad immediately headed to the ANBU's station in the capital, placed the intelligence inside a small box tied beside the hawk's claws, then swiftly released the ninja hawk to send the message back to the village.

"Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!"

Five clear cries of a hawk echoed continuously over Hidden Mist Village.

"It's here!" Qing Si, who had been reviewing recent intelligence at the ANBU base, felt his heart stir. He rushed out of his office, while Jian, captain of the Second Division, and Jian, the commander-in-chief, also came outside. Qing Si quickly formed the corresponding hand seals and summoned the ninja hawk down.

The ninja hawk dove from the sky before obediently landing on Qing Si's outstretched arm. After removing the intelligence, Qing Si rapidly deciphered its contents using the proper code, and his expression turned somewhat grim.

"My lords! The Third Kazekage of Hidden Sand Village in the Land of Wind, Iron Sand, personally led a force of ninja into the Land of Rivers. At the critical moment, Hanzō of the Salamander, leader of Rain Village, appeared and stopped the Third Kazekage. The two fought to a draw, but according to the intelligence, the Third Kazekage was at a disadvantage and had been suppressed by Hanzō the entire time."

Rain Village had developed rapidly over the past few years, and now it had such an exceptionally powerful leader. "Their ambitions are considerable," Jian remarked.

"After driving back the Third Kazekage, Hanzō of the Salamander publicly declared that he would lead Rain Village to become the sixth great ninja village. He also called out Konoha Village's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, challenging him to a battle at the Rain-Fire Border on July 7th, Hidden Mist Year 33," Qing Si continued.

"The Land of Rain's tiny territory and scarce resources are nowhere near enough to support Rain Village becoming the sixth great ninja village. It seems war is about to break out." Jian commented indifferently, then turned to Qing Si and ordered, "There isn't much time left before Hanzō and the Hokage's arranged battle. Take some men and observe it personally. Gather intelligence while you're there. We must also decide, based on that intelligence, what stance Hidden Mist should take in the next great war."

"Yes! I'll gather personnel and depart as soon as possible," Qing Si accepted the mission.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Fire, Konoha Village, inside the office of the Third Hokage at the Hokage Building.

"What the hell is Hanzō trying to do?! This is a provocation against Konoha! Who does he think he is?!" A low voice filled with fury rang out from within.

The speaker had brown hair and neatly trimmed sideburns. His head and right eye were wrapped in bandages, leaving only one narrow eye exposed. Most striking of all was the cross-shaped scar on his chin. He was Hiruzen Sarutobi's close friend, Konoha's famous hardliner, the future Five-and-a-Halfth Hokage, and the First Pot Shadow known as the Darkness of the Shinobi—Danzō Shimura.

"Danzō, calm down!" Koharu Utatane advised from the side. "Hanzō may simply be displaying his military strength and making his presence known."

"That's right, old friend. The Land of Rain is such a tiny place that we could wipe them out with a wave of our hands. We only keep them around as a buffer between us and the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind. As long as Hanzō isn't a fool, how could he possibly harbor designs against our powerful Konoha?" Homura Mitokado said confidently.

"You're underestimating Hanzō's ambition. We should immediately send troops into the Land of Rain and wipe out that insignificant Rain Village!" Danzō's voice grew louder.

"Danzō! You're being too radical. My decision is final. Reply to Hanzō: I will arrive for the appointment on time!!!" Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had only recently passed forty and was at the height of his power, felt no fear whatsoever toward Hanzō, who had easily forced back the Kazekage. After all, he too was Konoha Village's "strongest Hokage," known as the Professor of Ninjutsu.

"Sarutobi!" Danzō roared, deeply dissatisfied that his old friend had refused to heed his advice. "You'll regret this!"

"Danzō, I am the Hokage!" Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet become the aged and weak man he would be after the Third Shinobi World War. At this time, he was incomparably forceful.