First Shinobi Village

"Achoo!"

Shinobi World.

Land of Water.

A Space Vortex rippled, and the Man Wearing a Mask slowly emerged.

"Caught a cold?"

Not far from the man's feet, Zetsu, who had only just poked his head out, quietly shifted to the side.

When traveling, it was best to be cautious. Catching a cold was no pleasant experience.

"I think someone's talking about me."

As Madara's Successor, Obito had never been content with the status quo.

After all, in his view, since Madara was already dead, there was no need to revive him.

It was only the Fourth Shinobi World War. He should be the one to start it!

Just like Konoha's miserable state, he wanted to give the world a little shock.

No matter what the future held, or whether he would lose to Talk no Jutsu.

For now, though, his heart was black.

He felt no guilt whatsoever about killing his master and his master's wife. He was even excited.

That Yellow Flash who was always a step too late had long forgotten the female student who died in the war. Instead of wallowing in the grief of losing Rin, he had put on a picture-perfect happy family act. He fucking deserved to die!

But Konoha was just the beginning of his revenge.

Next, he would make Kirigakure, the village that Forced Rin to Death, pay the price as well!

"Obito, believe me. No one would talk about someone who's already dead, unless they were burning incense for him."

Zetsu Reminded him in a hoarse voice.

What he wanted to say even more was that no one talked about a psychopath.

As Uchiha Madara's Successor, the man beside him was already completely twisted. Zetsu was not sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The simplest example was this: he did not believe that after receiving Madara's legacy, Obito would fail to realize that it had all been a trap Madara set for him. Even the shinobi who Forced Rin Nohara to Death had nothing to do with Kirigakure.

Obito probably knew that full well, yet he still chose to take revenge on Kirigakure, just as he had taken revenge on Minato, who had been manipulated by Madara into arriving a step too late.

This man had gone mad. He saw no hope for this world.

If Uchiha Madara had truly been fooled by Black Zetsu into believing that Infinite Tsukuyomi was the path to world peace, then Obito wanted more to destroy this world and create a false one where he and Rin loved each other. After all, in the Real World, Rin would most likely have fallen for Kakashi.

After all—

If he had truly set his mind to it, reviving Rin Nohara would have been difficult, but not impossible. The main thing was that Obito had never researched that route. His heart was set solely on destroying everything.

Damn, maybe we pushed him too hard back then.

Zetsu sighed speechlessly. He was certain that Kirigakure's days ahead would not be easy.

Yet neither he nor Obito could have imagined that because the Old Village Chief and the Uchiha Clan were about to share the blame for the Nine-Tails Attack, the sins on Obito's back had somehow decreased by quite a bit.

Obito would surely be furious once he learned of it someday.

After all, he had finally learned Konoha's tradition of killing one's master, yet someone else had stolen it from him. Of course he would not be happy. That had been the moment he came closest to becoming Hokage—those were all memories of his time as a Konoha rogue ninja!

"Kirigakure?"

The scarlet tomoe slowly spun as Obito's voice carried a manic edge.

"It should be called the Blood Mist!"

"Hahaha! A God-given Opportunity! Father was right—opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared! This old man is blessed by the heavens as well!"

Leaving aside Fugaku, who had already bought Hyuga Hitoshi's nonsense, and Obito, who was about to strike at Kirigakure.

At that moment, in Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage's hearty laughter infected the subordinates awaiting his orders.

Konoha's reconstruction was news that could not possibly remain hidden for long.

But if they deliberately concealed it and sealed off information, there would be no problem keeping it under wraps for a while.

Still, one could always trust that rotten village. If the borders could not be infiltrated, then they would obtain information from within!

There was never any shortage of traitors during wartime.

As for leaking intelligence and bringing about war?

Sorry, that was something the Village Chief and higher-ups should worry about. Fight if they had to; at worst, they could defect to the enemy when the time came.

So naturally—

A had already received accurate intelligence about Konoha.

"The Nine-Tails went berserk. The Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to protect the village. Konoha was nearly destroyed and Suffered Heavy Losses. The Third Hokage has returned to power. This truly is an opportunity."

Mabui, then the Raikage's Secretary, spoke calmly.

"What a pity about Namikaze Minato."

The Fourth Raikage spoke with Emotions.

Having inherited his father's formidable physique and mastered Lightning Release Chakra Mode to perfection, there were not many people in the Shinobi World whom A respected. The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was absolutely one of them.

Anyone who could repel the A-B Combo head-on deserved that respect.

"The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen."

As the Raikage's Secretary, Mabui's duty was to gather intelligence on enemies.

Yet after frowning and thinking for a long while, she seemed unable to find any records in her files of Sarutobi Hiruzen being active on the battlefield.

The earliest records seemed to date back only to his achievements as the Second Hokage's guard, when he had accompanied the Second Hokage to the Land of Lightning for negotiations.

But was it really the Second Hokage protecting him, or was he protecting the Second Hokage?

That question had troubled her for a long time during the Third Shinobi World War.

And not just her.

Even the Raikage had some doubts over how Sarutobi Hiruzen had managed to become Village Chief.

How had that guy Gained Trust?

The Kage who rode across the battlefields would probably all have the same question.

"Based on my assessment, the Third Hokage has no habit of going to the battlefield. He is more adept at coordinating and commanding from the rear. This time, he likely will not go to the front lines either. The Konoha Sannin have left the village, so there are almost no one left who can stop you and Killer B."

Mabui analyzed calmly.

"Then there is even less to worry about."

The Raikage made the decision directly. One could always trust the Third Hokage's coordinating ability!

He was the man who had forced himself into retirement!

When that intelligence had returned, all of Kumogakure had been utterly shocked.

Since when could a Kage be driven to such a state?

Even more absurdly, if that man had appeared on any one of the battlefields and led by example to inspire his own shinobi, would he have ended up being treated like this?

For a Village Chief to reach this point, he might as well commit seppuku.

"Lord Raikage, although Konoha is extremely weak, the Hyuga Clan that previously fought our intelligence squad still requires special attention."

Mabui offered a reminder.

"It does not matter. This old man has considered that."

A said in a deep, muffled voice, rough yet attentive to detail.

"Based on the intelligence concerning the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, any tactical arrangements we make will be greatly compromised, and we will have no way to circle around for a surprise attack."

"So this time, we will compete with Konoha in raw strength!"

The Fourth Raikage stood up, his eyes filled with absolute confidence.

"This old man will let the Shinobi World see who the true First Shinobi Village is!"

He would crush Konoha head-on!

Crush the mountain that had been hanging over Kumogakure's head!

His father had fought ten thousand enemies alone for three days. He could not disgrace his father's name.

At that moment, the Raikage's ambitions soared to the heavens.

"Let's set a small goal!"

"Within ten days, this old man will drink victory wine in Konoha!"

Please vote with your monthly tickets... It's the end of the month, so this author bows to all the esteemed readers passing by!