Three Major Factions

The temporary command post of the Cloud Village - Iwagakure - Land of Iron in Takigakure. The Fourth Raikage A, slammed his fist on the table, shattering the heavy wooden surface.

"Fifteen days! That bastard Madara Uchiha only gave us fifteen days to prepare!"

His roar echoed in the conference room. Ōnoki floated in mid-air, arms crossed, his face bearing the solemnity of someone weathered by life's storms. Mifune sat on a chair to the side, his sword "Mikazuki Munechika" lying quietly on its rack.

"Calm down, Raikage." Ōnoki's voice was old but strong. "Anger won't solve anything. We now have 40,000 Allied Shinobi Forces, plus 10,000 samurai from the Land of Iron, for a total force of 50,000. Besides, this is Takigakure, easy to defend and difficult to attack—"

"But we're facing Madara Uchiha!" A interrupted him, "That legend who's on par with the First Hokage! And an army of 100,000 White Zetsu! 50,000 against 100,000, how much of the terrain advantage can be negated?"

Mifune then spoke up, "Lord Raikage, numbers aren't the only criterion. While the White Zetsu army is large, upon closer examination, their individual strength shouldn't be that high. On our side, the Cloud Village ninja excel in Taijutsu and Lightning Release, the Iwagakure is skilled in Earth Release and defensive warfare, and the Land of Iron samurai are adept at swordsmanship and frontal charges—in terms of troop coordination, we have the advantage."

"And we also have a secret weapon." Ōnoki floated to the map, pointing to a canyon on the border of the Waterfall Country of Waterfall. "The Hero's Water of Takigakure, although it has severe side effects, can increase a ninja's Chakra tenfold in a short time. If necessary, we can organize a suicide squad."

Ai took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He walked to the map and looked at the densely packed troop deployment markings on it.

"Madara Uchiha's declaration of war messengers first came to Iwagakure," he said. "Although we are well-rested and waiting, the advantage is still not in our hands. Although the declaration of war messengers also visited Konoha, we still cannot be sure if it is a feint by Konoha, so we must be wary of Konoha as our opponent."

"If it really is Madara Uchiha, the chances of it being Konoha conspiracy are very low," Mifune pondered. "Don't forget, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is in Konoha. The real goal is to capture the Nine-Tails, so attacking us might just be a diversionary tactic."

Ōnoki shook his head. "After that war envoy 'Sake' declared war on Iwagakure, his next destination was Cloud Village, and then Konoha. He gave each village the same fifteen-day deadline, which means that Madara Uchiha intends to open up multiple battlefields at the same time."

The meeting room door was pushed open, Kurotsuchi — Jonin of Iwagakure and also Ōnoki's granddaughter—hurriedly walked in.

"Breaking news." Kurotsuchi's expression was grim. "Kirigakure has explicitly refused to join the coalition. Mei Terumi says Mist Village will remain neutral in the war."

"Foolish!" A roared again. "Does she think Madara Uchiha will let her go?"

"What's even more troublesome is Konoha," Kurotsuchi continued. "Tsunade agreed to the plan for Iwagakure to join Madara Uchiha, but she demanded that the main battlefield be in Konoha. Moreover, all of Sand Village's forces have already been transferred to Konoha, bringing the combined strength of the two ninja villages to approximately 40,000."

Ōnoki sneered, "Forty thousand... does Konoha really think they can protect the Nine-Tails? If Madara Uchiha's main target is the Nine-Tails, then Konoha is the main battlefield and faces the greatest pressure. But they only have forty thousand troops. Can they hold out?"

Mifune frowned. "Although Kazekage Gaara is young, his strength should not be underestimated. Coupled with Jiraiya and Tsunade, Konoha's high-end combat power is actually very strong. They may want to fight an elite defensive battle rather than a large-scale army operation."

Ai paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Regardless, we'll proceed according to the original plan. Ōnoki, you're in charge of the front lines. Mifune, the samurai unit will serve as a mobile force, ready to support any weak points. I'll stay in the rear, coordinating supplies and intelligence."

He looked out the window at Takigakure. This village, hidden in a giant waterfall, had now been transformed into a military camp, with patrolling ninjas everywhere and a tense atmosphere permeating the air.

Fifteen days have passed, and half of them are already gone.

Konoha, Hokage Office.

Tsunade stood by the window, looking down at the empty streets. All the villagers had been evacuated to the rear base; Konoha was now purely a military fortress.

"The Sand Village forces are all in position," Shizune reported from behind her. "Gaara is currently discussing defensive deployments with Shikaku."

"Where is Jiraiya?"

"Lord Jiraiya went to check on the Barrier Team's work. He said they need to add a layer of Senjutsu barrier on top of the existing Four Red Yang Formation. Although the range will be smaller, the defensive power will be increased threefold."

Tsunade nodded. Her face was somewhat pale; the continuous work without sleep for several days had kept her Chakra in a state of high tension. But she couldn't afford to collapse—she was the head of medical logistics, the lifeline of this war.

The door opened, Gaara walked in. Temari and Kankuro followed behind him.

"Lord Hokage," Gaara nodded slightly, "The initial draft of the defense plan is complete and needs your review."

Tsunade took the scroll and quickly scanned it. The plan was detailed: deploy ranged attack forces using the Hokage Rock as high ground; set up three layers of defense around the village, each with traps and barriers; place the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, in the safest house deepest inside, while also ensuring he could be deployed to battle at any time...

"There's a problem," Tsunade to the defensive barrier on the scroll. "If Madara Uchiha, with his Rinnegan, attacks Konoha personally, what will we rely on to defend ourselves? Will we rely on Naruto again this time?"

Gaara said, "Naruto is the Child of Prophecy; he is the key to this war. But we have also prepared other plans—if Madara really appears, Lord Jiraiya will immediately activate Sage Mode, with Kakashi, Might Guy, and I assisting him. Shikaku has also devised a combined tactic to try and trap him using Sealing Jutsu."

"Try?" Tsunade smiled wryly. "When facing an enemy of that caliber, trying often means sacrifice."

"But we had no choice." Gaara's voice was soft but firm. "Naruto is my comrade, and I chose to fight this war myself..." He paused. "I am willing to fight to protect Naruto and the real world."

Tsunade looked at the young Kazekage. She remembered a few years ago when he was a Jinchuriki driven by hatred, and now he had grown into a leader capable of shouldering the fate of the entire village.

"The issue of command..." she began.

"Let's proceed as previously agreed," Gaara said. "Lord Jiraiya be in charge of tactical command, I will coordinate the Sand Village forces, and Staff Officer Shikaku will oversee the overall situation. For major decisions, the three of us will discuss them together, and your final approval will be required."

Tsunade nodded. Although this arrangement was complicated, it was indeed the safest option. After all, Konoha and Sand Village belonged to different ninja villages, and it was inevitable that friction would arise if they were completely placed under the command of one side.

"Shizune, what about the deployment of the medical unit?"

"The forward medical stations have been set up, with at least three medical points in each defensive perimeter. Supplies such as antidotes, hemostatic agents, and bandages are in ample supply, enough to sustain a month of intense fighting."

A month... but this war might be decided in just a few days. Tsunade knew perfectly well that against an enemy Madara Uchiha, the outcome of a war often depended on a duel between top-tier fighters, rather than a protracted war.

"How well has Naruto mastered the Nine-Tails' power?"

"I've been training, and it's going quite smoothly." Shizune's expression was somewhat excited. "Perhaps we can finish before the war even begins!"

Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. She walked to her desk and took out a photo from the drawer. It was a group photo of Team 7: Naruto grinned, Sasuke was expressionless but had gentle eyes, Sakura was making a V-sign between the two, Kakashi stood behind, his only visible eye curving into a crescent moon.

Now, Sasuke is missing, Sakura has inherited his mantle, and Naruto is about to face a war that will determine the fate of the Shinobi World.

"Seven days..." she said softly, her fingers tracing the young faces in the photograph.

Kirigakure, Mizukage's Office.

Mei Terumi stood by the window, gazing at the vast sea outside Mist Village Port. Thick fog forever shrouded this body of water, just like her mood, obscuring what lay ahead.

"Mizukage, Cloud Village and Konoha have sent another joint request." Ao stood behind her, his Byakugan gleaming faintly through his eyepatch. "They want us to at least provide intelligence support, or open supply routes."

"Refuse." Mei Terumi didn't turn around. "Just say that Mist Village suffered heavy losses in the previous Blood Mist Village and needs to recuperate, so they are unable to participate in this Shinobi World War."

"But..." Qing hesitated, then stopped herself.

Mei Terumi turned around. Her face lacked its usual charming smile, displaying only a cold and resolute expression.

"Ao, do you think I don't want to fight?" she asked. "If someone Madara Uchiha were to unify the Shinobi World, Mist Village's fate would be even worse than if we joined the war. But I have to consider the village's future—we've just recovered from the Fourth Mizukage's reign of terror. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are either dead or have betrayed us, leaving us severely lacking in high-level combat power. If we join the war now, Mist Village might be crippled, or even wiped out of the Shinobi World."

Ao was silent for a moment. "So you chose neutrality because you wanted to gamble that Madara Uchiha would keep his promise of 'limited cooperation'?"

"No." Mei Terumi walked to the map, pointing her finger at the border between the Land of Waves and the Land of Water. "I'm betting that Madara Uchiha's real goal isn't conquest, but something else entirely. The Eye of the Moon Plan ... such a massive Ninjutsu covering such an area is unheard of, but it's definitely not some normal conquest plan."

She looked up, her eyes sharp. "And I'm waiting for someone."

"Who?"

"Sake," Mei Terumi said, "That envoy who declared war. He hasn't returned since the last declaration of war. Sake has accepted our terms of service and cooperation agreement, but it's unclear whether Madara Uchiha prevented him from returning or if Sake has his own reasons?"

Qing seemed thoughtful. "You suspect he has ulterior motives?"

"I have doubts about many things." Mei Terumi looked out the window again. "This war has been strange from the very beginning. Madara Uchiha? A hundred thousand White Zetsu troops? It all seems too unreal, as unreal as... a dream."

She recalled the scene when the man came to Kirigakure to declare war. His tone was so calm, it didn't sound like a declaration of war, but more like a statement of a given fact. His eyes calmly observed everything, including her reaction, and the reactions of everyone else.

That look in his eyes... made him appear like a fanatical follower, but deep down he felt more like a chess player assessing the situation.

"Blue," Mei Terumi suddenly said, "Send someone to investigate 'Sake's' background. I need to know all the information about him before he joined Akatsuki —he's ostensibly missing-nin from the Land of Hot Water, but he's not on any of the wanted lists issued by the Land of Hot Water."

"You suspect his identity is fake?"

"I doubt everything." Mei Terumi's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. "In this war, the only thing you can trust is the power in your own hands."

Outside the window, thick fog churned, and the sea was a chaotic mess.

The seven-day countdown quietly passed, reflecting the differing sentiments of the three factions.