The World of the Hokage? No, the World of the Kazekage

Standing high upon a sand dune, Keiko watched the blood-red sunset being kneaded into bizarre distortions by the scorching sand on the horizon. The outline of the village at his feet cast long, stretched shadows, accompanied by a few tufts of tumbleweeds rolling past in the wind; everything appeared inexplicably desolate and magnificent.

"Sigh!" Keiko let out a long sigh.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice asked from behind.

Without looking back, Keiko quickly dropped to one knee.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage, it's breathtaking."

That was right, Keiko was precisely the protagonist of this book, an 80s-born community grid worker who should have been fighting on the front lines of pandemic prevention. He didn't have many hobbies usually, with his only one being reading manga. On this particular day, after staying up all night busy with the neighborhood's epidemic prevention work, he found himself unable to fall asleep upon returning to his dormitory. So, he opened his laptop to revisit Naruto, growing sleepier as he watched. When he woke up, he had actually arrived in the world of Naruto—or to be precise, the world of the Kazekage.

The sky full of yellow sand and the barren land—this damn place was thoroughly Sunagakure. Yet he was merely an orphan of the First Shinobi World War.

Fortunately, heaven showed mercy, and Keiko gradually discovered that he was none other than the Third Kazekage, hailed as the "strongest Kazekage in history." He was also the unluckiest Kazekage, who would debut as a human puppet in the hands of Sasori of the Red Sands. As a time-traveler, he naturally could not accept such a tragic destiny.

Possessing the Magnet Release kekkei genkai and the Iron Sand Technique, relying on his deep understanding of the manga and his own unremitting efforts, he stood out at the Ninja Academy from a young age. After graduation, he led his squad to complete countless missions of all sizes, promoted to Jonin at the tender age of sixteen, and earned the favor of Shamon, the Second Kazekage, who promoted him to bodyguard.

Over the span of several years, fighting east and west, battling North and South, he not only carved out the moniker of the "Blue Sandstorm" in the shinobi world (the Third having blue hair), but was also unreservedly regarded by the Second and several elders in the village as the successor to the Kazekage.

"Do you still feel that we shouldn't go to the Land of Rain?" the Second Kazekage asked.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."

"Why? Could it be because of that poison-loving brat called Hanzo of the Salamander?"

"Mere Hanzo; Elder Chiyo is fully capable of handling him. I'm worried that once the battle stalls, other major powers will inevitably intervene. Neither the Hidden Leaf Village nor the Hidden Stone Village will allow a powerful..."

"Enough!" Shamon's severe tone interrupted him.

"Do you think I don't know the risks of this war? Take a good look." He pointed again at the village at their feet.

"Water shortage! Poverty! Hunger! This is the bitter life we lead—are we supposed to let our children continue living this bitter life? If we don't fight, where is our space for survival? If we don't fight, what do we have to develop the village! You are short-sighted! You truly disappoint me." Emotion ran high in the Second Kazekage, and the dragon tattoo on his face looked even more ferocious.

Keiko kept his head lowered, kneeling on one knee on the ground, and said no more.

"Since you are unwilling to fight this war, then you aren't going. Get lost to the Abyss, and go watch over that little monk Bunpuku."

By the time Keiko raised his head again, the Second had already vanished without a trace.

The very next day, the Second Kazekage personally led an expeditionary force of elite Jonin, including Elder Chiyo, to the Land of Rain. Elder Ebizo managed village affairs, while Keiko, an elite Jonin viewed as the successor, was demoted to guard the prison known as the Abyss and to watch over the One-Tail Shukaku's Jinchūriki, Bunpuku.

Having thoroughly read Naruto and long active in various Naruto forums, Keiko certainly knew that the impending conflict was precisely the Second Shinobi World War. This took place roughly twenty years after the First Shinobi World War, when the economic gap between nations widened, and militant factions across countries raised their heads under the pretext of demanding fairer privileges.

It was a war waged under the guise of using military might to expand territories, and the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War began with Sunagakure's war of aggression against Amegakure. Afterwards, the Five Great Nations took turns performing around the Land of Rain, fighting a chaotic mess. In the end, it was the Hidden Leaf Village, with its profound foundation and fertile lands, that secured final victory.

During this war, Sunagakure suffered the loss of a large number of elite shinobi, and subsequently experienced the successive accidental deaths of the Third and Fourth Kazekage, thereafter practically degenerating into a second-rate role on the stage of the Five Great Nations. Despite allied efforts with Orochimaru to launch the Konoha Crush Plan during this period, they gained virtually nothing apart from killing an aging Hiruzen Sarutobi.

By the era of Gaara, the Fifth, they completely became the Hidden Leaf Village's little brother. Therefore, the conclusion that Sunagakure's decline stemmed from this war launched by the Second Kazekage was indisputable.

Although Keiko was now the esteemed "crown prince" of Sunagakure, he naturally wanted to cool things down and put the brakes on a Sunagakure that was about to spin out of control. However, since he was not yet the boss, his repeated admonitions to the Second during tactical meetings instead provoked the dissatisfaction of the Second, who already leaned toward the militant faction, directly demoting him to guard the Jinchūriki. For now, he could only take things one step at a time.

The Abyss was actually a prison remodeled from a semi-enclosed deep valley. The space was huge, yet it held only a single prisoner. Deep, gloomy, and quiet to the point of resembling Avīci Hell, it was suffocating.

"Sigh, boss, you too. Why did you have to butt heads with Lord Kazekage for no reason? Now look at this—not only can Pakura and I not go to the battlefield, but we also have to come guard this dump with you," Rasa said with displeasure.

"Pipe down. When has the boss ever misjudged anything? Just do as he says." Pakura manipulated her Scorch Release fireball to serve as a lamp illuminating the path ahead.

As an elite Jonin, Keiko naturally had his own shinobi squad. Before Tsunade put forward the theory that equipping combat squads with medical ninjas could greatly increase survival rates, a combat unit typically consisted of three people. Having entered Sunagakure's upper echelons early on, Keiko had reached out and pulled the future melon-faced Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and the future elite Jonin Pakura—who held grievances enough to rival Dou' E yet possessed formidable combat strength—into his own squad.

This was practically the squad with the strongest combat power in Sunagakure. Yet, whether intentional or not on the part of the Second Kazekage, because of Keiko's blunt remonstrance, the entire squad had been exiled to the Abyss.

Rasa possessed none of the taciturn silence and steady composure of the future Fourth Kazekage. Along the way, he nagged like a grievance-filled, wronged young bride, complaining endlessly. Pakura, on the other hand, was Keiko's loyal little fan girl; as long as the captain and big brother said it, everything was right!

The Abyss was deep and winding. After walking for who knows how long, they finally sensed a faint glimmer of light ahead, where a thin, slender shadow was stretched out even longer.

"Master Bunpuku, it's time to eat." Keiko respectfully handed the food box into the cell.

A middle-aged monk slowly opened his eyes, recognized the visitor, and smiled faintly.

"Sorry to trouble you, benefactor Keiko." Bunpuku pressed his palms together and bowed to Keiko.

As Sunagakure's strategic weapon and the village's successor, Keiko and Bunpuku naturally knew each other. Not only did they know each other, but they were quite close. Knowing the secrets of the Tailed Beasts, Keiko frequently came to chat with Bunpuku because he knew this monk was no simple figure; he could practically be called the first perfect Jinchūriki in history since the Sage of Six Paths. His clear state of mind caused even the cantankerous and tyrannical Shukaku to praise his character as being very similar to that of the Sage of Six Paths.

Regrettably, the village viewed the Tailed Beast as a catastrophic flood or fierce beast, daring only to imprison him in the Abyss without conducting any in-depth research or utilization.

"This old monk says it is troubling you, benefactor, not because you spared your leg strength to bring me food, but out of respect for your bold remonstrance to the Second regarding the dispatch of troops to the Land of Rain." Bunpuku opened the food box before him and began to eat slowly.

"It's a pity Lord Kazekage wouldn't listen to my advice and still insisted on sending troops. Right now, the vanguard of the army has probably reached the border of the Land of Rain. Sigh, a major battle is unavoidable." Keiko could not help sighing. Although the two of them had different motives—one for the country, the other for all living beings—their paths led to the same destination: both wished to prevent this war.

"Benefactor has already done his utmost. With a clear conscience, there is no need for unease. It is a pity that the world will once again be plunged into misery and suffering. Shortly, this old monk will chant sutras to ease and deliver the departed."

"Mn." Keiko acknowledged the words, using the lamplight to look at Bunpuku's face, seeing only a thin, gaunt face topped with two massive dark circles under his eyes.

"Master, how long has it been since you slept?"

"Hmm, let me count. It has already been fifty-five days."

"Ah, what a sin, what a sin. How about I take Master out for a nap right now?"

Bunpuku immediately smiled, his eyes squinting into slits, and pressed his palms together.

"In that case, I will trouble benefactor."