A New World

The collapse of a world is never a sudden, loud crash, but rather a soft sigh.

Autumn in the Land of Grass carries a dampness from the fallen Konoha, mixed with the wind from the rocks, quietly stirring up dust. It seems no different from usual, except that someone has been forever left behind in yesterday.

Leaves swirled and fell, fine sand was blown up like stars, and Kato Osamu simply stood on the pavilion where the wind howled, watching the noisy crowd not far away.

"Konoha's hero... Obito Uchiha..."

"He gave his life for this victory!"

On the high platform, Fugaku Uchiha's deep voice, tinged with sorrow, elicited no response. The ninjas below the platform, some even subtly disdainful, would likely not have looked so mournful if Minato Namikaze hadn't also been standing on the platform.

"He is the Will of Fire, the true heir!"

Minato Namikaze looked somewhat tired, and there was even a hint of confusion in his eyes, but he still stepped forward, and his loud shouts even contained a hint of anger.

No one cares what kind of boy Obito Uchiha was, or what kind of bright future he might have...

Just hearing the words "Will of Fire" seemed to invigorate everyone, as if they donned a mask of longing and emotion, and mourned for their "hero".

Heroes? Konoha has plenty...

War had long since numbed the lower-ranking ninjas. Countless former 'comrades' had come and gone around them. Life and death no longer seemed to be a clear-cut chasm, but merely an encounter that could happen at any moment.

It's not even as intense as a late-night party.

"Obito Uchiha..."

Kakashi Hatake's left eye was wrapped in bandages, and his right eye, the only one visible, still held an expression of disbelief. His unfocused gaze made him seem as if he had lost his soul, and he was only holding on by instinct.

Perhaps when God created souls, He deliberately sculpted a very small number of people, and such people always have a pure heart; their emotions are fervent and unwavering until death.

The majority of the rest will simply fade into oblivion over time.

"Is this Genjutsu?"

Kakashi Hatake raised his hand in a daze and gently pressed it against his left eye. Perhaps only this slight stinging sensation could make him feel a real sense of existence—and the traces of his past.

"Kakashi Hatake..., Obito Uchiha..."

Covering her mouth, unable to utter another word, Lin's body, half-squatting on the ground, seemed to go limp, tears streaming down her arms and soaking into the earth.

Mist and wind shroud the mountain forest, morning dew condenses into raindrops.

But the day remained somber, and I didn't even want to shed a single tear.

Gazing into the distance, Kato Osamu stood silently atop the high platform, her hands, tucked into her sleeves, gently rubbing together.

He gently raised his gaze and looked towards the distant horizon. At the edge where the sky met the jungle, a place that the Stone Shinobi once regarded as a vital lifeline, was now completely in ruins.

"Obito Uchiha... if it weren't for me..."

"Maybe..."

His hands, already clenched until they turned white, suddenly slammed against the wall beside him. Blood slowly trickled from between his fingers. Kato Osamu's teeth were grinding together, and his eyes flashed with an uncontrollable rage.

"Is this how you live...?"

He closed his eyes slightly, but a faint glimmer of tears seemed to flash through them. The scroll of Minato Namikaze gently fell from his bosom into his palm, and Kato Osamu gently stroked it.

"If only it could have been earlier... even just one day..."

With a slight increase in pressure, Kato Osamu's eyes snapped open, as if a flash of light had passed through them.

In this moment, which seems extraordinary only for a select few, the boy who has fallen into the Shinobi World has, for the first time, a genuine 'dream' beyond simply living.

"Orochimaru- sensei..."

"Perhaps you are right..."

"I will become powerful enough to create one..."

"A new world!"

Shredded paper fell like snowflakes, the scroll no longer recognizable, just scattered and falling. The wind-blown fragments swirled around the boy on the high platform, just like his gaze, drifting across the Land of Grass, reaching Konoha. Then, they raced wildly, rushing towards the entire Shinobi World...

The end of the battle in the Land of Grass, specifically the battlefield of the Stone Shinobi, was unexpected. The Stone Shinobi, who suffered heavy losses, failed to gain any advantage over Minato Namikaze of Konoha, making the Shinobi World seem to begin to re-evaluate Konoha's strength.

"Stone Shinobi... How laughable!"

The Third Raikage, far away on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, held the latest intelligence on the battlefield in Stone Shinobi and snorted coldly.

Seeing the Stone Shinobi retreat, the Third Raikage showed no concern for the defeat of his allies, and even felt a little schadenfreude, though a trace of anger also rose from the bottom of his heart.

How dare these Stone Shinobi bully his Cloud Shinobi? He inexplicably regretted that he shouldn't have listened to his advisors' advice and tolerated the Stone Shinobi's sneak attack during the Sand Shinobi Battlefield.

"Sizzle..."

He tore the scroll in his hand to shreds, seemingly just venting his frustrations on the battlefield. The Third Raikage slammed his fist on the table, and the entire tent seemed to tremble as the table shattered.

"Summon the Jonin Commander immediately!"

"We've been fighting for so long, and we haven't even seen the border of the Land of Fire!"

"Tell them to get over here right now!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this order, the messenger ninja at the door fled the Third Raikage's office as if fleeing.

Although he didn't know exactly what the message in the scroll the Third Raikage had seen was, he knew it came from the battlefield of Stone Shinobi, and that the Shinobi World was likely to descend into even greater chaos...

The battle between the Cloud Shinobi and the Konoha puzzled every ninja involved. The Konoha Village was short-handed and could only conduct guerrilla warfare with small groups, while the Cloud Shinobi, with their large army pressing in, strangely did not launch a large-scale attack using their numerical advantage.

Every day, the battlefield is filled with the roar of various Ninjutsu, but strangely, there are very few combat casualties. It's as if the Cloud Shinobi are performing a large-scale drama called 'war'.

"The Cloud Shinobi... probably have ulterior motives..."

Jiraiya, the commander of the Cloud Shinobi battlefield, checks the battle map every day and even pays attention to every piece of war intelligence. He has never been so serious before, not even when learning Senjutsu.

However, he still couldn't figure out the Cloud Shinobi's battle plan.

"Fortunately, Minato Namikaze has already finished his battle with the Stone Shinobi..."

"This is the best news I've heard in a long time..."

Jiraiya, slowly put down the battle map in his hand, smiled with satisfaction as he looked towards the Land of Grass. Minato Namikaze's achievements today increasingly proved how correct his initial decision had been.

"But... what exactly are the Cloud Shinobi planning to do?"

"Report! Lord Jiraiya! The Cloud Shinobi are consolidating their forces! Multiple intelligence reports indicate that Elite Jonin Cloud Shinobi Jonin and key commanders have disappeared from the battlefield!"

"Oh?"

Seeing the Intelligence Division ninja rushing towards him with a scroll in his hand, Jiraiya's furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and he even had the illusion of letting out a sigh of relief.

"The Cloud Shinobi, are they finally going to make their move?"

"Pass down the order! Recall all squads immediately and be on high alert against a sneak attack by the Cloud Shinobi!"

"After holding back for so long, that Third Raikage is definitely going to make a big move!"

After quickly glancing through the scroll, a hint of fighting spirit flashed in Jiraiya's eyes. It was time for the war game to end.

"Minato Namikaze... it seems you won't have time to rest again..."

"Haha, but it's also time to show the Third Raikage how powerful we, master and disciple, are!"

Jiraiya lightly bit his finger, and a summoning Toad appeared before him.

"Toad Qing, immediately deliver this scroll to Minato Namikaze!"

"Croak..."

"Lord Jiraiya, you can leave it to Ao with peace of mind..."

"When you get back, please give my regards to Shima and Fukasaku..."

"Quack... Yes!"