Konoha, Land of Fire.
The sky was clear, and the sun blazed overhead.
In the Hokage's Office, the atmosphere was tense.
Homura, who had been gravely wounded, had been transferred back to Konoha. After days of treatment, he was no longer in danger.
He and the Third Hokage were discussing the fighting in the Land of the Moon.
An Intelligence Officer knocked and entered, placing a top-secret report on the Hokage's desk.
Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll and frowned.
"What's happened?" Homura asked. "Has something gone wrong in the Land of the Moon?"
The Third Hokage shook his head. "Not there. Sunagakure has begun moving forces for reasons we don't know. We should notify the camp in the Land of Rain immediately so they can prepare."
Homura considered this. "Haven't we wanted to test Fugaku Uchiha's strength for a while? If Sunagakure really is targeting the Land of Rain, we could wait two days before passing the news along.
"This report is top secret. Even the Intelligence Department doesn't know what's in it.
"We can also tell our Intelligence Officers in the Land of Wind to report back the moment they learn anything concrete.
"Quite a few students have graduated from the Ninja Academy recently. We can rotate them through the camps in the Land of the Moon and the Land of Rain.
"That will show them how brutal the Shinobi World is while putting us in position to reinforce the Land of Rain.
"If something goes wrong there, Fugaku Uchiha will bear primary responsibility, and we can stop putting pressure on him for the time being.
"Besides, Sunagakure is unlikely to launch a major offensive. The earlier war in the Land of Rain already drained much of the Land of Wind's capacity to wage war.
"The Daimyo of the