At Last, the Land of Fire!

A signal flare?

What was going on?

The forces from smaller countries and other ninja villages had made a sizable haul and were preparing to leave the Land of Whirlpools. Now they looked up at the flare rising into the sky, confusion written across their faces.

Had something gone terribly wrong?

Before long, a ninja hurried over and reported everything that had happened.

Kumogakure's ninja had been the first to find the Tail-Locking Seal left behind in the Land of Whirlpools. Iwagakure wanted it for themselves, and the two villages' ninja immediately clashed. Kumogakure was defeated and forced to retreat.

The victorious Iwagakure Ninja had barely gotten their hands on the Sealing Jutsu and were about to leave when Kirigakure swooped in and stole it.

Already battered by a fierce fight and heavy losses, the Iwagakure Ninja were no match for Kirigakure's fresh forces. As expected, the treasure was taken from them.

After fleeing back to their base, Kumogakure's ninja immediately reported what had happened and denounced Iwagakure's actions.

When the hot-tempered Third Raikage saw that the Sealing Jutsu his village had obtained had been stolen, he flew into a rage and led his army straight toward Iwagakure's camp.

Both villages paid a terrible price in the ensuing battle.

Iwagakure had been caught in a mess it could not explain. In the end, it had failed to get the Tail-Locking Seal and suffered heavy losses for nothing.

Only when he saw Kirigakure's forces preparing to withdraw did Ōnoki realize he had fallen completely into their trap.

Furious at the truth, the Third Tsuchikage flew straight to Kirigakure's camp to settle both old and new scores. He blew up every Kirigakure ship in the Land of Whirlpools.

The Third Mizukage saw his ships destroyed and his village's ninja killed. He could