Dilemma

One of the guards had barely opened his mouth to warn the other when the intruder lunged. He closed the distance at an unimaginable speed and swung his arm straight into the guard's neck!

A bone cracked. The ninja flew high into the air, then crashed headfirst to the ground. With his neck bent at that unnatural angle, there was no doubt he was dead.

The remaining guard stared in shock as his longtime friend was killed in a single blow. Then fury overtook him!

"What the hell did you do, you bastard!?"

The man hadn't become a gate guard for nothing. He pulled a kunai from his Ninja Tool pouch and rushed the burly intruder with startling speed.

"Die!"

But just as the kunai was about to pierce the man's chest, a terrifying surge of chakra erupted from his body. Electricity crackled all around him!

The kunai struck him with a sharp clang, as though it had hit steel. It didn't leave so much as a scratch.

"What!?"

The kunai couldn't hurt him?

What was that technique that coated his body in chakra—!?

Before the guard could make sense of it, a fist swelled in his vision and knocked him unconscious.

With the troublesome guards dealt with, the burly man drew his chakra back into his body.

The newcomer was the Third Raikage.

He had already stationed B and more than two hundred Kumogakure elites in ambush outside Konoha. All he had to do now was cause enough chaos to draw Konoha's strongest fighters here!

Konoha—the Hokage's Office.

The Hokage's Office was unusually crowded today. Alongside the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, were Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. Even Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had gathered.

"What is it this time? I came to this meeting without even eating breakfast."

Tsunade folded her arms, plainly irritated. She was still angry about the Old Man's plan to release Danzo. Apparently, he was such an excellent military adviser that they had to free him to win the war.

As if they couldn't fight a war without that old bastard.

"It's about Amegakure again. Kumogakure and Iwagakure ninja have set up camps all along the border of the Land of Rain." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked grave. "War will break out soon. I intend to send you three to reinforce our forces there."

"Tch. I'll go, but there's no way I'm taking orders from Danzo!"

Tsunade curled her lip. Just imagining that old bastard barking orders with his stony face made her sick.

"...I'll assign you to the Medical Corps. You'll only need to handle medical work behind the lines."

Hiruzen Sarutobi adjusted his Hokage hat. Of course he understood how Tsunade felt.

If the war didn't demand Danzo's help, he wouldn't have released him so soon. Keeping Danzo out of this meeting was meant to show Tsunade where he stood.

“Old Man, if we all go to the front, what happens to the Village? Will Lady Mito be safe?”

Jiraiya voiced his concern with a frown. Lady Mito was both an important figure and a Jinchūriki. If anything happened to her, the Village would suffer for it.

“I'll remain in the Village. If anything happens, I'll handle it myself.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with confidence. He was at the peak of his life, and he knew it.

"Tsunade, I wonder if Eiji will take part in this war as well?" Orochimaru asked, the corners of his mouth lifting.

"Huh? The kid hasn't even graduated! He has no business risking his life on the front lines!"

"Heh. You may say that, Tsunade, but I doubt Eiji is the type to sit quietly on the sidelines."

"You sound like you know him well, Orochimaru. Didn't you seek him out after that match? What did you do to him?"

Tsunade shot him a hostile sidelong glance.

"Nothing much. We merely discussed a few interesting subjects. I discovered that he and I are alike in some ways."

"Orochimaru! Stay away from Eiji. If spending time with you turns him gloomy, you'll answer to me!"

Tsunade cared deeply about Eiji's growth now. It wasn't only because he was the boy Kushina liked; he had become important to her in his own right, in more ways than one. She couldn't let him end up like Orochimaru!

Tsunade was about to say more when a tremendous explosion cut her off.

Utatane Koharu cried out, "What's going on? Why was there an explosion!?"

“That came from near the Village gate!” Jiraiya said through clenched teeth.

"Looks like some pests have slipped in."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his voice turning cold.

“The Village is in danger! Everyone, gather at the gate!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasted no more words. He swept aside his Hokage robe, revealing the ninja combat uniform he already wore beneath it.

With war approaching, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been worried about the Village's safety. He had hardly taken that uniform off in days. Now his fears had come true!

Hiruzen Sarutobi threw open the Office window and leaped out.

Jiraiya and the other two followed without delay.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, however, exchanged a glance and stayed where they were.

They both knew the Village must be in chaos. Rushing out blindly could put them in danger.

Each saw the embarrassment in the other's eyes. At last, Mitokado Homura spoke first.

“Ahem. At a time like this, someone has to remain in the Hokage's Office and keep things under control. Otherwise, the Village will descend into chaos.”

“Exactly. The Village needs someone capable of holding things together to stay behind!”

Utatane Koharu immediately agreed, which made her feel a little better.

Deep in Konoha Forest, Eiji and Kushina also faintly heard the explosion from the direction of Konoha Main Gate.

They snapped their gazes toward the sound and saw thick clouds of dust rising near Konoha's front entrance.

“What happened? Why would the Village suddenly—”

Kushina stopped mid-sentence. Eiji was scanning their surroundings, his face tense with caution.

The Uzumaki Clan had an exceptional gift for sensing. Even without awakening the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, she could clearly feel numerous chakra signatures rapidly approaching them.

"Eiji!"

Kushina's expression changed. Every approaching ninja had an unusually strong chakra signature, and the fastest of them filled her with a sharp sense of danger.

"Yeah. Trouble's coming for us."

Within the range of his Six Eyes, nearly a hundred strong chakra signatures were closing in from every direction!

Kushina met Eiji's eyes. Then they stood back-to-back, ready to fight.

Figures burst from the depths of the Forest. Leaves rustled overhead and scattered across the ground.

Moments later, a group of large, imposing ninja had surrounded them.

They had dark skin and wore forehead protectors clearly marked with Kumogakure's symbol. There were a full hundred of them!

Kumogakure? But why?

Eiji couldn't understand it. With the Second Shinobi World War about to erupt, had the Third Raikage lost his mind and decided to start a war with Konoha directly?

No. They sent this many capable ninja after Kushina and me. This was planned.

Their whereabouts must have been leaked. That meant someone inside the Village was working with them.

By the Shinobi World's first rule of blame, when the mastermind behind a massive conspiracy was unknown, it was probably Danzo. Eiji immediately suspected he had a hand in this.

"I said I wanted to protect you, Eiji, but isn't this looking a little bad?"