A Difficult Situation

One of the guards had barely called out a warning when the man lunged. He closed the distance with unimaginable speed and slammed his arm into the guard's neck!

A bone snapped. The ninja flew high into the air, then crashed headfirst to the ground. His neck twisted at an unnatural angle; he was unmistakably dead.

The remaining guard stared in shock as his longtime friend fell to a single blow. Then fury took over!

"You bastard! What did you do!?"

A gate guard was no pushover. He pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and rushed the hulking man.

"Die!"

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

The kunai struck him with a sharp clang, as if it had hit steel. It did not leave a scratch.

"What!?"

The kunai could not hurt him?

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

Before the guard could make sense of it, a fist filled his vision. Then everything went black.

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

The intruder was the Third Raikage.

He had already stationed B and more than two hundred Kumogakure elites outside Konoha. Now he only needed to cause enough chaos to draw Konoha's strongest fighters away!

Konoha—the Hokage's Office.

The Hokage's Office was unusually crowded today. Hiruzen Sarutobi was there, along with Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.

"What is it now? I skipped breakfast to come to this meeting."

Tsunade folded her arms, visibly annoyed. She still resented the old man's plan to release Danzo. Apparently, he was such an excellent military adviser that they needed him to win the war.

She refused to believe they could not fight without that old bastard.

"It's about Amegakure again. Kumogakure and Iwagakure ninja are setting up camps all along the Land of Rain's border," Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely. "War will break out soon. I intend to send the three of you as reinforcements."

"Fine, I'll go. But I'm not taking orders from Danzo!"

Tsunade curled her lip. Just imagining that old fossil barking orders with his usual stern face made her sick.

"...I'll assign you to the Medical Corps. You can focus on treating the wounded behind the lines."

Hiruzen Sarutobi adjusted his Hokage hat. He understood how Tsunade felt.

If they had not needed Danzo for the war, he would not have released him so soon. He had even kept Danzo out of this meeting 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 frowned. Lady Mito was both an important figure and a jinchūriki. If anything happened to her, the whole village would suffer.

"I'll stay and guard the village. If anything happens, I'll handle it myself."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with confidence. He was at the peak of his life and had every reason to trust his own strength.

"Tsunade, do you think Eiji will take part in this war?" Orochimaru asked with a faint smile.

"Huh? The kid hasn't even graduated. He's not going to the front to throw his life away!"

"Heh. You may say that, but Eiji doesn't strike me as someone content to sit on the sidelines."

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

Tsunade shot him a hostile glance.

"Nothing. We merely discussed a few interesting subjects. I found that he and I have a certain amount in common."

"Orochimaru! Stay away from Eiji. If hanging around you turns him gloomy and twisted, you'll answer to me!"

Tsunade cared deeply about Eiji's future. It was not just because Kushina liked him; he had become important to Tsunade too, in more ways than one. What would she do if he turned out like Orochimaru!?

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

"What was that? Why was there an explosion!?" Utatane Koharu cried.

"This is bad. From the direction, it came from near the village gate!" Jiraiya said through gritted teeth.

"Looks like some pests have found their way in."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his voice cold.

"The village is in danger! Everyone, meet me at the gate!"

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

With war approaching, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been worried about the village's safety. He had barely taken off his combat uniform these past few 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 exchanged a look but did not follow.

They both knew the village must be in turmoil. If they rushed out carelessly, they might come to harm.

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

"Ahem. At a time like this, someone has to hold down the Hokage's Office. Otherwise, the village will descend into chaos."

"Exactly. Someone capable of keeping things under control has to stay behind!" Utatane Koharu agreed at once, feeling a little better.

In Konoha Forest, Eiji and Kushina also heard the distant explosion from the Konoha Main Gate.

They turned toward the sound. Thick clouds of dust were rising from the front of the village!

"What happened? Why would the village suddenly—"

Kushina stopped. Eiji was scanning their surroundings, his face tense.

Members of the Uzumaki Clan were born with extraordinary sensory abilities. Even without awakening the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Kushina could clearly sense numerous chakra signatures racing toward them.

"Eiji!"

Kushina's expression changed. Every approaching ninja had unusually powerful chakra, and the fastest one gave her a sharp sense of danger.

"Yeah. Trouble's found us."

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

Kushina met Eiji's eyes. They immediately stood back to back, ready to fight.

Figures burst from deep in the forest. Leaves rustled and scattered across the ground.

Moments later, a group of tall, heavily built ninja 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 could not understand it. The Second Shinobi World War was about to erupt. Had the Third Raikage lost his mind and decided to go to war with Konoha directly?

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

They knew exactly where Kushina and I would be. That means they have someone inside the village.

By the first law of blame in the Shinobi World, when the mastermind behind a huge conspiracy was unknown, it was probably Danzo. Eiji immediately suspected his involvement.

"I did say I'd protect you, Eiji, but isn't this looking a little bad?"