Iwagakure had prepared to wage war again and begun deploying troops along the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass.
Their war plan called for Iwagakure's army to march straight down the trade route through the Land of Grass that connected the Lands of Fire and Earth, driving deep into the Land of Fire.
But while Iwagakure was still massing its troops, something happened that caught the entire shinobi world off guard.
Kirigakure, a shinobi village that rarely made its presence felt in the shinobi world, had actually made its move. It opened with a surprise attack on the Land of Fire from the sea, catching the nation completely unprepared.
And this time, Kirigakure had come in force, deploying the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who wielded its seven special ninja blades.
But Konoha was still Konoha. Its foundations ran so deep that even Kirigakure, a fellow member of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, could not easily shake them.
After the attack, Konoha swiftly adjusted its defenses and sent personnel to the coastal front to fend off Kirigakure.
Yet that was often how the world worked: blessings never came in pairs, while misfortunes never came alone. As Konoha devoted its strength to countering Kirigakure's assault, Iwagakure seized the opportunity.
A vast army of Iwagakure shinobi surged out of the Land of Earth and into the Land of Grass, using it as a springboard to attack the Land of Fire.
The flames of the Third Shinobi World War had finally engulfed the Land of Grass.
For a time, Konoha's situation looked especially dangerous. Kirigakure had already invaded the Land of Fire. If Iwagakure managed to enter its territory as well, things would take a disastrous turn.
If the two villages joined forces against Konoha, even Konoha's