The Cause of the Second War

"Damn, damn, damn!" The two girls' hair was disheveled, and their previous composure and ease were completely gone, replaced only by a desperate struggle.

They fled rapidly across the battlefield. The Stone Shinobi of the Land of Earth had been utterly defeated.

The Iwagakure and Kumogakure were similar in that their legacy was passed down and never broken. Furthermore, their educational system was far superior to Kumogakure's, so on paper, their number of High Ninjas was much greater than Kumogakure's.

However, there was one thing the Stone Shinobi hadn't accounted for.

The restraining nature of Lightning Release against Earth Release.

Although the Stone Shinobi had more High Ninjas, their opponent's Kage-level expert, the Third Raikage, led the charge. Wrapped in indigo light, he directly plunged into the Stone Shinobi's formation.

The front-line Stone Shinobi High Ninjas attempted to block the Raikage several times with A-rank Ninjutsu, but the Raikage, enveloped by Lightning Release Chakra, was like a giant, walking Ninjutsu. He smashed through countless Earth Flow Walls and Earth Dragon Bullets, charging into the enemy's lines.

By the time the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki of the Two Scales, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, could try to eliminate the Third Raikage with Dust Release, it was already too late.

The Third Raikage, like a tireless war machine, charged into the Stone Shinobi's formation.

At this point, the Stone Shinobi's formation had been broken by him alone. Onoki watched clearly from the sky, but he was not a front-line Taijutsu ninja; he was a Ninjutsu ninja. Facing the Third Raikage, who had reached the pinnacle of Taijutsu, Onoki couldn't withstand him with his own body.

Moreover, in close-quarters combat, a leader who charged ahead was incredibly inspiring. The Cloud Ninjas seemed to have been injected with adrenaline, swarming after the Third Raikage into the Stone Shinobi's formation.

The Cloud Ninjas were warlike, considered mountain folk. Facing the Stone Shinobi, with Lightning Release also restraining Earth Release, the entire battlefield collapsed.

The Stone Shinobi could no longer resist the Cloud Ninjas. Kumogakure had won.

"Damn it!" Onoki, in the sky, did not intervene. Killing any more Cloud Ninjas with Dust Release now was meaningless, serving only to vent his anger. His Dust Release could no longer turn the tide of the battle. Onoki, after all, was a shrewd strategist. Since the situation was hopeless, he wouldn't waste Chakra on futile rage.

He intended to bring back as many of the Stone Shinobi's fighting forces as possible.

But the Raikage, the Third Raikage, who was pursuing the Stone Shinobi at extreme speed, ignited a murderous intent in Onoki's eyes that was almost palpable.

Only he, next time, he would never let him go!!

The Raikage, who had led Kumogakure to an unprecedented victory, was also extremely enraged. They were far from the Land of Rain. During the Second Shinobi World War, apart from some friction with Konoha, their only true enemy had been the Stone Shinobi.

The village's secret, the Book of Thunder, had been stolen. Although he could recite those secret techniques from memory, many of the ancient Ninjutsu that previous generations hadn't practiced had become lost arts.

More importantly, these things had been lost during his tenure as leader, which was a profound humiliation for him.

Except for leaving [b] in the rear, he had charged into the Stone Shinobi's formation as if his life were forfeit. Then, relying on his Lightning Armor and robust physique, he had withstood a large number of Earth Release Ninjutsu and broken through.

The Stone Shinobi and Cloud Ninjas engaged in large-scale combat. The Stone Shinobi retreated, and the Cloud Ninjas won, but they didn't gain much.

However, the animosity between the two villages was now firmly established.

Oguri Hayashi didn't care about their feud, nor could he interfere with it.

For him now, both Onoki, who possessed Dust Release, and the Raikage, who had mastered Taijutsu, were beings beyond his reach. He had only one goal: to become stronger.

He didn't blindly believe in Dust Release, nor could his Chakra reserves compare to Onoki's. However, the Heavier Rock Technique was a jutsu he absolutely had to obtain.

In later stages, the Heavier Rock Technique, combined with the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Armor, directly shattered Susanoo in a single blow. This proved that even without a bloodline, as long as the Ninjutsu was paired correctly, even the Uchiha were not invincible.

The path he chose was more akin to the Ninjutsu Doctor, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi excelled in all five elemental Ninjutsu, possessing an extraordinary amount of Chakra, capable of rivaling an army by himself.

Furthermore, his mastery was a profound understanding of Ninjutsu combinations, featuring his own genius ideas. Fire Style: Earth-Fire Bullet was a powerful A-rank Ninjutsu he created himself, yet it only consumed the equivalent of two B-rank Ninjutsu.

Any enemy facing such a person would tremble, as they would never know what elemental combination his next move would employ.

Moreover, most ninjas possessed one to three elements. As for having all five elements and mastering them all, only the Third Hokage could do it.

This meant that the Third Hokage could easily use less Chakra to employ Ninjutsu that countered his opponent, achieving greater destructive effects.

The title "Ninjutsu Doctor" was not merely for show.

One aspect where Oguri Hayashi differed from the Third Hokage was that he couldn't compare to the genius of the Third Hokage, especially in terms of Chakra reserves.

His Chakra reserves dictated that his tactics must primarily focus on Taijutsu, with Nintaijutsu as support, and Ninjutsu used only occasionally.

Therefore, he was determined to acquire the Heavier Rock Technique. With the Iwagakure defeated and the Kumogakure not intending to let them leave easily, a huge opportunity presented itself to Oguri Hayashi.

Following Kumogakure's example, he directly donned an Invisibility Cloak. Oguri Hayashi easily infiltrated Iwagakure without even using his Omni-directional Mobility Gear.

Villages like Sunagakure, isolated in the desert, were the easiest to defend, and even Oguri Hayashi couldn't infiltrate such terrain.

Of course, Kirigakure was also quite troublesome, but those were not targets Oguri Hayashi needed to consider.

The vicinity of Iwagakure was surrounded by sheer yellow earth cliffs. Yet, remarkably, they had found a basin to settle in. The terrain was very similar to the Sichuan Basin. Because of this, their Land of Earth was much better off than the Land of Thunder. After all, the Qinling-like solitary mountain terrain of the Land of Thunder couldn't support many people.

In contrast, the population development in Iwagakure was very good, almost catching up to Konoha.

However, once a population reaches a certain size, resource depletion is inevitable. It was precisely for resource reasons that the Stone Shinobi continuously encroached on the lands of other countries. For example, the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Fields were both targets of Iwagakure.

The Land of Fields and the Land of Hot Water were also targets of Kumogakure, naturally leading to conflict with Kumogakure.

The cause of this great war was the sudden emergence of a Kage-level expert, Hanzo, in the Land of Rain. After years of preparation, a group of Chunin and High Ninjas had grown strong, naturally beginning to devour the lands of Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure in all directions.

This led to the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War.