Images flickered rapidly across the sky screen.
Everything unfolded just as everyone throughout the Shinobi World would later know it, yet it was crueler and more ironic than they had ever realized.
Hashirama Senju died, and the Shinobi World lost its sole overwhelming deterrent.
His naive decision to distribute the Tailed Beasts evenly during his lifetime, hoping to trade a balance of power for peace, had not stabilized the world. Instead, it had fully ignited the flames of war across the Shinobi World.
There was no longer anyone who could restrain the Five Great Shinobi Villages, intimidate them, or stand in the way of their ambitions.
The First passed away, and the Second succeeded him.
Tobirama Senju smoothly inherited the Hokage position and became the Second Hokage, assuming full control of Konoha and cleaning up the mess left by his elder brother's death.
The First Shinobi World War erupted!
War swept across the lands of the five nations, and smoke shrouded the entire Shinobi World. Countless villages were destroyed, countless shinobi died in battle, and countless civilians were displaced.
Every conflict and every ambition that Hashirama had forcibly held in check erupted the instant he closed his eyes for the last time.
At the time, Konoha still possessed deep reserves, a wealth of powerful fighters, and a solid foundation.
In the earliest stages of the war, Konoha drew on its considerable resources to meet the offensives with relative ease. Though it suffered losses, it consistently maintained control of the battlefield and firmly upheld its standing as the Shinobi World's foremost shinobi village.
To ease the pressure on multiple fronts, divide hostile forces, and reduce Konoha's casualties, Tobirama Senju chose, after careful consideration, to cooperate with the powerful Kumogakure and forge an alliance with the Second Raikage.
As long as the