News that Sunagakure had taken the lead in declaring war on Konoha spread throughout the Shinobi World in an instant.
After the Land of Earth, which was relatively close to the Land of Wind, received the news, a short old man with a large nose slapped his desk happily in the Tsuchikage's office. "It's finally begun! I waited more than three months, and news of war has finally arrived."
"Pass down the order. Assemble Iwagakure's forces and head for the border to guard against an attack from Sunagakure." The old Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales, claimed he was guarding against a Sunagakure attack, but he was actually preparing to watch the tigers fight from the safety of a mountain and see whether there were any easy gains to be had from Sunagakure or Konoha.
Meanwhile, after Kumogakure received the news, it held its forces in place. Its geographical position put it closer to Konoha, and it would not make a move until Konoha showed clear signs of faltering, unless Iwagakure also began attacking Konoha. Otherwise, it would simply watch the tigers fight, just like Iwagakure.
Sunagakure also received Rasa's report that war had begun. They had intended to spend a few more days preparing, but an arrow loosed could not be recalled. They could only leave Rasa in command.
"Lady Chiyo, since Rasa has already declared war on Konoha, should we now send additional troops to the Konoha front?" In Sunagakure's office, a ninja wearing a white headscarf addressed an elderly woman seated at the head of the room. This elderly woman was Granny Chiyo, who had appeared in the original story. Although she was already somewhat old, she had not yet reached the aged state she would be in more than a decade later in the original story.
The reason Chiyo now occupied the seat at the head was that, following the Third Kazekage's disappearance, Sunagakure had no one with enough prestige to lead it. They could only ask Chiyo to come forward and steady everyone's nerves. They also hoped she would guide the attack on Konoha and ensure a smooth transition for Rasa's eventual succession.
"Ōkura, don't rush to send reinforcements to the Konoha front. Don't forget that Iwagakure is also our neighbor."
"Would that old man Ōnoki let such a fine opportunity slip away? Once we commit too many troops to the Konoha front, our defenses against Iwagakure will inevitably weaken. If Iwagakure attacks at that point, we won't have enough strength to respond." Chiyo spoke slowly, but her words were well reasoned. Her outstanding strategic insight drew the admiration of Sunagakure's senior officials present.
After hearing Chiyo's explanation, the ninja named Ōkura immediately realized that he still had not looked far enough ahead. Ashamed, he said, "I'm sorry, Lady Chiyo. I still haven't considered things thoroughly enough."
"It's all right, it's all right. Once you've experienced more, you'll be able to see as far ahead as this old woman."
"This old woman doesn't have much longer to live. Sunagakure will still have to rely on you young people to lead it in the future."
Chiyo did not reproach the young ninja. She knew Sunagakure did not produce talent in abundance the way Konoha did. Those seated here were already Sunagakure's finest, so she was very tolerant of these younger people. Yet sometimes, she could not help thinking of Konoha's endless stream of talented people and lamenting helplessly that heaven was unfair.
"Then, Lady Chiyo, what should we do next? Since we can't commit our full strength, what stance should we take toward Konoha? With so few troops, we won't be able to break into Konoha."
"What should we do next? It's very simple. First, set aside some troops and station them along the border nearest Iwagakure. They only need to hold their positions and maintain a standoff."
"As for our stance toward Konoha, that's even simpler. Have Rasa and the others wear down Konoha's fighting strength. Once Konoha's forces have been depleted to a certain degree, we won't even need to contact the other ninja villages. They won't be able to stop themselves from pouncing on Konoha. They're ravenous wolves that have held back for more than a decade. They won't stop until they've torn a piece of flesh from Konoha."
The strategy Chiyo proposed was very simple, but it struck directly at Konoha's weak point. As expected of an elder who had lived through two Shinobi World Wars, she saw the situation in the Shinobi World with great clarity.
She understood very well that, in their later stages, the so-called Shinobi World Wars always became the other ninja villages joining forces against Konoha alone. After all, Konoha possessed the most fertile, bountiful land and resources in the entire Shinobi World, while the other ninja villages were always short of one thing or another.
Besides, they did not want to see Konoha alone dominate. During the recovery after every Shinobi World War, Konoha would always produce a steady stream of genius ninja. The other ninja villages all feared that one day, Konoha might suddenly produce a powerful ninja like Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha whom they could not withstand.
Thus, starting wars also served to deplete Konoha's fighting manpower, out of concern for their own villages' continued survival.
It could be said that the other ninja villages' concerns were not mistaken in the slightest. In the future, Konoha would indeed produce two extraordinary ninja who exceeded what ninja could imagine: the reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths' sons, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
Unfortunately, both of these overpowered ninja had something wrong with their heads. Neither had considered ending the Shinobi World's chaos and unifying it. Otherwise, even if the other ninja villages launched another Shinobi World War, they would not be able to stop them. They could only accept unification: being annexed by Konoha, after which a truly unified nation would emerge. Only then would the fate of ninja improve, and they would no longer slaughter one another.
Perhaps, in those two ninja's eyes, maintaining the existing arrangement of ninja villages was best.
In a gloomy underground base, a strange-looking, inhuman white humanoid creature shouted at an aged figure with a head full of white hair, who was resting with his eyes closed.
"Lord Madara, Lord Madara! Sunagakure has already launched its attack on Konoha!" There was a faintly obnoxious quality to that peculiar tone that made one want to hit him.
The old man seated in a chair made of stone heard the voice and slowly opened his eyes. "Has it finally begun? That was quite a wait."
"Zetsu."
"Here, Lord Madara."
"How is that child I told you to keep an eye on?"
"That child? He's still at the Ninja Academy. He'll graduate soon. But, Lord Madara, are you really going to choose this child to carry out the plan? He seems rather dim-witted."
"Heh, don't underestimate him. He has a love that ordinary Uchiha lack." Madara Uchiha, seated in the stone chair, seemed very pleased when he spoke of this child.
"He's the only one in the entire Uchiha Clan with such feelings. A Mangekyō born from feelings that burning and intense has extraordinary potential."
Obito Uchiha, who was taking his graduation examination at the Konoha Ninja Academy, had no idea that someone already had his sights set on his body and his eyes.
While waiting for his turn, he was fantasizing about stunning everyone with his performance in this examination and making Rin see him in a new light.