Ninja World Shaken, War About to Begin

"Has the intelligence been verified?"

A wore the Raikage’s hat, his expression stern. Sparks of lightning flickered through his hair as he spoke. He was obsessed with training, constantly pursuing the realm his father had once reached.

But the importance of this intelligence forced him to pause his training.

Killer B, who normally never acted serious, stood beside A wearing sunglasses. The two were the absolute core of Kumogakure’s fighting strength for this generation.

The scout responsible for the intelligence had also been brought over. He nodded, his expression grave, and confirmed, "It is absolutely true. Uchiha Shisui of the Uchiha Clan brought another clansman to fight unidentified ninja in a border town not far from the frontier. In the end… they vanished."

The name Uchiha Shisui had already become famous during the Third Great Ninja War. As another top-tier powerhouse to emerge from the Uchiha Clan, even a ninja like Killer B, who spent all day in the village studying rap, had heard of him.

After the death of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, he had long since become someone the other ninja villages guarded against—especially those Sharingan eyes of his…

A still frowned, showing none of the delight the scout had expected.

"A, before that battle took place, word came that Konoha had lost a top-secret piece of intelligence. Its contents were deliberately spread by someone."

"It seems Uchiha and Konoha High Command Discord is severe. This incident is likely… another round of Konoha’s internal strife."

This was the answer Kumogakure’s advisors considered most likely after gathering intelligence from every direction.

Someone at Uchiha Shisui’s level could not possibly have been easily defeated by some mysterious ninja who appeared out of nowhere. Besides, Konoha had always had a tendency toward this kind of "internal attrition."

The death of Hatake Sakumo, Konoha’s White Fang, had already left the other ninja villages barely able to hide their delight. Now, to their surprise, Body Flicker Shisui had also met with misfortune.

What a gift from heaven!

"Would Konoha’s high command really do something so foolish as cutting off its own arm?"

Some people questioned it. The matter did sound far too unbelievable.

As the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha kept losing top-tier combat power outside of war. It was simply absurd.

When Kumogakure’s previous generation of top-tier power, the Third Raikage, had been killed on the battlefield, he had faced more than ten thousand enemies alone. A top-tier ninja of that level was nothing less than a national treasure.

And Konoha had just gotten rid of one?!

After thinking for a moment, A abruptly rose to his feet. Though he also doubted the conclusion, Kumogakure could not possibly remain unresponsive in the face of such a major event.

As the ninja village with the deepest enmity toward Konoha and the closest strength to it, Kumogakure would not let any opportunity slip away.

The Land of Lightning had coveted the fertile, vast lands of the Land of Fire for a long time.

"Immediately send everyone stationed at the Land of Fire border and everyone who has infiltrated it. We must confirm whether this intelligence is true within one day."

"Also, find a way to investigate Konoha’s internal situation. If civil war breaks out in Konoha, we will declare war immediately!"

"Begin war mobilization now!"

A had always acted with decisive, hardline efficiency. Even without complete confirmation, he still ordered war mobilization.

"Ha!"

The gathered ninja answered in unison and swiftly departed to make preparations.

All of them felt a faint excitement. The Fourth Great Ninja War might begin very soon, and this time… Konoha would definitely lose!

Within Iwagakure, Kitsuchi, an elite Jonin of Iwagakure, reported this intelligence to his father, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.

Ōnoki was short in stature and wore a robe that almost completely covered his body. Floating in the air, he was one of the rare few ninja who had mastered Kekkei Tōta, a power beyond Kekkei Genkai, allowing him to fly freely through the sky.

"You are saying that Uchiha Shisui was very likely defeated by that mysterious ninja?!"

Kitsuchi nodded. Compared to Kumogakure, Iwagakure had one information advantage: the squad they had sent to seize that top-secret intelligence had not been wiped out. Several of them were now in the Tsuchikage’s office as well.

Facing Ōnoki’s question, they exchanged glances before nodding. "We received word that someone within Konoha had released a top-secret piece of intelligence. Jonin Sulfur Stone led a team to seize it, and they ultimately confronted an intelligence squad led by Kumogakure’s Ayai."

"Several mysterious ninja suddenly appeared in the town inn. One of them unleashed a terrifying Wind Release and killed Captain Sulfur Stone. Another, an extremely tall man, struck and defeated the Hidden Cloud Squad, then took the woman carrying the intelligence. Kumogakure Jonin Ayai has likely been killed as well."

"Combined with the intelligence we received this time, we deduce that the top-secret intelligence was likely about Uchiha and Konoha High Command Discord, and Uchiha’s intention to rebel. That was why Uchiha sent Uchiha Shisui to pursue them, only for him to ultimately be defeated and vanish."

Ōnoki slowly descended from the air. His feelings toward the Uchiha Clan were complicated. When he was young, Uchiha Madara had severely wounded both him and his teacher, the Second Tsuchikage, Mū. He was extremely wary of that clan.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said, "Kitsuchi, arrange for several intermediaries to go to Konoha’s Uchiha Clan and deliver a message. Tell them that Iwagakure would be very willing to accept the Uchiha Clan!"

Kitsuchi froze. He had not expected his father, who had always been stubborn and hardline, to resort to such a clever scheme of sowing discord.

"Father, you…"

Ōnoki waved a hand and snorted coldly.

"The words I speak are naturally not false. If Uchiha truly wishes to join Iwagakure, I will naturally receive them with courtesy."

He was telling the truth. Even if the Uchiha Clan would bring countless troubles, he was willing to deal with those troubles for the sake of that power.

However, everyone knew Konoha could not possibly sit by and watch such a thing happen. The signal he had sent would intensify the resentment between Konoha’s high command and Uchiha. Once Konoha began fighting internally, the Land of Earth’s opportunity would arrive.

Watching the village begin war mobilization, watching large numbers of ninja assemble, he let out a sigh. War was always cruel, but if they failed to seize this chance, then once Konoha grew powerful again, what would become of his country and its people?

Hatred could never truly end. All he could do was ensure that his country was not the one eliminated.

Inside Konoha’s Hokage Office, the situation was incomparably tense.

Uchiha Fugaku sat across from Sarutobi Hiruzen with his arms folded. Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Yashiro, and the other Uchiha Clan elites stood behind their clan head with cold expressions, their scarlet Sharingan gazing indifferently at the high command before them as though they were looking at worms.

Utatane Koharu frowned. She did not like this clan either. They were a group who could go mad at any moment because of their power. Their excessive emotionality often produced deviants among them, making it difficult for them to integrate into the village.

"Fugaku, Uchiha…"

Sarutobi Hiruzen began, but after hesitating for a moment, he did not mention the incident that would leave both sides with no room to turn back. Instead, he asked, "Have Shisui and Itachi truly vanished?"

Uchiha Fugaku opened his eyes. His three-tomoe Sharingan slowly turned, and rare emotion appeared on his face.

"Shouldn’t the village know better than us? Weren’t your Anbu supposed to be watching them all along?!"

Uchiha Fugaku did not believe that some mysterious ninja could truly defeat both Shisui and Itachi. Though the two were young, they were incredibly powerful. In this ninja world, anyone capable of doing such a thing had to be one of the top combat powers of the major ninja villages.

"Lord Hokage, I think I know the identity of the person who attacked Uchiha Shisui."

At that moment, Heaven’s Will, wearing an Anbu mask, entered from outside and spoke, breaking the tense, drawn-bow atmosphere.

She calmly met the furious gazes of several Sharingan.

"Most likely, he is a madman named Mercenary Tao."

—

In a swamp within the Land of Rain, Uchiha Shisui regained consciousness. His entire body ached intensely, and he could not move at all. It felt as though every bone in his body had been shattered. Something was wrapped around his eyes, preventing him from opening them.

A familiar laugh sounded by his ear.

"Heh, see that, Uchiha Shisui? Because of your disappearance, the whole world has fallen into chaos. War… will probably begin soon."

Uchiha Shisui shuddered. Through the intense pain, he tried to release Chakra, but the wounds all over his body split open, and overwhelming weakness washed over him.

"Hey, hey, don’t get so worked up. It took a lot of effort for me to save you."

"If you want to stop all this, if you want to save the life of this boy called Itachi, then become my servant. Find everything I want… for me…"