Takigakure,
An elderly man was hosting the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.
"I wonder what important matter brings the Third Tsuchikage-sama to our humble village."
The old man spoke respectfully.
Ōnoki's arrival likely meant disaster for Takigakure.
"I don't like wasting words. Hand over the Seven-Tails jinchūriki, and I'll leave. Otherwise, Takigakure will cease to exist today."
Ōnoki sipped his tea calmly, but his words were incomparably domineering.
"Haha, Tsuchikage-sama must be joking. I'll have someone bring the Seven-Tails jinchūriki here at once."
"You're quite sensible."
Ōnoki couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
There weren't many old men in the ninja world who could make such a decisive choice.
After waiting for a short while, the Third Tsuchikage left with the Seven-Tails jinchūriki, as if it were only natural, leaving Takigakure with not even a shred of dignity.
"Grandpa, that old man was way too rude! He shows up and just takes our Seven-Tails like that—who does he think he is?!"
A young boy walked out from a side room, angry at how his grandfather had been treated with such contempt.
"Shibuki, do you think Grandpa did something wrong?"
"No… Grandpa must have his reasons. But we clearly have a tailed beast, and Ming-san even seems able to control a bit of its power now. Why does that old man get to treat Takigakure like this?"
"Because he is the Tsuchikage of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and I am only the leader of a small village. Because they have tens of thousands of shinobi, while we barely have a thousand. Because they can wipe us out without effort. So we only had one choice—agree or die. The moment Ōnoki arrived, our fate was already decided."
The old man slowly stood up and continued:
"Shibuki, I know you have ambition and talent. But this is Takigakure. The ninja world is vast—it can hold the Five Great Ninja Villages. Yet it is also small—it can only hold the Five Great Ninja Villages. Small villages like ours are merely buffer zones between them. If they don't want war, we stay quiet. If they do, we must step aside."
As he spoke, his eyes grew moist.
"Grandpa, I will make Takigakure strong!"
"It's useless… We've tried forbidden techniques—useless. Drugs—useless. Invading smaller nations—still useless. The Five Great Ninja Villages exist on an entirely different level."
The old man's departing figure grew increasingly hunched.
Perhaps he too had once been a passionate youth, only to smash headfirst into the unyielding wall of reality.
...
Land of Wind battlefield,
The Sand Village's defensive line had completely retreated.
Their mission was no longer to break through the Hidden Leaf Village's defenses.
Their most important task now was to hold back the Leaf's main force on the Land of Rivers battlefield,
preventing them from reinforcing other fronts.
All of this was because Shukaku simply couldn't defeat Inuzuka Ryoha.
Although Ryoha found it difficult to kill Shukaku, who possessed a body of sand,
Shukaku's stamina came from the jinchūriki Bunpuku.
A monk who had been imprisoned in a dark cave for years, underfed and poorly clothed—how could he possibly outlast someone like Ryoha, who had cultivated himself into a sage body?
And the most terrifying trait of Ryoha's senjutsu was his incomprehensible regeneration.
Wounds that were painstakingly inflicted would vanish in the blink of an eye.
How were they supposed to fight that?
"Damn it… how did the Sand Village fall to this state?"
Rasa vented his frustration.
The younger generation might not understand, but having experienced the Second Great Ninja War,
Rasa knew exactly how powerful the Sand Village once was.
Back then, even Konoha's three legendary shinobi—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—along with Sakumo Hatake, four Kage-level fighters, could barely fight the Sand Village to a standstill.
And now?
Just Sakumo Hatake plus Inuzuka Ryoha was enough to force the Sand Village to change its entire strategy.
It had only been a few years—what had happened to the Sand Village?
"Rasa, good news—Pakura has found a way to break through to the Kage level."
Ebizo entered and reported.
His body was wrapped in thick bandages—injuries inflicted by Sakumo Hatake.
Despite all precautions, Chiyo had still allowed Sakumo to seize an opening and strike Ebizo hard.
Luckily, Ebizo had been cautious, wearing a thick layer of puppet armor beneath his clothes.
Otherwise, Chiyo would have lost her last remaining relative.
As for Sasori… he could only be considered a "relative puppet," since he chose to abandon his humanity.
"Good. For now, the entire Sand Village will focus on supporting Pakura's breakthrough. Whatever she needs, give it to her."
"Understood."
"And Ebizo, keep a close watch on Konoha. There's only one requirement—they must not leave the Land of Rivers battlefield to cause trouble elsewhere."
"Yes."
The Third Raikage, the Third Tsuchikage, and Madara Uchiha: This kid's not bad—doesn't betray allies, reliable.
For a time, the ninja world once again fell into a prolonged period of calm.
Large-scale wars were nearly nonexistent, though some individuals remained busy.
Hyūga Hiyasu, Hyūga Hizashi, and Minato Namikaze were still leading Cloud Village shinobi on a wild chase.
The Land of Lightning was vast—with only four thousand troops, they were completely lost.
One day, I caught a fish by the western river.
Another day, I climbed a southern mountain to watch the sunrise.
Life was carefree.
Uchiha Kamito and Senju Hideki worked diligently digging tunnels.
Tunnel warfare, hey—tunnel warfare, defeating countless Stone Village shinobi.
Aburame Shiken was still patiently grinding down Shimura Danzō and Aburame Tatsuma.
"There are countless ways to kill you, but I'll choose the most cautious one—starve you to death. A ninja is someone who endures everything. Let's see if that includes enduring hunger."
Unfortunately, the ambush location had too much soil, too many trees, too much vegetation…
Surely Danzō-sama would enjoy quite the feast.
Shimura Danzō: You're even more ruthless than me.
Inuzuka Ryoha, meanwhile, was seriously doing his job.
He was launching relentless attacks, picking fights with Shukaku every single day.
But that "unstoppable" feeling—like facing an unkillable opponent—was truly disgusting.
While the main cast stayed busy, others weren't idle either.
The Land of Lightning, while carrying out its internal cleanup, saw Dodai revive a long-abandoned research project in the Hidden Cloud Village.
At the Land of Earth's borders, defenses remained steady, though Rōshi and Han were busy teaching students.
In the Land of Wind, the Sand Village pooled all its strength to help Pakura break through to the Kage level.
But since Scorch Release was unique to Pakura, everything still depended on her.
Karura had also entered her final stage of pregnancy.
The Mist Village actively attacked Konoha's coastal defenses, but under the command of Aburame Shikuro and Aburame Shibi, their assaults were repelled time and time again.
Gradually, the Mist Village's offensive stalled.
After all, not everyone was willing to trade casualties against swarms of insects.
In the Land of Fire,
Konoha,
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat quietly drinking tea.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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