[It should be noted that the Second Great Ninja War was primarily a conflict between Konoha, Iwagakure, Amegakure, and Sunagakure. Kumogakure basically did not participate and thus preserved its strength the best. Among the warring parties, aside from Amegakure—whose territory in the Land of Rain became the main battlefield and which never recovered—the losses suffered by Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure were not too significant.]
[In other words, though called a "Great Ninja War," the Second War was essentially a localized conflict. The underlying conflicts of interest between the major nations were never resolved. The year 37 of Konoha was merely a pause button—a surface ceasefire while the fires never truly cooled beneath. The fall of tens of thousands bought only a brief respite, not genuine peace.]
---
[Konoha Year 37]
"It's over… the war is finally over!"
Countless small nations and civilians were rejoicing at the end of the war, only to have the Sky Screen dump a bucket of cold water on them, chilling them to the bone.
They had thought the world would enjoy twenty years of peace, like it did after the First Great Ninja War. But now it seemed that had been nothing more than wishful thinking.
Most of the common people couldn't help but cry, wondering when this world would ever find true peace.
Yet the far-sighted individuals in the major nations found the Sky Screen's words painfully accurate.
After all, the Land of Wind's resource scarcity, the Land of Earth's expansionist ambitions, the Land of Lightning's military fanaticism, the Land of Water's isolationist paranoia… none of these fundamental issues had been resolved by the Second Great Ninja War.
[Thus, only two years later, the Third Great Ninja War erupted once again.]
---
At a remote cliff somewhere in the world, overlooking an endless primeval forest.
The wind swept through the sea of trees, producing a sound like ocean waves.
On the edge of the cliff sat a man wearing a spiral-patterned mask.
He had his hands behind his head, leaning against the cliff wall, one leg bent on the edge of the cliff and the other dangling outside, swinging casually.
Through the single hole in the mask, a crimson eye was visible.
He watched the Sky Screen's images foretelling the imminent outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War. He thought of the deaths and tragedies that would unfold, and suddenly chuckled.
"See…"
The masked man's voice was soft, as if talking to himself, or perhaps to some unseen presence.
"A world like this should never have existed in the first place."
He raised his head and looked into the distant sky.
"Rin is dead. Obito is "dead." Kakashi is still alive… but the living suffer more than the dead."
"And this suffering will be passed down, generation after generation. Fathers die on the battlefield. Sons grow up, go to war, and die on the battlefield. Grandsons repeat the cycle…"
He stood up and walked to the very edge of the cliff.
The wind whipped his black robe, making it flap loudly.
"Infinite Tsukuyomi…"
The masked man murmured the words.
"Only in that world will there be true peace. No war. No death. No loss… Everyone can be happy."
He reached out a hand, as if to grasp the Sky Screen—then crush it.
"Just wait, Kakashi. Just wait, Sensei. I will create… a world without tragedy."
With that, he leaned back and continued watching the Sky Screen.
---
[In Year 39 of Konoha, the assassination of the Third Kazekage became the trigger. Sunagakure, left leaderless, was soon targeted by the powerful Kumogakure. The Third Raikage led his forces to invade the Land of Wind. Meanwhile, Iwagakure continued its rivalry with Konoha, seeking revenge for the Second Great Ninja War, while Kirigakure also took the opportunity to join the fray, hoping to stir up chaos.]
Hearing that the Third Kazekage was dead, the Sunagakure elders—who had been planning to drag Konoha down with them—were dumbfounded.
What was going on? They hadn't even decided whether to attack Konoha, and Kumogakure was coming for them?
Chiyo shivered at the thought of the robust, dark-skinned Third Raikage, A.
Those brutes were not to be trifled with.
"Quick!"
Chiyo turned and gave orders to the Sunagakure elders behind her.
"Immediately activate the highest level of combat readiness! All border troops are to assume defensive positions! Also… send an emergency request for reinforcements to Konoha!"
"Ask Konoha for reinforcements?"
One of the elders was confused.
"Weren't we planning to—"
"The plan has changed!"
Chiyo interrupted him, a hint of panic in her voice.
"The issue now isn't whether we attack Konoha—it's that Kumogakure is about to attack us! The village has no leader right now, our strength is severely diminished, and we're no match for Kumogakure! We have to bring Konoha in!"
The meeting room erupted in an uproar, and the elders who were originally part of the War Faction looked at each other.
Their original plan had been to use the Third Kazekage's disappearance as a pretext to confront Konoha and divert internal tensions. But now a real enemy had appeared.
"But the Sky Screen said Kumogakure will attack us. Will Konoha actually help us?"
Ebizō frowned.
"They're facing threats from Iwagakure and Kirigakure themselves."
"Then all the more reason to try!"
Chiyo clenched her fists.
"They can't afford to sit back and watch us get swallowed by Kumogakure!"
[Same time · Kumogakure]
Tsuchi stood in the Raikage's office, watching the Sky Screen's information about Kumogakure's planned invasion of the Land of Wind, and let out a long sigh.
"Raikage-sama, this is bad."
Tsuchi rubbed his temples.
"Our plan has been exposed prematurely. Sunagakure will definitely go into a frenzy preparing for war now… the advantage of a surprise attack is gone."
Behind the desk, the heavily muscled Third Raikage waved his hand dismissively.
"Tsuchi, you're overthinking things again!"
"So what if it's exposed?"
His voice boomed like thunder.
"We fight when we want to fight! The Land of Wind is the weakest, and Sunagakure has no Kazekage right now. This is the perfect opportunity! If not them, who should we attack? Konoha? Or Iwagakure?"
"But—"
"No buts!"
The Third Raikage stood up and walked to the window, looking southwest—toward the Land of Wind.
"In the world, the strong devour the weak. Sunagakure is weak, so they deserve to be annexed. If we don't swallow them, Iwagakure will. So why shouldn't Kumogakure be the one?"
He turned, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Prepare the troops. We'll set out for the Land of Wind immediately—we can still catch them off guard! Also, send envoys to Konoha. Tell them: our target is only Sunagakure. As long as Konoha doesn't interfere, Kumogakure guarantees we won't attack the Land of Fire."
"Will Konoha believe that?" Tsuchi asked doubtfully.
"Whether they believe it or not doesn't matter," the Third Raikage sneered.
"What matters is that Konoha has plenty of its own problems right now. According to the Sky Screen, Iwagakure wants revenge, Kirigakure wants to stir up trouble… How can they spare the energy to care about Sunagakure's fate?"
"Understood. I'll make the arrangements immediately."
---
[Compared to the relatively restrained localized conflict of the Second War, the Third Great Ninja War was far more chaotic. Sunagakure fought Kumogakure; Kumogakure fought Iwagakure; as for Konoha, they fought Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure in succession. Only Sunagakure, having lost the Third Kazekage and being the weakest, chose not to open a front with Konoha. But essentially, Konoha maintained a record of fighting the entire shinobi world almost single-handedly—one can only imagine the pressure Sarutobi Hiruzen faced during the Third War.]
The Sky Screen's images quickly shifted, showing the chaotic situation of the Third Great Ninja War:
In the desert, Sunagakure's puppeteers clashed with Kumogakure's Lightning Release shinobis.
On the border of the Land of Earth, Kumogakure's raiding forces collided with Iwagakure's defenders.
Along the coastline, Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist landed in the Land of Fire.
In the Land of Grass, the main forces of Konoha and Iwagakure were locked in stalemate over the Kannabi Bridge region.
---
[Another Timeline]
Tobirama—who had helped Kumogakure subdue Ginkaku and Kinkaku—was sitting together with the yet-to-be-inaugurated Third Raikage, A and others, watching the Sky Screen.
Seeing the images of Konoha ninjas fighting against ninjas from all the other nations flash across the screen, Tobirama frowned slightly.
He glanced at A beside him and noticed that this future Third Raikage's expression remained calm, as if leading Kumogakure's invasion of the Land of Wind had nothing to do with him.
Tobirama couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Konoha occupied the most fertile land… and fought the entire Shinobi World single-handedly in every major war?
Looking at it now, that kid Hiruzen really hadn't had it easy.
Looks like he'd need to invent even more Forbidden Jutsus to keep for emergencies.