The declaration of war shattered the illusion of alliance.
Clouds of war loomed over the entire continent.
Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was heavy.
Minato stood before a massive map of the shinobi world, his golden hair obscuring his furrowed brow.
His usually gentle eyes now held only gravity and unease.
"Do we... really have to fight?" His voice was soft, as if speaking to himself, or perhaps to the person behind him.
Hiruzen sat on the sofa, puffing on his pipe, one breath after another.
The swirling smoke concealed his aged, wrinkled face.
He said nothing.
From the moment he personally gave the order to execute the three thousand Kumo shinobi prisoners, he knew the shadow of war had returned.
He just didn't expect it to come so quickly, so violently.
"At this point, we can only fight!" Utatane Koharu's voice was icy. "The Daimyo has declared war. Konoha, as the sword of the Land of Fire, can only march forward."
"That's right, this battle is justified!" Homura nodded. "Iwa acted with betrayal first and then slaughtered our shinobi. We hold the moral ground."
"Moral ground?" Minato turned around, a bitter look on his face. "Is righteousness still righteousness, when paid for in blood and war?"
"Minato!" Hiruzen finally spoke. "Put away your idealism!"
"From the day we became shinobi, war became our destiny!"
"We can't stop war. What we can do is end it as quickly as possible, with the least cost."
He took a few firm steps toward the map and slammed the bowl of his pipe down hard on the Land of Earth's territory, making a dull thud.
"The Daimyo's order has arrived."
"Konoha is to enter a wartime state immediately!"
"All shinobi currently on missions abroad must return to base by the deadline!"
"Start drafting a battle plan, organize the vanguard, and prepare to move to the front lines at any time!"
Orders flowed one after another from the mouth of the former Hokage.
Faced with war, he had once again become the shinobi hero who had led Konoha to victory in two Shinobi World Wars.
Minato looked at Hiruzen's back, and the hesitation in his eyes faded.
As the Fourth Hokage, he could no longer waver.
"I understand, Sandaime." Minato nodded firmly, his gaze sharp and resolute. "Hear my order!"
"Konoha will immediately enter Level One war alert!"
"The war has begun!"
...Iwa, Iwagakure.
In stark contrast to Konoha's solemnity.
A wave of morale surged here.
"Hahahaha! Excellent!"
Inside the Tsuchikage Tower, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, held the declaration of war in his hand. Instead of being angry, he burst into loud laughter.
Then he crushed the declaration into a ball and tossed it into the brazier, where it was quickly devoured by flames.
"That Daimyo of the Land of Fire really does have some backbone."
He had already received word from his own Daimyo that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would not be personally entering the battle.
"Father, are we really going to face the combined armies of the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Water all at once?" Kitsuchi, standing beside him, was filled with concern. That was an alliance of three great nations.
"So what?" Ōnoki slowly floated upward, and from his small frame, a mountain-like aura exploded forth. "Don't forget, this is the Land of Earth!"
"We have the strongest fortresses and the harshest terrain!"
"The Land of Fire doesn't have what it takes to rampage through Iwagakure!"
His high-pitched, spirited voice echoed through the entire Tsuchikage Tower.
"And don't forget our plan!"
"As long as we tie up the Land of Fire and prevent them from unleashing their full strength!"
"This war will naturally fall into a stalemate!"
"At that point, the Land of Fire will face only two options. Either make the Land of Wind and the Land of Water foot the war bill."
"Or, pay it themselves!"
"You know full well the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is a greedy man!"
"As long as we drag them out on the front lines for long enough!"
"I guarantee their alliance will collapse on its own!"
Ōnoki's analysis instantly lifted the gloom from the hearts of the Iwa high command.
That's right.
That so-called righteous alliance was just a hasty, temporary formation.
As long as the leader's advance was blocked, the rest would fall apart on their own.
"Hear my command!"
Ōnoki flew out of his office, looking down at the vast village of stone below him.
"All shinobi, assemble!"
"Let those ignorant fools from the Land of Fire see what true, rock-solid strength looks like!"
"Roar!"
Deafening roars erupted from every corner of Iwagakure, converging into a wave that could shake mountains.
The gears of war began turning at full speed...
Fire Capital, Daimyo Manor.
Arashi stood silently in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out quietly.
In the sky, a hawk circled and let out a sharp cry.
"Sir."
Aono Saku's figure appeared silently behind him.
"The front-line forces have begun to assemble."
"Konoha's side is under joint command by the Third and Fourth Hokage."
"Jiraiya is serving as General Commander of the First Army Corps, leading the vanguard straight to the Land of Earth's border."
"The Land of Wind and the Land of Water have also dispatched their main forces, forming a pincer attack on Iwa from the west and east respectively."
Aono Saku's report was concise and efficient as always.
Arashi let out a low hum. "What about our operatives in the Land of Earth?"
"Everything is proceeding smoothly," Asaba Toru replied. "They've infiltrated several key points along Iwa's logistical supply routes."
"Excellent." Arashi nodded. "Tell them to maintain their positions for now."
"When the war reaches its most intense stage, we'll give that old man Ōnoki a grand gift."
The outcome of a war is never decided solely on the front lines.
Logistics, intelligence, morale... these invisible battlefields are where true death strikes.
"There's one more thing, Sir." Aono Saku hesitated. "That special operations unit from Kirigakure... do you really intend to use them now?"
Arashi turned around, a playful look on his face. "Why not?"
"A blade is meant to kill. Once sharpened, it needs blood to prove whether it's sharp enough."
He walked over to his desk, picked up a prepared scroll, and handed it to Aono Saku.
"Give this to Mei."
"Tell her this is her and her companions' first opportunity to prove their worth to me."
"Yes, Sir!"
Aono Saku accepted the scroll, bowed, and withdrew.
The study fell silent again.
Arashi returned to the window, his gaze seeming to pierce through time and space.
Kumogakure had already fallen.
Now, it was Iwagakure's turn.
He was already eager to see what kind of twisted form this world would take after its grand blood exchange.
(To be continued.)